Chapter 40: Dumplings! Dumplings!!!

Eating dumplings out of nowhere—and pork and sauerkraut filling at that—who could possibly resist?

One must understand that in the early 1980s, resources were extremely scarce. Ordinary families could only afford white flour during the New Year or other major festivals. It was only because this part of Northeast China had abundant land and grain; looking at the country as a whole, many places were struggling to get enough coarse grains during that same period.

To have money to spend and pork dumplings to eat—this kind of treatment was comparable to celebrating the New Year. Upon hearing this news, even Li Wentong was somewhat moved; life was finally looking up.

With yesterday's groundwork laid, calling the three families together for dumplings today didn't seem abrupt. Xiao Tao and Xiaowen didn't hesitate; they gave an affirmative response and went home to call their families. Yue Feng also headed out with them to fetch Grandma Li.

When calling her over, Yue Feng played a little trick: he didn't say he wanted Grandma Li to come eat dumplings, but rather that he needed her help with some chores at his house! Grandma Li had always received help from Yue Feng's family, so when she heard he needed assistance, she followed without a second thought.

However, once she entered the Yue family home and understood the situation, she couldn't simply get up and leave. Meng Yulan held Grandma Li's hand and whispered a few words to her, and Grandma Li settled in comfortably to stay.

Excessive politeness is often just a formality. It wouldn't be easy for Meng Yulan alone to wrap dumplings for so many people, so calling the family matriarch over made the work go much faster.

Soon, Xiaowen's mother and Xiao Tao's mother also arrived at Yue Feng's house.

While the women were in the outer room kneading dough and preparing the dumpling filling, the young men gathered on the heated *kang* bed to drink water and chat about what they had seen while taking the hawks out into the mountains during the day.

With everyone lending a hand, the work went quickly. Before 7:30, the dumplings were all wrapped—a massive amount, filling five large mats and requiring two full rounds of the large iron pot to finish.

The lively atmosphere of the home even infected Yue Lei, whose leg injury had not yet healed. Today, the head of the Yue household was in a festive mood; he made an exception and let Yue Feng pour him two *liang* of white liquor, sitting at the *kang* table to drink properly with his friends and relatives.

Ever since his son had woken up, he seemed like a completely different person.

From the moment Yue Feng started training the hawks and catching chickens, in a period of less than half a month, Yue Lei noticed that the entire atmosphere of the family had fundamentally changed.

His son was decisive and had strong execution, and the little companions he worked with were all incredibly reliable.

Yue Lei learned from his wife that Yue Feng had earned over forty yuan just from one trip into town today. This efficiency in bringing money home was terrifyingly impressive.

Today, his son had spent the day in the mountains with the hawk and caught nine gray foxes. According to the prices the supply and marketing cooperatives paid for fur, this was another windfall. The Yue family's life was truly improving.

During that night's dumpling feast, everyone ate with smiles on their faces. In the west room, the women and children sat at one table, feeling a deep, heartfelt satisfaction from eating white flour and meat. In the east room, the men sat at another table, drinking joyfully because they had come together with like-minded people and made money.

In fact, in this part of Northeast China, it was rare for women to complain about their husbands drinking. In many families, when things were going well, the women would also smoke or drink; these habits were influenced by the unique environment but were also a reflection of family status.

However, not complaining about drinking didn't mean one could indulge in alcoholism. Especially those useless "drunkards" who spent every day in a stupor—they were unwelcome wherever they went.

Tonight, in the east room, everyone except Yue Feng and Uncle Li had had a bit too much to drink, but not a single woman came over to nag or interfere.

They were all grateful to the Yue family, grateful to Yue Feng and his father for helping their husbands or children earn real, hard cash. With money, they could live better lives.

The dumpling feast didn't break up until 9:30 PM.

Yue Feng walked the drunken Xiaowen and Xiaowu brothers home. Along the way, Auntie Zhang kept muttering her thanks to Yue Feng for looking after her boys. At her most emotional, the auntie, who had suffered through half a lifetime of hardships, even had tears welling in her eyes.

Yue Feng personally helped the two drunken brothers onto their *kang* bed. Seeing the near-empty, bare walls of the Zhang family's north room with his own eyes gave him a more concrete understanding of the suffering of the common people at the bottom of society.

As Auntie Zhang personally saw him out the front gate, Yue Feng made a silent vow in his heart: in the future, he would definitely ensure all his companions lived good lives!

The next morning, Yue Feng woke up early as usual. He had no bicycle to ride today, so he had to walk into town.

However, with gray foxes, pheasants, plus the Sha Banji and Feilong, a single satchel wouldn't be enough. Yue Feng decisively dragged his father's handmade small sled out from the granary.

Even though there was no snow, dragging this much game on a sled was much better than carrying it on his back. When Yue Lei had made this sled, he had buried two thick iron wires underneath; dragging it on flat ground was much easier than using single thin wires.

At exactly 5:00 AM, Yue Feng arrived punctually at the side door of the Second Canteen of the Hongqi Coal Mine. Within a few minutes, Master Niu arrived as well.

"Whoa, quite a haul today! You brought a sled directly?" Niu Fusheng greeted him upon seeing the sight.

Yue Feng grinned. "Yeah! The hawk is well-trained now. Besides Feilong and Sha Banji, I also got some gray foxes and a wild rooster!"

"All alive?" Hearing about the gray foxes, Niu Fusheng's expression and tone showed clear surprise, followed by great joy.

"Mhm, all alive! They taste best when they're slaughtered and bled fresh! We're regulars here, so the goods are good—Master Niu, you've got to give me a high price!" Yue Feng nodded in response.

"Don't worry, if you support me, I'll definitely support you! Let's go inside first!"

Soon, Niu Fusheng led Yue Feng to the warehouse behind the Second Canteen.

Yue Feng opened the bags and cages secured to the sled and took out today's game.

The total count for today: 25 Sha Banji, 33 Feilong birds, 8 live gray foxes, and one wild rooster weighing over three pounds.

Facing the ingredients, Niu Fusheng remained meticulous in his inspection. All the game were fresh, living individuals, and their appearance was flawless.

"The quality of the Sha Banji and Feilong birds is quite good; the price remains the same! As for these gray foxes, the fur is worth more than the meat, but I can only use the meat here! I'll give you 1.8 yuan per gray fox; I'll skin them for you, and you can take them when you come back next time! You can leave the wild rooster too. Right now in the black markets, a domestic rooster goes for about two to three yuan depending on its size. Logically, a wild pheasant shouldn't be more expensive than a domestic chicken, but since this one is perfectly intact, how about I give you 3 yuan for it?"

To be fair, Niu Fusheng's prices were very reasonable.

Some might find it unreasonable that a wild rooster caught with such great effort isn't worth more than a domestic chicken, but that was the reality of the time. It wasn't just chickens; it was the same with pork. A large domestic pig was actually more expensive than a wild boar caught in the mountains.