Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

Han Zhaozhao had to be careful when working at home, but Xiaoliang, this silly boy, really spared no effort and worked without stopping. He dug the entire ground in just one hour.

Although the digging was not up to standard, with pits here and depressions there, at least the hard ground was not dug out.

Han Zhaozhao was holding an iron rake and leveling the land and making straight ridges at the back.

It was all done before four o'clock.

Back in the front yard, Grandpa Guan was drinking tea at the low table. "Xiaoliang, your mother went out to buy something. She asked you to play with Zhaozhao. She will be back soon. She asked you not to run around outside."

"Oh, I'm playing with my sister!" After only half a day, Xiao Liang already knew that the sister was Zhao Zhao. The child was very well-behaved!

When the old lady got off work in the evening, the house was very lively. Not only did her granddaughter's childhood friends come, but even the Xue Ying sisters who rarely visited her came to visit.

The old lady was very confused. What was this for?

When it was time for dinner, the children ran away and the old lady realized that they had all come to see Xiaoliang.

I don’t know how they found out that the new tenant of the Han family had a very good-looking boy, and they all wanted to meet him.

Once they got to know him, they realized that although this boy looked good, he had an IQ problem.

A group of children played for a while, then lost interest and dispersed when it was time for dinner.

Although Xiaoliang is a problem child, he is very sensitive. Although the children who come here have no ill will towards him, he does not feel any kindness towards him either.

He ignored everyone and just stuck to Han Zhaozhao, calling her "sister", but in fact he treated her as an older sister who could protect him.

All the children in the alley knew that a big fool had moved into Han Zhaozhao's house. Whenever Xiaoliang went out, the ignorant children would start to make a noise: "Big fool, big fool!"

Xiaoliang’s mother cried secretly for several times and didn’t dare to let Xiaoliang go out to play anymore.

In the following days, Xiaoliang's mother found a job as a warehouse keeper in a textile factory.

The deputy factory director was a comrade-in-arms of Lao Zheng. After learning about the special situation of Xiaoliang and her child, he specially allowed her to bring the child into the factory.

Xiaoliang is mentally retarded, but he is a diligent and obedient child. After experiencing hardships, he can do any work that he is supposed to do if someone teaches him.

He helped with the work without getting paid, and the workers in the factory liked him very much.

During this period, Han Zhaozhao went to school to take a unit test and his score was still ranked first.

She visited the Bai and Liu families respectively, delivered local specialties brought from the Northeast, and brought back a lot of homework.

She resumed her study life of practicing martial arts, learning medicine, and teaching herself primary school courses. Every morning she would run to the park to practice boxing for an hour!

Time flies, and spring has arrived in the capital.

There was still not a drop of rain in the sky. Sure enough, the spring drought had arrived!

The supply from the grain station was becoming less and less, the quality was getting worse and worse, and, moreover, one often could not buy any grain even after queuing all night with a grain book.

The sensitive citizens, thinking of the large amount of grain that rotted in the fields last fall, have realized that there will definitely be a food shortage this year.

Citizens began to rush to buy food, and long queues formed in front of the grain stores. Families with good financial resources took out their savings and tried every means to buy more food.

In the past, there was almost nothing edible in the farmers' markets.

Han Zhaozhao went to various markets for a walk, wanting to see the current prices of things in the market. But he was shocked when he saw it!

There was not a single store selling grain in the entire market; everyone was waiting to buy grain.

Basically, as long as there is something edible, it will be immediately bought up.

Radishes with hollow cores, cabbages with mosses, and even wild vegetables as big as coins will be sold out as soon as they appear on the market.

The price is even more touching, only two or three cents per pound!

Once, Han Zhaozhao met a grain seller. He only brought 20 kilograms of corn kernels, but he sold them to him at a high price of one yuan per kilogram. Even so, those who were slow could not get them.

The government has begun taking measures to limit the amount each person can purchase and is working hard to allocate food resources from all over the country to Beijing.

However, there were severe floods in the south and spring drought in the north, and spring planting was delayed in many provinces and cities. People were certain that this must be the beginning of a disaster.

Due to insufficient supplies in the city, people had to live frugally. Many families could only eat 50% to 60% full, and women could not even eat 50% to 60% full. After all, men were the backbone of the family, and food rations should be tilted more towards men.

The big canteen in the countryside has been officially closed down due to lack of food. Every time Han Zhaozhao goes out, he can see farmers from the countryside coming into the city to buy pots and food.

But where can they buy anything now? The streets are filled with an atmosphere of anxiety and uneasiness, and people are beginning to take the initiative to find ways to deal with the food shortage.

Families with yards began to grow vegetables to supplement their food sources. The melon seedlings bred by Han Zhaozhao were very popular. Except for the ones planted by his family in the first batch, the remaining fifty or sixty plants were snapped up by the neighbors in the alley.

Many people who didn’t get the seeds asked her for them and planted them at home.

The old lady helped her grow more than two hundred melon seedlings. This time, they only planned to grow pumpkins and zucchini.

"When the pumpkins grow, we'll give them away to those who want them. If no one wants them, we'll take them to the market and sell them. Many people want to grow pumpkins but don't have anywhere to buy them!" Han Zhaozhao was worried that there were too many seedlings, but the old lady had a better idea.

More people left the city and went to the suburbs to pick wild vegetables. Unfortunately, the weather was still too cold, and most of the wild vegetables had just shown a little bit of their tips. Even if they dug for a whole day with their eyes wide open, they could only pick up a handful at most.

There were almost no idle people in the alley. The old ladies with bound feet and the children who could run all went to the suburbs to find food. No one cared to laugh at Xiaoliang when he went out.

"Zhao Zhao, there are a lot of wild ducks coming back from Shichahai in Beihai. Tomorrow is Sunday, let's go catch some wild ducks!"

That day, Han Zhaozhao was having dinner when Xiao Sanzi and his friends came into the yard.

Beijing is a must-stop for migratory birds on their migration routes, and large numbers of wild ducks stop by every autumn and spring.

Not only wild ducks, but also mandarin ducks, swans, geese, seagulls and hundreds of other large migratory birds will stay in the capital.

They will not migrate south until the cold winter comes.

"Really? Are there a lot of wild ducks this year?"

Han Zhaozhao was a little bit unconvinced. She thought that last year's "four pests eradication" campaign accidentally injured many migratory birds, and that wild ducks would not come again this year!

"Really? Lots and lots of them. Uncle Cui from our hospital went there for the day and just caught a mallard. It weighs more than three kilograms!"

It only weighs three pounds and is not fat. It is far less fat than the wild ducks she raises in the space.

"Go, you must go! Get your tools ready tonight, and let's go together tomorrow to see who can catch the wild duck."

She has to go. It doesn’t matter if she can’t catch it. She can use the wild duck in the space to impersonate it!

After breakfast the next day, the group took out their tools and headed straight for Shichahai.