Another aunt asked, "Are your relatives married?"
"Auntie, I don't know either," the captain's wife asked Xie Yun, "Do you have enough firewood at home?"
"It's cooked enough, auntie. The cabbages will be harvested in a few days. I want to pickle some sauerkraut. Can you teach me, auntie?" Xie Yun said a little embarrassedly.
When the captain's wife heard this, she said, "That's nothing. I'll teach you when you're ready to make pickled cabbage. It's easy to learn. Do you have a pickling vat?"
"I don't have a jar yet. I'll go buy one during my break."
"You don't have to go. Just tell the old man Wang who drives the cart, give him the money for the jar and ask him to bring it back for you." said the captain's wife.
"Okay, I'll go after I'm done," Xie Yun said as she rubbed the corn kernels. It had only been a while since her hands started to hurt. Sigh... she switched hands and continued. When she got home at noon, her hands were red and sore. She quickly ate and applied some ointment. She continued rubbing the corn kernels in the afternoon, working for three days before she finished.
The old leader in the military office in Beijing looked at the things on the table and smiled. This kid really never takes advantage of others.
After paying the grain tax, the village had a two-day holiday before distributing the grain. Xie Yun asked the cart driver, Uncle Wang, to bring back a large vat. She chopped the cabbages at home and asked Carpenter Yang to make four large wooden troughs. She placed them in the west room, filled them with soil, and sowed some green vegetable seeds so they would have vegetables to eat during the winter. She was really clever! Give herself a pat on the back.
In the afternoon, Xie Yun invited the team leader's wife to come over to teach her how to pickle sauerkraut. After pickling the sauerkraut, when the team leader's wife left, Xie Yun grabbed a handful of dried bean curd sheets and asked her to go back and mix them with the food.
The day of the grain distribution was particularly lively, with smiles on everyone's faces. They had worked so hard for this day. The grain was distributed first to those with the most work points. Fine grains were rarely distributed, and almost all the requests were for coarse grains. Those who were given more coarse grains could eat at least 60% full with wild vegetables. Xie Yun was also in a good mood when she saw everyone's happy smiles. Although she didn't have many work points, she was still happy.
As I was watching, I heard the aunts next to me say that other production teams didn't have much food left after paying off their debts this year, and they didn't know how they would survive this winter.
As Xie Yun listened to them talking, she recalled how many people had starved to death in recent years due to the drought in the land.
The people from the Youth League Institute also came. When they saw Xie Yun, they nodded to each other, but had no intention of chatting. Wang Hong was still as arrogant as ever.
The educated youth were the last to receive their rations. The old ones were fine; if they ate sparingly and added some wild vegetables, it was enough. The new educated youth, however, were not so lucky. They had only just arrived and were not very productive, earning few work points. After paying back the food they had borrowed from the production team, there was not much left. Xie Yun, having bought her own rations, received some, but it wasn't much. She earned two work points a day for collecting pig grass, and she earned more during the autumn harvest.
Xie Yun asked for less corn and the rest of the sweet potatoes. When Xie Yun couldn't carry it all at once, she put the bag next to the team leader. The team leader happened to have some work to do, so she asked him to help her. After delivering it, she came back and carried it away.
After the grain was distributed, the women had less work to do. They could stay home to tend to their own plots, gathering the cabbages, radishes, and potatoes and storing them. Every household here had a vegetable cellar, where the harvested vegetables and grain could be stored for a long time. Xie Yun also pickled some pickles and salted vegetables at home.
Xie Yun still spent her days collecting grass for the pigs, hiking in the mountains, and reading TV shows or novels. Suddenly, the weather turned cold, and the team decided to slaughter the pigs. Everyone gathered to watch the slaughter, eat the butcher's dishes, and divide the pork. Xie Yun stood closer to the aunts, listening to their gossip.
"Have you heard? In our county, many brigades received a hundred or so kilograms of grain per household after paying their public grain tax. How are we going to survive this winter?"
"Our team is still the best. At least everyone survived."
"My daughter-in-law's family has come to borrow food twice."
Xie Yun listened, thinking to herself that she had a lot of food in her space. She wanted to help others, but how to get it out was a problem. She didn't dare go to the black market described in the novel for fear of being robbed. If she didn't go to the black market, she couldn't get so much food out anywhere else. She wouldn't be able to withstand the investigation. Oh...
After eating the pig-killing dish, I bought a rack of ribs and four pig's trotters and went back.
After I got home and put my things away, I was still thinking about food. After thinking about it, I decided to go to the black market.
The next morning, she packed two pears and went to the captain's house. When she arrived, she saw the captain's wife making cotton shoes. "Auntie, are you busy?" The captain's wife smiled and said, "I have nothing to do. I'm making two pairs of cotton shoes for winter. Come and sit down."
Xie Yun sat down and took out two pears. "Auntie, I bought these yesterday. They're quite delicious. I'll give two to you and the captain to try."
"What are you doing with this? Take it back and keep it for yourself."
Xie Yun said, "Aunt, just take it. I have something to ask you. If you don't take it, I won't be able to speak."
"Kid, if you have anything to ask, just ask."
Xie Yun asked quietly, "Auntie, do you know which black market here is safer?"
The captain's wife was shocked and said, "Why are you asking this? You can't go. The crackdown is strict now."
"Aunt, I got less food and want to buy some, otherwise I won't have enough to eat. Just tell me, I just want to find a safe place to buy some food." Xie Yun looked at the captain's wife pitifully.
The captain's wife looked at Xie Yun and thought about it. The little bit of liquid Xie Yun earned wouldn't last long. After thinking for a while, she whispered, "I heard that the ones in our town are not very safe. Several have been arrested. The one in the east of the county is safer, but you still have to be careful. If you see something wrong, run away."
"I see. Thank you, Auntie, you've been so helpful," Xie Yun said gratefully. After chatting for a while, she went home. She thought about the cosmetics in her space and how she could put on some makeup. After all, she was from the 21st century, so who doesn't know some magic? Even if she doesn't understand the essence, she should know the basics. She decided to go tomorrow and pack up the things she'd be selling tonight.
The next morning, after breakfast, we set off. After a bumpy ride, we finally arrived at the county. We first found a black market to inquire about prices. After searching for a long time, we saw a stall selling cornmeal. When we asked, we found out it was 1 yuan per pound. How expensive was that?
The current price at the grain station is 0.23 yuan per catty of rice, 0.18 yuan per catty of white flour, and 0.1 yuan per catty of whole grains. Cornmeal on the black market is 1 yuan per catty. Come to think of it, it's true. There's no demand for it right now, so it's good to have a share. I looked around and left, finding a deserted alley and entering the space.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
