Chapter 27: Ensuring Supplies

**News of Tang Erlong being injured spread throughout the entire village. When people asked who had attacked him, Tang Erlong couldn't provide a clear answer. Everyone was guessing the identity of the assailant, but no one could uncover the truth. Tang Erlong remained bedridden for nearly half a month before he could get up.

If it were anyone else, Tang Ailian might have tried the witch doctor's methods for healing. However, it was Tang Erlong, the same Tang Erlong who had tormented Tang Ailian's family in his previous life. She had no intention of helping a white-eyed wolf like him.

Tang Erlong also harbored resentment towards Tang Ailian. If it weren't for her meddling and saving Zhang Jixiong with the spirit medicine, he would never have resorted to stealing her bottle. Without that bottle, he wouldn't have been beaten repeatedly.

Since then, every time he saw Tang Ailian, her expression was far from friendly. If it weren't for Tang Ailian being so young and seemingly incapable of intentionally framing him (but in reality, she did frame him), he would have taken his anger out on her.

More than ten days later, the floodwaters finally receded. The villagers rushed to the fields to salvage the rice that had been knocked down by the flood, hoping to save some of the life-saving rice. However, less than thirty percent of the rice could be saved.

After accounting for the losses, Long Jiusheng calculated that the early rice crop had decreased by about seventy percent.

Ordinarily, rice takes about three months to mature, and the late rice seedlings would have needed another month. After transplanting, it would take just over two months before they could be harvested. Long Jiusheng calculated that even with only thirty percent of the early rice crop, they still had around 130,000 catties. They had already delivered about 100,000 catties of surplus grain, leaving them with 30,000 catties. In a year of flooding, the rice-to-milled rice ratio was lower, typically yielding 60% instead of 70%. With 18,000 catties of rice divided among 652 people, each person had only 27 catties of rice. The communal canteen served meals generously, with workers consuming up to 1.5 to 2 catties of rice per day. With only 27 catties of rice per month, it would be barely enough.

However, if the autumn harvest also suffered a decrease, Long Jiusheng didn't dare to think about the consequences. He said, "Distribute the grain to each household, let everyone manage it themselves. I don't believe that the heavens won't give us a way out. We had a major flood in the first half of the year; I'm sure there won't be another major flood in the second half."

Long Bataigong and Palala sighed and walked away.

As he watched the grain distribution team from the production team depart, Long Jiusheng's heart bled. This was their staple food.

However, he remembered Shuji's words. In this socialist big family, they needed to help each other. He decided to suppress the urge to vomit blood.

With just over two months of only 27 catties of rice per person, including sweet potatoes, taro, sorghum, and corn, they could barely make it to the autumn harvest.

But what if the autumn harvest didn't go well? He didn't dare to think further. No, there absolutely couldn't be a decrease in the autumn harvest because the income from the second half of the year would be used to sustain them until June or July of the following year.

Unfortunately, he had no absolute control over this situation.

Long Jiusheng sighed deeply, about to turn back when he felt his pant leg being tugged. He looked down to see an incredibly cute little girl pulling at his pants leg, looking up at him with sweetly saying, "Uncle Captain, please don't go!"

She held a sweet potato vine in her hand.

"Oh, it's Ailian," Long Jiusheng realized when he saw the adorable little girl. He squatted down and looked at her, asking, "Ailian, why are you calling me uncle? What is it?"

She handed him the sweet potato vine and said, "Teacher said, there will be a severe drought in the second half of the year."

(End of Chapter 27)