Reborn in 1981, the first to get rich start with dairy cows.

Chapter 168 The Busiest Month of the Year

The summer heatwave hadn't arrived yet, but when Shen Dong woke up in the morning, he could already feel the heat of the fire.

Before the roosters had even crowed, the old man had already knocked on the door to wake us up.

Today is the day to hand over the grain tax.

June is the busiest month of the year, with a lot to do.

Harvesting wheat, drying rice, delivering grain to the state, and rushing to plant corn—everyone, men and women alike, went to the fields, working from dawn till dusk, sometimes without even time to eat.

Many part-time jobs in the team have stopped, and even Shen Weiguo's brick kiln has stopped operating.

Last month, farm work was only half busy. In the afternoons and evenings, the women could still make cardboard boxes to earn some money. Now, all of that has stopped.

After Shen Dong finished washing up and went to the old man's place, he found that there were already two tow trucks parked there.

The brothers Shen Weiguo and Shen Weimin are loading grain onto the truck.

Shen Dong quickly went over and helped Hu Aiping lift the load up as well.

Although he didn't do farm work, Shen Dong still took the time to find out the specifics of delivering grain to the state.

The grain supply at this time mainly consisted of three parts. First, there was the bulk of grain purchased through unified procurement. Each mu of land had to deliver 80 to 100 jin of wheat and 60 to 80 jin of rice, which would be purchased at a price of 15 to 20 cents.

In addition, there was an agricultural tax, which was paid without compensation. It was levied at a rate of 40 to 50 jin of wheat and 30 to 40 jin of rice per mu. The requirements were quite strict, and it was what was called the imperial grain tax in olden times.

Finally, there's the grain purchased in excess of the quota. The price of this portion is much higher than that of the grain purchased through the unified purchase system. Wheat can even sell for 26 cents per kilogram.

Generally speaking, when the harvest is good, the production team will deliver more grain than it was purchased, which is an important source of cash for the production team. At the end of the year, the members can receive more money as dividends.

But for Shen Dong right now, it's a bit tiring!

It usually takes half an hour to walk from the team to the commune, but now, with everyone pushing carts and the team moving together, the pace is slow.

Besides, he couldn't let his two uncles push him all the time. He was an eighteen-year-old young man, and he couldn't be weak. So he pushed a cart himself.

The hemp rope was around the back of my neck, and it was rubbing so hard it hurt.

Halfway there, the sun slowly peeked over the horizon.

Shen Dong felt even hotter now, so he stopped the car, took off his short-sleeved shirt, and was left wearing only a vest.

He didn't want to go shirtless like everyone else.

"Dad, look at Wang Ergeng's family, they don't seem to have enough grain." Shen Weimin looked at the cart following behind, which had only a few bags scattered on it.

"If he had just spared a little time for leisure, the fields wouldn't be in such a state. He's over thirty, what kind of man can rely solely on his mother?"

Wang Ergeng was a notorious slacker in the team. Unlike Shen Weiguo, he was a complete failure.

"See? This is what happens when you don't learn to behave properly. You'll see, they'll definitely be used as a typical example to criticize when they get to the commune."

Shen Weiguo was pushing the cart with a grimace when the old man gave him a sharp tap on the head.

"Dad, I've opened a brick kiln; I'm done with this!"

"Hmph, if you were still hanging around, you wouldn't be getting the treatment you're getting now."

After walking for a while, Shen Weimin took over pushing the cart, and the old man switched places with Shen Weiguo.

"Uncle, how many batches of bricks have you gotten already?" Shen Dong asked, rubbing his slightly feverish neck.

Shen Weiguo was a little better off than him. He often touched his neck and didn't feel anything, but he had put in a lot of effort. He said breathlessly, "Only two batches! Then it rained, and then we started harvesting rice again, so we had to stop for the time being."

"What about the bricks?"

"They're stacked up. There aren't many production teams that need bricks right now; they're all busy with the summer harvest."

Shen Weiguo was right, and Shen Dong nodded.

These days he has also clearly noticed that the factory workers' spirits are not right.

They'll most likely have to go back to work in the fields after their regular job, which means they're doing two jobs a day, hence their lack of energy during the workday.

But the task is there, and as long as you have it, you can't avoid it.

Shen Dong wouldn't be so kind as to ask them to take leave and help with household chores, since the factory was his core business.

After a while, the grain delivery team finally came into view.

Ten production teams from the surrounding area gathered in one place. Shen Dong thought his family had already set off early, but he didn't expect that there were others who had set off even earlier.

He probably didn't sleep all night!

He had seen scenes of grain delivery on television before, but this was his first time experiencing it in person.

"Sit down and have something to eat first!" Tang Yue took out some steamed buns and water from her bag.

Shen Dong plopped down and started eating the cornbread.

I went straight to work as soon as I arrived in the morning, and my stomach was already completely empty.

He looked behind him and saw people constantly pushing donkey carts, rickshaws, and even carrying loads on shoulder poles.

There were no staff members from the grain station maintaining order at the scene; it was all the villagers who spontaneously formed long queues.

After eating two cornbread buns and drinking a lot of water, I regained some strength.

"I'll go take a look ahead." Shen Dong patted the dust off his backside and walked forward.

As he approached the door, he peered inside and saw that all the bags of grain had been opened, and the inspector was inserting an iron skewer into the bags.

The iron skewers are hollow, so they can bring out grain each time. Then the grain inside is poured out for inspection, and its fullness and dryness are checked.

Weigh it only after it passes the test.

Finally, they will calculate the bill and pay the money.

As Shen Dong was watching, an argument broke out inside.

"Li Tieniu, what do you mean? What do you mean by 'not up to standard'!" A middle-aged man said emotionally, reaching into his bag and grabbing a handful of grain, which he then held out to Li Tieniu across from him.

"Open your eyes and look at this! The quality is substandard!"

Ignoring the man's questioning, Li Tieniu stood calmly and said without even blinking, "If there's a problem, there's a problem. There are so many impurities inside. If you weigh it all, others will have objections."

He glanced at it disdainfully and said to the open space, "Why don't you come here and do your own selection?"

"You're talking nonsense! You, Li Tieniu, are just here to take revenge on me because of a conflict with your family last year. Do you think I don't understand?" The man did not follow Li Tieniu's instructions.

He sneered, walked to the door, and picked up the grain in his hands.

"Everyone, take a look. Is there anything wrong with my grain? You all be the judge!"

Shen Dong also stepped forward and took a look.

It looks fine.

But he didn't know the standards either, so he just listened to what other people said.

Sure enough, everyone started discussing it, but only in hushed tones, and no one came forward to publicly support it.

Everyone has to hand over grain, and this Li Tieniu is clearly the grain inspector, so there's no need to offend him.

Seeing that no one supported him, the man could only purse his lips and accept his bad luck.

After listening to everyone, Shen Dong had a general understanding of the situation.

This kind of thing happens twice a year when grain is delivered, and it happens at every grain station, so everyone's used to it.

Only Shen Dong still felt indignant.

The queue moved very slowly, and it was almost noon before it was Shen Dong's turn.

He has already eaten two meals and gone to pee in the nearby woods twice.

He immediately perked up when he heard the next name.