Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 433 - 0433: Equivalent Exchange 1_1

Chapter 433: Chapter 0433: Equivalent Exchange 1_1

Facing Shao Jiandang of the Huoguang Production Team, his old face weary, Wang Zhengguo squatted under the eaves of the office, smoking his cigarette in silence.

A little distance away stood a dozen or so strong laborers from the Huoguang Production Team.

They were classified as strong laborers, but they looked frailer than the elderly members of the Wanglou Brigade. Some were thin and wasted, others bloated and swollen, all shared the same pallid complexion with a blank expression in their eyes.

If the common people next door were starving to death, Wang Zhengguo, with his humanity, could not just stand by and watch. But if he obliged once, they would come back again. Which production team wasn’t eyeing up this juicy piece of meat? The Wanglou Brigade had so little grain reserve, could it be enough to lend to one borrower after another? Their land was barren and their labor productivity was low. Lending out grain was like throwing a meat bun at a dog – once it was gone, it wouldn’t come back.

Many people were watching, not willing to be the one to stick their neck out.

Biting the bullet, Shao Jiandang wiped his face. "Old Wang, say something, don’t just sit there in silence."

"Say!" Wang Zhengguo articulated his word with perfect precision.

Shao Jiandang couldn’t help but sigh and laugh. "When I say ’say something,’ you just say something? When I ask to borrow grain, you should at least lend me some! Look at you in your old sheepskin jacket, smoking quality cigarettes. Look at us, tightening our belts. Feel our rib cages, don’t you find us pitiful? Show some sympathy, Old Wang."

"Brother Jiandang, you’re putting me in a tough position!" Wang Zhengguo stamped out his cigarette.

"If there was another way, would I have the nerve to come beg you? I truly have nowhere else to turn." Shao Jiandang sighed deeply. "Our team has more than half of the impoverished households. After paying the public grain tax, the remaining food supply in the team would give only thirty catties of dried sweet potato per person, barely enough to stave off hunger. An elderly neighbor hadn’t been seen for several days, not until someone from next door went looking for him, did they discover he’d been dead for several days. The cold weather had preserved his body—nobody realized. Last year, on the eve of the New Year, asking to borrow food wasn’t considered appropriate. Everyone was holed up at home, more than half were hungry. With no other options, I told the team to distribute the animal feed. With that, we managed to scrape through the New Year and stayed alive enough to beg for food."

There was a trace of sadness in Shao Jiandang’s eyes, shining with unshed tears. He continued, "Our production team originally had ten sub-teams, totaling one hundred and ten households. Now we’re down to fifty-eight households, a little over two hundred people including the elderly and children. Although the last two years were slightly better than the first few, the required public grain tax is still higher than the standard. We are short on seeds, manpower, productivity... Ah!"

The laborers who had come with him looked upward and gazed blankly. The taller ones, Lu Jiang and Wang Dachun, had traces of tears visible on their faces. A few even squatted on the ground and hugged their heads, letting out suppressed sobs.

Asking for aid already implied a degree of humiliation.

Poverty weakens the spirit.

Did Wang Zhengguo not know that what Shao Jiandang was saying was the truth? The now defunct Xingguang Production Team used to be their neighbor.

"Brother Jiandang, you know what I’m worried about and besides, the reserve grain is kept by national standard, the amount cannot exceed one percent of the total yield." Wang Zhengguo, feeling empathetic, couldn’t refuse to help the Huoguang Production Team any longer.

Sensing his hesitation, Shao Jiandang hurriedly said, "Just help us get through this winter, Old Wang. Once spring arrives, trees will bud, wild vegetables will sprout. With diligence, we will not starve to death. We can’t afford to lose any more of these two hundred lives. Can’t afford it, honestly. If the number reduces any further, I don’t know how to face our departed and surviving villagers!"