Chapter 548: Nanko Daily (4)

Zhang Ping walked to the stationery area, looked at the pens, ink and notebook on the shelves, and his eyes lit up.

He picked up a black pen, ran his fingers over the barrel, felt its smoothness, and couldn't help but smile: "Comrade, how much is this pen?"

"Teacher, this pen is 1 Nanko yuan, ink is 0.2 Nanko yuan per bottle, notebook is 5 fen each," the clerk answered with a smile, knowing Zhang Ping is a teacher, and his tone was especially friendly.

Zhang Ping nodded, calculating in his mind: pen 1 yuan, ink 0.2 yuan, 10 notebooks 0.5 yuan, total 1 yuan 7 mao, leaving 13 yuan 3 mao, which could still buy some paper for the children to write more literacy stickers.

"Give me this pen, a bottle of ink, also give me 10 notebooks, and a bundle of paper as well," Zhang Ping said to the clerk.

The clerk quickly packed the items and handed them to Zhang Ping: "Teacher, the total is 1.7 Nanko yuan, please take them."

Zhang Ping took out two 1 Nanko yuan notes, handed them to the clerk, received the paper and pen and change, carefully placed them into his pocket, and a long‑missed smile appeared on his face.

With these items, he could teach the children literacy better.

He turned back to the grain and oil section, found Chen Da, and said with a smile: "Old Uncle Chen, I've finished buying, we should go back."

Chen Da, holding flour, nodded, glanced at the white sugar on the shelf, hesitated, and asked the clerk: "Comrade, how much is the white sugar per jin?"

"Sir, white sugar is 0.5 Nanko yuan per jin," the clerk replied.

Chen Da gritted his teeth, took out a 0.5 Nanko yuan note: "Give me one jin of white sugar; my old partner loves sweets, I'll brew a bowl of sugar water for her."

Old people, when spending money, are a bit reluctant.

But Chen Da and his old partner are just an elderly couple; their child perished in the war.

That's also why Chen Da likes Zhang Ping; he thinks that when he and his partner grow old, he hopes Zhang Ping can support them in their old age.

The clerk weighed the white sugar for Chen Da, packed it, and handed it to him.

Chen Da took the white sugar, carefully placed it into his pocket, his face full of satisfaction: "That's perfect, we have flour and white sugar; my partner will surely be happy."

The two of them, carrying their purchases, slowly squeezed out of the shop.

The doorway still had many people; everyone held big and small bags, chatting and laughing, their faces full of happy smiles.

"Teacher Zhang, today is truly joyous; not only did we buy flour, we also bought white sugar. In the old days, we wouldn't even dare to think of this," Chen Da said with a laugh, his steps much lighter.

Zhang Ping nodded, looked at the paper and pen in his hand, and said firmly: "Indeed, these are the good days Nanko has given us. From now on we'll live well, the children will study hard, and our lives will only get better."

The Nanko state‑run store's goods aren't expensive; a jin of bright white rice costs only 0.06 Nanko yuan.

And everyone has at least 10 Nanko yuan on hand, meaning each person could buy 166 jin of rice.

Even a person with a huge appetite couldn't finish that much rice.

Many people, before boarding the transport ship to Nanko, had all sorts of worries, the biggest being that they wouldn't have enough to eat.

However, after staying in Nanko for a while, they found those earlier worries were completely unfounded.

In Nanko, not only are you allotted land, but you're also given three free meals a day; of course, that free three‑meal service ends quickly.

But considering the convenience of communal big‑pot meals, during busy farming seasons the peasants have no time to go home to cook.

Therefore, the big‑pot meals will still exist, only under a different name: the village collective canteen, the only change being that free lunch is no longer provided; people must pay for it themselves, though the price is cheap.

Why this canteen still exists is because the village still has a 500‑mu Nanko state‑run farm.

As long as this state farm exists for a day, labor is needed.

That is the purpose of the large canteen's existence.

Grain produced by the state farm, aside from the quota submitted to the state, has its surplus uniformly purchased, processed, and distributed by the village collective canteen.

More work yields more pay, less work yields less, fair and transparent.

Considering everyone works hard for the country, Nanko is also willing to provide a free lunch.

This lunch is supplied uniformly by the Nanko state farm; all ingredients come from the farm's own rice, vegetables, and poultry eggs, ensuring freshness while controlling costs.

At the same time, the farm regularly organizes agricultural‑technology training to boost labor efficiency, ensuring the rice bowls are held steady and long.

Of course, surely someone will ask, what if someone slacks off inside?

It is indeed a problem.

With a larger population, even after the first round of screening in the north, the true liuzi can be seen in their eyes.

But there will still be a portion of people who slip through the screening and board the transport ship to Nanko.

However, after a period of labor, one can see a person's yearning for land; farmers truly need land.

And the liuzi, with a strong, robust body, yet fundamentally unwilling to work, only wanting to slack off.

Well, excuse me, once discovered, the land will not only be reclaimed.

At the same time, that liuzi will be sent to a nice place: the mines around Lashu, to experience a solid 16‑hour high‑intensity labor stint.

Of course, in the mines you can continue not working, choosing to lie down.

The foreman's small leather whip in the mine shows no mercy, especially when soaked in salt water and chili water.

Whether you're Japanese or a liuzi, you must work honestly.

After the money stops being issued, where does the common people's money come from?

Three to four months is enough for the first batch of rice to mature; this batch isn't left unattended, but is carefully cultivated.

Everyone must go into the fields daily to pull weeds.

Based on 300 jin per mu, five mu yields about 1,500 jin of grain; one jin of rice yields roughly 0.6 to 0.7 jin of rice, about 900 jin of rice in total.

A family of three's annual food supply is definitely sufficient, even exceeding the need by a lot.

The surplus grain need not be worried about; the village will uniformly purchase it, with the rice purchase price at 0.05 Nanko yuan,

Based on a family of three needing thirty jin of food per month, it seems still insufficient.

However, Nanko lies in the tropics, so two rice seasons can be planted each year.

The first‑season rice can be used for personal consumption, and part can be sold to purchase other necessities.

When the second‑season rice matures, a family's income will also increase.

Moreover, after Zhang Ping and Chen Da entered Lashu, they found many factories hiring, offering both long‑term positions and odd jobs.

Long‑term wages are a bit higher.

If you work part‑time, the daily wage is 0.3 Nanko yuan.

Don't look down on three mao, but this three mao can buy 5 jin of rice, enough for a family of three to live two days.

It can be seen that the purchasing power of the Nanko yuan is still strong.

The Nanko government requires that factory minimum wages may not be lower than 10 Nanko yuan per month.

An 8‑hour work system is impossible; currently it is basically 12 hours, two Squad rotation.

Why is it like this? Major reason is that now is wartime, Nanko is still fighting the Japanese Army.

The current economic system does not belong to a true planned economy, nor to a market economy; in fact it is still a wartime economy.

All production supplies in the deep rear must be given priority to the military.