Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

Chapter 44 Who is working hard for whom?

"Big Brother, Third Brother, Uncle Guo has no other choice, so he came to find you brothers. There is a problem with the food supply in the city now, and the ration is only 327.

"Alas, there are many people in my family, and my children are still growing. They cry out in hunger every day. I know rice is expensive now, but can you buy me some sweet potatoes? Even if the price is a little higher, that's fine."

Guo Yongqing is a cadre, but he has to come to the countryside to buy sweet potatoes.

Now each person's daily ration is only 3.7 liang, which is far from enough.

Fang Ping glanced at his third brother and asked, "Do you know if anyone has extra sweet potatoes? What's the price?"

"Who's willing to sell food these days? Take sweet potatoes, for example. In normal years, they sell for 2 to 3 cents per jin (approximately 1 grams). But now, even if you offer 2 cents per jin (approximately 1 grams), I'm not sure anyone will buy them."

Fang Wei had heard from his second brother-in-law that rice was sold privately for 3 yuan per catty. The original price of rice was between 1 yuan (per catty) and 0.11 yuan (per catty), which was more than 0.13 times the price.

So, he was not raising the price intentionally, and this was even considered a "friendly price".

Guo Yongqing used to have a good relationship with Fang Wei's parents. When the other party offered a high price for medicine, Fang Wei's parents went into the mountains to collect medicine and met with an accident. The relationship between the two families became a little subtle.

After that incident, Guo Yongqing did help the Fang family, but he got tired of it, so he used a Type 38 rifle to end all the past grudges.

Fang Ping and Fang Wei had similar thoughts. It would be unreasonable not to help someone who had come to them for help, but they didn't have the heart to give it to them for free.

The correct solution is to give some discounts while following the market.

"The price of 2 yuan per pound is very fair. Uncle Guo will remember this favor. Third brother, could you please go to the village and ask for some sweet potatoes for me?"

Guo Yongqing was a sensible man and expressed his gratitude immediately.

He asked Fang Wei to help him buy some sweet potatoes from the village, and he sat in the house waiting.

Fang Wei didn't say anything more, just stood up and walked out.

He returned to his residence, packed 50 kilograms of sweet potatoes and dumped them in the backyard. Then he went to find Zheng Hu and asked him to do him a favor.

After an hour or so, Fang Wei and Zheng Hu, who was carrying sweet potatoes, appeared in front of Guo Yongqing.

"Uncle Guo, this is Hu Zi. He helped me get 50 kilograms of sweet potatoes. Just give him the money."

Fang Wei asked Zheng Hu to come forward mainly to avoid future troubles.

This time he and his elder brother gave Guo Yongqing face, but next time it may not be the same. It depends on the specific situation.

Therefore, it is necessary to push Zheng Hu out so that no matter what happens in the future, the harmony will not be damaged.

Guo Yongqing readily gave Zheng Hu 10 yuan, then tied the bag to the back seat of the bicycle and left.

Fang Wei looked at the other person's bicycle with envy. Having a bicycle these days is probably the same as owning a commuter car in the 21st century. It is both practical and prestigious.

night.

Fang Wei put the 10 yuan in change away. It was of no use to him for the time being, so he decided to save it for now.

Although tickets are needed for everything these days, money is also necessary first, right? He had already thought about the ticket issue. Guo Yongqing owed him a favor this time, and he could ask him for help to get some later.

For the next period of time, Fang Wei either discussed with Guan Chongyang his experience in finding water and minerals, or discussed with Wu Maosheng the possibility of growing japonica rice in the second season.

He remembered that the province had vigorously promoted "early dwarf and late japonica rice", that is, short-stalked early glaze rice and late japonica rice Nongken 58.

Early rice is planted with high-quality dwarf indica rice varieties, and late rice is planted with "Nongken 58" japonica rice varieties. The yield per mu generally increases by about % to %.

"Nongken 58" was introduced from an island country, and began to be trial-planted in Zhejiang in 1960, and was widely promoted in southern Hunan Province in 1964.

"Mr. Wu, do you have any way to get new rice seeds from Zhejiang?"

Fang Wei and Wu Maosheng had previously cultivated indica rice varieties. He wanted to find an excellent japonica rice variety, and the best choice at present was of course "Nongken 58".

"I do have a plan, but I don't know if it will work. So, I'll write a letter and you can mail it for me. Maybe it will help."

Wu Maosheng feels that the "early dwarf and late japonica" planting method is worth discussing, but it does not hinder the experiment.

Practice makes perfect, and any theory must stand the test of time. Therefore, he was happy to help Fang Wei.

Wu Maosheng is also a well-known agricultural expert in China. He has friends and acquaintances in agricultural departments in various places. It should not be a problem to ask them for some new rice seeds.

Wu Maosheng started writing the letter immediately. After he finished, Fang Wei took the letter to the commune to mail it.

The fifteenth day of the first month.

Today is not only the Lantern Festival, but also the first day of the market after the festival.

Pan Lianhua left the village in the middle of the night with several sisters and brothers, carrying some bamboo products and mountain goods, ready to exchange them for some things.

When we got down the mountain, it was already dawn.

"Brother Chongshan, I want to go find a friend. You guys go to the market first, I'll come over later."

Pan Lianhua planned to call Fang Wei to go to the market together. She did not go down the mountain during the New Year, and Fang Wei did not go to the village. It was a good opportunity for them to meet today.

The little girl was full of curiosity about "Brother Fang". Although he was young, he had great abilities. Whether it was farming or hunting, "Brother Fang" always brought her surprises.

When the brothers and sisters heard this, they immediately burst into laughter.

Most of them had seen Fang Wei and had a good impression of him. After all, he was sunny and handsome, and he also helped Xiao A-mei get a lot of food.

"Go, go, we'll wait for you at the market."

Wang Chongshan smiled and waved his hand, and the group left on their own.

Pan Lianhua came to Fang Ping's house with her load on her shoulder, and happened to meet Fang Wei who was coming back from fetching water.

"Brother Fang, why are you still leisurely carrying water at the market today?"

"Why rush to the market? It's more lively the later you go. Sister, have you had breakfast? Let's eat together at home."

Fang Wei responded with a smile, then went into the house with the other person.

Fang Ping and Tian Guihua both greeted Pan Lianhua, especially Tian Guihua, who was very enthusiastic towards the girl and insisted that she sit down and have breakfast with her.

Pan Lianhua had eaten some dry food on the way and was a little hungry now, so he didn't refuse.

Tian Guihua went to the kitchen and cooked two poached eggs for the little girl, which made her feel embarrassed. She said:

"The eggs are for the two little kids. I don't want any."

"They do. Eat them quickly so you can go to the market."

I couldn't push away the lotus flower, so I had to eat the fried egg.

After dinner, Fang Wei took some dried sweet potatoes, potatoes and prepared herbs, and set off with Pan Lianhua.

Although sweet potatoes and potatoes have a long storage period, there are also storage time limits.

The sweet potatoes that cannot be eaten at home can be made into dried sweet potatoes, shredded sweet potatoes and sweet potato vermicelli. Potatoes can also be made into vermicelli.

Of course, since potatoes are harvested relatively late, there is no problem keeping them until the spring.

Food was scarce right now, so he should be able to exchange dried sweet potatoes and fresh potatoes for quite a few goodies. If that didn't work, he could exchange them for money, since he didn't have much with him anyway.

The two chatted and laughed along the way until they arrived at the market.

The brothers and sisters stopped teasing Pan Lianhua. They lined up their baskets and waited for someone to come and trade.

"Fang Wei, long time no see."

Fang Wei laid out the dried sweet potatoes and herbs and placed the potatoes in a basket.

Before he finished cleaning up, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw that it was his junior high school classmate.

(End of this chapter)