"Indeed, Mianmian has helped us so much; she's practically our benefactor. We not only have food for the winter but also firewood. We've made plans; we'll send some things home in a few days. I wonder how things are back home."
"Who says otherwise? But is it really okay to send it back like this now? Should we write a letter and ask first?"
"You're right. Let's write a letter and ask first. There's no rush."
Even though he went up and down the mountain with Chen Enpeng and his brother every day, he would still secretly put some food in his storage space, which meant he had less firewood. After all, storing firewood for too long would be a hassle when it came time to plant crops next spring, wouldn't it?
It didn't snow until the last day of October, but the sky had started to darken. The elders said that university was coming soon. They also urged those who hadn't stocked up on firewood to do so quickly. Even the brigade cadres were leading people to check every household to ensure they had enough dry firewood. They were also checking every house, worried that a heavy snowfall might collapse them. Injuring people would be a minor issue compared to the potential for death. They'd heard that people were frequently killed by snow every day because their houses hadn't been properly checked.
When Gu Zhengrong arrived at our row of educated youth quarters with the village militia, he saw that the three courtyards were piled high with firewood. The woodshed was simply too small to hold so much firewood. Seeing this, Gu Zhengrong said, "You've prepared quite a lot of firewood; it shouldn't be a problem for winter. However, you must cut some dry grass before it snows to cover this firewood. Otherwise, once it snows, the dry firewood will turn wet, and it will be difficult to burn."
"Understood, thank you for reminding me, Captain."
"Since your house was newly built this year, you don't need to check the roof. However, you must clear the snow promptly after it snows, understand?"
"We understand," the captain said.
"Alright, you guys get back to work."
"Okay, Captain, take care."
The three of us looked at each other, and finally Chen Junjie said, "Why didn't we think of putting a layer of dry grass on top of the firewood?"
"Who can argue with that?"
"What are we waiting for? Let's hurry! Grab our baskets, bags, and carrying poles, and get up the mountain!"
Okay.
So this time we didn't venture deep into the mountains; we started cutting hay at the foot of the mountain. We filled bags and baskets until we felt we couldn't carry any more. We didn't care how much we collected, and after two days of cutting, it started to snow. Luckily, before the snow, we had cleverly laid a thick layer of hay on top of the firewood to prevent it from getting wet.
The heavy snow had been falling for four days and three nights. On the morning of the second day, after breakfast, I started shoveling snow. Hearing the commotion, Chen Enpeng from next door came out and called Chen Junjie out from his yard to help.
Chen Junjie originally intended to go up to the roof, but he didn't let the two of them go up. Instead, he said, "You two aren't skilled enough. You should do it yourselves. I'll also help you clear the snow off the roof so that if anything happens, you can use the momentum to get down. Can you two do that?"
Chen Junjie and Chen Enpeng exchanged a glance, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm afraid that won't work."
"That's settled then, but I'll only help you this once. You'll have to figure out your own way in the future." After saying that, he went up to his own roof.
Chen Enpeng glanced at my family standing to the side. Realizing he couldn't always rely on others, he said, "Okay."
When Chen Junjie heard Chen Enpeng say it was okay, he asked, "Pengzi, do you have any ideas?"
"There's no real solution, but I saw a nice ladder at Mianmian's house. We could ask the carpenter to make one that's a bit taller than hers, so she could sit on it and shovel snow without any problem."
What kind of ladder?
"A ladder in the shape of a trapezoid"
"Will it work?"
"Is it okay? Can you see Mianmian standing on it right now?"
"That's good. If you need one, order one for me too."
"Can"
I did have the carpenter make this ladder for me, but I had to tell him how to do it before he finally made it.
On the first day, the brigade leaders didn't come to check if everyone had cleared the snow, but on the second day they started checking house to house. The three of us just shoveled as long as the snow wasn't too heavy. The second time we shoveled, Chen Enpeng borrowed my ladder and shoveled it for himself too. When the brigade leader and the others came to check, there wasn't any snow on the roofs, so things were relatively easier. He was worried that the three kids wouldn't know what to do, and if something happened, it would be terrible. Also, one of them was the daughter of his benefactor, and he felt he had to take care of her no matter what. He announced, "After the snow stops, distribute some of the grain."
"Really"
"Of course it's true."
When the snow stopped, the brigade went door-to-door to announce that the grain would be distributed. After receiving the notice, the three of us took the bags we had prepared and went to the brigade headquarters to line up.
After the establishment of the People's Commune in 1958, there were regulations for the distribution of grain harvested by the production teams: first, enough seeds were reserved, then the national quota was completed, and finally, reserve grain and feed grain were reserved. The remaining grain was distributed according to the ratio of 7:3 labor per person. Oil crops were distributed according to population. A preliminary distribution plan was made during the wheat season, and a final distribution plan was made at the end of the year. After the plan was made, it had to be approved by the commune. If it was not approved, it had to be made again. Regardless of the season, the plan had to ensure that the families of martyrs, veterans, teachers' families, poor households, barefoot doctor families, and households that needed to eat special grain were given a share of the team's average ration. This was the rule.
Furthermore, when the production team distributed grain, they followed the principle of "delivering enough to the state," "leaving enough for the collective," and "distributing the remainder according to regulations."
"Delivering enough to the state" meant prioritizing the selection of high-quality grains, and delivering them to the commune's grain depot in precise quantities, including wheat, rice, corn, sorghum, and soybeans, at the designated national prices. This was what was commonly referred to as "public grain."
"Sufficient reserves for the collective" refers to the production team's own grain reserves. These include: seeds; feed for cattle, horses, donkeys, and mules (mostly low-grade coarse grains); and provisions for entertaining guests (mostly refined grains and soybeans). These provisions were used to support agricultural workers from various regions from the start of spring planting until the end of the autumn harvest.
"The remainder will be distributed according to regulations." After the public grain and collective reserve grain are distributed, the remaining grain will be allocated according to the regulations of each region. First, "work-point grain" will be calculated, prioritizing the rations for the labor force, and the remainder will be distributed equally among the entire team's population. The upper limit is 520 jin (approximately 215 kg), and if that's not enough for 360 jin (approximately 180 kg), the minimum is 360 jin (approximately 180 kg).
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