It was almost noon when Xiao Yu came back, carrying the food he had received and the food he had bought from the canteen. There were 10 adults and 2 children in the Xiao family, and the four brothers in the Lin family, a total of 14 people. Xiao Yu brought back 20 steamed buns, 20 meat buns, and six dishes. The food in the canteen was fixed for each person, and Xiao Yu was able to buy so much because he had exchanged it with others, and some of it was bought from the state-owned hotel.

Steamed buns, dumplings and dishes were placed on the table, and everyone was drooling at the sight.

Lin Yiyi said, "There is another fish. Let's make some shredded radish and fish soup. Mom, you are a good cook, so I'll let you make it and I'll help you."

Qin Xiangju: "Okay."

Lin Sijun sneaked up to Xiao Yu and pulled his clothes: "Brother-in-law, I have something to tell you."

Xiao Yu was chatting with the men of the Xiao family. When he heard what Lin Sijun said, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Okay." Although the brother-in-law is young, he is also considered a man of the Lin family.

Lin Sijun pulled Xiao Yu aside to talk, but was actually telling tales: "...Brother-in-law, you don't know, that sister-in-law is very bad, she...my sister was going to divorce you...and then..." Lin Sijun said a lot of things.

Xiao Yu's face darkened after hearing this. He patted Lin Sijun on the shoulder and said, "You did a good job. No matter what happens in the future, you must tell me." Then he took out a penny from his pocket and said, "This is a reward for you."

Lin Sijun didn't expect there would be a reward. He grinned with joy. He will definitely be more active in this matter in the future.

Others didn't know what Lin Sijun and Xiao Yu were talking about, but Lin Yiyi knew it. She was the one who asked Lin Sijun to tell Xiao Yu what happened today. As a caring brother, Lin Sijun was still young, so he could have told tales.

This lunch included steamed bread, meat buns, vegetables and fish soup. Everyone enjoyed the meal very much. Although we were not full, this one meal was worth two days' worth of food.

After dinner, Grandpa Xiao said, "It's time for us to go back. We'll be relieved if you guys are doing well here."

Qin Xiangju said, "We brought you some firewood from home. They are all dry dead wood that was split and easy to burn. We also brought you your share of food." Qin Xiangju paused and said, "Everyone in the family gets five catties of food per month, so mother doesn't show partiality. You two get a total of ten catties per month."

Lin Yiyi was shocked. Five pounds per person per month? No wonder the Xiao family always had a lot of soup every time they ate. If you think about it carefully, even if each person had five pounds, the whole family would have to store 50 pounds of food per month. You know, nowadays, a family can store hundreds of pounds of food. It's already good. If the Lin brothers didn't have dried shrimp to exchange, where would they get more than a hundred pounds of food? It's also thanks to the people in the county town who have food to exchange.

What about me? The monthly food allowance for the Lin brothers is 30 kilograms. Three half-grown boys get 30 kilograms, while 10 adults get 50 kilograms. It seems that the Lin brothers' food allowance will be reduced by half.

But even so, these words from Qin Xiangju made Lin Yiyi feel suffocated. When she felt that the Xiao family's food was not suitable for Lin Wudi, she didn't know that the Xiao family also carefully calculated the food. Under such circumstances, the Xiao family was kind enough to give 50 kilograms of food to marry a daughter-in-law.

After all, how much do they eat?

Lin Yiyi said: "Mom, you can take these food back home."

As soon as she said this, everyone looked at her, even Xiao Yu.

Lin Yiyi said, "We have food from Brother Yu every month, 24 kilograms a month, which is much more than what we eat at home. So now that the harvest is bad, we won't take the food from home." As she spoke, she took out the 24 kilograms of food that Xiao Yu brought, including 9 kilograms of flour, 4 kilograms of rice, and 11 kilograms of coarse grains. Lin Yiyi took out four kilograms of flour, which was in bags, one kilogram in each bag. "Noodles are good for the stomach. These are for grandpa, grandma, parents to make noodles." There were exactly four kilograms for four people.

Grandma Xiao and Qin Xiangju's eyes were slightly red. Before today, their satisfaction with Lin Yiyi was indeed because of what Blind Zhang said and Lin Yiyi's ability to earn royalties, but at this moment, they were moved by her.

Qin Xiangju said, "Keep it for yourself. When you entertain guests, you must use some good food."

Lin Yiyi said, "We still have some, so don't be reluctant to eat them. From now on, we will take out four pounds of flour and one pound of meat from the rations distributed by Brother Yu every month and give them to the family." Lin Yiyi is not a saint. Apart from these, they still have 20 pounds of rations every month, which is much richer than the Xiao family. Besides, even if she didn't say it, Xiao Yu would definitely not keep the good food for himself and let his grandparents, parents go hungry. That would be really unfilial. So instead of waiting for Xiao Yu to say it, it would be better for her to propose it herself and sell it to the Xiao family, and take the opportunity to fill Xiao Yu's heart.

Xiao Yu: "My wife is right. You have to take the four pounds of flour and one pound of meat every month."

Grandma Xiao: "Xiao Yu'er, grandma doesn't want..."

Grandpa Xiao said: "Take it, it's the filial piety of the children. But if you encounter any difficulties in the county, you must tell us."

Xiao-Woo: "Yeah."

Grandma Xiao said: "In this case, you don't need to give me subsidies from now on. You live in the county town and don't eat the food at home. It doesn't make sense for me to charge you three yuan for food."

Lin Yiyi: "Those three dollars are my royalties as a gift to my elders."

Grandma Xiao: "That doesn't make sense. Xiaoyuer pays 20 yuan out of his monthly salary. You are husband and wife, so if he pays, you pay as well. The three yuan was originally agreed to be food for you and Xiaowu. Now that you don't eat at home, you naturally can't take the money. Xiangju, what do you think?"

Qin Xiangju: "Mom is right, Yi Yi, here are three dollars, take it."

Seeing Qin Xiangju directly take out three yuan, Lin Yiyi thought that maybe they had discussed it when they came. They thought that Xiao Yu would not accept their food, and also thought that she would follow Xiao Yu in the county town in the future, so they had already prepared to pay her back for the money for the food.

Xiao Yu took the money for Lin Yiyi and put it in her hands: "Listen to grandma and mom." He could give money to grandma and mom as a gift, but giving is one thing and things still need to be sorted out.

Lin Yiyi: “Yeah.”

Xiao Yu chatted with the Xiao family for a while, and Lin Yiyi called the younger brother of the Lin family away. Lin Yiyi first took a week's worth of food for the younger brother, but said, "The first army, the third army, and the fourth army, you all heard the monthly food distribution of the Xiao family just now, right?"

Lin Dajun nodded.

Lin Yiyi: "The monthly food allowance for each person in the Xiao family is five kilograms. How many kilograms is it per week?"

Lin Dajun: "... one catty and two ounces."

Lin Yiyi said: "Yes, the Xiao family definitely has more food than our Lin family, but they are so frugal. What does this mean?"

Lin Dajun shook his head: "I don't know."

Lin Yiyi: "This means that the food problem may continue to bother us for a long time, which means that we need to save food even more. So my sister has decided that we will follow the Xiao family's example and each of you will have to reduce your weekly food intake."

Lin Dajun: “…” It was like a bolt from the blue.

Lin Yiyi added: "But you are still young and growing, unlike the adults in the Xiao family, so even though you need to reduce your food intake, it cannot be too little. Each of you should eat one and a half catties a week, which is three ounces more than one catty and two ounces."

Lin Dajun: “…” Could he say that he was comforted at all?

Lin Yiyi: "But don't worry, I can give you some extra food when you come to get food on the weekends."

Lin Dajun's eyes lit up: "I'll listen to my sister." Just to make up for the weekend. But he didn't know that the food he was replenishing was also their food.

So, Lin Yiyi gave the three brothers four and a half kilograms of rice for a week. Of course, Lin Yiyi didn't know how much four and a half kilograms was, so she could only estimate it. After packing them a week's worth of sweet potatoes and potatoes, Lin Yiyi also packed a kilogram of Fuqiang flour, "Let Grandma Ge make noodles or steamed bread for you, but you have to give Grandma Ge a portion, understand?"

Lin Dajun: “Got it.” The response was loud and clear. Nothing was more attractive than white flour.

Lin Yiyi took out money from her trouser pocket and said, "Dajun has been very good recently. He has taken good care of his brother and is filial to his sister by giving her fried dough sticks and shoes. These two cents are a reward for you."

Lin Dajun looked at the money and was stunned: "I..." His eyes suddenly turned red, and then he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, "Yeah."

Lin Yiyi saw that he was about to cry and thought, after all, he was only 13 years old, actually, he was still a half-grown child.

Lin Sanjun and Lin Sijun looked at Lin Dajun with some envy.

Lin Yiyi took out another two cents: "Third Army and Fourth Army are also very good, they listen to Big Brother, and help Big Brother carry firewood and pick up firewood together, so each of you will get a reward of one cent."

Lin Sijun: "Sister, do we have any too?" With the one cent given by his brother-in-law, he now had two cents.

Lin Sanjun also looked at Lin Yiyi stupidly.

Lin Yiyi touched their heads and said, "You are obedient, sensible and well-behaved. There will be more in the future." Don't underestimate a penny or two. In this era, most parents are reluctant to give their children even a penny of pocket money. Only during the Chinese New Year will they give their children a one-cent red envelope.

The Lin brothers: "Yes, we will listen to you."

The younger brothers of the Lin family followed the Xiao family back, looking back every three steps, hoping to come back as soon as possible next week. Lin Dajun carried a backpack with four or five pounds of sweet potatoes in it, which was their food for a week, as well as one pound of bean sprouts, one pound of Fuqiang flour, and a small piece of pickled meat, which was given by their sister to replenish their bodies. In their trouser pockets, they hid one or two cents given by their sister. They felt very happy on this trip to the county town.

Xiao Wu also carried a backpack with 10 kilograms of food in it. Unlike the happiness of his younger brothers in the Lin family, he was very depressed because his wife could not come to the county town in the future, and he also had some verbal disputes with his second brother's wife.

Xiao Bin also carried a backpack, which contained four pounds of flour, two pounds of bean sprouts, and a small piece of pickled meat. He was in a good mood, too. The bean sprouts were not kept for long, so he didn't know when his mother would cook them for him.

Xiao Yu went out with them because he had to go to work.

Lin Yiyi carried Lin Wudi and sent them to the gate of the family compound. Lin Wudi knew that someone was leaving and had to wave, so he waved very hard. When they could no longer see the person, Lin Yiyi put Lin Wudi down and led him back home slowly.

The after-dinner cleanup had been done, Qin Xiangju and Liang helped clean up. Lin Yiyi coaxed Lin Wudi to take a nap, and after Lin Wudi fell asleep, she went to tidy up some things.

Xiao Yu had received the commercial grain and oil, but he had not received the two kilograms of meat and half a kilogram of eggs for a month. Apart from the food for the Lin brothers, the family also had 20 kilograms of commercial grain and things exchanged for wild boar meat, totaling 2 kilograms of mung beans, 4 kilograms of red beans, 2.5 kilograms of soybeans, 7 kilograms of flour, 7 kilograms of rice, 26 kilograms of sweet potatoes, and 10 kilograms of potatoes.

Lin Yiyi gave the Fuqiang flour to the Xiao family for a reason. First, she gave it to the elderly sincerely. Another reason was that she was not good at cooking and she didn't know what to do with the flour. But before leaving today, Grandma Xiao and Qin Xiangju told her how to make dough and steamed buns. Lin Yiyi had already written it down.

Lin Yiyi packed up her things and thought about dinner. This was the first real dinner for her and Xiao Yu after they moved out. Yesterday, she cooked dried shrimp porridge to deal with it. It was not possible today without a little technical content. But these were the only things in the house. The only things that could be called vegetables were potatoes and half a radish. Cui Ping still had half of the radish she sent.

Lin Yiyi thought about it and decided on dinner. People of this era, especially those in the city, looked down on sweet potatoes in good years, but modern people eat sweet potatoes as a staple food, so Lin Yiyi really liked them. She steamed sweet potatoes in the evening and made a cold potato and radish soup. Thinking of this, Lin Yiyi went to grow bean sprouts. It takes three days to grow bean sprouts, and after three days, they are edible.

After thinking it over, Lin Yiyi took out the shredded radish and potatoes, washed them, and cut them into shreds. Then she washed the sweet potatoes. She washed two sweet potatoes. Half of one was enough for her, and Xiao Yu ate one and a half. Then she put the prepared food on the table. For a novice cook like her, it is best to prepare everything in advance, so that she will not be in a hurry when she does it.

After thinking for a while, Lin Yiyi took out another pound of flour and fermented it. Because it was her first time, Lin Yiyi was very careful and nervous. Fortunately, she wrote down the steps clearly, and when she asked before, all the details and points to pay attention to were also clearly noted.

Next, Lin Yiyi went to write the manuscript. However, she was also worried while writing the manuscript, because she didn't know the time and was afraid of missing Xiao Yu's time to get off work. So it was necessary to buy a watch.

When Lin Wudi woke up, Lin Yiyi stopped writing and took Lin Wudi to the gate of the yard. The gate of the yard next to her opened and an old lady came out: "Girl, are you the new people next door?"

The old lady had a kind face and although she was very thin, she was much better than those old people in the countryside who were so thin that only bones were left. Her thinness also showed some spirit.

Lin Yiyi said: "Yes, we moved here yesterday. We are new here and don't know many places in the county. We need grandma to give us some guidance."

The old lady said, "You're right to ask me that. As for me, there's nothing I don't know. My son works in the steel factory, my daughter-in-law works in the textile factory... my grandson..." The old lady said a lot, mentioning everyone in the family.

Lin Yiyi also learned a little bit about it. The old lady had two sons, and they had already separated. She and the old man lived here with the eldest son. Living with them were the eldest son, the eldest daughter-in-law, and two grandsons. When the old lady had nothing to do, she would wash clothes and cook at home, and the old man would pick up the children. From what the old lady said, her daughter-in-law was a very clear-headed person. This surprised Lin Yiyi a little, because it was rare for a mother-in-law to say good things about her daughter-in-law.

Then the old lady's second son also worked in the steel factory, but he was a temporary worker. The old lady's second daughter-in-law also worked in the textile factory, and was also a temporary worker. The two were introduced by the eldest daughter-in-law. Temporary workers have no house. After the separation, the second son and daughter-in-law lived in the workshop where the old lady and the grandfather used to live. Because the grandfather is still alive, the workshop takes good care of the old workers. As long as the old workers are not dead, the workshop will not be taken back.

Lin Yiyi didn't expect that the people who were isolated were from a respectable family. At least the family was full of workers, which meant they had some confidence.

Lin Yiyi said: "You are so lucky. Your son and daughter-in-law are both successful. Now you can start to enjoy your life."

The old lady was very happy to be praised: "Girl, what does your family do? I saw a lot of people came this morning."

Lin Yiyi said: "We are from the countryside. The people who came this morning were my husband's family and my own family."

The old lady said, "Oh, little girl, you have to be careful. Rural people love to take advantage of others. Also, you have to take care of your family. You have to keep your husband's salary in your hands. Don't let your husband subsidize his in-laws. You also have to not subsidize your parents for everything. In this world, the most important thing is to live a good life."

Lin Yiyi was a little surprised. She didn't expect that the old lady was such a perceptive person: "Thank you for reminding me. I understand."

The old lady continued, "Don't think I'm being long-winded, that's the truth. By the way, little girl, you haven't told me what your husband does?"

Lin Yiyi didn't think there was anything to hide. She said, "My husband works at the County Public Security Bureau. He was a soldier and transferred to the County Public Security Bureau after he retired."

The old lady said: "Oh, the Public Security Bureau is great, the Public Security Bureau is very powerful, the person who lives here is also from the Public Security Bureau, he is the director of the Public Security Bureau, this house has good Feng Shui." Speaking of Feng Shui, the old lady whispered, after all, nowadays we don't practice feudalism. However, in 1960, no one would say something feudal, but in 1966, you can't say it, you will be reported, and the Red Guards will specifically target you.

The Red Guards were established in May 1966, during the ten years of turmoil, so even though there was famine at the time, it was still very safe.

Lin Yiyi thought for a moment and asked, "Grandma, do you know where to buy vegetables here?" She was close to the old lady and spoke softly, "Well, everything is tense now. We don't have tickets, and there's nowhere to buy some Southeast Asian food."

The old lady looked around and said, "Little girl, you asked the right person. What do you want to buy?"

Lin Yiyi was just asking casually, and based on the old lady's personality, she thought she must have connections. She didn't expect it to be true. Lin Yiyi said, "I want to buy some vegetables, radishes, cucumbers, etc."

The old lady said, "Everyone loves to eat meat. You are so skinny, you should eat meat too."

Lin Yiyi smiled and said, "Of course it would be good to have some meat, to give my man some nutrition, he works hard."

The old lady said, "Young girl, you are really kind-hearted. If you want vegetables, we have to go out to exchange them at night." These days, people don't talk about buying things, they only talk about exchanging things. However, there was no urban management in 1960, and the Red Guards were not established until 1966, so no one managed the black market. But even so, the country banned speculation and the black market could not be exposed. When the turmoil began in 1966, speculation was severely punished. That was when we really needed to pay attention. So it is safe to go to the black market now. The only thing that is not safe is your pocket. The things in the black market are expensive, not to mention that there is still famine now, and things are several times more expensive.

Going out at night... like doing something bad, Lin Yiyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Then I'll go out with you tonight?"

Wife: "I just went to change things last night. I won't go today. I go every two or three days. There will be some food at home tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I will call you the day after tomorrow."

Lin Yiyi: "Okay. Do you know what time it is now?"

The old lady said, "Wait a minute, I'll check the clock...it's half past three."

Lin Yiyi: "Grandma Wang, I'll go cook."

Grandma Wang: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi first steamed the sweet potatoes with hot water, and while steaming the sweet potatoes, she also steamed the 14 steamed buns. One pound of flour plus water, after fermentation, weighs about 700 grams, and one steamed bun weighs 50 grams, which is just the right size. Because it was her first time, she was a little slow, but fortunately there were two pots, so she could do it together. If there was only one pot, it would be slow.

The steamed buns were cooked very quickly. After they were done, she put the shredded potatoes into boiling water and boiled them. Then she took them out and mixed them with a little salt and vinegar. While mixing them, she ate a few of them herself. They were crispy and tasted good. It should be said that compared with the meal she had eaten at Xiao's house before, this was a delicacy.

Then, she cooked a bowl of shredded radish soup, which was a clear soup, but radishes themselves are sweet, so the soup had a light taste with a hint of sweetness.

After finishing it, Lin Yiyi was very happy with herself. If she had a mobile phone, she would really like to take a picture of this virgin work and upload it to WeChat Moments. Nowadays, people like to upload everything to Moments.

When Xiao Yu came back, he saw his wife grinning foolishly at the dining table.

Lin Wudi: "Brother-in-law...Brother-in-law, hug me...hug me..." Lin Wudi's eyes lit up, and he ran over to his brother-in-law. Just as he was about to fall, Xiao Yu stepped forward and hugged him.

Lin Yiyi: "You're back? Look, I've already prepared dinner. Am I awesome?"