Chapter 64: Delivering the Public Grain (Part 2)

Early in the morning, a lingering mist hung in the air due to the early hour, but it dissipated before long. Yang Chunsheng’s entire family mobilized, hauling grain to the town to fulfill the public grain quota.

The town was about ten li away from their village. Normally, making the trip empty-handed would take an hour, but now, pulling nearly a thousand catties of grain per cart, the pace was naturally much slower—especially with such a wretched road.

Two handcarts were loaded: one carried nine bags of grain, and the other eight. A single urea sack held about 110 catties of grain, bringing the total weight to roughly 1,870 catties.

Yang Chunsheng pulled the lead handcart while Yang Xingwen walked ahead, gripping the harness ropes and pulling with all his might. The ropes had been tied to the cart in advance; because the grain-delivery window was short and the production brigade had a limited number of oxen, people often had to pull the carts themselves. Two hemp ropes were tied to the front, and people would strain forward to drag the load, easing the burden on the main puller. Yang Xiaolan helped push from the back.

On the second cart, Yang Donglai and Yang Xingwu pulled at the front, with Wang Zhaodi pushing from behind.

Yang Xiaohong had been dropped off at her grandmother's house early in the morning. Tomorrow, Yang Donglai would bring his own child over to his eldest brother's home to be looked after.

In this era, although people were poor, interactions among relatives were frequent. Even if a family had nothing much to spare, they would still bring a couple of jujube-flower steamed buns when visiting kin during the New Year. It was all about the sentiment outweighing the gift itself!

Trudging step by step, the family finally arrived at the grain station in the town, only to find a long queue already formed ahead of them.

"Good grief, so many people?"

"You bet! I got up before dawn, and when I reached town, oh boy, the line was already this long. Looks like we're out of luck today, just have to wait it out slowly!"

"Sigh! Every year is the same. Look at this heat—my clothes are soaked through before the sun is even up!"

"True! Today is the middle of the dog days, the hottest part of summer. How was the harvest this year?"

"Not bad. How about your place?"

"About the same, pretty much a bumper harvest this year!"

"Yeah! With such a good year, we can reap a bit more grain. Thank heavens for the blessing!"

Yang Chunsheng exchanged remarks with the people around him, parked their two handcarts properly within the line, and the family sat down in a circle around the carts to rest.

Wang Zhaodi took a clay jug off the cart, brought out bowls, and poured water for everyone. Thermoses were precious items, prone to having their inner glass liners shattered by the bumpy road. In such sweltering weather, drinking hot water would only make one feel hotter; the large pot of boiling water that had been prepared in the morning had cooled down nicely in the jug by now, making it just right to drink.

After finishing his water, Yang Chunsheng took off his shirt and wrung it out with both hands, leaving a puddle of water on the ground.

Yang Xiaolan quickly picked up a cattail-leaf fan to cool her father.

"You kids find a tree and get some rest! We won't be up anytime soon today!"

Draping his shirt over his shoulders, Yang Chunsheng spoke to his family.

Wang Zhaodi picked up a reed mat and, taking advantage of the sparse crowd, claimed a spot under a tree. The family lay down on the mat to catch up on sleep. It was still early, and the grain station wasn't even open yet; with this much time, they might as well get some decent rest!

Yang Xingwu told his father and second uncle to go get some sleep too, while he stayed behind to watch over the handcarts.

After some time, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd.

Yang Xingwu stood up and looked: the gates of the grain station had opened, and grain collection was about to begin.

Looking up, the four large characters "Zhang Village Grain Station" came into view. The characters were painted white on a black background, exuding a strong sense of the era.

Each character occupied its own independent large square, measuring roughly a meter on each side!

Yang Xingwu stood in place for a while as the queue slowly and laboriously began to inch forward.

"Xiawu, go get some sleep! Your uncle and I can handle it!"

With that, Yang Chunsheng walked over to the cart, pulled it along with the line, and stopped again after moving just two or three meters.

He had woken up when the crowd stirred a moment ago, and after sleeping for two or three hours, his spirits were much improved.

Hearing his father's words, Yang Xingwu didn't decline. He went over to his mother's side and said,

"Mom, you sleep for a bit! I'll fan you!"

"I just woke up. You hurry up and sleep! You haven't slept since early morning, and you'll have to carry the grain later!"

Thinking about it, Yang Xingwu realized she was right, so he lay down on the reed mat to rest.

Wang Zhaodi waved the cattail-leaf fan to chase away flies and mosquitoes, looking at her three sleeping children with eyes full of maternal affection!

In the stifling heat, sleeping brought out a fresh sweat. Yang Xingwu woke up after a short while, lying on his side on the reed mat with deep creases pressed into his face, though they faded away after a little while.

As noon approached, Wang Zhaodi took out the pancakes she had baked in the morning, handing two to each person, which they ate along with soybean paste and steamed corn bread.

In the afternoon, it was finally their turn to deliver the grain.

Yang Xingwu and his eldest brother walked over to the cart and pulled it along behind the others. There were only three or five carts left before their turn.

At that moment, a staff member walked out of the grain station holding a long steel rod with a groove in the middle. He plunged it into each bag of grain and pulled it back out, bringing some grain out with the rod.

Because the action was rather rough, quite a bit of grain spilled onto the cart and the ground. It was heartbreaking to watch, but no one dared to speak up or stop him.

Acting as if nothing were amiss, the man picked a few grains from the rod and put them in his mouth to chew. After chewing for a moment, he spat them out.

"Approved, go on in!"

"Ah, thank you, thank you!"

Profusely grateful, the person delivering the grain pulled his cart into the grain station.

This scene made Yang Xingwu feel extremely uncomfortable.

Before long, that staff member walked over to their cart and repeated the exact same process with the steel rod.

Yang Xingwu was about to say something when his father stopped him with a glance.

"Approved, go on in!"

"Ah, thank you!"

Watching his father act so submissive, Yang Xingwu felt even worse inside!

Yang Xingwen, noticing his younger brother's unusual demeanor, quickly pulled him along into the grain station.

Once inside, the loud whir of large electric fans could be heard humming. As soon as Yang Chunsheng pulled his handcart in, someone barked an order at them.

"Standing around for what? Go weigh it immediately!"

"Yes!"

Yang Chunsheng pulled the cart to the weighing area. With the help of his two sons and younger brother, they unloaded sixteen bags of grain, then emptied a little less than half a bag more to make up the exact 1,800 catties required, and put it on the scale.

After weighing, the wheat was poured onto a conveyor belt. A nearby fan blew away the lumps of dirt and impurities, and the grain was weighed a second time. Once confirmed correct, the grain delivery process was finally complete.

With the grain handed over, Yang Chunsheng received a receipt slip and less than thirty yuan from the grain station.

For over five hundred catties of wheat, the unified procurement price came out to less than six fen per catty—not even thirty percent of the negotiated market price for grain!

"If you want to sell negotiated-price grain, you can come back after finishing the public grain delivery!"

"How much is the negotiated-price grain this year?"

"Seventeen fen!"

"Wasn't it twenty fen last year?"

"Bumper harvest this year, it's all this price!"

Hearing this, Yang Chunsheng took the slip and the money, walked out of the office, and pulled the cart and his family out of the grain station.

With the public quota fulfilled, the whole family felt a weight lifted off their shoulders. Walking on the road home with Yang Xiaolan riding on the cart, they chatted cheerfully.

"Son of a gun, the price of negotiated grain dropped quite a bit this year. A good harvest turns out to be a curse after all!"

"Can't be helped, that's just how the world is!"

"Dad, why was that person at the grain station so overbearing?"

"Why so arrogant? That's still considered mild. In a few days, if you don't slip them a little something, they won't even let you pass. If you get into university, our family will finally be able to stand straight and talk tall!"

Hearing this, Yang Xingwu thought of the grain delivery earlier, and a heavy knot formed in his chest.

"Dad, don't worry, I will definitely pass the exam! I definitely will!"