Nianzi Mountain Village Pig Farm!
As the village’s most influential figure, Li Yi’s every move was always closely watched.
While Feng Kai and Li Yi were talking, quite a few people were listening nearby.
When they heard Li Yi announce that this year’s pork wouldn’t be sold but would instead be distributed to the cooperative members, a glimmer of hope lit up in many of their eyes.
After working so hard all year, who wouldn’t want to enjoy a sumptuous New Year’s feast?
But everyone also felt it was unlikely—after all, slaughtering pigs and selling the meat was the village’s annual tradition, and the Party Secretary and the Brigade Captain would never agree to it.
To everyone’s surprise, however, Secretary Feng immediately agreed to Li Yi’s proposal, and the Brigade Commander raised no objections.
When Feng Kai announced the news aloud, the entire pig farm erupted in a deafening cheer.
Some thanked Feng Kai, others thanked Zhang Tongfu, but most were shouting, “Long live Li Yi!”
Goodness, this left Li Yi and Jiang Xue standing nearby feeling both amused and exasperated, yet also somewhat moved!
Fortunately, over by the cooking area, two pigs had already been thoroughly dehaired and gutted. Seeing this, the crowd stopped their chaotic shouting and, at Feng Kai’s call, stepped forward to help.
The women immediately stepped forward to help clean the offal—a task that required both courage and meticulousness, as well as strong stomach, since the sight of intestines and guts was not for the faint of heart.
Meanwhile, the master butchers began deboning the carcasses after cleaning out the entrails. The others weren’t idle either; under Feng Kai’s direction, they lined up to wait for their share of the meat.
Standing nearby, Li Yi watched as the master butchers picked out one bleaching-white bone after another. He felt a twinge of pity and a sense of regret.
What excellent ribs and large bones—isn’t this a waste?
Since people in those days were short on fat and protein, they all preferred fatty meat. No one wanted the lean meat near the bones; no one was happy to be given it.
As for the bones, no one wanted them at all—not only were they lean and lacking in fat, but they also had a strong gamey smell and wasted firewood when cooked.
So every year when the pig was slaughtered, the village butcher would strip out all the bones and distribute the lean meat—still attached to the fat—to the villagers.
With that in mind, Li Yi turned to Feng Kai and asked, “Uncle Feng, do you think our family of seven could get a whole pig?”
“Pretty much. Why do you ask?”
“Here’s what we’ll do, Uncle Feng. Later, ask Fifth Uncle to pick out a fatter pig for us to slaughter. Don’t strip the bones—just weigh it as is. We’ll see how many pounds it comes to, and we’ll make up the difference wherever necessary. What do you think?” Li Yi suggested.
“Sure, that’s fine. But why don’t you want the bones removed?” Feng Kai asked curiously.
“I want to eat the big bones with meat on them. They’re so delicious stewed with pickled cabbage, and they’re great when braised in soy sauce too!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Haha, you’ve been out in the world for two years, and you’ve picked up the city folks’ eating habits!”
Feng Kai continued, “Alright, there are a few ‘year-old pigs’ in the pen—they’re really fat. I’ll have Old Chen set some aside for you!”
“Alright…”
Just as they were talking, a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind Li Yi: “Brother Yi!”
Turning around, Li Yi was surprised to see Yongzi. He immediately smiled and said, “Where’ve you been, kid? Why didn’t you come by yesterday?”
Yongzi grinned and replied, “I went into the mountains to set rabbit traps yesterday afternoon. By the time I got back, it was already past three in the morning. My dad just told me this morning that you and your wife were back!”
Li Yi’s eyes lit up instantly. “How many rabbits did you catch?”
“Eight rabbits, plus four pheasants, and I even snared a big one—but it snapped the wire and got away!” Yongzi said with a laugh.
“That’s a lot! Your skills at driving game are truly unmatched. Take me up the mountain sometime!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Going up the mountain is such a drag. I just took three rabbits and two pheasants over to Auntie’s place—that should be enough for you guys to eat!” Yongzi said.
“I didn’t go up the mountain just to eat meat—I just wanted to take a walk. It’s been years since I’ve set traps for rabbits or caught pheasants!” Li Yi said.
“Oh, I see. Then I’ll give you a call when I’m leaving this afternoon!” Yongzi said.
“Okay…”
………
Beijing. Hot Pot and Grill Restaurant!
Just as Li Yi was busy distributing meat in the village and planning to go rabbit hunting with Yongzi that evening, Long Zhanjun and Li Na were getting busy again back in Jingcheng.
Since business at the restaurant was booming, the couple had no intention of closing up shop—even though they were newlyweds.
After seeing off the guests, the shops in Jingcheng reopened.
At that moment, Long Zhanjun was sitting at the counter of the main branch, tallying up the accounts, when the phone next to him suddenly rang.
Without a second thought, Long Zhanjun picked up the phone and said, “Grassland Beef and Lamb Grill & Hot Pot Restaurant, how may I help you?”
“Is this Comrade Long Zhanjun? This is Sun Feng from the Yanjing Television Factory. We’ve met before…”
“Hello, Director Sun. Are you looking for…”
Before Long Zhanjun could finish, Sun Feng cut him off: “I’m looking for you, not Comrade Li Yi!”
“Me?”
“Here’s the thing,” Sun Feng explained. “A shipment of yours arrived in Beijing along with our factory’s equipment. We’ve already signed for it on your behalf, so I’m calling to ask where we should deliver this shipment to you.”
Hearing this, Long Zhanjun realized that the gifts his brother-in-law, Li Yi, had mentioned had arrived.
When Li Yi left yesterday, he had specifically reminded him that his friends in Hong Kong had heard about their marriage and had sent some gifts back to them from there.
These gifts were likely to arrive in Beijing in the next few days, and he was to receive them when they did.
With that in mind, Long Zhanjun immediately replied, “Director Sun, if it’s convenient, please have the items delivered to our store in Beiguan Village. If that’s not possible…”
“It’s convenient, but…”
“But what?”
“Uh… never mind, I’ll have them sent over right away!” Sun Feng said.
“Great, thank you for your help, Director Sun!” Long Zhanjun said.
“No trouble at all…”
With that, Sun Feng hung up the phone!
Half an hour later, Long Zhanjun had finally finished balancing yesterday’s accounts and was just about to head to the kitchen to check on the preparations!
Just as he stood up, he felt the light in the room suddenly dim.
He looked up and saw that two large trucks loaded with goods had pulled up right in front of their restaurant. It was these trucks blocking the light, and one of them was even blocking the entrance to their shop.
Long Zhanjun was about to go out and see what was going on—even if they were customers coming in to eat, they shouldn’t be blocking the door!
Before he could step outside, he saw a middle-aged man in a government official’s uniform, clutching a briefcase, stride in.
Upon seeing Long Zhanjun, the man immediately asked with a smile, “You must be Comrade Long Zhanjun, right?”
“I am Long Zhanjun. And you are?”
“I’m Zhu Wenxi, the Office Director at our Yanjing Television Factory. Director Sun asked me to bring you something!”
“Hello, Director Zhu. Thank you for making the trip—I’m truly sorry to have inconvenienced you!” said Long Zhanjun.
“Don’t mention it. It was just a detour; there’s no need to worry about it!”
Director Zhu then asked again, “By the way, where would you like me to put those items?”
“Put them inside,” said Long Zhanjun.
“Um… I’m afraid that won’t work!”
Long Zhanjun was taken aback for a moment, then asked, “Why? Is it inconvenient for you?”
“No… it’s just that there’s too much stuff, and you still need to run your business here—there’s simply no room!”
Director Zhu continued, “Also, a few of the items are just a bit too big to fit inside!”
Too much? A bit too big?
Long Zhanjun looked up at the two large trucks outside, and a chill ran down his spine. Could it be that those two trucks were loaded with wedding gifts for him and Li Na?
With that thought, Long Zhanjun immediately hurried outside. He was curious to see just how many gifts there were—and just how big they were.
………