Rebirth of the Wild Age

Carrying a huge travel bag, Hong Weiguo climbed over the mountain and pointed down: "The front is my home."

Fourth Uncle Hong smiled and said, "I'll ask your aunt to free up the bed. I'll make do with it tonight, and I'll bring back a catty of meat from the market tomorrow. This boss..."

"Just call me Xiao Song." Song Weiyang said.

Uncle Hong said: "Xiao Song, at first glance, you are a child in the city, and the conditions in the countryside are poor, so don't be disgusted."

Song Weiyang said: "My grandmother is from the countryside, and I am also half from the countryside."

After Hong Weiguo took his mother and younger siblings into the city, the house in his hometown has been vacant, and he temporarily lent it to his fourth uncle's son and daughter-in-law. It's good for everyone. If the house is empty for too long, it will be abandoned in a year or two, and it will have to be taken care of regularly.

It was a row of brick bungalows, two bedrooms, a main room, a kitchen with a pigsty, and one of the bedrooms also doubled as a granary.

The courtyard dam is surrounded by bamboo fences, and some chickens and ducks are raised, and shit is pulled everywhere.

The fourth uncle has a total of two sons and a daughter, all of whom have already married and established businesses. The youngest daughter is only 18 years old, married to the next village, and the children can run around.

The old house in Hong Wei's family was lent to the family of the fourth uncle's youngest son.

The six-year-old boy in the courtyard is the grandson of the fourth uncle. He is so dirty that he is playing marbles on the ground alone.

"Qiangqiang, eat candy!" Hong Weiguo took out a handful of toffee.

The boy immediately beamed with joy, put the candy in his mouth and was very happy, and then took out a bamboo sword from the room to show off: "Uncle, look, I made this myself!"

"Well done." Hong Weiguo praised.

There were several families on the mountainside, and Hong Weiguo carried a travel bag and went door to door to give gifts, all of which were candies and the like.

Uncle Hong called his wife to make their beds, went home and killed a chicken, cut a piece of bacon from a beam, and took his grandson to the field to pick vegetables.

Song Weiyang followed behind them and asked, "Should Qiangqiang go to school?"

"Under the age, we can only go to elementary school at the age of seven here." Uncle Hong said.

"What about the kindergarten?" Song Weiyang said.

Fourth Uncle Hong said: "There used to be a kindergarten, but now it has been withdrawn, and there is only a preschool. Preschool is boring and a waste of money. Going directly to elementary school is the most cost-effective."

Song Weiyang said: "The harvest at home is okay."

Uncle Hong said: "The harvest is good. It has been a bumper harvest for three consecutive years, but it's a pity that the price of grain has plummeted."

"Cheap grain hurts farmers," Song Weiyang said.

"Yes, that's what it means." Fourth Uncle Hong said with a helpless smile.

Song Weiyang asked: "I heard that you have two sons?"

Fourth Uncle Hong laughed and said, "The eldest couple are working along the coast, and their baby is sent to the middle school in the town. The second child is farming at home, and they are too busy. Kouzi is planting. Adding the second child’s own family’s, that’s the land that the couple planted for 10 people, and the food grown can’t be eaten up.”

"That's a pretty good life." Song Weiyang said.

"It's definitely much better than the old society. You don't have to worry about food and clothing," Uncle Hong said. Years are bullish, coupled with water money and public grain, rice planting is actually a loss.”

"Then still farming?" Song Weiyang said.

"What do you eat if you don't plant the land?" Uncle Hong said, "The current situation of our family is that there is so much grain that the warehouses are full, and there is still a lot of old grain three years ago. But there is no money to use. The boss and the couple When I didn’t go out to work, even the eldest grandson had to wait for pig money to pay his tuition.”

This is a very embarrassing thing. Farmers' families can't run out of food, and they can't sell it at a price, and they can't get enough food and money.

To put it more bluntly, the farmers here are so poor that they only have a house full of grain left.

They are very rich. Even if they don't do anything all day, the food in the family can last for a year or two.

They are very poor. They need money for oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, for buying clothes and quilts, and for medical treatment and schooling. The money can only be obtained by selling agricultural and sideline products. Even electric lamps are reluctant to use too bright ones, and only dare to use 15-watt or 25-watt incandescent lamps. 40-watt ones are too much electricity.

Song Weiyang pointed to a two-story building in the distance, and said with a smile: "That family is quite rich, and the houses are very luxurious."

Uncle Hong said: "I earn money from part-time jobs. He has a quick mind. He went out to work in 1991. Now he is the team leader in the factory. He earns more than 600 yuan a month and includes food and housing. He can save three or four dollars a year." Thousands."

Song Weiyang found that he couldn't figure it out. With a monthly salary of more than 600 yuan, how could he save 3000 to 4000 yuan a year? Don't you usually spend money?

Song Weiyang expressed his doubts.

Uncle Hong explained with a smile: "He is a big man, and he doesn't smoke or drink. What else can he spend money on? His wife is also capable. A woman farms the land of four people in the family, and supports her mother-in-law to take care of the children. To raise chickens, ducks, and pigs, his wife still earns the family expenses. In fact, life is not bad, as long as one woman is willing to work hard, one woman can support the whole family. The money earned by a man’s part-time job is six or seven years. Enough to build a building."

"Is that woman busy? One person farms four people's land, raises chickens, ducks, feeds pigs, and takes care of mother-in-law and children?" Song Weiyang asked.

Uncle Hong said: "Go out to farm at five o'clock in the morning, come back at seven or eight o'clock to make breakfast, cook the chicken, duck and pig food, and then go out to farm, and when you come back at noon, you can cut some grass to feed the rabbits. At five o'clock in the afternoon Finish work at six o'clock, come back and tidy up the house, watch TV at night and go to bed, and the day goes by like this. Her mother-in-law is also in good health, washes clothes in the morning, feeds chickens, ducks and pigs, and collects firewood on the mountain in the afternoon. Help with the work in the field."

"If you are so tired, what if you get sick?" Song Weiyang asked.

Fourth Uncle Hong smiled and said, "See a doctor for minor illnesses, and wait for death for serious illnesses."

Song Weiyang said: "If a serious illness can be cured, why not?"

Fourth Uncle Hong said: "It depends on who gets the disease. If a young person is seriously ill, he must be able to seek medical treatment. If he owes a stock debt, he must be treated. If the young person dies, the family will collapse. There is no need for the elderly. Anyway, I can’t live for a few years anyway. If it costs 20,000 to 30,000 yuan to see a doctor, it’s better to die early. Anyway, if I get sick, I’ll go to the doctor for a few thousand yuan, and I’ll just drink it if it costs 10,000 yuan. pesticide."

"You can take it easy." Song Weiyang said with a smile.

"What can I do if I can't see it?" Uncle Hong said, "It's not easy for the elder couple to work, and the money is not blown by the wind. Ten thousand yuan is enough for them to save for two or three years. The eldest grandson will read it again soon." In high school, there are many places to spend money, is it worth spending on an old man like me?"

Song Weiyang handed over a cigarette: "How much money does your family spend on consumer goods a year? Excluding daily expenses such as oil, salt, sauce and vinegar."

Uncle Hong lit a cigarette and pondered: "Except for oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, there is nothing to spend money on."

"Clothes, shoes and socks cost money." Song Weiyang said.

"Oh, yes," said Uncle Hong, "the child needs to buy at least four sets of clothes a year, and he will grow taller. The son and daughter-in-law also need to buy new clothes and shoes for the New Year, otherwise it will be shameful to wear them out."

"What about you?" Song Weiyang asked.

"What kind of clothes do I buy as an old man?" Fourth Uncle Hong laughed. "I have worn the clothes on my body for at least seven or eight years. But if the shoes are not worn, a pair will be worn out in two or three years."

"Where are the electrical appliances at home?" Song Weiyang asked.

"I bought the TV, and I don't need anything else," said Fourth Uncle Hong.

Song Weiyang asked: "You don't buy drinks, beer or anything?"

Uncle Hong said: "I will definitely buy it when you are threshing millet. You have to ask someone to help you. If you don't even prepare beer, you will be stabbed in the back."

Song Weiyang asked again: "How often do you eat meat?"

Fourth Uncle Hong said: "Eating meat during festivals, usually depends on luck. If you are lucky, you don't eat meat. If you are unlucky, you eat meat every day."

"Ah?" Song Weiyang didn't understand.

"Chicken fever and swine fever, once a large number of people die, don't they just eat meat every day." Uncle Hong said.

Song Weiyang said: "Then your son and daughter-in-law go out to work and only earn money without spending it. They should have saved a lot of money, right?"

Uncle Hong said: "The money saved cannot be moved. It must be used for house repairs, such as two-story buildings!"

Song Weiyang was silent. He found that the biggest economic benefit for farmers was part-time jobs, and the income from part-time jobs was reserved for house repairs. In other words, except for building materials, there is no consumer demand for industrial products in rural areas, and domestic demand in rural areas cannot be raised.

Of course, feed is also selling well, especially pig feed.

No wonder the Liu brothers became the richest man in China a few years ago just by selling feed, because they have the most extensive market in China.