「The next day.」
The sky was still dark when Zhao Tiezhu and the other two n arrived at Leng Yuan’s courtyard.
Chen JianShe started boiling water.
Xu Chongshan and Zhao Tiezhu butchered the pig.
Since the pig was already dead, the task was much simpler. They just needed to cut it into several large pieces.
Even though Xu Chongshan had already been paid, he didn’t slack off one bit.
Leng Yuan gave each of them a large cut of at. He had promised ten pounds, but each of them ended up with around fifteen.
Even Xu Chongshan received a small piece.
Xu Chongshan refused.
"No, I can’t. You’ve already paid . Besides, I have too many people in my family; it would be hard to explain."
This was precisely why Xu Chongshan had refused. With so many people around, gossip traveled fast, and it would be bad if any unfavorable rumors started to spread.
He hadn’t wanted to take the money in the first place, but Leng Yuan had insisted.
Leng Yuan found an excuse for him.
"Take the pork and trade it for so eggs with soone else."
People could tell it was wild boar with one taste, but it was still at, and others would be scrambling to get it. If he traded it for eggs, he could make up any excuse for them.
Xu Chongshan’s eyes lit up.
He really should have refused, but Yu Fangfang’s health was poor, and he wanted to get his wife sothing nourishing. He accepted the at, his face flushing.
"Leng Yuan, I’ll take the at. If you need anything in the future, just call on ."
"And before... my wife got through her ordeal safely all thanks to your wife. I never even got to thank her properly."
They hadn’t done anything yesterday, so logically, they shouldn’t have received any at. The fact that Leng Yuan gave them so showed his kindness and willingness to share.
Leng Yuan patted Xu Chongshan on the shoulder.
"It was just a coincidence. Don’t worry about it."
By the ti Gu Jiaojiao woke up, everyone else had left, leaving only Leng Yuan and a pile of butchered pork in the courtyard.
The cuts of pork were of various sizes, but they were piled neatly on the table. It was an impressive sight—a huge stack that looked to be about one hundred and seventy or eighty pounds.
Gu Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up.
’We won’t be short on at for a while.’
Leng Yuan gave Gu Jiaojiao a complicated look and suddenly spoke.
"I want to take so of this at to sell and bring so to the school cafeteria to help supplent the children’s als. Is it okay if we keep the rest at ho to eat?"
Gu Jiaojiao nodded calmly.
The boar had weighed over two hundred pounds; it was a big, fat adult.
Aside from the offal and the thirty-odd pounds he had given away, there were still a hundred and eighty pounds left. This included ribs and large bones. Without the bones, there was probably about a hundred and thirty pounds of pure at.
If Leng Yuan took a hundred pounds, Gu Jiaojiao would be left with thirty pounds of pork, twenty pounds of thigh bones, and a whole set of offal.
The pork would be easy enough to handle, but they wouldn’t be able to eat all the large bones. In the end, Gu Jiaojiao sorted through them and picked out a dozen or so pounds of large bones to give to Leng Yuan.
"Take these to the cafeteria too. You can make a bone broth for the children."
School conditions were harsh back then. The children never had enough to eat, so getting to drink so at broth was already a wonderful treat.
Leng Yuan’s eyes filled with emotion.
He had thought Gu Jiaojiao wouldn’t agree, since it ant losing a lot of pork for nothing.
But he hadn’t expected his little woman to not only be far from stingy, but also to give him an extra dozen-plus pounds of bones. He pulled her into his arms.
"Thank you."
This ti, it was Gu Jiaojiao’s turn to laugh.
"You’re the one who butchered the pig, and you’re the one who’s portioning it out. I haven’t done a thing, and I’m getting all this pork for free. I couldn’t be happier."
Because he was carrying the pork, Leng Yuan left with a shoulder pole.
He had no classes that morning and planned to sell the pork first.
He didn’t go to the black market, where the prices were low. He knew a place where he could get a better price.
Leng Yuan found his way with ease to a courtyard and knocked on the door.
A man with a head of hair like a bird’s nest answered the door. "Who is it? You’re disturbing Third Master’s sleep."
The man grumbled as he opened the door.
When he saw Leng Yuan standing outside, he jumped in surprise. "Brother Leng! What are you doing here?"
He quickly stepped aside to let Leng Yuan in.
Leng Yuan entered with the shoulder pole, and the boy, Ji Mao Tou, was still a bit surprised.
Leng Yuan got straight to the point.
"I’ve got wild boar at here. I can give you eighty pounds. See how much you can take."
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