The science classes for the graduating class of third grade had been suspended a long time ago. Su Ye met many third grade students who were talking about which factory they were going to work in. The review time was too long and it was too boring, so people were prone to give up. Su Ye could understand that.
Su Ye wanted to bribe people with candy, sweeten their mouths, and make these kids study hard. Unexpectedly, just after she distributed candy and before she had time to give them chicken soup, they took turns running to her and whispered:
"I remember everything. Teacher Su told me to study hard... The candies that Teacher Su gave out were really delicious!"
"Master, I will definitely pass the graduation exam! My family will also allow me to start working a few years later!"
"I will work hard and will not let the teacher down!"
Su Ye looked at those determined faces, and those black grape-like eyes were filled with hope.
Hope welled up in her heart, she believed that the hard work of these children would surely bear fruit in the autumn, and Su Ye would also harvest a lot of food. Her heart was full of enthusiasm.
You can never have too much food!
After the morning reading class, Su Ye stayed behind to answer questions. Students flocked to her, textbooks in hand, and enthusiastically asked her questions.
Yang Xue looked out the window at her teacher who was surrounded by classmates, and her stomach rumbled like thunder... She took out a sorghum pancake that her mother had just baked from her worn-out bag and started to bite into it.
Many students in the class eat corn cakes and mixed grain cakes mixed with white flour. Foods made from corn and white flour taste delicious and are enviable. Although sorghum cakes are rough and scratchy, they are cheap and filling. Yang Xue has gotten used to eating them every day.
Yang Xue finished eating half of the pancake, and then raised her head to meet Qian Xiaohe's burning gaze. Qian Xiaohe seemed to be swallowing her saliva... Yang Xue was suspicious, why was there any need to swallow saliva over sorghum pancakes
Yang Xue's sorghum cakes were ground with the shells on, and if you were not careful, it would cut your throat. But seeing Qian Xiaohe's skinny appearance, her family was even more difficult than hers.
Yang Xue handed over the remaining cake in her hand, "Do you want to eat it too? Here."
Qian Xiaohe shook her head, raised her textbook and said nervously, "No, I just want to ask the monitor a question! Don't misunderstand me."
At six o'clock in the afternoon, after school.
Su Ye finished her work and was about to go home when several junior high school students came to her office to ask her questions. Su Ye hesitated for a moment. The kids had become thinner after not seeing them for a while, and their eyes looked bigger, looking both cute and pitiful.
Yang Xue reported to Su Ye how many neighbors had asked him to repair their radios this month. She gestured and said, "We should listen to Master Su and study hard. We don't have time to repair things. Most of them ask Xiao He for help. She is delicate and skillful, and she is very economical. It costs several yuan to ask a master to repair it, but it only costs fifty cents to ask her and she will fix it."
Qian Xiaohe pursed her lips and smiled.
After Su Ye answered his question, he packed up and prepared to go home.
Yang Xue and Qian Xiaohe followed Su Ye out of the school gate. Yang Xue and Su Ye waved goodbye and said, "Teacher Su, I'm going home!"
Su Ye patted Qian Xiaohe on the shoulder and was about to remind her: "Go back, be careful!"
With just a slight push, Qian Xiaohe fainted in front of Su Ye like a puppet with its strings cut off.
Su Ye jumped in shock and quickly caught Qian Xiaohe. The fourteen or fifteen-year-old child was so light that she seemed to have no strength to hold. Su Ye could lift her up with just one hand.
Qian Xiaohe slowly opened her eyes and struggled to stand up. "Master Su, I'm fine. I just felt a little dizzy after standing for so long. Master Su, I'm going home!"
Su Ye observed for a long time and saw that the girl looked pale and obviously malnourished. The fainting just now might be shock.
Su Ye sighed. How could she let him go back like this? She took him back to her office and took out a steamed bun from her bag. This was her unfinished breakfast. Su Ye then made a cup of malted milk with warm water and handed it to Qian Xiaohe.
"Eat, and then go home."
Qian Xiaohe had never eaten such precious food before, and she didn't even dare to take it. Malted milk with a milky aroma, white and soft white flour buns. This was food that his family couldn't even eat during the Chinese New Year. White flour buns were so precious, and malted milk was even more of a high-end nutritional product that he couldn't even think of.
She took a bite of the steamed bun. It was so fluffy, so soft, and so sweet. It was as delicious as the most wonderful food given by heaven. The malted milk was even more delicious than Qian Xiaohe could imagine.
"Don't you have enough food to eat at home?" Su Ye asked.
Qian Xiaohe lowered her head and said, "There are many children in my family, and there is not enough food..."
Su Ye thought about the mess in Qian Xiaohe's family, and there was still something she didn't understand.
She quickly took out a few food coupons and said, "How about this, Master, I'll lend you a few food coupons. You can use them to buy some food. Send the food you buy to Yang Xue's home and ask her parents to cook three meals for you every day. I'll greet Yang Xue's father, the Great Sage, later."
Su Ye had too much food in her hands, so she didn't need food coupons at all. The school gave her 30 kilograms of food coupons every month, and Gu Xiangqian still had dozens of kilograms of food coupons. Every month she had to use the food coupons to sell on the black market.
Qian Xiaohe was stuffed with several food coupons. She knew how precious the food coupons were. The light food coupons were like a thousand gold coins. She had not shed tears when she ate the steamed buns, but now she did not even dare to raise her head. Two tears fell on her shoes.
"No, I don't want the teacher's food coupons. I have my own money and can buy food." She shook her head and refused Su Ye's food coupons.
Su Ye frowned. This child might have never suffered the beating of black market grain prices.
She coughed lightly, cleared her throat, pulled the student to her, lowered her voice and said seriously: "You are too naive! Do you know how much food costs on the black market? Sweet potatoes cost one yuan per pound, coarse grains cost one yuan and a half, and fine grains cost even five yuan. Even if you repair radios every day and become stupid, you still won't earn enough money to buy food. Take it!"
"If you don't want my food coupons, I have a way—"
She lowered her voice and said with a smile, "Go to this place after school tomorrow afternoon. Sorghum and sweet potatoes are eight cents per pound, corn and potatoes are fifty cents per pound, and fine grains are one yuan. No food coupons are needed. Did you remember this place? Go with Yang Xue's father tomorrow, and don't tell anyone else."
Su Ye vaguely wrote a place name on the table with his finger.
Qian Xiaohe had already inquired about the price of grain on the black market and was planning to save money and buy a few kilograms of coarse grain to eat sparingly. A piece of sorghum weighed a kilogram, and ten kilograms of flour was enough for her to eat for a month...
Qian Xiaohe had inquired about the price of sorghum and sweet potatoes at the supply and marketing cooperative, which was eight cents, and corn and potatoes were thirty cents, but they needed food coupons to buy them, and she didn't have any. A kilogram of food coupons could not be bought for even a dollar on the black market. How could it be so cheap
But Master Su Ye has never cheated anyone! She sells food at a cheap price, that's for sure!
Qian Xiaohe's dark eyes suddenly burst into light, and the light of desire was so strong that Su Ye couldn't bear to look at it.
Su Ye whispered: "Xiao He promised Master not to tell anyone else. This is a secret between us."
Su Ye smiled and said nothing. She was the largest grain supplier. Why would she look for other traders to buy grain? For the most part, the wool comes from the sheep. How could she let her students starve
Suye brand grain, at a friendly price that has dropped below freezing point, it’s not the most cost-effective, it’s just better value!
Qian Xiaohe nodded vigorously and sewed her mouth shut, "No, I promise I won't tell anyone."
Qian Xiaohe thanked Su Ye and quickly ate the steamed buns and malted milk. She felt full and full of energy. She ran to Yang Xue's house and asked Yang Xue's father to go to the alley with her.
"Uncle, I want to get some food, but I can't carry it by myself. Please help me!"
After Qian Xiaohe arrived at the alley, she took out all the money she had and weighed down the scattered banknotes with a blue brick.
"I want 15 catties of sweet potatoes, 15 catties of sorghum, and two catties of cornmeal. I'll put five pieces here. Remember to come and get them later."
Yang Xue's father frowned when he heard this, thinking that Qian Xiaohe might be very hungry and crazy. How could five yuan buy so many things
Without food coupons, you can't even buy two kilograms of cornmeal. You can buy food on the black market, but even sweet potatoes cost one yuan per kilogram.
Yang Xue's father thought of Qian Xiaohe's situation and looked at her with pity, "Xiaohe, go back with your uncle and let your aunt cook you a meal."
Qian Xiaohe said: "Uncle Yang, wait a minute, we really need food."
She waited for a long time but didn't see any food. After thinking about it, she quickly realized that the country has recently been cracking down on speculation and profiteering. The profiteer that Master Su knew must be too timid and didn't dare to come out!
She dragged Yang Xue's father out of the alley. Half an hour later, he came to the alley again and saw a bulging sack of things at the end of the alley. The astonishment and joy in her eyes were simply uncontrollable!
She went over and picked up the sack, but it was so heavy that it didn't move at all. Instead, she fell down. Qian Xiaohe sat on the ground in surprise and chuckled.
Yang Xue's father saw that there were indeed a few more bags of things, and could smell the fragrance of food through the bags. He was shocked and unbelievable, and grabbed a handful of the sacks with his hands, "It's really food!"
The sorghum flowed through his fingers with a rustling sound, bringing with it a faint fragrance.
He opened the sack and took a look. It was full of sweet potatoes and sorghum. His eyes became deep, and the two men, big and small, stopped dancing for a moment.
Yang Xue's father quickly tied the sack tightly and moved the grain back home.
Yang Xue's mother saw her husband and Qian Xiaohe carrying back bags full of food. Her heart was so hot that it seemed to be burning. She had never seen so much food since the famine!
"This...what's going on?" Yang Xue's mother asked in astonishment.
Qian Xiaohe looked at Yang Xue's parents eagerly, "This is mine. I'll give the food to you. Can you provide me with food for two months?"
Fifty kilograms of coarse grains and two kilograms of cornmeal are more than enough for a half-grown child to eat for two months. Moreover, sorghum and sweet potatoes are enough to fill the stomach, and cornmeal is expensive. One kilogram of cornmeal can be exchanged for five kilograms of sorghum. If Qian Xiaohe is frugal, it can probably feed her for three months. The extra food is enough to feed the child in the house for one month.
Cooking a meal for Qian Xiaohe is just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks. The Yang family couple both knew about the dirty things in Qian Xiaohe's family.
Su Ye found someone. The Yang couple were both kind-hearted people. There was no way they would be greedy for Qian Xiaohe's food.
Yang Xue's mother smiled and said, "Yes, why not?"
She deftly took the grain out of the sack, separating the sweet potatoes with the sweet potatoes and the sorghum with the sorghum. When she was halfway through, she dug out a piece of white oil cake from the sorghum, wrapped in lard paper, with a small note on the inside with the words "Give it to you to eat."
There are six people in the Yang family. When Qian Xiaohe saw the white lard board, she was so frightened that her eye sockets were hot.
How good of a person must this be to put a piece of white lard in it? This piece of lard is an inch thick. Even the supply and marketing cooperatives don't have such a beautiful lard!
The so-called lard board is thick lard fat, which can be used to make oil. The lard board is even rarer than pork belly! Because food is scarce these days, everyone is short of oil. Without oil, the body will feel weak all day and have no energy to work. Everyone hopes to exchange some lard boards for making oil.
None of the fans in the live broadcast room thought that there was a piece of lard mixed in the food. They quickly realized that it was Su Ye who put it in. The barrage exploded into snowflakes at this moment:
"I hope Xiao He eats well and grows up quickly!"
"I never thought she would put a piece of lard down there! Master Su is so warm! I'm going to cry!"
"This guy must be trying to cheat me out of my reward. His sensational tactics are getting better and better. But I still have to kneel down and give him a reward with tears. The user 'big spender' gave Suye 500g of pork belly."
"'Hard work leads to wealth' rewards Suye 1kg of green vegetables."
"'Study hard' reward: 200g tuna with perilla leaves."
This piece of lard was indeed put in by Su Ye. Fatty pork is not valuable to her. One catty of pork belly can be exchanged for five catties of oil board. When she exchanged food, she just stuffed a piece in. At that time, she really just put it in casually, but she didn't expect to be able to trick out a lot of rewards.
Qian Xiaohe is her student. She is diligent and hardworking and has unlimited potential for the future. She deserves a good meal.
The Yang family gathered around, watching Yang Xue's mother making lard with salivating eyes. At first, the stuff that came out of the pot was as light as water, and it couldn't be considered oil. Yang Xue's mother couldn't bear to throw it away, so she put it in a bowl. As the fire under the pot grew stronger, the snow-white fat gradually boiled out oil, and the lard flowed out, clear and shiny. Until the lard became more and more, the fat gradually shrank, and finally floated in the oil.
During the lard refining process, the tempting aroma of lard wafted up, making people drool. Yang Xue's mother scooped up the almost refined lard residue, sprinkled a thin layer of salt on it, and shared it with the children.
The lard residue was fragrant and crispy, and was fried until crispy. It was a delicious delicacy that couldn't be more delicious. Qian Xiaohe took a bite, her mouth was full of the aroma of lard, and she squinted her eyes in happiness.
Yang Xue was scalded and said cheerfully, "Delicious, delicious, really delicious! Thank you, Xiao He!"
Yang Xue grabbed Qian Xiaohe's skinny hand and said, "Stay at my house for dinner tonight!"
Qian Xiaohe nodded vigorously.
Yang Xue's mother ground sorghum into powder and mixed it with a little cornmeal to make multi-grain pancakes, which were less irritating to the throat. The pancakes were wrapped with a few crispy and tender vegetable leaves, which were more nutritious. This hardworking woman was always good at turning poor things into rich and hot food.
The freshly baked multi-grain pancake was a little soft and chewy, with a few drops of fragrant lard dripped on it, making it crispy and delicious. Qian Xiaohe had already eaten a steamed bun, so she was full after eating a multi-grain pancake.
On the way home, Qian Xiaohe thought: It feels so good to have a full stomach!