Chapter 301 - 219: Bountiful Harvest
While sitting on the heated brick bed, Zhao Dashan craned his neck, watching all the fine things being carried into the house. He felt an inexplicable pang of envy. He’d hunted his whole life but had never bagged a bear or a tiger. He’d taken down a few wild boars, but the biggest was only about two hundred-odd pounds. He felt like an old wave washed ashore by a new one.
"Son, aside from the meat, how much do you think the rest of this will sell for?"
After everyone sat down to eat, Chen Yanmei had only taken a few bites before she couldn’t stop herself from asking the question that had been on her mind.
Zhao Wendong did a quick mental calculation and smiled at Chen Yanmei. "It’s hard to say exactly how much they’ll sell for—it depends on the buyer. But all of this together should be enough to build a brick-and-tile house, don’t you think?"
Her son’s words made Chen Yanmei’s eyes light up, and she stopped eating mid-bite. "Really?"
Zhao Wendong didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he turned to Lin Huaimin. "Uncle, you’re a man of the world. What do you think? Am I right?"
Lin Huaimin nodded.
"Prices are low around here. The farther you go into the big cities, the more valuable rare things become. A few years ago, this much good stuff could have been traded for a courtyard house in Beijing, to say nothing of a house with three rooms."
Fearing it might stir up painful memories, Wang Lulu took her husband’s hand under the table. Lin Huaimin smiled back at her, his expression serene. Even if his family once possessed immense wealth and owned entire streets of property, that was all in the past. Now, he cherished the peaceful, stable life he had with his family by his side.
"Wonderful. That’s just wonderful."
Chen Yanmei was beaming. Ever since Zhao Wendong had planted the idea of building a house in their minds, she and Zhao Dashan had found themselves constantly thinking about it. The whole thing felt like a fantasy. If their son could truly live in a brick-and-tile house, they would have nothing left to worry about for the rest of their lives.
"By the way, you two couldn’t decide on a plot of land, right? I’ve already picked one. We’ll build on the last street, right next to Er Gou’s house. The spot is plenty spacious. After the New Year, if we push a little harder and get lucky with a few more big hauls, we can break ground as soon as spring starts."
Zhao Wendong had originally planned to build just a three-room brick-and-tile house. Now, however, he was thinking about building houses for the rest of his family in the future. So, he decided to stake out a larger plot for the foundation first. He planned to gradually move his entire family into brick-and-tile houses so they could all live together. ’Just thinking about a life like that feels amazing.’
"Third Brother, will our whole family really get to live in brick-and-tile houses in the future?"
Zhao Wenwu’s voice suddenly cut through the air. Everyone turned to look at Zhao Wendong. Wenwu’s question was one they had all thought about but hadn’t dared to ask aloud.
"Haha, of course! And it’ll happen soon, I promise!"
"Yeah! I’m going to live in a brick-and-tile house, too!"
Hearing this, Wenwu jumped for joy. Smiles bloomed on everyone’s faces—smiles filled with hope for the future.
「The next morning」
At the crack of dawn, Big Wang rolled up to Zhao Wendong’s house in the silk factory’s large truck. Zhao Wendong, who had been summoned from the Educated Youth dormitory, was still yawning. He looked at Big Wang and shook his head with a wry smile.
"Brother Wang, you’re here bright and early! We just got back from the mountains yesterday. It feels like I’d barely opened my eyes and you were already here."
Big Wang roared with laughter. "New Year’s is tomorrow, my brother Dongzi! Today is the perfect time to move all this. You have no idea how many families are waiting to get some meat for their New Year’s pots."
"Well, Brother Wang, you’re the expert. I’ll defer to you. Come on, let’s start loading the truck."
Wolf, bear, tiger, and wild boar meat, along with several sacks of fish, were steadily loaded onto the truck. Zhao Wendong was holding his wedding banquet on the third day of the Lunar New Year, so he had set aside a generous portion of everything. Even so, there was still over fourteen hundred pounds of meat.
"These Forest Frogs are for you and your wife for the New Year."
Zhao Wendong handed a small sack of Forest Frogs to Big Wang, who just smiled and accepted it. Theirs was a relationship of mutual benefit; to refuse would be to create distance between them. ’I’ll just give him a big wedding gift on the third,’ Big Wang thought.
"Brother Dongzi, I can help you sell some of the more valuable parts from your big game. I can definitely get you a better deal than Wang Defa and his crew..."
Before Big Wang could finish, Zhao Wendong had already grabbed his hand and was shaking it enthusiastically.
"Haha, Brother Wang, you’re a lifesaver! I was just worrying about not having the connections to get a good price for these treasures."
They had been working together for a long time, so Zhao Wendong naturally trusted Big Wang completely. Soon, valuable items like the bear and tiger galls, bear paws, and some tiger bones were all loaded up for Big Wang to take as well. Big Wang also had his eye on the tiger’s penis, but Zhao Wendong shut that down immediately. ’Are you kidding me? I need that thing, too!’
"What about the rest of this stuff? Want me to give you a lift to the main purchasing station? It’d be no trouble since I have the truck."
"No, it’s fine. They’ve probably closed up for the holiday by now. I’ll just wait for Brother Wang and Brother Zheng to show up on the third. I’ll let them deal with it then."
"Alright then, I’m heading out. I need to get to the county seat."
With that, Big Wang said his farewells to Zhao Wendong and climbed into the truck. Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Wendong called out to him.
"Brother Wang, here’s an idea. After you’ve traded for the grain, contact Secretary Weimin directly. Just tell him I asked you to help deliver it. I still owe the county twenty-two hundred pounds of grain, so I’ll have to trouble you to handle that for me."
When he heard this, Big Wang’s face broke into a huge grin, his forehead crinkling with joy. His main connection had always been Secretary Tao; he didn’t have a relationship with the newly appointed Secretary Weimin. Zhao Wendong was now building a bridge for him, which was an enormous favor. At the very least, it would allow him to navigate his business as smoothly as a fish in water for years to come.