Chapter 57: Spoiled by Luxury
Chapter 57: Spoiled by Luxury
When the collective labor system was in place, only a few people truly worked hard. Most of the villagers just went through the motions, so there was always work to be done throughout the year, yet the actual harvest was meager.
But everything changed after the land was divided and people started farming individually.
For example, now that the village fields were all planted with rice seedlings, most of the villagers had some free time. Unlike before, when they had to work from dawn to dusk, they now had more leisure.
Of course, this "free time" wasn't the kind of idleness you'd see in modern times. There were still miscellaneous tasks to be done, but these didn't require the entire family to pitch in.
With more people having free time, more villagers were available to help Deng Shirong build his new house. As a result, the new house took shape rapidly, far exceeding expectations.
However, the food and meat in Deng Shirong's system space, as well as the rice at home, were being consumed at an alarming rate.
By the time the lunar month of August arrived, the rice at home was the first to run out. With dozens of people eating every day, the small amount of grain allocated by the production team couldn't last long.
Rice prices were relatively low at the time, with the official price set at 0.19 yuan per kilogram, or less than 0.1 yuan per pound. However, you needed ration coupons to buy it, which made it useless for Deng Shirong. He had to buy rice from the market, where the price was almost double the official rate, at 0.18 yuan per pound.
Ten pounds cost 1.8 yuan, and a hundred pounds cost 18 yuan. With dozens of people eating every day, a hundred pounds of rice wouldn't last more than a few days.
The meat in his system space was also being depleted quickly, despite Deng Shirong's efforts to stretch it by using fish, shrimp, eels, frogs, and snails. By the time the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, the several hundred pounds of meat he had saved up were all gone, including the eleven five-flavored fish he had received when arranging the visit to Deng Changwang's house.
Fortunately, by this point, the new house not only had the brick walls built but also the roof beams in place. All that was left was to lay the tiles, and then the main structure would be complete. After that, they could move on to the interior decoration.
Earlier, during the Ghost Festival on July 14th, Deng Yuntao was busy transporting goods to Beihai with Deng YunGui, so he couldn't stay home for the holiday. Now, with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, he had to help with the kiln firing at the brick factory and couldn't be home to celebrate with his father and siblings.
The custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival didn't appear until the Ming Dynasty, as recorded in historical documents like "Zhuo Zhongzhi," "Wanshu Zaji," and "Dijing Jingwu Lue."
Why did the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival suddenly appear in the Ming Dynasty?
There are many folk legends, but the most popular one is related to the resistance against Mongol rule at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Although there are many versions of the story, the general idea is the same.
During the late Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols ruled with cruelty, and the people lived in hardship. The rebels made round pastries with hidden messages inside, saying "Kill the Tartars on the 15th of August," and distributed them to households, agreeing to rise up on that day.
The rebellion succeeded, and the Ming Dynasty was established. The mooncake became a symbol of victory and a Mid-Autumn Festival tradition.
However, this legend is not recorded in official history and is just a folk tale, making it difficult to verify.
Now, with everyone's lives being so difficult, there was no way to buy or make mooncakes. Therefore, eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival was not a tradition in Yayevillage.
Of course, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday, and everyone, no matter how difficult their circumstances, tries to celebrate it. If there are no mooncakes, they find other ways to mark the occasion.
In Naye Village and the surrounding areas, there was a custom of making tofu on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, a practice that continued until the 1990s. As living conditions improved and people could afford mooncakes, this tradition gradually faded away.
Naye Village had only one stone mill, placed at the entrance of Ancestor Hall. Everyone knew that the mill would be particularly busy on this day, so they soaked their soybeans in advance and started queuing up before dawn.
Tofu is not expensive nowadays, at least not for Deng Shirong. A few cents would buy enough for the whole family, so there was no need to grind soybeans and make it himself.
However, everyone in the village still preferred to make their own tofu. Buying it or trading soybeans for it would diminish the festive atmosphere. Therefore, Deng Shirong let his daughters, the eldest and the youngest, busily prepare the tofu without interfering.
By afternoon, the air in Naye Village was filled with the fragrant aroma of tofu. Those who could afford it added some vermicelli to their tofu, and the flavor was so rich that it felt like a feast of delicacies to the people of that era.
The Deng family enjoyed their tofu with vermicelli. As they ate, Deng Yunzhu couldn’t help but feel something was off. "Dad, why doesn’t the tofu with vermicelli taste as good as it did last year? Did we not make the tofu well today?"
Deng Yunsheng swallowed his mouthful of food and replied, "I was just about to say the same thing. The tofu with vermicelli today doesn’t seem as good as last year’s."
Deng Yunhua and Deng Yunheng nodded in agreement, sharing the same feeling.
Deng Shirong smiled. "It’s not that today’s tofu with vermicelli isn’t as good as last year’s; in fact, it tastes even better. The reason you think it’s not as good is that your diet has improved so much recently. Think about it: the meat that used to make you salivate, if you were to see it now, wouldn’t you find it hard to eat as much?"
The children were suddenly enlightened.
Deng Yunsheng sighed, "You’re right. In the past, if I could eat a large bowl of pork without restraint, I could finish it easily. Now, if I were given a large bowl, I probably couldn’t finish even half."
Deng Yunzhu nodded. "Dad, you’re right. I hadn’t thought about it, but our taste buds have definitely become more refined!"
Deng Yunzhen also agreed. Since her father and Brother YunGui took over the village’s pottery kiln, their family’s diet had changed dramatically. In the past, they ate pork once or twice a month, and only a few small pieces each time.
Now, while it might be an exaggeration to say they were tired of eating pork, they had meat every day, and there were no limits on how much each person could have. The difference was truly significant!
She was a bit worried that if she married into a family with poorer conditions, and their diet standards dropped back to what they used to be, how would she manage?
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "The family is currently building a house, which is a significant expense. That’s why we keep eating the same few dishes. Once the house is finished and the financial pressure is reduced, I’ll make you all kinds of delicious dishes, and I promise you’ll love them."
The children’s eyes lit up at this.
They had no doubt about their father’s culinary skills, and the “delicious dishes” he mentioned were sure to be rare and exquisite. They couldn’t help but look forward to it with great anticipation.
(End of Chapter)
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