60s: I have a store

Chapter 229 Someone Fainted
Before daybreak, the old Party secretary led the people of Zhoujiazhuang to load the dried wheat onto ox carts and donkey carts as they were going to pay the public grain tax today.

The so-called paying public grain means that you plant the country's land, and when the harvest comes in the autumn, you need to hand over part of the grain to the state free of charge.

For example, if you plant ten acres of land, no matter what your harvest is, you need to hand over 20% of the grain from each acre to the state.

Paying public grain is a very unfamiliar thing for many young people in later generations.

But for people born in the 1960s and 1970s, paying public grain in rural areas is a top priority and an indelible mark deep in their minds.

After more than an hour of hard work, most of the wheat was finally loaded onto the truck. The rest could not be loaded onto the truck and had to be carried by people.

When the old Party Secretary saw that everyone was ready, he shouted, "Let's go!"

Everyone set off in an orderly manner. This happens every year and we get used to it over time.

The villagers had already prepared the dry food needed for the journey. Since there were so many people, they were all made into steamed cornbread, filling up a large hemp sack.

"Old Party Secretary, is a sack of steamed corn bread enough?" the team leader asked in confusion.

You know, in previous years, we had to prepare at least two or three sacks to barely have enough to eat.

First of all, it takes one or two hours to walk from here to the grain station, and their village is quite far from the grain station.

Secondly, after arriving at the grain station, there will probably be a long queue, and you don’t know how long it will take to wait for your village’s turn.

Not to mention, there is a possibility that you may not pass and need to find a place to dry it again.

Of course, Zhoujiazhuang should be better this year.

After all, he has someone in the commune. Chen Hua was commended for his thresher last time and is said to have taken up an important position in the commune.

As the saying goes, it’s easier to get things done with someone!

Moreover, the old branch secretary shook the two packs of Zhonghua in his hand and said: "With these two packs of Zhonghua today, plus Chen Hua's help to greet, our village will definitely be unimpeded."

In previous years, I didn’t have good cigarettes. China is a country that values ​​personal relationships.

In fact, in previous years, even if he wanted to buy this kind of good cigarettes, he couldn't buy it without a ticket, unless he went to the black market. But everyone knows that the risk of the black market is a bit high.

When the captain saw the Zhonghua in the old branch secretary's hand, his eyes widened slightly, and he felt the urge to smoke. He immediately said flatteringly: "Old branch secretary, can you give me a cigarette of this Zhonghua?"

He had never smoked such good cigarettes before, and it would be impressive for him to talk about it later.

The old branch secretary said unhappily, "I can't bear to smoke it myself. This is for the leaders of the grain station. Forget it."

The captain smiled awkwardly and didn't ask for it any further.

Zhoujiazhuang set out in this mighty manner. When they reached the outside of the village and approached Shangshui Village, they saw the villagers of Shangshui Village also starting to set out.

The two sides met, greeted each other and chatted for a few minutes.

In this way, everyone traveled together. After all, the more people there are, the safer it is, and there is no need to worry about encountering those blind people who come to steal food.

On the road leading to the grain station, there were horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carts, and people-pulled carts, bustling with people and noisy voices, making it very lively and bustling.

Except for Shangshui Village and Zhoujiazhuang, the food prepared by most villages is definitely not enough. There is no way. Being able to eat enough is a luxury now.

I can see so many people, and most of them look pale and thin. I hardly see any fat people. After all, how can they be fat if they can’t even eat enough?
As for the so-called "three highs" in later generations, they did not exist in this era. Everyone did not know each other at first, but as the topic opened up, everyone began to chat with each other.

At this moment, someone in front suddenly shouted: "Someone fainted."

People nowadays are still very enthusiastic and are all coming forward to help.

It is not like in the 21st century, even if an elderly person fainted, people would not dare to help him, for fear of being blackmailed. At the very least, they would lose their money, and at worst, their family would be ruined!
The old branch secretary was nearby and he led people to rush forward to help.

I saw a middle-aged man who was so hungry that he had no flesh on his body. He was like a skeleton. There was a bag of wheat scattered on the ground next to him. However, the people present did not pay much attention to the wheat. Instead, they were all paying attention to the middle-aged man's health.

"Liang Zhishen, wake up, everyone spread out a little, who has water? Bring some water over." A middle-aged man shouted from the side.

The people around him finally reacted. The old Party secretary quickly brought over the village kettle and handed it over. He looked familiar and asked, "Are you Village Chief Liang?"

Village Chief Liang asked curiously, "Do you know me?"

"I am the branch secretary of Zhoujiazhuang." The old branch secretary introduced himself.

Village Chief Liang said, "It turned out to be Secretary Zhou. Let's talk later. I'll save people first."

After Village Chief Liang took it, he slowly poured water into the unconscious man's mouth. The water slowly flowed into his slightly opened throat. Not long after, the unconscious man opened his eyes.

After seeing this, everyone let it go.

Village Chief Liang was a little embarrassed to speak: "Does anyone have any extra food? He just fainted from hunger. If he doesn't eat, he might faint again and might even starve to death."

There was no other way. In order to pay the public grain tax, the village had already handed over all the wheat in the village, but it was still short of enough. They had to borrow some from other villages, which was barely enough to pay the public grain tax.

So there was no extra food to eat on the road, otherwise they would have taken out the steamed buns to give to Liang Zhishen. After all, human life was at stake, so they had no choice but to take some from the public grain and let Liang Zhishen eat.

Their village is in a bad situation, with a very poor harvest.

"I'm fine, just let me rest for a while." The unconscious Liang Zhishen was weak.

Food is precious nowadays. Many people don’t even have enough to eat themselves, so how can they share it with others?

Seeing this situation, the old branch secretary couldn't bear it, so he took out three steamed buns from the food he brought from his village, and then said, "Brother, eat something first."

When Liang Zhishen saw the steamed bun and was about to refuse it, the old branch secretary directly put the bun into Liang Zhishen's hand.

When Village Chief Liang saw this, he advised, "Zhi Shen, just eat it! Otherwise, if something happens to you, what will happen to your wife and children?"

You have to know that Liang Zhishen is the pillar of the family. If anything goes wrong with him, the family will probably be on the verge of breaking up.

After hearing this, Liang Zhishen finally stopped refutation and just started to eat three steamed buns silently. As he ate too fast, he suddenly choked. He immediately patted his chest, trying to swallow the steamed buns, but this method did not work.

Village chief Liang quickly handed over the water.

After Liang Zhishen took the water, he couldn't wait to drink it. After taking several big gulps, he finally swallowed the steamed bread stuck in his throat.

Thanks to brother 08a for the reward! I wish you all a happy National Day, and I wish the brothers who are going home a safe journey, and I wish the motherland prosperity.

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(End of this chapter)