Chapter 12: Selling Pork

Li Ye lost face at these words and glared at Old Man Li with her round, bulging eyes, pulling her daughter-in-law along as she prepared to leave.

"Let's go, we don't care for it anyway. Even if I don't eat meat, I won't buy from their family."

"Mom, if we don't buy it, what are we going to eat? If we go to the supply and marketing cooperative, we'll need meat coupons, and it's a few cents more expensive," the third daughter-in-law, Ye Qing, said in a panic. If she missed this chance today, there wouldn't be such a good deal again.

The eldest daughter-in-law rolled her eyes at her sister-in-law. "What do you know? Look at how much meat Old Man Li has in his yard. You know what the conditions are like for people in our village; at most, each person will buy two jin to satisfy their cravings. They can't possibly eat all the rest, can they?

They definitely won't be able to finish it. When there are dozens of jin left over, they'll take it to the supply and marketing cooperative to sell. They certainly won't, so they'll definitely just sell it off at a discount later."

"Exactly, the eldest daughter-in-law is smart." Li Ye looked at her eldest daughter-in-law with a grin, thinking this would save them some money.

Watching the two of them, Ye Qing muttered to herself: You’ve already offended them, and you think they’ll sell it to you at a discount? You’re dreaming.

Li Ye pulled her eldest daughter-in-law away, walking home slowly. Ye Qing followed behind them, but once they reached home, she found an opportunity to sneak back out.

She didn't dare wait for that "good opportunity" the two of them were banking on.

It was only real once she bought it and got it into her mouth.

In the Li family courtyard, the village chief had started weighing the meat with a scale.

"Village Chief, I have a big family, I want five jin." Yan Laizi took out five one-yuan bills and handed them directly to Li Siwen, then ran over to the village chief's side.

Seeing that he had already paid, the village chief cut the meat efficiently, slicing off a piece of pork belly with a good mix of fat and lean, and gave it to Yan Laizi.

The rest of the people followed suit, paying and taking their meat. Families who were better off bought over ten jin at once, planning to take some to visit relatives, while others bought that much because they had large families to feed.

The large pile of meat was mostly divided up before long.

Ye Qing looked at the last bit of meat left over and frowned in disgust; it was a pile of scrawny, lean meat that wouldn't yield any oil at all.

"Ye Qing, do you want it or not? If you don't, I'll take it all." The village chief felt annoyed looking at Ye Qing’s reluctant expression. She should be grateful there was anything to eat at all; if Siwen hadn't hunted the wild boars, they wouldn't even be able to buy any even if they had the money!

"I want it, I want it, how could I not? Village Chief, give me three jin, and make sure there's plenty of fat—we're running low on oil at home." This fat meat could not only be rendered for oil, but it also tasted delicious; the lean meat just didn't taste good.

Under Ye Qing's direction, the village chief finally cut her three jin of pork, took the money, and hurried her away.

Li Siwen looked at the pile of money beside her and grinned, laughing happily.

Seeing this, Grandma Li walked over and tapped her on the forehead. "I never realized you were such a money-grubber before."

"That's because I never had the chance to see this much money before!" Li Siwen said with a wide grin, sorting the money into five piles by denomination.

There were one-jiao, two-jiao, five-jiao, one-yuan, and two-yuan bills.

"How much?" Seeing her daughter stop counting, Yu Ying couldn't help but ask.

"Three hundred and fifty-eight yuan in total," Li Siwen said, holding the money in surprise. She hadn't expected so much. Since they were selling meat to the villagers and keeping the bones, she hadn't thought they could make this much.

Hearing the amount, Old Lady Li hurriedly locked the room door, looking at the money in Li Siwen's hands with excitement.

Li Siwen was nudged by Yu Ying and immediately handed the money to Old Lady Li. "Grandma, you take this money; consider it a filial offering from your granddaughter."

Old Lady Li was overjoyed when she heard this. She smiled as she took the money, pulled out one hundred yuan for Yu Ying, and gave fifty to Li Siwen.

"Third daughter-in-law, you know our family rules—any money earned must be turned over to the collective. But no one is as capable as Siwen, earning so much all at once. I’m secretly giving you one hundred and Siwen fifty, but you are not allowed to talk about this. If you dare to speak of it, I won't let you off easily."

Yu Ying was so disoriented after receiving the money that she didn't know which way was up. She nodded hurriedly, "Mom, don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

This was the first time she had ever touched so much money—a whole hundred yuan! Her husband couldn't even earn fifty yuan working in the fields for a whole year!

Oh my! This felt like a dream!

"Siwen, look at your mother. If she can't snap out of it, you take the money back," Old Lady Li said, looking at her third daughter-in-law with disdain. She looked like she’d never seen money before! How embarrassing.

Hearing this, Yu Ying hurriedly clutched the money tight, looking at the two of them defensively. "Mom, you gave this to me, so it's mine now."

"Mom, put it away and act natural when you go out. Grandma is secretly giving us money behind the backs of the two aunts; you can't let them find out and embarrass Grandma!" Li Siwen coached her mother helplessly, seeing her guilty expression.

Yu Ying nodded and straightened her back. "Is this okay?"

"Fine, fine, everyone go out!" Old Lady Li opened the door and shooed them both out. Looking at the two hundred yuan left in her hand, she crawled under the bed, used a shovel to dig for a long time, pulled out a box, put all the money inside, and buried it again.

"Brother Li, I'll take all this meat. It looks like a little over fifteen jin, so I'll give you fifteen yuan!" Village Chief Shao said, taking a stack of money from his waist pouch—mostly small change—and counting out fifteen yuan to give to Old Man Li.

Old Man Li looked at the money he was offering and shook his head, refusing to take it. "Forget it, you keep the money and buy some snacks for the kids at home. You and Xiangshan and the others have been busy all day today, slaughtering the pig, washing the meat, and helping sell it. I’m not paying you wages, so just take the meat!"

The village chief shook his head. Helping was a small matter; he felt ashamed to accept so much meat!

"That's enough, Haiping, why are you still being so polite with Brother Li?" Old Lady Li said as she pushed the money back into his arms.

She turned to Xiangshan and the others and shouted, "Xiangshan, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and take the meat away. It's so late, your mother must be worried at home."

Hearing Old Lady Li's words, Shao Xiangshan picked up the meat and looked at his father. "Dad, let's go! Mom is waiting!"

Seeing that Old Lady Li was sincere about giving him the meat, the village chief gave her a grateful look and said goodbye before heading home.

In the kitchen, Shao Qixuan had put in his best effort today to make a good impression, cooking over a dozen dishes. The entire courtyard was filled with the aroma. Seeing the village chief and the others leave, Shao Qixuan walked out of the kitchen. "Grandpa, Grandma, it's time to eat."

Old Man Li finally gave Shao Qixuan a smile; it was rare to smell such fragrant food. He reached out and patted Shao Qixuan on the shoulder. "Go call your parents and the others to come eat too."

"Alright!" Shao Qixuan agreed with a smile. Ever since he and Yang Min got together, Grandpa and Grandma Li hadn't let his family enter their home. Now that they were letting him call his parents, did that mean they had forgiven him?

Regardless of whether it was true or not, it was a good thing for him.

Father and Mother Shao were stunned when they heard the Li family calling them to eat, followed by joy. They tidied up their courtyard and called their sons and daughters-in-law to go to the Li house.

They had heard that the Li family had hunted two large wild boars today. They had wanted to go and watch the excitement at the time, but the thought of the hostility the Li family held toward them had scared them off.

The Shao family entered the Li house happily.

However, a person stood by the large tree in front of the Li house. The moonlight cast a shadow on the ground. Watching the Shao family enter the Li house joyfully, the woman's face was full of jealousy and hatred.

Why does it feel like no one is watching?