Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 104 Cooking Together

In November 1960, the neighborhood called on residents to adopt "food substitutes". Each household lined up at grocery stores to buy dried vegetables and pickled vegetables, and lined up at grain stores to buy food substitutes.

The substitute food was made by grinding sweet potato vines, peanut shells, wheat bran, and rice husks into powder, mixing it with cornmeal and sweet potato flour, and steaming it to make cornbread that was both black and hard.

The wild vegetables are dried elm leaves, locust leaves, lamb's quarters, and broom grass, which are soaked in water, chopped up, and made into wild vegetable dumplings.

Life in the courtyard continued as usual. He Yuzhu went to work at the supply and marketing cooperative as usual, and cooked a meal at the big boss's house every ten days. Every time the big boss's wife saw him, she would beam with joy and say that in this day and age, it was all thanks to Zhuzi's skills that he could make the most of limited materials.

Chen Xiangqian would send two bags of flour once a month. Every time Aunt Chen received the grain bag, she would be very excited and say that Old Chen was saving grain to support his comrades, all thanks to Zhu Zi's help.

He Yuzhu said that Uncle Chen had helped me back in the Military Control Commission, so this little thing is nothing.

Ma Hua's parents never go hungry at home; the food they bring back from the neighboring courtyard each week is enough for the whole family. The five elderly women in the south wing get food at the steel mill's canteen, and Zhu Zi also gives them some food. Gou Dan's face has gotten fuller, and his little arms no longer look like they would break at the slightest touch when he first arrived. He follows Ma Qiang around every day, and Ma Qiang teaches him to recognize the names of dishes, which he learns faster than any other character.

Shen Zhixia's face was fair with a rosy glow, and her figure began to become more voluptuous. Every morning, she was the first to get up and sweep the yard, helping Ma Hua pick and wash vegetables. Ma Hua and his brother privately called her Second Master's Wife.

She readily agreed and helped Xiao'e take care of He Xiao every day. Yu Shui also privately called her "little sister-in-law".

The days were getting harder and harder for the beasts in the yard. Liu Haizhong returned from the black market, took out his notebook, and wrote a line: Eggs are unavailable.

Wang Caifeng was frantic, pacing back and forth, wondering what to do. Liu Hai wrote four words and pulled her aside: "Then forget about it." The next day, Wang Caifeng watched him bury his head in his porridge and pushed her half-bowl of porridge towards him.

Looking around the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi had her own plan. There was less and less to steal in the yard; Wang Caifeng's eggs were gone, and Yan Bugui's dried radishes had been stolen by a stick last time.

She pulled the stick into the inner room, squatted down and lowered her voice, "My dear grandson, there's nothing left to take in our yard. Go to the vegetable market and pick up some vegetable leaves when there are a lot of people."

Banggeng was a little reluctant, "The rotten leaves on the ground have all been snatched up."

Jia Zhangshi gently patted the back of his head, "Go ahead and do it. If you can't find any rotten vegetable leaves, just grab a couple of radishes. Who's going to pay attention to a kid like you?"

Banggeng scratched the back of his head and nodded. That afternoon, he went to the vegetable market. Taking advantage of his small size, he squeezed in and out, and when it was crowded and noisy, he grabbed a radish and slipped out.

Jia Zhangshi washed the radish clean and chopped it into the mixed grain and noodle porridge. The porridge had the flavor of radish, and Bang Geng slurped it down loudly, even bragging to his grandmother that the vegetable market was bustling with people and things were going very smoothly today.

Jia Zhangshi scolded him to keep his voice down, but she was smiling. Qin Huairu heard this from the stove, lowered her head and scraped the bottom of the pot, scraping out a thin layer of paste, which she then put into a bowl and pushed to Xiao Dang. Her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

After work that day, Xu Damao turned into the courtyard, carrying two bottles of wine, and stood under the pomegranate tree, rubbing his hands together. "Brother Zhuzi, I want to ask you for a favor. Hongmei is pregnant, and I want to get her some meat and flour to nourish her body. These days, it's really hard to buy these things. I won't take it for free; I'll pay for it."

He Yuzhu was lying on a recliner drinking tea when he heard this and sat up. "Pregnant? When did this happen?"

"It's been more than two months. Hongmei has a severe reaction; she can't eat and has lost a lot of weight." Xu Damao put the wine on the stool and rubbed his hands together.

He Yuzhu stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Okay. I'll prepare the white flour and fresh meat for you, and have Ma Hua deliver it to your room tomorrow. The payment will be based on the supply and marketing cooperative's allocated price, and don't tell anyone that it's from me. Just tell me what Hongmei wants to eat, don't let her go hungry. Take these two bottles of wine back with you, we don't need to use those formalities with outsiders."

Xu Damao's eyes were a little red, and he nodded vigorously.

Two days later, something interesting happened in the courtyard. Yan Bugui limped into the backyard and knocked on the Liu family's door.

He went inside and closed the door. "Old Liu, there are four people in my family, four in your family, and five in the Jia family. How can a single family survive like this? Every meal requires firewood, and there's so much oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. If everyone in the courtyard cooked together in a big pot, we could save money and last longer."

Liu Haizhong pulled out a small notebook, listened to the conversation, and then slowly wrote down: How much grain can be saved? We still won't have enough to eat.

Yan Bugui took a half step closer and lowered his voice even further.

"Old Liu, saving firewood is only the first step. If we all cook together in the courtyard, someone has to take the lead in organizing it. Let Xiao Wang go; he works for the neighborhood committee, so his words carry weight. The He family's always wafting meat aromas every few days, and He Yuzhu is supporting several people from out of town. We all know that. He has connections; surely he can find a way to get some substitutes? Dried vegetables, pickled vegetable dumplings, wild vegetable balls—Xiao Wang can handle it; he'll have to give him some face."

Liu Haizhong remained silent for a while before slowly nodding.

Yan Bugui went to see Xiao Wang again and explained the joint cooking plan. Xiao Wang thought it was a practical idea, so that evening he went door-to-door to inform everyone and held a small meeting in the front yard.

The He family, the Xu family, and the Li family did not participate in the plan; they lived their own lives, and all three families had grain.

Jia Zhangshi was the first to agree, Liu Haizhong nodded in agreement, and Wang Caifeng followed behind without saying a word. Yan Bugui volunteered to take on the bookkeeping work, and that's how the joint cooking arrangement was decided.

From that day on, the aroma of mixed grain porridge filled the courtyard every evening. Each family delivered their grain to the front yard according to the number of people in their household. Yan Bugui was in charge of cooking and keeping accounts, Yang Ruihua assisted, and Wang Caifeng and Qin Huairu took turns tending the fire. Once the porridge was cooked, it was divided according to the number of people: one bowl for adults and half a bowl for children.

It saved a lot of firewood and a little grain. But the mixed noodles used as a meal replacement were mixed with dried vegetables and pickled vegetables, and the porridge made from it was bitter. I was still hungry.

Xiao Wang saw this and was pleased. He was the one who organized the joint cooking event, and it should be continued; this was a significant achievement.

In the evening, he knocked on the main gate of the courtyard.

He Yuzhu opened the door, and Xiao Wang stood there, looking somewhat uneasy. "Section Chief He, the joint cooking program in the compound was a great success. It saved a lot of firewood and a little bit of grain. I was thinking of continuing it long-term, but everyone is eating substitutes, and there are quite a few children. Could you help us get some coarse grain flour, like bran flour or acorn flour? We can all exchange money for it."

He Yuzhu was overjoyed; his chance had come. He leaned against the doorframe and lit a cigarette.

"Xiao Wang, you know I have quite a few people to support at home, and food is indeed scarce. Since you've asked, I'll give you face. The meat my family eats every few days comes from hunting in the mountains. I don't even have enough grain for myself, but I can get some wild game and offal."

Let me be clear from the start: this stuff isn't free; you have to earn work points to get it. Let them do any manual labor on the street. They'll earn work points for the work, and those points can be used to buy waste water. There might also be some scraps of meat or bits of meat from being shot, which I'll chop up and make into meatballs for you. How the work points are calculated is something you'll have to discuss with Director Zhang yourself. Once you've agreed on a plan, bring the list to me, and I'll distribute the supplies according to the work points.”

Xiao Wang was stunned for a while, then his eyes lit up when he looked up again. "Section Chief He, this is a good idea. It will not only ensure that everyone eats well, but also motivate them to work harder. I'll go report to Director Zhang now, and come back to you after the procedures are finalized."

He Yuzhu grunted in agreement, flicked the cigarette butt onto the street, and closed the door.

At the end of the month, Liu Haizhong led a team to clean the sewers on the street for several days, and Yan Bugui led several women to dredge the drainage ditches in the alley for several afternoons, in exchange for ten jin of cleaned and chopped offal.

The aroma of meat wafted from courtyard number 95, attracting people from several neighboring courtyards to climb over their walls to watch. Everyone in Nanluoguxiang envied courtyard number 95, saying that Section Chief He was truly a good cadre.

Hearing Old Li recount this story, He Yuzhu took out a genuine wild boar hind leg, still with its fur on. Smiling, he said, "Uncle Li, take this. This is a gift from your good cadre."