Chapter 54: A Bolt from the Blue for the Jia Family

the next day.

I didn't dare let Wang Weiguo come to Yard 95, for fear that when he saw Banggeng he would think of what happened yesterday and start crying again.

The two of them came to Yuer Hutong together.

In the afternoon, after a nap, the sun had already set. Wang Mengde led his wife and two younger brothers to the North Moat to enjoy the rare coolness by the river during the hot summer.

There were already quite a few nearby residents sitting in the shade of the trees by the moat, enjoying the cool.

Some set up chess and fight, some chat about family matters, some do needlework, and some bring their naughty children out to get some fresh air and burn off their excess energy.

The width of the highest points on the north and south banks of the North Moat is about one hundred meters, and there is a river slope of about forty degrees downward. The distance from the riverside at the bottom of the embankment to the river slope at the top of the embankment is about fourteen or fifteen meters.

The river bank is covered with various wild flowers and weeds.

They went down along the gap in the river bank and arrived at the riverside. The four of them walked along the riverside.

The river breeze blew slowly along the riverbed, and I felt cool all over, and the summer heat disappeared. Dragonflies were flying around over the river, and colorful butterflies were also flying back and forth in the grass.

As he walked, Wang Mengde picked up a thin piece of stone, squatted down and skipped it on the water.

He has been practicing martial arts for many years, and he has mastered the power and angle just right. Every stone he throws can create a series of splashes, which draws cheers from his two younger brothers.

After walking a little further, several boys in their teens lined up, took off their clothes, and jumped into the river with their naked butts.

These wild boys must have come to bathe in the moat without telling their families.

If the adults at home knew about this, I would definitely be scolded when I got home. Every year, some people have accidents in the moat.

He didn't pay any more attention to it, but continued to walk forward. After walking a few steps, He Shengnan suddenly said anxiously behind him: "Meng De, look, is there something wrong with that child?"

Wang Mengde turned around and looked in the direction of her finger, and saw a child struggling about ten meters away from the river. Several children around him were swimming towards the shore with terrified looks on their faces.

This is drowning.

Without thinking too much, he quickly took off his shirt, threw it to He Shengnan, dived into the river, and swam towards the child.

Soon, he swam to the child, pulled him up with one hand, and paddled hard towards the shore with the other hand.

Fortunately, he grew up with his grandmother at Shahe River. Every summer, his cousin would take him to the river to swim, and he developed good swimming skills.

When he got ashore, the child was already unconscious. Fortunately, he didn't drown for long. After some first aid, he spit out a lot of river water from his mouth and then woke up.

Seeing that the person was fine, Wang Mengde realized that he was shirtless and his thin pants were soaked. The treasure around his waist could no longer be hidden. He quickly bent down to avoid embarrassment.

At this time, people who were enjoying the cool air nearby also gathered around when they saw the commotion, and several middle-aged women kept praising Wang Mengde.

One of the aunties who had a daughter who was about to get married looked at Wang Mengde's handsome face, thought of his extraordinary talent just now, rolled her eyes, and then said, "Young man, do you have a partner? Why don't you go to my house and change into some clean clothes?"

She wanted to create opportunities for her daughter.

The eager look startled Wang Mengde, and he quickly said, "Auntie, it's not necessary. My wife is holding the clothes for me." As he said that, he pulled He Shengnan over from the side.

Hearing that he had a wife who was so beautiful, the old lady sighed inwardly and thought, what a nice young man, my girl, it seems you don't have this blessing.

Feeling uncomfortable all over, Wang Mengde put on his shirt and hurriedly led his younger brothers home with He Shengnan.

Not long after they left, a middle-aged couple came running over in a hurry.

When the man learned that his son almost died, he kicked his son's butt twice and then went to the nearby to inquire about the information of his son's savior.

But the middle-aged woman had a look of fear on her face and kept crying while hugging her son.

Over the next ten days, nothing happened in the yard as the days passed. Wang Mengde and He Shengnan enjoyed their ordinary life of "one tilling the fields and the other watering the crops" every day.

The time soon came to August 9th.

That evening, after dinner, although the weather was not very hot, the neighbors in the yard still gathered in the central yard as usual.

With a big belly sticking out from his bangs, he sat in the middle of the crowd and was talking in a very proud manner: "Ahem, you may not know this yet, but the country has issued another policy today."

He paused deliberately, wanting others to give him a compliment.

Unfortunately, the person who took over the conversation was called Sha Zhu: "Second Uncle, you are showing off your well-informed information again, but don't do the same as last time and talk about some household registration policy that has nothing to do with us."

"Shazhu, if you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb." Liu Haizhong was very angry. This Shazhu always went against him. It seemed that he had to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson in the future.

"That's right, Sha Zhu, the second uncle is kind enough to tell everyone about the current policies, don't take his kindness for granted." Xu Damao, who was squatting on the other side, couldn't help but say something insulting about Sha Zhu.

Just as Sha Zhu was about to explode, the first uncle said, "Okay, stop arguing, let the second uncle tell us all about the policy. Even if it has nothing to do with us, it won't hurt to learn more about it."

"I also heard from my leader at the factory that the Ministry of Food issued a policy today. From now on, when we buy grain, we will have to do it the same way as with flour. We can't just buy it casually. There will be a set quantity every month." Liu Haizhong said proudly.

In fact, this policy is the "Interim Measures for the Printing and Use of Municipal and Town Grain Ration Supply Certificates", and it was not issued by the Ministry of Food, but was passed at a certain national meeting on August 8.

We are about to enter the era of tickets.

Wang Mengde, who was standing behind the crowd, sighed in his heart, and then he looked at Qin Huairu meaningfully. This policy was the biggest blow to the Jia family.

Qin Huairu didn't pay much attention to the policy that the second uncle talked about, but when she saw Wang Mengde's eyes, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.

She didn't have to wait long. A few days later, her feeling came true.

When the street policy propaganda clerk left the yard, the three adults in the Jia family all looked confused. The policy interpretation just now was like a bolt from the blue for their family.

In the living room of the Jia family, Qin Huairu was the first to react. She said to Jia Dongxu, "Dongxu, go find the uncle to come to our house to discuss this matter."

"Yes, Dongxu, go and invite Yi Zhonghai." Jia Zhang also said hurriedly.

(End of this chapter)