Raising Cubs in the 1950s [MTL]

Chapter 61-70

Chapter 61

"Do not push, everyone, do not push! We'll make sure everyone gets to buy!" The staff at the grain station barely opened the doors when the crowd surged forward, nearly knocking people down. Others hurriedly came out to maintain order, loudly shouting through megaphones, instructing everyone to line up, or else they wouldn't sell any grain.

After nearly twenty minutes of noisy chaos, they finally formed three long queues. Due to the scarcity of food, everyone was particularly sensitive to the weight. The quality of the grain could be compromised, but the weight had to be accurate. Fortunately, under the guidance of the station manager Hongjun, everyone was assured that they would receive more, if anything, but never less. So, everyone was satisfied. This was the final distribution of grain before the New Year.

After everyone finished buying their grain and left, the temporary workers who had come to help at the grain station also received the promised rations and left contentedly. Over the next two days, after everyone finished counting the supplies and accounts at the grain station, apart from the duty staff, everyone else was granted leave.

As employees of the grain station, the year-end benefits were quite good: two catties of eggs, two catties of pork, two catties of white flour, five catties of cornmeal, and ten catties of dark flour. In addition, there were some leftover alfalfa dumplings, which were also distributed to everyone.

As the end of the year approached, although the overall situation was not great, it seemed slightly more festive than before. In previous years, Zhang Jianjun and his son spent the New Year in the small courtyard in the city or occasionally celebrated with Shopkeeper Zhang's family. But this year, Zhang Jianjun decided to celebrate the New Year with his son in Qingshan Village at Zhao Dashan's house.

One reason was that they could use this opportunity to bring back grain and share it with Zhao Dashan's family, which would serve as a subsidy. In the past, Zhao Dashan had taken good care of them as an uncle, and now, during these difficult times, they could help each other to some extent.

The second reason was that Zhao Dashan's parents had passed away at the beginning of the year. Apart from their old age, it was also because they wanted to save food for the family. This loss had a significant impact on Zhao Dashan, and Zhang Jianjun was concerned, so he wanted to go and check on him.

When Zhang Jianjun went on leave, Zhang Xiaojun had already returned from school. He had been living in the courtyard in the city, having his own space. He only joined Zhang Jianjun with a large package when Zhang Jianjun also went on leave, and together they hurried to Qingshan Village. The package was just a cover, as there was nothing much inside. If anyone asked, they would say it was bedding.

To avoid attracting attention, the father and son entered the village after dark. They held a small flashlight, not fearing the darkness.

However, before they even reached the door, they heard Zhao Dashan's voice in the yard. "Alright, since I gave it to you during the floods, just keep it. If he ever faces real difficulties in the future, then you can return it."

"Return it? Why should I return it? Did he eat and drink less from us? But it's good to see he has a conscience and knows to come back. But I think ultimately it's because we're the only family left that he's trying to get close. If it were before, would such a good opportunity exist?" Zhang Chunlan retorted while helping carry things into the house.

Zhang Jianjun and his son stood outside and caught a snippet of the conversation. It seemed that Zhao Dashui had returned.

But Zhang Jianjun truly didn't like Zhao Dashui. Although he had helped when Xiaojun was kidnapped, Zhao Dashui had received substantial gifts from Zhang Jianjun during his job search and marriage in the city. After settling down in the city, he would occasionally reach out to Zhang Jianjun, although not too frequently, always freeload to eat and drink and take some things along. After the meal, he would even claim it was payment for labor.