Kong Zhongyou stood at a high point and looked at everyone’s expressions. He was there to inform them, not to negotiate, as this was already a settled matter.
"Alright, everyone go back. There will be no breakfast tomorrow. We’ll start distributing food at the brigade headquarters at eight o’clock."
Jiang Xinyu immediately wanted to move as she heard this, but was blocked and couldn’t get out.
What’s going on? Even if you stand here all night, the result will be the same. There’s no food left, and silent protest won’t change anything.
"Sigh! Let’s go, there’s nothing else we can do. We’re lucky to still have dried melon and dried vegetables. I am powerless, I really have no other solutions," Kong Zhongyou sighed in the end.
Jiang Xinyu was short, and she didn’t know who moved first, but she noticed the person blocking her way had moved.
She followed and slowly moved. Going home quickly, staying here is pointless.
Wang Ailing didn’t speak the whole way, this girl was quite affected.
Jiang Xinyu forcefully pulled her to her own home, "Sis, boil some water."
Wang Ailing finally calmed down. There’s nothing to be done, it’s for everyone. What’s the use of getting worked up?
She took an egg out of her pocket and handed it to Jiang Xinyu, "Xinyu, I need to go home."
"Wait a minute, have a bowl of malted milk. They say that being able to eat sweets when you’re upset is the happiest thing."
"Xinyu, you should keep it."
"Look, your old habit is acting up again. I keep telling you, don’t be so distant. Don’t dwell too much on it. After the food distribution, we’ll go up the mountain; maybe we’ll find something edible. As long as we’re alive, there must be a way, right?"
Wang Ailing was persuaded, she sat down to light the fire, while Jiang Xinyu washed the bowls. Two bowls of malted milk were prepared, and the sweet aroma filled the room.
"This smell is really wonderful. Let’s each have an egg as well."
"Yes, people always say ’live in the moment,’ so today we have food, let’s put it in our stomachs.
Sis, I always believe that only food eaten really belongs to you."
After eating, Wang Ailing went home, and Jiang Xinyu continued to boil water and fetch water. After taking a bath, she sat on the bed in a daze.
From now on, she can’t wash her hair too frequently. Mainly because the weather is getting colder and getting a cold is no joke. Although there are cold medicines and antibiotics in the space, there aren’t many. She doesn’t want to get sick. If only there was electricity, she could use the hairdryer that she has stored. Sigh! Just bear with it.
Thinking of the chocolate in the space, she immediately craved it. In the end, she couldn’t resist the temptation and took out two pieces to eat.
She shouldn’t overindulge in replenishing herself, otherwise when others have no food, her rosy complexion would be hard to explain. Living is really difficult; there are too many considerations.
Yesterday she was too excited to sleep well, but today she fell asleep as soon as she got into bed.
Early the next morning, she got up to boil water. She mixed sweet potato flour, sorghum flour, corn flour, and from the space, she scooped out a ladle of white flour and used yeast to make dough. The food distribution would probably take half a day, and she would steam buns when she returned.
The dough bowl was placed into the pot and covered with the lid. There was residual warmth, so the fermentation happened quickly.
Then she took a turn around the yard. The branches were still too wet, so collecting firewood could wait.
When Wang Ailing arrived, Jiang Xinyu was in the cellar carrying a bag. She hadn’t closely examined it that night, but inside the cellar, there was a big jar with several kilos of soybeans, some raw sweet potato slices that can be ground into flour and a sack containing over a hundred pounds of corn kernels.
"Sis, see, I still have stocks at home."
"Yeah, I have some as well, plenty of dried melon. My mom said after you finish what the brigade gives out, she’ll bring you some."
"No need, it’s just me at home, and I have bought grain too. Your family is bigger, and you still need to get Brother Xiaolong a wife, there’ll be more mouths to feed."
"Sigh! Getting a wife seems out of reach now.
Enough about that, quickly take your measuring cup and get some grains."
"Sis, hang on. Help me get the corn kernels up. It’s too hard for me alone."
"Xinyu, your uncle was really resourceful." Wang Ailing admired the sack of corn kernels but had no other thoughts about it.
"Yeah, but they left, otherwise I’d be a happy princess."
"Alright, stop thinking about it. When will you grind the corn kernels? I think the best would be late at night, so as not to attract attention.
Tomorrow I’ll call you, and let my brother help, it’ll be quick. But tonight you should sprinkle water on the corn kernels."
Jiang Xinyu nodded, she was really being taught. She truly didn’t know she should sprinkle water. However, the two of them naturally agreed on avoiding being noticed.
The two moved the corn kernels up, Jiang Xinyu in the cellar, Wang Ailing on top.
"Xinyu, do you have any vegetables?"
"Yes, inside the cellar. I have cabbage and radishes, nothing else."
"Hmm, that’s fine, I have plenty of vegetables too, I was thinking of bringing you two cabbages."
"No need, sis, I have enough, you don’t worry."
The two carried the sack of corn kernels into the room and then went to the brigade headquarters with their measuring cups.
More than half the people were already there, and the atmosphere was particularly heavy, so much that even the two who had been talking stopped.
Jiang Xinyu looked at her watch, it was five to eight. The village chief, the captain, and six team leaders had already moved out the grain. There were two scales next to them, also belonging to the public. Sometimes they were used to sell collectively gathered vegetables, eggs, and other items.
The line was naturally formed; Jiang Xinyu was at the back.
At exactly eight, the food distribution began. Each household came to collect their share, being distributed based on family units.
Someone weighed, and someone bagged. It wasn’t just one type of grain; there was cornmeal, sweet potato flour, and each household received two pounds of white flour. Originally, the plan was to distribute the white flour on New Year’s Eve, but after discussion among the leaders, they decided to give it all out at once. At this point, what is there to reserve?
Each person received one pound according to specific allocation criteria: adults received cornmeal, while children and the elderly received sweet potato flour.
After collecting grains, they could go to the side to collect dried melon and sweet potato slices. Not much, each person only received one pound; children and the elderly received the same amount.
When Jiang Xinyu’s turn came, Kong Zhongyou looked at the record book, "Two pounds of cornmeal, eight taels of sweet potato flour."
"How come she gets two pounds of cornmeal when it’s just her alone?"
Kong Zhongyou coughed, "Da Zhu and his wife both worked for a year. Even though they left, there’s only one child left at home, half-grown. We can’t be heartless."
Jiang Xinyu squinted her eyes, Kong Zhongyou really didn’t want to let her live peacefully.