Chapter 438 How many shoes will you have to endure?

After beating his son, the old father dragged the boy to the canteen door without hesitation and tied him up for two days. Not only did he starve the boy, but he also developed the habit of guarding his food after eating.

But it was impossible not to pay the public grain tax, so everyone discussed and decided to just collect more than half of the harvest. Anyway, after the flood, the seeds were concentrated in the commune team, and it was said that some villages had already set their sights on public livestock.

People are also made of flesh and blood. The brigade cannot just sit there and watch the village run out of food after just three or five days of paying. Anyway, the crops in the fields are all in sight, and it will only take more than a week to harvest the grain. It is estimated that no team will be able to pay the full amount of public grain after the harvest, and if they follow suit, no one will be able to blame them.

Zhang Xingwang knew that the matter was definitely not as simple as the old man said. Owing public grain? What a joke, the old man just didn't want him to know too much about the mess, so as not to be upset.

According to the old man, it's easier to deal with when the weather is hot. If you have less food, you can grow vegetables to fill your stomach. At least you won't starve to death so easily. But it will be troublesome after winter. It's nonsense to rely on the vegetables stored in the cellar to survive the winter. You might as well dig your own grave while you still have some strength.

The brainless village chief only knows how to chase the young wife to exchange eggs, and he is also helpless with food. He doesn't say a word when asked. The only way is to rely on the difference in the price of eggs to buy food. It's bad enough that he doesn't have a brain, but he doesn't know how to ask people with brains...

"So I'm asking shamelessly, do you have any other options?"

The last two sentences amused Zhang Xingwang. After all, the old man was a veteran. He was smart because he was the first to say it. Seeing the old man's embarrassed expression, Zhang Xingwang also cooperated and put on a dilemma. He replied slowly:

"There is a way, but I'm afraid there will be people who like to gossip and cause trouble..."

Several old men became excited after hearing this, and they all said that it was absolutely no trouble at all. They already had a complete plan for this matter and even had three backup plans.

Then he gave a brief account of their escort plan, and the old man spoke intermittently, telling Zhang Xingwang not to worry about his own safety, as the plan was absolutely foolproof. He also said half-heartedly that everyone would remember Zhang Xingwang's kindness.

According to the old man, since the grain was bought, the villagers no longer have to live hand to mouth, and they, the old guys, can still survive for a while longer.

Two old bachelors and an orphan married refugee wives, one of whom is pregnant. Two militia cousins ​​from the brigade can come back at any time, and they are all good sons of the Zhang family...

Zhang Xingwang automatically filtered out the old man's subsequent words. Some things cannot be pondered over in detail, but Zhang Xingwang felt that this was good. At least he had done something practical for the village.

The old man didn't say anything specific. After he finished speaking, he stared at him for a long time without saying anything. His cloudy eyes slowly became moist. After a while, he started chatting with him about family matters, asking about his illness and saying that Bai Xiaoya looked like a child that would be easy to raise.

He came over and whispered that if he was not feeling well and his wife was not pregnant, he would come back. He said seriously that he had a secret recipe for having children and would definitely help to have a baby. He was smiling and winking as he said this. He was a real old rogue...

The old man finished speaking mysteriously and told the old men to leave. Uncle Yougen then came over, put his arm around his shoulder and pulled him, saying that the world was not a good place recently and gave him a gun for self-defense to avoid any accidents during the transaction.

Then he asked what the old man said in the end, rubbing his hands and asking if he had given him any treasures or something.

"Uncle Yougen, do you mean that the old man still has treasures?"

"Maybe. I don't know how much you can get. Anyway, we plan to buy as many as we can, but I'm afraid the money in the village is not enough. I think the old man will have to pay a little, otherwise I will suffer for nothing."

Zhang Xingwang didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this. Uncle Yougen was really "scheming and involved himself in the game". Then he thought about what to do about this matter.

Before he could make up his mind, Uncle Yougen urged Zhang Xingwang to leave quickly, saying that he had treasures and asked Zhang Xingwang to see how many kilograms of food he could exchange for them.

Sure enough, Uncle Yougen’s treasures were really powerful. Going down the ladder to the cellar, there were more than ten guns and short guns hanging on the wall, and even a big knife. However, Zhang Xingwang was not very interested in these. He was interested in three small objects, two melons and a horsetail.

Zhang Xingwang was just about to start studying it when he was interrupted by Uncle Yougen, who urged him to look at the big treasure. Zhang Xingwang was shocked, and mortars and heavy machine guns instantly came to his mind. He felt that this time his 100% powerful test was a sure thing.

As Uncle Yougen lifted the straw curtain, he found all kinds of eggs neatly arranged, including duck eggs, goose eggs, and pigeon eggs.

Uncle Yougen said with a proud look on his face:

"How is it? These are what Big Head and I worked so hard to get. We have exchanged all the food you gave us last time. Now we can't even find an eggshell in the surrounding area."

Zhang Xingwang looked at the densely packed eggs and felt a little annoyed. He turned his head and replied quietly:

"Take them all over in the evening, and give them to the old couple as a gift with flowers. After all, eating eggs all the time is not a good thing. How much food do you want this time?"

Zhang Xingwang also felt like he had found a pillow. It was not reasonable to expect to sell large quantities of grain in the pigeon market. The village was the safest way. It would be great to exchange grain for other things. Uncle Yougen could even exchange with other villages on a public-to-public basis, which was much safer than the pigeon market.

When Uncle Yougen heard that he had to deliver other eggs, his face froze, and he swallowed unconsciously. He forced a smile and nodded, then tentatively replied:

"I'm planning to get two thousand kilograms. Can you think of a way to get it together within two or three months? I'll tell you where to go then..."

Seeing Uncle Yougen asking for an exorbitant price, Zhang Xingwang pretended to be embarrassed for a moment and slowly replied:

"Uncle Yougen, we have a batch of 4,000 to 5,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, etc. today. Why don't you buy them all at once?"

Uncle Yougen's breathing quickened after hearing this. He grabbed his hair and pondered for a long time before replying dejectedly:

"I don't have that much money. I can only buy 3,000 kilograms at most. We'll buy anything that can be stored. But how much is your grain per kilogram? The price of coarse grains is almost 40 cents now..."

Zhang Xingwang was stunned when he heard this. It seemed that the price of food had risen sharply recently. Then he chuckled and said a compromise plan. He would act as a guarantor and give the food first, and the village would help to exchange the remaining money for eggs, chickens, ducks, etc. He still charged 30 cents per pound for the food, and the village could make some profit from the price difference. The difference would be used to offset the remaining money, and they could deal with the shortfall later.

After he finished speaking, he thought of the old couple and continued:

"You can give a portion of the exchanged goods to the old couple as usual. Anyway, it's enough to let them eat meat every now and then."

Uncle Yougen fell silent after hearing this. It wasn't because it was difficult to change things, but mainly because it was hard to find an excuse. The last time the whole village was celebrating the confinement, the heat had just subsided. What should we do this time? We can't just say that the old men in the village are in poor health and need to be supplemented. That would mean we would have to endure so many slaps from the soles of our shoes...