As soon as Yuan Shitou left, Xiaoxiao pulled Yuan's mother into the house:
"Mother, do you think we should stock up on more food?"
Yuan's mother looked at her in confusion: "Don't we have grain at home?"
Enough is enough, why hoard it?
Besides, where would we get the grain to stockpile?
"Mother, it's like this."
Look at our village's food supply these past few years; we've consistently struggled to feed ourselves.
What if some kind of Heavenly Stem or something comes along?
Wouldn't they go hungry?
We adults are fine, but the children are suffering.
Xiao Xiao dared not openly admit that she had traveled from the new century.
We knew there would be a famine and drought in the next two years.
That was the only way I could analyze it for Yuan's mother.
I'm afraid of frightening Yuan's mother. What if this gets out?
Otherwise, wouldn't others arrest him as a rumor-monger?
She knew that Yuan's mother was a smart woman who thought things through, and should be able to understand her words.
Sure enough, after thinking about it, Madam Yuan understood what she meant.
"You're right, but where will we get the food to stockpile?"
A hint of hesitation flashed in her small eyes, but she still said:
“Mother, this is what I think.”
"Why don't we go find Uncle Lin and ask him to buy us some food?"
Seeing that Mrs. Yuan did not nod, he added, "I wonder if it's possible to buy one?"
Actually, she wasn't sure herself.
Next year will be 1958.
What if there really is a famine?
She didn't want to live a life where she couldn't get enough to eat.
The original owner's past life was still vivid in her mind, allowing her to empathize with it.
Besides, she has a child now, and she can't let such a tiny child suffer along with her.
So she had to go down the mountain once.
In the end, Mrs. Yuan nodded in agreement:
"What should we say to Stone?"
“Mother, Brother Stone asked me to talk to him.”
Remember, we absolutely must not tell anyone about the little cellar.
"Maybe it'll be our lifeline from now on."
Mother Yuan nodded: "Don't worry, I won't tell."
Fortunately, a couple of days ago, Shi Tou took all the dried meat from the cellar down the mountain and sold it.
Otherwise, those women would be green with envy if they saw this today.
When Xiaoxiao went to bed that night, she told Yuan Shitou about her plans.
Yuan Shitou naturally had no objections.
He would do whatever Xiao Xiao suggested and never objected.
The next day, Fan Tiesheng killed a rabbit at home.
He spotted several women heading towards his house.
I quickly reminded Grandma Yuan and Yuan Min.
Yuan Ming deliberately made the two children, who were relatively obedient at the moment, cry.
The way she cried was absolutely heartbreaking.
It felt like someone was cutting his flesh with a knife.
Yuan Min was standing to the side with a bowl containing a little corn porridge.
I sensed that the women had already reached the outside of the courtyard.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "I won't eat this, I won't eat that!"
What do you want to eat?
There's nothing left at home now. I used the only bit of cornmeal I had to make porridge for you all.
If you don't eat now, you'll go hungry.
Grandma Yuan comforted the child while saying:
"Minmin, the child is still young and has a narrow throat, so he can't swallow."
"Grind the cornmeal a little finer, and they should be ready to eat it."
Yuan Min cried out, "Where can I find any more cornmeal?"
That's the only point; that's all.
We have no food left at all.
From now on, we'll eat sweet potatoes and potatoes.
They're so young, what are we going to do?
Fan Tiesheng, cleaning the rabbit, comforted it:
"Minmin, don't worry. How about I catch a few rabbits tomorrow and sell them down the mountain?"
"Buy them some food."
Yuan Min looked helpless: "How much can these rabbits sell for?"
Food is so precious now, and you need ration coupons to buy it; it's not so easy to buy.
Even if you buy it, how much can you actually buy?
Fan Tiesheng yelled at the two children, "Shut up, stop crying."
Look how old you two are!
All they do is pick at their food.
You two have spent all the money in the house on baby formula, and you still don't eat your meals properly.
People who want to eat it haven't even had it yet.
The children cried even harder when they heard their father yelling at them.
They seemed determined to tear the roof off.
The woman outside the courtyard heard this.
We looked at each other, then shook our heads and left.
People are worried about food, so how can we lend them any?
Forget it, I'll just go back and eat sweet potatoes and potatoes.
As long as there's food, we won't starve to death.
Fan Tiesheng finally breathed a sigh of relief after watching them leave.
Yuan Min craned her neck to look: "Have they left?"
Fan Tiesheng nodded: "I'm leaving."
Yuan Min plopped down on the stool, ignoring the still-wailing child.
"Luckily, Brother Stone came and gave us a heads-up," he said with relief.
Otherwise, it would be really difficult to deal with.
Grandma Yuan chimed in, "Yes, grain production has been stagnant for the past two years."
How much refined grain does each family have?
These people are really inconsiderate; they should be grateful to have sweet potatoes and potatoes to eat.
They were well aware of the situation in the village.
"Going door-to-door to borrow grain, isn't that making things difficult for them?"
Yuan Min pouted and said, "They all know to make sure their children eat well, but what about others? They all want their children to eat well too."
Who would have extra grain to lend out?
Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
Fan Tiesheng looked thoughtful.
He picked up a basket and said, "I'm going to visit Brother Stone's house."
He left after saying that.
The women stopped not far from where they had gone.
They felt they should ask Fan Tiesheng instead of leaving without a word, just in case his family had food.
Another round-faced woman said, "People are already scolding their children over food, how can they possibly lend us any food?"
"Who says otherwise? We all heard it clearly just now."
A woman who hadn't spoken until now tugged at them:
"Stop talking, Tiesheng is here."
The group quickly stopped talking.
It was the woman who hadn't spoken before who asked again:
"Tiesheng, are you carrying that basket on your back to cut grass to feed the rabbits?"
Fan Tiesheng said with a bitter face, "The kids at home are very noisy."
They refuse to eat anything else. I'm thinking of going to Brother Stone's house to ask if they have any extra food they could lend us.
The round-faced woman, who spoke her mind frankly, said, "Oh dear, you shouldn't go."
Their family has no food.
We all went to check yesterday; there was some left, but it wasn't even enough for their own family to eat.
Fan Tiesheng stopped in his tracks: "You went to their house to borrow money?"
"Yes, we went there yesterday."
Several women tried to stop the round-faced woman, but she finished speaking in no time.
I had no choice but to recount what happened yesterday.
Fan Tiesheng sighed: "Forget it, I'll cut some grass and go back to feed the rabbits."
Let's catch them and sell them down the mountain tomorrow.
The women didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
Fan Tiesheng was afraid of being watched by them, so he didn't dare to go to Yuan Shitou's house again.
Instead, he went up the mountain to cut grass, thinking he would go back in the evening.
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