The Beginning of Siheyuan: The Pig Killer of Qinjia Village

Chang Wei smiled, thinking that Yan Bugui was feeling bad that his ration was six kilograms less than others. This was consistent with his personality. He took out a cigarette and handed it to him to comfort him.

"Uncle, all factory workers are given an additional ten kilograms of salary, regardless of their job level. Your family members will also receive an additional four kilograms of salary, which is enough for them to eat."

Yan Bugui continued smoking, looking bitter as if he was still worried about the six pounds missing. "That's enough..."

In fact, it was more than enough. The Yan family's staple food was corn flour. Pure white flour was only eaten during festivals, and occasionally they would make some steamed buns with two jins of flour. Six people had 48 kilograms per month, plus the 4 kilograms of hair growth from two people, a total of 564 kilograms. It was good to eat 16 kilograms a month...

"That's right, uncle. As long as there is enough food, it doesn't matter how much it is. Why bother?" Chang Wei smiled faintly, then took his son's hand and said, "Okay, big son, hold your brother's hand, and let's go home."

Seeing Chang Wei and his son entering the courtyard, Yan Bugui slapped his thigh and remembered, "Oh, I was so worried about the six pounds that I forgot about the important matter."

His purpose was to ask Chang Wei if he needed a flour ticket (to be more precise, it was called a flour purchase certificate). Anyway, his family couldn't finish it all, and if Chang Wei nodded, would he not be polite?

At this moment, Liu Qing came back and saw Yan Bugui standing there in a daze.

"Teacher Yan, you're off work so early, so just go to the courtyard to notify everyone, one person per household, I have something to notify you about."

Yan Bugui came back to his senses. "Ah~ It's Director Liu, OK, I'll go right away." Then he hurriedly went to notify each household.

Those who were working had not yet gotten off work, so there were some women at home, and everyone was there in a short while.

Seeing that everyone was present, Liu Qing spoke directly. "I want to talk about something, and everyone should be able to guess it more or less. Regarding the flour issue, the government has officially issued a document. The companies where your family members work should have been notified today that there will be different amounts of additional payments depending on their occupations. For example, Teacher Yan, a teacher who uses his brain, will receive a smaller amount of only four kilograms, while the steel mill should receive ten kilograms. I won't talk about this.

I want to inform you that all residents with a household registration in this city must go to the street office before the end of the month to apply for a household flour purchase book. Starting from next month, you will not be able to buy flour without a flour purchase book or flour ticket. You must take your household flour purchase book to a state-owned grain store or a sales outlet to buy flour, and you can also exchange it for a small flour ticket for easy use.

The specific monthly standard for each person is eight kilograms, with an additional five kilograms for elderly people living alone and an additional amount for working people, which will be distributed uniformly by the enterprise.

I would like to emphasize that the amount allocated to each household must be used within the same month, otherwise it will be invalid after the expiration date.

By the way, if there are students in junior high school or above in my family, they also have four kilograms of hair growth.

That’s all for today. If there are no problems, leave it at that so as not to delay your cooking time.”

The crowd below was silent. Who could eat white flour every day as the staple food? This amount is enough.

Seeing that no one spoke, Liu Qing waved his hand. "Disband."

Afterwards, the aunties in the courtyard gathered in groups of three or four and started gossiping.

"Let those unscrupulous grain merchants sell at a high price. This time there is no loss."

"You don't know that I went to the grain store at Daokou that day and they actually sold a pound of flour for more than 50 cents. This is robbery, they deserve to be confiscated."

"I think he should be arrested and shot to death, that would be enough to relieve our hatred."

"I guess this note is only for a short while. The government intends to crack down on these unscrupulous businessmen. It's a peaceful time now, and the food we receive should be enough for us to eat..."

A bunch of middle-aged women, how could they know that this was because they had used up all the good food to pay off their debts at the beginning, otherwise, how could there be a sudden shortage of food in such a good year...

When Liu Qing got home, she went into the kitchen and started busying herself. Chang Wei was taking care of the two little ones and was too busy to cook.

After a while, He Yushui and Qin Jingru came back from school.

"Little Tianjiao, little Tianyou, your aunt is back!"

The two little guys ran forward happily, stretching out their hands. "Auntie Gugu, give me a hug."

He Yushui and Qin Jingru each picked up one and began to negotiate. "We agreed to hold them for a while, but we still have to do our homework."

If they don't do their homework well, Qin Huairu will come back and check and spank them.

Chang Wei smiled and walked over to take the two little guys. "Hurry up and do your homework. Don't delay your meal. The big devil will be back soon!"

The two girls stuck out their tongues and ran to do their homework obediently.

……

At the dinner table in the evening, Qin Huairu instructed Liu Qing.

"Sister Qing, you have to be more proactive in the flour purchase. You have to notify every household in your jurisdiction and urge them to complete the process before the end of the month and cooperate with the government in its full implementation."

Liu Qing nodded. "I have already notified them. I will ask the neighborhood committee to follow up on the details."

Qin Huairu continued. "Sister Qing, there is one more thing I want to tell you in advance. The documents for the establishment of a civilized model compound have been issued. We will notify all the neighborhood committees after the meeting tomorrow. You must set an example by establishing a civilized model compound in the compound within your jurisdiction as soon as possible. The reward for the compound is secondary. The main point is that this will be counted as merit. It can be accumulated year by year, and promotion in the future will be a natural outcome."

This is the advantage of having someone above you, you can get directions in advance and get first-hand information.

"Okay, I'll try my best." Liu Qing smiled and then asked in confusion, "Huai Ru, how come this vegetable market was suddenly included in the list of unified purchase and sale and acquired? I haven't heard of it before."

She felt a little distressed. The family's butcher shop earned at least five or six thousand yuan a month. With her current salary, she would have to work for ten years to earn just one month's salary.

"It happened very suddenly. I don't know when the Commerce Bureau made the decision in a meeting, but it was directly reported and approved and implemented."

Qin Huairu was also helpless. She was not in the same department, so she had no news at all. She didn't know until she was notified yesterday. She was also very distressed. The family lost a large amount of income.

"Well, it's only a matter of time. We don't lack money at home, so just relax and eat."

Chang Wei smiled and comforted them. He knew they were heartbroken, but it was just a small amount of money.

The Kowloon Walled City was rebuilt at the beginning of this year, and the monthly rent is several million Hong Kong dollars. The three floors of the top three gray industry sites for prostitution, gambling and drugs have just been renovated and are still under negotiation. It is expected to start at least 10 million Hong Kong dollars per month. In addition, he never asks about the money earned from smuggling white rice fish...

At this time, he could also boast in Lao Ma's words, I have never touched the money, I am not interested in money.

Qin Huairu and Liu Qing smiled at each other and took care of the children while they ate. Since the head of the household had spoken, they should stop worrying.

He Yushui blinked, looked at Chang Wei and asked, "Brother Awei, I only have a monthly ration of eight kilograms, isn't that enough for me?"

She heard from the teacher at school that urban residents were given a monthly ration of eight kilograms per person, and students in junior high school and above would receive an additional four kilograms. The staple food at home was rice and white flour, and they had never eaten corn flour or anything like that, so eight kilograms was definitely not enough for them.

Besides, the family butcher shop was acquired, so the source of income was reduced...

Chang Wei smiled and patted her head. "Why do you worry about that, little girl? It has nothing to do with our family. We should eat as we like."

"Oh!" He Yushui stuck out her tongue, lowered her head, and rolled her eyes around, not knowing what she was thinking.

……

"Alas, Awei's butcher shop has also been acquired. There will be no free meat when I buy meat in the future." Yan Bugui was chewing on a steamed bun and sighed as if he was chewing wax.

"It would be fine if the grain store was closed down, those black-hearted people deserved it, but why did they close down the vegetable market too?" Aunt Three sighed in confusion.

The four little ones in the family had no say and just had to eat their meals obediently.

As Yan Jiecheng was eating, he muttered to himself, "My parents are so stingy. We don't eat meat very often in a year. If someone else buys the shop, it's not ours..."

"Jie Cheng, you have four pounds of additional flour from the school. When you collect the flour coupons and turn them in, I will take them to the pigeon market along with the flour from home. I think we can sell them for some money."

When Yan Bugui heard his wife's words, he suddenly realized that he had discovered a business opportunity. With unified purchase and sale, grain stores and even vegetable markets were nationalized. Then everything would have to be planned. Noodle tickets were just the beginning. The necessities of life would definitely be valuable, and noodle tickets were one of them.

For example, weddings, banquets, and noodle shops and restaurants all need noodle tickets...

Yan Jiecheng looked very reluctant. "Dad, the school said that we need noodle tickets to buy steamed buns made of two jin of flour. The school cafeteria will charge noodle tickets based on the amount of flour they provide."

Yan Bugui glared at him. "Then you can't buy steamed bread without a ticket. If you want to eat two-grain noodles, go home and eat them."

"Oh!" Yan Jiecheng shrank his neck and chose to give in. He ate and drank at home, so how could he dare to say no.

Moreover, in this year's high school entrance examination, Liu Guangqi from the backyard was lucky enough to be admitted to a technical secondary school, while he was only admitted to a high school, and was outclassed. This touched the bottom line of his father. How could he feel happy that his son, a brainless, ignorant young man, was admitted to a technical secondary school, while he, a teacher and a cultured man, was outclassed?

In addition, Liu Haizhong was showing off and held a grand banquet in the courtyard, setting up twenty tables of banquets. This was simply a slap in the face.

The result was that I was beaten up and I'm still scared.

……

"Guangqi, flour is rationed and limited to purchase. You only get 12 kilograms of coupons per month. If you don't have enough to eat at school, tell your family and ask your mom to get some for you."

Liu Haizhong gave these instructions while drinking his wine with relish.

His eldest son is his pride, and he has won face by having him admitted to a technical secondary school. According to current policies, after graduation he will be promoted to a level 25 administrative cadre (level 7 clerk) with a salary of 37.5 yuan a month. His love for his son has not been in vain, and his salary must keep up.

"Thanks, Dad. That should be enough."

Liu Guangqi has gotten used to the treatment at home. He was born to be the family's favorite. In addition, he passed the high school entrance examination this year, and his treatment at home has increased a bit. He feels that all this is natural and reasonable.

Excluding weekends, there were only about 20 days of classes a month. At noon, I had a meal at school, with tickets for 12 jin, about half a jin per meal. Nowadays, white flour buns weigh 2 liang each, and I had two white flour buns for each meal. This treatment was something Yan Jiecheng looked up to.

Liu Haizhong said to the second aunt. "Look, my wife, our Guangqi is sensible. He is not like Xu Damao across the street, who runs around everywhere every day and speaks nonsense. The other day, he was learning to smoke with a group of little kids on the roadside."

The second aunt also followed her husband's lead and said happily, "Of course, when Guangqi graduates, our family will be a cadre family. Apart from the Chang family, our family will be the only one in the courtyard."

The couple sang in unison, simply entertaining themselves.

Liu Haizhong was happy to hear this. He thought that when his son graduated, he would be able to manage the cadres. His little vanity was satisfied, so he raised his hand and picked up a poached egg and put it in Liu Guangqi's bowl.

"Eat more to supplement your body and pay for tuition."

"Thanks dad."

Liu Guangqi didn't expect there would be an unexpected surprise. He ate the fried eggs happily, completely ignoring his two younger brothers who were swallowing their saliva with greed.

I thought to myself, these two are burdens. They don't know how to read people's expressions, they don't like what their dad likes, they don't study hard, they just eat and play. If you don't get beaten, who will?

Liu Haizhong saw it and seemed to be in a good mood today. He cut a fried egg into two and gave half to the second son Liu Guangtian and the third son Liu Guangfu each.

"Don't just think about eating and playing all day. If you study hard and get into a technical secondary school, you can bring honor to me. Then you can eat whatever your brother eats."

"Got it, Dad."

All the brothers had their eyes on was the fried egg. After answering, they wolfed down half of the fried egg in minutes.

As for studying, is that something edible?

……

"Lao Xu, with this ration, we don't have enough flour to eat."

Wu Yanzhi calculated the family's flour ration, 32 kilograms for a family of four, plus the additional 14 kilograms given to the father and son, only 46 kilograms for a month.

The Xu family is the only family in the compound, except for the Chang family, who rarely eat corn flour as their staple food. They only have 46 kilograms of flour a month, which is far from enough.

"I'll find a way to get it back. Flour tickets are not difficult to get. The staple food of so many workers in the factory is mainly coarse grains, which is different from our family."

Xu Fugui looked relaxed and calm as he drank his wine. With his network of connections in the factory, the face money was not a small thing.

"Mom and Dad, I only have 12 kilograms of food a month, which is not enough for school. You can give me some more when the time comes." Xu Damao cleverly took the opportunity to add.

He had a deep grudge against Liu Guangqi, who lived next door, because Liu Guangqi was admitted to a technical secondary school, and his parents would beat him up and watch him study. Thinking of him being admitted to a university, who wouldn't want their son to be successful?

After graduating from university, you will be a Level 22 administrative cadre, a Level 4 clerk, three levels higher than a technical secondary school. You will start higher, get more attention, and be more likely to be promoted.

But he was not cut out for it. Every day was a torture, especially learning Russian, which was a mystery. Fortunately, he could graduate in less than a year.

However, he had to seek revenge on Liu Guangqi for all the suffering he had endured. He wanted to find someone to help teach Liu Guangqi a lesson, so he had to treat him to a meal. They were all men in the city, and they wanted to save face, so they had to be fair...

"I don't know how much you eat. I'll give you two dollars more every month to buy groceries. I'll go back to school and ask the teacher about your performance when I have time. If I'm not satisfied, you know the result."

Xu Fugui was also envious of Liu Guangqi, the "other people's child", and he also hoped that Xu Damao would bring honor to the Xu family, so he was not too harsh and still gave him two more dollars.

He turned to Wu Yanzhi and said, "Wife, watch him review his lessons after dinner."

Wu Yanzhi also had high expectations for her son. "Okay."

Before Xu Damao could get excited when he heard that he would be given two more dollars, he was poured a bucket of cold water, and his resentment towards Liu Guangqi grew even stronger.

Xu Ling's eyes rolled, she poked Xu Damao under the table with her hand, put a pair of chopsticks in her mouth to signal, and then stretched out a finger.

What I mean is that I saw you smoking secretly, so I’ll split the two dollars in half and I won’t tell my parents.

Xu Damao's face fell on the spot, and he nodded with a resentful look in his eyes.

……

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