Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

For dinner, Qin Jingru made a stir-fried pork with green peppers and a spicy and sour cabbage dish. She served Wang Feng a bowl of rice and said with a smile, "Brother Wang Feng, dinner's ready."

"Um."

Qin Jingru placed a piece of meat in Wang Feng's bowl, her face full of admiration: "Brother Wang Feng, you're amazing! You said before that the portion size would be reduced again, and I didn't expect you to be right."

Lu Banxia took a bite of her food, looked at Wang Feng, and asked, "Brother Feng, do you think the portion size will be reduced again?"

Wang Feng nodded: "Definitely. There's a famine everywhere right now, and a large number of refugees are pouring into Beijing. The authorities can't just watch these refugees starve to death, so the quota will definitely be reduced again."

Lu Banxia sighed: "With the quota already reduced by 20%, many families are already struggling to make ends meet. If it's reduced further, how will ordinary people survive?"

Wang Feng smiled indifferently: "Banxia, ​​I didn't expect you to be so compassionate. There's a nationwide famine right now, so even if you're compassionate, it's useless. This is something that can't be solved by human effort alone."

"yes."

Lu Banxia sighed deeply and began to eat.

Qin Jingru rolled her eyes: "Banxia, ​​why do you care so much about others? Can you manage all the people in the country? As long as our family doesn't go hungry, that's enough."

Lu Banxia said speechlessly, "Sister Jingru, when did I say I was going to take care of this? I just feel sorry for those who are starving. I almost starved to death on the mountain twice before. If it weren't for Brother Feng saving me, I would have starved to death long ago. I know very well how uncomfortable it is to be hungry."

"Also, my dad is a patriotic businessman. If he were still alive, he would probably donate money and supplies to help those poor people."

Wang Feng smiled and waved his hand: "Alright, let's stop discussing this and hurry up and eat."

"Um."

Just as Wang Feng was having dinner at his house, about twenty people from the neighborhood returned from the pigeon market.

Most of them were carrying bags full of cornmeal, while a few had empty bags.

Just as Yan Fugui had predicted, when they went to the pigeon market to buy grain, the price had already risen to 1.2 yuan per jin. Some of them bought a lot of cornmeal on the spot, while others thought it was too expensive and didn't buy any.

Yan Fugui thought it was too expensive and didn't buy it. Anyway, his family was eating sweet potatoes now, and only Liu Yuhua was eating cornbread. At worst, they would wait until the rations were issued next month, and they would exchange their coarse grain coupons for cornmeal for Liu Yuhua, while they would exchange less for sweet potatoes.

Qin Huairu bought 20 jin of cornmeal this time, which cost her a full 24 yuan, almost a month's salary, and it made her heartbroken.

But there was no other way; her mother-in-law had a big appetite and there was no rationing, so even if the price of grain was high, she still had to buy it.

Back in the house, Jia Zhangshi saw Qin Huairu carrying a large bag of cornmeal and hurriedly asked, "How is it? Has the price of cornmeal gone up?"

Qin Huairu put down the cornmeal, sighed, and said, "The price has gone up; it's 1.2 yuan per jin."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately began to curse.

"That damn dead fish eyes, if it weren't for her, our family could have been classified as a poor household, and we would have received at least five kilograms of cornmeal every month."

Qin Huairu pursed her lips and said, "Mom, cornmeal is 1.2 yuan a pound now, and it might be even more expensive in a while. You don't have a ration, and with my salary of 27.5 yuan, our family simply can't make ends meet. These are particularly difficult times. Could you take out the 300 yuan you have to buy some cornmeal?"

Upon seeing that Qin Huairu was actually eyeing her retirement savings, Jia Zhangshi jumped up in a fit of rage, pointing at Qin Huairu and launching into a tirade of abuse:

"Qin Huairu, this is money that Dongxu risked his life for. This is my retirement money. Don't even think about taking my retirement money."

"Mom, can you be reasonable? Grain prices are so high now, and my salary isn't enough to cover expenses. You have money but won't give it to us. We can't go hungry, can we? Banggeng is your grandson. He's at the age where he's growing. It's okay if we eat less, but what if Banggeng goes hungry and doesn't grow tall?" Qin Huairu said, feeling wronged.

Jia Zhangshi remained tight-lipped, shouting, "I don't care, this is your problem. Don't you have two suckers at the factory? Don't they pay for your meals every day and let you bring back steamed buns, meat, and vegetables? Go ask them for help!"

Qin Huairu pursed her lips and said speechlessly, "Mom, they're not stupid. I've kept them hanging on for so long without letting them take advantage of me. After a while, they definitely won't pay for my meals anymore."

"Then what should we do? Qin Huairu, you're really useless. You can't even handle a pockmarked face and a cripple."

Madam Jia sighed: "Qin Huairu, I allow you to let others take a small advantage, but you must promise me that you will never remarry in this life, nor will you get pregnant with someone else's illegitimate child. My Jia family is a prestigious family, and we cannot afford to lose face like this."

"How about this, take Sunday off this week and go to the hospital to get an IUD inserted, just to be on the safe side."

Qin Huairu stared wide-eyed at Jia Zhangshi, her face showing shock and disbelief.

"Mom, are you serious?"

Madam Jia sighed deeply and said earnestly, "Huai Ru, I know it's not easy for you, a widow, to work and earn money to support our family. Now, with these particularly difficult times, it's even harder."

"Men are all driven by their lower instincts. Back when I was widowed, I raised Dongxu with this. I know men best. If you don't give them any benefits, this won't last. If you want them to support our family long-term, this won't work. Qin Huairu, let me tell you, even if you want to give someone a little benefit, you can't just pick anyone. At least you have to pick someone rich, with a high salary, and preferably a government official."

Qin Huairu nodded in deep agreement. She hadn't even let Wang Mazi and Li Lei touch her hand, and she knew that this kind of thing couldn't last long. Now she could only drag it out as long as possible and try to squeeze as much money out of them as possible.

Wang Mazi and Li Lei are old, ugly, and disgusting. She definitely wouldn't want to have a relationship with them. Even if what Jia Zhangshi said is true, she would only look for a rich cadre.

Now that Jia Dongxu is gone, and Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu are ignoring her, her only goal now is to raise Bang Geng to adulthood.

"Qin Huairu, what are you daydreaming about? Did you hear what I said?" Jia Zhangshi shouted.

Qin Huairu sighed, "That's all we can do for now. I'll go to the hospital on Sunday when I have a day off."