Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 173 Speculation and Profiteering? You should speculate too!
Upon hearing the gunshot, the mother wild boar and her piglets abandoned their water and turned to run away.

"Bang, bang, bang," came the rapid and brief gunshots.

The male wild boar fell to the ground unwillingly, along with two female wild boars and two piglets.

One of the baby wild boars ran too fast, and the remaining two sows were clearly pregnant, so He Yuzhu didn't shoot them.

He Yuzhu took out a bloodletting knife from the set of knives He Daqing had given him, found a large basin, and began to bleed all the pigs.

After draining the blood and putting away the basin and the pig, He Yuzhu planned to head back.

"Ouch."

"Ouch."

He Yuzhu hadn't gone far when he heard wolves howling and wild boars screaming. It seemed that the mother wild boar and her piglets had been targeted by wolves, and the presence of a male wild boar had deterred the wolves from attacking.

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "Am I just creating a hunting opportunity for you? Is that even possible?"

After switching to a fully loaded M1, He Yuzhu ran towards the direction of the wolf howls. After running about fifty or sixty meters, He Yuzhu saw six wolves attacking two wild boars, one large and one small, on a small, gentle slope ahead. One of the sows had its leg bitten off and was lying on its stomach, protecting its baby boar beneath it.

The other one seemed to be trying to escape, but after several attempts, it failed to break free of the wolf pack.

He Yuzhu acted decisively, firing out an entire magazine in a series of "bangs." All the wolves fell to the ground, along with the wild boar whose leg had been bitten off.

He Yuzhu didn't let the remaining two wild boars go this time either. He switched guns and took them down. He wasn't a real hunter; he was just trying to learn, but he hadn't even mastered it yet. There was no need to make the same mistake again.

After packing up, He Yuzhu carried his gun back the way he came. This time, he really didn't have any big guns left.

He Yuzhu did manage to catch a few pheasants and rabbits, but he didn't care much, since these things were mostly just for show anyway.

Pheasants and wild boars are never as tasty as domesticated ones.

Once he reached the foot of the mountain, He Yuzhu released his bicycle and rode towards the city. Along the way, people laughed at him for making a wasted trip.

Once outside the city, He Yuzhu found a secluded spot, put a sow on the back seat, and hung pheasants and rabbits on the handlebars before riding into the city.

On the road, someone shouted, "Young man, wait, wait! Are you selling your wild boar? I'm a purchasing agent from ** factory."

He Yuzhu only replied, "I'm not selling. My family is too big."

"What about the pheasants and rabbits?"

"None of them are for sale."

He continued pedaling, while others chased after him on bicycles, trying to get He Yuzhu to give them some space. They were quickly overtaken by He Yuzhu.

Once inside the city, he attracted the most attention, not to himself, but to his prey.

Some people would approach him and ask if he was selling his prey, but He Yuzhu would simply ignore them.

When he arrived at Nanluoguxiang, someone recognized him and shouted, "Zhu Zi, is that a wild boar? Did you hunt it?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Hey, hey, don't go! The old lady hasn't finished talking yet."

"I haven't even had lunch yet, I'm in a hurry to get home!"

"You silly child, you're still too short to say a few words."

Of course, He Yuzhu was already more than ten meters away when she said this.

When they got to the compound, things got even more chaotic. The boys who were playing at the gate started yelling and running into the compound.

"Brother Zhu from the Intermediate People's Court brought back a pig."

"You only see pigs, but there are also chickens and rabbits."

Then He Yuzhu was blocked in the front yard.

"Zhu Zi, is that a wild boar? Where did you hunt it?"

"You can also go to Miyun to get vaccinated."

Is this a boar or a sow?

"sow."

"Zhu Zi, could you spare some of your pork for us?"

"When your family eats meat, why don't you ever share some with them?"

"How can that be the same? You're a pig."

"Then you go and hunt one back too, I promise it won't be uneven."

"."

"If I were you, I wouldn't open my mouth like that. Where's your face? Do you think I know you? Make way, make way, I want to go home." Annoyed by the questions, He Yuzhu couldn't free his hands, so he shouted twice.

"Who are these people? They even live in the same hospital!"

"Yes."

"Didn't the neighborhood committee promote the idea that neighbors should help each other? What's wrong with sharing some meat with you? It's not like we're taking it for free."

"Let's see who learns that mutual help means taking someone else's flesh?"

Chen Lanxiang's voice came from behind the crowd. The crowd fell silent for a moment. They were really afraid that Chen Lanxiang would drag them to study, which would be worse than starving them for a day.

Then He Daqing and Xu Damao helped He Yuzhu clear a path. Xiao Man, who looked delighted, He Yushui, who looked expectant, and a group of little ones were still standing at the gate of the middle courtyard. He Yuzhu pushed the cart and left.

"Brother Zhu, can you take me with you next time?" Xu Damao whispered as they entered the courtyard.

"You think hunting is so easy?" He Yuzhu said irritably.

"I'll follow you, I'll be a laborer, okay?"

"I rode for more than four hours round trip, can you do that?"

“Why not? I ride that far with my dad when we go to the countryside. I’ve even covered the distance for the projectionists at our factory when they take leave.”

"Tell me next time."

"That's settled."

When a soft, sweet voice called out "Brother Zhu," Xu Damao shuddered.

"You'll do it next time, next time too. This isn't my first time hunting, I just need to get familiar with it first," He Yuzhu said with a laugh.

"You'll do it again? Are you hurt anywhere else?" He Yuzhu felt a burning pain in one ear.

"Mother, Mother, be gentle, be gentle, it hurts."

"Do you still know it hurts?"

"With so many people watching over the child's mother, aren't you going to give your son any face?"

"Hmph, I'll deal with you when we get home." Chen Lanxiang let go of her hand.

"Brother, can we have meat tonight?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Eat meat, eat meat!" the younger children shouted together.

"Eat, eat, as much as you want," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Great!!!"

"You're just spoiling them. I'll see what they eat when you're not home."

"Let them eat whatever they want, you can't let them go hungry, can you?"

"Hmph!" Chen Lanxiang couldn't refute this point, since the children in her family had never gone hungry.

He Yuzhu parked the car, and Xu Damao and another person carried the wild boar down. He Daqing had already taken out a large basin and was preparing to remove the hair.

Some people ask why wild boar hair is hard to scrape. In those days, would you be allowed to waste even a little bit? Pigskin was also rich in oil.

Before Chen Lanxiang could even begin, Wang Cuiping had already picked up the pheasant and rabbit, and was skillfully hanging them up, skinning and plucking them.

The family got busy. After the wild boar bristles were scraped off and the pieces were cut up, He Yuzhu cut off half of it, put it in a burlap sack, and placed it on the car.

The younger children watched longingly, but no one dared to ask.

They didn't dare to ask, but someone still did.

"Zhu Zi, where are you going?" Chen Lanxiang asked.

"Mom, I'm going to Aunt Xia's house."

"There's no need to take so much. It'll go bad if we can't finish it, and his family doesn't know how to make cured meat."

"Mom, this isn't just for their family. There's also some for the neighborhood committee. They'll distribute it to the families of martyrs and soldiers in our area, giving each family a little."

"Fine, you decide what to do." Since He Yuzhu had already said that, Chen Lanxiang could still stop him.

"Father, you handle the rest. I'm going out."

"No problem, go and come back quickly, don't stay at their restaurant for dinner."

"understood."

When He Yuzhu left the gate, several pairs of eyes were watching him from behind, their eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Before arriving at Wang Hongxia's house, He Yuzhu replaced the burlap sacks on the truck with a whole male wild boar, and added a piece of sow meat weighing about 5 kilograms to the handlebars.

Upon arriving at the destination, He Yuzhu knocked on the courtyard gate, and Zhao Zhenhua, the second son of the Zhao family, opened the door.

"Brother Zhu, what brings you here?"

"I'm sending some meat to your house."

"Mom, my brother Zhuzi is here."

Zhao Zhenhua quickly opened the door and let He Yuzhu in.

"Zhu Zi, what brings you here now? Oh dear, why did you bring a pig? This, this must be a wild boar, with such long tusks. Old Zhao, Old Zhao."

"I'm coming."

"Zhu Zi, did you go hunting?"

"Yes, Aunt Xia, I just got back. I made a lot, so I brought some over for you."

“I’ll take this piece of meat hanging on your handlebars, but I wouldn’t dare take this whole pig,” Wang Hongxia said.

"Yes, Zhuzi, you can take it back and send it to the recycling station or the factory, it's fine with you."

"Zhenhua, take this meat inside. I need to talk to your parents."

"Alright, Brother Zhu."

"Alright, go ahead and say it," Old Zhao said as his son entered the room.

"Uncle Zhao, Aunt Xia, this meat isn't for your family. I asked Aunt Xia to deliver it for me."

“Give it away? To whom? You’ve learned how to give gifts now. Wait a minute, if you’re going to give a gift, you should go to Old Zhao. What can I, a mere street office worker, do to help you? You’re not a low-ranking person now.”

"What nonsense are you talking about? Let the child continue."

"Aunt Xia, this isn't a gift. I want to distribute it to the families of martyrs and soldiers in our neighborhood. Those who can work can be given priority, but martyrs and the disabled will be given priority. I don't know much about the situation in our neighborhood, so I'm troubling you."

"Oh, good boy, you've done your aunt a great favor. I didn't have much to give as a New Year's gift, so I gave her some cornmeal. This makes up for it."

Is this one enough?

"That's enough, that's enough. Two or three kilograms per family is fine. There are about thirty households in total, and the rest can be distributed to impoverished households."

"Can your company handle this?" He Yuzhu pointed to the pig that hadn't been shaved yet.

"No problem, the cafeteria can handle it, but you need to deliver it to my workplace now while I go find someone."

“I’ll do it. Zhu has been out all day. Let him go home.”

"Is this feasible? Can you even lift it?" "I don't believe it." Old Zhao tried and really couldn't lift it. It weighed two hundred pounds. He was getting on in years and hadn't done any heavy lifting before.

"Now you know? You always thought you were so capable."

"I'm getting old, sigh, I'm getting old," Old Zhao tried to justify himself.

“You were the same when you were the same age as Zhu Zi. Don’t make excuses. I’m taking your bicycle, Zhu Zi. Let’s go.”

"I'm not eating. You guys eat. I'll just have something to eat in the cafeteria."

"Ok."

As He Yuzhu and Wang Hongxia walked toward the subdistrict office, quite a few people were pointing and whispering among themselves.

On the way, Wang Hongxia also called a few people and then asked them to notify the others.

It's impossible to say she didn't have any selfish motives. The other employees didn't see any extra benefits either. After the work was done, the bones, offal, and scraps were divided among everyone as overtime pay.

When they arrived at the street office, there were no guards around since it was a day off. After opening the door, Wang Hongxia asked He Yu to take the wild boar into the kitchen and weigh it, saying that she would pay for it according to the purchase price.

"Aunt Wang, what are you doing?"

"What for?"

"Our company also has procurement quotas. You've done us a favor, so why would we accept your help for nothing?"

"I'm giving this away, not selling it!"

“I can’t accept it even if you give it to me. You earned your money through your own labor. You’ve only been back at work for a few days, so you probably don’t have much money on hand. Hurry up and get on the scale. I’ll give you a receipt in a bit. Let’s get this straight: I can’t give you a high price. We’ll just go with the market price.”

"This"

"Hurry up, you're making me do it myself? I can't handle it."

"Ok."

Once everyone had arrived, Wang Hongxia began directing the work, while she took He Yuzhu to the office to get a slip of paper stamped.

"It's a day off today, and the cashier isn't here. You can come over during working hours, or you can have your mom bring a note."

He Yuzhu said, "Why don't you take it for me, and I'll come back to you to pick it up another day?"

"No, I wrote the note myself, stamped it myself, and I'm going to go pick it up myself? You're making me make a mistake."

"Okay, I'll come back when I have time."

"It's okay, this note won't be invalidated."

"it is good."

"Aren't you going to stay and have something to eat?"

"My family also cooks meat. Why don't you come back with me and have some before you come back?"

"No need, I want to watch them deliver it door-to-door."

"Okay, I'll be going now, Aunt Xia."

"If you need to call again in the future, you can send it over. I promise you won't suffer any losses."

"No problem." He Yuzhu didn't care about the small amount of meat; it was wild boar meat, and being able to sell it for money was a pleasant surprise.

When He Yuzhu returned to the courtyard, he noticed that there were several people standing at the front door, as if they were waiting for him to come back. When they saw that the sack behind him was gone, their eyes shone even brighter.

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and then realized what was going on, before giving each of them a mocking laugh.

"Pah, you won't be laughing tomorrow, you might even lose your job," Jia Zhangshi muttered.

"You dare to talk back to me? I'll make sure you get all the meat but not our family's," Yan Bugui thought to himself.

"I'll make you an official, and I'll make sure you don't get the job." Liu Haizhong was even more envious of the two cadres in the He family—no, it should be three, including Xiaoman after graduation.

Old He's family had a very lavish dinner: stir-fried pork, stewed chicken, and stewed rabbit. Why make so much? Well, it's easier to store prepared food. Just make it a little salty, put it in the well, and people can take it to work the next day, and the family can continue to eat it.

Xu Damao successfully knocked himself down again, while Wang Cuiping told He Yuzhu to invite her next time, as she hadn't been hunting in the mountains for over ten years, and she even said she knew how to set traps.

Of course, before He Yuzhu could say anything about Xu Damao and Xiaoman's requests, the adults rejected them, telling them to stay put.

Xiaoman looked dejected, and He Yuzhu was helpless; now his word no longer mattered.

The next morning, after everyone had gone to work, the neighborhood office welcomed the first person from No. 95 Courtyard, Jia Zhangshi, who immediately started making a fuss about reporting speculation and profiteering.

This was no small matter. Soon after, Wang Hongxia came out, and Jia Zhangshi chattered on and on until everyone understood that she had come to report He Yuzhu. Wasn't this just making a fool of herself?

Just as Jia Zhangshi finished speaking, Wang Hongxia said something.

"Zhang Ruhua, do you even know what's going on before you report this!"

When the people from the neighborhood committee saw that another person from No. 95 compound, Yan Bugui, had arrived, they all thought to themselves, "Well, another one looking for trouble."

Yan Bugui wanted to leave as soon as he saw Jia Zhangshi, but he was stopped.

"Yan Bugui, you stop right there! What business do you have at the neighborhood committee? And why are you running away now?"

"it's okay no problem!"

Wang Hongxia said directly, "It's nothing, Yan Bugui. If it's nothing, why are you running to the street office instead of going to work?"

"I"

“Speak haltingly.”

“He Yuzhu from our courtyard took a pig yesterday. He took the pork out, but when he came back, it was gone. I suspect he sold it.”

After Yan Bugui finished speaking, Wang Hongxia was furious.

It really is true. Who are these people in the front yard? There must be something going on behind the scenes. He was just about to give them a scolding.

Someone tugged at him: "Director, look at the door, another one is coming."

Wang Hongxia looked towards the door and almost burst out laughing in exasperation; almost everyone had arrived by now.

The person who arrived was none other than Fatty Liu, Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong wasn't as quick-witted as Yan Bugui; he asked, "Old Yan, Jia Zhangshi, what are you doing here?"

Madam Jia completely ignored her. She knew that things were bound to get complicated today, and it wouldn't hurt to have one more person involved.

Yan Bugui kept blinking at him, and Liu Haizhong even asked, "Old Yan, what's wrong with your eyes? If you're not feeling well, go to the hospital to get them checked out."

Yan Bugui rolled his eyes; this teammate was hopeless.

Now that we're here, there's no way we can leave.

Without even asking, I know it's still the same old story; this is never going to end.

After Wang Hongxia questioned him, Liu Haizhong finally confessed. He said that he was more suited to be the coordinator, and he spilled the beans, even explaining why they hadn't been given meat.

Then Wang Hongxia yelled at them in front of everyone.

"Are you all too idle all day? People work hard to hunt the game and you think it's wrong if they don't share it with you? You're all lining up to complain?"

"Isn't all you want to know where the pork He Yuzhu brought out went?"

“I’m telling you, they were all sent to our subdistrict office. Everyone here knows that.”

"Ah!" All three of them were dumbfounded.

Then Wang Hongxia explained clearly what He Yuzhu was doing by delivering pork, but of course she didn't say how much pork He Yuzhu sold or how much he sold.

But in the end, she said, "If you're so capable, why don't you go hunting and bring us pork? We'd welcome such 'speculation and profiteering,' wouldn't we, comrades?"

"Yes"

"Go back and write self-criticisms and reflections: Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, 1,000 words each; Jia Zhangshi, 300 words each."

"I...I can't read," Jia Zhangshi said in a low voice.

"What did you say?"

"I can't read."

“If you can’t read, you read it. Have your son write it for you. Your son can read, right? Hand it in within three days. If you can’t, you’ll all have to go to the neighborhood office for a study session tonight.”

"Yes, yes, yes." The group nodded hurriedly.

“Go back now. You all have jobs but don’t work properly, and you have children but don’t take good care of them. If this happens again, I will report you directly to your unit.”

Jia Zhangshi secretly rejoiced.

"Mrs. Jia, don't laugh. Don't you have a job? Doesn't your son have one too?"

Jia Zhangshi was completely dumbfounded.

But that wasn't the end of it. Wang Hongxia did something even more ruthless. That evening, after everyone had left work, she led a group of people to He Yuzhu's house to deliver a banner.

Then they held a super college-wide meeting, inviting people from several nearby colleges.

While praising He Yuzhu, he also criticized some people in the hospital, but without naming them.

When I heard that the people called to the meeting were not just "one" but "a group of people," I realized that No. 95 Courtyard was really a bit eccentric.

He couldn't help but look at all the people in the front yard, making them wish they could disappear into the ground.

The matter of presenting the banner left He Yuzhu a bit bewildered; he had originally intended to do it quietly and be done with it.

Chen Lanxiang happily accepted the banner. It had been several years since her family had received any new honors. He Daqing and He Yushui had never brought back any certificates of merit before.

After the meeting, Wang Hongxia explained to He Yuzhu that it was optional to send the meat, since it was purchased with money.

The purpose of sending it here is to teach those people a lesson. If they're so capable, they can get one too. The subdistrict office can afford to send a banner, of course, but they should do what they can. Wang Hongxia also made it very clear at the meeting that if you can't even feed yourself, how can you help others? That would be crazy.

He Yuzhu then realized that he had been used as a benchmark again, and that the neighborhood committee would probably send him more things in the future.

"Hongxia, it's all thanks to you, otherwise that pillar would have had a bad reputation again."

"It's nothing. Zhuzi is doing a good deed. From now on, just deliver them openly and directly to the neighborhood office. I'm leaving."

"Aunt Xia, let Zhuzi see you off."

"No need, this isn't my first time at your place, I know the way."

"Zhu Zi, go see them off!"

"it is good."

Upon arrival, He Yuzhu still saw Wang Hongxia to the gate.

Passing by the front yard, it was quiet. After the meeting, there was no one left to cool off in the yard; everyone had gone home.

When He Yuzhu returned, He Daqing came to see him, also about the meat. His superior, Director Li, also wanted meat and asked He Daqing if he could get some, of course, at the price in Pigeon Market.

He Daqing didn't know how the message got through, so he could only come back and ask his son if there was any way to get it.

He Yuzhu said, "Dad, hunting is never certain. Don't make any absolute statements. It's okay to give some of the extra catch to your factory. What if we don't catch anything?"

“I know, I told you I’d ask when I got back. I’m not stupid.”

"Are you short of money again?"

"No, after all, he's my boss."

"Well, if you're difficult to get along with, just tell me and I'll ask if we can find you another place."

"No, there's no need to do that favor. I've been working at the steel rolling mill for over ten years, and it's great. I might not be used to it anywhere else."

"Just do what makes you comfortable."

"Alright, I'm going back now. I guess I've asked, haven't I? Anyway, I don't have any right now. I can give him any amount of meat he wants. But the factory manager can't be satisfied with just a few pounds of meat. Do you think he'll be satisfied with less than several hundred pounds?"

　166 is missing again. If you didn't see it, wait until I finish revising it. I basically won't write like this anymore. I'll just gloss over it. It's so annoying!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)