Chapter 6: The First Pot of Gold

"Huh? Is something wrong?"

"What do you think? There are no more than thirty grains in a single ear of wheat. You're asking for two cents per ear, which makes fifty ears for a dollar. These don't even weigh a pound altogether! How much does flour cost per pound?"

Hearing the middle-aged woman, Yang Xingwen and his father stood up to smooth things over, but Yang Xingwu spoke up first.

"Auntie, you can't look at it that way. If we followed your logic, wouldn't the prices of eggs and chicks be the same? Besides, we took a loss by harvesting this wheat early! And this grain is ready to eat—no need to dry it. Ten ears are enough to make a meal! Two dimes for a meal of wheat porridge is quite a good deal!"

"Regardless, you shouldn't be selling it like this!"

Although the middle-aged woman was a bit confused by his reasoning, she still felt she was getting the short end of the stick and began to fuss. Yang Xingwu felt a headache coming on.

"How about this, Auntie? You name a price. If it's reasonable, we'll sell it to you!"

The woman's face lit up immediately.

"That's more like it! I say you should charge a penny for two ears. I'll take a dollar's worth. Two hundred ears of wheat yield about a pound of grain. That means you're selling a pound of wheat for a dollar—that’s already a lot more than the usual dime or so you'd get per pound."

She wore an expression as if she had done him a huge favor.

"Auntie, if you put it that way, I'd buy all the wheat your family has! You can't use the state-purchased grain price to calculate this. If you use the negotiated grain price, wheat is already twenty-eight or thirty cents. If you prefer dried grains, why don't you wait until our family harvests our wheat and buy it then? If you're serious about buying, I'll give you an honest price: one cent per ear. I don't have much left, and I'm heading back once it's sold. The season for fresh wheat porridge is only these few days—miss this, and you'll miss the shop!"

"You little comrade, you're quite sharp. Fine, have it your way. Give me two dollars' worth!"

The woman hadn't expected a rural farmer to be so quick-witted. She looked him up and down, sensed something, and agreed readily.

Hearing this, Yang Chunsheng and Yang Xingwen hurriedly helped count the ears. After counting, Yang Xingwu tossed a few extra ears into the pile.

"You're our first customer today, just for good luck!"

"Not bad, little comrade! I'll come looking for you next time I want fresh wheat."

The woman complimented him and pulled a two-dollar bill from her handkerchief. Yang Xingwu took it and handed it to his father. Two hundred ears didn't look heavy, but they were bulky and hard to carry, so Yang Xingwu asked his older brother to help deliver them to the customer's home. That earned them another round of thanks.

Yang Xingwen followed the woman into the residential compound. As soon as they entered, Yang Xingwu saw the man who had given them water earlier talking to the woman.

"Chunhua, why are you back? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I saw some fresh wheat, so I bought some. Haven't eaten it in ages, and it's the right season. Brother Zhang, do you want some? The little comrade even delivers!"

"Oh! How much is it? Is it expensive?"

"Not bad, one cent per ear."

"That's fair!" Zhang Jianjun was intrigued by the price and immediately said, "Little comrade, after you finish delivering to Chunhua, bring a dollar's worth to me too!"

"You got it! I'll be there as soon as I drop these off for this auntie!" Yang Xingwen replied eagerly.

Once inside the residential building, Yang Xingwen noticed how nice the environment was, with flowers blooming brightly in the flowerbeds. He quickly averted his eyes, left the wheat at the customer's door, and hurried back downstairs. Liu Chunhua was quite touched by this.

When Yang Xingwen returned, he saw a crowd gathered around the cart, and the ears were disappearing rapidly. He quickly counted out a hundred ears, added a few more for good measure, and delivered them to the guard booth. After taking the dollar from Zhang Jianjun, he returned to help with the cart.

After working for a while longer, all the wheat ears they had brought were sold out. Yang Chunsheng let out a long sigh of relief.

The mid-May sun wasn't too scorching yet. The three of them pushed the cart to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought fifty pounds of cornmeal. It cost ten cents a pound, and since it was coarse grain, no ration coupons were needed—it was the only food they could afford. Millet and wheat flour were both over twenty cents per pound. With ration coupons, it would have been twelve cents, but as farmers, they had no way to obtain coupons other than trading grain for them. Without coupons, the price of "negotiated grain" was much higher, often doubling.

Having spent five dollars on fifty pounds of flour, Yang Chunsheng smiled. If they ate sparingly, this would last about a month, making the coming weeks much easier to bear. Yang Xingwen was equally happy; having food meant they wouldn't go hungry.

With their supplies secured, the family didn't linger and set off for home. The anxiety they had felt earlier vanished, replaced by smiles. In high spirits, they made much faster time. By the time they reached home, it was already dark. Yang Xingwu was still being pushed by his father and brother on the cart.

This time, they moved much faster, and Yang Xingwu estimated the return trip took less than seven hours. Back home, Wang Zhaodi had already prepared dinner, waiting for her husband and sons. As it grew dark, she became anxious and walked to the village entrance to wait. After a long while, she heard their voices and called out.

"Xiaowen, Xiaowu?"

"Mom, it's us!"

Wang Zhaodi let out a sigh of relief. At the village entrance, Yang Xingwu got off the cart, and they all headed home. Once inside, they left the cart in the yard, and Yang Chunsheng carried the half-bag of cornmeal into the main room.

"Xiaolan, light the oil lamp and turn up the wick!"

"Okay!" Hearing the hint of joy in her father's voice, Yang Xiaolan immediately went to the kitchen for matches, returned to the room, lit the lamp, and adjusted the wick. The dark room instantly brightened.

Wang Zhaodi saw the cloth bag sitting on the bench. "Is this all grain?"

"Yes, it's all cornmeal!"

"That's wonderful!" Wang Zhaodi burst into happy tears. Yang Xiaolan helped her mother, while Yang Xiaohong stared at the bag of grain with shining eyes.

"Mom, don't worry. There should be some money left; let's count it and see how much we have," Yang Xingwu said, moving the plates aside to dump out the pile of small bills and coins. They counted the pennies, nickels, and dimes several times. It totaled three dollars, eighty-four cents.

Including the five dollars spent on grain, they had made less than nine dollars after a full day of work. Yang Xingwu felt a bit speechless—all that effort, and the total take was only eight dollars and eighty-four cents.