Librarian: "I need to look for this. This door is very remote and hard to find. It will take some time. Is this okay?"

Lin Yiyi: "Sure, thank you."

Unpopular and niche books like this are in the scrap warehouse because no one buys them. After all, books are consumables and not cheap. In the minds of people in this era, buying such books is not as good as buying meat. So the librarian searched for two hours before finding it. “Look, is this one okay?”

Lin Yiyi took it and looked at it. The book was quite thick, and it contained many cooking methods, including those for radish and winter melon, especially the cooking methods for pickled radish and pickled winter melon, which surprised Lin Yiyi because... it was too easy. After paying the money, Lin Yiyi happily went home with Lin Wudi. After returning home, Lin Yiyi started cooking.

It is almost late September now, the temperature is about 15-20 degrees, it is not so hot anymore, so things are not so easy to spoil. However, the shelf life is not long, unless it is something salty. But for food like pickled winter melon, it doesn’t matter if it is salty, because you can soak it in cold boiled water when you want to eat it, so the taste will be lighter. Even the salt water can be used for cooking, such as roasting potatoes, with the taste of stinky winter melon, very fragrant. Pickled winter melon, also known as stinky winter melon.

Lin Yiyi pickled all 2 jin of winter melon. The winter melon was cooked before pickling. Then she started to make pickled radish. Pickled radish is very simple. First, peel and slice it, then boil it in boiling water, and finally pickle it. Use two spoons of rice vinegar, two spoons of sugar, seven spoons of soy sauce, and seven spoons of cold boiled water. The taste of the sauce can be adjusted by yourself. Pickled like this, it can be eaten in one day. It's a pity that there was no refrigerator in that era, otherwise it would taste better after being frozen in the refrigerator.

Lin Yiyi doesn't know how to cook, but after making pickled winter melon and pickled radish today, she realized the fun of cooking. Or, in other words, the fun of cooking for someone you like.

Three days later, on Saturday morning, Lin Yiyi went to look for Brother Wang. Xiao Yu went with her, holding Lin Wudi and carrying a backpack. When they arrived at Brother Wang's house, Xiao Yu gave the backpack to Lin Yiyi, but he did not go into Brother Wang's house. The reason for choosing the early morning was that mung bean sprouts were not easy to store. If they were taken in the early morning, Brother Wang could sell them at dawn.

Seeing Lin Yiyi coming, Brother Wang immediately asked, "Do you have the mung bean sprouts?"

Lin Yiyi said, "In addition to green bean sprouts, there is another dish that is cooked. I would also like to ask Brother Wang to try it and see if there is any business."

Brother Wang was curious: "What dish?"

Lin Yiyi first took out 20 kilograms of green bean sprouts. The green bean sprouts were so tender that Wang Ge looked at them as if he saw money. Then Lin Yiyi took out another lunch box and he opened it: "Brother Wang, try it."

Brother Wang: "Is this pickled radish?" He asked his wife to bring chopsticks and took a bite. "It's cold, crispy and refreshing."

Lin Yiyi said, "I put it in well water for a while, so it's cool. In winter, you don't need to put it in well water. Brother Wang, do you want the radish recipe?"

Brother Wang was stunned: "Are you selling recipes?" He thought the other party was selling radishes.

Lin Yiyi said, "Selling prescriptions is something that anyone with a heart can research. It's just a matter of time. But for Brother Wang, the time he spends researching houses is enough to earn enough to buy the prescriptions."

Brother Wang said, "You are a smart girl."

Lin Yiyi smiled and said, "If Brother Wang wants to buy it, just pay for it."

Brother Wang thought about it. Just like Lin Yiyi said, if you put some thought into it, you can make it. It's just a matter of time. But instead of spending time researching the ingredients, he might as well sell the finished product in advance. Brother Wang held up a finger and said, "One hundred." To be honest, the recipe for pickled radish is not worth much, but who says the ingredients are worth money now? If the ingredients are worth money, the finished product will be even more worthwhile. So Brother Wang was not sure about the price of the recipe.

Lin Yiyi: "Okay, then one hundred."

Brother Wang: "You are really straightforward and courageous girl. The one hundred yuan for the recipe plus 20 kilograms of mung bean sprouts, a total of 130 yuan."

Lin Yiyi: "I'll give you another 370 yuan, 40 kilograms of mung beans and 60 kilograms of soybeans, a total of 500 yuan, right?" Because mung beans are heavier than soybeans when they sprout, she prefers mung beans, but soybeans are also good. Yesterday she went to the bank to withdraw 500 yuan as funds for the bean sprout business, and the remaining 2,000 yuan was left untouched. Xiao Yu was also looking for a house. If anyone had a house to sell, he would buy it and transfer her household registration, so that she could also eat commercial food. But at the moment, there was no house at all. It was really during this famine period, and no one would sell a house, not to mention that the housing supply in the county town was so tight.

Brother Wang: "That's right. By the way, there's meat today, do you want some?"

Lin Yiyi: "Do you have spare ribs? Bones, pig's trotters, etc." For example, pork, she prefers this. The younger brothers of the Lin family will come tomorrow, just in time to give them some bone soup.

Brother Wang: "I have half a pig. I'll leave you the bones. How many pounds do you want? The pork is 8 yuan per pound, and the bones are 2 yuan per pound."

Lin Yiyi: "...Give me a pound of pork and two pig trotters." I can't even afford meat.

Brother Wang: "I'll go cut it."

After a while, Brother Wang came up from the cellar: "One pound of pork, two pig trotters weighing four pounds, a total of 16 pieces."

Lin Yiyi: “Okay.” 130 yuan, only 114 left.

Lin Yiyi went out with the backpack on her back, and Brother Wang saw her to the door. He vaguely saw a tall man taking the backpack from Lin Yiyi. As if he noticed him, the man turned around. It was dark and he should not be able to see clearly, but Brother Wang felt that the man's eyes were as sharp as a knife.

On the way, Lin Yiyi was not sleepy at all. She excitedly told Xiao Yu about her harvest today: "Today, this recipe for pickled radish sold for 100, and 20 catties of mung bean sprouts sold for 30. I just withdrew 500 from the bank and bought all 40 catties of mung beans and 60 catties of soybeans from Brother Wang. I will sell mung bean sprouts and soybean sprouts in the future. The money can be used to buy vegetables, so we don't have to worry about not being able to afford vegetables."

Xiao-Woo: "My wife is awesome."

Lin Yiyi: "Of course, how else can I match you?"

Xiao Yu chuckled: "Yes." He only made 80 yuan a month, 20 yuan was given to his hometown, leaving 60 yuan. He was not as good as his wife.

Lin Yiyi: "Tomorrow is Sunday, and the army will be here. When they go back, ask them to bring some pickled winter melon and pickled radish to grandma and mom. These two dishes are crisp and refreshing, and they are also appetizing."

Xiao Yu's heart warmed slightly: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you give them 20 yuan a month instead of food? Will they agree?"

Xiao Yu: "That's good. Take the money back. Mom is reluctant to spend it. Keep it for the children in the future. For now, food is better."

Lin Yiyi: "Then let's exchange next month's supplies for food and let the army take them?"

Xiao Yu: "I will write a letter to my family first, and then let the army take it to tell them about this. As for exchanging it for food, my mother will definitely agree." His mother is not that kind of unenlightened. During famine, food is certainly better than money.

Lin Yiyi: “Yeah.”

…

Lin Yiyi calculated that today is Saturday, September 17th, and tomorrow is Sunday. The three brothers of the Lin family will come tomorrow, but...

"sister……"

"Sister, we are here..."

What's up with the voices of Lin Dajun and Lin Sijun?

In the afternoon, Lin Yiyi was writing a manuscript in the room, and Lin Wudi was playing with building blocks in the room. These building blocks were found by Lin Yiyi and Lin Wudi at the scrap station, specially for Lin Wudi to play with, so that Lin Wudi would not disturb her writing.

Lin Yiyi was startled when she heard the voice. It was so sudden that she even suspected that it was her own illusion. However, the three brothers of the Lin family arrived at the door of the room. Three people stuck their heads in from the door. Lin Dajun and Lin Sijun laughed foolishly, while Lin Sanjun had a cold face and said nothing.

Oh my god, it's not an illusion.

Lin Yiyi: "Why are you here?"

Lin Dajun: "Isn't tomorrow the weekend? We came early and will stay here for one night. Hehe..."

Hey, your sister. These three people really know how to pick the time. I bought pork in the early morning and planned to make minced meat and eggs in the evening. As a result... these three people actually came. If I had known this, I should have made minced meat and eggs at noon. Minced meat and eggs were Lin Yiyi's idea. It is another dish that does not require any skills.

Lin Sijun: "Sister, everyone is saying that you have earned royalties. What does royalties mean?"

The matter of royalties had been discussed before, but the three Lin brothers had never paid attention to it. In the past few days, the news that Lin Yiyi earned royalties has been widely spread in the village.

Lin Yiyi: "Didn't my sister and the Xiao family talk about this before? I thought you knew about it." She didn't hide it on purpose. The younger brother of the Lin family was also there when she talked about it. However, boys are careless and don't like to listen to gossip, so when Lin Yiyi and the Xiao family were talking about the royalties, the three of them were probably focusing on other things.

Lin Sijun: "Now everyone in the Datang Production Brigade knows that the sister-in-law said in front of others that you came to the county with your brother-in-law to enjoy the blessings, but you didn't allow your brother-in-law to help your eldest brother and nephew. She also said that we were fighting the autumn wind. This person is bad."

Lin Yiyi never thought that Qi Bobo would keep quiet. Besides, she really didn't take Qi Bobo seriously. Xiao Yu was a sensible man, so she didn't need to care about Qi Bobo. She just asked: "Did the Xiao family say anything?" Let Qi Bobo ruin her reputation?

Lin Sijun: "Grandma Xiao and Auntie Xiao said that you lived in the county town and didn't have food at home, but you gave them flour and meat every month. They also said that you earned royalties from writing articles and bought them nutritional products. So, sister, what's the matter with the royalties? Now everyone in the brigade is saying that you are a cultured person, which is amazing."

After hearing Lin Sijun say that Grandma Xiao and Qin Xiangju protected her, Lin Yiyi was quite grateful. She also explained the matter of royalties: "Royalty is about submission. I wrote a manuscript for a newspaper in the county. If what I wrote was published in the newspaper, they would give me royalties. One manuscript is five or six yuan."

Lin Sijun: "Wow, that's a lot. Sister, can I write it?"

Lin Yiyi: "...How many characters do you know? You can write after you graduate from junior high school."

Lin Dajun originally wanted to ask if he could write, but when he heard what his sister said, he thought, how many words do I know? So he gave up.

Lin Yiyi added: "Although I can earn five or six yuan for a manuscript, not every manuscript can make money."

Lin Dajun: "Sister, we understand. If you can make money with every manuscript, that's not going to work." The tone showed that he didn't believe that Lin Yiyi was that good. In Lin Dajun's opinion, if his sister's manuscript was accepted, it was just a blind cat catching a dead mouse.

Lin Yiyi: "..." This tone really deserves a beating. "But I win sometimes, and I save all the money. In two years, when you go to school, I will use it as tuition, buy you new school bags and pencil cases." This is a blank check, but the Lin brothers don't understand blank checks.

The three Lin brothers' eyes lit up.

Lin Yiyi added, "The harvest is bad now, and you won't have food to eat after you go to school, so you just have to be patient. When it's time to go to work, you should work hard and earn work points to exchange for food. I will write articles to earn money, and when the harvest is good, you will have tuition fees for school and food to eat."

Lin Dajun: "Yes. By the way, sister, we brought you something."

Lin Yiyi: "You guys brought me something else? What is it?" After the shoes and fried dough sticks, she was moved again. But besides being moved, she was also more curious about the things Lin Dajun brought.

Lin Dajun chuckled and took out the small backpack at the door: "Here."

Lin Yiyi went to take a look: "..." The basket was full of wild ginger and green onions, "Are these green onions from our family?"

Lin Dajun said, "Sister, you are amazing. This is from our family. This wild ginger belongs to Doctor Lin."

Lin Yiyi: "Why did Dr. Lin give you wild ginger? Did you ask Dr. Lin for it?"

Lin Dajun: "No, no, we can't find food now, right? We went to look for herbs and exchanged them with Dr. Lin for wild ginger. But there were too few herbs and they were hard to find. Dr. Lin said that if there were more herbs, we could exchange them for food." As he spoke, he scratched his hair embarrassedly.

Lin Yiyi didn't expect such a thing to happen.

Lin Dajun said again: "I... I did this because you like wild ginger." In fact, the three brothers' idea was to send wild ginger, which my sister liked, to the county town, and then have her give them something when she came back.

Lin Yiyi: "Thank you, you guys are awesome." She gave them a thumbs up.

Lin Dajun and Lin Sijun were laughing with some pride. Lin Sanjun was playing with Lin Wudi, but he was listening over here.

Lin Yiyi said, "You must be tired after walking all the way. I'll make you some sugar water to drink, and put the firewood you brought in the utility room."

Lin Dajun: “Yeah.” They had to bring firewood, and they put a lot of effort into picking green onions and wild ginger.

Lin Yiyi made them three cups of brown sugar water. The younger brothers of the Lin family had arrived, so she didn't feel like writing anymore. She just prepared the dishes for dinner: "Dajun, after you finish drinking the brown sugar water, come chop the meat for me. I thought you were coming tomorrow, so I bought this meat especially for you. Okay?"

Lin Dajun: "Sister, you are so nice." He drank the sugar water in one gulp, and then went to help chop the meat. He chopped the meat and swallowed his saliva.

Lin Yiyi: "Be careful with your hands, don't cut them." Her body is 15 years old, and Lin Dajun is 13 years old. A 13-year-old boy is stronger than a 15-year-old girl.

Lin Dajun: “Hey.”

Lin Yiyi: She is not good at all. I bought this meat for myself to eat, ┭┮﹏┭┮.

With three more half-grown boys, a bowl of minced meat and egg stew was certainly not enough, so Lin Yiyi decided to make a plate of green bean sprouts and pepper and salt potato pancakes. Both dishes are simple and can be made even without a recipe.

When making green bean sprouts, no one had any idea, but when making pepper and salt potato pancakes, the Lin brothers gathered around the stove, three people and six eyes staring into the iron pot, because the potatoes were so fragrant when they were fried. However, there was no pepper or pepper powder at home, only salt.

Lin Dajun: "Sister, your potatoes smell so good."

Lin Sijun: "I think it tastes good just by smelling it. It would be great if I could eat it every day."

Lin Sanjun didn't say anything, but it was obvious that he meant the same thing.

Lin Yiyi: "Study hard. When you are in high school, I will give a reward to whoever ranks in the top five in the class." She didn't say first place because the range was wider to give them some motivation.

Lin Dajun: "But it will take a long time to study."

Lin Yiyi: "So you guys should review in advance to prepare for the study time."

Lin Dajun: "Okay then."

In the evening, Xiao Yu came home from get off work and was surprised to see three young men at home. Lin Sijun enthusiastically pulled Xiao Yu aside and said, "Brother-in-law, I'm here to tell tales again."

Xiao-Woo: "Well, go ahead."

Lin Sijun: "That sister-in-law is really too much. She says bad things about my sister everywhere in the village..." Lin Sijun said a lot of things about Qi Bobao. People who didn't know him would think that he was following Qi Bobao. No one knew how he found out, but he could find out everything Qi Bobao said.

Xiao Yu's eyes were calm, and there was no sign of any emotion. He took out a penny from his trouser pocket and said, "Good job, keep going."

Lin Sijun was very happy after receiving the money.

In the evening, the Lin brothers had a full meal. They ate five catties of food each on Wednesday, which made them full of water. Fortunately, their elder sister gave them one catty of Fuqiang flour, which allowed them to eat several steamed buns. The steamed buns were made by Old Lady Ge, and they also gave Old Lady Ge two steamed buns. Oh, Old Lady Ge also made their usual meals for them, and they gave the food to Old Lady Ge, so the three brothers actually lived a pretty good life.

Lin Sijun: "Sister, this egg meat is really delicious."

Lin Dajun: "Sister, can we still eat it next time we come?"

Lin Sijun: "Sister, I feel so happy."

Taking a bite of sweet potato and a bite of vegetable, the three brothers felt that this was the happiest moment of their lives.

The next day, Lin Yiyi made rice with vegetables, which means chopped cabbage, stir-fried with oil, then added water and rice, and boiled a big pot. It was eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, the pig's trotters bought yesterday were also braised, otherwise they would go bad. So at noon, everyone had another happy meal.

After lunch, the Lin brothers were going back to the countryside. Lin Yiyi brought them this week's rations, as well as a lunch box of pickled radishes and pickled winter melons. She then said to them, "You and the Xiao family each have a portion of the dishes here. Also, this letter is for my mother-in-law. Don't give it to anyone else. Do you understand?"

Lin Dajun said: "Sister, don't worry."

Lin Yiyi said, "I'm naturally relieved that you're doing this. Be careful on the road, don't meddle in other people's business, and don't get involved when things happen. If anything else happens, go to the Xiao family to find someone. If that doesn't work, come to the county town. Do you understand?"

Lin Dajun: “Got it.”

Lin Yiyi: "Let's go."

The three brothers returned to their hometown happily. They went home first, put away the food, pickled radishes and pickled winter melon, and then took the Xiao family's portion to the Xiao family.

Early the next morning, Lin Yiyi and her family were still having breakfast when Xiao Daqiang arrived.

"Dad." Lin Yiyi hurriedly got up, poured him a large glass of cold boiled water, and then served him a bowl of sweet potato porridge, "Dad, you must be hungry on the way, come and have dinner." She made a lot of sweet potato porridge. According to Lin Yiyi's temper, one meal was enough for three meals.

Xiao Daqiang: "No, no, I've eaten."

Lin Yiyi: "Dad, you're welcome. I made some money recently and used it to buy enough food for us to eat."

Xiao Yu said: "It's true, she made some money recently, in addition to her royalties."

Xiao Daqiang was not polite after Xiao Yu said that. Besides, the food he ate at home, which was mainly soup, was not enough to fill him up. But he was also a little curious: "How does the second brother make extra money?"

Lin Yiyi said, "I can grow bean sprouts, right? I sold them and made some money."

Xiao Daqiang didn't ask any more questions. He trusted his son and didn't ask any more questions about safety and danger. Xiao Daqiang ate two bowls of sweet potato rice porridge in a row. His stomach was finally full. He didn't want to eat any more. Even if his son and daughter-in-law were polite, he was determined not to eat.

After dinner, Xiao Daqiang said frankly, "Didn't the army send us a letter yesterday? Everyone in the family read your letter, and after discussing it, we decided to take out the money to buy food. This money will not grow if it is hidden, but food can save lives, so food is important." As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from the innermost part of his clothes. The rope of the cloth bag was still hanging around his neck. He opened the cloth bag and poured out a pile of money. "This money is all sent home by you, the second son, in the past few years. After the house was built with three large rooms, there was still 600 yuan. Your mother kept 100 yuan for emergency use, and the remaining 500 yuan was used to sell food. We also know that food is expensive now, so we brought it all here."

Xiao Yu said: "Food is really expensive now. Rice and flour are 5 yuan per pound, and sweet potatoes are 2 yuan per pound. What are you going to buy?"

Xiao Daqiang: "Sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice and flour are so expensive, how can we afford them?"

Lin Yiyi: "Then let's buy sweet potatoes and potatoes. When the time comes, we can distribute more of our commercial grains to the elderly."

Xiao Daqiang: "Second daughter-in-law, you are thoughtful."

Xiao Yu said, "Okay." He took 500 yuan.

Xiao Daqiang said, "I've bought the stuff. You guys keep it here for now. I'll come and take some every month. I'll take 250 kilograms of sweet potatoes and potatoes in at a time. People won't come back to borrow them. It would be bad if someone saw them."

Xiao Yu: "I deliver it to my family every month, and tell others that it is my commercial grain."

Xiao Daqiang: "Please take care of this. I'm leaving now."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi: "Let's have lunch before leaving."

Xiao Yu and Lin Yiyi said the same thing. After they finished talking, they looked at each other. The son was not as polite as the daughter-in-law. In fact, it was not the case. Men were not so cunning and did not have so many thoughts. In Xiao Yu's heart, Xiao Daqiang was his father, his own man, and he did not need to deal with him in a complicated way.

Xiao Daqiang certainly didn't think too much about it. Rural people are always in a hurry to do things, especially those who are honest like Xiao Daqiang: "No, I'm in a hurry to go back. Your mother and the others must be waiting anxiously."

Lin Yiyi said, "Then wait a moment, Dad." As she said that, she went to organize things. There were no lunch boxes at home, as they were taken away by Lin Dajun and his friends. So she used rice bowls to pack Xiao Daqiang a bowl of pickled radish, a bowl of pickled winter melon, a pile of mung bean sprouts (some were sold yesterday, and there are some left), and a small cabbage. These things cost four yuan according to the current price. Lin Yiyi said, "Dad, I pickled these winter melons and radishes myself. Did Dajun and his friends bring them to you yesterday? I also grew these mung bean sprouts myself. You can take them all back."

Xiao Daqiang said quickly, "I brought it. Everyone ate it yesterday and said it was delicious. You don't need to bring it today. It's not easy for you in the county town. Everything costs money. We can't help you, but we can't hold you back."

Lin Yiyi said, "These are free. I exchanged the sprouts for vegetables. The amount I exchanged is not much, so please don't be polite. Besides, we eat well in the county, but my family has nothing to eat in the country, and Brother Yu is not happy about it."

Xiao Yu said: "Take it."

Since his son had spoken, Xiao Daqiang was no longer polite.

Then, Xiao Yu and Xiao Daqiang went out together. On the way, Xiao Yu said, "Five kilograms of food per person per month is too little. It should be at least 10 kilograms."

Xiao Daqiang: "But..."

Xiao Yu: "Don't worry about food. My 500 yuan can buy 250 kilograms of food, which is enough for two months. Together with the food at home, it can last for half a year. If it's not enough, I will buy more."

Xiao Daqiang: "How can I use your money? It's not easy for you to make money."

Xiao Yu: "Just think of it as two years of household expenses that I gave at one time, and use the two years of household expenses to buy food." Of course, he would not support everyone unconditionally. He should support his parents and grandparents unconditionally, but it is not his responsibility to support his eldest brother's family and his third brother's family. But he would not say that, because saying that would hurt his parents' feelings and they would feel useless, so he said that using the public money to buy food was like him making up for several years of household expenses at one time.

No matter how close brothers are, they are still just brothers. It is natural for brothers to help each other, but there is a limit to this help: helping in emergencies but not in poverty. That's it.

Xiao Daqiang said: "I will discuss this with your mother later."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Xiao Daqiang walked away carrying the basket. Thinking that the 500 yuan in his son's hand could buy 250 kilograms of food, his originally bent back straightened up. For some people, 250 kilograms of food could be life-saving food.

Xiao Daqiang left the county town at around 8 o'clock, and it was already 11 o'clock when he arrived at Datang Production Brigade. Because he went to the county town today, the Xiao family did not go out and waited for news at home.

As soon as Xiao Daqiang came home, everyone in the family came out of the main room. Seeing him carrying a basket, Qi Bocai wanted to go up and take a look, but she didn't dare to look at what her father-in-law was holding. In addition, she had been disciplined by her grandmother and mother-in-law these days, and she had to do all the housework.

Qin Xiangju: "What's going on? What are you holding?"

Xiao Daqiang smiled at her and said, "It's done. I've made a deal with the second son. His wife asked me to bring these things. She's really capable. She exchanged these things with her sprouted mung bean sprouts. One pound of mung bean sprouts for one pound of vegetables. They're living pretty well... After I got there, his wife called me for breakfast. I had two bowls of sweet potato rice porridge. It was delicious." As he spoke, his eyes became red. "The second son's wife is also a capable person."

Qin Xiangju: "That's right. Do you think any daughter-in-law can make money with a pen?" As she spoke, she took off the lid on the basket. The lid was also made of bamboo, a bit like a Taoba, but not as concave as a Taoba.

After opening the lid, Qin Xiangju saw that there were vegetables inside. "So many." Pickled radishes, pickled winter melon, mung bean sprouts and cabbage. Although they are all vegetables, it is good to be able to buy vegetables now.

Xiao Daqiang said: "My son said that the 5 kilograms of food per month is not enough for the family, and it will hurt their health if they continue like this. If they let the family eat 10 kilograms per month, hey, the couple only have 20 kilograms of commercial food, and each person only has 10 kilograms per month. But my son said that if the food is gone, he can give the household allowance for the next two years in one lump sum, and then use it to buy food."

Qin Xiangju calculated that the family still had about 500 kilograms of food, plus the next 250 kilograms, a total of 750 kilograms. There were 8 people in the family, and 80 kilograms a month would be enough for 9 months. At the end of the year, the brigade had a good harvest, and they could always share some. So she said, "Okay, then each person will get 10 kilograms a month."

When they heard that the food supply had doubled, the Xiao family members laughed. Who wouldn’t be happy if they could eat more?

On Wednesday morning, Lin Yiyi and Xiao Yu went to Brother Wang's house again, carrying 40 kilograms of mung bean sprouts. Brother Wang was waiting for her. When he saw her, he immediately said, "Comrade, Comrade Yi Yi, I have to tell you that too many people are rushing to buy these mung bean sprouts. Unfortunately, there are only 20 kilograms, which is not enough to sell."

Lin Yiyi said: "I brought 40 kilograms this time."

Brother Wang smoked a cigarette and said, "Comrade Yiyi, it's hard for you to carry green bean sprouts here every morning. Although you have someone to accompany you, who doesn't want to sleep at home at night? Don't you think so?"

Lin Yiyi smiled and said, "Brother Wang, if you want to say anything, just tell me directly."

Brother Wang said, "Last time you sold the recipe for pickled radish, so why don't you also sell the recipe for bean sprouts this time? How about that?"

Lin Yiyi said: "It's not impossible, it depends on how much money Brother Wang has to pay for it."

After Brother Wang came up with the idea of ​​the recipe, he thought about its price. He asked, "Comrade Yi Yi, sister Yi Yi, niece Yi Yi, tell Brother Wang honestly, how many kilograms of bean sprouts can be grown from this kilogram of mung beans." This is the key to measuring the value of the recipe.

Lin Yiyi did not hide it: "Some bad beans need to be picked out, about 10 to 13 kilograms."

Brother Wang took a deep breath. So much? In other words, with 5 yuan per pound of mung beans, can you earn 10 yuan from bean sprouts? Brother Wang pondered. In this way, just the 100 pounds of mung beans and soybeans in Lin Yiyi's hands can earn 500 yuan. After thinking for a while, Brother Wang said, "Sister Yiyi, I will give you 2,000 yuan to buy your bean sprout recipe. What do you think? Don't think it's too little. You have to know that if I don't provide the mung beans and soybeans, you can't grow bean sprouts. Of course, according to the current money earned from bean sprouts, 2,000 yuan is indeed not much, but the premise of this not much is that you have to have mung beans and soybeans, what do you think?"

Lin Yiyi certainly felt that what Brother Wang said made sense, and that the price Brother Wang offered was still too much, after all, she got the 2,000 yuan for free. However, "Brother Wang, do you have a house to sell?"

Brother Wang was stunned: "You want to buy a house?"

Lin Yiyi said, "I want to buy a house and transfer my household registration to receive commodity food. Of course, I will pay for the house myself." Houses in this era are very cheap, but the problem is that it is difficult to buy a house because houses in this era are all unit houses and there is no real estate market. Especially now that there is famine, who would be willing to sell their house? This is a guarantee of food.

Wang Ge understood immediately that the house in the county town was the source of food. He thought about it and realized that he did have a house, but it was empty, so it was useless to him because the commercial food was based on the number of people. He would not get an extra portion just because he had an extra house. However, "How about I give you a house and another 1,000 yuan?" After the house was transferred, Lin Yiyi could receive 20 kilograms of food a month. According to the current food price, even if sweet potatoes were 2 yuan per kilogram, it would be worth 40 yuan a month. Add in oil and meat, and it would be 600 to 700 yuan a year, so Wang Ge felt that it was not too much to deduct 1,000 yuan.

Lin Yiyi: "Okay." Actually, there was a reason why Lin Yiyi agreed so readily. Not only because of the commodity grain, but also by the end of 1961, especially in 1962, the famine had eased. By then, we had our own plots, and vegetables were cheap. By that time, vegetables were cheap, but in the city, people would never complain about having too many vegetables to throw away, so the recipe for bean sprouts was not worth the money. But Lin Yiyi sold it to Brother Wang at this price, and she didn't feel guilty, because Brother Wang could make back his investment in these two years. Even if the profit was less, bean sprouts could still be profitable when the grain shortage eased.

Then, the two talked about the house and made an appointment to view it.

Afterwards, Lin Yiyi used the money from 40 catties of mung bean sprouts, a total of 60 yuan, and took out 20 yuan of capital to buy vegetables with 40 yuan, including 5 catties of taro, 5 catties of pumpkin, 3 catties of eggplant, 2 catties of lotus root, and 5 catties of Chinese cabbage. These are all long-lasting things that are not easy to spoil. Lin Yiyi bought more because she didn't want to go here every few days.

When Lin Yiyi went out, she saw Xiao Yu standing at the door. Lin Yiyi asked, "Why are you here?"

Xiao Yu: "You haven't come out yet, I'm listening here." No movement, which means she is safe. Moreover, he has a very clear background of Brother Wang and knows that he is very measured in doing things, which is why he allows Lin Yiyi to interact with him.

Lin Yiyi: "Let me tell you, I negotiated a big deal today."

Xiao-Woo: "What are you buying and selling?"

Lin Yiyi: "I sold the bean sprout recipe, and Brother Wang gave me a house and 1,000 yuan in exchange. I'm going to see the house tomorrow. If there's no problem with the house, we'll transfer the ownership. After the transfer, I'll have a county hukou and I'll have commercial grain. This way, we'll have more food. I'll share some of it and send it back home."

Xiao Yu held Lin Yiyi's hand and said, "Okay." The word "Okay" sounded a little heavy.

daytime

Wang Ge and Lin Yiyi went to look at a house. The house was also a single-family house, but the area was not as big as their public security worker's house. The house was in a hutong, one of the six major hutongs in the county. The six major hutongs in the county were a bit old. Unlike the current family houses and worker's houses, these houses were built earlier, and they might even have been built before the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Brother Wang: “How is it?”

Lin Yiyi: "Is this house reliable?"

Brother Wang said, "The transfer of the house is done according to the proper procedures, you can rest assured."

Lin Yiyi: "Is this house yours? Will there be any trouble later?"

Brother Wang: "This house was left to me by my father. There are no other problems. If you have any problems, come to me. You know where I am. Don't worry."

Lin Yiyi said, "Okay, I'll go back to my hometown this week to get the certificate, and then come back to find you, Brother Wang, to handle the formalities." In fact, Lin Yiyi was able to make such a decision because Xiao Yu had informed her. Xiao Yu had said that Brother Wang was a reliable person. Lin Yiyi understood as soon as she heard it, because her man had checked Brother Wang.

Brother Wang said, "Then you can't start a business anymore, sister."

Lin Yiyi said: "Don't worry, Brother Wang, I still understand the rules."

After the two said goodbye, Lin Yiyi took Lin Wudi home to make lunch. Ling Chen bought 40 yuan worth of food, and she must eat well at noon. Every time Ling Chen went to trade, Xiao Yu accompanied her. Although she was doing it for their little family, Xiao Yu should accompany her, but should is one thing, and feeling sorry for a man is another. Women can't take everything a man does as what he should do. Men also need encouragement, comfort, and love from women.

At noon, Lin Yiyi made braised taro, braised eggplant, and steamed buns.