The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

A ray of sunlight slipped in through the window.

Li Kaixin opened her eyes groggily.

Late last night, almost no one in the village slept well. Having not eaten anything rich or oily for so long, many people couldn't handle the sudden consumption of meat and had to run to the outhouse in the middle of the night.

Although Li Kaixin's physique had been modified, he still couldn't stand the noise outside.

When I opened the door, Grandma was sweeping the yard.

As soon as she saw her grandson wake up, Grandma immediately put down the broom and came to greet him. She took Li Kaixin's hand and said with a kind smile, "Kaixin is awake. Go wash your face. Grandma has steamed some buns for you."

After washing up, Li Kaixin grabbed a steamed bun and began to wolf it down.

Li Kaixin went to bed very late last night and was indeed exhausted. After finishing one in one go, she saw that there were three left in the steamer and turned to her grandma, saying, "Grandma, you should eat some too."

Grandma smiled and said, "We've already eaten! Your grandpa and I ate before you woke up. This is all for you."

Li Kaixin saw that the steamer basket had just been opened and was still steaming, so he knew that his grandmother was lying to him.

Without saying much, he reached out and took out two more steamed buns, stuffing one into his own mouth and the other directly to his grandmother's mouth: "I'll be full after eating two, you and Grandpa can have the remaining two."

Grandma paused for a moment, then slowly took the steamed bun, her eyes filled with warmth, and she said repeatedly, "Good, good, my grandson is so filial."

Just then, Grandpa came into the yard from outside. Li Kaixin quickly picked up the last steamed bun and stuffed it into Grandpa's hand.

Grandpa paused for a moment, then reached to hand the steamed bun back to him, saying, "Kaixin, you eat it. Grandpa has already eaten."

Li Kaixin patted his stomach and said eagerly, "I'm really full! Grandpa, you should eat!" Grandma chimed in, "Your grandson loves you, so just eat what he tells you to."

Grandpa finally smiled, nodding as he slowly ate his steamed bun, mumbling, "Good, good, my grandson knows how to care for people now..."

Shortly after the meal, Li Kaixin packed her luggage.

Grandma brought out all the wild boar meat from the kitchen, insisting that he take it all. Li Kaixin firmly refused, but after much back and forth, he finally gave in and compromised by cutting off fifteen jin (about 7.5 catties) to take with him.

.......

When we got back to the city, it was already afternoon, and the sun was shining obliquely.

Li Kaixin walked along the stone path, the chirping of cicadas coming in waves, making the afternoon exceptionally quiet.

Walking all the way to the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office, we found an office space converted from a traditional courtyard house with a high threshold. The red-lacquered wooden door was half-open, and an old gatekeeper was sitting at the door, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan.

"What are you doing?" the old man asked in a loud voice, his eyes glancing over from above his reading glasses.

Li Kaixin quickly stepped forward, bowed slightly, and put on a smile: "Grandpa, I'm from around here. I just graduated from junior high school. I'd like to ask about jobs."

The old man looked him up and down a few times, fanning himself with his palm leaf fan without stopping, and waved his hand: "Go inside, don't wander around."

"Oh, thank you!" Li Kaixin said to the old man.

Stepping into the courtyard, you'll find an office converted from a combined main hall.

Four or five old desks were pushed together, piled high with documents and newspapers. An old-fashioned ceiling fan whirred slowly overhead, but couldn't dispel the stuffy heat in the room.

A capable-looking middle-aged woman in a gray uniform sat behind the table at the very back; she was Director Wang from the neighborhood office.

She frowned, staring blankly at a document in her hand. The other clerks also kept their heads down, busy with their own tasks, and no one spoke.

Li Kaixin tiptoed forward and respectfully greeted, "Director Wang! Director Wang!"

Director Wang looked up and saw it was a boy, paused for a moment, then squinted and thought for a moment: "It's the Li family's kid... Happy, right?"

She had interacted with Li Kaixin's father, Li Mingde, a few times and still remembered him.

"It's me, Director Wang, you have such a good memory!" Li Kaixin smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Director Wang wasn't in the mood for pleasantries, waving his hand dismissively: "Don't flatter me, what do you need me for?"

Li Kaixin leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Director, I have two things to ask you. First... do you need any wild boar meat?"

Director Wang's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously glanced at the shrunken cloth bag behind him, then leaned back in his chair in disappointment: "That's all you have in your bag? Don't bother, keep it for your own family."

"No, that's not it," Li Kaixin hurriedly explained, "I meant a whole small one, alive."

Director Wang slammed his hand on the table with a "bang" and stood up abruptly: "Really!?"

This shout startled everyone else in the office, and several pairs of eyes turned to look at them.

"Really, it weighs seventy or eighty pounds," Li Kaixin nodded repeatedly. "It was just brought back from the mountains in my village."

"Where is it? Quick, take me to see it!" Director Wang said as he started to walk out.

Li Kaixin turned around and said, "Director, just wait here, I'll get it for you right away!" Before he finished speaking, he had already run out of the yard, his footsteps fading into the distance.

Director Wang couldn't stop him, so he had to stop and chuckled, "This kid... he's all flustered."

Other colleagues gathered around curiously: "Director, what wild boar?" "There really are wild boars?" "Where did they come from?"

Director Wang sat down again, picked up his teacup and took a sip, but couldn't hide the smile on his face: "That kid from the Li family said he caught a wild boar."

A low murmur suddenly broke out in the office, instantly enlivening the somber atmosphere.

the other side

Li Kaixin quickly turned into a secluded, deserted narrow alley. Looking around, there was no one. With a thought, he seemed to merge into the air, and the next moment, he was standing in the secret realm.

Li Kaixin stunned a large wild boar and carried it towards the neighborhood office.

.......

As soon as Li Kaixin brought the wild boar to the entrance of the street office, a group of people who had been waiting there cheered.

A woman mustered her courage and touched the wild boar's belly, then suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear, this boar is still breathing!"

Director Wang and a few colleagues went closer to take a look, and sure enough, the wild boar's belly was rising and falling slightly; it was indeed alive. She turned to look at Li Kaixin, her face immediately lighting up with a smile, and pulled him towards the office: "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

As soon as Li Kaixin entered, he opened his mouth and said, "Director Wang, what do you think of this...?"

Director Wang thought it was about the price, so he interrupted him with a smile: "Don't worry, I understand. Our prices here may not be as good as the pigeon market, but they're better than the purchasing stations. And most importantly, what is it? Safety! Our street office has the legal right to purchase pigeons."

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "You pig, I'll give you eight cents a pound, how about that?"

Li Kaixin nodded almost without hesitation.

This pig was originally intended for bribing officials; the famine has only just begun, and domestic pork in Pigeon City is only 1.6 yuan. The purchasing stations are even worse off, charging at most 0.6 yuan. 0.8 yuan, and they're buying the whole pig, is already quite generous.

Seeing his straightforwardness, Director Wang's smile deepened: "Look at you, child, stop calling me 'Director,' just call me Aunt Wang." Her tone became more intimate, "You mentioned two things before, what's the other one?"

Li Kaixin was a little embarrassed and rubbed his hands together. "Aunt Wang, I've graduated from junior high school, and I just wanted to ask... are there any jobs I can do around here?"

Upon hearing this, Director Wang frowned slightly: "I'm happy, it's not that I don't want to help you, but these days the work quotas are very tight, one radish per hole, and the subdistrict office hasn't received any work quotas for a long time."

She paused, and seeing Li Kaixin's eyes darken, she relented and said, "But since you call me Aunt Wang, I can't let you ask for nothing."

She thought for a moment and said, "Here's what we'll do. I have an old acquaintance who's the deputy director at the transportation station. I'll ask around and see if there are any openings. Wait a minute." With that, she picked up the phone and spoke in hushed tones for a while.

After hanging up the phone, she turned around: "What a coincidence, there's still one spot left for a car apprentice. But it'll cost some money to 'grease the wheels,' you'll have to talk to Director Xie at the transportation station about the exact amount. What do you think…?"

Upon hearing this, Li Kaixin nodded excitedly, "Yes! Aunt Wang, I want it! Thank you so much!"