Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

"Wash it clean? You mean, I can play with it casually?"

"Didn't I tell you? Just these two points. If you follow them, you can have fun. Let's go back!"

In the afternoon, they went home early again.

This time, I didn’t encounter anyone looking for trouble, and it was so peaceful as if nothing had happened.

However, as soon as he entered the alley, Han Zhaozhao met Xue Tao. As soon as they met, she glared at her fiercely and hid back in the yard without waiting for Han Zhaozhao to say anything.

Han Zhaozhao was confused: Does this mean she knows that I beat her sister-in-law and holds a grudge against her?

Shaking her head, she doesn't care!

Her grandmother was right. This child couldn't tell right from wrong. His fate in the Xue family was doomed!

It is said that environment shapes people. A good girl has become less and less likable due to the influence of her family.

Next, Han Zhaozhao and the other two followed Grandpa Guan to the river again, but this time, they returned disappointed.

Not only were most of the clams dug up from the riverbed killed by the sun, but many of them also smelled bad when they were dug out.

Moreover, they went there too frequently and were discovered by children digging wild vegetables far away, and their base was occupied by the locals.

The rural people were not stupid. They went down to the riverbed and knew what they were doing just by looking at the piles of shells they left behind.

In the past, no one thought of digging clams because there was no shortage of food. Clams were fishy and dirty, and ordinary people had no seasonings and did not know how to control the heat. After cooking, the clams were like the soles of rubber shoes and could not be chewed at all. It was worse than eating wild vegetables.

But now, it doesn’t rain, and almost every family is running out of food. People just want to take a bite of the tree bark, so who cares about the taste and texture?

What's more, Han Zhaozhao is such a big fool. When people asked her, did she dig clams to take them home to feed the chickens and ducks?

She was honest and told people that it was for people to eat. Not only that, she also taught them how to cook it so that it would not smell fishy and how to dry it in the sun so that it could be preserved for a longer time.

Well, within an hour, all the villagers at home in the three nearby villages went down to the riverbed with their families. The scene was no less than that of the collective digging of water conservancy projects organized by the commune. The riverbed was full of people digging clams.

If you don’t know, you might think you are panning for gold at the bottom of the river!

So, before noon, the four men rode their empty bikes home dejectedly.

From then on until early autumn, there was no rain at all. Only then did people realize that the year was over and the grain harvest was almost total.

Many people didn't believe it and went to the countryside to check it out on weekends. They were speechless when they saw the corn stalks in the fields that were only half a person's height.

I want to dig some wild vegetables on the way back. The ground is as clean as the ground at home.

Radios, newspapers, and periodicals are all announcing that a certain southern province has had good weather and a bumper harvest of grain this year.

The state mobilized tens of thousands of tons of rice from a certain province and city to Beijing, concentrating its efforts on ensuring food supply for the people of Kyoto.

Major factories and enterprises in Beijing also showed their talents and sent a large number of purchasing personnel to purchase food from all over the country.

It is said that these people no longer care about food. They buy anything edible, including fish, seafood, wild vegetables, fruits from the south and nuts, mushrooms and dried goods from the north.

Residents of the capital city could not buy food even though they had coupons, so many black markets appeared in the city.

I heard that white flour and rice were sold for two yuan on the black market, cornmeal was more than one yuan, and even wheat bran, which was used as livestock feed in the past, was more than thirty cents.

By the eighth month of the lunar calendar, Han Zhaozhao and Wu Ni were detained and they dared not go out. They often met disaster victims from neighboring provinces with staring eyes.

Occasionally when she went out to buy food supplies, she would smear turmeric liquid all over Wu Ni's face, neck and hands to make her look malnourished and sallow.

Dressed like the old lady, she uses the turmeric liquid specially prepared by her granddaughter as facial oil, and washes her face before going out every day.

Now, the old lady is very cruel to herself. She doesn't bring any lunch to the house and just goes hungry for lunch, and then eats at home in the morning and evening.

Even so, people often knocked on their door to borrow food. Han Zhaozhao would simply lock the door during the day and refuse to receive anyone.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, the grandparents and grandchildren selected the families who were worth helping, and Han Zhaozhao secretly went out and threw some food to them through the wall.

In just over a month, more than 100 kilograms of dried sweet potatoes and dried potatoes stored in the Han family's basement have been given away. In the backyard vegetable garden, the only edible things left are a pumpkin and a loofah, and a few seasonings such as onions and ginger are still growing strongly.

Han Zhaozhao pulled the cucumber vines and pickled them, and cleared the land to plant radishes and cabbages.

In the space, the sweet potatoes that Han Zhaozhao dried in the sun were drying even faster. She had secretly dropped them at the gate of the orphanage three times, each time putting in three sacks, weighing a total of 300 kilograms.

There are two orphanages close to their home, and according to her walking speed, they are both within an hour's walk.

It only takes 20 minutes to get there by electric bike in the middle of the night. Han Zhaozhao was very satisfied. She felt especially satisfied every time she heard the surprised cries of the children in the orphanage.

All the effort was not in vain!

Han Zhaozhao watched the lady from the orphanage and the children quietly carry the sacks into the yard, and then happily rode back on their bikes.

Thinking of the tens of thousands of pounds of dried sweet potatoes in his own space, Han Zhaozhao thought that he should find a way to inquire about orphanages in other districts.

……

"Zhao Zhao, your teacher said that you will go to school tomorrow. Don't forget to bring your test paper. Have you finished the test paper given to you last time?"

Niu Xiaoyun ran to Han's house after school and also brought a letter to Han Zhaozhao today.

This semester, Han Zhaozhao was promoted to the third grade as he wished, and Niu Xiaoyun was also in the second grade.

Although they were not in the same grade, their classrooms were next to each other.

Whenever Han Zhaozhao's homeroom teacher needed to inform her of something, he would contact Niu Xiaoyun.

“I finished it early and will take it to school tomorrow for the teacher to correct it.

By the way, do you know which factory our class will go to tomorrow to learn about work?"

Their school often organizes students to learn about industry and agriculture. Last week, the students finished planting autumn vegetables in the vegetable plot contracted by their class. Han Zhaozhao thought that the teacher should arrange for them to learn about industry this week.

"We won't be going to the factory this time. Haven't you heard that the factory's food supply is tight and the school's work-study program has been temporarily suspended."

Niu Xiaoyun shook her head. Her father's factory used to be so great, and its welfare benefits were far ahead of other small factories. Now the canteen is short of food, and the chef is almost going bald.

The buyers were out running around every day, their mouths blistered with anxiety. The leaders were also anxious, they were hungry, the workers had no energy to work, the factory had a heavy production task, and they would be the first to be criticized if they failed to complete it.

"Then why organize student activities? Just let the students move freely!

Last week, when I went to school, half of the students in my class were not there because they were all rushing to buy Cuban candy for their parents.

Cuban sugar is a dark brown sugar that smells a bit strange. It tastes very similar to brown sugar, but because it is crystallized with salt, it is slightly salty.

This is a type of sugar that the country specially imported from Cuba this year and was shipped to China in large sacks.

Because the processing is simple, there is no need to filter impurities, and the price is relatively cheap. During transportation, it absorbs a lot of water vapor and forms lumps, which the supply and marketing cooperatives have to break with hammers when selling.