Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 439 Chapter 438 Frozen Cabbage Bunch
November 1959, 11, Thursday, cloudy.

Tang Zhitong only took one day off, so he naturally had to go to school today.

The mobilization ability of Sijiucheng is very strong. When they say they want to sell cabbages, they will arrange for them immediately. Those who did not queue up yesterday will have to get up early and queue up again today.

Zhang Guifang finally bought some cabbage yesterday, but the quality was obviously not as good as the ones she bought at home.

Along the way, Tang Zhitong saw cabbage stalks thrown away on the roadside, most of which were the outermost layer that had been frozen.

Looking at the pile of cabbage leaves, Tang Zhitong felt so distressed. The cabbage leaves were indeed frozen, but they could still be eaten if cooked. By this time next year, there would be nothing left to eat.

However, the residents who buy cabbage don't think so. Each person has a ration of 30 kilograms, so they must buy the good ones. Why should they spend two cents to buy frozen ones?
There were people coming and going on the street, so Tang Zhitong couldn't openly grab the things into the space, so he just passed by and planned to come back and take a look first.

Tang Zhitong has already communicated with Masters He and He about the matter of the home cellar, and they are responsible for it.

Although meals were not provided, Tang Zhitong still stuffed a box of Daqianmen into each of them yesterday afternoon, even including the two workers.

Before entering the school gate, Tang Zhitong saw from afar billowing black smoke coming out of the chimney of the Post and Telecommunications College, which meant the heating had started.

At present, the city is still unable to provide centralized heating for the entire city. Even for units that have installed heating pipes, most of them use their own boilers to solve the heating problem.

Maybe it’s because the heating has just started, the classroom is not as warm as spring yet, but fortunately I don’t have to put my hands behind my back.

Tang Zhitong spent half a day doing his homework and quickly packed up and left school when the afternoon was over.

After entering Xinjiekou Street, Tang Zhitong glanced at a girl carrying a basket and found her face familiar.

After riding ten meters away, Tang Zhitong finally remembered that he looked familiar. He had just seen him the day before yesterday when he was harvesting cabbage.

The girl was crying while carrying the cabbages on her back. Her brother might have been tired from doing the work, so he squatted beside her and played with the rotten cabbage stalks on the ground. She caught him and gave him a good beating.

While beating and scolding his younger brother, he did not know how to cherish food.

When Tang Zhitong first saw this scene, he remembered two news stories he had seen.

A girl who is a math genius. Although many people say that she chose to go to a technical secondary school because of her interest, isn't the reason behind it because she is poor, has no money, is sensible, does not want to add burden to her family, and wants to make money to support her family as soon as possible?
The other was a boy from an ordinary family who used his deceased mother’s cell phone to buy basketball star cards, spending more than 100,000 yuan in a year.

The two are about three or four years apart in age, but their behaviors are so different that it's really sad.

Tang Zhitong stopped the car, thought for a moment, turned the car around, and pushed it back: "Girl, are you from the northern commune? I saw you when we were harvesting cabbages the day before yesterday, and you beat your brother."

"Well, comrade, do you want some green onions and ginger?" There were too many people that day. Although the girl had no impression of Tang Zhitong, the time, place and people were all right, so she let down her guard. She didn't believe that a college student would harm her.

Tang Zhitong subconsciously wanted to refuse, but when he thought of her tears yesterday, he felt sympathy and asked softly, "Can I use money?"

The girl glanced around and nodded gently.

"What's the price?" Tang Zhitong asked again, thinking to himself that he would buy it if the price was right. In the next few years, in order to fill their stomachs, the planting amount of onions, ginger and garlic would be greatly reduced. As a half-baked cook, it was reasonable for him to prepare some seasonings.

"They're all six cents a pound, how much do you want?" the girl asked, grasping her old clothes with both hands awkwardly.

"Then take them all." Tang Zhitong nodded. The price was very fair.

"I weighed them when I came here. There are twenty-one pounds in total, which is one dollar and twenty-six cents. Just give me one dollar and twenty-five cents." The girl didn't expect Tang Zhitong to want all of them. She had calculated in her mind how much these things were worth many times. She blurted out the price and "generously" gave up a cent.

"Haha, okay." Life is not easy, Tang Zhitong did not bargain. He happily took out the money and handed it to the girl. Then he took out a net bag from his bag and put the onions and ginger in it.

The ginger must be washed and kept in one piece, otherwise it might have leaked through the mesh.

The reason why Tang Zhitong stopped when he recognized the girl from the commune was actually to ask her if she wanted some frozen cabbage leaves. After all, it would be a waste to leave them like that, and the onions and ginger in his pocket could only be considered an unexpected gain.

The girl counted the money carefully three times, then turned her back, took out a piece of rag from her bosom, wrapped the money, faced the wall, and stuffed the rag back.

"Girl, do you want some frozen cabbage stalks?" Tang Zhitong packed the onions and ginger and did not leave first. Instead, he waited for the girl to turn around and asked.

The girl was about to put the basket on her back when she heard Tang Zhitong ask this. She opened her eyes wide and asked, "Do you want money?"

"No, it's on the street, anyone can pick it up, I don't know if there are any left. Walk south along this street, pass two alleys, turn east, and you will see it after about a hundred meters. If it's gone, it means someone picked it up. I saw some when I came here this morning." After Tang Zhitong finished speaking, he nodded to the girl, got on his bike and left.

The back seat of a bicycle is like the passenger seat of a private car. You cannot just pull a girl you don’t know, as it may cause an accident.

When Tang Zhitong passed by the pile of cabbage leaves again, there were indeed fewer of them. There were a few disheveled people picking and choosing among them, as if they were tearing off the cabbage stalks and only taking the leaves.

Tang Zhitong did not stop, but went into the alley and threw the onions and ginger into the space. When he came out, everything was no different from his usual workday.

After picking up Xiao Wang and her two younger sisters, Jingying was sent back to Chunshu Hutong.

After returning home, the first thing that caught Tang Zhitong's eyes was a pile of frozen cabbage stalks.

Xiao Wang and Fengzhi entered the main house first, while Tang Zhitong checked the cellar in the yard.

The top of the cellar is a semicircular bulge covered with a layer of straw felt.

Tang Zhitong lifted the straw felt, which was covered with a layer of cement. It was half dry and it seemed that at least half a day had passed.

Clapping his hands, Tang Zhitong nodded with satisfaction. Masters He and He were very productive and could finish their work one day at a time.

After walking around the cellar, Tang Zhitong came to the cellar entrance.

The entrance to the cellar was two feet square. Tang Zhitong lay down and looked inside, but it was pitch black and he could not see anything.

"Here, a flashlight." Student Xiao Wang noticed that it was almost dark, so he went back to the room to get a flashlight. He squatted beside the cellar entrance, opened it and handed it to Tang Zhitong.

"Hehe, thanks."

There is no ladder in the cellar. When the wall was being built yesterday, several holes were left at the entrance. In the words of Masters He and He, these holes can be used as leverage and can save a set of ladders.

Tang Zhitong first asked his classmate Xiao Wang to hold a flashlight to help him illuminate the way. When he reached the bottom, he stood on tiptoes and stretched out his arms, and the height suddenly reached two meters and a half.

But Xiao Wang did not lean over to hand it in. Instead, he tied the flashlight with a rope and passed it on.

Tang Zhitong took the flashlight and looked around with the help of the light.

The inside is a little rough, with only some seams, but when paired with the blue bricks, the feeling of heaviness comes up immediately.

The two masters He and He have done a great job. The top is very beautiful, just like the arch of the Zhaozhou Bridge, which is pleasing to the eye.

"Very good, very good. Let's dry it for a day tomorrow, cover it with soil, and then you can store things in it. I won't pick you up tomorrow. You have to come back to settle the bill at the Housing Management Office." Tang Zhitong was very satisfied with this cellar. After coming up, he explained it to Xiao Wang.

"Well, you can go." Xiao Wang used a flashlight to brush off the dust on Tang Zhitong. "You are so old, but you are still so nice? These four masters have work to do, and you are still worried?" Zhang Guifang saw Tang Zhitong's behavior and nagged him when her son and daughter-in-law came in.

"Don't worry, don't worry. It's just a look to see what kind of vegetable rack to make." Tang Zhitong washed his hands without getting annoyed.

"Don't set up the vegetable rack. Master He asked me to tell you before he left that you should go to the Housing Management Office to settle the bill tomorrow. He said it will be more than ten yuan." Zhang Guifang saw the construction of the cellar today. Although it cost money, she didn't feel sorry at all. This cellar is so exquisitely made!
"Okay, I'll also order a ladder to put down there so that you can go up and down safely. I saw a pile of cabbage leaves in the yard, did you find them?" Tang Zhitong nodded in response.

"They were dumped from the grocery store. It would be a shame to just throw them away. I picked them up and fed them to the chickens."

"Then our chickens will have both food and delicious food." Tang Zhitong replied happily.

We still have steamed corn bread at home tonight, but what’s different from the past is that there is an extra pot of cabbage. Yes, just one pot.

The streets issued food coupons in proportion. For example, this month, flour supply accounted for 50% of the quota, rice accounted for 25% of the quota, and the remaining 25% were coarse grain coupons.

But sometimes, there are unexpected situations.

People say that restaurant waiters are very arrogant, but in fact, the employees of grain stores are more confident.

Have a fixed schedule and take a break at the appointed time.

Are the business hours clearly written on the old photos?

In order to buy grain, many people asked for leave from the factory and lined up. As long as they said they had no rice at home, the factory would approve their leave, because the leaders also had to eat and knew the nature of the grain store employees.

There are at least three counters inside the grain store, selling cornmeal, flour, rice, etc.

As we waited in line, the grain store was about to close for the day. The number of people queuing in front of each counter was different, some were more, some were less.

Suppose you are the one queuing to buy grain, and there are many people ahead of you, would you switch to a queue with fewer people and try to buy all the grain before the grain store closes?

There are really people who make this choice. Tang Zhitong has seen it with his own eyes. When they are waiting for the rice to be cooked at home, even if it is not the coarse grain they want to eat, they will buy at least two kilograms of it and take it home to have two meals.

Of course, if you want to change teams, you must have the right grain coupons in your hand. If you hold coarse grain coupons and queue for fine grains, the grain store will not sell them to you.

Another situation is that a certain type of grain distributed by the Grain Management Office that day is not enough to sell, and many residents who have no grain at home will choose to buy whatever they have.

In addition, many residents from poor families would directly use the fine grain coupons to buy coarse grains.

Fine grain coupons can be used to buy coarse grains, but coarse grain coupons cannot be used to buy fine grains. They are only compatible one way downward, not upward.

Taking all factors into consideration, the proportion of coarse grains on residents' dining tables is higher than it appears on paper.

After Fengzhi finished her portion, she felt her stomach and realized she was not full. She looked up and begged her mother, "Mom, I'm not full."

"If you're not full, eat more vegetables. There's plenty of cabbage." Zhang Guifang was not soft-hearted. She raised her hand to take Fengzhi's bowl and served her a bowl of stewed cabbage, which had less cabbage stalks and more cabbage leaves.

"I ate like this yesterday, and I felt hungry after a while." Fengzhi muttered, looking reluctant.

Zhang Guifang was unmoved. This was only the third day of her family's eating according to the ration. Even if they were staying up all night, they wouldn't add meals so soon. Moreover, they wouldn't be malnourished if they ate the ration for ten days or half a month.

"Eat, eat. How many people want to eat as much cabbage as they want but don't have the conditions to do so." Tang Zhitong didn't indulge his sister.

The social situation is like this, and my sister must have a deep understanding of it. Without this experience, she might be like the young man who bought the card and be unaware of the suffering of her family. By then it will be too late to say anything.

If Fengzhi lived like that, she would be unworthy of the title of "proletariat".

Fengzhi saw that it was useless to ask her mother for help, and her brother would not help her, so she begged Wang Jingwen: "Sister-in-law~"

Xiao Wang smiled and picked up a piece of cabbage leaves from his bowl and touched his sister-in-law's head: "Eat it."

Feng Zhen watched and laughed. She also ate according to her own fixed amount, which was not enough. However, she had seen what her classmates ate, and never felt that her family treated her badly. Not only could she eat enough cabbage to fill her stomach, but she could also have a handful of pine nuts at night to enhance her nutrition. She was very content.

Seeing that no one in the family supported her, Fengzhi could only pick up the chopsticks and eat the cabbage.

Tang Zhitong was satisfied with his sister's reaction. If one does not discipline his own children and waits for them to enter society and let society educate them, they will not only suffer more and take more detours, but may also go astray.

Only when families, schools and society work together can the environment become more harmonious.

Although the quantity is low, there are not many problems in education these days. Whether it is movies, newspapers or radio, what is presented to the people is very positive. Except for those large satellites, everything else is close to life.

This is not like the movies and TV dramas of decades later. It can be described in two words: magical.

The child from a poor family not only lives in an exquisite loft, wears branded clothes, but also delivers food on a bicycle worth thousands of dollars, but in the end he actually says his family is poor?!
A child from a poor family can share an apartment with a girl from a rich family and become close friends?!

By the way, is there no part of experiencing life and field research when filming a drama? Is it so easy to get paid?

At least it's closer to life.

What about the CEO falling in love with me, the celebrity falling in love with him, please, they are not blind.

How many celebrities date amateurs?
How many presidents don’t get married?
Then there are some anti-Japanese war dramas.

Let’s not talk about the mine hidden in the crotch. Maybe the belt of the clothes prepared for the actress by props was very loose, so the mine could enter and exit easily.

There's also the thing about tearing the Japanese apart with bare hands, okay, national hatred and family feuds, it's considered the actors' great strength, and it's also a form of exaggerated artistic expression.

But what the hell is going on? The equipment provided to our army is better than that of the National Army and the Japanese?

Is this praising the War of Resistance or smearing our army?
As for using a machine gun to shoot down a plane, although the probability of this happening is even lower than winning the lottery jackpot, it cannot be denied that this possibility exists. But how did the idea of ​​using a grenade to blow up a plane come about?

There was also a man holding a rifle and sprinting at a speed of 100 meters, shooting down a Japanese soldier 800 meters away. It was speechless. Even the old hero Zhang Taofang couldn't do it! Do you have any common sense of physics?
What the hell is this about eating big white steamed buns and digging sweet potatoes in the woods? The key is that there are only sweet potatoes but no vines. Did God bury them for us? ? ?

And what about lines like "The war of resistance will end in eight years", do you think you are a prophet? ?
Faced with such twisted values, settings, and plots, even God would shake his head.

After dinner, Tang Zhitong was not idle.

A lot of soil was dug out from digging the cellar, and he couldn't just pile it in the yard, but he didn't want to push it out either.

Apart from the part of covering the cellar after the cement has dried, I simply spread the remaining soil in the yard under the cover of night, and then took the opportunity to scoop it up into the space. It was perfect.

Although there is no nutrients in the deep soil, after a winter of wind, sun and snow, if it is crushed into powder and mixed with some fertilizer in the spring of next year, vegetables can still be grown.

What's more, the ground in the yard is slightly higher, so it is not easy for water to accumulate when it rains.

In order not to push it away, Tang Zhitong had sufficient reasons.

(End of this chapter)