"Wow, this meat looks so beautiful!"
Fu Wan glanced at it twice. This kind of pork was obviously not the kind of pig that ate too much feed and lean meat powder in later generations. Even the fat had a light yellow color. When you picked it up and shook it a couple of times, it was like jelly, bouncy and juicy.
Hearing Fu Wan's words, Ye Lin felt proud.
"That's right, Awan. Let me tell you, these pigs are raised by the old ladies in our village. They're fed wild vegetables from the riverbank. And they don't even eat raw wild vegetables; they take them home and cook them."
After saying that, he smacked his lips again. Last night, his family had a feast of pork stew, and the pig's blood and liver were incredibly fresh and tender. He was still savoring the taste.
"Also, Ah Jun bought six piglets from a pig farm a few days ago, and they've already started raising them. Next year, we'll be able to eat pork raised by our own family!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Wan immediately became interested.
"Brother Jun moved so quickly?"
Fu Ming, hearing the commotion, also came over, and Ye Lin spoke of it with great pride.
"That's right. The day after he borrowed money from you, he went to the old village chief to get approval for a place to build a pigsty. It just so happened that there were still a lot of bricks left over from the house a while ago, so I didn't return them and gave them all to him."
As soon as the pigpen was finished, he went to a pig farm and negotiated a price, managing to buy six piglets at a bargain price.
Ye Jun is incredibly busy these days, feeding the chickens, ducks, and geese, and going to the mountains and riverbanks to cut wild grass to cook pig feed. Liang Cuifen is about to give birth, but she hasn't caused any trouble.
Hearing about Ye Jun's situation, Fu Wan, Fu Ming, and the others were overjoyed.
Ye Xiaocui was even more so. When Boss Fu saw that there was so much meat in the house, he picked up a piece of meat with more fat.
"I'll deliver one to the village chief."
The old village chief's teeth were getting worse, and he especially liked meaty, fatty meat.
Fu Wan picked up two spare ribs and said, "Then I'll send some to A Qing's family. Big brother, you take some spare ribs and meat and send them to Uncle's family."
"Alright!"
Fu Ming responded, and Fu Wan took out two more pieces of meat with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, which she estimated to weigh about four or five pounds.
"These two pieces of meat are perfect for making cured meat, Mother, you should send them to Brother Liang's house."
It's rare to have so much meat; we definitely can't eat it all ourselves, so it's good to give some away.
Ye Jianguo and Ye Lin didn't mind at all. Although they brought the meat themselves, they also knew the people that Boss Fu Wan had just mentioned.
The group distributed the meat around, but there was still quite a bit left at home.
So Ye Xiaocui waved her hand and said, "Today I'm cooking braised pork without adding water. When we go out to sea tomorrow, you'll have an extra meat dish."
At such a low temperature, as long as the braised pork isn't diluted with water, you can reheat it every meal and eat it for several meals.
When Ye Lin heard that she was going to make braised pork, he sharpened his knife and helped cut the meat.
Fu Wan wasn't idle either; she packed all the cleaned ribs into bags and put them in the freezer.
Everyone was busy at work when Wangcai's barking came from outside again.
When Fu Wan went outside, she saw an unfamiliar middle-aged man standing at the door, banging on it with a blank expression.
"Who are you?"
"Young lady, I'm looking for Boss Fu. Is this his house?"
Fu Wan nodded in confusion and kicked Wangcai, who was trying to rush forward, aside.
"Come in, I'll go call my father."
"No need to call, I'm coming."
When Boss Fu heard the commotion, he came out to take a look and was also quite surprised.
"Old Chen, what brings you here?"
The man chuckled wryly twice. "Old Fu, it's a long story. Do you have time now?"
"I have time, I have time. Come in and have a seat."
Fu Laoda picked up a rag from the bamboo fork next to him, wiped his hands, and then led the man surnamed Chen toward the main house.
Seeing this, Fu Wan was about to go back to the kitchen when Fu Laoda called her back.
"Ah Wan, this is the Chen Balang I told you about, Uncle Chen."
This is my daughter; she and her brother are in charge of the sea voyage.
Chen Balang never expected that the girl in front of him was actually Boss Fu's daughter. He had heard that Boss Fu's daughter had divorced and brought her child home, and he thought she would be the kind of resentful woman who had been abandoned. He never expected that she would be such a young woman with such a good spirit.
Is that man surnamed Chen blind?
Chen Balang inwardly scoffed, but Fu Wanke was unaware of all this. She gave Chen Balang a polite smile.
"Hello Uncle Chen, please have a seat. I'll go get you some tea."
We also have tea at home for entertaining guests. Although it's not the expensive kind, these days, it's not common to serve guests proper tea instead of tea dust.
After Fu Laoda asked Chen Balang to sit down, he took out a pack of cigarettes from the cabinet and handed one to Chen Balang. Chen Balang took it but didn't light it. He just smelled it and then tucked it behind his ear.
"What's wrong with you? You look like a wilted eggplant, all droopy!"
Fu Laoda joked that Fu Wan poured them two cups of tea and then went back to the kitchen.
She could also tell that Chen Balang seemed hesitant to speak when she was there.
Upon hearing Boss Fu's question, Chen Balang sighed.
He touched the cigarette off his ear and smelled it again.
Chen Balang knew that Fu Laoda had quit smoking for a long time after he fell ill.
So even though he was feeling very annoyed, he didn't light up the cigarette.
"Old Fu, I won't beat around the bush with you. You told me yesterday that the ship was short-staffed. Are we still short-staffed now?"
“No shortage? Of course we’re not short of customers.” Boss Fu was astonished. “Old Chen, could it be that you… wait a minute, yesterday you said you wouldn’t betray your employer, how come you changed your mind overnight?”
When this was mentioned, Chen Balang hung his head, completely devoid of energy.
"Hey, when you came yesterday, our neighbor saw you."
That man was always a big mouth, and he immediately told his employer that he was going to run away with him.
Last night I went to the dock to prepare for going out to sea, but my employer couldn't stand the sight of me. He said I was eating his food on the boat but wanting something from another company, and since I hadn't been paid, he told me not to go.
These words infuriated Boss Fu. "He hasn't even paid his wages. What kind of person is this?"
I'm going to find him!
"No need for that. I'll have someone collect the wages later. I just wanted to ask you if you still want to keep the ship."
"Of course I want it! Why wouldn't I!"
Fu Laoda slammed his hand on the table and said, "It's all his fault. He was in a good mood and spoke a little too loudly to Chen Balang. He didn't expect that his neighbor would hear him."
That ship owner was also incredibly petty.
What Fu Laoda didn't know was that Chen Baliang's boat owner knew him well. Thanks to Wang Jianshe, almost every boat within a hundred miles had heard of Fu Laoda's name.
When this guy was buying fish, he bragged about Master Fu's catch to the skies, saying it was unparalleled. Those who go out to sea are all grown men; it's normal for them to be a little competitive. Even if my catch isn't as good as yours, I might sell it for the same price.
So everyone fell for Wang Jianshe's trick and sold their fish to him.
After this guy ran away, they made some inquiries and found out that not only did Fu Laoda's family not sell the goods to Wang Jianshe, but the entire Fu family village did not either.
This infuriated everyone, but it was mainly their own fault for not asking around when they were selling the goods.
Now we can only swallow our pride and bear it!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com