Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

If the girls hadn't said anything, it seemed that everyone would have forgotten that grandma's hospitalization had anything to do with them.

Zeng Wangcai jumped off the ox cart and touched Xiaohuan's head. "It's okay. I'll talk to your mother later and ask her not to beat you. But remember, you should take as much as you can eat. It's not good to take more than you can eat."

"Brother, it's not their fault." Erya from Zeng Laosan's family mustered up the courage to stand up, "They wanted to get some for me, but they forgot while playing..."

You two are just fake sisters. How can you forget about eating and play?

Fortunately, the girls are all very honest.

The incident was considered over, and Zeng Chunfang's two children, Xiao Ming and Xiao Hua, immediately became friends with them and went to play.

When he entered the village, Zeng Wangcai saw a slogan about this year's conscription at the entrance of the village. Because it was afternoon, there were many elderly people squatting under the trees at the entrance of the village, smoking and chatting.

Seeing Zeng Wangcai and his family coming back, Uncle Seven, who was among the group of elderly people, immediately stood up.

"You're discharged from the hospital?" Uncle Qi looked at grandma on the ox cart and ran over. "You said you had a stutter, is it that serious? If you can't eat, you can still have me. Next time, call me. My stomach is strong..."

Other elderly people stood up and greeted him, showing a harmonious atmosphere among the villagers.

Grandma talked to them one by one with a smile, but did not get off the car. It was not because she was not feeling well, but because she did not want to talk too much.

On weekdays, grandma seldom gossiped with them. Most of them did little work, but grandma was different. She had a lot of work to do.

Saying goodbye to the elderly, grandma said worriedly, "The weather is getting cold, and the soles of the shoes are not finished yet. When are you leaving, Xiaobao? Grandma will see if I can make you a pair of shoes before then."

"Grandma, that's not necessary. They said the army has everything. All we need to do is go there. We'll get Liberation Shoes when the time comes." Little Leopard answered happily.

After hearing Xiaobao's answer, grandma's eyes dimmed: "I'm old, no one wants to make shoes anymore..."

"What are you talking about? Just take it if grandma makes it for you." Zeng Wangcai shaved the leopard's scalp. "Liberation shoes are liberation shoes, and grandma makes cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles. They each have their advantages."

It is no exaggeration to say that Liberation Shoes are the most popular shoes besides leather shoes nowadays. Moreover, this kind of shoes is supplied first to the military and is not common among the people nowadays.

Most people now wear cloth shoes, and they use waste cloth to make the shoe shells. The soles are the most particular, and they have to be sewn stitch by stitch, and the needle holes must be dense, otherwise they will not last.

But in the summer in the countryside, most people go barefoot, and wearing shoes is a waste.

For example, Zeng Wangcai was wearing a pair of cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles made by his grandmother, and so was Zhang Xiuzhi. Her shoes had an extra buckle than Zeng Wangcai's.

"I understand, brother. I'm just worried that grandma's eyes would be damaged," Little Leopard explained, touching his scalp.

The old man wanted to make shoes for his grandson, but the grandson was worried that the old man would strain his eyes. They each had their own ideas.

When Zeng Wangcai returned to his home halfway up the mountain, he saw Zeng Laosan and Li Baotian were there.

Because the weather was not too hot, a stove was set up in the yard. Li Baotian was helping to cook, while Zeng Laosan was lying on the eight-immortals table, looking at something.

With grandma's return, the Zeng family became lively again.

"Village chief, what are you looking at?" Zeng Wangcai greeted his second uncle and second aunt and went to see Zeng Laosan. "Why is Uncle Tian not in the cafeteria? Why did he come to my house to help?"

"There's not much work left in the canteen." Zeng Lao San raised his head and said, "After paying the grain, there's not much left. Now we just need some soup, and it will be over soon. I think the canteen will soon be unable to operate, and each household may have to prepare to cook for themselves."

In fact, most families still have their own kitchens, and if the canteen doesn’t have enough food, they have to make up for it at home.

"Secretary Wang didn't give a definite answer?" Zeng Wangcai asked.

He couldn't remember clearly, but it seemed that there was a period of time when the production team's canteen was in name only. Each household went back to cook their own food, and the production team provided rations. No one had a daily ration. It was said that during the most difficult times, each person was only given two taels of food a day.

Poor people, those who work in the fields only have two taels of food a day, which can barely fill their stomachs.

"No, we are busy recruiting soldiers now." Zeng Lao San grabbed the few hairs on his head and said with a headache, "Every family wants their children to join the army, but it's difficult."

Being a soldier means having a way to make a living and a future.

So the problem becomes who should go and who shouldn’t, among those whose family conditions meet the requirements.

This does not mean that it is determined by the village. There is another level of screening in the army, but the village must pass it first. There are also indicators for joining the army.

"That's not right, village chief." Zeng Wangcai thought of Xiaobao and sat opposite Zeng Laosan. "Hasn't our Xiaobao been chosen? Is he different from others?"

Zeng Laosan chuckled and pouted at Zeng Youhuo: "Your second uncle is lucky. Secretary Wang personally instructed that your second uncle's family should send someone to join the army. Your second uncle chose Xiaobao. This is a special case."

Sure enough, it wasn't because of Xiaobao's talent...

Zeng Wangcai muttered to himself, and then he discovered that there were more and more tricks.

How could an ordinary peasant family ask the commune secretary to personally inquire about the matter of joining the army? Moreover, the commune secretary had no authority in this matter, and the army had the final say.

"Village chief, let me ask around. Do you know which unit it is?" Zeng Wangcai asked again. He wanted to find out what the trick was.

Being a soldier now is not without wars. Not to mention the domestic disputes, big and small, only four of the fifteen foreign battles have passed.

Therefore, which unit you join can roughly determine whether you will go to the battlefield.

"I don't know about that. Even Secretary Wang doesn't know. What? Do you still want to choose the troops?" Zeng Laosan joked.

"That's impossible. I just wanted to know where the little leopard went so that I can have an idea."

"It's all confidential. You can't ask."

Zeng Wangcai naturally knew it and didn't ask any more questions, but he still couldn't let it go.

Not long after, dinner was served at home, and the family, who had been hungry for a long time, had a meal together.

After the meal, Zeng Wangcai took out the bags for his two aunts. There was no high-end food in them, but only grains that were in short supply at home.

That makes sense, after all, my uncle is still here.

The quarrel lasted until around five o'clock, when the family finally went home.

Zeng Wangcai had a large family, so his second uncle's family sent them directly to the main road and took the bus back home. Zeng Wangcai and Zhang Xiuzhi rode bicycles back home.

After two days of calm, Zeng Wangcai forgot about the examinations, forms and military service and went to work as usual every day.

Because Zhang Xiuzhi had a bicycle, she had a wide range of activities. She would make a trip to Sijiucheng every day, and the harvest she got was either frogs, fish, pheasants, badgers, etc.

All of these were made by Zhang Xiuzhi alone. Although the quantity was not too much, there was some every day. She gave them all to Lin Huyang, who used them to supplement the health of Peking University's teachers and students.

On Friday afternoon, because Lin Huyang didn’t have enough things, Zeng Wangcai finally slacked off in the afternoon. He asked for leave but was not granted it, and because Zhou Hongbo was not there, Zeng Wangcai went to the moat to “fish”.

He, Zhang Xiuzhi, and Lin Huyang agreed to catch some fish this afternoon. Not much, just three or four hundred kilograms would be enough.

At around four o'clock, Zeng Wangcai and the other two met at the agreed place. Then Lin Huyang pulled the fish on a tricycle and left amid the envy and jealousy of the fishermen by the river.

Zeng Wangcai jumped onto the back seat of Zhang Xiuzhi's bicycle. In addition to catching fish, they had something else important to do today.

Huang Liang, one of Zeng Wangcai's iron triangle, was bullied not long after school started.