Chapter 209: Preparing to Stockpile Food
Qin Yao wiped the red paint off her face with her palm and stood up to check the wheat that had been dried in the past few days.
Liu Dafu's family had already sent someone to take away part of the rental money. The remaining 1,100 kilograms of wheat had not been husked yet, and part of it was packed in grain barrels and part of it in bamboo baskets.
The empty straw was piled on the flat ground at the gate of the courtyard. Dalang came over after washing his face and said to Qin Yao:
"The village chief asked us to take all the wheat straw this year to the fields and burn it. No household should leave any behind. This is what the county magistrate ordered. He also asked us not to worry about insect pests this year and to complete the spring ploughing. The government will take care of everything then."
"Mr. County Magistrate?" Qin Yao was a little surprised.
Dalang nodded and said, "The village chief went to the town early yesterday morning. I heard that the county magistrate knew about the insect infestation and went to the town to understand the people's sentiments. Then the village chief came back and said these words."
This action has reduced the concerns of the people in Kaiyang County about insect pests, so they can now focus on spring ploughing with peace of mind.
Liu Ji boiled some hot water and called them to the kitchen to get some water to wash their faces and feet.
Da Lang responded and asked Qin Yao, who seemed to be thinking about something, "Aunt Yao, is what the county magistrate said true? Don't you need to worry?"
Qin Yao hummed and patted the boy's shoulder, "Go wash up, you have to go to school tomorrow morning."
After getting her answer, Dalang finally felt relieved. He called his younger brothers and sisters who were playing around, washed up and went into the house.
Before going to bed, Qin Yao pulled Liu Ji together to check the homework of the four brothers and sisters, with each person responsible for two.
For the first time, Liu Ji experienced the frustration of tutoring a child—because he discovered that he was no match for even one child.
After Erlang stumped his father, he said in surprise, "Father, you can't answer the questions that Si Niang and I asked. This means that we are better than you. Doesn't this mean that we can also pass the preliminary examination?"
Liu Ji's eyes widened. "You wish! You think the preliminary examination is so easy!"
Ji Lang asked: "Then tell me what is difficult about the first test?"
As he said this, he was about to spread out a piece of paper and asked Liu Ji to copy down the preliminary exam questions. He wanted to do a mock test to see how difficult it was.
"Aren't you tired?" Liu Ji asked in shock.
Erlang shook his head and even said excitedly: "I'm not tired!"
As he spoke, he ground the ink stick and handed the pen to Liu Ji, waiting for him to write the test questions with an expectant look on his face.
Liu Ji was dumbfounded and was just about to find an excuse to leave when Qin Yao also looked over with curiosity.
Liu Ji said weakly: "It's too late today, how about writing tomorrow? Writing at night is not good for the eyes."
Before he finished speaking, Si Niang came over with the candlestick, placed it steadily in front of the desk, and smiled sweetly at Liu Ji, "Father, I will hold the lamp for you."
Qin Yao suppressed her smile and raised her chin towards Liu Ji, "Write it. I'm planning to ask you to copy out the test questions for Dalang and the others to do a mock test."
Liu Ji glanced at the sky outside the window. The moon was at its zenith. If he didn't sleep, he would suddenly die.
However, facing the expectant eyes of the mother and her five children, he could only sigh and write the test questions.
Fortunately, the topic was not long. It only took me two quarters of an hour to finish writing one poem and two essays.
As soon as he finished writing, Liu Ji threw down his pen, yawned, stood up, hid in his own hut as if escaping, and fell asleep.
Dalang and Qin Yao looked at each other, and both mother and son smiled triumphantly.
Erlang still wanted to do the questions, but Qin Yao glared at him. The brothers and sisters then controlled their excitement, calmed down, and went to bed.
Qin Yao blew out the candle, helped them close the door, and returned to her bedroom. She looked at the tent above her head that was faintly glowing green in the night, and felt a little unable to sleep.
People who have experienced many natural disasters have more or less the habit of hoarding food.
Qin Yao also had it, but she had not noticed any unusual changes in the environment before. She also adhered to the principle of enjoying life while it lasts and rarely worried about anything.
This insect pest does not seem to have much impact at the moment, and the county magistrate's personal inspection of the farm has given the farmers great confidence, but based on her many years of experience, she still has to stockpile some food.
Not only do they have to store grain, but they also have to tell the people of Liujia Village not to sell it this year.
If possible, it would be better if the village could purchase grain collectively and stockpile more at a lower group purchase price.
The few families in the village that have been hit hard by insect infestations have now started borrowing grain from families in the village that have surplus grain, and they plan to pay it back with interest in the fall.
We are all from the same clan and don't have to worry about high interest rates, so we all borrow and no one wants to spend money to buy it.
Qin Yao has been in Liujia Village for so long, and she knows that the economic level of Liujia Village is not as good as the best, but better than the worst. There are even villages poorer than Liujia Village.
If everyone hoards food, it will be difficult to deal with, because there will always be people who can't afford a penny.
But if it is handled by the clan, they can take into account the fact that they cannot afford a single penny.
Qin Yao was not being kind-hearted, but she came from the end of the world and knew how important group cohesion was to the defense of a base.
After the spring plowing, the families in the village with worse conditions would eat up all the borrowed food.
If such a situation occurs in every village and region, the famine problem will probably be difficult to solve.
If the government can open its warehouses and distribute relief grain in time, there won't be any major problems.
But Qin Yao didn't dare to trust the official agencies here, she only trusted herself.
In order to prevent the situation where the government would not have time to open the granaries and release the grain, she had to prepare herself in advance to reduce the risk.
Thinking of this, Qin Yao became more determined to stockpile food.
The next day, after sending the children to school, he immediately called Liu Ji, who was burning wheat straw in the field.
"Where are we going?" Liu Ji was a little confused.
Qin Yao: "Go find the village chief and clan leader."
Liu Ji was startled, "Why are you looking for them?" It sounded like something big was going to happen.
Qin Yao briefly told him about her idea of hoarding grain and her distrust of the government. Liu Ji's heart tightened immediately, "Didn't you say it was okay before?"
Qin Yao nodded, but then said, "It's better to be prepared."
"The food prices are still affordable now, but later on I'm afraid I won't be able to buy it even if I want to."
After hearing this, Liu Ji was a little scared, "No way?"
Qin Yao urged him to walk faster and not to walk so slowly, "Just think of it as spending money to buy peace of mind, okay?"
Liu Ji nodded, of course, "But you can just go and talk about this yourself. It would be redundant to ask me to do it. The wheat straw in the field hasn't been burned yet."
Qin Yao thought about it and said, "Oh, that's right. Then you go back. I'll go by myself."
Liu Ji: "Forget it, let's go together. I can still help you say a few words. The two old men may not be willing to worry about this."
Qin Yao looked back at him in surprise, and Liu Ji asked guiltily, "What's wrong?!"
"When did you, Liu Laosan, become so sensible?" Qin Yao looked him up and down, marveling at him.
Liu Ji asked with a flattering smile, "Madam, are you praising me or insulting me?"
Qin Yao snorted but didn't answer.
The couple first went to the village chief's house, but unexpectedly found it empty.