Chapter 65 Food Stamps Issue
October 16th.

No. 95, Nanluoguxiang.

Aunt Cao from the neighborhood committee was sitting at a small square table in the middle courtyard. This small square table was the "old actor" that would appear at every courtyard-wide meeting.

A grain store worker was following her, carrying a bulging shoulder bag.

The three old men in the yard were standing in front of her, accompanying her with smiles on their faces.

"Old Yi, the Ministry of Food issued a policy a few days ago. Starting from November 1st, you will need to use food coupons to buy food at the food store. The main purpose of my visit this time is to issue food coupons for next month.

Today is the first time for me to come here, so I am accompanying the comrades from the grain store. Starting from next month, the comrades from the grain store will come here by themselves. I hope you will cooperate with his work. "

Aunt Cao said with a smile.

"Sister Cao, don't worry, we will definitely cooperate with the comrades in the grain store. The three of us told everyone yesterday, and they are all prepared in advance." Before Yi Zhonghai could speak, Liu Haizhong said first.

"Well, that's good. You've done a pretty good job. Wait a minute, I'll call out the names one by one, and then everyone, bring your food books and your family's seals, and line up to receive your food coupons."

Looking at the central courtyard filled with neighbors who had come after hearing the news, Aunt Cao nodded.

After saying that, she took out a small notebook from her pocket. The grain store staff next to her also put his bag on the table and took out a stack of grain coupons from it.

The first grain coupons issued in 55 were the national grain coupons, with five denominations: five catties, three catties, one catty, half a catty, and four taels (based on sixteen taels).

"Yan Bugui's family, come to collect food coupons."

The first house called was the third uncle’s.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." The third aunt was in the crowd. When she heard her family being called, she happily squeezed through the crowd and came to the small square table. She stood opposite Sister Cao and handed over the grain book and seal in her hand.

The grain book of the capital city is a palm-sized red leather booklet with the words "Grain and Oil Supply Certificate for Urban Residents of the Capital City" printed at the top of the cover.

When you open the first page, you will see the name of the issuing unit, the name of the grain book holder, the grain book number and the time the grain book was issued.

The staff at the grain store took the grain book from her hand, carefully checked whether the name and seal of the holder on the grain book were consistent, and then checked again how many grain coupons needed to be issued.

In the process of collecting food coupons, it is necessary to verify the information of the person in order to prevent the occurrence of false claims.

Then he counted the corresponding amount of food coupons and handed them to the third aunt. Finally, he wrote and drew a few words on the food coupon book.

The third aunt took the food coupons with trembling hands and counted them one by one excitedly.

After confirming that it was correct, he carefully held the food coupon and picked up the food book and walked home. He dared not carry it with him. If he lost it, the Yan family would be starving for the next month.

Next, as their names were called one by one, the neighbors lined up in an orderly manner to receive their food coupons.

"Wang Mengde, come here to collect your food coupons."

Finally, Wang Mengde heard his name. He took the grain book and seal and came to the small square table: "Aunt Cao."

"Well, Mengde, your family has 65.5 kilograms of food coupons." Aunt Cao said with a smile.

She was very familiar with this handsome young man in front of her. He was the son of Lao Wang in the organization. He followed in his father's footsteps and was also a doctor. He currently worked in the steel rolling mill workers' hospital.

She was very sorry when she learned the news of his marriage two months ago. Last year, she wanted to introduce her niece from her mother's side to Wang Mengde, but unfortunately she never had the chance and missed it.

After taking the food coupons and counting them carefully, Wang Mengde nodded to Aunt Cao, then returned to the crowd, handed the food coupons to He Shengnan, and told her to take them back and hide them.

After him, it was the Jia family's turn.

Jia Dongxu made an ugly expression as if he had eaten shit and had it stuck in his teeth, and went forward to receive 44 kilograms of food coupons.

He was a fitter in a steel rolling mill, which was considered to be a heavy manual laborer, so his quota was much higher than Wang Mengde's.

In the crowd, Jia Zhang and Qin Huairu also had sad faces. After taking the food coupons handed over by Jia Dongxu, Jia Zhang did not go home immediately, but stood on tiptoe to look towards the middle. Behind his house was an uncle's family who received the food coupons.

When they saw an old lady receiving 72 kilograms of food coupons, the three members of the Jia family instantly felt a glimmer of hope.

An hour later, more than 20 households in the courtyard had received their food coupons. Aunt Cao glanced around and said, "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. Let the comrades from the grain store tell us what to pay attention to when buying grain in the future."

"There are a few things that need your attention." The young man from the grain store stood up and said to his neighbors:
"First, there is the issue of designated locations. There are thousands of grain stores in the city, divided into different areas. Every household must go to the designated grain store to buy food, and never go to other areas."

“Second, it is the time to issue food coupons and buy food for the next month every month.

From now on, between the 16th and 18th of every month, the staff of the grain store will come to distribute grain coupons for the next month. Normally, I will come here to distribute grain coupons to everyone. Of course, if I have special circumstances, other colleagues will come here to distribute grain coupons to everyone on my behalf.

After getting the food coupons, you can buy food for the next month starting from the 24th of each month. Everyone should remember this time so as not to make a wasted trip.

Also, the grain store usually opens at 1 a.m., but considering that there will be more people on the 24st of next month and the th of every month thereafter, our superiors require our grain store to open at a.m. on that day."

"Third, it is the proportion of grain distribution. Currently, it is distributed at 45% for fine grains and 55% for coarse grains. If there are any adjustments in the future, we will inform everyone in a timely manner."

"Finally, after you get your food coupons, be careful not to lose them. If you lose them, you won't get a replacement. Also, be careful not to let them expire. If they expire, you can't use them."

The staff at the grain store mentioned several points of attention in one breath, and everyone listened carefully, as this was a major matter related to buying grain in the future.

After Aunt Cao and the people from the grain store left, the neighbors gathered in groups of three or four to talk about buying grain.

Some smart people have secretly prepared to go to the grain store to buy more food while the food coupons are still needed.

In other words, Wang Mengde didn't know what they were thinking, otherwise he would have told them that it was too late to buy more food now. The grain store could only buy a few kilograms at a time for emergency use.

More than two months ago, he bought over 100 kilograms of food for himself and his parents and kept them at home.

With the issuance of food coupons, the country officially entered the era of coupons, which lasted for about forty years.

(End of this chapter)