Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 754 Chapter 753 Feng Zhi gets beaten
After Zhang Guifang finished speaking, she neither hit Fengzhi nor paid any attention to Zhang Yongxiang. Instead, she took out two dollars and told Fengzhen, "Fengzhen, take the bottle and go to the tavern to get a pound of wine."

Tang Zhitong chuckled, and when Zhang Guifang looked at him, he cleared his throat, adjusted his expression, and added to Fengzhen seriously: "Fengzhen, go to Mr. He's tavern on Huashi Street and tell her that you are my sister. We only want Erguotou."

As grain supplies become tighter, the amount of grain that can be supplied to wineries is also decreasing, and the output of authentic grain wine will certainly decrease. But those who understand wine know that wine factories do not produce wine that is directly bottled and sold. Most of it needs to be aged.

Therefore, this gave the market a buffer period. Some liquors were not out of supply, but there was less supply and purchase restrictions were imposed.

Tang Zhitong was certain that Boss He must have her own channels to get liquor, and that the retail sales would definitely be mainly low-quality liquor produced in small workshops, but she would definitely be able to get Erguotou, and even stockpile some.

This is also one of the reasons why Tang Zhitong asked Feng Zhen to report his name. After all, he still has a little face in the flower market.

"Yeah." Fengzhen was an obedient girl, but when she saw her brother being humiliated again, she bit her lower lip to hold back her laughter and lowered her head to agree.

"Two dollars may not be enough. I'll give you another one. Go quickly and come back soon." Tang Zhitong took out a crumpled piece of money from his pocket. This was the portion of money he had withheld for "buying Chinese toon" after receiving his last salary. He had kept it in his pocket and had never spent it.

Although Tang Zhitong hasn't gone to buy liquor for some time, the price of grain in the free market is rising day by day, and the price of liquor will definitely increase to a certain extent.

However, this increase will not be too exaggerated for two reasons:
Firstly, He Peilan was different from the vendors in the market. They could move from place to place after firing a gun, but she couldn't.
The second reason is that the current retail price of Maozi is still strong, at 2.97 yuan per bottle. With Maozi anchoring the price, the prices of other wines will not be much higher.

Looking across the country, Maozi may be the only brand that has not reduced its production capacity in recent years, but has instead increased its output dramatically.

To this end, the local government sent an urgent secret telegram to all the regions under its jurisdiction on February 2 this year, titled "On the issue of transferring sorghum to support the production of Maotai Distillery", with the following content:
"In order to support Maotai production and ensure the completion of export tasks, according to the sorghum inventory of various places at the end of January, it is determined to transfer 5 (unit: 25 jin, the same below) from Anshun, 16 from Bijie, 5 from Tongren, 5 from Qiandongnan, and from GY City to Renhuai Maotai Distillery. Due to the urgent need, please arrange and organize the shipment immediately after receiving the call."

This is not the first time. There was another time last year when a total of 117 million kilograms of sorghum were mobilized from the local area.

Later, it was still not enough, so after coordination from high-level officials, another 70 kilograms were transferred from Jiangjin, Sichuan and Chongqing.

However, due to the blind expansion of production capacity, the quality of Maozi has declined and has been criticized by consumers at home and abroad.

Of course, these are all things to follow.

Regarding grain transfer, the secret telegram said it very clearly: foreign exchange!
Tang Zhitong could understand this. After all, he was penniless and everything had to give way to foreign exchange. This was also one of the reasons why he was valued.

"Okay." Fengzhen took the bottle of wine, grabbed the money and went out.

"Uncle, sit down and have some water." Tang Zhitong picked up the teapot to refill Zhang Yongxiang's water. There was no tea leaves in it, but the family had been using it to make high-foam tea in the past few years. Over the years, there was a thin layer of tea stains on the inner wall of the teapot. When it was boiled with water, it could barely retain a little flavor.

"More than two yuan per pound of wine, it's too wasteful." Zhang Yongxiang sighed after sitting down.

"It's okay. My mom has the money. She just sold chickens. She has money." Zhang Guifang was already busy preparing lunch with Xiao Wang. While Tang Zhitong lowered his voice, he did not forget to glance at his biological mother.

Instead of lending this money to the Liu family, it would be better to give it to my uncle's family for emergency use.

"Uncle, is there a pot for cooking at home?" Tang Zhitong asked, and then began to care about the Zhang family's current life.

This is not groundless. When steel was being made two years ago, the higher-ups advocated "keeping all the iron", but this went against the grain when it came to the lower-ups, where the idea became "not leaving an inch of iron". Not only were the pots and spoons in the homes melted, but in some places even the door locks and door noses were twisted.

There was even a place that had a sudden and bizarre idea and created the world's largest "steel furnace" in a canyon.

The solution is to seal off both ends of a canyon, and then pile up a layer of firewood, a layer of ore, a layer of firewood, and a layer of iron tools.

Finally, set it on fire and let it burn for a few days...

There are many places that don’t have pots, and the reasons are very good: since we all eat in the canteen, what do we need iron pots for at home?
There are such families in the city, not to mention the countryside.

"Yes, I secretly make some porridge to drink when boiling water." Zhang Yongxiang told the truth.

"That's good. If you're short of food at home, ask Brother Xiaoping to write me a letter and I'll deliver it to you." Tang Zhitong nodded. It seemed that the rural areas in Sijiu City were indeed better than those in other places.

The canteens in the city had been disbanded long ago, but those in the countryside had not.

This has a positive side, as it can take better and more evenly care of each member, but the rations are too little, and members cannot eat enough, so they can only find a way out on their own.

During this period, if someone in the family passed away, they would not dare to make it public, and would just leave the child on the bed. As long as they could stay on the team for one more day, they could get one more day's meal in the name of the deceased...

There are also some smart ones who catch mice and exchange valuables for some dry food to cook and eat.

If you want to cook, you need utensils. If you don’t have an iron pot, you can only use a clay pot or something. Even then, you have to be careful not to produce smoke when making a fire. Once discovered, the clay pot can’t be saved.

"No need. There's still porridge in the team canteen. You can dig some wild vegetables yourself, plus the ones your brother Xiaoping brought back. It will be enough to last until the wheat is harvested." Zhang Yongxiang waved his hands after hearing this. It was not easy for him, and it was not easy for his sister either. He didn't want to cause trouble for his sister's family.

"Uncle, we are close relatives. If you encounter difficulties, don't handle them by yourself. Be sure to tell me and I will help you find a solution." Tang Zhitong said solemnly.

He just saw that his biological mother was feeling awkward, and it was obvious that she couldn't let go of Zhang Yongxiang, but she hadn't come to her senses yet. In that case, as a son, he couldn't just sit and watch the Zhang family suffer and do nothing.

This year, the weather in Sijiu City is not only hot but also dry. If the temperature continues at the current level, the wheat should be harvested in late May or early June, but it is hard to say how much the harvest will be.

"Oh, okay." Zhang Yongxiang sighed, without complaining about anything. It seemed as if everything was his fault, and he felt ashamed to have agreed.

"Uncle, drink some water." Tang Zhitong was speechless for a moment.

These were not groundless worries on his part, but more and more voices had reached Beijing. In some severely affected areas, there were not enough wild vegetables to eat. When the victims saw a vegetable, they would pull it out, rub it, and put it in their mouths, fearing that it would be snatched away if they were too late.

Not only is this true for shepherd's purse, but also for radish. You know, radish has thorns.

What's worse, Tang Zhitong heard that the rat was so hungry that it was skin and bones, so he planned to eat its corpse...

Fortunately, the most difficult days in most rural areas across the country will gradually ease in May and June this year. With the arrival of new grain, rectification, and the decentralization of personnel in the second half of the year, the situation will be fundamentally reversed next year.

理论依据主要在人口出生率上：59-63的常住人口出生率分别是2.48%、2.09%、1.81%、3.72%、4.36%。

The baby boom in 62 is recognized. As we all know, it takes ten months of pregnancy to give birth. It is impossible for so many children to be born at the end of 62.

Most of the newborns in the past two years were born in rural areas. Because of the delayed transmission of disasters, the real hard times in the city have just begun, or even haven't started yet, and will naturally end later than in the countryside. Tang Zhitong didn't want to continue the heavy topic, and began to learn in detail from Zhang Yongxiang about Zhang Chengping's medical treatment process, treatment, etc.

While the uncle and nephew were chatting here, Zhang Guifang was not idle at all, but was very efficient.

Because Tang Zhitong had been bringing home vegetables from the Teachers Training College in the past few days, the family had saved up their vegetable coupons. Today, the young couple went out to cut cloth, and Zhang Guifang bought all of it, intending to improve their lives.

This was a good opportunity for Zhang Yongxiang to cook a dish.

Zhang Guifang originally wanted to make a vegetarian stew, but when she thought of her elder brother's dry appearance, she gritted her teeth, stomped her feet, took out a can of meat that she had saved during the Chinese New Year, pried it open with a knife and poured it into the pot.

Fengzhi was drooling with envy, hoping that her mother would give her the can.

However, Zhang Guifang was reluctant to throw away the cans that were covered in oil, so she scalded them twice with hot water and poured all the water from washing the cans into the pot.

Even so, Fengzhi did not despise it. She added some hot water and then some cold water. After diluting the water into warm water, she carefully raised her head to her mouth and drank it all.

Fengzhen came back a little late and didn't catch up to share a sip. She put down the wine and held out her hand: "Brother, Erguotou is 2.2 yuan per pound. This is the change."

"Take it and save it to buy a pen or something." Tang Zhitong confiscated it and gave it to his sister as a subsidy.

Feng Zhi was a little jealous when she saw the high errand fee. She ran to Tang Zhitong and leaned over to him and acted like a spoiled child: "Brother, I can get some wine too."

"Next time you go, you're such a grown-up, but you don't even remember to leave some soup for your sister." Tang Zhitong looked at his sister's greasy lips and slapped her on the head.

"Eanzi, eat something with your uncle first." Zhang Guifang served the stewed dishes and spoke as she saw the white wine was being poured.

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong found an empty tea bowl to hold wine and poured a full cup for Zhang Yongxiang.

"Girl Fang, don't cook anymore. This one dish will do." Zhang Yongxiang saw that the dish was quite large and there was meat in it. He was afraid of wasting it, so he hurried forward to stop Zhang Guifang.

"Hey, girl Fang, sister, is this our mother's nickname?" Fengzhi asked Fengzhen as if she had discovered a new world.

Zhang Guifang was slightly startled when her elder brother called her like that. She became embarrassed again after hearing the little girl's question. The expression on her face was very interesting.

Fengzhen was like a clay Buddha. She just didn't respond no matter how Fengzhi poked her.

Tang Zhitong and Xiao Wang looked at each other and reached a consensus with their eyes. If Feng Zhi got beaten tonight, both of them would stand by and watch, and would definitely not step forward to stop it.

In Tang Zhitong's impression, it is very impolite for children to call their parents by their given names. The Gongyang Commentary, Min Gong Year 1, says: "In the Spring and Autumn Period, the names of the respected, the relatives, and the wise were tabooed."

Family taboos generally refer to avoiding the names of parents and grandparents, also known as "private taboos". When reading, one has to deliberately pronounce them wrongly, and when writing, one has to write one stroke less.

There are many such examples. In A Dream of Red Mansions, Lin Daiyu's mother is named Jia Min, so whenever the word "min" appears in Lin Daiyu's name, it is pronounced as "mi" or "mi". When writing about Lin Ruhai, the "hai" character has to have less "water".

What's even more cruel is that Sima Qian's father was named Sima Tan, so when he wrote "Records of the Grand Historian", he changed the names of all people with the same name as his father, for example, he changed Zhang Mengtan to Zhang Mengtong and Zhao Tan to Zhao Tong.

This practice brought great inconvenience to scholars, so it was abolished after the founding of the People's Republic of China. However, the power of habit is very strong, especially in the minds of some elderly people.

As expected, Zhang Guifang glared at Fengzhi, as if she was going to deal with her later.

"I'll make some elm seed cakes, you guys eat them first." Perhaps because hearing the childhood name reminded her of all the childhood memories, Zhang Guifang spoke much softer to her eldest brother this time.

"Wenwen, go get some toon sprouts. Fengzhen, go get one of the flying dragons that uncle brought, I'll make some soup later." Zhang Yongxiang was a serious relative, and one dish was indeed a bit too little. Tang Zhitong made the decision on his own, and Zhang Guifang did not object.

Zhang Yongxiang was still polite, but Tang Zhitong resolved the situation by toasting him.

After taking a bite of the dish, Zhang Yongxiang started to praise: "Fang girl, your cooking is still so delicious."

"I've never eaten good food. I'll ask Eucalyptus to make some soup later. He's a good cook." Zhang Guifang complained about her elder brother. She knew her cooking skills well. The reason why stews were so delicious was because of canned meat. Nowadays, anything with a little bit of oil on it can be called delicious.

Zhang Yongxiang laughed and didn't care about his sister's contradiction.

There weren't many dishes, but there was wine and meat, so it was quite sumptuous.

After Zhang Guifang finished baking the elm money cake, she saw that her elder brother was just picking up vegetables and not eating meat. On the contrary, Fengzhi only ate meat. She had an opinion: "Anzi, pick some vegetables for your sister."

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong stood up and took out the bowl for rice, picked out some vegetables for Fengzhi, and picked out several pieces of meat for Zhang Yongxiang.

Seeing Zhang Guifang's satisfied look, Tang Zhitong knew that he had guessed right.

As a mother, I am still twisted. It’s not that I’m being pretentious, but I haven’t reconciled with the past and don’t know how to face it.

This time, Fengzhi didn't dare say anything about her mother and brother's kindness. She ate the elm seed cake with the dishes happily.

Lunch ended with the Feilong soup stewed by Tang Zhitong. Zhang Yongxiang praised his nephew's cooking skills, but Tang Zhitong knew that the main credit for the deliciousness of the soup was the hazel grouse.

Tang Zhitong didn't drink, and Zhang Yongxiang didn't drink much either.

After dinner, Zhang Guifang was busy preparing to bring something back for her eldest brother. The first batch of toon sprouts that she had pickled a while ago were ready to eat, so she wrapped some of them and added some pine nuts and some cornmeal. However, Zhang Yongxiang said he wanted nothing, and the two of them had to argue.

"Anzi, take the remaining wine to your uncle and go see him off." Zhang Guifang saw that it was getting late. It would take four hours to walk from the flower market to her mother's house. She was worried, so she took her son out.

"Okay." Tang Zhitong just watched the two of them arguing without trying to persuade them. After a meal, some more arguing would be beneficial to their emotional exchange. Now Zhang Guifang's expression was obviously not as stiff as it was in the morning.

Everyone in the Tang family accompanied Zhang Yongxiang to the gate and watched Tang Zhitong and Zhang Yongxiang turn around the alley. When they were going back, Xiao Wang quietly took Fengzhen by the hand, leaving time and space in the main house for his mother-in-law and Fengzhi.

Sure enough, after a while, Fengzhi's wailing could be heard from the room...

(End of this chapter)