Colorful years

In the distant 1960s and the early 1970s, agricultural technology was not yet fully developed, and the yield per unit of grain generally remained at a low level.

Given the social context at the time, the amount of food rations allocated to each person was extremely limited, barely enough to meet basic survival needs. Even more severe was the extreme scarcity of meat and the severe lack of fat in people's daily diets.

Therefore, the vast majority of farmers frequently faced the threat of hunger; this situation was commonplace and almost a norm. Congcong grew up in such an environment of frequent hunger. For him, filling his stomach was undoubtedly one of the most intractable problems in life.

Among those years filled with hardship and suffering, 1966, 1970, and 1973 were undoubtedly the years with the most severe famine. These years are like brand marks, deeply etched in Congcong's memory, indelible.

The famine that broke out in 1966, in particular, had a rather complex set of causes. On the one hand, it was purely caused by natural disasters. That year, the climate was unusually changeable, with irregular winds and rains, and drought lasted for a considerable period of time.

Faced with such severe weather conditions, farmers have done their best to fight the drought and provide disaster relief, but many farmlands have still suffered heavy damage because drought relief measures were not implemented in time, resulting in a significant reduction in crop yields.

On the other hand, the famine was also influenced by human factors. During that particular historical period, some restless young men devoted themselves to various networking and rebellion activities, making the already scarce rural land even more strained by the lack of labor.

The lack of sufficient manpower prevented the fields from being cultivated intensively, which in turn had a significant negative impact on crop yields.

Under the combined effect of these two unfavorable factors, the grain output that year decreased by as much as 30% compared with normal years! However, even under such a severe situation, the country's procurement task was not reduced.

That year, Zhang Zhong's family received only 300 jin of rice per person, which was equivalent to about 200 jin of rice.

It should be noted that, based on the normal food intake of farmers at that time, even if they ate sparingly, this amount of grain would only be enough to sustain them for a short period of seven months.

However, from now until the new grain harvest next year, there may be five months without food. Such a huge food shortage has undoubtedly become a very troublesome problem.

Just when everyone was at a loss, governments at all levels decisively stepped forward and issued a call for self-reliance and overcoming difficulties. As a result, a method known as "substituting melons and vegetables" came into being.

This method cleverly uses vegetables such as pumpkin, gourd, radish, and cabbage to replace part of the staple food, which not only alleviates the food shortage to some extent, but also makes people's diet more diversified.

Congcong's parents, Zhang Zhong and his wife, naturally did not choose to sit idly by. They actively responded to the government's call and worked diligently on their own plot of land. After much effort, they finally succeeded in planting several acres of corn and sweet potatoes.

After that, their family's dining table often featured a dish made of half white rice and half mixed grains. Although it might not have tasted as delicious as plain white rice, it at least solved their problem of having enough to eat.

Fortunately, the country did not forget these people in distress. The government distributed 100 jin of relief grain to each person.

It was thanks to this timely and helpful care, and the Zhang Zhong couple's frugality, that the family managed to get through the difficult year without any major incidents and ushered in a new life full of hope.

If we're talking about the person who suffered the most, it would undoubtedly be Zhang Cong. Perhaps it's because he was breastfed for so long from a young age, but Congcong's stomach has always been very delicate.

Other children can eat anything, but Congcong can only eat rice. As soon as he eats a bite of grains, his stomach immediately starts acting up, with diarrhea and stomach aches, like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

Therefore, we often see this scene: poor Congcong grits his teeth, desperately stuffs the mixed grains into his mouth, and then swallows them with a stiff upper lip.

However, often less than half an hour later, all the food he had just swallowed would be excreted in his stool. This repeated cycle meant that Congcong received very little nutrition, which severely impacted his growth and development.

Back in the day, before he turned five, Zhang Cong was the tallest among his peers. Whenever he stood with his friends, he always stood out like a crane among chickens.

But who could have imagined that when he got to high school, he would have to obediently stand in the middle of the line?

Finally, after years of trials and tribulations, Zhang Cong grew into adulthood. Unfortunately, his height was less than ideal, remaining only of average height. Compared to his father in his youth, he was a full ten centimeters shorter!