Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 33 Buying Grain
Two days passed.

Li Hongbing has finally had his day off.

Today, Fengzeyuan has established an internal labor union to protect the rights and interests of every employee. Therefore, Li Hongbing, like the head chefs in the kitchen, has a few days off every month.

Even apprentices still do odd jobs and can no longer be treated like beasts of burden as before.

only.

Due to the special nature of the catering service industry, in order to ensure the normal operation of the restaurant, their rest time is not fixed like that of factory workers, but is rotated.

After breakfast, Li Hongmei went to work at the food factory, while Li Hongbing took out his old school notebooks and started practicing his calligraphy.

Li Hongbing focused intently and quickly got into the zone.

As a result, the calligraphy skill experience points on the system panel gradually increased.

[Calligraphy +1]

[Calligraphy +1]

……

During this period, Li Hongbing would set aside some time each evening after returning home to practice calligraphy, the purpose of which was self-evident.

[Heaven rewards diligence! Congratulations, host, your calligraphy skill level has increased from lv1 to lv2! Your calligraphy has reached a new level, and you are rewarded with three million in cash and a set of exquisite writing implements!]

Just as Li Hongbing was engrossed in writing and almost forgot the time, a system notification suddenly appeared in his mind.

Tsk!
The three million yuan income directly doubled Li Hongbing's original net worth.

Unsurprisingly, the higher the skill level, the richer the rewards.

As for the set of the Four Treasures of the Study, Li Hongbing took a look and found that it included top-quality Huzhou brushes, Huizhou ink, Xuan paper, and Duan inkstones, all of which were the finest of the finest.

All of these things combined are probably worth no less than a cash reward.

It's just that it's so good that Li Hongbing can only use it secretly behind closed doors right now, and he can't show it off to outsiders.

Looking at the already risen sun outside and estimating the time, Li Hongbing went outside, locked the door, and prepared to begin his shopping trip for the day.

"Red Soldier, get out of here!"

"Go out for a walk."

Today is not a designated rest day, so most people with jobs have gone to work. However, women like Aunt Yan who are unemployed are gathered in the courtyard chatting and doing handicrafts such as sewing shoe soles.

When Li Hongbing went out, he inevitably ran into them.

The extra three million yuan in procurement funds clearly gave Li Hongbing not only a pleasant surprise but also a great deal of confidence.

The first thing Li Hongbing did after leaving home was to buy grain at a nearby grain store.

This year is 1952. There are only two years left until the issuance of national grain coupons in 1955.

Although the full implementation and launch of the ration coupon system was marked by the issuance of the first national grain coupon in 1955, the policy of unified purchase and distribution had already been initiated as early as 1953.

In 1953, which is October of next year, in order to alleviate the problem of a surge in population and a sharp increase in food demand, the government will issue the "Resolution on Implementing Planned Procurement and Planned Supply of Grain," implement a unified purchase and sales policy, and begin to uniformly allocate grain.

The following month, Beijing immediately implemented a flour rationing system, prohibiting private flour trading and issuing flour purchase certificates. Grain supply standards were set according to occupation and age, which was known as grain rationing.

The era of ration coupons would continue and influence people for the next three or four decades, until the reform and opening up, when the economy gradually developed and various ration coupons were gradually abolished.

Li Hongbing didn't have much time to prepare.

Putting aside everything else, even just to prepare for the difficult three-year period a few years from now, Li Hongbing needs to plan ahead and make some preparations in advance.

The system rewards for skill upgrades, while including physical items such as food, were still far from enough for Li Hongbing.

Upon arriving at the first grain store, Li Hongbing first inquired about the current prices of various grains.

Currently, millet is priced at 1250 yuan per jin (500g), cornmeal at 1030 yuan per jin, and Xiaozhan rice at 1770 yuan per jin. Converted to 1955 yuan, these prices are 0.125 yuan, 0.103 yuan, and 0.177 yuan respectively.

Nowadays, you don't need to register or use grain coupons to buy grain, but Li Hongbing only spent a little over 80,000 yuan to buy 50 jin of rice. There are two reasons for this.

On the one hand, Li Hongbing did not bring any grain transport tools with him, and fifty jin was still within his capacity for manual transport.

on the other hand.

Buying grain is not a one-time event; buying too much at once or coming too frequently can easily leave a deep impression on the shop owner.

If this arouses suspicion in people with vivid imaginations, leading them to suspect him of being a spy, then things could get very bad.

After all, the city is still cracking down on spies and their underground operations!
Out of caution, Li Hongbing planned to conduct the grain purchase secretly, naturally keeping a low profile.

Carrying the grain out of the store, Li Hongbing found a secluded spot and stored the bag of grain in his system space.

Only with system space can one buy and store grain with peace of mind; otherwise, the grain will spoil if stored for too long.

After finishing these tasks, Li Hongbing rushed to the next grain store and repeated the previous operations.

These grains are "shady," and the cash rewards from the system are roughly the same.

In this way, the two sides cancel each other out, achieving a perfect hedge.

Besides grains, Li Hongbing also bought some sugar, salt, and oil, since he would need them for the next few decades.

Of course.

Li Hongbing did this simply for the sake of his own and his family's future survival needs, not for hoarding and speculation to make illegal profits or enrich himself through unethical means.

After running around until noon, Li Hongbing had accumulated a lot of supplies in the system space, and still had more than half of his money left.

Inefficiency is one aspect, but money really does go by too quickly these days.

More importantly.

Li Hongbing mainly purchases basic necessities, and the government's price controls in this area are quite beneficial to the people.

Instead of returning to the courtyard house, Li Hongbing found a noodle shop nearby and ordered a large bowl of braised pork noodles.

We visited many places and put in a lot of effort in the morning. Since Li Hongbing is still growing, we had an extra bowl of noodles. After eating and drinking our fill, we left satisfied.

The operation continues.

When Li Hongbing finally arrived at Qianmen Dashilan, he couldn't help but slow down as he looked at the many well-known old shops there.

only.

In these places, Li Hongbing wasn't as extravagant with his money.

The prices are not cheap, that's only one aspect.

Even if you buy it, you won't need it for a while and it can only be stored in the system space temporarily.

Traditional cloth shoes like those from Neiliansheng are not cheap, but once you buy them and wear them out, it's hard to find something else of good quality to wear in a short time.

Shoes, after all, are something you wear on your feet and walk around in the world with dignity.

This is obvious.

The neighbors in the courtyard know each other's income, what they bought today, and what they ate tomorrow. It's hard to hide anything from them.

Especially since there's a stingy old man named Yan living across the hall who loves to calculate everything, and he'll make sure he knows exactly what he's got.

If he goes home wearing a pair of Neiliansheng cloth shoes today, and then buys a roast duck or something else in a few days, given his current income, it would be strange if people didn't suspect something.

Even with Li Hongmei's salary, she wouldn't be so wasteful.

At that point, even Li Hongbing himself wouldn't be able to give Li Hongmei a reasonable and convincing explanation.

(End of this chapter)