I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 94 Not for Sale

Finally, Jia Dongjin could only offer one suggestion: to have the other party provide some refined grains in exchange for a 1:4 ratio. He knew that Ma Quansheng's father-in-law worked at the grain bureau and could obtain some refined grains.

Ma Quansheng was determined to get the old-fashioned melons, so he immediately weighed out two old-fashioned melons, totaling eight jin, and went home to get two jin of cornmeal to give to the Jia family.

Cornmeal mixed with ground corn cobs is called cornmeal; cornmeal without corn cobs is considered a refined grain.

People were not allowed to buy and sell grain privately, but exchanges were permitted, which was beneficial to both parties and avoided the risks of speculation.

"Wow, not bad harvest! Look at this old pumpkin, it's quite a rare find."

Just as the exchange was completed, a woman's voice rang out. The two men looked up and saw that it was Director Wang from the neighborhood office. Feeling guilty, they were both startled.

"Jia Dongjin, good news for you. In light of your suggestions to the subdistrict office, the city has approved your commendation."

With a broad smile, Director Wang of the neighborhood office asked Uncle Liu Haizhong to gather the residents of the courtyard. She briefly read out the commendation and presented Jia Dongjin with the "Good Citizen of Sijiu City" certificate. In addition, there was a material reward: 5 yuan, plus a pound of meat coupons and a pound of oil coupons.

"Director Wang, this is all I should do. It's all thanks to the leaders of the steel mill and your excellent guidance. Without your care and support, I'd still be wandering the streets. Please rest assured, Director Wang, I will continue to work hard and contribute to our neighborhood, making sure everyone gets their radios repaired perfectly."

While expressing his gratitude, Jia Dongjin also took the opportunity to give himself a quick "GG" (a Chinese internet slang term for a sarcastic or negative comment).

In this era, certificates of honor are valuable; they are not as simple as the little red flowers given out in kindergarten. In critical moments, they can be life-saving treasures.

Holding his reward, Jia Dongjin stood before everyone, his eyes narrowed into slits with joy. Everyone in the courtyard was envious, even Old Madam Luo couldn't help but feel jealous. Taking advantage of the moment, Jia Zhangshi began a battle of wits with her old nemesis and emerged victorious.

After the awards ceremony, Director Wang from the neighborhood office publicly suggested that Jia Dongjin be appointed as the steward of the courtyard house.

"Director Wang, this won't do, this really won't do. I'm too young to take on the responsibility of being the head of the department."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongjin quickly refused, with a ready-made reason: he was young and had only recently arrived at the courtyard house. The Jia family had heavy burdens, and he was busy earning money to support his family, so he really couldn't spare the time to serve people.

Jia Dongjin firmly refused, which eased the expressions of some people in the courtyard. Jia Zhangshi was also unwilling; eating was the most important thing now, and she didn't want her son to get involved in the messy affairs of the courtyard.

Director Wang couldn't force Jia Dongjin to take office, so she had to give up and didn't fill the vacancy of the steward of No. 95 courtyard.

For the three old men who originally lived in the courtyard, this was the first time they had felt the impact of the younger generation. Yi Zhonghai's face turned dark, and Yan Fugui was not much better off.

Liu Haizhong, who had never been officially recognized as an elder, felt the most insecure. He rushed home, picked up an old gourd, and wanted to give it to Director Wang to improve relations between the two sides.

In front of everyone, how could Director Wang accept the gift? She could only feel disappointed in the old man again. In the end, Liu Haizhong was criticized for nothing. He was dejected and went back to his home in the backyard with the old melon in his arms.

"Dad, come quick! It looks like she's had baby rabbits!"

Jia Dongjin had just finished a meeting when Banggeng dragged him to the rabbit's den.

The newborn cubs were hairless, curled up with their eyes closed, and a bunch of children in the yard gathered around to watch the spectacle.

"The four rabbits had two litters, so there must be eight babies. Good job, Bang Geng."

Jia Dongjin offered up his candy inventory as encouragement, but Bang Geng's boasting was short-lived, as it was quickly met with a major setback.

After the baby rabbits were able to live independently, Jia Dongjin sold the big rabbits to the livestock station. Bang Geng had indeed put in a lot of effort; the largest of the rabbits, a goat-like green rabbit, weighed a full ten pounds.

Banggeng was so sad that he kept crying. He kept turning back to say goodbye to the rabbits he had worked so hard to raise, promising to raise the baby rabbits they gave birth to.

"Don't be sad, Banggeng. We raise rabbits to sell them for money. You made 3 yuan from raising rabbits, so Dad will take you to buy some snacks today."

The snacks finally comforted Banggeng, but he was soon attacked again at the supply and marketing cooperative.

"What? Aren't there still two boxes of walnut cookies on the counter?"

Spurred on by Bang Geng's tears, Jia Dongjin decided to splurge, but to his surprise, the salesperson refused to sell him anything, even though he had brought food coupons.

"Take a closer look, it says 'Not for Sale' on it."

The sales clerk ignored her, pointing to the empty counter and replying lazily.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice; without a source of goods, there's nothing a salesperson can do.

At this time, the snacks in Beijing seemed very rustic compared to Jia Dongjin's previous life, and there were far fewer varieties. The most common ones were glutinous rice strips, walnut shortbread, and Sachima, all priced at 66 cents per pound.

But the walnut shortbread actually contains walnut kernels, unlike the walnut shortbread of my previous life where you couldn't find any walnut kernels, only scattered sesame seeds.

There are only two types of mooncakes available on the market during the Mid-Autumn Festival: one is called "Zilaihong," a small, golden-yellow mooncake with a red circle imprinted on it; the other is called "Zilaibai," a white mooncake with patterns cut out by a mold. Although the mooncakes look simple, they are made with authentic traditional ingredients.

"Banggeng, don't cry. Dad will take you on his bike. Let's go to Caishikou and take a look."

Jia Dongjin had no choice but to try his luck at the vegetable market, since his younger brother worked at the supply and marketing cooperative and knew what "non-saleable items" meant.

This is the advantage of having a bicycle; it effectively expands the search area.

The name Caishikou is familiar to everyone in Beijing. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was one of the busiest commercial areas in the southern part of the city. It was also the T-junction where Xuanwumen Outer Street, Guang'anmen Inner Street and Luomashi Street intersected. Located at the traffic choke point of the southern city, it was a vital passage for entering and leaving the southwest of Beijing.

Since the Ming Dynasty, this has been a proper vegetable market—a large amount of vegetables and fresh goods from the suburbs flowed into the city from the official roads in the south, and the vegetable market entrance was a must-pass place. Over the centuries, a stable commercial pattern has formed here, with grain and oil shops, vegetable stalls, restaurants, and tea shops lined up densely, and people coming and going on the street, with the sounds of buying and selling rising and falling.

During the Republican era, the Caishikou area saw the addition of trust shops, photography studios, and shoe shops, resulting in a more diverse range of businesses. Public buses ran along the street, and the constant flow of people created the most vibrant atmosphere of the area.

Later, with the unified planning of the city's non-staple food supply system, Caishikou, with its location at the traffic choke point of the southern city, became an important sales point for non-staple foods, cooperating with various places in the eastern and western cities to undertake the task of supplying daily vegetables and non-staple foods to the residents of the southern city.

This is an old street that has witnessed countless rises and falls, but in Jia Dongjin's eyes, it presents a different kind of experience.

"Why are there so few people on the street?"

Amidst the bleak scene, Jia Dongjin finally saw the long queue.

"Dad, there's a line over there. Let's join the line. They're sure to have some good stuff for sale."

Always queue when you see a line. Reality is the best teacher. Both father and son have been taught to be obedient. Jia Dongjin immediately parked the car and took Banggeng to join the queue at the end. After asking, he learned that it was a queue for a restaurant.

"Hey, Dad's going to buy you some pancakes."

The oily flatbread won out over the steamed bun, and Banggeng stopped crying as soon as he heard that. The father and son began to patiently wait in line.

As the queue grew longer, he realized that most of the people in the line were from out of town. Food control was stricter in those areas, and many people had come all the way to Beijing to eat at restaurants because they didn't need food coupons. It was a desperate measure, though.

Clever people always find a way. Jia Dongjin could only secretly applaud, but he also noticed that the staff around him were pointing and whispering. He knew in his heart that this loophole would be plugged sooner or later. In the future, the staple food in restaurants in Beijing would also have to be purchased with food coupons. Even if you had money, you wouldn't be able to buy steamed buns.

In Jia Dongjin's previous life, many people online envied the low prices at that time, such as steamed buns in the canteen selling for one cent, or large ones selling for two cents each.

Little did they know that no matter how low the price, without food coupons, the cheap steamed buns were irrelevant to them. Just like the pastries, even if Jia Dongjin had money and food coupons, he couldn't buy the pastries. It wasn't a matter of money at all.

Even if you have ten yuan, you can't buy a steamed bun in the canteen. Except on the black market, no one dares to sell it to you. You can't argue with that.

Jia Dongjin wasn't short of money for pancakes. Considering that restaurant staples didn't require food coupons yet, he gritted his teeth and bought a full five catties of pancakes, along with ten white flour steamed buns. He also bought an extra two catties of pig's head meat and brought the food back to the Jia family's courtyard, where his family enjoyed several good meals. Even He Yushui ate her fill.

"Rain, take two pieces of cake and let Sanya and Xiaojun have some too."

Xiao Jun is Luo Jun, the youngest grandson and only son of the Luo family. It is said that Old Luo is a man who crawled out of the Savage Mountain, so Jia Dongjin has been taking good care of the Luo family ever since. Luo Sanya is a crazy girl, belonging to the category of the leader of the children. Befriending her is for Bang Geng's sake, so that Bang Geng will not be isolated by the children and can only follow Jie Di around every day.

Seeing Jia Dongjin supporting the Luo family, Jia Zhangshi rolled her eyes and also gave Wang Dama and Jin Sunshuanzhu a piece of cake in the backyard.

Qin Huairu didn't understand what the Savage Mountain was until Jia Dongjin explained it to her that evening, after which the woman fell silent.

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"Hou Dabei has fainted!"

As time went on, the impact of the quantitative downsizing gradually expanded, and the terrible difficulties began to emerge little by little.

Workshop 1 is the highest-ranking and heaviest-burdened workshop in the steel rolling mill. While processing parts, Hou Dabei, a second-level fitter, suddenly fainted.

Fortunately, he was tapping threads on the fitter's bench at the time, not at the machine tool station; otherwise, the high-speed rotating machine tool would have crushed him to pieces.

"Don't panic, everyone, they're just hungry."