This year's supplies are the most difficult to obtain. The reserves from previous years have been almost completely used up. However, for Zhu Guangrong, the chief secretary of the top government official, getting some pork is not difficult, unless he wants an excessive amount.
"Yes, I need quite a lot of pork, at least two pigs, but the more the better," Zhu Guangrong said.
But even he himself felt a little guilty saying that. Two pigs, not just two pounds of pork. If it were just a few pounds or tens of pounds, and each department or unit kept a little for themselves, he could save some money. But two pigs meant at least three or four hundred pounds of pork. How many units would it take to save that much?
Besides, this kind of thing can't be made public, otherwise it will damage his reputation, and his career will be over.
"Brother, you're not wrong, are you? Two pigs? You're not planning to pickle and dry them, and then eat them until you get married, are you?" Xu Damao said half-jokingly.
Under normal circumstances, large factories like steel rolling mills might try to procure so much pork from outside to improve the food standards for their workers during the Chinese New Year, but I've never heard of individuals doing this.
"That's right, that's all." Perhaps because he had explained it so many times, Zhu Guangrong calmed down a bit.
"It's none of your business. This is something I'm giving away. The top two leaders in our district have all been replaced this time. My old boss introduced me to the new top leader before he left."
This leader came from the military and still had a strong attachment to his former unit. It was said that the first thing he did upon arriving in civilian life was to find a way to procure supplies for his old unit. Many people, upon hearing this idea, started working on it, thinking, "Isn't this just trying to do something special?"
"Of course, it will be conducted officially in the name of our street office; it's a kind of support activity for the military," Zhu Guangrong explained.
Upon hearing this, Xu Damao understood the reason: it was simply a matter of the superiors' preferences being followed excessively by those below. Currently, resources were scarce, so the country was doing everything possible to ensure people's livelihoods, and the military had made great sacrifices, resulting in soldiers' living conditions being even worse than those of factory workers.
It's understandable that military leaders would want to provide some benefits to their former units when they arrive in civilian life.
“If you only have a few dozen kilograms of meat, I can try to find a way to get it for you, but where am I supposed to find these two pigs? I can’t just steal them from the commune, can I?” Xu Damao knew this, but the problem remained.
“If it were simple, I wouldn’t have asked you. I could have just asked anyone to do it. Da Mao, this matter is very important to your brother. It’s like I’m asking you for a favor,” Zhu Changrong said.
Since that's what they've said, Xu Damao can't keep refusing; he needs to come up with a solution.
"Brother, I can only say I'll do my best, but I can't guarantee anything. Also, regular pork might be a bit difficult to get; there might be wild boar meat involved." Xu Damao thought for a while and then offered a solution.
Xu Damao's idea was to get a wild boar, half a carcass of domestic pork, and some other scraps of meat, which would make up about two heads in total.
He had previously collected a considerable amount of wild boar and domestic meat, but if things were to be completed so easily at this point, it would mean he still had spare capacity, which wouldn't be ideal. Besides, the remaining unfinished meat was only a few dozen kilograms, which wasn't a big deal for Zhu Guangrong.
"Alright, you're the most straightforward guy. Don't worry, I know the situation, so I won't ask you to make any guarantees, but I'll do my best to get it done." Zhu Guangrong was quite pleased.
Before he came, he did ask many friends in charge of purchasing, and they all said that it was extremely difficult to purchase such a large quantity of pork this year; he even inquired with people in the black market through connections and received the same answer. 1961 was indeed a difficult year; not to mention pork, all kinds of meat were snatched up.
"By the way, I've been hearing that you're coming to the street, which street exactly?" Xu Damao asked curiously.
This district has many streets, some densely populated and important, others remote and barely noticeable. The future development prospects of these different streets are completely different.
"Hehe, I'm going to Jiaodaokou Street, the area where your courtyard is located. From now on, you'll be a resident of my jurisdiction," Zhu Guangrong said with a smile.
"Wow, you're going to rise to the top in one step!" Xu Damao said enviously.
Jiaodaokou Street is very close to the Forbidden City and borders Shichahai Lake to the west, making it arguably the best street in the district. The fact that Zhu Guangrong was able to become the head of this street demonstrates his promising future.
The two chatted for a while longer before Zhu Guangrong left the auto repair shop. He hadn't officially started working in the neighborhood yet, so he lacked autonomy and his time was dictated by his superiors' schedules.
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Although Xu Damao had his own reserves, he still actively used his connections to procure pork in order to avoid suspicion.
That evening, Xu Damao even went to the black market. Since becoming the factory manager, Xu Damao had been much busier and less inclined to go out at night, so this was the first time he had ever been to such a place.
As usual, he went to a black market that was quite far away, but once inside, he found the market to be extremely desolate. Even two years ago, the black market was bustling with people, if not teeming with them. But now, there were only about twenty people in the entire abandoned alley, most of whom were there to buy things.
Xu Damao looked around and saw fewer than ten people selling things against the corner of the wall, mostly potatoes and sweet potatoes. He didn't see a single egg seller, let alone a pork seller. After wandering around for a while, Xu Damao couldn't buy anything.
If the black market is this tight, it must be even harder to buy on the real market. With no other options, Xu Damao had no choice but to continue pretending.
Fortunately, he had many old connections from when he went to the countryside to show movies a few years ago, and he has maintained these connections over the years. Xu Damao would take time to ride his bicycle to the countryside.
To be honest, what Xu Damao saw in the countryside was unbearable to look at. What should have been a vibrant scene was instead a desolate wasteland. The fields, which should have been full of crops, were not growing well due to the disaster, and there were hardly any people to be seen.
Xu Damao saw many withered trees stripped of their bark and leaves, undoubtedly taken to stave off hunger. There were few people on the road, and hardly any houses had their doors open; it seemed staying home reduced food consumption.
This vivid scene made Xu Damao deeply aware of the suffering of that era. The later Xu Damao came from a remote rural area. His family was also very poor when he was a child. His clothes were all patched, and he could only eat meat a few times a year. But to be honest, although they didn't eat well and sometimes didn't have enough to eat, they were never forced to eat tree bark, and no one starved to death.
Xu Damao was well aware of the hardships faced by rural people in those times, which was why he had stockpiled grain to help his family avoid hunger. However, he deliberately ignored the need to go to the countryside and experience the tragedy of the era, as if the situation wouldn't exist if he didn't see it.
But this situation is now happening right before his eyes.
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