Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 846-845: Opening a Side Dish Dungeon

May 30th, the sixth day of the fifth lunar month, Monday, is an auspicious day for travel.

Today is the last day of the escort team's work on the farm, and Fang Yuan arranged for everyone to have their last lunch on the farm.

They continued to eat heartily, and Tang Zhitong knew that Fang Yuan was taking care of everyone.

Once you leave this village, you'll have to wait until your next trip to the farm to work to eat unlimited food again.

The kitchen helpers are growing stronger every day, especially the pastry chefs on Qu Yi's side, who are practically an all-female team.

There's no other way. The workload has been heavy these past few days, and the food has been low in oil and fat, so everyone has to get the energy they need from dry rations.

Even office workers who are used to sitting in the office can eat three catties of white flour a day after these few days of work.

The students who eat the most voraciously are the junior high school students. These teenagers are in their adolescence, and with the added exertion of physical labor, their appetites are like bottomless pits, and their food intake increases dramatically.

On the second day after arriving here, a student ate twelve steamed buns for lunch and still wasn't satisfied. Master Qu noticed and stopped him in time, afraid that he would upset his stomach.

Qu Yi knew the rations for steamed buns. One pound of white flour could make four steamed buns, each weighing about four ounces. Twelve steamed buns would weigh nearly five pounds, which would be equivalent to three pounds of flour, enough for an average resident's three-day ration.

Qu Yi meant well, but the students felt wronged. They had worked all day but weren't allowed to eat their fill. Who could they complain to?
When the teacher in charge found out about this, he confronted Qu Yi and argued with him: "Master Qu, look at his physique, he's as strong as an ox, and he did a lot of work pushing the cart, so it's normal for him to eat more, right?"

“It’s not that I’m spoiling him, it’s just that the way he’s eating is terrifying. I’m worried he’ll ruin his stomach.” Qu Yi also felt wronged. Although the Municipal Bureau said that he could eat as much as he wanted and that he didn’t have the authority to restrict other people’s portions, it was still too frightening to watch the young man wolfing down half a steamed bun in one bite. If something happened to him, who would take responsibility?
"Young man, are you feeling full? You can't overeat and upset your stomach." Su Qingxiang went over to mediate after hearing the commotion.

"I'm not full, I'm only 70% full, I can still eat three more!" The student confidently gave Su Qingxiang an "OK" sign.

“You know your child’s appetite. If you say they can eat, we’ll give them what they need. Don’t come looking for us if they overeat and get sick.” Su Qingxiang said, looking at the teacher in charge.

Su Qingxiang's words made the teacher in charge lose confidence, and he turned to look at his students again: "Are you alright?"

"Okay!" The middle school student nodded affirmatively.

"Then give it to them!" The teacher gritted his teeth, determined to give his students a chance to eat their fill.

"Eat up, there's always another meal after this one, and the next one is unlimited. Just be mindful of your appetite and don't overeat." Seeing that the teacher was willing to vouch for him, Su Qingxiang spoke to the student gently, then waved to Qu Yi, letting the student do as he pleased.

The boy ate fifteen steamed buns in one meal, and the number increased slightly in the following days.

Tang Zhitong wasn't too surprised by this situation. He had a big appetite during his adolescence, but it wasn't to this extent because the intensity of his physical labor wasn't this high back then.

As for Su Qingxiang and Qu Yi's concerns, they are understandable. The junior high school students who came to participate in the labor this time are all from the city of Beijing, and their food rations are standardized.

Currently, the average grain ration for junior high school students is the same as that for ordinary citizens.

Children below junior high school age are considered children. Older children can eat a little more than younger children. From infancy to the end of junior high school, the ration is increased according to age. The total amount is 32 or 33 jin, which is considered very high. So, they can only eat about one jin of grain per day.

Children in the city don't do much heavy physical work from a young age, so they consume less energy. Even during puberty, there are rations to control their intake, so they don't have much opportunity to eat more on a regular basis.

This time, the psychological factor of eating freely was added, along with the high intensity of labor, so it's normal for the appetite to increase significantly.

However, Tang Zhitong didn't know whether letting them eat freely here was a good thing or a bad thing. When they returned to the city, they would have to face the pitiful rations. Trying to control their bloated stomachs would be too unpleasant.

After lunch, everyone packed their belongings and boarded the truck assigned by the city bureau to pick them up.

Since there were no work assignments in the afternoon, Tang Zhitong did not go to buy popsicles today. The young commune members on the threshing floor could only watch with great disappointment as the army that had gone to the countryside to participate in the wheat harvest returned home.

On his way back, Tang Zhitong passed by the food factory.

The work is finished, so the two popsicle boxes seem a bit redundant; I need to go get my deposit back.

Upon entering the food factory, Tang Zhitong returned only one box and took a batch of popsicles, filling the remaining box to the brim.

The deposit for a box isn't much; he can afford to pay it out of his own pocket.

Keeping the suitcase means keeping the permit. My sister will be on vacation soon, so I can find her some work to do and let her experience life.

After leaving the food factory, Tang Zhitong found a secluded corner and stuffed the boxes and popsicles into his spatial storage, planning to take them out when his sister came on vacation.

When Tang Zhitong arrived at the escort office, some of his colleagues who had returned by car had already finished showering and came out of the bathhouse.

"Section Chief Tang, you're back pretty fast this time. There's still hot water in the bathhouse, go and take a shower." An employee greeted Tang Zhitong warmly.

"I'll go return the equipment first, then I'll go home after washing up. My wife must be worried about me being away from home for so many days," Tang Zhitong replied cheerfully, patting the Wu Liu Ban bag on his shoulder.

Although he said that, he didn't plan to shower at work.

The bathhouse at the escort post wasn't big, but with so many people flooding in all at once, you could tell how murky the water was without even going inside.

Besides, there are no clean clothes here, so even if I wash here, I'll still smell of sweat when I get home.

After returning the guns and ammunition to the security department, Tang Zhitong went back to the finance department, where the door was open, presumably because Ma Wei had come to work.

"Ma Wei, how's your leg? Is it better?" Tang Zhitong greeted Ma Wei as she sat at her workstation.

"Hello, Section Chief. I'm much better now. I went to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor said it won't affect my work, as long as I don't do strenuous exercise." Ma Wei stood up with a smile, stomped her foot to indicate that she could move around freely again.

"That's good. I got all sweaty and smelly from the trip to the farm. I'll go clean up first and come back tomorrow." Tang Zhitong saw that Ma Wei was alright, and without even sitting down, he planned to go home.

"Section Chief, I brought you a letter when I came over today." Upon hearing that Tang Zhitong was leaving, Ma Wei pointed to the paperweight on Tang Zhitong's desk, under which was a letter. "Okay, thank you!" Tang Zhitong took the letter out and put it in his bag. He happened to see the delivery slips for the popsicles from the past few days, so he took one out and handed it to Ma Wei: "Could you paste these receipts together for me? The Municipal Bureau asked our department to advance some money to buy popsicles. I'll get Director Su's signature for reimbursement later."

"Okay! Take care, Section Chief." Ma Wei took the receipt and watched Tang Zhitong leave.

As Tang Zhitong rode to the west gate of Taoranting Park, he heard a familiar hawker's cry: "Sugarcane flavor, Baisha honey, so delicious! Early-ripening melons with toad-like crisps~~~"

Following the sound, Tang Zhitong saw a peddler wearing a straw hat and carrying a load on a shoulder pole.

There was a bamboo basket at the front and a bamboo basket at the back of the carrying pole, and the baskets were covered with a layer of wheat straw.

Although you can't see what's under the straw, you can tell from the vendor's shouts that the bamboo basket is filled with melons.

In Beijing, cantaloupe is called "fragrant melon" and comes in many varieties, such as Baishami, Zhuyeqing, Hamasu, Qingpicui, and Laotoule. However, it only comes in two colors: white and green.

Generally speaking, white ones are crisp and sweet, while green ones are soft and fluffy.

"Excuse me, do you have white honey?" Tang Zhitong rode up to the vendor, stopped his bicycle, and asked while supporting himself on one foot.

"Yes, yes, yes!" As soon as the vendor saw customers coming, he quickly put down his load, pushed aside the wheat stalks on the bamboo basket in front of him, took out a melon with a white skin and a yellow patch on it, and handed it to Tang Zhitong to show off: "Look, this is the first batch of melons this year. One bite and it's so sweet it'll make your teeth ache, the taste is absolutely authentic! And smell this aroma, it's irresistible!"

"How much is it?" Tang Zhitong glanced at the melon. It wasn't very big, but it tasted good. You could smell the aroma from half a meter away.

Since arriving here, Tang Zhitong hasn't had a single melon. Seeing one today, he really wants to buy some to take back for his family to try.

Although there are cheat codes, apart from fish, corn, and rabbits, most of the items inside were stockpiled when I was working on a construction site in 58.

At that time, mortgaging his own house only brought in about two thousand yuan. When stockpiling things, he had to prioritize high-energy side dishes, and there was a prerequisite—all the things had to be things that Tang Zhitong could access through his work.

Melons belong to the third category of goods. Farmers usually sell them directly at the market, since they save money by eliminating a middleman.

Moreover, by the time Tang Zhitong arrived, the melons were already out of season, so even if one wanted to stock up, there was no supply.

"Two ounces of grain coupons for one," the peddler said with a smile, holding up two fingers and offering his price.

"No food coupons. Can't I exchange them for money?" Upon hearing that food coupons were needed, Tang Zhitong shook his head. He hadn't brought any local food coupons with him when he went to the farm. Although he still had a few flying around in his spatial storage, it wasn't worth exchanging them for melons.

"Money is fine too, eighty cents each." Seeing that Tang Zhitong looked like she was about to leave, the vendor took a step forward and lowered his voice to quote a price.

"Wow, that's not cheap." Right now, the dominant fruits like apples and pears are only about 30 cents a pound, and the melons in the vendor's hands are only about half a pound, which works out to 1.6 yuan a pound. Ordinary people can't afford that.

"Oh dear, I didn't want it to be this expensive either. There aren't any fields growing cantaloupes in the countryside this year. These are all planted by farmers in front of and behind their houses. There aren't many of them in total. I went to several villages and only managed to collect two baskets. The farmers are asking for high prices, and I have to earn some money for my journey. Don't you think that makes sense?" Seeing that Tang Zhitong hadn't left after hearing the price, the small vendor immediately felt that there was a chance and began to complain.

"How much white honey do you have in total?" Tang Zhitong wanted to buy it all since he didn't have any in his space. He planned to take it out and give it to his family later, since he still had a lot of money lying in his space right now.

"I have about twenty white honey cakes and about ten toad fritters. Are you... buying them all?" The vendor perked up; this was a big customer!
"White sand honey, size doesn't matter, five cents each. If you're willing, I'll take them all." It was the height of summer, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street, so Tang Zhitong had fewer concerns and started bargaining with the vendors.

He had just glanced at it and saw that the vendor had pulled out the largest melon in the basket; the others were all a size smaller.

"Oh my, you're such a good bargainer! I can't even break even with this price. Can you add a little more and we can make it a middleman, how about 70 cents?" The vendor said with a bitter face as he bargained with Tang Zhitong.

"I'm genuinely interested in buying, but you're trying to trick me. Are the animals in the basket the same size as the one in your hand? If they are, I'll buy it for seven cents." Tang Zhitong shook his head, refusing the price.

"Well... it's not much different, how about 65 cents?" The vendor smiled broadly, trying to negotiate a little more.

"It's so hot, and I can tell you're having a tough time. Here's fifty-five cents, I don't want anything more expensive." Tang Zhitong calculated the price of grain coupons on the black market. A pound of coarse grain was less than three yuan now, so fifty-five cents could buy two ounces.

"You're really good at bargaining! Can't you raise the price a little more?" The vendor looked conflicted. He wouldn't lose money at this price, but then again, if he made less profit, wouldn't he be losing money?

"Alright, why don't you go for another ride?" Tang Zhitong didn't even get off the bike. He hooked his right foot on the pedal, looking like he was ready to leave if anyone dared to haggle.

"Sigh! Just go with the price you said!" The small vendor slapped his thigh as Tang Zhitong was about to leave, looking as heartbroken as if he had lost three million.

"Then let's count them." Tang Zhitong didn't care about the vendor's acting skills; he wouldn't sell even if he lost money.

After getting off the bus, Tang Zhitong took out a net bag from her handbag and planned to count the items while putting them into the net bag.

The melons vary in size, with the largest weighing up to six ounces and the smallest smaller than a fist, but they fit perfectly in a net bag and won't spill out.

The vendor was afraid that Tang Zhitong would run away with the net, so he kept his hand on the net.

"Twenty-two in total, twelve yuan a piece." Tang Zhitong loosened the net bag, reached into his clothes, and, using his clothes as cover, pulled out more than ten yuan from his storage space. He counted them and handed them to the vendor.

Seeing that Tang Zhitong still had some money left, the vendor took it without counting it first, but looked at him expectantly and said, "Judging from your face, I can tell that you are a kind-hearted person who cares about the poor. Why don't you do me the trouble of taking the toad pastry as well?"

"You've really squeezed a toad dry. You're only taking what I want, aren't you?" Tang Zhitong looked at the melons in the net bag, but didn't object.

"Toad Crisp" – just from the name, you know it's a sandy melon. This kind of melon isn't very sweet; its main selling point is that it's easy to bite into.

"I'll give you a discount of 50 cents each." Seeing a glimmer of hope, the vendor brought over another basket, parted the straw to show Tang Zhitong the size of the melons inside, and offered to lower the price.

"Alright, what can I do, I'm kind-hearted. It's so hot, you should go back and rest early." Tang Zhitong glanced at the size of the toad-shaped pastries, each one probably weighing half a pound, and then agreed.

Tang Zhitong personally doesn't like eating this kind of melon, but considering the second half of the year, it seems like there's no harm in buying it. Whether for personal consumption or as a gift, it's a good choice, since he's not short of money anyway.

(End of this chapter)