The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Qi Yanhua poured Yang Dalin a cup of hot water before she began to explain.

It's all because of food shortages.

Qi Yanhua is seventeen years old and in her first year of high school, while Qi Xiaoning is twelve years old and in her fifth year.

The quota for each person has been reduced again and again.

The teachers at the school are not getting enough to eat, and 80% of their food is coarse grains, whereas it used to be 70%.

The ration for each person has been reduced to 21 jin for adults, 3 jin for infants, and 8 jin for children. For example, Qi Yanhua, who is seventeen years old, and Qi Xiaoning, who is twelve years old, have rations of only 18 jin and 14 jin respectively.

In normal years, the ration for college and high school students is 29 to 36 jin, and the average ration should not exceed 35 jin.

For general residents and children over ten years old, the weight should be between 24 and 28.5 jin (12.5 catties), with an average weight not exceeding 27.5 jin (13.75 catties).

Children aged six to under ten years old should weigh between 18 and 23 jin (6.5-11.5 catties), with an average weight not exceeding 22 jin (11.5 catties).

Children aged three to under six years old should weigh between 12 and 17 jin (6.5 catties), with an average weight not exceeding 14 jin (7.5 catties).

Children under three years old should weigh between 6 and 11 jin (approximately 3.5 catties), with an average weight not exceeding 8 jin (approximately 4 catties).

A comparison reveals a significant difference in grain availability. Sichuan province fared the worst, with an average monthly ration of only 19 jin (approximately 9.5 catties) per person in 1959.

At this time, the supply of meat ration coupons was even more pitiful, amounting to only four ounces a month.

It seems like next year will be even more extreme, with the average person consuming only 0.85 jin (2.25 catties) of meat per year. That's a whole year! It's less than a jin (0.5 kg) of meat per person. What does that mean?

So at first, schools generally had half-day classes and students could spend the other half of their time being active. Later, the rule became: students should go home and rest after half a day of classes and not be active.

Then, in the autumn of 60, we attended classes for a while, but then it didn't work out again. The teacher was starving, so everyone was given a holiday.

The Qi sisters have been on vacation for a week.

Their current ration is 21 jin for Aunt Qi, plus 32 jin for the two sisters, for a total of 53 jin.

Before Yang Dalin arrived, the three women, who had small appetites, ate frugally. Aunt Qi, however, had some foresight and stored some grain.

Two meals a day are barely enough to eat. If you add in Yang Dalin, who's a big spender, you'll see that Qi Xiaoning has a lot of complaints about Yang Dalin!

The grain weighs less than 60 jin (30 kg), with coarse grains accounting for 80% of it, averaging 13.25 jin (6.65 catties) of grain per person.

It's still a month, with each person consuming 0.44 jin (22.5 catties) per day. Wow, that definitely guarantees they won't starve.

Two small steamed buns (about 100 grams each) per person per day are enough.

But most activities are off-limits; I'll just have to stay home and lie around all day.

I saw Qin Huairu today; she's so thin she's almost unrecognizable. Her face has no luster at all. I also didn't see Bang Geng or Xiao Dang from "Zhu Xian Bu Mie." They're probably just lying around at home.

Going out to do activities is just a waste of food.

Qi Xiaoning said that if he doesn't come to the house, the two of them usually lie down rather than sit up, trying to reduce their energy consumption as much as possible.

A while ago, the newspapers promoted a so-called "double steaming method," which involves putting rice into a pot and steaming it for 20 minutes, then adding water (3.3 jin of water per jin of rice) and steaming it over high heat for 40 minutes.

The second method is to dry-steam the rice for half an hour, then divide it into portions and put them into containers. Add cold water (4 jin of water for every jin of rice) and steam over high heat for 1 hour. This double-steaming method can yield 5 jin of cooked rice per jin of rice, which is more than 40% more than before. The rice grains will not be mushy and will taste better.

It's not true that it tastes good. Keep adding more rice, let it swell up, make your stomach grow too big and your bladder burst.

There are also so-called "experts" who have proposed substitute foods, such as Chlorella, which is rich in nutrients.

This stuff contains about half protein, but long-term use may inhibit fat absorption and promote metabolism, potentially leading to abnormal weight loss.

It accelerates epithelial cell metabolism, leading to dry, flaky skin.

High protein intake may increase the metabolic burden on the kidneys, especially for those with renal insufficiency.

They're not hungry themselves, they're eating high-class food, and they're just making fun of ordinary people.

All of this demonstrates the profound kindness shown to Aunt Qi Yulan.

After listening to what Qi Xiaoning was saying, Yang Dalin felt uneasy.

My arrival could really lead to someone in this family starving to death.

Haven't you noticed that even high-income earners like Yi Zhonghai don't dare bring people home?

Apart from Qi Yulan, no one in the entire hospital dared to bring relatives home.

Most people would only provide a little bit of food if they had relatives, and they wouldn't dare to bring people home.

Qi Yulan is the first one in the hospital this year.

Last year, many relatives came to the courtyard to freeload, but this year not a single one dared to receive them.

There was no other way; the disaster seemed endless, and no one dared to take any further action.

But Aunt Qi dared to do it, and even brought a young man home with her.

Yang Sanjin knew the weight of this kindness, so he tried his best to earn food.

To lighten Aunt Qi's burden, otherwise Qi Xiaoning's daily eye-rolling is enough to make her suffer.

Although this girl has a sharp tongue but a soft heart, she is tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

Yang Dalin asked Qi Yanhua, "Sister Yanhua, are there any places around here where I can do odd jobs?"

Qi Yanhua thought for a moment and said gently, "I'm not too sure either. I haven't paid much attention to it usually. Old Master Qi at the gatehouse might know. Most of the other residents in the courtyard are employees of the steel rolling mill, and they are doing alright."

"Oh, does Yan Jiecheng from the third uncle's family in the back house have a formal job or just do odd jobs?"

Qi Xiaoning quickly raised her hand: "I know, I know, he works as a worker in the steel rolling mill workshop."

Okay, who said Yan Jiecheng was a day laborer? Maybe he did day labor for a while.

However, he eventually ended up working in a steel rolling mill.

No matter how much money Yan Laokou spent to get Yan Jiecheng in, it's estimated that Yan Jiecheng will have to pay Yan Laokou back in installments, plus interest.

This family's calculations were so meticulous that they completely eroded their children's affection and filial piety.

There are three other families in the courtyard who do odd jobs.

One of them is Chen Daguang, who lives in the backyard. Chen Daguang does odd jobs, but his relationship with the Qi family is just so-so.

Li Yongqiang's eldest son, Li Jianguo, who lives in the west wing of the front yard, also seems to be doing odd jobs.

That's the son of Aunt Li who was greeting people outside just now.

Yao Shuisheng, the first house in the west wing of the main gate, also did odd jobs.

Yang Dalin analyzed these people and concluded that the best course of action was to go find the gatekeeper, Old Man Qi.

He is warm and hospitable, and has a lot of experience. Yang Dalin plans to ask him for advice later.

If all else fails, Yang Dalin plans to take a powerful pill before going to bed that night and go to the train station or grain station to carry heavy loads the next day.

There's nothing we can do; poverty breeds short-sightedness, and a thin horse has long mane.

Having no money on him, he went directly to ask for help, but since he didn't know the person well, why would they help him?

You should first try to earn some money, enough to buy two packs of cigarettes or a bottle of wine, and then ask others for advice; that would be reasonable.

Since I'm new to this area, I must do a good job of working with the local people.

If you unite a group of people, you'll have someone to speak up for you when something happens.

Otherwise, if you come in and start showing off, you're most likely to get kicked out by the authorities.

Because I don't have a registered household.

It's best to be cautious.

If you're not on a firm footing, it's best to avoid trouble if possible.

The most important thing is to first resolve Qi Jia's concerns.