Chapter 21 Chapter 21 (Minor Repair) Chen Ying took...

Chen Ying used the money given by Wang Jiangang to buy herself palace lantern almond honey, snow cream and clam oil. She gritted her teeth and bought the cheapest snow cream for Cheng Xin to prevent Wang Jiangang from accidentally letting the secret slip.

She bought a few more fruit candies and three popsicles, and trotted back with the three popsicles in her hands.

Wang Jiangang was fanning himself with his straw hat, and beads of sweat were running down his neck into his collar.

"Brother Jiangang, I bought your cigarettes. I'll treat everyone to popsicles."

Wang Jiangang took the popsicle and bit it with a crunching sound, and the sugar water flowed down the wooden stick.

The man in blue armbands had not left yet, and at Wang Jiangang's signal, Zhang Mazi pulled the man aside and whispered to him.

"Brother, there are still some good stuff left." Zhang Mazi licked the melting popsicle, and the icy water dripped onto the old man's vest.

The purchaser of the state-owned restaurant came closer, and Zhang Mazi opened the bamboo basket in the corner. Inside was smelly straw, and the bellies of two black piglets were heaving slightly. The two piglets had not had breast milk for two days and one night, and were suffocating in the high temperature environment, barely hanging on.

The buyer squatted down and poked the piglet's ear: "Why are you so listless?"

"It's hot and stuffy, just feed it some rice soup and it will survive." Zhang Mazi kicked the bamboo basket, and the piglets whimpered softly. There was still dark red blood on the bottom of the basket, and it was hard to tell whether it was wild boar blood or the piglets' scratched skin.

"This is the piglet of that big pig. We didn't want to bring it back because we heard its cries so pitiful. The educated youth in our brigade said that the piglet is suitable for roasting suckling pig. Or you can buy it and raise it with your own pigs. That way you can buy one less breeding pig."

As expected, the buyer hesitated. Roasted suckling pig is a difficult dish to make. It requires piglets that are just one month old. The two little wild boars lying on the hay in the basket have not opened their eyes yet. If they are raised a little longer, they can become a dish.

The sour smell of piglet excrement wafted out of the bamboo basket. The buyer fanned the air with a straw hat, trying to lower the price, "The roast suckling pig must be made without mud..."

Zhang Mazi grabbed the piglet's hind legs and lifted it upside down. Its purple-red belly was covered with straw crumbs. "Look how tender its hooves are." The piglet groaned weakly, and there was a dried blood scab on the tip of its tail.

"What's the price?"

Zhang Mazi rubbed his fingers together and said, "We sell it at a price per catty. How about four yuan per catty? Even piglets are two yuan per catty. I'll give you the bamboo basket as well."

The man took the piglet in his hand and weighed it. It seemed to be about three pounds.

"Okay, two counts as eight pounds, so let's just consider it as making friends."

The total weight of the two must not exceed eight kilograms. Wang Jiangang was pleasantly surprised by the man's generosity.

Chen Ying is even happier because the higher the price, the more money she can get.

The weight slid to the mark of 7.3 jin, and two piglets stacked together were not as heavy as an old hen.

The little wild boar was sold for 32 yuan. Wang Jiangang unilaterally decided that the money would be divided equally between him and Chen Ying, and Zhang Mazi could get 2 yuan as a reward for his hard work.

Zhang Mazi was not convinced, so Wang Jiangang gave him another two pounds of pork. He poked the pork he was given with a straw, and the fat was shiny in the sun, so it was considered a good piece of meat.

"Don't take it personally. There will be many opportunities to make money in the future. I will definitely help you make a lot of money. This piglet was found by Chen Ying and saved us. If it weren't for me and her, you wouldn't be alive and kicking now. Besides, each of you will get at least ten dollars from the big pig. You should broaden your horizons."

Zhang Mazi was fooled by Wang Jiangang and felt that what he said seemed to be correct, so he accepted the hush money of two yuan and two kilograms of pork.

Chen Ying squatted at the back of the car and counted the money. She had 15 banknotes with rolled edges. She already had 20 yuan in her savings. She was thinking about ways to make more money. Suddenly she remembered that Cheng Xin had saved for three years to save 8 yuan in her previous life. She couldn't help laughing.

"The brigade seal is a real treasure." Wang Jiangang had just made a fortune, and he touched the hard rubber stamp on his waistband. The certificate stained with pig blood was still on the car board. His father always scolded him for being useless. He made more money on this trip than he had in several years as a scorekeeper.

No wonder his father wanted him to take over the position. Normally, he felt that his father was doing a thankless job. With a brigade seal, everything would be convenient.

On the way back, the bullock cart passed by the supply and marketing cooperative. Chen Ying stared at the nylon socks in the glass cabinet. The twenty yuan in savings was enough to buy ten pairs, but she couldn't bear to buy them now. Cheng Xin's patched cloth socks were still praised by Geng Yunye as "cool to wear", which showed that Geng Yunye was not a person who cared about external conditions. She wanted to work hard to make money and let Geng Yunye see her value.

Geng Yunye and the team leader came to the commune to report that their team had decided to harvest the millet early.

The commune arranges the time for harvesting grain, and the brigade issues the specific time to facilitate the grain management office to collect public grain in a centralized manner.

The commune inquired about the reason and approved Gengjiawan Brigade's decision to collect grain in advance.

Geng Yunye had had some experience with the commune clerk, and kindly reminded him when he left.

"I think it's best to mobilize the brigades under the commune to harvest the millet in advance. I have experience living by the sea, and the calendars of previous years cannot be used this year. The weather is not good this year."

The commune clerk had read his information. Geng Yunye had retired from the army on an island, so he might have really noticed that something was wrong.

The commune clerk made a solemn note of the matter and said, "Comrade Geng, don't worry. Our commune will hold a meeting and propose that all brigades harvest the grain as soon as possible."

After Geng Yunye left, the clerk went to the director to report the situation. The director knocked his enamel pot on the paint-chipped desk, "Harvest the grain half a month in advance?" The bottom of the pot was covered with dark brown tea stains, which cracked with fine lines as it vibrated.

The rustling sound of the clerk flipping through files suddenly stopped. On the yellowed file paper, the young man in the navy blue uniform photo had sharp eyes, completely different from the farmer with his trouser legs rolled up.

"Director, I think Comrade Geng's words are trustworthy."

As soon as Geng Yunye and the team leader walked out of the commune gate, they met the secretary coming back from outside. Zhao Qingfeng invited Geng Yunye to have dinner at the state-owned restaurant.

Geng Mancang, the team leader of Gengjiawan, was a little at a loss. Why did the commune secretary take the initiative to invite Geng Yunye to dinner?

Zhao Qingfeng saw Geng Mancang and called him, "Comrade Mancang, come along. Your team is so lucky to have Comrade Geng."

The door curtain of the state-owned restaurant was washed white, and Geng Mancang rubbed off the mud on the soles of his Liberation shoes before he dared to step in.

The white tile floor reflected the light, and he walked on it carefully. A waiter in a white apron passed by carrying a tin kettle, and the smell of oil smoke mixed with the aroma of vinegar went straight into his nostrils.

Zhao Qingfeng had long heard of Geng Yunye's name but had never met him in person. This time he finally had the opportunity to sit down and have a meal with him.

"Comrade Yunye has made special contributions on the island?" Zhao Qingfeng took the menu and ordered three dishes and a soup.

"Just lucky." He rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. There was an old centipede-like scar on his wheat-colored forearm.

The waiter brought the hot and sour soup. The ceiling fan was turning overhead, and fellow villagers who were working at the market outside were looking inside through the window glass.

Geng Mancang held the chopsticks and dared not move. He saw Secretary Zhao put the fat slices into Geng Yunye's bowl, and he was so frightened that he almost knocked over the vinegar bottle.

Geng Mancang stared at the notice on the wall that read "No beating of customers without reason" in an attempt to divert his attention from the delicious braised pork on the table.

The smell of meat went straight into his nose, and suddenly he heard Secretary Zhao say: "If Comrade Yunye stays in the county armed forces department when he retires..."

Geng Yunye didn't wait for him to finish, "I'm not interested in this."

Zhao Qingfeng just smiled and was not angry.

When the manager heard that Zhao Qingfeng was having dinner, he wiped the sweat off his face and ran out to greet him.

Both parties stood up when they met and hardly touched the food on the table.

Geng Mancang took the opportunity to stand up. The legs of the bench made a harsh sound as they scraped against the tile floor. He breathed a sigh of relief, finally no longer having to sit on pins and needles holding the chopsticks.

When the glass door was pushed open, a gust of hot wind came in. A buyer wearing blue sleeves was unloading bamboo baskets from a tricycle. Inside the baskets was something unknown, but it was covered with a torn mattress.

Zhao Qingfeng pointed at the bamboo baskets that the employees were carrying and asked, "What's in them? Why do they have to cover them with mattresses in such hot weather?"

The manager asked the buyer to open the bamboo basket. The buyer was the one who had just bought wild boar piglets from the black market.

He lifted a corner of the mattress, and the sour smell of rotten meat mixed with feces exploded, and three green-headed flies jumped out of the bamboo basket in search of food.

The buyer's hands were shaking as he lifted the mattress. "Manager, please stay away. The food in this basket stinks. It might affect your appetite."

Zhao Qingfeng and the others retreated, and the buyer gritted his teeth and lifted the mattress. Two wild boar cubs were curled up in the bloodstained straw, with their bellies barely rising or falling.

The manager took two steps back and bumped into the dining cart. The enamel plates clanged loudly and Zhao Qingfeng did not look very happy.

The buyer explained: "This is a live pig. It was just born not long ago and hasn't eaten for two days. If you feed it some rice soup, it will definitely survive!"

The manager was upset. "Is this edible? Take it away immediately!"

Geng Yunye stopped the buyer and asked, "What should we do with these two piglets?"

The buyer stole a glance at the manager, who looked unhappy. He regretted going to the black market to pick up bargains.

He hung his head, no longer daring to think about what kind of criticism he would receive.

"I'll go and return it. If I can't return it, I'll sell it."

Zhao Qingfeng suddenly asked: "Is the source of this pig legal?"

The buyer wanted to raise his hand and swear: "It's in compliance with the regulations. They are members of the Yingzui Cliff Brigade. They said wild boars were harming crops and came to get rid of them. I didn't expect that after getting rid of the big pig, only two piglets were left."

Geng Yunye's mind moved: "Comrade, can you sell these two piglets to me? I'll buy them at your purchase price."

The manager pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, "Comrade Geng, these two piglets are so sick that there must be something wrong with them. It's obvious that they won't survive. It's not worth buying them back."

Zhao Qingfeng asked him: "Why do you buy wild boar babies? Domestic pigs are easy to raise, but wild boar babies are wild and I'm afraid they will bite people when they grow up."

Geng Yunye didn't care about the stench of the wild boars at all. He leaned down to feel the two piglets' breath. "It's hot, and the piglets are going to have a hard time surviving the bumpy ride on the road. Just think of it as a good deed. I'll take care of the profits and losses. If they don't survive, I'll find a place to bury them."

Since Geng Yunye had said so much, the manager had no choice but to ask the buyer to go to the kitchen and ask the chef to help make a bowl of rice porridge.

The buyer took the money as if he had been pardoned, and his blue sleeve rubbed against the piglet's purple nose.

The aroma of burnt rice porridge wafted from the kitchen. A waiter came over with a chipped clay pot. The piglet suddenly twitched and kicked its legs.

Geng Yunye scooped up the rice soup with a piece of pottery and brought it forward. The soup seeped into the piglet's mouth through the cracked corners of its mouth. The good news was that the piglet drank it.

Zhao Qingfeng looked at the wilted sycamore trees outside the window and said, "Comrade Yunye is really kind-hearted."

"Farmers cannot bear to see living things being abused." Geng Yunye's sleeves were stained with rice paste. In his previous life, Cheng Xin liked to rescue stray animals and said, "It's not easy to survive." Unfortunately, there was no condition to give all stray animals a home.

The manager stamped his feet to drive away the green-headed flies, and was impressed by the high level of consciousness of the peasants. However, after what he did in front of Zhao Qingfeng today, he would not be able to hold his head up in meetings in the future.

The buyer tried to make amends: "I bought some mushrooms that were about to go off the market. They don't look very good, but at least they were picked yesterday."