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Hearing Xu Damao's words, Xiao Shan said helplessly, "Brother Mao, this wouldn't have been a problem last year, or even in the first half of this year, but it's not possible now!"

"Now the area outside the city has been designated as hunting zones, which are managed by the surrounding villages. It's not easy for outsiders like us to hunt wild game!"

"Oh, I see!" Xu Damao nodded.

Xiao Shan reminded him, "Brother Mao, don't you often go to the countryside to show movies? Now, in order to cope with the reduced grain production, each village is organizing its own hunting trips. When you get there, ask them; they should have what you want!"

"Okay, I'll ask when we go to the countryside to show movies!" Xu Damao said with a smile. "You continue eating, I'm going back now!"

After Xu Damao left, Xiao Shan finally finished his meal!

After tidying up, Xiao Shan was just about to start cultivating when he heard a commotion outside.

"What's going on?" Xiao Shan asked, puzzled by the commotion.

So he went straight out to see what had happened.

Upon arriving at the Intermediate Courtyard, Xiao Shan saw people gathered around He Yuzhu and his wife, talking amongst themselves.

Xiao Shan leaned closer to listen and discovered that He Yuzhu's wife, Li Caijuan, was pregnant.

He Yuzhu, beaming with joy, announced to those around him, "My wife is pregnant! She felt nauseous while eating, so I rushed her to the hospital. The doctor said she's pregnant. I, He Yuzhu, am going to be a father!"

Hearing He Yuzhu's words, Jia Dongxu laughed and said, "Zhuzi, you're about to become a father, so you can't be reckless anymore."

“Your brother Dongxu is right. You have a wife now, and you’ll have children in the future. You need to be more mature!” Yi Zhonghai said with a smile.

However, Yi Zhonghai's smile was somewhat forced, because He Yuzhu was now completely out of his control.

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Brother Jia, Uncle, don't worry, I know this much."

"Brother Zhu, congratulations! Our courtyard will soon have a new member!" Xiao Shan said to He Yuzhu. "Second Aunt, Third Aunt, you two should start making arrangements. Jie Cheng and Guang Qi are both over twenty. The sooner they get married, the sooner they can have grandchildren."

The three women nodded in deep agreement: "Xiaoshan is right. I'll go ask Director Wang tomorrow if there are any good girls in the neighborhood to introduce to Jiecheng."

Xiao Shan was speechless. It would be difficult to get help from Director Wang for Yan Jiecheng's matter; it would be better to find a matchmaker.

Everyone knows that Yan Bugui's family eats pickled vegetables by the root, so wouldn't it be a waste for Director Wang to introduce him to a potential partner?

Director Wang isn't stupid; he wouldn't do something that would invite resentment.

Aunt Er nodded: "It's time to talk about it! I'll go find a matchmaker tomorrow and talk to Director Wang again."

Xiao Shan returned home and took ten eggs to He Yuzhu's house.

He handed the eggs to He Yuzhu, saying, "Brother Zhu, I don't have anything good to offer, so I'll give these eggs to your wife to help her recover!"

"Xiaoshan, you're still the best in our yard! I don't lack food, but I really can't buy eggs right now." He Yuzhu said happily, "By the way, Xiaoshan, is it still possible to get wild game? I want to stew a duck for your sister-in-law to nourish her and let her have a taste of something new."

He Yuzhu also knew that the food shortage was getting worse and worse. The city was still able to supply enough food, but many rural areas were required to raise some of it themselves.

"Brother Zhu, you can only ask people in the nearby villages about this. They should have some wild game!" Xiao Shan said to He Yuzhu. "If we try to get it ourselves, it'll probably be a long shot!"

In fact, given Xiaoshan's strength, even without setting traps, it would be easy for them to obtain some wild game.

But he doesn't intend to do that.

Rural people are already suffering enough; why should we compete with them for a little bit of wild game?

He Yuzhu nodded: "Okay, I understand. I'll go find my master and ask him to help me ask!"

He Yuzhu's master was the head chef of Liuquanju, so preparing wild game was not a difficult task for him.

The peaceful days passed quietly, like flowing water.

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

It was July of 1959.

News of reduced harvests in various parts of the north has spread like wildfire.

Even the grain rations in Beijing were reduced.

Fortunately, Xiaoshan had stockpiled a lot of food in advance, and the food purchased from the group store had not been taken out.

Not only are we not short of food right now, we can even get through the difficult times of the next few years without any problem!

As soon as Xiao Shan walked into the courtyard after get off work, he heard the voices of several middle-aged women talking inside.

“Today I went to collect my ration, and they reduced it by five jin. How are we supposed to live? Dongxu is the only one in our family who gets a ration, and they even reduced it by five jin. How are we supposed to survive?” Jia Zhangshi complained loudly in the courtyard.

The three women didn't look too good either: "Our family has also reduced our food allowance. It seems the country is really short of food. We'll have to tighten our belts from now on."

The second aunt, however, remained relatively calm, as Liu Guangtian had previously suggested stockpiling grain.

Although the second uncle didn't say it explicitly, he took the suggestion to heart, and his family has been bringing a lot of grain home from the pigeon market these past few days.

We have hundreds of pounds of grain stored at home, even though it won't last long. But it can still save us a lot of money.

If the quota is reduced, the price of pigeon feed in the pigeon market will definitely skyrocket.

"Xiaoshan, your ration has been reduced, did you know?" Jia Zhangshi asked as she watched Xiaoshan return home.

Xiao Shan nodded: "I know, I've reduced mine too! But as long as I'm full, the whole family isn't hungry, so there shouldn't be any problems for now!"

Hearing Xiao Shan say this, an older woman said, "Xiao Shan, if you don't have enough food, just tell your aunt. You can't let anyone go hungry."

"Okay, I definitely won't be polite then!" Xiao Shan smiled and nodded at the old lady's kindness.

Xiao Shan didn't chat with the older women much and went straight home.

It was dinner time at Liu Haizhong's home.

Aunt Erda said to Liu Haizhong with some relief, "Starting today, the grain ration has been reduced! Luckily, Guangtian reminded us in time, and our family bought about 100 jin, which will save us a lot of money."

Upon hearing Aunt Er's words, Liu Guangqi's expression immediately turned ugly.

Liu Guangtian said smugly, "Dad, I was right! With the grain production down, it was the right thing for our family to buy grain in advance."

Liu Haizhong snorted coldly and glared at Liu Guangtian: "What are you brat smug about? You only gave me a heads-up. Your old man saw that food was scarce a long time ago, which is why I bought grain in advance."

This wasn't the first time Liu Guangtian had witnessed his father's shameless face, so he was used to it: "Dad, you're right! I just gave you a heads-up, and it's all thanks to your wisdom and wisdom."

The smile that Liu Guangqi had just shown when his father criticized Liu Guangtian vanished instantly.

Not only has my second son become more intelligent, but his flattery skills have also improved significantly!

After finishing his meal, Liu Guangtian couldn't sit still any longer and decided to go find Xiao Shan to share his joy.

Xiao Shan was eating at that moment.

On the table were a plate of steamed buns, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a plate of twice-cooked pork.

Looking at the dishes on the table, Liu Guangtian swallowed hard.

Only his father and his older brother in his family could afford to eat eggs.

He and Guangfu could only smell the aroma.

As for meat, even his father doesn't get to eat it often, let alone the rest of them!

Xiao Shan could tell from Liu Guangtian's smug expression that he must have something to show off.

So he smiled and said to Liu Guangtian, "Let's eat something together."

"Never mind, I just ate at home." Liu Guangtian said politely, but his eyes were fixed on the dishes on the table.

Seeing Liu Guangtian's insincere expression, Xiao Shan smiled and said, "Alright then, find a chair and sit down! We can talk about it after I finish eating!"

Upon hearing Xiao Shan's words, Liu Guangtian wished he could slap himself twice!

However, since he had already said it, Liu Guangtian couldn't go back on his word.

At Liu Guangtian's age, he is at a time when his self-esteem is very high.

So Liu Guangtian could only find a stool to sit down and watch helplessly as Xiao Shan finished all the food.

Seeing Xiao Shan put down his chopsticks, Liu Guangtian couldn't wait to say, "Xiao Shan, I really made a name for myself today! You told me about the grain shortage and that we should stock up on grain as soon as possible, and I told my dad about it!"

"I didn't expect the ration to be reduced today. Our family has stored up over 100 jin of grain, enough for at least a month's worth of food. My older brother's expression was priceless!"

"Xiaoshan, you don't lack food, do you?"

Xiao Shan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I reminded you. How could I not know to stockpile food in advance?"

"That's true! You're so smart, you'll never go hungry!" Liu Guangtian nodded in deep agreement.

In Liu Guangtian's mind now, Xiao Shan is the smartest person in the courtyard!

After helping Xiao Shan tidy up the table and sharing his joy, Liu Guangtian went home satisfied.

Chapter 83, Grain Prices Soar! (Please Subscribe!)

That night, Jia Dongxu secretly went out of his house.

About two hours later, Jia Dongxu entered the house carrying a bag.

Upon seeing Jia Dongxu return, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu immediately surrounded him.

Jia Zhangshi asked impatiently, "Dongxu, what's the price of grain at the pigeon market right now?"

“Prices have gone up. Cornmeal is free, it’s only 10 cents a pound. I didn’t even ask about wheat flour, but I estimate it’ll cost at least 20 or 30 cents.” Jia Dongxu’s face was a little grim. “I bought 20 pounds of cornmeal this time, and with my ration, it’ll be enough for our family to eat for a while.”

For Jia Dongxu, losing five pounds of rations wasn't a big problem.

Anyway, their family never has enough to eat, so whether they add five pounds or subtract five pounds makes little difference in the ration.

The problem is that grain prices have gone up in Pigeon City!

Their family used to buy 40 to 50 kilograms of grain from the pigeon market every month. Now that the price has gone up, it means they have to spend several yuan more per pigeon.

Upon hearing Jia Dongxu's words, both Jia Zhangshi and Qin Hairu's expressions turned rather unpleasant.

Jia Dongxu didn't earn much to begin with, and now this situation has put him under a lot of pressure.

Jia Dongxu sighed and said, "Let's leave it at that for now! I hope this famine will end soon, otherwise food will become increasingly scarce, and prices may even rise, and we might not be able to buy food even if we have money."

This is what truly worries Jia Dongxu.

If they can't buy food in Pigeon City even with money, then their family will really go hungry!

As soon as Jia Dongxu returned, Xiao Shan also quietly left home and headed straight for Pigeon Market.

Xiaoshan also wanted to take advantage of the fact that prices hadn't risen too much yet to buy more things, as they would definitely need them in the future.

Moreover, even if others go hungry, your own family will have a constant supply of food, and you'll have something to say about it.

The pigeon market is much more lively at night than during the day.

However, most of them came to buy grain and inquire about prices.

Xiao Shan, wearing a mask, walked around twice and bought several kilograms of meat coupons, a few wine coupons, and sugar coupons.

With food prices rising, fewer people are buying sugar and alcohol coupons; everyone is saving up to buy grain!

Xiao Shan saw a middle-aged man carrying a bag of flour, surrounded by a crowd.

Some people complained that his price was too high: "Your flour is too expensive! It costs three cents a pound, who can afford that! It's only one cent at the grain store."

The middle-aged man selling flour rolled his eyes: "If the grain store is cheaper, go buy it there. Don't bother with this nonsense!"

The grain stores do sell cheap grain, but it's sold out as soon as it arrives!

If you're even slightly slow, you won't be able to buy it at all!

Moreover, not only did you need grain coupons to buy grain at grain stores, but the quantity was also limited.

Now, grain stores stipulate that you can only buy ten kilograms of grain at a time, and it's not all wheat flour; you have to mix it with other grains.

Xiao Shan walked over and asked the middle-aged man, "How many kilograms of flour do you have here?"

"Twenty jin." The middle-aged man looked up at Xiao Shan and said in a muffled voice.

Xiao Shan smiled slightly: "Three mao is indeed too expensive! I'll take all two mao and fifty fen, how about five yuan in total?"

"Why don't you just wait here? Everyone just received their rations, so there's no shortage of food at home for the time being. Your price is too high; who knows how many days it will take to sell it!"

Hearing Xiao Shan's words, the middle-aged man considered it for a moment and finally nodded: "Okay, take the five yuan! I'll even give you the bag."

Xiao Shan paid the money, put the bag of flour into his basket, and continued strolling around Pigeon Market.

Afterwards, he bought more than ten kilograms of cornmeal, and Xiao Shan returned home satisfied this time.

Back home, Xiao Shan put wheat flour and corn flour into the rice jar, then closed the door, lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and started chatting with everyone in the chat group.

The human world, a world of light.