Chapter 64: The Paddle and the Oil Press
It's approaching noon.

Wang Tianshi led Wang Mengde and began to distribute a few wedding candies to each household from door to door.

Everyone in the village took the candy with a happy face, and then praised He Shengnan for her beauty, which made Wang Tianshi so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.

When the three of them arrived at Tian Laba's house, Wang Mengde smiled and asked, "Uncle, is Uncle Zhiye feeling better?"

The last time he came back, he used the soil from the stove core to treat Tian Laba's youngest son who had spleen deficiency and chronic diarrhea.

"Okay, it's completely cured. Just as you said, wrap the soil under the pot with cloth, boil it and drink it a few times, and your uncle Zhiye's illness will be cured." Tian Laba reached out to take the candy, with a smile on his face, and gave a thumbs up to praise.

"As expected of a doctor in the capital, your skills are excellent. You can cure the disease without spending a penny."

"Hmph, of course my grandson is capable." Wang Tian snorted coldly, then turned around and left with two people.

She still remembered the quarrel between the two families, and the fact that Tian Laba didn't believe in his grandson last time made her even more angry.

After giving out wedding candies to every family, they returned home and found that their aunt and cousin's wife had already prepared the meal.

There were a few simple seasonal dishes on the table, and no alcohol was consumed. The staple food was cornmeal steamed buns.

After dinner, a few people came outside the yard, sat on small benches, and chatted while rubbing corn cobs.

Wang Mengde held the top of the cob tightly with his right hand, placed the bottom of the cob in the basket, and held a corn cob in his left hand, pushing it down hard from top to bottom along the groove of the cob.

A corn thresher is a tool used to shred corn kernels in rural areas. There were no machines in those days, and the corn kernels on the corn cobs were tight and dense, with no gaps to work with, so the corn thresher came in handy.

It is made of a rectangular piece of wood with a trough-shaped groove in the middle, which is just the right size to hold a corn cob. An iron nail with pointed ends is nailed at an upward angle in the middle, and then a hole is opened under the nail.

When pushing the corn cob down, be sure to make sure it is close to the groove. When the corn is placed on the iron nail, apply a little force and a groove will be plowed out on the corn cob by the iron nail.

Then repeat the operation, plowing a furrow every few rows, and digging several furrows for one corn.

Wang Mengde often helped with this kind of thing when he was a child, and now that he was very strong, he completed one quickly.

He casually threw the shredded corn cobs into the basket, and the others took them and started rubbing them.

He Shengnan sat next to him and imitated her grandmother's movements. She held a split corn cob in one hand and a rubbed corn kernel in the other. She put the two together and rubbed them. The corn kernels fell off. It saved time and effort and did not irritate her hands.

After being busy for a while, Wang Ning suddenly asked:
"Meng De, I've been at the village chief's place these days, and I heard that the city is going to implement some kind of food coupon policy. Even if you have money, you won't be able to buy food casually. What's going on?"

After hearing this, the others stopped what they were doing and looked up at Wang Mengde.

"Can't buy food? Then you'll starve. Meng De, take a bag of food back from home later. Use it now. If it's not enough, come back for more later." Wang Tian was anxious. She didn't bother to judge whether the news was true or not. She said anxiously.

After saying that, he threw the corn cob in his hand into the basket and prepared to go into the house to prepare food.

When Zhou Lingling heard that they had to take a bag of food from home, her face suddenly stiffened. She forced a smile and said, "Mom, don't worry. How can there be no food in the capital? The country will definitely not let the people in the city starve." The cousin's wife also responded, "Yes, grandma, there will be no shortage of food in the city, don't worry."

Ignoring the two people's thoughts, Wang Mengde explained to his grandmother and uncle Wang Ning: "Grandma, uncle, the food stamp policy means that every household in the city can buy a fixed amount of food every month based on the population's work situation and age."

"For example, I'm a doctor, so I get about 30 kilograms of food every month. Shengnan works in a woolen factory, so she gets about 35 kilograms of food every month. Together, we get 65 kilograms a month, which is enough for us to eat."

At the beginning, the food ration supply standard set by the state was enough to allow a family to barely eat their fill. Some families, if there were more girls, would even have some left over.

A few years later, after the rations were reduced and other non-staple foods were in short supply, there was less food in our stomachs and we gradually began to feel hungry. It was not until the beginning of 59, when the three-year difficult period began, that things became difficult.

But he was not worried, because he could buy food and non-staple food in the space, and his family would definitely not go hungry.

Of course, he would not take out a large amount, but a steady stream, so that others would not find out. Otherwise, if he was discovered, he really would not know how to explain the source of the food.

"That's fine. Sixty-five kilograms of food is enough for the two of you." Wang Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing his explanation.

Aunt Zhou Lingling and her cousin's wife also looked at each other with fear on their faces.

If Wang Tian insisted on taking food from home and letting Wang Mengde take it away, the two of them really had no good solution.

After a while, Wang Jinghui remembered something and asked, "By the way, your mother and Yuan Chao and Wei Guo, what is the quota?"

"Grandpa, my mom doesn't have a job, so she has a ration of 27-8 kilograms a month. Yuan Chao and Wei Guo are only five years old, so they probably have 14 or 15 kilograms. Next October, when they have their birthdays and turn six, they will have a ration of 21-2 kilograms."

Wang Mengde went on to explain.

He had studied these data before and had already memorized them in his mind.

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon and it was time for them to go back.

Before leaving, Wang Tian packed him a lot of dried beans, radishes, spinach and other vegetables, and even a big pumpkin.

When he was leaving the house, Wang Mengde saw his cousin carrying a bag and an oil can in his hand. He asked curiously, "Cousin, where are you going?"

"Meng De, this year's soybeans are harvested. Your cousin is going to the oil mill next to Shahe Market to exchange some soybean oil. Why don't you take Shengnan with you to take a look?" Wang Tian explained.

“Let me tell you, in the past, at the oil mill, 9 kilograms of soybeans could only produce 14 kilograms of soybean oil. Since last year, they said that the technology had been improved, and kilograms of soybeans could produce kilograms of soybean oil.

By the way, ask your cousin to exchange some soybean oil for you to take back.”

"Grandma, there's no need to bring it. I can buy oil anytime in the city. If it's convenient, I can take Shengnan to the oil mill to have a look." Wang Mengde quickly declined.

Oil coupons have not been implemented yet, and sesame oil and soybean oil can be bought at the supply and marketing cooperatives.

(End of this chapter)