Chapter 184: The Arrival of Special Times

Li Huaide shook his head and chuckled in his office; regardless, he had finally gotten his hands on his brother-in-law's Tiger Penis Wine.

Returning to his office, Zhang Ping'an began his daily routine of slacking off, but thinking that it was already February of '59, he prepared to return to his old home to check on the situation.

At noon, Zhang Ping'an arrived at his second uncle's door, but the door was locked; he figured everyone was eating at the communal canteen at this hour.

Zhang Ping'an simply lay down in his tricycle to sunbathe while he waited, and just as he was feeling comfortable, he heard the voices of his second uncle and second aunt.

"Ping'an, why have you come back?"

"I came back to take a look, and I brought some things for you and Third Uncle."

"Come, let's go inside to talk."

"Alright."

After the two sat down, Second Aunt poured two cups of boiled water.

"Ping'an, drink some water to warm up."

"Alright, Second Uncle, how is the food at the communal canteen these days?"

"Hmm~ it's alright, about the same as what we used to eat; of course, it can't compare to the beginning."

It was true; at the beginning, there were white flour Steamed Buns and Braised Pork to eat at will, but that wasn't the case anymore. Now it was two-grain flour mixed with cabbage stewed with meat, the meat had decreased significantly, and the thick porridge had turned into thin gruel.

According to Zhang Ping'an's estimation, they would probably have to start gnawing on cornmeal buns in another seven or eight months, and this situation would likely continue for three years.

"Second Uncle, you should save some energy when working from now on. If you aren't full after the New Year, you must go to the city to find Daniu and the others. You and Second Aunt are almost sixty; don't gamble with your health."

"Fine, I know. But why wouldn't we be full? Isn't the food quite good now? We can still eat meat at the communal canteen every day."

"Mm, I hope it stays that way. Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I'll be heading back now."

"Alright, go back slowly."

Before leaving, Zhang Ping'an refilled more than half of his second uncle's water vat with Space Water, then went to Third Uncle's house to deliver gifts and refill the water vat with Space Water before heading back.

In his past life, Zhang Ping'an had only read about the Three Years of Difficulties in books; he really couldn't recall exactly when the natural disasters occurred, but as things stood, everything still seemed fine.

On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, Zhang Ping'an brought various New Year goods home. On New Year's Eve, in the main room of the small courtyard, the family of twelve sat around the table, which was filled with chicken, duck, fish, meat, and various kinds of seafood.

His younger brother Zhang Xile was tucking in with the brothers Weijun and Weidong, while Zhang Ping'an had a drink with his father and grandfather. Wang Xiaoling, along with her mother and grandmother, each held a little one, feeding them with baby bottles.

This happy family atmosphere was interrupted by a knock on the door. Zhang Ping'an was a bit puzzled; who wouldn't be at home eating at this hour?

Zhang Ping'an vaguely heard someone calling him from outside, but it was drowned out by the sound of firecrackers.

"Uncle Zhang."

"Great-uncle."

"Why have you two little ones come here?"

"We agreed with Uncle Xile (Little Great-uncle) that we would come out to play once the firecrackers started."

"Have you two eaten yet?"

"Halfway."

"..."

Zhang Ping'an looked up and saw Jia Dongxu and He Daqing standing at their door looking in; they were clearly helpless regarding these two children.

"Fine, you both come in." Zhang Ping'an then waved at Jia Dongxu and the other man before closing the courtyard gate.

Xile had also finished eating and played with his two nephews for a while before remembering his agreement with his little friends. When he came out, he saw Zhang Ping'an bringing in Bang Geng and Yuliang.

"You two go over and eat something before going out to play."

"Oh, okay."

The two little ones were still a bit reluctant, but they were immediately attracted by the delicacies on the table. However, after just a few hurried bites, the three of them ran out holding hands; clearly, playing outside was more attractive.

All three of them were seven years old this year, just like Yan Jiekuang, and they would be able to go to school after the summer vacation.

"Don't run too far."

"Got it..."

Zhang Ping'an didn't bother with them and went back inside to continue drinking. After the three-day holiday ended, everyone remained immersed in the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Zhang Ping'an now had nearly a thousand pieces of information on production teams; excluding those without value, there were six hundred and eighty left, and over four hundred had already been distributed. He feared this year's procurement task would be even harder.

After thinking it over, Zhang Ping'an had no better method; he could only step up himself and turn in more supplies.

Time reached March. It rained on and off, and Zhang Ping'an ran to the Back Mountain. Because the sweet potatoes had been watered with Space Water, the cold air didn't have much effect on them.

However, there were many bloodstains, animal footprints, and remains around, clearly showing that Wild Boars had come to visit but had been repelled; the surrounding fences had not been damaged.

"Well done."

Zhang Ping'an filled the stone trough with Space Water, called back all the guardian animals, and took out thirty prepared wild rabbits to give them an extra meal.

After harvesting all the sweet potatoes, Zhang Ping'an stored them in the Dahu Cave and then planted sweet potato vines.

After descending the mountain, he found that the wheat at his old home hadn't been affected much by the continuous rainy days, and Zhang Ping'an felt much more relaxed.

In mid-June, as if knowing it was harvest season, the heavens gave them face and cleared up. After the Zhang family finished harvesting the wheat in their small courtyard, the old man suggested he wanted to go home to take a look, even though the land was now collective property.

"That's fine. I'll go back with Dad. Mom, you and Da Ni stay home and help look after the children."

"Alright."

Starting in August, most regions of the country suffered from large-scale drought in their farmland, with a wide range of disaster areas, leading to a serious reduction in crop yields.

Some areas also suffered from severe flooding; the water levels of rivers and lakes rose, submerging a large amount of farmland and villages.

Many villages around Sijiucheng were affected by flooding caused by torrential rains, and Zhang Family Village was among them. Zhang Ping'an was powerless against this; in the face of natural disasters, people still seemed too insignificant.

Coastal areas were harassed by typhoons, and strong winds, heavy rains, and storm surges brought serious impacts to agriculture, fisheries, and people's lives.

Furthermore, the Great Leap Forward and the Communalization Movement wasted a large amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and later, the Soviets withdrew their experts and aid, increasing the country's economic pressure. This also marked the official arrival of the Three Years of Difficulties, and the people of the whole country began to tighten their belts.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was late September. The poor harvest of grain in rural areas and the shortage of supplies made every household cut back on expenses.

Zhang Ping'an also kept a very low profile. It was rare for his family to have meat once a week, and most of the time, he would take out meat that had been braised in his space, which had no smell and wouldn't arouse suspicion.

That night, Zhang Ping'an went to the Black Market and found that the price of grain had clearly risen a bit; smart people had already started hoarding grain in large and small bags.

The next morning, Xu Damao snuck over to Zhang Ping'an's side.

"Zhang Shu, you should hoard more grain recently. When I go to the countryside to show movies, I've discovered that the crop harvests in many Production Teams are not ideal."

Ever since Zhang Ping'an asked him to record the situation of every Production Team, Xu Damao had kept it in mind, and whenever he made a discovery, he would tell Zhang Ping'an immediately.

"Understood, I have an idea of it, but don't go around talking about it outside."

People in the city did not know yet.

"Mm, I only told you; I haven't told anyone else."

At noon, Lou Xiaoe also came over to secretly tell Wang Xiaoling to prepare more grain; after all, she was Lou Bancheng's daughter, and no news could be kept from him.