Chapter 99 - 99

Chapter 99 Dividing the MeatIt's cold outside and heating the kang (a traditional heated bed) takes up a lot of firewood. Some time ago, Yun Ting went up the mountain to collect a lot of firewood, but it still wasn't enough.That day, after school, she carried a basket on her back and went up the mountain again.Besides gathering firewood, she mainly wanted to see if she could find any wild cattle or sheep, as they had almost all been eaten.As usual, I used Supernatural Ability to sense things and put everything I wanted into the space.Supernatural Ability is like an invisible net, spreading out along the veins of the plants. She "saw" a warm, bubbling aura rising and falling gently under the hazelnut bushes thirty paces away. It was a wild rabbit curled up and dozing, its fur as thick as snow. She took it without hesitation.Further on, in the shade of a few aspen trees,Supernatural Ability caught even deeper breathing sounds, accompanied by the soft pawing of hooves—two half-grown wild sheep, their heads bowed, nibbling at the tender roots of shrubs half-buried in snow."Wow...it's exactly what I wanted, my mutton soup..."Before the two half-grown sheep could react, their environment had changed, and Yun Tinghad taken them into his spatial dimension.Supernatural Ability continues its exploration deeper into the forest.Soon, in a sheltered mountain hollow, they sensed an even larger presence: two robust auras were moving slowly, carrying the heavy breathing characteristic of bison, their hooves thumping on the frozen ground, causing the ground to tremble slightly.Yun Ting's eyes lit up; she had beef too!Receive, receive, receive…What made her heart skip a beat was that not far away, there was a light and swift aura leaping about, and the shape of the antlers became clear in her Supernatural Abilityperception—it was an adult red deer, which was alertly pricking up its ears and nibbling on the dry moss hanging on the branch.Wow! What a deer, every part of it is valuable!Yun Ting's eyes lit up, and she rubbed her hands, which were red from the cold."What a wonderful day!"They collected quite a few more wild rabbits andtwo nests of wild rabbit eggs. The wind was still cold, but Yun Ting's forehead was beaded with sweat. She glanced back at her heavy haul and couldn't help but smile—Wood Element Ability surged gently within her, as if celebrating her harvest. Yun Ting carried a basket on her back and two bundles of firewood in her hands, walking briskly down the mountain.I hadn't had hand-pulled noodles in a long time, and suddenly I was craving them. I went back to the courtyard, tidied up the things in my basket, and started kneading the dough.She put two wild chicken eggs in the noodles, and also made a separate dish of wild chickenstewed with hazel mushrooms. She finished it all by herself, not even leaving a drop of broth, and then mixed it all into the noodles, letting out a satisfied burp…"These days are so comfortable!" Yun Tingsighed.The next day, the team was very lively early in the morning because it was the day to hand over the pigs. The Brigade Leader arranged for some young men to deliver six pigs to the government, and the remaining seven were taken to the food station to exchange for money. These dozen or so pigs were shiny and glistening with oil, and they were grunting and snorting.The villagers, adults and children alike, all gathered around to watch the spectacle.They only reluctantly dispersed when they had walked far away and were no longer in sight.The Brigade Leader and Accountant, along with several young men, tightly bound seven sleek, fat pigs and huffed and puffed as they shuffled them toward the Commune food station.There were quite a few onlookers on the street, all marveling at how well the pigs were raised by which brigade they belonged to. They were incredibly envious.Upon arriving at the food station, each pig was weighed, and the scale needle steadily pointed to 210-220 jin (approximately 160-100 kg). The purchasing agent at the station clicked his tongue as he wrote in the ledger: "Great! This Xiangyang Brigade pig is well-raised, with thick fat and firm meat; it deserves to be classified as a top-grade pig!"The Brigade Leader couldn't stop smiling.At this time, the purchase price of live pigs was fixed. Top-grade pigs could get 85 cents per pound of live weight. Seven pigs would weigh a total of 1,480 pounds, which would amount to 1,258 yuan. After deducting the slaughter tax of one yuan per pig, the net profit was 1,251 yuan—a huge sum of money at the time. The banknotes were heavy in the hands of the brigade accountant, enough to bend his trouser pocket."According to the reward policy, each pound of premium pork is worth seven inches of cloth coupons. Seven pigs would give you a total of 1,036 inches," the man at the food purchasing station said excitedly, as if he were also entitled to a share.Accountant quickly calculated with his abacus, then grinned, "This is no small amount; it's over eighty-six feet!"When the news reached the brigade, the whole village was in an uproar, even more lively than during the Spring Festival.When the Brigade Leader rang the bell to signal everyone to gather on the Threshing floor, everyone rushed there as quickly as possible; it was the first time so many people had arrived so quickly.The women had already calculated that the 86 feet of cloth ration coupons would be enough to buy a new cotton-padded jacket for every child in the team who was about half-grown, and the rest could be used to buy a thick corduroy jacket for the elderly. One of the talkative wives had already shouted, "Once the cloth ration coupons are distributed, I'll cut a red jacket for Sanya tonight. She'll definitely stand out for the New Year!""Haha... This year, all the children are wearing new clothes for the Chinese New Year.""Everyone, please be quiet. I believe you've all heard the news. The pigs our brigade raised this year are top-grade, and we've earned a lot of money and cloth coupons. To be fair, we'll distribute the cloth coupons according to each household's basic quota, ensuring everyone can get some cloth for clothing. The rest will be distributed according to work points; the more work points a household has, the more they'll receive. Next year, we'll continue to raise good pigs, and you should all work hard to earn more work points and get more cloth coupons so your families can have new clothes for the New Year. Is that alright?""Okay..." everyone shouted in unison.Yun Ting thought to herself, " The Brigade Leader is really good at making grand promises!"On the day the coupons were distributed, in the brigade office, the accountant stacked the cloth coupons, cut into one-foot sections, on the table. Red ones, blue ones, and ones printed with the words "Local Supply and Marketing Cooperative" were neatly stacked in small stacks.In the end, Yun Ting received five feet of cloth coupons. This was because the Brigade Leaderremembered that she had contributed to raising pigs in the early stages, so they gave her an extra foot. They also said that when the meat was distributed, the pig farmers would also receive an extra two pounds of meat.Although Yun Ting didn't lack it, it was something she had worked hard for, so she was naturally happy to accept it.Two pigs were kept from the slaughter and meat distribution in the brigade. They were raised by Li the hunter and weighed about 200 jin (100 kg). In those days, that was considered well-raised.On the day the pig was slaughtered and the meat distributed, the school was given a holiday.Yun Ting was speechless. Wasn't this too casual? Giving a holiday for the autumn harvest was one thing, but giving a holiday for distributing the meat was another? Were they worried that the teachers wouldn't be able to come and distribute the meat?However, she was very happy to have a holiday.Yun Ting drew a lot and got to be at the front, but instead of the fatty meat, she asked for a piece of pork belly, about two pounds, and then, to everyone's puzzled looks, she took some lean meat and ribs."Little Teacher Yun, why are you so silly? That big piece of fat meat is so nice! Why don't you want it?"" Auntie, I just like to eat lean food.""Oh my... This is the first time I've heard of someone who doesn't like fatty meat."Yun Ting smiled and didn't continue. She glanced at the pig intestines, her eyes flashing. She could make braised pig intestines or stir-fried pig intestines with sauerkraut!People complain that it doesn't taste good because they don't know how to cook it properly. They don't know how to clean the large intestine properly, so it will have a fishy smell and taste terrible. She has watched videos of how to make braised large intestine, and she remembers all the steps and ingredients."Uncle, can you sell me this pig intestine?" Yun Ting asked, and everyone looked at her as if she were a fool.Even the Brigade Leader couldn't help but speak up, "Little Teacher Yun, this pig intestine has a strong, unpleasant smell. Are you sure you want it?""Yes, I can make it. Oh, and give me the pig's stomach too!""Okay, then I'll give you both pig intestines and two pig stomachs, one yuan will do."Yun Ting didn't care what others said about her behind her back; she happily carried the meat and pig intestines home.