Chapter 12: Sorghum and Brown Sugar

At noon, Eldest Uncle came back for a while and informed Zhou Yimin that he had asked someone to make what he needed.

“The material cost is 50 yuan, and in addition, Old Chen wants two catties of meat as labor payment. Yimin, what do you think…”

Zhou Yimin took out 50 yuan, handed it to Eldest Uncle, and said, “Eldest Uncle, please tell Master Chen that the two catties of meat are no problem, but the quality must be guaranteed.”

Eldest Uncle took the money and nodded. “Don’t worry! Old Chen’s craftsmanship is top-notch. If there’s any problem, just come to me, and I’ll go settle it with him.”

After saying that, he rushed back to the steel factory.

That 50 yuan for materials would most likely end up in the pockets of the factory leaders. Using the factory’s steel required some “greasing the wheels,” after all.

Misusing public resources for private use was all too common.

As long as you handled it properly, there wouldn’t be any trouble.

After spending this 50 yuan, Zhou Yimin didn’t have much money left.

He had already given 200 yuan to Master Gu and still owed him another 200 yuan.

He needed to find a way to make money.

Zhou Yimin also discovered that his shop could be upgraded, but the upgrade fee was a hefty 10,000 yuan.

—

Director Li of the neighborhood committee carried two bags of milk powder home. As soon as she entered the house, she heard her grandson crying.

What a commotion…

Her daughter-in-law was holding the baby, her face full of worry and embarrassment. It wasn’t that the family hadn’t been trying to nourish her—she had already eaten two or three old hens—but she still wasn’t producing milk. What could they do?

“Xiaojun, take this milk powder and mix some for Guoguo to drink.”

Hearing it was milk powder, her daughter-in-law was overjoyed. “Mom, you managed to get milk powder?”

They knew all too well how hard it was to buy milk powder. Even though her mother-in-law was a director at the neighborhood committee and they had ration coupons, they still couldn’t get any.

“A newly acquainted nephew gave it to me,” Director Li said with a smile.

Soon, a bowl of fragrant milk was prepared with warm water, and they spoon-fed the crying baby.

The moment he tasted the milk, the baby quieted down.

Everyone in the house let out a sigh of relief.

“We really have to properly thank him,” Director Li’s husband said.

“That’s easy. I’ll invite him over for a meal someday,” Director Li replied.

They would need more in the future. These two bags wouldn’t last long.

—

That evening, Second Aunt came by again.

She needed grains to cook, after all. Even the best cook couldn’t work without ingredients.

So, she came to ask for some food.

“Second Aunt, I’ll bring it over to you tomorrow morning.”

Zhou Yimin still had plenty of food in his shop inventory—flour, rice, corn, eggs, beef jerky, and milk powder—all obtained from the one-yuan flash sales.

Especially the corn, which he hadn’t touched yet!

But it was dried corn kernels, not ideal for cooking. Flour and rice, on the other hand, seemed too luxurious. After all, those were refined grains.

He decided to wait and see what the next day’s one-yuan flash sale would offer.

If necessary, he could mix something into the flour to make it less conspicuous.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to let the workers eat well, but rather that it would attract too much attention. How many people in the courtyard could still afford fine grains?

Besides the staple food, he also needed to prepare some side dishes.

“Alright!”

The next morning, after waking up, Zhou Yimin immediately checked the shop.

The one-yuan flash sale had refreshed. Today’s offerings included 100 catties of sorghum and 100 catties of brown sugar.

Sorghum?

Perfect for cooking meals for Second Aunt. While sorghum was considered a coarse grain, in the current times, it was already considered a decent staple. It could fill the belly without being too extravagant.

As for brown sugar, there was no need to even mention its value. It was a treasure! Generally, only women who had just given birth could drink some, and others wouldn’t even get a taste. Especially in rural areas, sugar was incredibly scarce.

—

While washing up, Zhou Yimin saw Aunt Ma, who lived in the central courtyard, wiping her tears, while Uncle Ma stood awkwardly beside her.

“Second Aunt, what’s going on with Uncle Ma?” Zhou Yimin secretly asked Second Aunt, who was washing clothes.

As far as he remembered, Uncle Ma and his wife were always very harmonious. He had never seen them argue. This seemed serious.

Second Aunt whispered, “It seems your Uncle Ma gave away half of their food supply.”

No wonder his wife was crying.

They barely had enough to eat as it was, and their children were always complaining about being hungry. With half their food gone, how could they endure it? Of course, she was breaking down.

“Dear, my eldest brother’s family literally has nothing left to eat,” Ma Zhigao explained with a bitter smile.

He had visited his eldest brother’s house the day before and couldn’t bear to see their dire situation, so he brought back half of his own family’s food to give them.

“But do we have enough to eat?”

She wasn’t just angry about that—she was also mad that he hadn’t discussed it with her first.

“My fault, my fault! Tonight, I’ll go to the black market and see if I can get some food,” Ma Zhigao quickly admitted, trying to avoid further argument.

Second Aunt glanced at Ma Zhigao, then at Zhou Yimin, hesitating for a moment before saying nothing.

However, Zhou Yimin could already “read” what she was thinking.

He decided to take the initiative. “Uncle Ma, I got some corn. Would your family want some?”

He had been wondering how to deal with the 100 catties of corn. Either he could sell it on the black market or take it back to Zhoujia Village.

Hearing this, Ma Zhigao and his wife immediately turned to look at him, realizing that their own courtyard had a procurement officer—getting food shouldn’t be too hard.

“Yes! Yimin, thank you so much! I’ll pay the black market price,” Ma Zhigao responded at once.

“No need for that. Let’s do 15 cents per catty.”

That was slightly higher than the official market price but much lower than the black market rate. Charging more than the official price was fair since they didn’t need ration tickets.

“Huh?”

Second Aunt was surprised. She was tempted too—right now, it was nearly impossible to buy corn outside of grain stores. The stores sold it cheap, but required ration tickets, and supply was always short.

Not just her—the other families in the central courtyard also peeked out.

Ma Zhigao was delighted. “Great, thank you so much, Yimin!”

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Zhou Yimin went into his house and carried out all 100 catties of corn.

“Does anyone else want some? You can split it among yourselves.”

Since his house was about to undergo renovations, which might disturb the neighbors, he decided to “offer” this batch of corn to the courtyard residents at a discount.

“I want some!”

“Yimin, save some for my family!”

—

Suddenly, several families in the courtyard stepped forward.

Fifteen cents per catty—buying ten catties only cost 1.50 yuan. Where else could they find such a deal? Opportunities like this didn’t come often.

Zhou Yimin let Uncle Ma take thirty catties first, since his family had the least food left. The remaining seventy catties were divided among the other households, with Second Aunt buying fifteen catties.

Everyone was happy—cornmeal ground from the kernels was much better than rough cornbread.

“Everyone, my house is about to be renovated. It might be a bit noisy, so I appreciate your understanding!” Zhou Yimin took the chance to mention.

“Yimin, don’t be so polite!”

“Yeah! No need to say that!”

“Do you need any help?”

—

(End of Chapter)