Chapter 167: Grain Delivery 2
At dawn, the sun slowly rose, and the noises around became more and more lively. Some teams set out without bringing rations, so someone in the team specially delivered rations. People from the same team gathered together, eating and chatting.
Shen Erzhu had told the members the day before to bring their own rations, so when they set out, they each had a small bag tied to their belts, which contained their own rations.
Seeing them eating, Shen Shuyu also felt hungry. She opened the aluminum lunch box and saw that Old Lady Shen had cooked corn porridge for her and a peeled egg.
The people next to her swallowed unconsciously when they saw the eggs in her lunch box. Shen Shuyu ate the eggs first before drinking the corn porridge.
When she finished her porridge, the staff of the grain station came to work. They were dressed in decent work clothes and looked at the people around the grain station with arrogance on their faces.
As soon as the gate of the grain station opened, the first team leader asked the members of the team to carry the grain down.
Several staff members sat at their respective posts and performed their duties. There were many procedures for paying public grain.
The staff member took a long, pointed iron rod that was hollow in the middle and had a groove, and poked it into the bag of grain. When he pulled it out, he brought out the grain. She first squeezed it in her hand, then took a few grains and put them in her mouth to bite, spit them out, and said, "Not bad, let's weigh it!"
The grain inspection process is long and tiring. People who come to deliver grain are most afraid of the staff saying, "No!"
Shen Erzhu has been the team leader for so many years, and he has his own way of doing things. He prepared two packs of cigarettes in his pocket, and deliberately lined up with the male comrades for acceptance. When it was their turn, Shen Erzhu stepped forward and quietly stuffed two packs of cigarettes into the staff. The staff touched his pocket without leaving a trace, with a faint smile on his face.
He poked the hollow iron rod at random, brought out the grain, squeezed it, and said, "Okay, weigh it!"
Shen Shuyu woke up Gu Jiandong, and the two of them and the strong laborers in the team moved the grain to the next door to be weighed. After being weighed, they had to move it into the granary. After moving the grain one by one, they could squeeze out half a bucket of sweat from their clothes. The others were exhausted and panting, but Shen Shuyu didn't feel tired, just very hot. Sweat dripped down his forehead like rain.
After the grain was moved, Shen Erzhu put away the IOUs he received and waited until the end of the year to settle the accounts. After deducting the agricultural tax, if there was any money left, he could take the money back! If it was not enough, the team had to write an IOU to the commune.
Shen Erzhu led the team members out. When they were leaving, Shen Shuyu heard the captain of a brigade begging the staff with a frustrated face, "Comrade, please be kind and make some concessions. Our brigade is far from the commune. It takes more than three hours to walk here. We set out at one o'clock last night. It's not easy to carry all this food. We finally brought the food here, and you asked us to carry it back. This..."
The staff member had a cold face, spat out the wheat husks he had just tasted, and rubbed a handful of wheat in his hand, "Your wheat is not completely dried, and there is a lot of sand and gravel mixed in. It does not meet the acceptance standards. How can you let me pass it for you?"
The staff waved their hands, impatiently told him to go aside, and called the next one!
After working so hard to bring the food here, the entire team was in a heavy mood when it was tested and found to be unqualified.
Uncle Shen and Shen Erzhu whispered, "Uncle, isn't this Chen Congming, the leader of the Wazitun team? Why has the food in their team been returned again?"
Shen Erzhu just sighed and said nothing. As both were team leaders, Shen Erzhu and Chen Congming were quite close. He had already reminded Chen Congming, a dull-head, to prepare a pack of cigarettes, and he agreed.
Shen Erzhu thought that he had listened to him, but judging from his attitude, he was probably reluctant to spend those few cents. Chen Congming was really not smart at all. He clearly spent a few cents to buy a pack of cigarettes, so he and everyone else wouldn't have to go through so much trouble. Now, everyone stayed up late last night to carry food here, and now they have to carry the food back under the scorching sun. It's really...!
"Uncle, why do you say that again? The food of that brigade is often substandard?"
"That's right. Every year they bring it in, they say it's unqualified!" Uncle Shen knew Chen Congming to some extent. He was just too honest. In fact, whether the grain was qualified or not was just a matter of a word from the staff.
Having paid public grain for so many years, it was impossible for the people in the brigade not to know the standards for collecting grain. Uncle Shen didn't believe that the grain was not thoroughly dried.
In other words, Chen Congming doesn't know how to adapt. He can give himself a convenience by giving a pack of cigarettes, and he and the people in the team don't have to go through so much trouble.
Every year they were said to be unqualified. Shen Shuyu watched other team leaders secretly stuffing cigarettes into the staff and figured out something.
This was the first time that Shen Shuyu saw the grand scene of paying public grain in this era. It was also the first time that he truly felt the situation of paying public grain. It can be described in eight words: very tiring, very hard, and very sad!
They had to bring the grain in before daybreak and line up. The process of delivering grain was long and complicated. If everything went well, it could be done in one go. If not, they had to bring it in and then bring it back again.
The team that arrived late had to spend the night here. There was no other way. It was not their turn. The food had been delivered and they had to keep an eye on it all the time.
If the harvest was bad, after paying the public grain, the brigade would not have much grain left, and they would not get much rations. They worked so hard, but in the end they could not even get half full. Don’t you think it was sad? Even Shen Shuyu, who did not do farm work, felt sad, not to mention those who worked in the fields every day.
Shen Shuyu came out of the grain station and saw a long queue. Shen Shuyu was somewhat glad that their team came early, because the teams that came late didn't know how long they would have to wait in line.
Gu Jiandong walked beside Shen Shuyu, his tall figure blocking most of the sun for her. He grinned, "Shuyu, I want to eat popsicles, drink soda, and drink rock sugar water!"
"Okay, let's go buy it!"
Shen Shuyu, Shen Erzhu, and Uncle Shen said, "Second Grandpa, Uncle, Gu Jiandong and I are going to the supply and marketing cooperative for a while and will be back later. You can go back first and don't have to wait for us."
Shen Erzhu nodded! "Okay!"
When Shen Jiawei heard that his elder sister was going to the supply and marketing cooperative for a while, he pushed her bicycle over and said, "Big sister, bicycle!"
Shen Shuyu took the bicycle and said, "Second brother, do you want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative with us?"
Shen Jiawei was very sleepy. He had no interest in visiting the supply and marketing cooperative. He waved his hand and said, "I want to go home and sleep."
Shen Erzhu drove the ox cart and said, "We are going back. Don't play too late. Go home and rest early."
The ox cart can seat more than a dozen people. On the way back, except for Shen Erzhu who sat in the front driving the ox cart, no one sat in the back.
The cows were an important asset to their team. After pulling two trips of food, everyone was afraid that the cows would be tired and wanted to let them rest for a while. Naturally, no one wanted to ride on the cows when they went back!
The grain station is not far from the supply and marketing cooperative, just a few hundred meters ahead. Shen Shuyu was riding a bicycle with Gu Jiandong again. The bicycles were very fast, and they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative after just a few turns of the wheels!