Chapter 74 : Net Work Points Value 1.2 Yuan

At night, Li Yue’e was lying on the kang and said to Lu Qing’an, “I don’t know what the situation is at home. The third brother just said so much in the beginning.”

“I can still send money, and I’m afraid the situation at home isn’t serious.”

As a result, Li Yue’e became a little worried again, fearing that her in-laws might dislike her son because he was from the countryside.

“What did the third brother tell you at the beginning?” Lu Qing’an wondered inwardly.

“Her father is a university teacher, her mother works in a food factory, and her uncle is a division commander in the army of Guangxi Province. Something happened at home, but it’s not a big deal, and it won’t affect the third brother’s marriage,” Li Yue’e explained.

“That’s all? Nothing else?”

“No.” Li Yue’e shook her head.

“Why didn’t you ask more clearly at that time?” Lu Qing’an asked anxiously.

Li Yue’e was furious and scolded, “Didn’t I tell you at the time? When the third brother was here, why didn’t you go and ask?”

Lu Changzheng had been away from home for many years, and as a soldier fighting on the front lines, he had accumulated a lot of blood and violent energy. Plus, he had always been independent since childhood, so the couple couldn’t make decisions for him. They had to discuss everything with him, and he had to nod in agreement.

Although they were parents, sometimes they were a little afraid of Lu Changzheng.

After being scolded by Li Yue’e, Lu Qing’an instantly lost his temper. After a while, he said, “The third son didn’t say anything because he didn’t want us to think too much. In this case, we should just pretend that we don’t know and live our lives as usual. She is also a filial daughter, so we should just be nicer to her in the future.”

Li Yue’e rolled her eyes. “Do I need you to tell me that?”

After spending more than half a month together, Li Yue’e’s affection for Su Mo had grown day by day.

“She gave us a large basket of pears and vegetables yesterday, but refused to take any money. The team will distribute grain tomorrow, and we’ll give some of our grain to the third son’s family so she doesn’t have to buy it.” Li Yue’e said.

Lu Qing’an waved his hand. “Just make the arrangements as you see fit.”

“Also, when the meat is divided, let’s give some to the others. She can’t always be the one bringing the food.”

“Okay.” Lu Qing’an had no objection.

—-

On October 17, 1971, early in the morning, the Lujia Village Brigade’s radio station began playing red songs.

The entire brigade was in high spirits because, after two days of intensive calculations by the brigade’s cadres, the net value of the brigade’s work points had finally been determined, and today was the day they would distribute the grain and money.

After having breakfast early, everyone gathered at the threshing ground of the brigade headquarters, carrying sacks, baskets, and carts.

Su Mo also went there after breakfast. Unlike others, who were holding various tools, she had nothing in her hands.

She recalled that she only had 71 work points. With these points, she couldn’t expect to get much grain. She went to check in first, and when everyone had received their share, she would go back and ride her bike to the brigade to buy more grain.

The members waiting at the threshing ground were all guessing how much this year’s work points were worth. Last year, one work point was worth eight cents, so this year’s value must be higher.

Most people guessed it would be 1 cent or 1.1 cents, with a few bold ones guessing 1.2 cents.

But more people thought it would be at most 1.1 cents. An increase of 3 cents was already a significant jump.

In their brigade, the member with the highest work points this year had 2,100 points. If one work point increased by three cents, it would mean an extra 63 yuan for the year, which was equivalent to two months’ salary for most workers.

After representatives from each household arrived, Lu Qing’an and Lu Baoguo took turns going on stage to give inspiring speeches. They thanked the motherland and the party, then encouraged the members, causing thunderous applause from the audience.

Finally, the accountant, Lu Xingjun, came on stage to announce the net value of this year’s work points. When the crowd heard that the net value of this year’s work points was 1.2 cents, they were all excited.

After a while, the captain announced the start of the food distribution.

The brigade cadres had already set up tables and scales at the entrance of the warehouse, and the packers were waiting inside. The members stood on the side, and when their names were called, they would go in to check with the accountant, then go into the warehouse to load the grain and divide the money.

The food ration levels in rural Qingxi County are divided into five levels according to the labor force level.

Young male laborers eat first-class grain, 600 catties per year, young female laborers eat second-class grain, 500 catties per year; third-class laborers and children aged 8 to 12 eat third-class grain, 420 catties per year; children aged 3 to 7 eat fourth-class grain, 300 catties per year; children under two years old eat fifth-class grain, 180 catties per year.

The Lujia Village Brigade distributed grain according to the principle of “70% for people and 30% for labor,” meaning 70% for the head of the household and 30% for work, excluding children.

For example, for those who eat first-class grain, 70% of the 600 kilograms of grain is for each person, which means 420 kilograms can be distributed. The rest depends on work points, and for every ten work points, one kilogram of grain can be distributed. If there are 1,900 work points this year, 190 kilograms of work point grain can be distributed, so this year you can get 610 kilograms of grain.

Of course, it is impossible to distribute all the fine grains, but they are divided according to the principle of 3:4:3, that is, wheat/rice and other fine grains account for 30%, corn accounts for 40%, and sweet potatoes account for 30%.

Taking first-class grain as an example, wheat/rice can be divided into 180 kilograms, corn can be divided into 240 kilograms, and sweet potatoes can be divided into 180 kilograms.

Of course, some families with a large population and few laborers can negotiate with the production team to exchange fine grains for coarse grains of equal value.

Soon, Lu Qing’an’s name was called, and Li Yue’e called Su Mo over to help.

Lu Qing’an was the branch secretary and was paid the same as the person with the highest work points in the brigade, with 2,100 work points. Li Yue’e had 1,560 work points. The couple ate first-class food and second-class food. Lu Boming was an elderly man, and was paid the same as the third-class laborer, receiving third-class food.

For Lu Qing’an, the population ration is 420 kilograms, the work-point ration is 210 kilograms, and the total ration is 630 kilograms.

For Li Yue’e, the population ration is 350 kilograms, the work-point ration is 156 kilograms, and the total ration is 506 kilograms.

For Lu Boming, the population ration is 294 kilograms, there is no work-point ration, and the total ration is 294 kilograms.

A family of three can get a total of 1,430 kilograms of grain. According to the principle of 3:4:3, they can get 429 kilograms of fine grains (wheat/rice), 572 kilograms of corn, and 429 kilograms of sweet potatoes.

“From the third brother’s family, which do you like more, white flour or rice?” Li Yue’e asked Su Mo.

“Ah? I’m fine with anything. I’m not picky.” Su Mo was a little confused.

“For fine grains, you need 100 kilograms of rice, and the rest should be wheat,” Li Yue’e said to the team leader in charge of packing, and then handed him all the sacks she brought.

Soon, the packers inside packed the corresponding grain and carried it out, weighing it one by one on the scale at the door.

After confirming that the amount of food is correct, it’s time to divide the money.

Li Yue’e and her husband have a total of 3,660 work points. This year, each worker must perform 32 days of compulsory labor, which means that each person will lose 320 work points. The remaining work points can be counted as money.

After the compulsory labor was assigned, the couple had 3,020 work points left, with a net value of 0.12 yuan, or 362.4 yuan.

However, the money for food and meat must be deducted from this money, and only the remaining money can be distributed to individuals.

All grain prices are calculated based on the state’s purchase price. Wheat is 0.13 yuan per catty, so 329 catties is 42.77 yuan; rice is 0.095 yuan per catty, so 100 catties is 9.5 yuan; corn is 0.5 cents per catty, so 572 catties is 28.6 yuan; sweet potatoes are 0.25 cents per catty, so 429 catties is 10.73 yuan.

The total cost of food is 91.6 yuan.

Then came the distribution of the meat. The standard for distributing meat was one pound of meat for every 500 work points. With Li Yue’e and her husband’s work points, they could get more than seven pounds. Li Yue’e directly asked for eight pounds, including three pounds of pork fat and five pounds of meat.

The meat is priced the same as at the supply and marketing cooperative, with pork fat at 1.2 yuan per catty and meat at 0.8 yuan per catty, totaling 7.6 yuan.

The brigade will also give each household 2 kilograms of cotton, with the total cost of cotton at 2.3 yuan.

Oil is also allocated at about 3 taels per person. Lu Qingan’s family of three uses one pound of oil per month, which amounts to 12 pounds of oil per year. Peanut oil is 0.9 yuan per pound, so the total cost of oil is 10.8 yuan.

In addition to these, Li Yue’e asked the team for 20 kilograms of soybeans and 20 kilograms of mung beans. The soybeans cost 3.34 yuan, and the mung beans cost 4 yuan, a total of 7.34 yuan.

All these things add up to a total of 119.64 yuan.

The Lu family had no outstanding debts to the brigade, so the final amount that Li Yue’e received was 242.76 yuan. Li Yue’e almost smiled with joy.

The reason they were able to get so much money was, firstly, because the work points were valuable this year, increasing by almost 50% compared to previous years. Secondly, there were three people in the family, two of whom were strong laborers. Lu Qing’an was still calculated based on the highest work points, and Li Yue’e was also a capable person, earning seven or eight work points almost every day.

With many laborers and no burden, they naturally got more money.

Some families with fewer workers and more children did not have that much money. Some families may not have enough money to share even after paying off their debts to the brigade from previous years.

After receiving the money, Li Yue’e pulled a cart and asked the young men nearby to help carry the food onto the cart. She then called two young men to go back.

Su Mo wanted to go and help, but Li Yue’e waved her hand and told her to wait here, saying that it would be her turn soon.