Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

Rural area He's yard

"Grandpa, is the big pot meal delicious? Hehe." He Lai looked at Grandpa He and said with a smile.

"It's OK. It's pretty good. I can eat enough every day and have some meat occasionally."

Mr. He smiled and said, "Now it is a people's commune, and my village has become a production brigade. We emphasize collective labor and collective meals, which feels good."

"Yes, Xiao Laizi, I will take you to eat it in the evening. It is so delicious." Old Mrs. He also had a smile on her face.

"Grandpa, grandma, let's go inside and talk." He Lai decided to talk to the old couple first.

When the old couple saw that He Lai’s expression was not right, they quickly followed him into the house.

"What's wrong, Xiao Laizi? Don't scare your grandma." Old Mrs. He asked He Laifa as soon as she entered the house.

"Grandpa, Grandma, do you think the wheat harvest will be good this year?"

He Lai asked, He Lai knew that there was little rain this year and the situation would definitely not be good.

"It may not be very good for us, but the head of the people's commune came over and said that it was reported in the newspaper that other places had a bumper harvest, with tens of thousands of kilograms of grain per mu, and there was so much grain that we couldn't eat it all."

"Grandpa, do you believe it? You are in the fields every day. You know better than anyone how much the fields can produce. How can you believe such words?"

He Lai asked back.

"But this is what the newspaper said. I watched them read it. How dare they lie to me?"

Mr. He was a little panicked. Yes, is it really possible to produce tens of thousands of kilograms per mu?

"What should I do? I can't go hungry. All the food at home has been handed over, and I'm not allowed to grow mushrooms at home. What should I do now?"

Old Mrs. He was also panicked. It was as if the sky had fallen. After all, they had just started to live a comfortable life, and now famine struck. How could they bear it?

"Grandpa, grandma, there shouldn't be any problems in the short term. We should eat and drink as usual, but we have to secretly store food and make sure no one finds out. I estimate that problems will become apparent in a few months."

He Lai immediately gave his suggestion.

"Okay, Grandpa got it. Xiao Laizi, will there really be no food?"

Mr. He still didn't believe that the newspaper would lie, so he asked again.

"Grandpa, let me tell you the truth. People have starved to death in many places, including our Hebei Province. You can ask around. Some places have already seen people fleeing famine. Even the food supply in the old city has gradually become less.

You can’t believe what the leaders say now. They only care about how much food you can hand in, and they don’t think about your future life at all.”

He Lai made the problem sound more serious, fearing that the old couple would not believe him.

The old couple were dumbfounded. They believed that their grandson would not lie to them and would only come to tell them if something went wrong.

"Well, we'll talk about this tonight. I'll go to work first, and you stay at home with the old lady, little Laizi."

Old Man He took a deep breath. He had experienced many famines and had encountered everything.

……

In the evening, both the He and Wu families sat in the house, wondering what had happened. Old Master He was seldom so serious.

"Xiao Hu, go out and keep watch. If you see someone coming, knock on the door and call for help. Got it?"

Mr. He spoke.

"Got it, Grandpa." Xiaohu responded and walked out.

"Old Man He, what's going on? Why is it so serious? Did Xiao Laizi bring any news?" Old Man Wu spoke.

Mr. He sighed and repeated what He Lai had said.

Everyone was shocked! What! Famine!

"Xiao Laizi, are you sure? This is a big deal!" Old Master Wu was obviously also panicked.

"Grandpa, it's true, 100%. High yields are all lies, they are just a result of comparisons among villages. There is no such thing. There is no such thing as a yield of 10,000 catties per mu.

There is no such a large amount of grain nowadays. At most, there are only 300 to 400 kilograms, not 10,000 kilograms."

He Lai said it directly.

Now everyone was panicking. What should they do? At first no one believed it, but they couldn't stand what others said.

"Don't panic. If that's the case, let's just secretly hide some food at home. Go to the black market in town and buy some every time. Don't let anyone find out."

Mr. He ordered.

Everyone nodded.

"Xiao Laizi, you have to ask your father for help. He can't just watch us starve to death." Uncle He Zhong said.

"What nonsense! Did I starve you to death? Get out." Old Master He got angry, and the uncle stammered out of the house.

"It's okay, Grandpa. It's my duty to help. We are family. My dad's salary is only over 100 yuan, which is too much to spend. I'm graduating soon, and my salary will be nearly 40 yuan by then."

He Lai explained.

"Hey, Xiao Laizi is really capable. He's already 40 just after starting working. Hey, look at the rest of you. None of you can read. You're thankful that you can graduate from elementary school. I was counting on the girls, but I didn't expect that they could only finish junior high school at best."

After Mrs. He finished speaking, the children all lowered their heads.

He Lai was also embarrassed. If he had known Wu Juan's job, he should have given it to his family. Oh, if only he had been born a few years earlier.

“Grandpa, grandpa, although this is the case, there is no need to rush. It will take at least a few months for this matter to really affect the problem of eating.

We can slowly build up our stockpile later. The reason I told you now is because I’m afraid you won’t be prepared by then.”

"Okay, Grandpa got it. We can take care of the rest ourselves. We have saved some money over the years, and your father has also given us some. It's enough, don't worry."

Old Man He took a long puff of his cigarette, and He Lai didn't stop him. Smoking really can relieve stress now.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep, my dear, we will work out how to do it later."

Mr. He put down his pipe and said.

"Okay, go to sleep first. We still have to go to work tomorrow. Everyone, keep your mouths shut. This is a matter of life and death. Don't tell anyone."

After saying this, Mr. Wu left with his family.

……

This is how society is, and the farmers are always the ones who suffer. In fact, He Lai knows that it is not that there is no food, but that all the food has been handed over.

Part of it was eaten up by some officials at the grassroots level, and part of it was used by the state to give away billions to support other countries, leaving the farmers at the grassroots level with no way to suffer.

Every place falsely reported grain production, which led to high taxation and forced the farmers to hand over all their food rations, which caused the great famine to spread.

When the top leaders read the reports, they thought there was plenty of grain and it was wasted, so they even made jokes about planting less and harvesting more.

It was so sad that by the time they found out, it was too late. In three years, tens of millions of people died of starvation, and countless more fled to escape famine.

……

He Lai was powerless to do anything. This was a major trend and there could be no objection, otherwise he would be arrested and criticized.

I can only hope to protect my relatives and friends.