Era: 1962, the rise of vocabulary and related terms

Qin Family Village.

Xu Chunwang, with Yan Xiao by his side, carefully avoided the grains and seeds drying in the open space.

"Sigh, Purchasing Manager Xu."

The two of them pushing their bicycles were noticed from a distance.

"Yo!"

"Hey! Captain Qin."

In the distance, a person holding a pipe waved in their direction and then walked over.

"Captain Qin."

"You're here, Purchasing Officer Xu." Captain Qin nodded slightly to Xu Chunwang, then looked at Yan Xiao: "And this is?"

"Oh, this new guy just joined the company. I brought him out today to show him around and see how the purchasing process works."

Xu Chunwang didn't even say his name, and went straight to teaching him the experience he had shared on the way.

Upon seeing this, Captain Qin nodded slightly. "Purchaser Xu, it's not that we're being dishonest. You just came by a few days ago. The village really doesn't have much surplus grain to sell."

"Captain Qin, you're being too polite. It's almost late autumn and winter is approaching, so I brought some cloth ration coupons with me. What? You don't want them? If you don't want them, I'm really leaving. Go check out the next village?"

As he spoke, Xu Chunwang pushed his bicycle around halfway, looking like he was about to leave.

"Hey, hey, let's talk this out." Captain Qin quickly reached out and pressed down on the handlebars of the bicycle, putting on a warm smile.

Winter is almost here, and every household is short of warm clothing.

"What? You're not letting me leave?"

"Just kidding, come in and sit down." Captain Qin stepped aside. "I wonder how many cloth ration coupons Purchasing Xu brought?"

"But they're all half-foot cloth coupons, only seventeen or eighteen in total. There are too many monks and not enough porridge."

Cloth coupons were divided into denominations of 1 inch, 2 inches, half a foot, 1 foot... The face value was small, but it was related to the dignity and well-being of a family.

Since rural areas do not produce cloth, cloth ration coupons are very important to them.

In previous years, when things were a little better, we could always get a dozen or so feet of cloth at the end of the year, which was barely enough to buy a new jacket for the child.

However, after several years of famine, the cloth ration coupons they received plummeted to a pitiful three to six feet.

Seven feet of cloth are only enough to make a thin garment. How could a family of several people possibly rely on that?

It's common for people to wear the same clothes for three years after patching and mending them.

These days, if you want to buy a new set of clothes, it takes two or three years to save up cloth coupons.

"Come on, come inside! It's warm inside!"

As soon as I entered the house, someone called out and came in.

"Is Purchasing Manager Xu inside?"

Suddenly, three or four women carrying bamboo baskets rushed in.

Each person carried a basket filled with various items: grains, mushrooms, wild fruits, nuts, and other mountain produce...

"Xu, what did you bring this time? What precious tickets did you bring? Let us see!" Lu Fengjuan hurriedly came closer, almost shoving the basket at him, and was so frightened that she quickly stepped back to avoid it.

Seeing him like this, Lu Fengjuan's eyes widened, and she slyly smiled.

"Sister Lu." Xu Chunwang's expression was somewhat unnatural when he looked at the person in front of him.

"Xu, what precious tickets and certificates did you bring this time? Let us see them quickly!" Lu Fengjuan hurriedly asked.

Xu Chunwang pulled out the eighteen cloth coupons directly. "I came down here on short notice today, and I didn't bring much with me. I only brought half-foot cloth coupons."

"Half a foot? That's much better than an inch or two."

"Finally, we got the cloth ration coupons! Winter's almost here, and all the clothes at home are torn. I don't know what I'll do if we don't get cloth to mend them."

"Xu's purchase came at just the right time; it's been a huge help to us."

Lu Fengjuan squeezed to the front: "Xu, purchasing agent, can you tell me how many cloth coupons I can get for these things?"

As she spoke, she put the basket down.

Xu Chunwang looked at the small amount of food in the basket, mainly mushrooms and mountain products, and his mouth moved silently up and down.

It is clearly calculating the prices of the goods in the basket.

In the market, a foot of cloth costs about 10 cents, but in the countryside, Xu Chunwang always calculated it at 10 cents for half a foot, converting the equivalent value of the goods he brought into money, and then into the value of cloth coupons.

Xu Chunwang quickly calculated the result: "Sister Lu, these count as 4 votes."

"Huh? Only four? Xu, aren't you underestimating me? Please, give me five, okay?"

"Sister Lu, I've already helped you. These four bills are only three, and to be honest, they're only three. Please don't make things difficult for me."

"Purchasing Manager Xu, please have some compassion! You know I have elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. My family is large, and my two youngest children are only a few years old. Winter is almost here, and what are we going to do without clothes?"

Lu Fengjuan looked so pitiful, her cries like sobs, that it softened anyone's heart.

Her actions, however, drew the ire of the other women, who began to rebuke her.

"Lu Fengjuan, that's enough! Is your family the only one in need? There are only so many tickets. If you take more, what will we get?"

"Exactly! You haven't had enough of taking advantage of things before, and now you want to take even more? What are you dreaming of! Does Qin Gang know how you behave at home?"

"What's it to you! You're all too incompetent and just envy me! If you're so capable, why don't you try it yourselves!" Lu Fengjuan instantly stopped crying, put her hands on her hips, glared, and raised her voice louder than anyone else's.

Seeing the women arguing fiercely, spittle flying everywhere, Xu Chunwang quickly stepped back, moved closer to Yan Xiao, and whispered:

"See, this is what I told you: you can get along with people, but you also have to know your limits! Otherwise, they'll take advantage of you."

"I understand, I understand." Yan Xiao nodded repeatedly, his experience becoming concrete at this moment.

After arguing for a while, Xu Chunwang immediately shouted, "Alright, if you want to argue, go outside. This isn't a market. Do you still need your tickets?"

"want!"

"Purchasing Officer Xu, we were just joking."

"Yeah yeah."

"Hmph!" Xu Chunwang's face was cold: "If you make any more trouble, you're out."

"Sister Lu, there are only four cloth coupons, no more!"

"Alright then." Lu Fengjuan trembled with a pitiful expression, looking like she was being forced into it.

snort!

Her pretentious manner made Yan Xiao feel a little nauseous.

It's hard to imagine that a woman with a rather robust build and arms almost twice as thick as his could make such affected gestures in a high-pitched voice.

Several women curled their lip and muttered disdainful things like "shameless" and "disgusting".

This transaction is finished, now it's time for the next one.

Soon, the four people exchanged all 18 cloth coupons, and Xu Chunwang found several small piles of grains and more mushrooms and mountain products at his feet.

"That's all! They're all replaced. Everyone, come earlier next time."

Xu Chunwang addressed the group of villagers who had arrived later.

"Huh?! Purchasing Manager Xu, since we're already here, why don't you exchange some for us too?"

"Yes, we've already brought everything; we can't just take it back."

The villagers chimed in with their own opinions, leaving Xu Chunwang feeling helpless.

He was so focused on teaching Yan Xiao his experience that he forgot he had said that one should always be prepared before going out.

They really shot themselves in the foot.

"Brother Xu, I still have your tickets here," Yan Xiao said softly.

"Thanks, brothers, bring them all out." Xu Chunwang looked at everyone and held out his hand: "Alright, everyone stop arguing. I have some other tickets here, do you want them?"

Yan Xiao took out the coupons: enamel coupons, cigarette coupons, soap coupons, salt coupons...

"Come on, you give it a try." Xu Chunwang patted his shoulder.

But Yan Xiao hadn't written down the prices on those purchase orders yet: "I haven't written down all the purchase orders..."

"It's okay, I'll help you."

With Xu Chunwang's words, Yan Xiao felt much more at ease and called out in a serious manner, "Who wants to go first! Don't push!"

The uncle at the front of the line immediately took out some mountain produce and grain.

Xu Chunwang quickly calculated the price and told Yan Xiao. He then looked at the villager in front of him and asked, "Uncle, what kind of tickets do you need?"

"I want salt coupons and soap coupons."

"The price is only enough to choose one," Xu Chunwang whispered a reminder from the side.

"Sir, you can only choose one; the price doesn't match."

"Then... salt coupons will do."

"Alright!" Yan Xiao collected the supplies and handed over the salt coupons.

Ding--

[First transaction completed, earning the entry "Abundant Harvest"]

[Abundant Harvest: With each transaction, you can easily reap greater rewards.]

[Special Effect: Increases harvest by an additional 10%, and automatically places it in the ring.]

Yan Xiao's eyes narrowed, but due to the unusual environment, he didn't look any closer.

"Next!"

Having had a successful experience, you'll be able to handle things with ease from now on.

Before long, all the tickets were exchanged, and Yan Xiao received a total of 7 jin of grain, as well as some mountain products.

"Good lad, you're really something! You got the hang of it in no time on your first time buying things. Maybe you're just born for this." Xu Chunwang patted him on the shoulder, looking very pleased.

"Thanks to Brother Xu's help, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get the hang of it so quickly. Thank you, Brother Xu."

"Oh, you're too kind." Xu Chunwang waved his hand. "Alright, the tickets have all been exchanged. We should pack up and leave. You can keep the grain for yourself."

Xu Chunwang pointed to the grain that Yan Xiao had purchased himself.

Yan Xiao was somewhat self-aware: "Brother Xu, how could I accept this? This ticket is yours, and you're the one who helped me. How could I possibly accept food?"

"Just accept it when I tell you to!" Xu Chunwang said, feigning seriousness.

However, Yan Xiao gave a wry smile: "Brother Xu, you must have forgotten that I'm a temporary worker and I'm still living in the factory dormitory area. Even if you give me this food, I can't cook it."

The factory dormitories have at least six people per room, so cooking is a bit of a hassle, and everyone is used to eating in the canteen.

The cafeteria will be responsible for their meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekends.

A few years ago, due to famine, we were able to cook in the dormitories, but since the recent bumper harvest, no one has been cooking anymore.

After all, daily necessities like rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar all require extra expenses, so it's cheaper and more convenient to eat in the cafeteria.

"Ah... I almost forgot about that." Xu Chunwang patted his head.

Yan Xiao placed the items in Xu Chunwang's car.

"Since you've come all this way, why don't you go back to the commune for a visit?"

Yan Xiao's eyes lit up: "Is that okay?"

"Haha, of course! Don't forget what we do! Let's go!"

Xu Chunwang kicked off and rushed out.

Immediately, Yan Xiao followed.