My Courtyard Shelter

Chapter 15: The Final Trip to the Countryside

It was late January, just after the Little New Year. After breakfast, Xu Dong first drove the two Ke Ke sisters to the entrance of their dance class. School had been out for winter break since mid-January. As soon as she got out of the car, Ke Ke eagerly asked, “Dad, how long will you be gone this time?” “Daddy’s going to buy you some Lunar New Year gifts. I’ll definitely be back before the holiday,” Xu Dong said with a smile, reassuring her. Le Le raised her hand and said, “Daddy, I want a Princess Elsa doll.” “Me too!” “Okay, I’ll buy them for both of you,” Xu Dong said, adjusting the collars of the sisters’ coats. “But you two have to listen to Mom while you’re home, and help Grandma take care of your little brothers. Can you do that?” “We can!” the two sisters said in unison. “You’re such good girls.” Xu Dong gave each of them a kiss, and only then did the sisters reluctantly follow their tutor away. Back home, Yang Lina handed Xu Dong the suitcase she’d packed earlier and reminded him, “Drive carefully on the way, and come back early.” “Got it. This time we’ll just drive around the suburbs, buy some New Year’s supplies, and won’t go all the way to Jizhou.” Xu’s mother came over and instructed, “Try to buy as many free-range chickens and ducks as you can—and some free-range geese, too. Don’t send any to your dad’s place; he doesn’t make as much money as I do.” Xu Dong was, of course, only too happy to oblige and immediately agreed. Knowing the route well, Xu Dong drove west along Fushil Road. After passing Wangping Town, it took another half-hour drive to reach the first destination of his trip: Liujia Village. Liu Jia Village was nestled in a mountain hollow, surrounded by hills on all sides; it was the poorest place in Yanjing. This wasn’t Xu Dong’s first time here; as soon as the villagers saw him, they knew that “Little Xu,” the guy with deep pockets, was back. “Xiao Xu, are you here to buy free-range chickens again?” Standing by the car, several middle-aged women in their fifties and sixties greeted him with great enthusiasm. “That’s right. The Lunar New Year is almost here, so I’m making one last round of purchases.” Xu Dong smiled as he handed each woman a cigarette—whether they smoked or not didn’t matter; he couldn’t possibly show favoritism. A woman who looked particularly shrewd suddenly spoke up: “Listen, Xiao Xu, today is already the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. What’s your price?” “Usually it’s 41 jin, but now it’s 61 jin. Let me reiterate: I want free-range native chickens—don’t try to pull a fast one on me with those feed-raised ones.” People in the countryside have gotten smarter these days. They specifically buy large, feed-raised chickens from the market, keep them at home for a month or two, and then sell them at the price of free-range chickens. Xu Dong had already taken quite a few silent losses in the past. “Don’t worry, Xiao Xu. We’re not just doing business with you once—why would we cheat you?” Xu Dong smiled and softened his tone: “I know that. Everyone in Lao Liu Village is honest, which is why I come here so often to buy chickens.” “That’s right,” everyone nodded in agreement. “By the way, this time, besides chickens, ducks, and geese, I’m also buying wild rabbits, pork, and the like.” Xu Dong paused for a moment, then continued, “Is anyone planning to slaughter a pig in the next couple of days? I’ll take all the pork.” “Yes, my family’s slaughtering a pig tomorrow. We’ll sell all the meat to you then.” “That’s great. I’ll pay thirty-one jin per pig.” These days, pigs in rural areas are mostly raised on a mix of grains and commercial feed. Combined with this year’s widespread drop in pork prices, the price naturally can’t compare to that of free-range chickens. “That’s a lot! Well, then my family will slaughter some tomorrow, too.” Someone was immediately tempted. “Too bad we don’t raise pigs.” Xu Dong clapped his hands to quiet everyone down and casually explained, “I’m planning to buy 2,000 jin of pork this time. If you want to sell some, make arrangements to slaughter your pigs right away—I’ll be leaving after tomorrow.” Upon hearing this, several middle-aged women hurried home to find someone to slaughter their pigs or spread the word to relatives and neighbors. That evening, Xu Dong stayed the night at a local family’s home, paying 500 yuan for room and board. The next day, he collected a total of over fifty chickens, twelve ducks, and six whole cuts of pork, along with some pig’s feet and offal. Now that economic conditions in the countryside have improved—especially with children returning home for the Lunar New Year—few people sell their own chickens and ducks, and even when they slaughter a pig, they set aside enough for the holiday feast. After leaving Liujia Village, Xu Dong continued on to the neighboring village of Baodiwa, where the mountain roads were even more difficult to navigate—truly a winding mountain path with eighteen bends. The next day in Baodiwa Village, Xu Dong once again received over twenty chickens, seven ducks, two geese, three cuts of pork, and five rabbits. The rabbits were raised by the farmers themselves, so they weren’t very expensive. Next, Xu Dong visited the last village, Shangshuiyu Village, which he passed through on his way back. The prices and process were the same, but since Shangshuiyu Village was larger, Xu Dong received a somewhat larger shipment this time. All told, there were roughly over a hundred chickens, thirty ducks, eight geese, twenty rabbits, nine cuts of pork, and eighty jin of donkey meat. With that, the small truck—which had a load capacity of just over one metric ton—was finally full. In less than three hours, as lunchtime approached, Xu Dong drove the truck all the way into his own courtyard. The two sisters, Ke Ke and her sister, were playing in the yard. When they saw the truck pull in, they knew their dad was back. “Daddy, Daddy, why did you take so long to come back? It’s the New Year tomorrow,” Le Le pouted as she scolded him. Xu Dong picked up his younger daughter and gave her a kiss. “It’s Dad’s fault. I lost track of time.” “Daddy, did you buy Princess Elsa?” Ke Ke’s eyes were filled with anticipation. Xu Dong set Le Le down and pretended to have forgotten, even tapping his head lightly with his fist. Seeing how anxious his two daughters were, Xu Dong finally gave in to his mischievous streak and quickly pulled two enormous gift boxes from the passenger seat of his pickup truck, handing one to each of them. “Thank you, Daddy.” The sisters dashed toward the living room, eager to find scissors to tear open the wrapping paper. Just then, Xu’s mother walked over to the back of the truck and asked Xu Dong directly, “How much did you collect?” “I don’t remember the exact amount, but the truck is packed to the brim.” After saying this, Xu Dong opened the tailgate, and a blast of cold air hit him in the face. Piles of pork were stacked neatly, with processed chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits piled all around. Near the door lay a large chunk of meat whose type was hard to identify. Mrs. Xu was almost speechless. Usually, when Xu Dong came back, he’d bring at most half a truckload of goods—and half of that was farm-fresh eggs. How had he managed to pack an entire truck with meat this time? “How can there be so much? It’s the New Year tomorrow—will you be able to sell it all?” Xu’s mom asked worriedly. “Sell what? This is pork from a private slaughter—it doesn’t have a quarantine stamp, so it can’t be sold in convenience stores,” Xu Dong explained. “Then you’re an idiot! Why did you buy so much?” Mrs. Xu snapped. Xu Dong rubbed his nose and gave a sheepish grin. “Didn’t you say to buy a little extra?” Just pass the buck—that’s the way to go! Mrs. Xu was momentarily speechless, unable to come up with a rebuttal. After a long pause, she finally said: “Even if we’re making jerky, how am I supposed to handle a whole cartload of meat all by myself?” Xu Dong quickly patted his chest. “Mom, Nana and I will help you make it.” “We’ll never get it all done!” Xu’s mom said worriedly. “Don’t worry. We have a power saw at home. We’ll just cut it up with that—it should go pretty fast.” Mrs. Xu thought about it for a moment but still felt it sounded a bit far-fetched. She considered whether she should try to sell some to her dance buddies. By “dance friends,” she actually meant a group of people from a nearby neighborhood who danced in the square—a group Xu’s mom had only joined last month. Xu Dong naturally noticed his mom’s hesitation, so he coaxed her, “Mom, look at all this meat. If we turn it all into jerky, just think how much money we’d make!” A smile tugged at Mrs. Xu’s lips—she was clearly tempted.