The Red Era: Starting from a Truck Driver

Chapter 116: Loading at Early Morning
Jiang Cheng went to the toilet after dinner. It was a luxury to go there right after eating such delicious braised pork. If it were someone else, they would have to hold it in for a while, preferably until they were exhausted.

When Jiang Cheng was about to go back to the car to practice playing the harmonica, he saw two logistics clerks from the farm waiting for him beside his car.

What Jiang Cheng discussed with Director Hou was one thing, and the reclamation farm's gratitude for the driver's care was another.

A bag of watermelons, two hens and a fat chicken weighing about two pounds were delivered. Watermelons are now on the market and are also sold at the farmers' market. You don't need a ticket to buy them. The price is about two cents per pound, and a large watermelon costs more than one dime.

But it may be due to the variety of watermelons or the lack of fertilizer. The sizes of watermelons in the same batch vary greatly, and the ripeness of the watermelons on the same vine also varies greatly.

The bag of melons that Jiang Cheng received was of various sizes, weighing at least 50 kilograms, but they cost only one dollar in the market. They were even cheaper at the farm.

Jiang Cheng thanked the clerk who delivered the thing to him. He would not put the thing in the space until he left the reclamation farm.

After dark, Jiang Cheng played the harmonica for a while and went to bed early.

~~
"Master Jiang, Master Jiang, get up."

"Director Hou, I'll get up right away."

When Jiang Cheng was sleeping soundly, there were knocks on the car door several times, and then he heard Director Hou's voice.

I looked at the time on my watch and it was not even three in the morning.

It's summer now, but it's so cold that I don't want to move.

Knowing that he had to load the goods before daybreak, Jiang Cheng slept without taking off his outer trousers. When he was woken up, he got out of the car and started it.

Director Hou was not the only one who came. He was accompanied by two people. After starting the car, they led us to a place in a breeding farm.

It was a bit like a small warehouse. After the car stopped at the door and entered, there were quite a few people inside, all waiting for Director Hou to bring people over.

When we entered, there was a slightly unpleasant smell. The four pigs had been tied up long ago, and there was pig manure around them. Two people were processing sheep at this time. Sheep were sold by the piece, and there was no need to weigh them. They could be slaughtered in advance.

Director Hou called Jiang Cheng over to weigh the meat in front of him before he could start slaughtering it.

The four pigs were weighed right in front of Jiang Cheng, and they weighed about 700 kilograms in total. The average pig weighed less than 180 kilograms, and when Jiang Cheng was eating yesterday, he thought the four pigs would weigh about 1,000 kilograms.

Jiang Cheng thought a pig would weigh at least 200 to 300 kilograms, but now a pig weighs less than 180 kilograms. Even with such a physique, Director Hou still said it was a fat pig.

The pig and the sheep only cost 660 yuan in total, and Jiang Cheng thought it was a mystery to make such a small amount of money. But then he thought, about half of it, more than 300 yuan, is enough for a worker's annual income.

Don’t think it’s a small amount. There are many projects that people can make money from, and this is just one of them.

Just like some people who make money in coal mines, they have connections all over the place, and it is normal for them to transport 1,200 kilograms of coal and load it into a container.

Walking in the society, you will always face such things. Many people blame such a group of people behind their backs, saying that society is unfair. When there is an opportunity for these indignant people to join, how many people can resist the temptation? After weighing, they will start slaughtering directly, and a large wooden plate will be used to hold the pig blood. Pig blood is also a good thing. It should be processed immediately after it flows out, and some salt and water should be added to prevent it from coagulating so quickly.

A pig doesn't actually have much blood to drain, only about 5% of its body weight. Four pigs together would make a large basin, weighing about 30 kilograms.

Jiang Cheng was also cleaning the internal organs, leaving the heart, liver, lungs and stomach. He asked Jiang Cheng if he wanted some pig intestines, saying that only someone who knows how to cook them can make them delicious. If they are not cleaned properly, and they are not fried with oil, or braised with seasonings, then they really can't be eaten.

Jiang Cheng wanted it anyway. If pig blood wasn't "difficult to carry", he would have wanted all the processed pig blood. As for the pig blood, he only wanted a portion. He took some of it from his own basin in the car, which was already solidified.

While others were busy, Jiang Cheng also gave the money to Director Hou privately.

"Director Hou, do you have any grain or rice for sale?" Jiang Cheng asked. When he visited here yesterday afternoon, he saw many harvested farmlands with piles of rice stalks on the ground.

"No, we can't mess with the grain. It's all recorded by the recorders. The yield per mu and the number of acres of land must be reported." Director Hou replied while counting the money given by Jiang Cheng.

The grain inspection is too strict, which does not mean there is no room for manipulation. It is just that the grain that is manipulated has been divided among the people in the farm. After each grain harvest, there will definitely be some extra. But if it is treated as a welfare, each person will be given a few dozen kilograms and it will be gone.

Moreover, this method of division is blatant. The reclamation farm is not a commune, but a complex. The excess can be divided like some units distributing welfare, which is not considered illegal.

Hearing what Director Hou said, Jiang Cheng knew that it was not easy to solve his rice problem. However, his sporadic exchange was enough for his family to eat.

I chatted with Director Hou for a while, and it wasn't without results. I could get chickens, ducks, and geese here. But I had to arrange it in advance, which was impossible today.

He didn't get the chickens, ducks, and geese, but Jiang Cheng said he had two at home, and his wife went to the market every day to pick up rotten leaves. Director Hou immediately asked someone to get Jiang Cheng a sack of rice bran without saying a word.

It was a little after five and it was daybreak. All the things had been processed and loaded onto the truck.

Jiang Cheng also kept the hand-drawn map that Director Hou gave him yesterday. Regardless of whether he could avoid the inspection, just based on the detailed route drawn on it, Jiang Cheng would not need to ask for directions at least until he reached Shitang Village.

The car started, and Director Hou got into Jiang Cheng's car with the list. There was a 24-hour guard at the entrance and exit. Cars like Jiang Cheng's were checked in and out, but the inspectors were not too rigid. Others who took meat, chicken, and watermelon away must be explained clearly.

But the driver will not say anything if he sees something like this when he takes it away. Anyone who checks this is a fool.

If a few pigs and sheep pass through, that is definitely not acceptable. But Director Hou has a list, and the inspectors have a list, and they will let them go after checking everything. They will not check so thoroughly, even if they know something.

Jiang Cheng left the reclamation farm and headed straight for Changcheng. He would only stop in the small county town at mealtime.

It is really convenient to follow the map given by Director Hou. The roads may not necessarily be the most beautiful, but the markings are really clear.

However, the end of the village is Shitang Village, and it is possible that the car transportation can only avoid two vehicle inspection points. If the goods are taken there, they should be transferred through other channels. In this weather, even if the pork is preserved as much as possible, it will not last long.

If there is a single black market near a commune or in a county town, it would be unlikely to consume so much meat.

(End of this chapter)