Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

When they dragged the person back from the hospital that evening, the young people in the compound approached Zhang Dabiao.

It turned out that the black market grain prices in the pigeon market had been rising recently, so Liu Genhu, Da Tou, and the other two came to Zhang Da Biao to borrow grain.

"Brother Da Biao, what's wrong with us...?"

Zhang Dabiao wouldn't say he had an overflowing saintly heart. He knew about the family situations of these young people. They were indeed miserable, but there were many families in dire straits these days. How many could Zhang Dabiao possibly save?

Big Head's surname is Qi. He lives in two east wing rooms in the front yard. His family includes his mother (Chen Ma) and his 13-year-old younger sister, Qi Xiaoli, who is in junior high school. Big Head is about 16 or 17 years old this year. He started working as a temporary worker after graduating from junior high school. His father was a level 3 fitter at the steel rolling mill, but he passed away a few years ago. Originally, Big Head was going to wait until he reached the age to take over the job, but life was too difficult in 59, and his mother fell ill. In the end, he had to transfer his job to one of his uncles.

That uncle was kind-hearted; he would help their family from time to time, giving them 15 yuan a month as a subsidy.

But after the beginning of 60, the food situation became increasingly tense. His uncle was working alone to support two families, and it was really difficult to make ends meet. Moreover, 15 yuan could not buy much food at that time, and the price of food had risen too crazily.

Tiger's surname is Zhong—his full name is Zhong Xiaohu, and he is the same age as Datou, still in high school. His family lives in the two rooms on the left side of the front yard. He has a younger brother named Zhong Xiaotao, who is 7 years old and in the same class as Banggeng. They have a grandmother. Their parents went to work on the road construction with the railway boss and rarely come back. The family's income is enough, but they don't have enough food.

Liu Gen's surname is Tian, ​​and he lives with his mother, Aunt Tian. His father married into the family, so Liu Gen took his mother's surname. His father disappeared before the liberation, and no one has seen him or knows whether he is alive or dead, but they receive a monthly allowance. They live in the two back rooms to the right of the deaf old woman. Liu Gen is a little older than the rest of them, almost 18, and will graduate from high school after this semester. But his grades are average, even worse than Yan Jiecheng's, so it's hard to say whether he will be able to find a job.

These young people are all decent people, but Zhang Dabiao's "little nest" can only be updated a certain number of times a day. Not only does he eat a lot himself, but he also has to take some to the factory to hand over, since although he is not short of money, he is short of food coupons.

Supporting these young guys once or twice is fine, but you can't provide emergency relief or support them forever.

"Have you found Master Liu yet?"

After all, Liu Pangpang is an old man now, so he has to take the lead in this matter.

"We looked for them, and an old man gave each of our three families 20 jin of cornmeal and lent each of us 10 yuan. They didn't have much stock left."

Zhang Dabiao nodded. That was the truth. Liu Pangpang's family, including Guangqi's small family, consisted of four men and two women. Although the ration was high, the consumption was also high. Moreover, Liu Pangpang did heavy physical labor, so not eating well or being well-fed would lead to serious problems. Therefore, he always had a constant supply of eggs.

Liu Guangtian was also a young boy, and apart from Zhang Dabiao, he had the biggest appetite in the courtyard. He often needed his brother Liu Guangqi to subsidize him, otherwise he wouldn't have enough to eat.

To be honest, it's already quite good that Liu Pangpang gave so much.

Zhang Dabiao hesitated for a long time. Last time when the Jia family caused trouble (when they invited Liu Guangqi and Xu Damao to dinner and brought out milk, Sha Zhu was ready to take action), these three people also stood up to help. Their relationship was usually okay, much better than with the Jia family.

I'm afraid that if I start helping, I won't be able to stop, and everyone else will come to me. After all, everyone knows that I'm the purchasing agent and can get supplies.

If he didn't help, Zhang Dabiao would feel a little guilty.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine, I'll lend you each 10 jin of rice, but—"

They were all deeply moved to hear that Zhang Dabiao was willing to help, but the word "but" that followed made their hearts sink.

"Da Biao, just tell us. As long as it's within our power, we'll do it even if it means selling everything we own."

"Should we put a sack over Jia Dongxu? We can do that, but putting a sack over Yi Zhonghai... we're a little hesitant, afraid he won't be able to hold on."

"Taking a fool like that will work too—"

Zhang Dabiao was speechless. What do you all think you are? If you want to deal with them, I can do it myself.

And you guys seem pretty skilled at your job? Which area are you guys from?

"What are you talking about? That's not what I meant."

"Tomorrow, take the rice and call Yan Jiecheng to take you to exchange it for coarse grains."

"He knows the place, he's experienced, otherwise, how many days would ten pounds of rice last?"

"Also, keep it a secret that you're borrowing grain from me!"

After seeing the three off, Liu Guangqi and Zhang Dabiao smoked and chatted in the courtyard, while Xu Damao and Shazhu were still lying at home, sleeping soundly.

"Guangqi, is the food shortage really this bad?" Zhang Dabiao scratched his head. He had been keeping a low profile lately, and because of his job as a purchasing agent and his growing body, he could eat and drink a lot, which his neighbors could understand.

He knew these past three years had been tough, but he never imagined it would get to this extent.

"Of course! Do you know how much rice costs per pound on the black market?"

"The official price is 13 cents, at most 15 to 20 cents, but the black market dares to sell it for 2 to 3 yuan per jin! I heard that some people are even paying 8 yuan per jin for rice!"

「富强粉在鸽子市也涨到2－2.5块一斤，棒子麵1－1.5、猪肉已经到了5－8块钱一斤！」

"You know, pork only costs seven or eight cents a pound, how many times has this price increased?"

"Ten times the price! And you still might not be able to buy it!"

Speaking of this, Liu Guangqi also took a puff of his cigarette in frustration. How could ordinary people afford to eat grain at this price?

Working hard for a month, I only earn 20-odd yuan. Can't I even buy three jin (1.5 kg) of meat? At most, ten jin (2.5 kg) of rice? What kind of food can I possibly eat with that?

If it weren't for the rations that urban residents are still receiving, I really don't know how we would survive.

As for the countryside...

Zhang Dabiao didn't even dare to think about it.

He had previously pinned his hopes on a high potato yield, but the potatoes just wouldn't sprout.

So there's nothing we can do.

"But this can't go on forever. I mean, our neighbor in the yard, it's fine if he borrows grain once or twice, but..."

"It won't last much longer."

When the time comes, everyone will come to Zhang Dabiao to borrow grain. Should we lend it to him or not?

"That's right. These days, when it comes to borrowing grain, who has extra grain?"

"Da Biao, you still need to supply the factory with those supplies. Don't just lend them all out on a whim."

"Old Tian also told me to inform you that the factory can only offer you a maximum of three times the listed price for the materials they purchase; they can't afford any more. Just make sure you get some materials for the factory each month, just enough to meet the minimum quota. Otherwise, if you, as a temporary purchasing agent, don't get any materials for the factory for a long time and instead sell them to your neighbors for profit, the higher-ups will have something to say. If your purchasing permit is revoked, many things will become difficult."

"After all, you're still officially employed at the factory and have a letter of introduction for your job. You'll be seeing each other all the time, so you'd better keep this job. Don't make things worse."

Liu Guangqi has a fairly comprehensive view of the issue. In this day and age, class background is the most important thing, and this matter cannot be handled impulsively.

Zhang Dabiao nodded. He needed to keep a work letter, or rather, a letter of introduction for his job. Otherwise, what would he do if he had to go to the countryside or something?

He doesn't object to being a good person, but one must first protect oneself.