Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Chapter 1156 Handing over public food

The standard mentioned by Sun Dafu is calculated per mu (unit of land area), without distinguishing between different types of grain.

Therefore, Wang Anjia should deliver a total of 2275 jin of rice and 2100 jin of wheat.

There's nothing we can do; that's just the standard, that's all there is to it.

However, this standard is not just about public grain; it also includes agricultural tax, management fees, and various other expenses such as the "three levies" and "five unified taxes."

The specifics of all the miscellaneous fees were unclear not only to Wang An but also to the other villagers. They simply asked for a certain amount of grain and that was it; asking was pointless.

Of course, apart from the public grain, the rest of the grain was essentially sold to the grain station at a fair price. However, the money from the sale was used to offset those expenses. If more grain was taken, the extra grain would be refunded, and if less was taken, the money would be made up.

In any case, the amount of grain to be handed over to the state is fixed every year in this area. It will never be more or less than the required amount. However, the requirements for the grain to be handed over to the state are extremely high.

The grains must be plump; not a single shriveled grain can be found.

To ensure dryness, the moisture content must absolutely not exceed 8%. This means that the moisture content of the grain must not exceed 8%.

It must be free of impurities, meaning there can't be even a tiny stick inside. As for rice husks, wheat husks, or crushed corn kernels, those are even more unacceptable.

Because these do not meet the standards, they will be returned directly, or the site must be cleaned up.

In addition, the grain must be new grain from that year; old grain is not acceptable, as this is the regulation.

As for any discoloration of the grain husks, that's not allowed either; the grain grains must look shiny and smooth.

In addition, never think about not delivering grain, because at this time, delivering grain to the state is the responsibility and obligation of every farmer.

If you dare not pay, the consequences will definitely not be good.

The grain that Wang Anjia was to hand over had already been prepared during the winnowing process.

Not only are they plump and free of impurities, but after so many days of drying, the grains are incredibly dry. While they are not completely devoid of moisture, they are certainly far below the standard of 8% moisture content.

Shortly after the loudspeaker was turned off, Wang Dashu, Wang Gan, Wang Daliang, Wang Li, Wang Yong, and Wang Shun all came to Wang An's house.

The reason they all gathered together was that they wanted to deliver the grain together, since delivering grain was purely a physical task that one or two people simply couldn't handle.

After a brief discussion, Wang An's four-wheeled vehicle and hand tractor, as well as Wang Li's hand tractor, all took on the task of hauling grain.

Grandpa Wang Daliang and his two sons were thinking of using their own horse-drawn cart to transport grain, but this idea was immediately rejected by Wang Dazhu and Wang An.

Of course, the hand tractor belonging to Wang An's family was used by Wang Dashu and his two sons, while the four-wheeled vehicle was used not only to transport Wang An's family's grain but also Shen Wei's family's grain. As for Wang Li's hand tractor, it was used to transport the grain of Wang Li's family and Wang Shun's family.

And so, the men of the Wang family began loading grain onto the truck.

After loading Wang An's family's grain, they loaded Shen Wei's family's grain, and then all the grain from each family was loaded onto the truck.

To be honest, the scene was quite grand.

Of course, it wasn't just the Wang family that did this; the Sun family, the Niu family, and the Li family did the same thing.

However, because these three surnames have a large population, they are all families with close relatives who live together.

Anyway, every household was busy delivering grain.

After Wang An and his group finished loading the trucks, the three trucks set off together towards the Xing'an Township Grain Station.

When Wang An and his group set off, many villagers from Kaoshantun also set off. Some used horse-drawn carts to transport grain, some used mule carts, some used oxcarts and donkey carts, and some even used handcarts; in short, all kinds of means of transportation came out.

The main problem is that delivering grain to the government is always done early rather than late; the later you go, the more people there are, and in the end, you might even have to spend the night at the grain station.

Spending the night outside in such strong winds and howling winds, you really have to experience it to know what it's like!

And this is only the first day of delivering grain to the state. If it were tomorrow, people would get up in the middle of the night and head to the grain station. It would be quite good if they could get home by dark.

Two tractors and a four-wheeled vehicle drove towards Xing'an Township, billowing black smoke.

Although the tractors and four-wheeled vehicles pulling heavy loads were not fast, they were still much faster than horse-drawn carts and mule carts pulling heavy loads. Therefore, among all the villagers in Kaoshantun, Wang An and his group were still among the first to arrive at the grain station.

However, in Kaoshantun, although Wang An and his group were in the first wave, when they arrived at the grain station, they found that the entrance was already crowded with people and vehicles delivering grain.

There's nothing we can do. Although Kaoshantun is very close to Xing'an Township, the head of Xing'an Township is located in Liujiatun, which is even closer. Who can we reason with?

As a result, Wang An and his three cars formed a long queue.

This time when they came to the county town, none of the three old brothers and Shen Wei came; it was Wang An and his five brothers who came.

The main thing is that as long as the quality inspector doesn't make things difficult for you when it comes to delivering grain, it doesn't matter who comes. Just give your home address, the name of the head of household, and the number of family members, and that's it.

If the grain meets the standards, it will be weighed directly, and you'll get a slip of paper to prove that your family has fulfilled its obligations for this year.

If the grain is not up to standard, it will be returned. Either the grain will be brought over again, or the grain will be processed again by the grain station's winnowing cart and weighed again.

And so, the five brothers, utterly bored, simply waited.

To be honest, in this freezing cold, just waiting here like an idiot is really going to be tough!
Before we knew it, the morning had passed, and there were still quite a few people in line.

To prevent the water tanks from freezing, the three vehicles have to be restarted every hour to warm them up.

Around 1 p.m., the waiting people began to take out their own dry food and start eating.

After just one morning, all the dry rations, including sweet potato pancakes, wild vegetable pancakes, cornbread, and the very few white flour steamed buns and white flour cakes, had long since frozen solid.

At this point, it becomes clear that the vast majority of families are still in the process of just solving their hunger problem.

Wang An and his five brothers also brought their own food, specifically the bear-shaped fried pancakes made by Liu Guilan and other women.

In this season, only bear-shaped fried dough can barely withstand the low temperature, keeping the dough slightly warm.

With a flatbread in their left hand and pickled vegetables in their right, these five brothers were eating with great relish in the biting cold wind.

White flour pancakes were a rarity in those days, let alone those made with bear oil.

After finishing their flatbread, the five brothers smoked and chatted, and time didn't seem to pass too slowly. It wasn't until almost 4 p.m. that it was finally Wang An and the others' turn to hand over their grain.

It should be noted that Wang An and his group of five arrived at just past seven in the morning, meaning that nine hours had passed in vain.

There's nothing we can do about it; that's how it is with paying grain taxes. Take it or leave it, or you'll get in trouble.

When it was Wang An's turn, the five of them were very happy because at least they wouldn't have to work late into the night.

Unfortunately, just as the five men were unloading the grain, something terrible happened.

(End of this chapter)