Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

Life was becoming increasingly difficult. Only three families were able to make ends meet and live in a decent-looking courtyard.

There is Xu Damao in the backyard, Shazhu in the middle yard, and Zeng family in the front yard.

The Zeng family was able to get by because there was a fixed amount of food for the family members and they had some savings to eat.

Apart from this, there was nothing else. Compared with a few months ago, the Zeng family's life was getting worse at a rate that could be seen with the naked eye.

Zeng Wangcai hasn't written a letter or sent any money home for several months. In the past, his second uncle and Xiaohu would bring some supplies home, but now they have stopped.

People in the hospital didn't know what was going on. They only heard that Zhang Xiuzhi went to the army with great difficulty, but finally came back empty-handed.

So people said all kinds of things. If it weren't for the residual influence of Zeng Wangcai who killed Jia Dongxu, someone in the courtyard would probably cause trouble again.

Sha Zhu's family lives a decent life because of their job, and he himself has no worries about food and drink.

Xu Damao's life was good because of his job, but he lived a much better life than Sha Zhu. He held the power to show movies, and no matter which commune he went to, people would give him gifts.

Don't underestimate the role of power in the hands of people like Xu Damao. Even a little bit of power can be turned into capital to make himself live a good life.

Just like Cui Dake in "Man is Iron, Rice is Steel", as a purchasing manager, no matter how difficult the situation is, it can't be a problem for him. He uses that little power to get the best of both worlds.

"This Xu Damao is flattering again!" The third aunt, who was lying behind the window, saw her husband come in and curled her lips and said, "The Zeng family is just getting by now. I don't understand why he is still so concerned about the Zeng family. That net bag of sweet potatoes must be at least seven or eight kilograms, right?"

"You don't understand. Xu Damao is not a fool." Yan Bugui entered the house, put down his pocket, and gulped down a mouthful of cold water. "Will Xu Damao do something that has no benefit? Look at whether Chen Yumei wants Xu Damao's sweet potatoes or not. She definitely doesn't want them. She has the confidence, which means there is something going on with Zeng Wangcai that we don't know about."

"So what if you know?" The third aunt said unconvincedly, "Whoever has food to eat is the boss now. No matter how capable you are, what if you don't have food to eat? I heard that our rations will be reduced next month. How are we going to live like this..."

Originally talking about the Zeng family's situation, the third aunt suddenly started to vent, and the source of all this was the rumor about the reduction in dosage.

Nowadays, life is all about planning, and how much you eat and how much you spend are all part of the plan.

According to the plan, the monthly ration for adults is 24 to 28 kilograms. For example, workers in steel rolling mills can get 28 kilograms, and those who do not do physical work can get 24 kilograms. There are differences in different regions.

But now, the quantity has been reduced again and again, to a very dangerous level.

"It might be true." Yan Bugui said with a wry smile, "I was buying food at the grain station just now, and I heard people whispering inside that this year is even harder than last year. Many places have been affected by disasters, and the harvest is definitely worse."

"This..., why haven't I heard of it before?"

"Naive, some things are impossible to say..."

Just as Yan Bugui heard, although this year's summer harvest has not yet arrived, the reduction in production is a foregone conclusion and the disaster is also a fact.

In this case, stability is of utmost importance.

It was already the hottest month of July. After getting off work, Qin Huairu looked through the family's food grain book. Although she was tired, she had to force herself to go out after seeing the situation on the book to find Sha Zhu and Qin Jingru next door.

In the Jia Dongxu incident, Qin Huairu's situation was very special. She was released later than Yi Zhonghai, but after she was released, not only was she not punished like Yi Zhonghai, but she got a job - as an apprentice in a steel mill.

It's not a replacement. Jia Dongxu's situation doesn't leave any chance for him to be a replacement.

But she just went to work. There were a lot of rumors about this in the hospital, saying all kinds of things, but no one said that she betrayed her husband. She kept this secret.

"Shazhu, Jingru, let's eat!" It was a hot day, but Shazhu's house was open, so Qin Huairu went straight in. "The food is good!"

"Sister, have you eaten yet? If not, have something to eat here." Qin Jingru greeted her warmly, "The factory is having a treat today, and Shazhu brought back a lot, do you want to take some back to eat?"

After all, the young Qin Jingru has never fought against the awakened Qin Huairu, and now she is completely submissive and willing to help Qin Huairu start sucking blood and feed the ungrateful person.

Qin Jingru planned to change it after she married Sha Zhu, but she insisted on having a job and insisted that Sha Zhu help her find a job.

But it’s not easy to find a job. Sha Zhu is not Zeng Wangcai.

"Jingru, don't worry about food." Qin Huairu sat down and said, "I want to trouble you to go back. Our family is short of food again. Go back and see if you can get some food from home."

God have mercy on me. How could the Qin family possibly provide her with food?

Qin Huairu said this deliberately as a disguised way of asking for food, because she knew that Qin Jingru would not go back and there was no extra food at home to support her.

The most important thing is that Shazhu, who is gradually brainwashed, can't stand it.

As expected, Qin Huairu successfully "borrowed" five kilograms of food from Sha Zhu, and took away a box of leftovers when she left.

Front yard, Zeng family’s home.

The Zeng family’s dinner is richer than that of ordinary families, and meat dishes can be seen. This is because Zeng Wangcai said that Xiaoqiang and Lai Fu are both growing up, and the family must ensure food for the two younger brothers.

Therefore, the bacon and fish saved from the Chinese New Year have lasted until now, making the dishes at home more oily and fishy.

But the food situation is not very optimistic.

In fact, even if the ration was reduced, the Zeng family still had enough food. However, the Zeng family did not just take care of themselves, but also had to support Zengzhuang’s grandmother, so the food seemed a little insufficient.

"Xiuzhi, don't clean up. I'll come over later. Come and talk." After dinner, Chen Yumei didn't let Zhang Xiuzhi clean up the dishes. "You've suffered a lot during this period. You didn't have anything to eat or drink, and you were asked to pay for the house repairs."

When the Zeng family renovated their house, they initially only renovated the three rooms on Zeng Wangcai's side. Later, Zeng Wangcai decided to renovate the three rooms on this side as well, but without adding furniture to them.

This meant that the project was huge and money was spent like water.

After the money left by Zeng Wangcai was used up, Zhang Xiuzhi took out her share to continue, preventing Zeng Youqian and his wife from using the old capital.

"My money was earned from him. I'll spend it if I want to, and I'll earn more if I want to. Oh, it's not good to say such unorthodox things in the future." Zhang Xiuzhi said with a smile, "The house has been repaired now, so I don't have to spend any more money. Don't worry."

Now, except for the three rooms of Zeng Youqian and his wife which are still under minor repair, the three major projects have been completed, but they are not lived in anymore. Zhang Xiuzhi insists on sleeping on the floor in the middle room.

Chen Yumei knew that Zhang Xiuzhi didn't want to live in a new house alone, so she discussed with Zeng Youqian and found a way to let her go.

"Xiuzhi, tomorrow is Sunday, you can ride your bike quickly, take these ten kilograms of noodles and a piece of meat back to grandma." Zeng Youti held out a bag, "Life is not good at home, go and bring grandma to stay for two days."

Some people thought about taking food from the village, while others thought about sending food to the village.

Grandma’s idea was the same as Zeng Youqian’s. She had been thinking of ways to store food since the summer harvest.

The most common method used by the elderly is to turn the soil.