Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

After finishing his tea and smoking two cigarettes, Wang Feng checked the time; it was already 1:30 PM. He said to his second uncle, Qin Changyi:

"Second Uncle, it's almost time. My friend should have brought the wild boar over. It's in the woods not far from the entrance of Qinjiazhuang Village. You guys take three carts and we'll go and bring the wild boar back first."

The second son, Qin Changyi, stubbed out his cigarette and instructed his two sons, "Dashun, Dawei, go quickly and borrow the cart from Sixth Master and Third Uncle."

"Okay, Dad."

The two brothers agreed and went out.

"Wang Feng, wait here for a moment. I have a cart at home, I'll go back and bring it over."

"Okay, Second Uncle."

The second son, Qin Changyi, glanced at his wife and went back to pulling the cart.

Soon, in less than ten minutes, the father and his two sons each brought a cart. Wang Feng, the three Qin brothers, along with the second uncle's two sons, Qin Dashun and Qin Dawei, a group of six, pulled the carts and headed out of the village in a grand procession.

Wang Feng deliberately walked ahead. He first selected four large wild boars in his spatial dimension, each weighing over 300 jin (approximately 150 kg), and tied their four legs together with rope.

After thinking about it, it didn't seem reasonable to only hunt wild boars, so he selected forty pheasants and forty rabbits from his spatial storage and tied them all up with ropes.

After walking for about ten more minutes, the group of six arrived outside the village. Wang Feng led them to the woods outside the village, found a secluded patch of grass, and released the four large wild boars, forty pheasants, and forty rabbits.

"Uncle, Second Uncle, Dad, the wild boar is tied up over there."

Wang Feng walked into the woods and pointed to a hidden patch of grass.

The group went forward and saw four large wild boars, as well as dozens of pheasants and rabbits.

"Wang Feng, where is your friend? Aren't you afraid the wild boar will be stolen if you leave it here? And there are so many pheasants and rabbits too?" Qin Changyi asked.

"Hehe, Second Uncle, my friend is guarding around here, but it's not convenient for him to come out and greet everyone. We don't need to worry about him."

"When you deliver the wild boars to the steel mill, just send these pheasants and rabbits over. Send a few each time, it's up to you. Uncle, Second Uncle, and Dad, each of you can take one pheasant or rabbit home to eat. Don't worry, I hunted them myself, it didn't cost me anything."

"Okay."

Seeing that Wang Feng had already said so, Qin Changyi didn't ask any more questions and agreed without being coy. After all, a nephew-in-law is still a son-in-law, isn't he?

"Da Shun, Da Wei, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and load the wild boar onto the cart!"

"Hey, here I am."

The wild boar weighed over 300 jin (approximately 150 kg), and it took four people, each lifting one leg, to finally get it onto the cart.

One cart can hold two large wild boars and it's full; two carts can hold wild boars, and the remaining cart is just enough to hold pheasants and rabbits.

After loading the wild boar, pheasants, and rabbits onto the cart, two people pulled each cart, making it just right for six people.

Wang Feng didn't pull the cart; he pushed it from behind while Qin Dashun pulled it from the front. Moreover, the cart they were pulling was loaded with pheasants and rabbits. This was a special favor from his second uncle, who was worried that this city dweller wouldn't be able to pull it.

The other two carts each carried two large wild boars, weighing nearly 700 pounds each. Pulling the carts was extremely difficult, and the carts made a "crunching" sound.

Wang Feng was worried that the cart would fall apart halfway, but luckily they were on their side and the cart held up well enough to finally get the four wild boars to the village's old pig farm.

There are currently eight piglets at this pig farm, and there is an empty pigpen next to it, which would be perfect for raising wild boars.

Wang Feng checked the time; it was already past two o'clock. If he didn't go back soon, he wouldn't be able to get back to Beijing before dark.

"Second Uncle, it's getting late. Jingru and I will head back to Beijing now. We have to go to work tomorrow, so please take care of things here."

"Okay, Wang Feng, you and Jingru should go back quickly. It will take you several hours to cycle back to Beijing, so don't waste time. Don't worry about leaving things here to me. Once you've sold these wild boars, I'll just give the money to Lao San."

"Alright, thank you very much, Second Uncle."

Wang Feng greeted Qin's father and uncle, gave each of them a cigarette, and then went back to find Qin Jingru.

Back inside, he saw Qin Jingru still bragging to her aunts and Qin Yuru, gesturing with her hands from time to time. He said to Qin Jingru:

"Jingru, it's almost time. We should go back now. Go and give the wild boar meat and flour to your eldest and second aunts, and also give them some cigarettes."

"OK."

Qin Jingru agreed, patted Qin Yuru's shoulder, and whispered in a very low voice:

"Yuru, remember what I said, don't sunbathe all day and get yourself tanned. When you turn eighteen, I'll find you a good family in the city."

After saying that, Qin Jingru walked towards the kitchen, and her mother followed to help.

Qin Yuru's face flushed red, and she was so embarrassed that she didn't dare to look at anyone, especially her mother.

Soon, under the guidance of Qin Jingru and her mother, the wild boar meat and flour were divided into three portions, with each of the eldest and second uncles receiving ten catties of wild boar meat and ten catties of flour.

As for cigarettes, my eldest uncle's family gave me one carton, and my second uncle's family gave me two cartons. Since my second uncle is the village chief, he needs to use cigarettes to bribe officials in many matters. The extra carton was for bribing officials.

After arranging everything, amidst the reluctance of Qin's mother, aunt, and Qin Yuru, Wang Feng and Qin Jingru rode their bicycles towards Beijing.

"Mom, Auntie, Auntie, please take care of yourselves. I'll come back to see you when I have time."

"Yuru, remember what I said, I'll bring you something delicious next time I come back."

As Qin's mother watched Qin Jingru and Wang Feng's retreating figures, she wiped away her tears—tears of joy. Her daughter had truly made her proud.

Aunt Qin Jingru's eyes were also red, with tears welling up in them.

She had a son and a daughter in her life, but in the end, her son ran away and disappeared, and her daughter married and moved to the city and was like a ghost. On the contrary, her niece Jingru treated her better than her own children.

She felt a mix of emotions, but at the same time, she was also relieved that Jingru had married such a good man.

As for Qin Yuru, she didn't dare to lift her head. Although she was only fifteen years old, her bulging grain sack was quite large. With her head down, her shoes were no longer visible.