Summer vacation was originally called "shujia" (塾假), which was the vacation model of private schools in ancient times. It usually lasted for twelve days in the summer, so people called shujia jia jia jia xia ...
Summer is the children's favorite season, but every summer there are children who drown. Since there are rivers and lakes in their area, the parents are worried about the children and are afraid that they will get into trouble while playing by the river. So they order the children to stay at home to help brew wine or fetch water to water the crops and vegetables.
Besides the ten acres of land they cultivate for grain crops, their family also has a few acres specifically allocated for growing vegetables. These plots are usually located under trees, and each household gets a share. They are situated around the town, and it's not easy to make a trip there. They also need to fertilize, water, weed, and control pests. In the days before pesticides and fertilizers, vegetables were very susceptible to insects, and insects like snails were practically competing with humans for food.
Since there weren't many good ways to kill insects, the only option was to manually pinch them off. So, when you received vegetables in those days, they were almost always full of insect holes and droppings.
Most vegetables that insects don't eat have a unique smell or odor, so it's rare to find vegetables that aren't eaten by insects. Once people discover this, they might plant more of them the following year. Nobody wants their hard work to end up being eaten by insects, right?
Their house is a typical courtyard house, divided into a main courtyard and east and west wing rooms. The front row, according to the design style, used to be the front wing room where the servants lived, but now it has been converted into a small tavern for business. The tavern and the house in the back courtyard are separated by a wall, so the privacy is relatively strong and the house is large enough.
The back building used to house carriages and horses, but now it's used for growing vegetables and raising chickens. There are also a few fruit trees planted behind the back building. Given the size of the building, ever since Xiao Jiu started following her grandmother around, she's worried that it might not be able to be kept in the future.
Putting business aside, just this house left by our ancestors will be the object of envy for countless people in the future. Once they become envious, they will bring up certain identities as an excuse.
She sighed silently to herself. She used to think that playing Dou Dizhu was a matter of course, but she couldn't generalize and condemn everyone. After all, not all landlords are bad, and there are always some who just want to live a peaceful life, right?
Grandma raised six hens. Besides the small plot of land she was allocated for growing vegetables, she used the rest of the family's land to grow watermelons and sweet potatoes.
Watermelons usually stop bearing fruit by July, so in early August we pull them up and plant radishes, cabbages, and garlic instead. Sweet potatoes are a treasure trove; we can eat the leaves and stalks, and once they're ripe, we can eat the fruit underneath. The vines can even be pulled up to feed the chickens – it's a win-win situation.
Although life wasn't wealthy, Xiao Jiu felt it was more comfortable than living in the countryside. It was just that their allocated land was too far away. How wonderful it would be if it were right at their doorstep like in the countryside.
However, the town itself has a different positioning. If you were in the county seat, you probably wouldn't get any land. It would definitely be people from the surrounding rural areas who would get land.
Based on the historical trajectory, at least before 1958, this land could still be allocated to individuals, after which a society was formed.
The use of grain coupons began in August 1955 and lasted until 1985, spanning a period of thirty years. This marked a significant turning point in the planned economy era.
Starting in 1955 or 1956, a public-private partnership was implemented, which meant that her family's tavern would either be closed down or become public property, with people appointed by the neighborhood committee to manage and sell the business together, while the owner would become a regular employee receiving a salary.
So her family's business won't last many more years.
Because of his thorough understanding of historical development, Xiao Jiu, who is only three or four months old, has already begun to plan ahead.
Her family's courtyard was very large, but it was all occupied by wine jars. They lived in the main courtyard, while the east and west wing rooms were all used for brewing wine and storing grain.
The small tavern is not large, but the backyard is a small processing plant. It not only has to be clean and hygienic, but also has to maintain the purity of the brewing process. From selecting grains, washing, drying, and yeast, each step has undergone strict selection. It can be said that apart from her, the youngest child in the family, everyone else knows the brewing process by heart and even participates in it.
Their family mainly uses sorghum and millet for brewing, and they also make rice wine, but in smaller quantities.
During grape season, we also make wine, but because white sugar is hard to find, the taste is slightly inferior and the cost is relatively high. So, we only make two 50-jin jars each year, that's the limit.
Currently, the grains grown in the fields are mainly for their own consumption and are far from enough to brew wine. Moreover, most of them grow high-yield crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, while millet, sorghum, and glutinous rice need to be purchased, which adds up to the cost.
Therefore, once the ration coupons are introduced, their tavern will definitely have to close down.
Their household registration is still classified as urban, and even with the reforms, they still receive a fixed amount of grain every month.
In recent years, the country has been working to restore its industrial system as quickly as possible, and industrial development has led to a surge in the demand for labor. As a result, a large number of migrant workers have started to move to the cities. After all, there are not many restrictions on household registration now, and the system is not yet fully established, so this is an excellent opportunity. Each village will select skilled and capable migrant workers to go to the city and work in factories.
It took two years for the household registration system to be perfected. So, before the household registration system was established, these migrant workers naturally and rightfully changed from farmers to urban residents.
However, not everyone is suited to settle in towns. Some unsuitable individuals were exiled back to the countryside or repatriated to their place of origin.
Unfortunately, she was too young to advise her parents to close the tavern and find a suitable job in the county town so that she could secure a stable job in advance.
Because of this regret, her whole family will be sent back to the countryside and become true country folk.
Of course, it wasn't her fault. After all, she was still just a kid, and the fate of the Tao family wasn't in her hands. It was all just fate.
Who can say that this isn't a form of indirect protection?
After all, during those dark ten years, staying in the countryside was the safest option. There were advantages and disadvantages, and the choice was just a matter of a single thought.
Once summer vacation started, the older brothers had almost no homework except for helping their parents with chores. Moreover, a literacy campaign was sweeping through the town, and anyone who was free had to go to the street to learn. While their parents were learning, the older brothers took on many chores within their capabilities.
Besides these extra duties, they would put on long sleeves and trousers and go out every evening, playing until midnight before returning home. As soon as they got home, they would start showing off their spoils of the night to her. In the wooden tub soaked in salt water, something seemed to be crawling in the pitch black.
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