Su Wen left the office with a huge sum of 500 yuan given by Li Huaide. Li Huaide also promised to give Su Wen a recruitment quota if he got 50 kilograms of meat before New Year's Day, and two for 100 kilograms. The more, the better.
Su Wen was considering whether to tell his family. In his memory, the relationship between the Su family brothers and sisters had always been very good. He should tell his eldest brother. After talking about it, the eldest brother and his family can also enter the city, and he can complete Li Huaide's mission.
But if they do this, their family will be cut off from Sujiazhuang. Being hated by others is a terrible thing. If both brothers go to the factory, people in the village will get pinkeye.
In the past two years, there have been a lot of rumors about their family running a small stove at home. The village chief came forward and said it twice, but it was of no use. Everyone knew that going into the mountains was dangerous, but they chose to ignore it and only saw the Su family eating meat and drinking wine.
Without Sujiazhuang's backing, his life in the Purchasing Department would not be easy. My parents, sister-in-law, and several nephews were also maliciously targeted in the village. They all have rural household registrations. If they follow them to the city, they will be under too much pressure to live without food rations. Su Wen's plug-in is very weak.
Back in the office, Su Wen asked Lu Wenxiu to pick up a 28-inch sedan that looked pretty good. Su Wen got on his bicycle and rode around the office building.
"I can't tell you can ride a bicycle."
"Chief Lu, would you like to come up and I'll take you around?"
"Ride slowly by yourself." Lu Wenxiu turned and left.
Li Huaide did not put all his chips on the newcomer Su Wen. Su Wen was just a casual move on his part. His father-in-law helped him smoothen the relationship. A supply and marketing cooperative went to Inner Mongolia to purchase a fleet and agreed to let them send a car. Then, the people he sent could negotiate the purchase with the herdsmen themselves, and the supply and marketing cooperative would not stop them.
Li Huaide came to the factory hospital. "How is Lao Liu recovering?"
"The swelling has gone down, no problem. Is there anything I need to do?"
"My father-in-law helped me contact a purchasing convoy of a supply and marketing cooperative to go to Inner Mongolia. They agreed that our steel rolling mill would send a vehicle to follow us. We can negotiate acquisitions with the freedom and herdsmen, and they will not stop it. Whether we can buy something is up to us. I want you to lead the team."
"That's okay. When will we set off? How many people will we take with us this time?"
"We set out tomorrow morning. You drive my jeep. The procurement department will go to two and the security department will go to three. There are wolves on the grassland. Weapons and ammunition are provided according to the highest standards. Safety must be ensured."
"How about letting Captain Li and the others go to the security department?"
"Okay, my jeep can only seat five people. You can choose the specific personnel yourself. After you have chosen, give me a list and I will arrange it. Lao Liu will try his best to buy some meat even if he spends a high price. I will personally spend the extra money. Make it up."
"Director, aren't you afraid that there are too many things to fit in the trunk of the jeep?"
"I'm not greedy. I'd be thankful if I could fill the trunk."
Section Chief Liu asked the doctor to re-bandage his wound, took some anti-inflammatory drugs and left the hospital.
Su Wen was shocked by the scene of having lunch at the steel rolling mill. There were people all around, holding lunch boxes in their hands and squeezing in. It wasn't until people from the security department came to maintain order that things gradually got better and people started queuing up in an orderly manner.
"Is Chief Lu always eating like this in the cafeteria?
"It's not like this usually. Didn't the broadcast say today that everyone is so anxious because there is meat to eat?"
Su Wen bought a piece of Chinese cabbage stewed with bacon, which had a thin slice of meat. Su Wen thought the taste was average. Lu Xiuwen and Zheng Rentao both thought it was delicious. Su Wen also agreed that it was delicious and particularly fragrant.
After lunch, I got on my bicycle with the farm tools prepared by Section Chief Liu, left the steel rolling mill, and rode all the way north to Sujiazhuang, Cuizhuang Commune. As the distance from Sijiu City got further and further, the road conditions became worse and worse. Su Wen returned to Sujiazhuang before the sun set.
Back at my parents' house, my father and eldest brother were twisting hemp rope in the yard. Looking at the wrinkles on his father's face, Su Wen finally decided to tell his father about the trade of meat for work.
"Brother Dad, I'm back."
"Why are you back? Did they not recruit you into the factory?"
"Dad, I am already a worker in the steel rolling mill. Look at my work clothes." Su Wen turned around to show Su's father his work clothes.
"Did you buy this bicycle, Xiaowen?" The elder brother looked at the bicycle eagerly.
"What I bought was not given to me by the factory. The injured one was the section chief of the Purchasing Department. He made me an apprentice in the Purchasing Department. The Purchasing Department is relatively free. As long as you complete the task, you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't break the law. I’m in charge. I just want to go home and talk to you so you don’t have to worry. I’ve also been allocated two houses, one in the west side of the backyard of a three-in-four courtyard.”
"Do you have a purchasing mission when you come back this time?"
"Yes or no, I don't know how to tell you."
"We've all gone home. If there's anything you can't say, just say it. Your brother and I will help you."
"In order to successfully enter the steel rolling mill, I sold the 50 kilograms of bacon given to me by my family to the steel rolling mill for 3 yuan per kilogram."
"You can just handle the bacon yourself after we separate. Three yuan is no longer cheap. This year, supplies are tight and the price is higher. In previous years, a pound would only be sold for one yuan, three or four."
"Before I came back today, the logistics director of our factory called me into the office and told me that the supply of materials in the steel plant was also very tight, especially meat. He hoped that I could get some more meat for the factory. He also gave me 500 For a purchase of RMB 50, I bought 50 kilograms of meat before New Year’s Day for one work station, and 100 kilograms for two. On the way, I have been thinking about whether to tell you. If my eldest brother and I recruit workers into the city, the village may not be able to accommodate them. We are home."
The eldest brother's smile slowly solidified. He knew very well that what Su Wen said was true. He could not abandon his family just to go to the city. "Dad, I would be fine working as an accountant in the village. I don't want to go to the city."
"Xiaosi, you have a lot of clever ideas. Tell me what you think."
"Dad, do we still have 100 kilograms of meat in the cellar? If there is only one quota, then give up. If there are two, you can give one to the village chief, which can share a lot of pressure on our family. It is best to give it to my sister-in-law to enter the factory. My sister-in-law can bring the household registrations of the three little ones into the city, and if my eldest brother follows me into the city, there won’t be much pressure even if there is no food source.”
"That's a good idea. We have less than 100 kilograms of bacon at home. Let's go into the mountains tomorrow and clean up the traps."
This is the mother and sister-in-law coming out of the main room with their children.
"Xiaowen, you are back."
"Yeah, I'm back."
"Let's go eat. We'll be in the cafeteria soon."
"Take the farm tools on my bicycle and send them to the village chief. I bought them for the village from the steel rolling mill."
In the village committee compound, Su's father went to the office to talk to the village chief about something, and the few remaining people served food and started eating.
"Didn't Xiaowen go to the city to work as a worker? Why are you eating in the village canteen again? The food in our canteen is the public property of the village collective. Is it appropriate for you, an outsider, to come over to eat?" The speaker was someone who married into the village four or five years ago. Sister-in-law Guihua, her husband and her eldest brother failed to compete for the village accounting position, and she has always been unhappy with the Su Weiguo family.
"Brother Dachuan, do you think it's appropriate for Sister-in-law Osmanthus to bully me like this? She has scolded me in the village before. If you can't control your wife, I can help you discipline her." There are rules for survival in the village. In front of outsiders, Dachuan will definitely discipline Guihua.
"Wang Guihua, if you're done, go home if you don't want to eat."
Wang Guihua filled a bowl of vegetables, took four steamed buns and walked to a corner to start eating.
Su Dachuan: "Xiao Wu and Xiao Wen, don't mind. Women have long hair and short knowledge. They don't know the risks of going into the mountains. They just see your family eating meat. I will take good care of her when I get home."
"Brother Dachuan doesn't need to take care of my sister-in-law. The main reason is that I'm afraid that you will be taken care of by my sister-in-law."
Ha ha.
