Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

The luggage was moved by her aunt into the upper room where her grandfather lived, and Han Zhaozhao followed her grandfather, took off her cotton shoes, and got on the kang.

"Look, the socks she's wearing are so nice, I don't know what material they're made of, but they look warm."

"Look at them, they wear a coat on the outside and a jacket on the inside, they dress so neatly!"

"Big cities are still the best! See, the little girl is not only fair and tender, but also has no patches on her body. You can tell at a glance that she was raised in a wealthy family."

"Not only is he from a big city, he's from the capital! How can the place where Chairman Mao lives be good?"

"What? Haven't you heard about it? In Lao Liu's daughter's family, there are soldiers and workers. The adults earn wages, but they can't even raise a little girl?

The captain’s wife’s sister is also from the city, and her life is just so-so. I heard that those who don’t have a job in the city also have a hard time.”

Han Zhaozhao took off her clothes layer by layer, and the gossipy women blocking the door began to comment.

Han Zhaozhao felt uncomfortable listening to the discussions outside the door. She knew that these relatives were curious and envious, but their words made her feel uncomfortable.

She asked her aunt to drag the sack in front of her, untie the rope, and take out a large bag of clothes and fabrics from it.

Then, he reached out and took out a brown paper bag and said to his aunt: "This is the orange peel candy my grandma asked me to bring to my cousins, and this is the old brown sugar for my aunt.

To buy these in Beijing now, you need sugar coupons. I don’t have many with me, so please accept them.

This package contains cloth for grandpa and uncle. You can arrange the cloth as you like and make clothes for your uncle and yourself to go out.

These are my grandma's old clothes. Don't mind them. Some of them are old, but fortunately they don't have many patches. Please see who in your family can wear them and share them with them."

My aunt's skinny face was full of smiles, "Aunt-in-law is so thoughtful, she still thinks of us even though we are so far away.

In the past few years, your grandpa's clothes were all sent by you. They were either cloth or cotton, which are rare and good things in our countryside."

My aunt took the things with a smile, and gave an orange candy to each of the children around her. The other villagers saw that there was no advantage to be gained, so they dispersed without waiting for the host to say anything.

Grandpa looked at Han Zhaozhao with a smile on his face, tears in his eyes. He held Han Zhaozhao's hand and said, "Good boy, is your grandma in good health?"

"Grandma is in good health, she just misses you." Han Zhaozhao said.

"Well, I also want to go back to Beijing to see you. The village hasn't changed much over the years, but there are more things to do. I'm old and in poor health, and I don't feel at ease when I go out." Grandpa said with emotion.

In fact, there are some things the old man cannot tell his granddaughter. It’s difficult to go out now!

Not only do you need money and bills, but most importantly, you also need a letter of introduction from the village.

He had money, as he had some savings, and his mother-in-law had also sent him a lot. But food coupons were not easy to get. In the past, before the establishment of the canteen, one could just take his own food rations to the grain station to exchange them.

But now, all the food in the house has been collected, and every household eats in the canteen. Without a particularly serious reason, the village will not return the food to individuals.

What's more, last year there was the "Four Pests Campaign", the "Great Leap Forward", and then the "Steel Production Campaign". The village has a small population and a heavy task, so they would not let anyone leave the village.

The elderly are also valuable. The young and strong go to work in earthen blast furnaces to make steel, collect firewood, dig wild vegetables, and farm. For these jobs, elderly men are always better than women and children.

Grandpa sighed softly, "Zhao Zhao, how is the food in your cafeteria? Can I eat enough?"

Han Zhaozhao then thought of something very important, "Grandpa, the capital has abolished public canteens and allows families to cook at home.

When I went out, it was the first few days and food supplies were still quite tight. But I could decide the diet myself, which was much better than eating in the canteen.

By the way, is the village cafeteria still open? How’s the food?”

After asking this question, she felt a little regretful. Was there any need to ask? It must be bad. Since she entered the village, all the people she saw were skinny. Even the children looked the same, without a bit of flesh on their faces.

"Hehe, it's not bad! The cadres in our brigade are not bad. Although our production team doesn't have much food, with some sweet potato vines and bran, we can make do with eating about 40% to 50% full. It's much better than the nearby villages.

Zhao Zhao, you are going to school this year, so how can your grandma let you go on a long journey alone?"

He said this as if he disliked the child. Grandpa Liu was actually afraid that his granddaughter would suffer if she stayed. The child was brought up in a honeypot and she would definitely not be able to eat the "meals" in the village canteen.

Although I miss my children, I would be satisfied if I could live with them for two days and see them. There is no need to leave the children to suffer with them in the countryside.

"I've grown up and want to come and see you. My neighbor's brother is a train conductor on the Northeast line. I'll follow him and my grandma will be relieved.

The school often suspends classes, so you can take a leave as long as it doesn't affect your test results.

Grandpa, it was my grandma's idea for me to come here this time. I will be back in two days. Can you come with me this time?"

The old man was a little tempted. The "Great Steel Production" had been stopped and there was still a month left for farming. Now was a good time to go out. Why not discuss it with his son in the evening?

Han Zhaozhao chatted with her grandfather for a while, and her aunt poured her a bowl of brown sugar water and carefully placed it on the table.

"Zhao Zhao, are you hungry? We can't cook at home, so eat some dried sweet potatoes. We can't go to the fields to work now, and we only have two meals a day in the village. Come with us to the canteen to eat in the evening."

Han Zhaozhao was silent, and she said, it’s already 12:30 in the afternoon, and the villagers are still watching the excitement at the entrance of the village. It turns out that they only have two meals a day!

Looking at the dried sweet potatoes on the table, they looked pitiful, only a handful, haha, to fill her stomach? It was just enough for her to grind her teeth!

Has the rural area become so deprived now?

I looked around my grandpa's house quietly. My grandpa was wearing a double-breasted cotton jacket and no overshirt. There were several patches of similar colors on the elbows and front of the jacket collar.

It's not a fancy dress, but it's thick and clean. It seems my aunt is also a filial daughter.

My aunt's clothes were not very good. She wore a blue cotton jacket and cotton trousers that were faded from washing. They were patched up, but they were neat and clean. You could tell at first glance that she was a good housewife who knew how to manage the household.

After a while, my uncle came back with the ox cart, came in and asked Han Zhaozhao about Grandma Han's health, then he gave my aunt a wink, and the two of them went out.

Han Zhaozhao pulled over his big backpack and asked his grandfather, "Where are my cousins?"

My uncle and his wife have five children. The eldest son is sixteen years old, the second son is fourteen, the third and fourth are daughters, eleven and nineteen years old respectively, and the fifth is the eldest son, who should be five years old this year.

Grandpa: "The oldest one is in middle school in town, the third and fourth ones are in primary school in the next village, and the youngest one is at his grandmother's house.

Oh, it's the Xinghua Village next door. Your sister-in-law's hometown is the largest village in the area of ​​dozens of miles, with primary and high schools.

There are six or seven small villages near us, and the children all go to Xinghua Village to study."