Era: 1962, the rise of vocabulary and related terms

Before long, each household in the brigade sent a representative.

However, there's nothing much going on right now; many people have come with their families to watch the excitement.

Ye Xingguo looked around and, seeing that the representatives from each family had almost all arrived, stepped forward and gestured for silence.

"Xiao Yan, you tell us."

Yan Xiao stepped forward, looking at everyone's puzzled expressions: "Everyone, I've come back with good news!"

Without wasting any words, he directly stated the information in detail, finally getting to the core point:

"To be honest with everyone, the factory plans to replace this batch of steel scrap with grain."

The room fell silent upon hearing this.

The men, who had just been arguing heatedly, seemed to have been choked, and the women's joy faded, replaced by solemnity.

Just as Ye Xingguo had predicted.

Compared to filling one's stomach, a wok doesn't seem as urgent.

Pairs of eyes looked at each other, filled with hesitation, struggle, and reluctance, but no one was the first to speak up and agree.

This was a bit beyond Yan Xiao's expectations. He had anticipated that there might be awkward silences, but he didn't expect it to be completely silent.

He immediately added, "Uncle Ye said that on behalf of the brigade, he would like to pre-order 50 jin of steel scrap."

Everyone turned to Ye Xingguo, demanding an explanation.

"What? You don't want scrap steel, but the brigade certainly doesn't. Farm tools like hoes and sickles, if they break, don't you just fix them? You don't mean you want to use wood, do you?"

In short, he dispelled everyone's doubts.

Farm work is already tiring, and if you use inferior tools, you'll end up wasting your time and effort, and in the end, you'll be the one who gets exhausted.

Seizing this subtle shift, Yan Xiao quickly pressed his advantage: "Listen everyone, this replacement method was negotiated with the factory, and it's absolutely fair!"

"Steel costs at least 70 or 80 cents a pound on the market. The factory understands the difficulties of our rural areas and only buys grain, priced at 50 cents a pound! The coarse grains we have only sell for about 20 cents a pound on the market."

"I've negotiated for everyone, and we'll calculate it at 25 cents! That means two pounds of coarse grain can be exchanged for one pound of steel! If any family can exchange more, say five pounds of coarse grain, I can even decide to exchange it for three pounds of steel!"

"This is definitely the lowest price we can get."

He spoke quickly and explained the exchange details clearly.

This is the maximum replacement amount Corey can offer.

However, he was met with silence and bewildered stares.

No matter how shrewdly a farmer calculates his fortune, it can't compare to the weight of grain in his heart. It's the most instinctive fear of hunger.

In the corner, Wu Qian looked at everyone who remained unmoved, and then at Yan Xiao, who seemed to be on a hot tin roof, and smiled contemptuously.

The person who loved watching the drama added, "Wow, Yan Xiao, you're really good at this! You wouldn't happen to... be taking a kickback from us, making a profit from both sides, would you? City folks are so shrewd!"

These words, so scathing, were like a sharp blade, instantly piercing the seemingly frozen air.

All eyes immediately focused on Yan Xiao, and feelings of suspicion and scrutiny spread.

Hearing familiar voices and seeing familiar faces, Yan Xiao didn't want to pay much attention, but he knew that mocking someone had to be done in a certain situation.

"Taking kickbacks? Wu Qian! You need to speak with conscience! I was able to work in the city because everyone gave me their job opportunities. I cherish this job and my reputation. How could I possibly do something so ungrateful and despicable?!"

"But you, Wu Qian! Relying on your father being the second team leader, how much kickback did you pocket from that batch of scrap steel allocated to you by the city the year before last?"

"You really think you can get away with it? I was studying in the city back then. Do you think I didn't know what the steel market was like? Who pocketed the difference? Do you really think I, Yan Xiao, am some bookworm who doesn't know anything?!"

Yan Xiao's accusations came like a barrage of bullets, each sentence piercing the heart.

Wu Qian's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"You're talking nonsense!"

"You're...you're...speaking ill of me! I...I didn't do it, everyone don't listen to him, I didn't..."

Stared at by everyone, Wu Qian retreated in fear, trying to explain himself.

*Smack! Smack!*

Suddenly, two crisp slaps rang out.

Wu Qian covered his flushed cheeks, looking incredulously at his father, Wu Qiang, who had just attacked him.

"You disgraceful wretch! Get your ass back home! If you dare spout nonsense here again, I'll break your legs!"

Wu Qian covered his face, glared venomously at Yan Xiao, and amidst the disdainful, mocking, and inquisitive gazes of the crowd, he squeezed out of the crowd in a disheveled state and fled in panic.

In front of everyone, Wu Qiang forced a smile and explained, "Old Ye, Yan boy, fellow villagers, the kids are just ignorant and talking nonsense. Please don't take it to heart."

"Regarding the steel matter, it was indeed my son who took over the business the year before last, but the accounts were all clear, and I reported it to Old Ye. Taking kickbacks? Absolutely not! That kid is just making things up!"

Although Wu Qiang was the second team leader, his words did not completely convince everyone, and they all turned to look at Ye Xingguo.

"Yes, that's true." Ye Xingguo nodded. "Alright, let's get back to business. Yan, you continue."

He neither affirmed Wu Qiang's "innocence" nor denied Yan Xiao's accusations; he simply stated a fact.

Yan Xiao noticed the increased trust in everyone's eyes. He knew that words alone wouldn't suffice; he needed to provide concrete examples.

After looking around the crowd, an idea suddenly came to me.

A classic GG term from later generations came to mind.

Diamonds are forever; a diamond is forever.

"Uncle Zhang, I remember Brother Zhang is not young anymore, he's 27 this year, right? He's still not married, is he? Has the house been built yet? It was delayed a few years ago, it wasn't his fault, but he hasn't married or built a house yet, so he should hurry up and get the furniture ready."

"You can't bring your new bride into the house without even a decent pot, can you? What will your in-laws think? How will the new bride feel? How will she be able to live a smooth life?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Brother Zhang in the crowd looked anxiously at his father: "Dad, Yan is right. I don't have a wife or a house, but I can't be without any belongings, can I? If a girl hears this, will I even be able to find someone?"

"No matter how shabby you are, you can't be so poor that you don't even have any belongings, right? If the girl sees you like that, she might leave without even stepping inside."

"This..." Uncle Zhang hesitated.

Yan Xiao looked at the next person.

"Aunt Zhang, Sister Wu is 20 this year, right? She's reached the age to get married. Why don't you get her a cast iron pot?"

"Aunt Zhang, you've been through this yourself, you know how difficult it is for your daughter to establish herself in her husband's family after marriage. As her parents, we always want to support her."

"Just imagine, if Sister Wu could bring a shiny new iron pot as part of her dowry when she got married, what a sight that would be! Would her in-laws still dare to give her a hard time?"

"If she really suffers a grievance, Sister Wu can take the iron pot back to her parents' home and prevent her in-laws from even cooking. Wouldn't that infuriate them? This pot is our daughter's source of confidence!"

Sister Wu looked at her mother beside her and said, "Mom, I don't want to be bullied after I marry into this family. If that's the case, I won't get married."

As she spoke, her delicate, tearful appearance instantly touched Aunt Zhang's heart.

Two vivid examples were right before their eyes, instantly creating a huge uproar.

The villagers, who were originally only thinking about saving food, were cleverly led by Yan Xiao to think about the more distant future—their children's marriages, the family's dignity, and their status in their husband's family.

These are responsibilities that are even more inescapable than the few pounds of grain in front of us.

"What Yan said makes sense. A few years ago, we even had trouble getting enough to eat. Now that life is better, it's time to think about our children's marriage."

"That's right, it's just a little bit of food. It's okay to eat less. We've managed to get through these past few years, haven't we?"

"That's true. My son is of marriageable age and it's time for him to get married. We need to buy these things too."

Yan Xiao looked gratefully at his uncle Yan Mancang and aunt Yan Guiying.

"Young man Yan, my family doesn't need much; we can only provide 10 jin of grain."

"My family can produce 8 jin (4 catties) of this."

"I'll donate 10 jin!"

Public sentiment surged instantly.

The silence and doubts from before vanished, replaced by a chorus of eager registrations.

"Everyone, don't rush! Take your time! Report one by one!"

Seeing that Yan Xiao had won everyone over with just a few words, Uncle Yan Mancang and Aunt Yan Guiying, who had originally planned to support Yan Xiao, no longer needed to; he was capable enough.

Before long, the total amount of coarse grains was counted to be more than 1600 jin.

As agreed, Yan Xiao completed his purchase quota of over 400 yuan per kilogram, and directly completed his quota of 75 yuan in one go.

At the same time, more than 1100 kilograms of scrap steel had to be replaced.

Almost every household contributed 10 jin of grain, with some contributing as much as 20 jin, which was almost all exchanged for 6 jin of scrap steel.

These 6 jin of steel are just enough to make one iron pot. If it's smaller, there will be some left over, and the extra can be stored for repairs.

This year's harvest is good, and everyone has plenty of grain. Selling 10 or 20 jin at a time is acceptable.

Finally, Yan Xiao finished compiling everyone's information.

"Thank you all for supporting my work! You can go back and collect the grain now. I'm heading back to the city right away to report this and get the driver to deliver the steel as soon as possible."

"Alright, alright, Yan boy, hurry up and go. Be careful on the way, and don't get into any trouble."

"Yes, be careful on the road, we're not in a hurry."

"Thank you all for your concern. I promise you all that as long as I'm still in the city, I will not accept any kickbacks from you!"

"Good! That's what a scholar should do."

"That's right, Yan is a good boy. I've known since he was a child that he has a grateful heart."

Everyone praised it.

Yan Xiao smiled and said, "By the way, everyone must not tell the other brigades and villages about this price, otherwise they will be unhappy that I made an exception for us."

"If someone gets upset and files a complaint, I might have to treat everyone the same from now on, with the same price for everyone. I think that's something nobody wants to see, right?"

Yan Xiao put everyone's vital interests directly in mind.

"Don't worry, kid Yan, anyone who dares to say anything out of line, I'll kill them!"

"That's right, anyone who blocks my path to wealth is like murdering my parents, and I will never let them get away with it."