Transmigrating to Book 50, others hoard rice, I hoard money

Chapter 112 Bamboo Bed Formation

In early June, the municipal government abolished the free-trade market for cooking oil, took over the market in a unified manner, and printed and distributed "cooking oil purchase tickets", with each person receiving half a pound of cooking oil per month.

The cooking oil is stored in a large green iron barrel with an iron grape on top.

When people bring their own oil bottles to buy oil, the salesperson first puts the bottle on the scale and adjusts the scale to 0, which is equivalent to peeling the skin, and then uses a funnel and grapes to squeeze out the oil.

Due to the tight supply of clean oil, each family's share is tight, so when filling the clean oil, everyone carefully watches the salesperson's operation, for fear that he will fill too little.

If you are not familiar with the business and are not good at it, you will be complained about if you spill the money. Some people with bad temper will even curse you on the spot.

After the control of clean oil, fatty pork has become particularly scarce.

In order to prevent vendors from raising prices, the government arranges people to patrol various markets every day. If they encounter vendors who raise prices or receive complaints from the public, they will be fined and banned from setting up stalls.

Although prices have stabilized, if you want to buy the fatty meat you want, if you don’t have any connections or go too late, you can only buy lean meat and bones.

In order to help her family and children adapt to social changes, Zhou Rong gradually adjusted the family's meals.

In order to ensure everyone's nutrition, eggs are provided at every meal, but meat can only be eaten once on weekends.

Unless Zhou Jiafu and his group came and needed to add extra food to the meal, they would have extra meat.

Zhou Rong handed over the task of queuing to buy oil to Zhou Gui and Zhou Cai, so that they would not have to buy everything with tickets in two years, and they would have to compete for the ability to buy. They had no experience...

As June approaches, it gets hotter day by day.

The heat in Jiangcheng is scorching, like a furnace.

Even at night, the room was like a steamer and I couldn't fall asleep.

People put up reclining chairs, bamboo beds, or set up beds in the alleys, using the sky as a tent, the ground as a bed, and sleeping outside under the stars and the moon.

The three Zhou sisters were shy at first. Seeing the men in vests and shorts and the women in sweatshirts and shorts chatting and enjoying the cool air, and resting directly on bamboo beds and recliners when they were sleepy, they thought it was indecent and worried about safety.

I would rather fan myself at home with a palm-leaf fan, making my hands sore and painful, than go outside and sleep on a bamboo bed.

At most, they would close the door, put on their clothes neatly, light mosquito coils in their own yard, spread out a mat, and put out a bamboo bed, and everyone would sleep on it.

If Zhou Jiaguang, Dawa and others complained about being hot, they would each throw a palm-leaf fan to themselves and fan themselves.

It was difficult for the cool breeze to blow into the small patio, and Zhou Rong and his family often couldn't sleep due to the heat. When they did fall asleep, they would wake up in the morning covered in sweat, and then the whole family would line up to take a shower.

Otherwise, the smell of sweat on your body will keep people away from you.

After enduring this for a week, Zhou Rong couldn't stand it anymore.

It’s only June now and it’s so hot. How are we going to get through July and August?

There are still so many wonderful days to enjoy, and Zhou Rong doesn't want to be killed by the heat, so before going to work he tells Zhou Cai and Zhou Jiaguang that from today onwards, they will start fighting for territory in the evening, and they will also have to sleep outside!

Zhou Jiaguang jumped three steps high and cheered, "Great, I can finally go outside and enjoy the cool breeze!"

Zhou Cai: "Jiangcheng is too hot, far beyond my expectations. I'm so worried that I'll be suffocated to death before the summer is over. I'd better sleep outside. I really can't stand it anymore."

Zhou Gui wiped the sweat off his head and said, "It's quite hot. I can't sleep all night like this, and I have no energy to go to work. Let's put the beds together and be alert at night. It shouldn't be dangerous."

Zhou Rong: "This glorious task is left to those of you at home. I hope that when we get back from get off work, the territory has not been taken away by others."

Zhou Jiaguang saluted in a fake manner: "Don't worry, big sister, I promise to complete the task!"

The alley is only about 3 meters wide, and each building is home to at least seven or eighty to ten people. Some large buildings have thirty or forty people living in them.

There are so many families, and each family has several bamboo beds and mats, so there is simply not enough space. It all depends on who is quicker and can grab a good spot first.

Those who failed to grab a spot could only sleep at home or in the yard.

Therefore, the first thing everyone does when they get home from get off work is not to cook, but to rush to the alley to occupy territory.

After watering and cleaning, they put out their own bamboo beds, mats, etc. and then go home to cook.

From time to time, he would run outside to see if anyone had moved his bamboo bed, mat, etc. If his territory was taken away, he would immediately start yelling and trying to take it back.

There are quarrels or fights over territory almost every day.

In the previous few days, Zhou Rong and her family hid at home, and the area in front of her house was requisitioned by Jiang Wenjuan's family across the street.

The brothers Jia Deyuan and Jia Deyang have never separated. Although their house has nine rooms, they have three children each. The eldest has started a family and has children too. There are nearly twenty people in their family. How can the limited space at the door be enough?

Jiang Wenjuan wanted to instruct her son to put the bamboo bed next to Zhou Rong's wall as usual, but when she saw Zhou Cai watering and cleaning, she asked, "Are you going to sleep outside tonight too?"

Zhou Cai: "Yes, it's too hot at home, so we came out to cool down."

Jiang Wenjuan didn't dare to seize the Zhou family's territory, so she asked her son to move the bamboo bed to Luo Qiuyue's house.

Luo Qiuyue's family has few people and is easy to talk to, so Jiang Wenjuan doesn't have to worry about conflicts with them.

After nightfall, all houses are deserted and the streets and alleys are filled with people enjoying the cool air.

Men and women, old and young, the beds are placed next to each other, densely packed together, forming a very spectacular array of bamboo beds.

At the beginning, no one could sleep. Some were sitting, some were lying, some were playing cards, some were playing chess, some were telling jokes, some were telling stories, some were counting stars... everyone showed off their hobbies and had their fun.

Zhou Rong, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and long trousers, sat on a bamboo bed, slowly fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. Looking at all kinds of people, he just wanted to sigh, "There are no gentlemen in summer."

The children were full of energy, chasing and playing among the bamboo beds. If they found someone telling a story, they would flock over and surround the storyteller, looking so focused.

They couldn't be shouted at, couldn't be taken away, and couldn't be driven away. They left reluctantly only after the story was over.

Jia Deyang likes to talk about some of his novel experiences outside, and the children who are watching him keep exclaiming “Wow... so awesome... so magical”.

Jia Deyang would always raise his head proudly.

A child said, "Grandpa Mianwo, when I grow up, can you take me to the place you mentioned?"

Another child said, "Mianwo Grandpa, I want to go too."

Jia Deyang hit the two children on the head with a palm leaf fan and said in feigned anger: "Didn't I tell you not to call me Mianwo Grandpa?"

"But your head is like a doughnut!"

"We didn't yell wrong. My mom told us kids not to lie."

After hearing this, Zhou Rong covered his mouth with a palm-leaf fan and laughed secretly. It turned out that Xu Man was not the first person to give him the nickname "Mianwo".

Seeing Zhou Rong laughing secretly, Jiang Wenjuan quickly stepped over from her bamboo bed and whispered, "Do you think my man's nickname is funny? You have a nickname too."

Zhou Rong asked in surprise: "I have one too? Who gave it to me? What's it called?"

Jiang Wenjuan: "Leopard Rong! People in Chang'an call you that in private."

Zhou Rong: “???…”