RNP Chapter 28 The Wild Boar Incident: Public Opinion Can Make Metal.
Chapter 28 The Wild Boar Incident: Public Opinion Can Make Metal.
In the afternoon, Lin Yan was lying on the bed, his eyes closed and his mind focused, repeatedly deduce the complex operating route of the fifth level of the "Qiankun Creation Technique" in his sea of consciousness, making final preparations for the breakthrough two days later.
Suddenly, a commotion and the creaking of a cart wheel came from the front yard. There, Lin Gang, "my cousin," was pushing a cart, rushing into the yard. The cart was piled with freshly cut wood, but the most eye-catching thing was a large, fat wild boar, weighing at least 180 pounds, lying across it!
Uncle Yan Bugui, who was tending to his flowers and plants in front of his house, immediately spotted the large, dark, and fleshy creature. His eyes widened instantly, and he unconsciously swallowed hard. He quickly put down his pruning shears, approached it, and with an unprecedentedly enthusiastic smile, asked ingratiatingly:
"Hey! Gangzi! What... what's this big guy? Did you hunt it up the mountain? Wow! You're really something! You managed to bring back such a strong wild boar!"
Lin Gang stopped the cart, wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and said with a simple, honest smile, "Uncle, you're just in time! Quick, lend a hand, we need to bleed this wild boar quickly, otherwise the meat will become mushy and smelly, and won't taste good! I'll tell you the details as we work!"
The third uncle was both excited and troubled upon hearing that a pig was to be slaughtered. He was excited because there would be meat to eat, but troubled because his frail body simply couldn't hold the enormous animal. His eyes darted around, and he immediately had an idea: "We need to bleed it quickly! Gangzi, you wait here, I'll go to the central courtyard and call Shazhu! He's a cook, a master at slaughtering pigs and sheep! Cuihua! Cuihua!" He turned and shouted towards the Lin family, "Quick! Boil several large pots of water! Do you have a sharp knife for slaughtering and bleeding the pig?"
After giving the instructions, he didn't wait for a response and dashed into the central courtyard.
Sha Zhu was washing rice in his kitchen, preparing to cook dinner, when his third uncle rushed in, panting, shouting, "Sha Zhu! Hurry! Forget about your rice! Lin just hunted a big wild boar in the front yard! He's waiting to bleed it! Go help!"
Sha Zhu's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this! Slaughtering a pig? This was a big deal! And according to custom, helping to slaughter a pig meant he'd get a share of the offal, the head, and so on. Maybe he could even have a delicious pig-slaughtering feast tonight! How could he miss such a good opportunity?
"Alright! Just you wait and see!" Sha Zhu immediately put down the rice bowl and quickly put water on the stove to boil. He then found two long benches in the house, tied them tightly with hemp rope, and moved them next to the communal water tank in the middle courtyard to make a makeshift slaughtering platform. Then he asked Uncle San to go and tell Lin Gang to bring the wild boar over.
The commotion had already alerted Lin Yan. He leisurely came downstairs, saw the wild boar on the cart, and with a perfectly measured look of surprise, asked his cousin, "Brother, what's going on?"
My cousin lowered his voice and quickly explained, "I went up the mountain to cut down trees to make a deckchair. This beast suddenly rushed out of the woods and almost hit me. I just grabbed it and knocked it down. I didn't expect that Uncle San would come back and see this. He insisted that Sha Zhu help kill it so that the neighbors in the yard could have some meat."
Lin Yan suddenly realized that his cousin must have done this on purpose. Even though there was already so much meat in the space, his cousin still hunted a wild boar to further solidify their image as "simple, capable, and generous, but not easily manipulated." He nodded and said in a low voice, "Yes, well handled. Helping is fine, but don't be a sucker. Keep a good eye on things."
"Understood, boss," my cousin replied in a low voice.
At this moment, the news that "a big wild boar had been killed" spread like wildfire in the courtyard. Elderly men and women, young wives and older sisters all flocked to the pond in the middle courtyard, forming a dense crowd. Several teenagers excitedly weaved through the crowd, tiptoeing as if afraid of missing this rare spectacle of a pig being slaughtered.
Sha Zhu and Lin Gang, one experienced and the other incredibly strong, held down a boar's foreleg. Sha Zhu, seizing the opportunity, swiftly plunged his knife into a vein in the boar's neck. Hot, pungent blood gushed out with a "plop," flowing into a large wooden basin that had been placed under the bench.
While the boar was bleeding, Sha Zhu deftly tied a wooden cross to the water pipe by the pool. After bleeding, the two of them worked together to lift the wild boar onto the cross and secure it. What followed was blowing air into it, scalding the hair, scraping off the hair, gutting it, skinning it, deboning it, and butchering it... Sha Zhu and Lin Gang worked together seamlessly, their movements fluid and graceful, drawing gasps of amazement from the surrounding neighbors, while the children cheered excitedly.
Just as the scene was bustling with activity, a bicycle bell rang. Xu Damao returned, pushing his bicycle with Lou Xiao'e, a beautiful woman with a face full of collagen. Upon seeing the scene, especially the large piece of pork on the cutting board, Xu Damao's eyes widened, and he loudly asked:
"Hey Zhu! You're something else! Where did you get such a big wild boar? I just brought back a bottle of Xifeng liquor from my father-in-law's today. How about we stir-fry some pig's ears and have a couple of drinks?"
Sha Zhu didn't even look up, retorting irritably, "Who's talking to you two, you two idiots? This wild boar was hunted from the mountains by the Lin brothers in the front yard, for their little brother Xiao Yan to nourish his body! Want pig ears? You'll have to ask the Gang brothers if they're willing!"
Seeing this, Lin Gang scratched his head sheepishly, stood up, and addressed the growing number of neighbors, speaking in a loud but slightly embarrassed voice:
"Dear neighbors, elders, brothers and sisters! My husband and I are from the countryside, and we don't quite understand many of the rules in the city. As for this pig, it's true that I've been worried because my son Xiaoyan's health has been getting worse lately. His face is pale and he can't eat anything, so I risked going up the mountain to try my luck. I didn't expect to actually encounter this wild boar, so I thought I'd give him some nourishment."
He changed the subject, his tone becoming more practical: "But this pig is too big; my family can't possibly eat that much at once. But it's meat, a precious thing. I can't bear to give it away for free; my little Yan's medicine costs a lot of money."
He paused, then proposed a solution: "How about this, could some kind older brother who's quick on his feet help me run a errand to the neighborhood office and ask one of their comrades to come and talk to us? I just want to ask, is selling wild boar that we hunted ourselves, without needing ration coupons, to our neighbors in this courtyard at a slightly lower price than the market price... considered... speculation?"
"If the comrades from the neighborhood committee say it's no problem, then I'll make the decision today! I'll sell this meat for 50 cents a pound! No coupons needed! To all the old and young men in our compound! What do you all think?"
"Five cents a pound?! And no coupons needed?!"
The crowd erupted in excitement! Pork in the market was 70 or 80 cents a pound, and you had to pay extra for the scarce meat coupons! This price was like a windfall!
The crowd immediately became excited, cheering and looking at Lin Gang with eagerness and gratitude.
Only Qin Huairu looked troubled. She glanced at her mother-in-law Jia Zhangshi's urging gaze and forced herself to speak, "Brother Lin Gang... you... you know, Dongxu is the only one in our family who earns money, and Banggeng and the others are still growing. Our family is really struggling... could you... sell this meat to us at a lower price?"
As soon as she said this, before Lin Gang could even reply, the elderly men and women around them, who had long disapproved of the Jia family's behavior, exploded like firecrackers that had been lit!
"Qin Huairu! Has your Jia family no shame?!" An older woman was the first to fire. "Everyone knows what kind of health Xiao Yan has! The money he spends on medicine every month is enormous! The family just finished repairing their house and is drowning in debt! Only Gangzi works! He risks being gored by wild boars to hunt meat, and he sells it for five cents a pound without coupons, just to earn some money for medicine. What's wrong with that? And you still complain about the price? You're too greedy!"
"Exactly! You think 50 cents is too expensive? Just because your family is struggling doesn't mean the Lin family isn't! I think they're just taking advantage of Gangzi's honesty and Xiaoyan's illness and lack of adult support!" Another aunt immediately chimed in.
"Jia Zhangshi! Stop hiding behind your daughter-in-law and pretending to be dead! It must have been you who instigated this! You're not satisfied with taking advantage, are you? Today we'll have to ask the three gentlemen to judge this matter!" The barrage of criticism quickly reached Jia Zhangshi, who had been hiding in the back.
Seeing that the Jia family had incurred the wrath of the crowd and their faces were grim, Yi Zhonghai had no choice but to step in and smooth things over: "Alright, alright, everyone, say less! Huai Ru was just in a hurry. It's true that she has many children and is facing difficulties. She didn't mean to take advantage... Brother Gangzi has already been very generous, only 50 cents a pound. Our whole neighborhood is grateful for your kindness!"
While he was mixing the mud, Yan Jiefang, Yan Bugui's son from the front yard, had already cleverly dashed out of the yard and headed straight for the street office.
The old man chuckled and cursed, "That little rascal, he's quick on his feet!"
Lin Yan was secretly delighted. Sure enough, as long as the benefits were right, the aunties would naturally defend him!
A short while later, a young neighborhood committee member arrived with Yan Jiefang. After understanding the situation, the young member explained with a smile, "Don't worry, everyone! Comrade Lin Gang's actions don't constitute speculation! Speculation refers to buying low and selling high to make exorbitant profits. Comrade Lin Gang is sharing the fruits of his labor, which he obtained at great risk, with his neighbors at a low price to improve the collective's living conditions. It's a commendable act!"
With the official statement confirmed, everyone was completely relieved and cheered.
Lin Yan whispered a few words to his cousin at the opportune moment. Lin Gang then said loudly, "Thank you, government comrades! Let's do it this way! However, there's only one pig, and the meat is limited. To ensure that every family can have some, we'll limit purchases to a maximum of five jin per family! Brother Zhu has worked hard running around, so this pig's head is for him! Does everyone have any objections?"
"No objections!" everyone said in unison. Sha Zhu grinned from ear to ear.
In the end, almost every one of the twenty or so households in the courtyard bought five jin (2.5 kg) of meat, earning a total of sixty yuan. Lin Gang kept the remaining thirty-odd jin (25 kg) for himself. The offal and blood were distributed to several elderly women who had volunteered to help clean up the scene.
That evening, the long-awaited, rich aroma of meat wafted from the chimneys of every household in courtyard number 95. Laughter and the sounds of children playing filled the courtyard. The enticing aroma, carried on the wind, tormented the children in several neighboring courtyards, who cried and clamored for meat.
Meanwhile, in Lin Yan's small kitchen, his cousin-in-law used the leftover high-quality pork belly to make a bowl of braised pork, the aroma filling the air. Lin Yan looked at the glistening, reddish-brown pieces of meat in the bowl, a slight smile playing on his lips.
This move was well executed. It not only disposed of the supplies and made a small profit, but also won over people's hearts and further solidified its own image.