Era: Seven money-losing girls? They're trying to trick me into having a daughter again!

"..."

Gu Yuan raised her eyelids and glared at her husband, saying irritably, "She's the head of the purchasing department! You're so stupid, you can't even remember that!"

"Yes, yes, yes! The purchasing manager!"

Hearing his wife's tone, Fang Zhi immediately knew there was hope, and said with a smile, "Yuanyuan, why don't you call and ask Dawei!"

"If this is done, the villagers of Laotang Village will definitely thank you!"

Gu Yuan placed the newspaper she was holding on the windowsill next to her, crossed her arms and leaned back in the wicker chair, looking at Fang Wei with a scrutinizing gaze.

Fang Wei straightened his back without changing his expression and didn't say anything to plead for him.

The ward was quiet for about half a minute.

Gu Weimin had already closed his eyes and leaned against the pillow earlier.

This is a matter between the younger generation, and this old man won't get involved.

"...Alright then."

Gu Yuan glanced at the enamel mug on her father's bedside table and sighed helplessly, "You guys wait here for a bit, I'll go downstairs and make a phone call to ask."

She's bound to be obligated to those who feed her; she has no choice but to accept that logic, whether she likes it or not

As she reached the door, she paused, glanced back at Fang Wei, and frowned, saying, "I'm just asking for you; I can't guarantee whether it will sell."

"Yes, thank you, Second Sister-in-law."

Fang Wei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said with a smile, "As long as Second Sister-in-law is willing to ask, I'm satisfied."

Gu Yuan didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Only three people remained in the ward.

Fang Zhi pulled Fang Wei close, examined him carefully, and after confirming that his younger brother was really alright, asked him in detail about the wild boar hunt.

The two chatted for about ten minutes before Gu Yuan returned.

"I found out."

She didn't waste any time and said directly, "My old classmate said on the phone that as long as the wild boar meat is confirmed to be safe, he can accept it all."

"but,"

Seeing Fang Wei's excitement, Gu Yuan poured cold water on him.

"Let me be frank with you first: you're using the government's centralized procurement channels, and you're buying such a large quantity, so the price is only 48 cents per pound."

"This price is definitely not as high as what you would get if you sold them individually. Your village had better think this through first."

Fang Wei quickly calculated that if the price was 48 cents per pound, the 1,200 pounds would eventually sell for about 570 yuan.

He had previously quoted the villagers 50 cents per pound, totaling 600 yuan.

It's 48 cents now, which is 24 dollars less than expected.

But so what?

The centralized purchasing channel is legal and safe, and the entire transaction is cleared out in one go. I doubt anyone else could find a better buyer.

Fang Wei made his decision and immediately bowed to Gu Yuan: "Second Sister-in-law, thank you so much this time! You've done our Laotang Village a tremendous favor!"

Gu Yuan was taken aback by his sudden bow. She turned her body slightly and frowned as she said, "Alright, enough with the formalities."

"Alright!"

Fang Zhi was so happy he couldn't stop smiling, and he patted Fang Wei on the shoulder hard.

"Dawei, hurry back to the village and drag the meat out! I took the day off today, so I'm waiting for you here! My brother and I will escort the truck to the county town to deliver the goods and settle the payment!"

With him going with me, there shouldn't be any problems.

"it is good."

Fang Wei nodded, also worried that if it dragged on any longer, the pork might develop a strange smell.

"Second brother, wait for me at the intersection, I'll go back and get the meat right away!"

He thanked Gu Yuan again, quickly left the ward, rushed downstairs, and rode his old bicycle back to the village.

The pork was still on the wooden rafts in the threshing ground, covered with several layers of coarse linen.

Several men carrying hoes sat guarding the millstone nearby. When they saw Fang Wei return, they all stood up.

"David! How's it going?"

"Have you found a buyer yet?"

Fang Wei took the gourd ladle that Uncle Li handed him, took a big gulp of cold water, wiped his mouth, and said, "Found it, the county food company. They said they can take over the whole thing."

"The county?!"

The men looked at each other, and they all saw surprise in each other's eyes.

Wasn't it supposed to be sold in town? How come it's suddenly being sold in the county?!

"but,"

Fang Wei glanced at the people who had gathered around him and said seriously, "They said that for such a large quantity, the price can only be 48 cents per pound."

"Forty-eight cents?!"

A middle-aged man carrying a hoe immediately frowned. "Dawei, didn't you say you could sell it for 50 cents a pound? This is 48 cents... two cents short!"

"That's right! Two cents may sound like little, but when you calculate it over 1,200 jin (600 kg), that's more than twenty yuan!"

"You know nothing!"

Before Fang Wei could speak, Uncle Li glared at the two men.

"What can you get for twenty-odd yuan? You can get someone to take away over a thousand kilograms of meat in one go! Try selling it retail in town! You won't even sell half of it before it rots!"

The two men shrank back and dared not utter a sound after being yelled at by Uncle Li.

"Stop arguing."

Village Chief Zhou walked over with his men and said in a deep voice, "Dawei, explain yourself clearly."

"The county food company is a government entity, and their purchase price is 48 cents per pound."

Fang Wei knew that some people would be unhappy, so he patiently explained the situation.

"Unlike the restaurants in town that buy meat piecemeal, they accept all 1,237 jin (665 catties) of lean meat at once. As long as the pork is safe, they weigh it on the spot and settle the payment immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the few people who had previously voiced their opinions fell silent.

They also knew that there was a lot of pork this time, and if they sold it piecemeal, they wouldn't be able to sell it all. It would be best if someone could buy it all at once.

"Forty-eight cents it is!"

A middle-aged man who was squatting on the ground stood up and patted the dust off his buttocks.

"It's a miracle we can even sell them! This weather is as hot as a sauna; if the meat stays out for another day, it'll go bad!"

"Yes! Sell it! Sell it!"

"Dawei, you handled this perfectly!"

Village Chief Zhou glanced at the sky and waved his hand, "Stop dawdling! Hurry up and load it onto the truck! Where's Chen Dajiao? Bring the tractor over!"

Chen Dajiao was already waiting by the threshing ground.

His tractor engine was churning, and the trailer behind it was already spotless.

Several men heave-ho as they carried the pork carcasses onto the trailer. The hind leg of the boar was the heaviest, and it took four men to lift it up.

Fang Wei circled the trailer once, frowned and said, "It's too hot today. With the sun shining so brightly, flies will definitely swarm onto the meat."

He turned to look at Village Chief Zhou and the others.

"Do you have any thicker pieces of old cotton wool? Wet them with water and cover them up; they'll provide shade and keep flies away."

Yes, yes, yes!

After saying that, Aunt Tian turned around and ran home. A short while later, she returned carrying two cotton quilts. Although the quilts had several patches, they were very thick.

Fang Wei had several men bring over buckets of well water, which they then poured onto the cotton wadding.

Once the cotton wadding was fully soaked with water, they covered the mountain of flesh with it, tucking all four corners tightly.

Fang Wei then asked Uncle Li to find three thick hemp ropes, which were used to tie the cotton and pork together tightly around the trailer in several haphazard ways.

"Alright."

Fang Wei dusted off his hands and said to Chen Dajiao, "Let's go to town."