Siheyuan: Struggle Begins in the 1950s

Jia Zhang used her private money to go to the restaurant and buy a few large meat buns, which she ate in just a few bites.

After eating five big meat buns in a row, she touched her stomach contentedly and went to buy some more food to take with her on the road in case she got hungry.

After eating and drinking, Jia Zhang walked towards the station empty-handed.

Although I haven't been back to the countryside for many years.

But she didn't plan to bring anything back to see her poor relatives.

On the other side, Wang Jianjun got up, tidied himself up, kissed Shen Chuxia on the face, and left the yard.

He plans to go back to the countryside today to check the situation.

He remembered that after the establishment of the people's commune, many rural villagers sold their belongings to support the Great Steel Production Movement.

Even the kitchen knives at home were melted down and handed over to the commune.

I don’t know what the situation is in Laoyugou Village.

As for Shen Chuxia, he didn't bring her with him.

Shen Maiqiu was not at home last night, so Shen Chuxia was still lying in bed catching up on sleep in the morning.

Jia Zhang took three buses along the way and finally returned to her hometown at noon.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar countryside.

Jia Zhang felt a little emotional.

I think she was once considered a beauty in Zhangjia Village.

When she was young, she was introduced to and married to Lao Jia.

Unfortunately, Lao Jia was not so lucky and passed away before he could see Dongxu get married and have children.

Jia Zhang sighed for a while and then found her parents' home according to her memory.

She only has two younger brothers left from her mother's family.

She rented her land to her two younger brothers for farming.

Although her two younger brothers have separated, their houses are connected so that they can take care of each other.

Jia Zhang found the place and knocked on her brother's door.

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat similar to Jia Zhang.

Seeing Jia Zhang, the man couldn't help rubbing his eyes and exclaimed in surprise:

"Sister! Why are you back?!"

"Daniu, I came back today to see you and Erniu."

When Zhang Daniu heard Jia Zhang say that she came back to see him and his brother, he subconsciously glanced at Jia Zhang's hand.

Empty hands.

This is really my sister's style.

Not even a thing.

"Sister, please come in first."

Zhang Daniu welcomed Jia Zhang into the house, and then called his younger brother Zhang Erniu.

The three siblings sat and chatted for a while.

Jia Zhang was also eager to tell the purpose of her visit.

When I heard Jia Zhang asking about the fields.

The brothers couldn't help laughing:

"Sister, don't worry about it. This people's commune is great. I tell you, since we joined this people's commune, we can eat all kinds of white flour buns every day, and we can even eat meat every two or three days."

Jia Zhang was dumbfounded. What kind of fairy-tale life was this?

She had to eat good food secretly without telling her family.

"You two wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

"Why would I lie to you, sister? If you don't believe me, just stay here and I'll take you to the commune cafeteria for dinner. The white flour buns in the cafeteria are so filling that you can't even finish them all."

Jia Zhang still couldn't believe it, so she simply stayed to see if it was just as her two younger brothers said, that she could eat as much big white steamed buns as she wanted.

At noon, the Zhang brothers took Jia Zhang to the village commune canteen.

He introduced Jia Zhang to the commune leader and then took her into the cafeteria.

Jia Zhang smelled the delicious aroma coming from the cafeteria’s kitchen.

I immediately recognized that this was steaming buns.

The taste of steamed buns is simply incomparable to that of corn bread.

Although she had eaten full on the way here, Jia Zhang didn't mind having another meal.

The three of them lined up with their bowls and chopsticks to get their food.

When it was their turn, the person serving the food only asked what they wanted to eat.

"Give me four big white buns. What's on the menu today?"

"Stir-fried eggplant, braised tofu, and each person can have a spoonful of braised pork."

"Okay, one of each." Zhang Daniu explained to Jia Zhang:

"Sister, eat whatever you want, just order whatever you want."

Jia Zhang watched as the waiter really took four steamed buns for Zhang Daniu and even gave him a spoonful of pork belly.

The pork belly is shiny and oily and looks delicious.

"I want four... no, I want six steamed buns. I want the other dishes too."

When I saw the waiter really took six steamed buns for me.

Only then did Jia Zhang believe that what Zhang Daniu said was true.

Is there really such a beautiful thing in the world?

The purpose of establishing people's communes was to allow rural people to eat whatever they wanted.

Then why do you stay in the city and work so hard? You might as well go back to the countryside and enjoy life.

The three of them found a place to sit down.

Jia Zhang picked up the hot steamed bun, took a look at it, and confirmed that it was made of white flour.

She took another big bite.

Loose, soft and fragrant.

Free stuff tastes great.

Take another bite of the braised pork.

Although the taste is not as good as that made by Shazhu.

But it is meat after all.

Jia Zhang asked curiously while frantically stuffing food into her mouth.

"Daniu, what on earth is this people's commune? How come the food here is better than what I eat in the city?"

Zhang Daniu took a bite of the steamed bun and explained:

"I don't know exactly what it is. The village chief only said that after joining, we would work and eat together. I also found it strange at first. Moreover, if you join the commune, you also have to hand in your family's grain for unified distribution.

I refused at first, but then I came to the canteen and saw how stupid I was. How much can we harvest from digging in the fields? How much can we eat in the commune canteen for a few days? "

"Where does the food for such a large canteen come from?"

Jia Zhang was smart for once and pointed out the blind spot of the matter.

"Sister, why bother with where the food comes from? As long as we have something to eat and drink, that's all. The people above will naturally take care of the food issue."

"Then do you still need to work in the fields?"

"We still have to do the work, but with so many people working in the fields together, we just have to pretend to do it. It's actually very easy."

That's just slacking off. Jia Zhang said that she is very talented in this area.

Thinking that I could eat and drink like this every day, work would be easy.

I thought about the days I spent in the city.

Jia Zhang was a little envious.

"Daniu, please talk to me. Can I join the commune in my situation?"

"Sister, don't you always live in the city? And what about Dongxu and Banggeng when you come back?"

"Dongxu is already a grown-up, so Huairu will naturally take care of Banggeng. I don't have much to do in Sijiu City, so I might as well come back to retire."

"But where will you live when you come back?"

Jia Zhang didn't care and said:

"What's the big deal? There's an empty room at home. I'll give you two dollars a month, why don't you rent one for me?"

"Sister, you have to think carefully. It's not easy to quit after joining the commune."

Zhang Daniu knew what kind of person his sister was.

I was afraid that she would not get used to it after a few days and would want to go back.

Although the food is good and the work is easy in the commune now, the management is still very strict.

I'm afraid Jia Zhang's lazy personality will not be able to adapt.