Chapter 222: Unified Purchase and Sales
Mr. Qi Gong stood aside blankly, listening to Wang Deming and the big-nosed woman chattering away. He had no idea what they were talking about, but why did they start to make moves while chatting?

The world is going downhill.
But looking at the way the big-nosed woman was dressed, it was understandable. If she hadn't been wearing a half-length top on her shoulders, the half of her chest would have almost fallen out. No wonder the students were so enthusiastic when this woman started teaching.

"Let's go, Comrade Qi Gong, Comrade Qi Gong?"

"Ah, what are you going to do?" Qi Gong asked blankly.

"Aren't you going to my house?"

Qi Gong looked at Wang Deming and then at Diana, and quietly took a half step back. "Please, please. I won't go today. I'll go another day. I'd rather go to the Forbidden City to look at calligraphy."

"That's fine." Wang Deming thought that Mr. Qi Gong would feel uncomfortable with Diana, so he didn't force him. "Then you're welcome anytime you're free."

"Yes Yes."

Qi Gong watched Wang Deming and Diana walk out of the school side by side, one riding a bicycle and the other sitting on the back seat. He scratched his head, turned around and left.

After the news about public-private partnership was published in the Masses Daily, it seemed to have caused a huge uproar, and doctors from the Chinese Medicine Association also discussed it.

Industry insiders from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau discussed the issue at an industry meeting. Yin Changrong from the Xinying Clothing Store came to Wang Deming specifically to ask for advice, and then began to actively prepare.

However, within a few days, another piece of news in the Masses Daily: "Resolution on the Planned Procurement and Planned Supply of Grain" replaced the heat of public-private partnership.

It’s finally here. Wang Deming is at No. 11, Yongkang Hutong, holding a bowl of golden shark fin and eating it in small bites reluctantly.

Alexey seemed to be eating vermicelli, and he had already finished two bowls in a row. Seeing him chewing slowly, he asked curiously, "De, do you have a bad appetite today?"

"No."

"Then why do you eat so slowly?" Alexei glanced at Diana and said, "As slow as Diana."

"This is called elegance." Diana took the last bite of the stewed bird's nest, took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth, and glanced at Alexei with contempt, "You have eaten this many times? Why are you still so rude?"

"Well," Alexei looked down at the bowl and said what was in his heart, "of course it's because it tastes good."

"It's much more delicious than any pickled cucumbers. I have another bowl. Do you want to eat it? If not, I'll help you eat it."

"Don't even think about it!" Wang Deming opened his bloody mouth and poured the shark fins in the bowl directly into it, skipping the time to chew. He picked up the last bowl of shark fins and continued to chew them slowly. "You know shit. Didn't you pay attention to today's news?"

"Is it the unified purchase and sale of grain?" Alexei didn't seem surprised at all. "Isn't this just like the big farms in the Soviet Union?"

"Diana and I have been through this."

Wang Deming glanced at him and said, "Oh, then how much is your monthly food ration?"

"What is the quota?" This question touched upon Alexey's blind spot. "Oh, you mean how much to reserve for farmers? This is based on national regulations. It seems to be different in each region. For example, Ukraine's granaries have more, while the Far East has less."

"I mean, do you guys have a specific limit on the amount of food you buy every month?"

"How is that possible? We are not farmers."

"Then what are you talking about?" Wang Deming was very sad. "Diana, I have to ask you for help."

"Oh, you say."

"Please help me get some food, meat and vegetables from the embassy every month."

"why?"

"Because... everyone is equal in China, and everyone has a quota."

Diana tilted her head slightly and asked in confusion, "Isn't there a unified purchase and sale of grain now? It's similar to the collective farms in the Soviet Union. It won't have much impact on the city."

Wang Deming sighed and said, "Let's wait and see." Subtle changes began to take place in the capital. The previous private grain stores gradually closed down, or became shops opened by the newly established Grain Bureau.

Ordinary people in the capital city praised this change with both hands. The grain sold in the state-owned grain stores was of guaranteed quality and quantity, and the prices were not raised arbitrarily.

Some families, those who have money in their pockets, don't care. No matter whether there is a shortage of food in the market, they will not be short of food.

Wang Deming bought more than a thousand kilograms of grain in the city and hired a mule cart to slowly return home.

Wayao Village has not changed much from the past. But after the establishment of the mutual aid society, people now work in the fields in groups, chatting and laughing together while weeding the fields.

Wang Deming had sharp eyes. He saw his godmother Wang Shuqin holding her hair with a piece of blue cloth in the field with others. He jumped off the mule cart, waved and shouted to the field: "Mom, I'm back!"

"Deming!"

Wang Shuqin came out of the field excitedly, "Why did you come back at this time? What did you buy?"

Wang Deming smiled and patted the sacks on the cart, "Buy food."

"Oh," Wang Shuqin's eyes lit up, "Your uncle Yan is worried recently! He's worried that there will be a food shortage next spring!"

He turned around and shouted to the field: "He is Uncle Yan!"

Uncle Yan came out of the field with a pipe on his waist. He first glanced at the mule cart and asked, "Food?"

Wang Deming nodded.

"Let's go home and talk."

After paying the driver and sending him off, Uncle Yan lit up his pipe, puffed on it, stared at the large sacks of grain piled in the room, and asked, "Are they all wheat?"

"Yeah, it's all wheat."

"Okay." Uncle Yan stood up and patted Wang Deming on the shoulder, saying quietly, "I've been worried recently. Now the commune reserves 360-380 kilograms of grain per person per year. If we hand in all the wheat, each family can only keep one bag for making dumplings during the New Year."

"The second crop of soybeans we planted in our fields can only be harvested in April or May next year when the factory opens. I am worried that by then some families in the community will not be able to make ends meet."

He touched the sack affectionately and murmured, "With your 1000 kilograms of wheat, our lives will be much better."

When Wang Deming heard that only this much food was left for a year, he couldn't help but frowned, "Master, why is there only this little left?"

"Private plots are now all under the management of the commune, and every family has a yard to grow vegetables. If we want to raise chickens, do we have to go up the mountain to open up wasteland?"

"Besides, there are several kilns in our community, and we need to assign people to work there. How can we have the energy if we don't eat enough?"

Uncle Yan walked to the door of the main hall, still smacking his pipe, knocked off the ashes with his feet, put the pipe back into his waist, and said firmly: "We must support national construction!"

"I understand this, but we have to report it to the higher authorities, right? If the farmers don't have enough to eat, how can they have the energy to plant more land and reclaim more wasteland?" To be honest, Wang Deming didn't understand at all. The farmers had to be fed, right?
How can you purchase so much grain?

And how much can the purchase price of grain be?
Uncle Yan shook his head, filled another pipe and lit it, looking at the fields in the distance, and said, "Fruits and vegetables provide half a year's food. Let's plant more pumpkins, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and we will definitely have enough to eat. As for wheat, soybeans, and peanuts, we should sell them to the state to support construction."

"We all came from the old society. When have we ever had enough to eat?"

Wang Deming was speechless and looked at his godmother Wang Shuqin, "Godmother, why don't you come and live in the city with me?"

Wang Shuqin smiled and shook her head and refused again.

Alas, only Wang Deming knew that this was just the beginning.

A month later, the Masses Daily published the "Decision on Implementing Planned Purchase of Oil Nationwide", and subsequent cotton and cotton cloth were also purchased and supplied according to plans.

(End of this chapter)