Chapter 15: Learning How to Make Money

Grandpa Liu’s son nodded. “It’s not bad. Not as tasty as pork, though. Pork is fattier.”

In the 1970s, people preferred meat with some fat. For those who often went hungry, fatty meat tasted better.

Xu Qingmo had nothing urgent to do anyway, and she was also curious about what wolf meat tasted like.

She nodded. “Alright. Let me know when you go hunt wolves.”

Grandpa Liu had personally witnessed Xu Qingmo’s abilities. With her around, hunting wolves would be much easier.

Xu Qingmo dragged the wild boar along, leaving a long scrape mark on the dirt road behind her.

Xu Yuanyuan’s backside hurt badly. She wanted to cover it but was afraid touching the wound would hurt even more.

The people in front walked faster and faster on purpose, deliberately leaving her behind. She cursed as she followed. As time passed, the light around them grew dimmer.

Fear crept into Xu Yuanyuan’s heart. She subconsciously quickened her pace, taking larger steps, which pulled at her wound again. All the way along, the wound never closed, and drops of blood trailed behind her.

Xu Qingmo didn’t go straight home. She followed Grandpa Liu’s son to Butcher Li’s place. She had originally planned to trade a pigskin in exchange for Butcher Li’s help slaughtering the pig.

Grandpa Liu’s son stopped her, pulled out six yuan, and placed it on the chopping board.

“Brother Li, please help process it.”

Butcher Li glanced at him, said nothing, and picked up his knife to get to work.

Xu Qingmo didn’t have much money on her. Since Grandpa Liu’s son had paid for her, she didn’t want to owe him. She took the two rabbits out of the basket and offered him one.

He refused, waving his hand. “You worked hard to catch those rabbits. I don’t want one. I’ve got wild boar meat—tonight I’ll be eating until my mouth is dripping with grease.”

“But I don’t have money…” Xu Qingmo still refused to take the rabbit back. “You helped pay to slaughter the pig. The only things I can give in return are the rabbit, or you can take some pork home.”

“No need. You already agreed to hunt wolves with us. This money is a thank-you.”

Hearing talk of hunting wolves, Butcher Li glanced at Xu Qingmo. She was so small—if a wolf bit her, she could easily lose her life.

“Dazhuang, are you really planning to take her to hunt wolves? How can you be so heartless? Isn’t a child’s life a life?” Butcher Li took the chance to scold Liu Dazhuang.

A complete wild boar hide could sell for at least fifteen yuan.

When Butcher Li slaughtered pigs for others, small ones cost four yuan, and large ones ranged from six to ten yuan.

Although the pig Xu Qingmo brought was an adult, it was a female and not as large as a male. Six yuan was a fair price.

Butcher Li had effectively lost about ten yuan this time. He was unhappy with Liu Dazhuang but couldn’t say it outright.

After all, Liu Dazhuang hunted with Grandpa Liu year-round and knew the market well.

Now that he had the chance, he used his words to take a jab at Liu Dazhuang.

Liu Dazhuang didn’t bother explaining. It was enough that the few of them knew the truth.

After saying a few more things and seeing that Liu Dazhuang wouldn’t bite, Butcher Li finally shut up.

Looking at the quality of the pork, Butcher Li began to get an idea.

“Xu Qingmo, do you want to resell the meat to me?” he asked.

Although speculation and profiteering could land someone in detention for “ideological education” in this era, enforcement wasn’t overly strict.

As long as it wasn’t too blatant, one probably wouldn’t get caught.

Xu Qingmo was also worried about having so much meat. She couldn’t finish it herself, and there was still plenty at home. With the weather getting hotter, fresh meat wouldn’t last long.

Hearing what Butcher Li meant, her eyes lit up. “Sure. How much can you pay?”

The current price of meat could reach 1.2 yuan per jin, and in the county town it could sell for 1.5 yuan.

Xu Qingmo didn’t want to go that far. Selling it to Butcher Li here was fine.

“When I go out to buy meat, it’s usually eight mao per jin. Your pork is good quality, so I’ll give you nine mao,” Butcher Li said, not trying to undercut her just because she was young.

Xu Qingmo nodded. “I’ll sell the whole pig to you, but I want the intestines, the trotters, and the tail. Also, weigh out some fatty meat for me.”

Butcher Li smiled and nodded. After weighing everything, the pork came to a total of 220 jin. At that price, it was 198 yuan, plus 15 yuan for the pigskin, making a total of 213 yuan.

However, he only had 63 yuan on him at the moment.

Butcher Li explained the situation.

“Once I finish selling the meat, I’ll go home and bring you the remaining 150 yuan. If you run into such good wild boars again in the future, you can sell them to me too,” he said cheerfully.

He had a relative who worked at a food factory. That relative had previously asked him to keep an eye out for good pork, saying he could contact him anytime.

And now, the opportunity had arrived.

With a simple resale, he could make dozens of yuan in profit.

Although pork of this quality could sell for 1.5 yuan per jin in the county town, Butcher Li couldn’t match county prices if he wanted a long-term business. He planned to sell to his relative for 1.3 yuan per jin.

To him, Xu Qingmo was practically a little lucky star.

Liu Dazhuang escorted Xu Qingmo home and only turned back after watching her step inside the house.

Grandma Liu and Grandma Wang were already there—more precisely, they were in the middle of shouting at Wang Xiuzhi.

Wang Xiuzhi grabbed a broom to chase them away. Grandma Liu seized the broom and snatched it from her hands, while Grandma Wang immediately stepped in and shoved Wang Xiuzhi aside.

Xu Qingmo arrived just in time, and only then did the three stop.

But they still glared at each other with mutual hostility.

Wang Xiuzhi looked behind Xu Qingmo. There was no wild boar—and no Xu Yuanyuan either.

She assumed that Xu Yuanyuan had already been gored to death by a wild boar, and that the boar responsible had escaped.

“You wretched girl! You led your aunt to the back mountain to get killed by a wild boar, and you come back just fine. Doesn’t your conscience hurt?” Wang Xiuzhi cursed at Xu Qingmo.

Xu Qingmo glanced into the main hall. Xu Yuanlong’s body was still there.

She frowned and asked, “Why hasn’t his body been dealt with yet?”

“Damn you! That’s your own father. How can you talk like that?”

“If I don’t talk like this, should I go kneel and kowtow to him instead?”

“You’re his daughter. It’s only right for you to kowtow a few times.”

Xu Qingmo glared at Wang Xiuzhi. “If anyone’s going to kneel, you do it. I don’t want to see him here tomorrow.”

Xu Qingmo handed the basket to Grandma Liu and told her to handle it.

Grandma Wang and Grandma Liu didn’t say much. They took the basket and went into the kitchen.

Wang Xiuzhi immediately became unhappy and chased after them, trying to drive them out of the kitchen.

“You use oil like it’s free when you cook! I still have oil that could last for months. You’ll use it all up in just a few days! You’ve lived so long and still don’t know how to manage a household. No wonder you used to get beaten by your men!” Wang Xiuzhi cursed as she tried to stop them.

Xu Qingmo blocked the kitchen doorway and didn’t let her get close.

Wang Xiuzhi was still somewhat afraid of her. She didn’t dare step forward, but instead went to the corner of the yard and continued cursing at Xu Qingmo.

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll scald your mouth shut,” Xu Qingmo warned coldly, having had enough.

Wang Xiuzhi glared at her resentfully and unwillingly closed her mouth.

Before long, the rich aroma of sizzling fat drifted out from the kitchen, stirring the hunger of passersby.

Everyone’s eyes were filled with envy.

Xu Yuanyuan finally made it back to the front of the house. She was exhausted, hungry, and her backside still hurt. But the moment she smelled the meat, all her irritation vanished.