"Du Jianshan, wait a minute! My family is short of a bedding, so keep that wolf pelt for me!"
"My son is getting married next month, and we urgently need a leather rug!"
The crowd gathered around, chattering amongst themselves, as if they were at a bustling market.
Du Jianshan, carrying the gleaming wolf pelt, kept walking briskly towards the supply and marketing cooperative while dealing with the situation: "Don't rush, don't rush. Let the supply and marketing cooperative weigh it first. If anyone is short of meat coupons or cloth coupons, I'll put you in a line to exchange them! Don't all rush in at once!"
"You'd better remember me, Brother Du, my third son is still covered with that fox fur blanket you had two years ago!"
"I remember, I remember." Du Jianshan waved his hand without turning his head. "I haven't forgotten who helped me carry wild boar meat last year."
Upon hearing this, several women in the crowd quickly chimed in with their own comments:
"Remember when my family borrowed your pot to cook bear paws?"
"I even got you some soy sauce! You hurt your leg back then!"
Du Jianshan laughed heartily: "I remember, I remember. I'll make a leather vest for your son first!"
The crowd laughed and followed him, squeezing towards the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.
The long queue in front of the supply and marketing cooperative was just about to disperse when it heard the commotion and gathered back. Manager Li was sitting behind the counter, drinking tea. Hearing the noise, he looked up, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Oh, Du Jianshan? What rare find have you gotten this time?"
Du Jianshan slammed the wolf pelts onto the scale with a snap: "Manager Li, look at these! Three whole pelts, with claws and tails, wild wolves."
"Tsk tsk tsk!" Manager Li quickly stood up, picked up the hides and spread them out with both hands, "Your skills are so good, not only are they peeled to look brand new, but not a single hair is lost. Come on, let's weigh all three together."
A few commune members were standing nearby buying cloth, and a burly man couldn't help but interject, "Such a big piece of hide, it must be worth a lot, right? How many feet of fine cloth can one piece be exchanged for?"
Manager Li didn't even look up: "That depends on the quality and net weight, then we'll calculate the labor cost. You wait here—"
"Eight catties and two taels!" Manager Li patted the weight on the scale and nodded in satisfaction. "Good quality. One catty can be exchanged for five feet of cloth, and three pieces of leather, after processing, will make a total of forty feet!"
"My goodness, forty feet of cloth? If this were in our village, it would be enough to make five Zhongshan suits!" An old woman next to me stared wide-eyed.
"No wonder he's a master of the mountains!" another young man clicked his tongue enviously. "We're just plucking chicken feathers with a sack, while he can just turn a corner and get cloth ration coupons!"
Du Jianshan laughed twice, picked up the cloth coupons and pulled out a stack of meat coupons: "Here we come again, Manager Li. This time we brought a hind leg, a wild boar. Give me an estimate."
"You even brought the hind leg? Why don't you just open a mountain produce shop!" Manager Li joked, but his hands deftly pulled out a chopping board and a scale hook from behind the counter, picked up the wild boar hind leg tied with hemp rope, and raised an eyebrow when he felt its weight: "It's heavy, it must weigh about twenty pounds."
"Twenty-one catties and six taels." Manager Li examined the meat carefully. "It's got good shank, thick fat and firm tendons. This meat makes a sound when you cut into it. I'll give you four and a half catties for every two taels of meat coupons you get for one catty.
Du Jianshan nodded: "Alright. Manager Li, this time I'm not only exchanging them myself, but I'm also helping those brothers who came down the mountain with me to exchange them. Remember, these guys' tickets should also be put on my account."
"Who was with you?" Manager Li curled his lip. "Explain yourself clearly, I don't keep secrets."
"Niu Xiaoshun, Shi San, Wei Guo." Du Jianshan counted the tickets and called out, "Brothers, come over here and let Manager Li take a look at your leather goods. We'll all call them the same."
The three quickly squeezed out of the crowd, each carrying a rolled-up wolf pelt and a raccoon dog pelt.
Niu Xiaoshun grinned: "Manager Li, mine is a bit smaller, but the napkin is thick. I only exchanged three feet of the last kind, so this time you can give me a fair price."
Shi San rubbed his hands together: "I just peeled this last night, the bloodline is still fresh!"
Wei Guo seemed a little reserved, and when he handed over the hide, he whispered, "This is the first time I've hunted this in the mountains. You can decide what to give me."
Shopkeeper Li examined the pelts and commented, "Niu Xiaoshun's raccoon pelt is so-so, I'll trade it for two and a half feet. Shi San's is smooth, three and a half feet. Wei Guo, your wolf pelt is alright, the color is a bit off, but it's new, I'll give you three feet."
The group nodded in agreement.
Manager Li couldn't resist joking, "If you mountain people were to send me twenty of these all at once, my supply and marketing cooperative would have to find a warehouse to store them all."
Du Jianshan chuckled and patted the counter: "Get ready, we're planning a group hunt before the end of the year. If all goes well, we might actually be able to get twenty tickets."
"Alright, I'll be waiting." Manager Li gulped down his tea. "Here, issue the invoice."
Du Jianshan led everyone to sign and collect their tickets. After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, he had only taken a few steps when he heard someone calling him.
"Brother Du!" A tall, thin young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old ran over quickly, still carrying the earthy smell of the mountains. "I heard you guys had another good harvest this time. My dad asked me to come and ask if I can come with you next time. The sow in front of my house is sick, and I'm afraid we can't slaughter it for the New Year. I need to earn some money to help support my family."
Du Jianshan sized him up: "You are... from Xiliangzi, your name is Lin Dacheng, right?"
"Hey, it's me!"
"Didn't you get frostbite on your toes last winter?"
"That was because I lacked experience. This time I was well-prepared; I even stuffed wool into my straw sandals!"
Du Jianshan nodded: "Okay, I'll call you when we organize another mountain encirclement. But you have to follow orders and not fall behind."
Lin Dacheng was overjoyed: "Thank you, Brother Du! I will definitely do my best!"
As they were talking, several more people came up to inquire about the next hunt, and even some of the women nearby started asking if the furs could be exchanged for bedding and shawls.
Du Jianshan raised his hand and waved: "Alright, alright, don't ask anymore. Let me go home and pack up. Tomorrow morning at the threshing ground, I'll call people to sign up. If anyone wants to come, bring your own dry food, rope, and knives. Don't come if you don't follow instructions."
"Alright!"
"That's exactly what I've been waiting for you to say! My wife already said she's reassured that you're leading the team!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
