Chapter 247 - 248: Bitten by a Rat
"Sanni, however, took it as a given, after all, her little sister was a fairy and naturally couldn’t be expected to work.
*
After dinner, when people headed for the fields, they found that the jubilant mood from the grain distribution the previous day had faded in every household, and all that was left were sighs of dismay.
In their area, three neighboring communes had had the best harvests, leading to droves of relatives coming to borrow grain, which put them in an awkward position.
If they refused to lend, it would harm their relationships and reputation, but if they lent to one household, others would soon follow. This predicament threatened to deplete their own grain supplies.
Unable to refuse the requests, several households had already lent out quite a lot of their grain.
Zhao Mancao observed them with furrowed brows, worrying they would end up lending out all of their own grain.
He decided to hold a meeting at the commune dam after lunch.
Standing on the stage with a speaker in his hand, he said seriously, "I’ve called everyone here primarily to discuss the issue of grain borrowing. I know some of you have already lent out quite a bit of grain. This spirit of mutual aid is something we should all learn from. However, I want to remind you that the damage to this year’s crops is not as severe as you might think."
At his last sentence, all the worried commune members perked up their ears, eager to hear about the situation in the other communes.
The relatives who came to borrow grain had all cried about their poor harvests and the threat of starvation, but they didn’t provide specifics about how bad their situation was, leaving others unsure about lending them grain.
If the grain was indeed vital for survival, refusing to lend would be akin to standing by while someone died!