Siheyuan: Yan Jiekuang's carefree life

"Dad! Mom! What are you talking about?!" Just then, Su Zihui's mother Ding Jinan walked in from outside. Miao Huiping asked curiously, "Why did you come back so early today?!"

Ding Jinan replied, "I had a day off right after the meeting this morning." Then he saw the things on the coffee table and asked, "Where did all these things come from?!"

Miao Huiping replied with a smile: "Xiaohui sent it from where she was sent to work in the countryside. Here are two letters for you."

Ding Jinan took the letter, looked at the signature on it, and said, "Dad! Mom! I'm going back to my room first." After that, Ding Jinan took the letter and went straight upstairs.

Watching Ding Jinan's figure disappear around the corner of the stairs, Su Zhiguo sighed and said, "It's really hard for Xiaonan."

There was no conversation that night. The next morning, as the brigade's broadcast sounded, all the men, women, and children in the village, except those who went to work in the sugar workshop, gathered at the entrance of the brigade's grain depot. According to past practice, Gao Junsong and Tian Dazhuang exchanged a few words, and then every household began to exchange grain, money, and various bills according to work points. Because the sugar workshop was opened this year, the brigade got a lot of bills from the supply and marketing cooperative. Except for the bills for the three major items such as bicycles, other bills were sufficient.

After more than four hours, around ten o'clock in the morning, everyone in Qingshan Brigade had received their work points, and it was the turn of the educated youth. Except for the educated youth who came during the busy farming season, each of them only received a few hundred work points. The other educated youth also accumulated thousands of work points.

After Gong Liang and other old educated youth were issued the bonus, it was Yan Jiekuang's turn. When the villagers who stayed behind to watch the fun heard the accountant Wu Haiwang report that Yan Jiekuang had 2,700 work points, they were all dumbfounded. They all knew that Yan Jiekuang was capable, but they didn't expect him to be that capable?!

This year, the work points in Qingshan Brigade are very valuable. Ten work points can be exchanged for 162 cents. Yan Jiekuang's work points can be exchanged for yuan. Qingshan Brigade is the main rice producing area in Northeast China. The price of rice is cents per pound, and no tickets are required. The price of flour is a little more expensive, about cents per pound. Coarse grains such as corn flour are about cents per pound.

Yan Jiekuang thought about it and said, "Uncle Accountant, half of my work points will be exchanged for rice and half for flour."

Wu Haiwang was stunned for a moment and asked, "Xiao Yan, is this really the way to change it?!"

Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "Let's really change it this way."

"Okay! I'll pay you back as you said!" Wu Haiwang calculated the weight with his abacus, wrote a note to Yan Jiekuang, and said, "Go to the warehouse to weigh the grain!"

"Hey!" Yan Jiekuang responded, and said, "I'll wait for Su Zhiqing to come together."

"Yes!" Wu Haiwang responded, and called the names of two more educated youths, and then it was Su Zihui's turn. Su Zihui earned ten work points every day except during the busy farming season. At other times, he earned four work points a day, and occasionally he would get six work points. All the work points added up to just over a thousand. Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui had already discussed it last night. Yan Jiekuang's work points would be exchanged for fine grains, and half of Su Zihui's work points would be exchanged for coarse grains and half for tickets. Su Zihui quickly stated his request.

Wu Haiwang calculated the amount of grain and bills that Su Zihui wanted to exchange, and gave Su Zihui the bills and the receipt for going to the grain depot to collect grain. Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui walked to the side with the slips and pushed their bicycles to the grain depot.

After receiving the food, Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui returned home. Su Zihui looked at the food piled in the corner of the kitchen and asked, "Brother Jiekuang, is this enough for us to eat for a year?!"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and replied, "Don't worry! It's enough for us for only one year. The reason why people nowadays eat so much is mainly because they lack oil and water in their stomachs. If every household in the village eats like us, I estimate that a lot of food can be saved. I heard from the captain uncle that rations will be delivered to grandpa and others this afternoon, but their rations are all coarse grains. Let's go over tonight and bring them some fine grains. In addition, we can send them some sausages and cured chickens that I brought back a few days ago."

Su Zihui asked with some concern: "Brother Jie Kuang, the busy farming season is over now. Will those people in town who wear red armbands come to cause trouble for them?!"

Yan Jiekuang said: "That's possible. We just need to be more careful! If it doesn't work, we can think of another way."

Sometimes, things just happen without you having to think about them. What you fear is bound to happen. The brigade had just distributed food in the morning, and in the afternoon, they distributed half a month's salary to the sugar workshop. When Gao Junsong led his men to deliver food to the cowshed, a truck drove into the village, and soon after, the truck stopped in front of the cowshed.

Gao Junsong heard the noise and came out of the cowshed. Seeing Ma Yonggang getting off the car, he asked with a smile, "Old Ma, what brings you here today?!"

Ma Yonggang said, "Lao Gao, your team is now famous. Everyone knows that the people in your team can make sugar."

Gao Junsong said, "Didn't the higher-ups ask us to find a way to increase everyone's income?! I have no other choice." Then he asked, "Lao Ma, you didn't come here today for this matter, did you?!"

Ma Yonggang said, "I'm not that idle! Besides, things are different now than they were two years ago. The brigade now allows workshops. I came here today to see how the people who supervise the labor in your brigade are doing!" Ma Yonggang waved his hand, and the people behind him immediately rushed into the cowshed. They first drove everyone out of the cowshed, and then conducted a comprehensive search of the cowshed.

Ding Huawei and his friends had all experienced the period of fighting the Japanese invaders, and they used the same tactics to fight the Japanese invaders to fight the people wearing red bands. The people wearing red bands did not gain anything from Ding Huawei and his friends, but they did gain something from another group of people. A person wearing red bands found two books under the kang mat, and immediately ran out of the cowshed excitedly, ran to Ma Yonggang with the books, and said, "Director Ma, I found these two books under the kang mat in the room on the west side of the cowshed."

Ma Yonggang took the book and looked at it, then looked at the person standing by the fence and asked, "Whose two books are they?!"

After a while, seeing that no one admitted it, Ma Yonggang said, "You all go back to your rooms now!"

Ding Huawei and his companions went back to their rooms, while the rest of the people were hesitant. Ma Yonggang immediately understood what was going on and asked, "Lao Gao, what do you think we should do with these people?!"

Gao Junsong replied: "Lao Ma, our brigade only provides the place, but your people are responsible for taking care of them. You shouldn't ask me how to deal with them."

Ma Yonggang didn't expect Gao Junsong to kick the ball back so easily. Ma Yonggang asked again: "You really don't care about them?!"

Gao Junsong said, "It's not that I don't care about them, but I can't." Then he changed the subject and continued, "I wish you could get rid of these people as soon as possible."

Ma Yonggang stared at Gao Junsong for a few seconds and said, "You are right. Today I am here not only to inspect, but also to take people away." Then Ma Yonggang said to those who did not enter the house, "You guys! Pack up your things and get in the car!"

The middle-aged man with glasses asked, "Where are you taking us?!"

Ma Yonggang replied: "To the farm!"