Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

Affected by the drought, the autumn grain production in 1959 dropped sharply. In order to balance the increasingly tight food supply, the Rabbit Country issued an order to reduce the monthly food ration for urban residents, with adult men reducing their food ration by 2 jin per month and children and women reducing their food ration by 1 jin per month. With the reduction in food rations, the price of food in Pigeon City doubled, so the Jia family, who had just lived a few days, immediately fell into a new round of food crisis.

Because Yi Zhonghai had already started helping Jia Xudong, Jia Xudong was too embarrassed to ask Yi Zhonghai for help again when he encountered the food crisis this time. The key point was that even he himself felt it was unrealistic to ask Yi Zhonghai to lend him 40 yuan a month to buy food. So Jia Xudong had no choice but to persuade his mother Jia Zhang to use the family savings to buy food.

"Mom, just take out some money to buy food. If you don't buy it now, the food price in the pigeon market may be higher in a few days, and you will spend more then."

"Xudong, this money is all saved by mom with great effort. We have just finished the autumn harvest, and it will take several months for the new grain to arrive next year."

"Mom, if you don't take out the money to buy food now, our family will starve to death this month, not to mention the new food coming in next year."

Reluctant, Jia Zhang thought for a moment and said, "How about I suggest you go to your master's house and see if your master can support you a little more."

"Mom, my master now supports our family with 10 kilograms of food and 10 yuan every month. Now a kilogram of cornmeal in Pigeon City costs 1 yuan. We are short of 30 yuan every month to buy food. If it's just a one-time thing, it's okay. I will borrow from my master this month, but what should I do next month, Mom? I can't borrow 30 yuan from my master every month. No matter how good my master is to me, he can't lend our family 40 yuan every month." Jia Xudong patiently persuaded Jia Zhang.

Finally, even though Jia Zhang was reluctant, she had to take out money to buy food for Jia Xudong when the family was about to run out of food. However, Jia Zhang, who was very stingy, only took out two big black tens for Jia Xudong. Jia Xudong looked at the 2 yuan in Jia Zhang's hand and said with a wry smile: "Mom, 20 yuan is only enough to buy 20 catties. Give me a little more. Food is in short supply in the pigeon market now. It's better to buy more. Maybe the price will go up again in a few days, and it won't be one yuan per catty anymore."

Mrs. Jia Zhang didn't listen to Jia Xudong at all. Instead, she said confidently, "Xudong, this is Sijiu City, the capital of the world. All dynasties have run the capital as the best capital. According to my experience, the government will not let the grain price in Pigeon City rise unconditionally. Maybe in a few days, the government will transfer grain from other places to Sijiu City. At that time, the grain price in Pigeon City will definitely fall, so you should buy less first. Besides, it will be tiring to carry so much at once. If you encounter an inspector, it will not be good for you to carry so much grain."

After listening to what Jia Zhang said, Jia Xudong felt it made a lot of sense. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Mom, I'm going to bed first. Remember to wake me up in the second half of the night so I can go to the Pigeon Market to buy food." After that, Jia Xudong walked into the inner room.

After Jia Xudong left, Jia Zhang said to Qin Huairu, "Huairu, Mom is old and can't stay up late. Please call Xudong when the time comes." After that, Jia Zhang went to her room.

Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhang who was yawning as she walked, and quickly agreed with a smile: "Okay, I know, mom, you just go to sleep." After Jia Zhang left, Qin Huairu showed a helpless expression. Her mother-in-law was really lazy and greedy, but she didn't dare to say it. She didn't dare to say it before, and she didn't dare to say it now because of the situation at home. Since her mother's land was taken away by the newly established mass commune, she has completely become a freeloader in this family. Qin Huairu sensitively noticed that her mother-in-law Jia Zhang began to dislike her rural household registration.

Thinking of this, Qin Huairu couldn't help but regret secretly. She married to the city to get rid of the days of working in the countryside. As a result, she finally married to the city, but she met a mother-in-law who didn't let her move her household registration to the city, saying that it was useless to move to the city, it would be better to stay in the countryside and get a few acres of land. At the beginning, it was exactly what her mother-in-law Jia Zhang thought, and she gave the land she was allocated to her family to help manage it, and she could also earn hundreds of kilograms of grain a year. Who would have thought that the good life would turn into the current situation in just a few years? If she had known that it would be like this today, she would have changed her household registration to agricultural in 55, and her family would not have to worry about food every day like now.

"Xudong, Xudong..."

At two o'clock in the morning, Jia Xudong, who was sleeping soundly, was gently awakened by Qin Huairu. Jia Xudong opened his sleepy eyes, yawned, and asked, "Huairu, what time is it now?"

"Just 2 o'clock."

"Oh." Jia Xudong rubbed his sore eyes, then sat up from the kang and put on his clothes. Then he went to the washbasin and washed his face with cold water. After wiping the water droplets on his face with a towel, he said to Qin Huairu, "Huairu, you stay at home and watch the door. I'm going to the pigeon market." After that, Jia Xudong grabbed the bag of grain that had been prepared and placed aside, gently opened the door, and disappeared into the vast night.

Jia Xudong carefully came to the entrance of Pigeon City and was immediately stopped by two strong men. One of them asked in a low voice: "Are you here to buy or sell things?"

"I'm here to buy something." Jia Xudong said in a pinched voice.

"You know the rules, right?"

"I know." Jia Xudong replied quickly.

"Since you know the rules, then go in." After saying that, the two strong men made way and let Jia Xudong go in.

After Jia Xudong entered the Pigeon Market, he carefully tightened the mask on his head, as if to hide himself more deeply. He opened his eyes wide and began to carefully look for the stalls selling food in the noisy market.

Finally, he walked to a vendor selling grain. Jia Xudong deliberately lowered his voice and asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "How much is cornmeal?"

The vendor looked Jia Xudong up and down and answered casually, "Do you have a ticket?"

Jia Xudong's heart sank, but he pretended to be calm and asked, "What if I have a ticket? What if I don't have a ticket?" The vendor replied bluntly, "With a ticket, it's 5 cents per pound. Without a ticket, it's 1 yuan per pound."

Hearing this price, Jia Xudong couldn't help but frown and exclaimed in surprise: "What? Wasn't it 1 yuan per kilogram a few days ago? Can it be cheaper?"

However, the vendor was firm and responded decisively: "This is the price, take it or not!" After that, he ignored Jia Xudong.

Jia Xudong had no choice but to keep walking forward, hoping to find more affordable food. He walked through the crowd, passed by stalls, and kept asking about prices, but the answers he got disappointed him. When he had walked almost all over the pigeon market, he realized that the price given by the first vendor he met was actually the lowest.

Although he was unwilling, the reality was in front of him. Jia Xudong had no choice but to turn back to the stall where he had asked the price in the first place. He took a deep breath and said to the vendor: "Give me 20 catties of cornmeal. This is 22 yuan." Then he took out a handful of change from his pocket and handed it to the vendor. After receiving the cornmeal, Jia Xudong left the pigeon market silently, feeling extremely heavy.

"I'm sorry, if you want to buy 20 catties of cornmeal now, you have to add 2 cents, a total of 22 yuan."

"Why? When I asked you just now, didn't you say 1 yuan per pound?"

"Yes, you are right. When you asked just now, it was indeed 1 yuan per pound. But you didn't buy it just now. Now the price has increased by one cent. Do you still want it? If you don't buy it quickly, the price may increase again in a while!"

After hearing what the grain vendor said, Jia Xudong had no choice but to take out another 2 cents from his pocket and hand it to the vendor. The vendor counted the money in the moonlight and whistled towards the alley behind him. Then a man came up to the vendor, stretched out his hand to Jia Xudong and said, "Give me your grain bag!"

Jia Xudong quickly handed the bag of grain to the vendor, who handed it to the person next to him, "20 jin of cornmeal."

The man nodded, then took Jia Xudong's grain bag and turned to walk into the alley. A moment later, the man came back with the grain bag. The vendor took the grain bag from the man, handed it to Jia Xudong, and said, "It's done, you can go now."

Jia Xudong weighed the grain bag in his hand, then turned and walked home.