Chapter 67 : What is Public Grain?

“The grain payment will start tomorrow,” Geng Changqing suddenly said. “The brigade where Li Jiaao is located will be the first to pay the grain tomorrow morning.”

Su Mo’s eyes lit up, knowing that Geng Changqing was reminding her that if she wanted to deliver something, she could do so tomorrow morning.

“When will the Lujia Village Brigade hand it in?” Su Mo asked.

“The fourth one will be due the day after tomorrow afternoon,” said Geng Changqing.

Su Mo nodded, planning to come the day after tomorrow afternoon to witness the grand occasion of paying the public grain.

The grain payment was a major event for the production brigade. It was a day to test the results of the year’s work. Every time the grain was paid, 80% of the members would go, one for the need to transport the grain, two for appearances, and three for watching the excitement.

There were people who were curious and would go to watch each brigade pay their grain taxes, so as to learn about the situation in other brigades and have something to talk about when they returned.

There were a total of 16 production brigades under the Hongqi Commune. In order to prevent the brigades from fighting over the order of paying public grain, Geng Changqing implemented a rule of drawing lots after he arrived.

Before each grain payment, the branch secretaries and team leaders of the 16 production teams were called to a meeting to arrange the tasks, and then draw lots to decide the order of paying the public grain tax.

Anyway, it depended on luck whichever day you caught, that was your day. Two teams were collected per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

In this way, everyone could avoid the trouble of queuing, and efficiency was improved.

One year before Geng Changqing took office, 16 teams swarmed in. Some people queued for three days but couldn’t even get through the gate of the purchasing station.

Since Geng Changqing came, paying public grain was no longer a protracted battle of physical strength and endurance. The people in the grain station no longer dared to make excuses about the goods not being up to standard. Therefore, Geng Changqing was very popular among the members of the Hongqi Commune. He was a good official who sincerely did practical things.

Seeing Su Mo’s eyes sparkling with curiosity, Geng Changqing asked, “Are you curious?”

Su Mo nodded rapidly.

Before, she had to imagine all these scenes, but now that she could see them with her own eyes, she was extremely curious.

Geng Changqing smiled helplessly and shook his head, “Whatever you’re curious about, I’ll answer it for you.”

“Everyone talks about paying public grain, but what kind of grain are we paying? Do we have to pay for it?” She had read novels before, and in some novels, the public grain was paid with money, while in others, it was not.

“Paying public grain is a general term. There are three types of grain paid: one is the real public grain as an agricultural tax, one is the purchased grain, and the other is the surplus grain.”

“Agricultural taxes must be paid, unless there is a natural disaster and the state exempts them. Grain procurement is also mandatory, and the amount to be paid depends on the total grain output of the production brigade.”

“Surplus grain is not mandatory. After paying agricultural taxes and requisitioned grain, production teams with good harvests can keep enough food for their members and war reserve grain. If there is any surplus, it can be sold to the purchasing station for money.”

“There is no money for the public grain as an agricultural tax. There is money for the requisitioned grain and the surplus grain, but the price of the requisitioned grain is lower than that of the surplus grain.”

Su Mo was really enlightened. It turns out there are so many things about public grain.

“Then how is the agricultural tax determined? Is it fixed every year?” Su Mo asked again.

“No, it depends on the economy of each region. The national average tax rate is 15%, but it fluctuates based on the actual situation of each region, with a minimum of no less than 7% and a maximum of no more than 25%. Qingxi County’s tax rate this year is 10%.”

“Then won’t the regions that pay 25% suffer huge losses?” Su Mo blurted out.

Geng Changqing pursed his lips and smiled but said nothing.

Su Mo was a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject: “If some brigades concealed the actual grain production, wouldn’t the agricultural tax be much lower?”

This time, Geng Changqing actually laughed out loud. “Xiaomo, they won’t hide anything. Not reporting more is already responsible.”

In many areas, team leaders would exaggerate the grain production to show their abilities. Otherwise, how could they claim a yield of 10,000 kilograms per mu?

After all, Geng Changqing had been raised by Su Zhongli and understood the profit-seeking methods of businessmen. He didn’t expect that Xiaomo would be more like a true Su family member than De Ge and Qian Ge.

Su Mo was truly embarrassed this time, her face turned red.

Oh! How could she suddenly adopt the thinking of later generations, forgetting that the mainstream thought of this era emphasized dedication, collective interests, and everyone being honored to contribute more to the country?

This made her seem very reactionary.

“Is there anything else you are curious about?” Geng Changqing asked with a smile.

Su Mo didn’t have the nerve to ask more questions and quickly said, “That’s all. I won’t bother Uncle Geng anymore, I’ll go back now.”

“Okay. When it’s time to pay the public grain, I’ll be at the purchasing station every day. If you want to see me, just come find me. Otherwise, I’m afraid your small body will get squeezed to death in the crowd,” Geng Changqing joked with a smile.

Su Mo made a face and ran off.

Geng Changqing laughed out loud. Xiaomo, after not seeing her for a few years, had become much more lively.

Fu Ming, the Party Committee Secretary who happened to pass by the door, was a little surprised. Secretary Geng had always been someone who kept his emotions to himself, and he didn’t expect him to laugh so heartily.

After Su Mo returned home, she took out the money and coupons that Geng Changqing had given her and counted them. There were 10 Great Unity coupons, as well as some meat coupons, grain coupons, non-staple food coupons, industrial coupons, and four feet of cloth coupons.

Su Mo: …

She thought she was going to play in the difficult mode, but why did it feel like she was transitioning to the easy “group pet” mode now?

A person who had relied on herself since she was 14 years old, suddenly having three big guys vying to give her money to spend, why did she feel a little panicked?

She really didn’t know how to enjoy life. She was born to be a hard worker.

Why was she still working so hard? She should just lie down and wait for them to feed her.

Su Mo consoled herself and finally calmed down. The bosses gave her money, and she earned her own money. If she couldn’t spend it all, she would save it. Who would complain about having too much money? When she had the ability, she would return it.

Su Mo calmed down and continued knitting. In the evening, she opened a can of braised pork with rice and the leftover radish sprouts and egg soup from lunch, eating happily.