Chapter 189

Li Zhiguo is not very clear about this aspect as he lacks experience of rural life.

“It’s not that you can eat as you please, it’s the same as the rations in the city, it’s divided into eight levels based on age and labor force, and every household has a registration.

There were more than 200 people eating in the team canteen where my family lived. Every family got food and took it home to share.

There is little fine grain, so we eat gray flour, but there are more coarse grains and corn flour, so we eat them together..."

Jianwa knew the whole thing very well. He went back to the countryside for a blind date a while ago, but he didn't like the girl with a black face.

"pretty good."

Li Zhiguo roughly understood that, in fact, the rural areas around the capital were still okay because they were not the main areas for grain collection. The real difficulties would come next year and the year after.

Then he asked about Guangshu's situation. He was Jingru's second brother. During the Great Steel Production Campaign last year, he was mobilized to work as a temporary worker at the steel plant in Shijingshan.

After chatting for a while, Jianwa and Guangjun went to the kitchen to busy themselves. As for the ingredients, Li Zhiguo asked He Daqing to prepare them in advance and let the two brothers-in-law bring them back, which would be enough for a sumptuous meal behind closed doors.

"Uncle San, I'll take Jingru back this afternoon. Don't worry about the tuition and stuff. I'll support her."

Li Zhiguo lit a cigarette but didn't smoke it.

Because my father-in-law and my third uncle both smoke dry tobacco, which they wrap themselves in tobacco leaves. This stuff is cheap, and one and a half packs of cigarettes can be exchanged for a pound of dry tobacco.

"Hey! Listen to your uncle."

My third uncle hasn't paid the tuition since the year before last. He has to save money to marry off his two sons. As for his daughter, it's good for her to live with her brother-in-law.

"Brother-in-law, you have to take me back."

Jingru was just wandering around the door, and when she heard this, she hurried in.

"I'll take you back to live a hard life. When school starts, there will be no fine grains for sale in the school, only mixed noodles."

In fact, there were several kinds of staple foods in junior high school, including rice, white flour, cornmeal steamed bread, as well as gray flour steamed buns and sorghum black steamed buns that students brought themselves.

But now that fine grains are in short supply, they have switched to mixed noodles, steamed bread and self-brought grain.

It's much better when you're in high school, because the quantity is higher. It's even better when you're a college student, so you still have to study more.

On the contrary, nowadays primary schools only have steamed corn bread, not even mixed noodles, and the food rations for primary school students are low.

"Brother-in-law, I'm not afraid of living a hard life." Xiao Jingru wanted to go back and live with her brother-in-law.

"Hey, that's what my brother-in-law likes to hear."

Li Zhiguo smiled and asked Jingru to take Guan Xiang to eat coarse grains when he got back, while he and Qin Huairu would hide away and eat fine grains. In the adult world, nothing is easy!

"dinner time."

"Brother-in-law, it's time to eat."

There were many people in the yard, so the food was brought to the living room in the north room and two tables were set up.

Li Zhiguo naturally sat at the top, regardless of the direction, facing the gate. If it was the north house of a courtyard house, it would face north and south.

"Let's eat. Although it is a disaster year now, the days ahead will only get better and better."

He said a few words and started eating. There was nothing particularly good, just braised pork, fish with pickled cabbage, stir-fried pork liver, and egg custard, which were considered meat dishes, and there were two other vegetarian dishes.

The staple foods include white flour and mixed flour. White flour is less common and is given to children first.

There was still wine, and the commune also brewed wine using sweet potatoes or sorghum. In the early years, some villagers also brewed wine secretly and took it to the city to exchange for food coupons.

After five kinds of dishes and three rounds of wine, everyone was very happy. Others outside could not even get enough to eat, so how could they dare to eat meat like that?

After dinner, Li Zhiguo held his youngest son and played with him for a long time.

Qin Huairu was packing things for her eldest son, and Jingru had also finished packing.

Mother Qin came over and said, "Son-in-law, when Meimei gives birth, ask her mother to come to the city to take care of her during the confinement period."

"Mom, this is not good, is this your grandson?"

Li Zhiguo had considered this issue before, after all, he was the son-in-law.

"What's wrong with the grandson? Meimei doesn't have to work, so she can take care of the child herself."

Qin's mother still wants to live with her son-in-law, who is very caring, and she has said before that he will take care of her in her old age.

Besides, her two sons are in the city, so it’s not like she can’t see her grandson if she has one.

"Okay, you stay here with Chaoyang. I'll arrange for Chaoyang to go to kindergarten here."

Li Zhiguo was able to take his younger son back, but the problem was that if his mother-in-law went with him, there would be two people in his family without food. After a long time, it would be easy to figure out where he secretly got the food from.

And you can’t use your father-in-law’s house as an excuse. The rural villagers have no food at home.

So I left my youngest son here, and he seized the tail of his youth and lived a leisurely life.

"Oh, by the way, Mom, this is next month's living expenses. You have to take it no matter whether you are in the hospital or not. You can save the extra money yourself."

As he said this, he took out thirty yuan. Don't underestimate it, it's three hundred and sixty yuan a year. For some families, this is the only income.

"Hey!" Qin's mother looked happy, but turned around with a stern face and gave her daughter back ten yuan.

"Mom, just take Chaoyang with you. It won't cost you more than twenty a month."

Qin Huairu calculated that her mother had saved a lot of money over the years.

"If I can't spend it, I'll save it for Guan Xiang and Chao Yang."

Mother Qin left with a stern face. Her daughter earned 120 yuan a year from her, but she was still not satisfied.

Qin Huairu was not angry. Knowing her mother's character, she kept the ten dollars and saved it for her son to get married.

"Chaoyang, you have to stay here and be obedient. Dad will come to see you in a few days."

Li Zhiguo has no worries about separation. It is so tiring to take care of children.

"Dad." Little Chaoyang was reluctant to leave and wanted to follow him. In the end, he was tricked by a candy and went to the backyard to play.

"Dad, Third Uncle, we're leaving first."

"Slow down on the road."

On the way back, Qin Huairu couldn't ride the bike because she couldn't carry Jingru and Guan Xiang.

It took Li Zhiguo's strength, a bicycle, and four people to return to the courtyard safely. Most people couldn't do it.

"Hey, you guys are back soon, Guan Xiang, it must be fun in the countryside!"

Yan Bugui was also weaving bamboo baskets in the front yard. He and Jia Dongxu went to cut bamboo yesterday.

"Hello, Third Uncle, I didn't go to the countryside."

Xiao Guanxiang has never lacked food and clothing since he was a child, and he has also had pocket money. He has never suffered any hardship, and not only has he not learned his father's calculating ways, he can't even lie.

Seeing this, Li Zhiguo changed the subject and said, "Uncle, I made an appointment with Dongxu to go to Zuojiazhuang. I think he told you."

"You said you're going tomorrow? The three of us are not at work."

Yan Bugui paused and said, "Fortunately you didn't go to Lao Liu's house this afternoon. We had a banquet, but there was only one meat dish. I took a bite and it was gone."

"No way, my second uncle is so stingy?"

Li Zhiguo asked Qin Huairu to take the two children back first, and he stayed to chat for a while.

"No, that's not possible. There was only one dish of braised pork, one fried egg, and three vegetarian dishes on the table. There was not enough staple food, less than two servings of mixed noodles per person.

This is the worst banquet that our hospital has held in all these years."

Yan Bugui gave a gift, so it is understandable that he was the only one in the family who went to the banquet.

It was a year of disaster and supplies were scarce, but he only ate a bowl of mixed noodles, a piece of braised pork, and two chopsticks of eggs. He lost a lot.

"That's not authentic!"

Li Zhiguo shook his head. Seeing that Second Aunt had lost a lot of weight, he couldn't say much. Even if he had money, he couldn't buy supplies.

"By the way, where is Jie Cheng? Is he at home?"

"If you're at home, Jie Cheng, come out quickly, your brother is here."

Yan Bugui shouted immediately, thinking that when Jie Cheng got married, he would also host the banquet according to the Liu family's and could not suffer any loss. At worst, he could just invite Li Zhiguo alone, and then he wouldn't have to worry about the bad boy making trouble.

"Brother, what's the matter? Is there any news about my job?"

Yan Jiecheng was so anxious that he ran out wearing only one slipper.

Li Zhiguo nodded and said, "Ask your father to prepare a gift and send it to my house later. I will give it to the street cadres tomorrow. You will be able to get a job as a factory worker next month."

"Oh, that's great, brother, what factory is it?"

Yan Jiecheng was so excited that he almost fainted. He had been lying at home for more than a year and finally waited for this day.

Yan Bugui said hurriedly: "Li Zhiguo, there is really accurate news, but I went to the street yesterday and they said they didn't know how long I would have to wait."

"Uncle, of course it won't work if you ask.

Prepare the gifts, don't forget the red envelopes. I was the one who got Guangqi the job, otherwise how could he get into the steel mill?"

Li Zhiguo just wanted to make a small profit. He didn't feel much sense of accomplishment when he made a small profit from others, but when he made a small profit from Yan Bugui, he would be very happy for a while. It was like meeting a worthy opponent and a soulmate.

"Ah! It turned out that you were the one who helped Liu Guangqi get into the steel mill."

Yan Bugui was stunned. He really didn't know about this. Yan Jiecheng became even more excited and asked again: "Brother, can I also work in the steel mill?"

"That's not true."

Li Zhiguo shook his head and said, "It's another factory. The treatment is not bad. It's just outside Dongzhimen. You will know when the time comes. I have to keep it a secret. Don't tell anyone. The quota is limited."

"Thank you, brother."

Yan Jiecheng was already thinking that when he got his salary, he would eat and drink lavishly, just like Jia Dongxu, and sneak out to eat out.

Yan Bugui had already thought in his mind that leaving three yuan a month for his eldest son should be enough, and the rest of his salary would be handed over to him to save. Finally, he had made it through.

"Okay, that's it. Get the things ready and send them to my house."

Li Zhiguo ran away after he finished speaking, but unfortunately, he only caught one.

He just didn't mention this matter. The street office will arrange a job for him in a while. Yan Jiecheng only graduated from junior high school and has been waiting for more than a year. The street office will definitely arrange a job for him.

If he mentioned the new factory, Yan Bugui would also react and realize that it was a battle between two masters, so one had to be extra careful.

"Dad, go buy some gifts and red envelopes." Yan Jiecheng urged him. He couldn't lie down anymore.

"Yes, yes, we need to prepare quickly." Yan Bugui was also anxious. He had raised his son for more than ten years in vain, and finally the harvest season had arrived.

"Wait, Li Zhiguo didn't say how much the red envelope should be."

"Dad, why don't you go ask my brother?"

"You can't ask. Your brother is a liar. I'll secretly ask your second uncle and send him according to the standard Liu Guangqi gave him. Jie Cheng, you still need to learn more about these things."

Yan Bugui waited for a while before going to Old Liu's house in the backyard.

"Old Liu, when it came to the Guangqi post incident, how much money did you give Li Zhiguo in a red envelope..."

Liu Haizhong was stunned for a moment, and was about to answer, but his wife rushed to say: "I gave you sixty, two bottles of good wine, and a basket of peanuts in shells."

"So many!" Yan Bugui was a little confused. He thought it was at most twenty.

"What's the big deal? I can save it back in a few months."

Second Aunt didn't take it seriously and was happy to give the good things to Li Zhiguo.

Yan Bugui left with a heavy heart. This would cost him a lot of money. There was not enough cash at home, so he had to go to the bank.

Liu Haizhong was puzzled, "Wife, isn't it fifty? Why did you add ten more?"

"This old Yan is usually very stingy. He came to have a drink but secretly took two bowls of mixed noodles away, leaving our relatives with no staple food after drinking."

The second aunt was already unhappy, so she had to take advantage of her.

……

Before evening, Yan Bugui brought the things, also a basket, containing a bottle of soy sauce, a string of dried mushrooms, and a small bag of black fungus.

"No, Uncle San, are you using this to test the cadres?"

Li Zhiguo took out the dried mushrooms. If he remembered correctly, these were the gifts given to Yan Bugui by Xu Damao after he came back from showing movies in the countryside.

"Uncle, what's the matter with you sending soy sauce?"

Yan Bugui's face turned red and he said, "I don't have any wine tickets anymore. I gave them to someone else. But I still have this red envelope."

Li Zhiguo took the red envelope, but fearing he was being ripped off, he opened it and saw that there was actually sixty yuan in it.

"Third uncle, I didn't expect that you are usually stingy, but you are quite generous when giving money. Okay, go back and wait for the news. There will be definite news next month."

"You do the work and I'll let you go..."

Yan Bugui watched the bad boy suddenly roll up the money and put it into his shirt pocket. This was impossible.

He had no choice but to pretend to be kind and remind him, "Li Zhiguo, um, how about I help you put the money back? You need to give me a red envelope."

"Yes, it has to be put in a red envelope."

Li Zhiguo had no choice but to stuff the money back into the red envelope, but it was a waste of time as he would have to take it out later.

"Hey, I'm leaving now!"

Yan Bugui took the soy sauce and black fungus out of the basket and put them on the table, but he did not forget to take the vegetable basket back. On the way, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

It feels like I'm being schemed against, but at the same time I don't seem to be being cheated, because Liu Guangqi also gave gifts when he was looking for a job.

"Huai Ru, come here. Jing Ru, come here too, don't bring Guan Xiang with you."

Li Zhiguo protects his son very well. His son must walk the right path and not learn to be so honest.

"Here they come." The two sisters hurried over from the next room. The third uncle had just arrived, so they tried to avoid him.

"Close the door."

Li Zhiguo said this, then took out the red envelope again and said with a smile: "This is just given by the Third Uncle. Anyone who sees it can get a share. Huairu, take fifty.

Jingru, take the ten yuan and give Guan Xiang one yuan later. Don’t spend it all. Save it for tuition and stationery.”

"Thank you, brother-in-law." Qin Jingru was so happy when she got the ten yuan.

Qin Huairu was also happy to get the fifty, but couldn't help saying, "Jingru can't spend nine dollars on tuition and stationery."

"The rest is pocket money." Li Zhiguo waved his hand and didn't want to talk about this anymore.

Qin Huairu had no choice but to let her sister go first, and then asked: "Zhiguo, why did the third uncle give you money? Here is soy sauce and mushrooms?"

"As for Yan Jiecheng's work, don't get involved and don't bring it up. By the way, have you discussed the dinner with Jingru?"

Li Zhiguo gave some instructions and asked about important matters of his family.

"I told you that we will have dinner later. She will coax Guan Xiang to eat coarse grains together, and we will eat fine grains secretly. Zhiguo, why don't we let Guan Xiang eat fine grains and I will eat coarse grains."

Qin Huairu felt sorry for her son and would rather starve herself than mistreat her child.

Li Zhiguo said directly: "A loving mother often spoils her child. There is no room for negotiation on this matter. Have you ever seen what people eat at the elementary school cafeteria for lunch?"

"Oh, I'll listen to you then."

Seeing that the man was about to get angry, Qin Huairu didn't dare to mention it anymore. After putting the money away, she went to cook. When she was frying the vegetables, she added more animal oil so as not to let her son lack nutrition.

"Guan Xiang, come back for dinner soon." Qin Jingru shouted from the corridor in the central courtyard.

"I'll be right back." Xiao Guan responded, and then said to his friend next to him: "Bang Geng, I have to go back to eat."

"Guan Xiang, go back. I'll show you my candy wrapper another day."

Banggeng was just bragging about how he had saved up a lot of candy wrappers, and he looked so proud.

When Xiao Guanxiang ran home, he saw that the food was already on the table. His parents were looking at him with smiles, but their smiles were a little strange.

"Have you washed your hands? You came back so quickly." Qin Huairu said as she took out the basin, which had clean water already prepared in it.

"Mom, what delicious food did you make?"

Xiao Guanxiang was washing his hands while looking at the table. There was steam coming out of it and it smelled delicious.

"There are eggplants and lettuce."

Qin Huairu has already picked out the vegetables to buy. Life is difficult now, and each person is only supplied with half a pound of vegetables per day. A "Resident Shopping Card" is needed to go to the vegetable market.

But her family is fine, she eats in the cafeteria at noon and saves on vegetables.

"Oh, mother, is there any meat?"

Xiao Guan Xiang had already washed his hands and took a look. There were really only two vegetables.

"There's no meat. Pork is in short supply right now. It's good to have vegetables to eat."

Li Zhiguo shook his head, his son had never suffered since he was young.

The vegetable supply in Beijing is actually quite monotonous. It is the same everywhere, with few varieties. In winter, there are only the three old things: cabbage, radish, and potato.

In spring, we eat spinach and cabbage, while in summer and autumn, the diet should be much richer, including eggplant, lentils, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, winter melon and cucumbers.

This year, due to severe drought, the harvest was poor and the eggplants were only one-third of their usual size.

If we talk about the food that old Beijingers love to eat and is the most expensive, leeks would be ranked first.

"Oh!" Xiao Guanxiang didn't say anything. He habitually reached out to take the flour from the small winnowing basket, and then he was stunned.

"Mom, why is there no white flour?"

Qin Huairu said with some embarrassment: "Guan Xiang, there is a severe drought outside now. The water in the river has dried up. The grain harvest is poor and we can't buy white flour. From now on, our family will eat steamed bread."

Although it is called steamed bread, she still added a lot of white flour into it. This is double-mixed flour, and it is much softer than the real steamed bread.

"But mom, we just had white flour at grandma's house at noon, and there was a lot of white flour in grandma's kitchen.

My brother and I eat white flour every day, and I even saw my father giving white flour to my grandmother. "

Xiao Guanxiang gestured with his hands and saw the grain storage tank in the kitchen of the third courtyard over there.

Qin Huairu was stunned. How should she explain this to her son?
"Ahem...son, keep the white flour for emergencies. It's also from grandma. Well, our family mainly eats cornmeal steamed bread now.

When you go to primary school, the canteen will only sell steamed bread for lunch, so you have to adapt in advance. "

Li Zhiguo was a little confused. Although he did not teach his son the family motto that poverty is caused by poor calculations, and his son would not lie, his brain was sharp and his logic was clear, so it was not easy to deceive him.

(End of this chapter)