Chapter 40: Distributing Grain

Reminded by the Gossip System, Jiang Pan Yu rummaged through her Personal Space and finally found the box of Snow Cream tucked away in a corner. She sighed, “I forgot about it. I wonder if it’s still effective now?”

“It should still work!” the Gossip System replied, though uncertainly.

Whether it worked or not, she would find out by using it. Jiang Pan Yu washed her face and applied a thin layer of Snow Cream on her face, neck, and a bit on her arms.

With some free time on her hands, she decided to organize her Personal Space to see what else she had inside.

There was a pack of high-nutrition compressed biscuits, a pound of brown sugar, a bag of Nutrient Milk Candy, a set of high-quality work safety supplies, a bottle of lice medicine, a set of thermostatic underwear, a box of Snow Cream for beauty and skincare, and a jar of nutritious rock candy.

She had quite a few items, though most of the food had already been consumed by her.

Jiang Pan Yu didn’t plan to trade these items for money, as she valued her health more.

As for the lice medicine, she had been using it daily, applying a bit to her comb while brushing her hair. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but the lice medicine seemed to have a mosquito-repellent effect too. Since she started using it, she hadn’t been bitten by mosquitoes or other insects.

The set of work safety supplies was quite extensive. It included work shoes, gloves, masks, a raincoat, rain boots, and a work uniform. However, the uniform was a bit too advanced for the time, so she couldn’t wear it openly.

The rest of the items were all useful to her now, and they were of high quality, so she didn’t have to worry about wear and tear.

The thermostatic underwear was particularly suitable for her, and she didn’t have to worry about anyone noticing it.

After taking stock of her belongings, Jiang Pan Yu felt reassured. With the rewards she had, she could live comfortably without worrying about food or clothing.

This was already a great achievement. In this era, being able to live comfortably was a sign of great capability.

As for making money, there was no rush. In a few years, when the country opened up, there would be plenty of opportunities.

There was no need to take risks like in those historical novels, venturing into the black market. At least, Jiang Pan Yu felt it was unnecessary for her.

After a day of rest, the Brigade Leader organized the villagers to deliver the public grain. Once the public grain was handed over, the remaining grain would be distributed as the villagers’ annual food supply.

It was worth mentioning that Lianshan Village had won this year’s advanced unit award, so they had the privilege of delivering their public grain first.

All the village’s wheelbarrows, flatbed carts, ox carts, and donkey carts were brought out, piled high with sacks of grain.

This was a collective effort involving the entire village, young and old. All the Educated Youth from the residence were also required to help, as no one knew how long the process would take.

Everyone had to bring their own food. Several female Educated Youth made sweet potato pancakes, wrapped them in cloth, and brought them along with some green onions.

Chewing on the pancakes with green onions made for a simple meal. There were no water bottles, so if anyone got thirsty, they could buy tea near the grain depot for two cents a bowl. There were also seasonal fruits for sale, though most people only bought the two-cent tea.

Almost everyone waited in the open to deliver the grain. In the northern province, the weather had already turned cold. Standing in the chilly wind, waiting in line to hand over the grain, their hearts felt as cold as the biting wind.

Moreover, even with priority, it wasn’t easy to get the promissory notes for so much grain.

The brigade leader had to smile and offer a pack of cigarettes to each person handling the quality inspection, weighing, and storage procedures to ensure they would do their job diligently.

The villagers of Lianshan Village set off at five in the morning, hauling the grain to the granary compound. By the time all the grain was stored and the promissory notes were received, completing this year’s grain delivery task, it was already dark.

Everyone returned to Lianshan Village in the cold wind and darkness, but they were all excited because after delivering the public grain, the remaining grain would be distributed among them.

Everyone went home to sleep, but the brigade leader still had to lead Accountant Jin and other cadres to calculate this year’s grain, money, and work points for Lianshan Village.

Fortunately, this year was a bountiful one. After delivering the public grain, the remaining grain was enough to meet about 70% of the village’s basic food needs.

The remaining 30% had to be supplemented by the villagers’ private plots and the corners of their homes, where they grew vegetables and other crops.

Jiang Pan Yu heard that this was considered a pretty good year. With careful planning and mixing in wild vegetables, mushrooms, and mountain produce in the spring, a family could basically get by.

However, Jiang Pan Yu and her group of Educated Youth had only been in the countryside for less than two months. Some of them had earned so few work points that after deducting the grain they had borrowed earlier, the remaining points were insufficient to feed themselves.

After discussion, the village allowed the Educated Youth to use money to make up for their work points and then exchange those points for grain.

This was actually a very cost-effective and considerate arrangement, offering special treatment to the newly arrived Educated Youth.

After all, if you wanted to buy grain at the grain station, you needed grain tickets.

Using money to offset work points and exchange for grain didn’t require grain tickets, so anyone who wasn’t particularly foolish wouldn’t refuse. Thus, the Educated Youth were able to exchange enough grain with their money.

Jiang Pan Yu calculated her work points. She wasn’t particularly diligent, as her health was poor, and overexertion wasn’t conducive to her recovery.

So she always maintained a moderate level of effort when working.

This was largely thanks to the Gossip Sisters Squad, who took her under their wing.

What kind of creatures were these aunties? They could argue their way out of anything, reasonable or not, so as long as things were passable.

The record keeper would loosen up a bit and not be too strict, and Jiang Pan Yu benefited from this, earning about four or five work points a day.

From July to September, a little over two months, she had accumulated a total of 342 work points.

This year’s harvest in Lianshan Village was good, and one work point was worth 13 cents! That meant Jiang Pan Yu’s efforts had earned her 44 yuan and 46 cents.

If she exchanged all of it for grain, she could eat her fill without any problem. The northern province was a temperate and cold region, with only one harvest a year.

Jiang Pan Yu calculated that she needed about one pound of grain a day to feel full.

After the autumn harvest, it would be time to hunker down for the winter, and new grain wouldn’t be available until next September.

That meant she would need at least 300 pounds of grain, supplemented with some vegetables.

In the spring, she could dig for wild vegetables to fill her stomach, and with some frugality, she could make it until next September.

However, Jiang Pan Yu didn’t plan to deprive herself. She really didn’t want to dig for wild vegetables in the spring.

In modern times, with oil, salt, and various seasonings, wild vegetables only tasted good.

If you were to eat wild vegetable gruel without oil or seasoning for three days now, I guarantee your face would turn as green as the vegetables.

After calculating, Jiang Pan Yu decided to exchange her work points for 200 catties of sweet potatoes, 50 catties of sorghum, 200 catties of corn, 30 catties of millet, and 30 catties of brown rice.

In total, over 500 catties of grain. It was only because this year’s harvest was good and the granary was full that the brigade leader allowed such an exchange!

After exchanging her work points for grain, Jiang Pan Yu was left with only 0.36 yuan in her hands.

With this small amount of money, she exchanged for some coarse grains like mixed beans. The prices were: sweet potatoes at 0.07 yuan per catty, sorghum at 0.08 yuan per catty, corn at 0.09 yuan per catty, millet at 0.14 yuan per catty, and brown rice at 0.13 yuan per catty.

It wasn’t expensive, but the grain in the granary had only undergone basic processing. Except for the brown rice and sweet potatoes, which could be cooked directly, the rest needed to be taken to the mill for further processing.

Out of the 500 catties of grain, it was estimated that only about 420 catties would be usable. The remaining chaff, mixed with pigweed, could be used as pig feed or to raise chickens and ducks.

However, due to disagreements among the residents at the educated youth residence, they didn’t raise chickens or pigs. Jiang Pan Yu herself wanted to raise them, but the current conditions didn’t allow it, so she had to put the idea on hold for now.