Zhang Defa raised his hand again to suppress the noise, and waited until the crowd quieted down before continuing, "The reason we finished the calculations so early this year is thanks to Accountant Li and Yan Zhiqing. Let's all give them a big thank you!"
Everyone was familiar with Accountant Li, so everyone's eyes fell on the group of educated youth standing on the side, and they all started applauding.
Yan Xudong pushed up his glasses, bowed in the direction of the brigade leader, and then bowed to the villagers sitting below. "This is what I should do."
Qiu Xiaohuan stood aside with her head held high. She enjoyed the astonishing and envious looks of these rural people very much and felt that she should live under such looks.
"The harvest is good this year," Accountant Li read from the sheet of paper he'd calculated earlier. "Ten work points are worth half a pound of grain! Converted into money, that's 1.5 cents. We'll also share in the money the village earns from selling by-products at the market this year."
Everyone was very excited when they heard that ten work points were equal to half a pound of grain. Last year, according to calculations, thirteen work points were required to get half a pound of grain.
"Next, the scorekeeper will call out everyone's number. Those who hear your name, please prepare your things and come up to sign to receive your money and food!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd cheered. Zhang Defa and Li Tiegang stepped aside, leaving the table to the scorer, accountant Li, and Yan Zhiqing who came to help.
The scorer stood beside the table with a notebook and began to read out the numbers to everyone. After confirming that they were correct, one person from each family came up to sign.
Some families have many strong laborers and children, so they get more food. At this time, even if a baby is young, the team will give him a share of food rations. Therefore, people often say "It is better to give birth to meat and eggs than to work hard or slowly." This means that the more children you give, the more you get. Some families with many children get more than two strong laborers, and even have a surplus that can be divided into money.
Some families are lazy or have a small population, so they get less food. The production team does not force you to work, but if you do not work and earn work points, you will not get any food. If you are not starving to death, you don't have to work.
The lazy man Bao Jinshan is one of them. He used to be supported by his mother and sister. Later, when his mother passed away, he relied on his wife for support.
He would occasionally go to work, but whenever he did, he would slack off, aching here and there, never making it through a full day. Later, when Tian Cai arrived, he knew doctors wouldn't dare feign illness, so when he did go to work, he would slack off in the fields. While others would spend a morning pulling weeds from an acre of land, he could take two or three days, and even then, he couldn't pull it cleanly, often pulling up wheat seedlings as well.
Tian Cai saw the man who lent her the bamboo basket among the people queuing up to receive food. He was tall with a straight back, and he was a head taller than everyone else wherever he stood.
"Tian Cai."
Tian Cai was listening to Luo Xiuyan gossiping with her when she suddenly heard her own name. She was stunned and thought she had misheard.
He looked up and saw Zhang Defa nodding at him, then he walked forward with the bamboo basket.
Li Tiegang also looked up and glanced at her to see what the new doctor looked like.
It took more than a month after Tian Cai arrived for the autumn harvest, which took half a month. As mentioned before, the work points were calculated based on five points on weekdays, and if the autumn harvest was good, ten points would be awarded per day. Therefore, Tian Cai gained a total of 315 centimeters in more than a month and a half.
The scorekeeper was from Kaoshan Village. After he finished speaking, he explained to her the composition of the work points, fearing that she would be unhappy because the points were too few.
Tian Caike was not unhappy at all. She thought that she could only be calculated based on one month. After all, she was busy cleaning the house in the first few days after she arrived. Although her 315 work points were not enough compared to other families who could easily earn thousands of work points, she was already very satisfied.
Ten work points can be exchanged for half a pound of grain, which is equivalent to 1.5 cents in cash. Work points are not given throughout the year. Work points are given when there is work, and no work points are given if you do not work during the slack season.
Tian Cai was given work points on weekdays because he was the village doctor, but they were not high. Others worked when there was work, and they were given work points for the work. For example, if there was weeding work in the morning, they would get four centimeters if they did it, but nothing if they didn't. There were almost no opportunities to earn work points in winter. Last year, they also worked hard to dig a canal before the commune froze and earned a lot of work points.
Tian Cai had to pay back the grain she had owed the brigade when she first arrived, and the money she owed the brigade for repairing her house had to be deducted from the money. After adding all the money together, she could only get two kilograms of grain.
When this number came out, Tian Cai looked at the bamboo basket and several cloth bags in her hands awkwardly. It turned out that she had thought too much. She had forgotten that she owed the team food and money before. This time she really needed to exchange food with others.
The villagers smiled kindly when they saw Tian Cai carrying back two kilograms of grain. Dongzi shouted, "Don't be afraid, Doctor Tian. We have a lot of grain, and we'll trade it with you when the time comes!"
"My house can also be changed!"
"My family can do it too!"
At once, everyone came to comfort her. Tian Cai's just-lost mood was instantly healed by this warm concern, so she smiled and said mischievously, "I'll remember you guys. I'll come to your house to exchange it tomorrow. If you don't change it for me, I'll refuse to leave your house!"
"Hahahaha," Dongzi's mother laughed, "Just stay at my house and don't leave. My family just happens to be in need of a daughter-in-law!"
Tian Cai and Dong Zi looked at each other and shouted in horror, "No!!"
"Ha ha ha ha"
The villagers laughed out loud at the two men's lively appearance. This was the first time they saw the steady Dr. Tian being so funny. But when you think about it, Dr. Tian is only sixteen years old this year and is at the age of being lively.
In a blink of an eye, more than half of the grain had been distributed. There were still many people on the threshing ground. After receiving their own grain, everyone couldn't help but look at how much others had received. Those who had more than themselves were envious for a while, and those who had less than themselves wanted to show off to others.
The educated youth were also given some food. The group leaders calculated the amount for them according to the date they started working. Except for He Yuzhen who took leave due to a leg injury and Qiu Xiaohuan who took leave due to illness, most of the others finished the work. Qiu Xiaohuan got the least, not much more than Tian Cai.
Liu Yanqing was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling as she carried more than ten kilograms of grain. She had earned more than ten kilograms of grain in just half a month. Together with Liu Yanlin's, it was almost thirty kilograms. The two of them would use the money to exchange some with the villagers, and if they saved some, they wouldn't have to worry about food this winter.
Tian Cai did not go home directly. She had to continue listening to see who had more food so that she could talk to them about exchanging food. She had brought money with her when she came here.
Seeing this, Luo Xiuyan rushed over and said, "Don't exchange yet, wait for me," and ran away. Tian Cai watched her turn here and there in the crowd and walk to the front. She whispered to her father for a while, pointing in Tian Cai's direction. After a while, she came back and said to her excitedly, "I just told my father to ask for more food, and then I will exchange it with you!"
"That's great!" Tian Cai couldn't help but step forward and hug Luo Xiuyan, "You helped me solve a big problem!"
Luo Xiuyan's cheeks flushed, and she felt a little embarrassed when she was suddenly hugged. "What's the problem? You even cured my eczema. But my family doesn't want to exchange it all for money. My dad still wants some pills."
"Okay!" Tian Cai agreed readily. "Any pill I have will do. Even if I don't have any, I can still make it."
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