Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 79 Inner Mongolia Procurement

At the end of May, He Yuzhu knocked on the door of Director Zhou's office and placed a stack of materials on the table.

Director Zhou became increasingly excited as he read the plan, carefully weighing its implications.

Beef and mutton are scarce resources in Beijing. Whoever can bring back livestock from Inner Mongolia will be the top contributor to the supply and marketing cooperative.

But this is not an easy task. The local authorities need to protect their own city, canteens, and steelmaking livestock, and they are strictly controlling the quotas from other places.

From the banner to the commune to the livestock station to the production team, you have to ask favors at every level; you can't get the livestock out without at least the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

Herdsmen aren't easily fooled. They'll push all the old, weak, sick, and disabled onto your side, and if they don't know anything about it, they'll drag you back and make you lose money.

"Are you confident?" Director Zhou took off his reading glasses to calm himself down.

"I can give you a written pledge. But I can't go empty-handed." He Yuzhu pushed the supply list over, "Fifty bolts of cotton cloth, ten cases of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), five cases of matches, ten barrels of kerosene, three cases each of needles, thread, buttons, and small hardware, and one hundred catties of brick tea. Whatever I bring, that's what kind of sheep they'll give me. You know how much I drink; no one has ever been born who can outdrink me. If I get the herders drunk, I can choose any livestock I want."

Director Zhou looked at the list for a long time, then picked up his pen and signed it, approving the procurement funds and the railcar plan. "Zhu Zi, you're the only one in Beijing who dares to say you can bring back two railcars. Don't let me get my hopes up for nothing."

He Yuzhu returned to the courtyard and stored the ten cases of bulk liquor he had bottled into his spatial storage. The herders weren't short of money; what they lacked were things they couldn't buy on the market.

Three days later, He Yuzhu boarded a train bound for Jining. He carried a large travel bag with him, while the rest of his supplies were stored in his spatial storage. As soon as he left Zhangjiakou, the scenery outside the train window changed. The lush green farmland turned into grayish-yellow sand, and further north, grasslands gradually increased. Occasionally, flocks of sheep could be seen scattered far and wide across the grasslands, like cotton scattered on the ground.

The wind from the grassland blew in through the window cracks, and the air was filled with the dry smell of grass mixed with cow dung.

Upon arriving in the banner, He Yuzhu carried a large travel bag into the supply and marketing cooperative.

The head of the banner association, surnamed Bagen, had a dark red face and fingers as thick as carrots. He grabbed He Yuzhu's hand and shook it vigorously. "A purchasing agent from Beijing? Good! A guest from Beijing, let's have a drink first!"

He Yuzhu unzipped his travel bag, first taking out two bottles of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) and placing them on the table, then taking out a bolt of cotton cloth and two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes. "Director Bagen, it's inappropriate to come empty-handed. These are your welcoming gifts."

Bagen's eyes lit up. He picked up the Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), held it up to the light, and then touched the cotton cloth. "Comrade He, you're a true friend! Don't leave tonight, I'll have your sister-in-law cook some hand-pulled mutton!"

That night, He Yuzhu got Bagen drunk under the table, and Bagen gave him a thumbs up, saying he would personally accompany him to the commune the next day.

The commune secretary's surname is Wang. He is a Han Chinese and has been here for more than ten years. He speaks and acts with the straightforwardness of the grasslands.

He Yuzhu placed the brick tea on his table. Secretary Wang touched the tea brick and smelled it. "This is the real deal! Last year, a purchasing agent tried to fool me with willow leaves, and I kicked him out."

He Yuzhu didn't talk to him about livestock, but about the grasslands, the pastures this year, the herders' relocation and migration, and how to burn cow dung in the yurts.

Secretary Wang became interested and said, "Comrade He, how do you know everything?" He Yuzhu replied, "The people at the supply and marketing cooperative don't understand livestock or pastures. Why should they give you their best sheep?"

After finishing his tea, Secretary Wang took him to the livestock station. The station chief, surnamed Nashun, was a Mongolian. He was a man of few words, standing beside the sheepfold smoking one cigarette after another.

He Yuzhu didn't rush to choose sheep. Instead, he squatted outside the sheepfold and chatted with Na Shun, asking him how many children he had, whether the pasture was dry this year, and whether he had stored enough fodder for winter.

Na Shun initially ignored him, but He Yuzhu took out a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) and poured him half a bowl. Na Shun took it, smelled it, took a sip, and the wrinkles on his face slowly relaxed.

He Yuzhu then handed him a bolt of cotton cloth and a bundle of needles and thread, saying, "Your sister-in-law will need them to make clothes at home."

Na Shun took the needle and thread, his lips twitched, and he herded a flock of sheep out of the pen. "These are Ujumqin sheep, the meat isn't gamey, you can choose for yourself."

He Yuzhu squatted down to examine the teeth and feel the skeleton, picking out the old, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant ones one by one.

Na Shun stood to the side watching, forgetting even to flick his cigarette.

He Yuzhu picked out a dozen or so that were not up to standard, and accepted the rest.

When Bagen heard the news at the commune, he rushed over, walked around the sheepfold, and said to Na Shun, "This man is an expert, with a forthright personality. You can't fool your friends."

He Yuzhu then pulled out a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor). Na Shun took the bottle, smiled, and said, "I'll make you my friend."

Over the next few days, he also visited the homes of nearby herders.

He Yuzhu drinks and gives gifts every day, and he's incredibly generous with his alcohol tolerance. He was almost stopped by the brothers/uncles of several grassland girls, but luckily he had a cheat code and managed to drink them all under the table.

In the last few days, he took the tricycle out and towed a flatbed cart on the back. Then he loaded the white flour brick tea, tobacco, and alcohol onto the cart.

Several herders he had become acquainted with during the day were drinking outside their yurt. Seeing him approaching on a three-wheeled motorcycle, pulling a cart full of goods, they quickly invited him in.

He Yuzhu put the white flour brick tea and loose liquor on the ground and said he wanted to trade some cattle and sheep with everyone for his own use. After slaughtering and separating the meat, he drove away.

An old herdsman squatted down, rubbed some flour between his fingers, and stood up to look at He Yuzhu. "How much do you want?"

"Exchange as many as you have."

The old herdsman turned and shouted to his son. The boy mounted his horse and rode off, returning shortly with seven or eight men, leading several cows and dozens of sheep. The herdsmen slaughtered and butchered the sheep right there on the edge of the pasture. The sheep's heads, hooves, and offal were theirs, and the meat, which couldn't fit on the ground, was laid out on an oilcloth.

He Yuzhu stood by and watched for a while, then took out cigarettes and handed them out one by one. He lit one for himself, leaned against the hitching post, and watched the knife flash as he silently estimated the weight of the meat.

Night fell, and one by one the lights on the ranch went out. He Yuzhu walked to the open space where the meat was stacked. Dozens of tarpaulins were laid out in a row, and lamb chops, legs, and steaks were piled up like a wall. With a thought, a mountain of meat appeared in his space.

The next day, at the next collection point, the same process was repeated: flour, tobacco, and alcohol were exchanged for slaughtered, cleaned meat, which was then stored in the space when no one was around. After several nights of this, the space was filled with over fifty tons of beef and mutton.

On the day of loading, the station platform was filled with the sounds of cows mooing and sheep bleating. He Yuzhu and the escorts drove the livestock into the livestock wagons. The cows went into the large pens, and the sheep went into the double-deckers. Each compartment was equipped with a trough for hay and a bucket for water.

As evening fell, the platform quieted down. The iron gates of the livestock wagons were locked, and the guards squatted on the platform smoking.

Three days later, at dusk, the freight train slowly pulled into Beijing, onto the Madian livestock-only platform.

Director Zhou and his colleagues from the supply and marketing cooperative waited on the platform. Li Huaide also arrived, bringing several trucks with him. The iron gates of the livestock wagons opened, and cattle came one after another, their hooves thumping on the platform.

Next came the sheep, a white mass pouring out of the carriages, their bleating echoing throughout the platform. More than six hundred sheep turned the platform into a moving white carpet, their bleating so loud that people had to shout to speak.

Director Zhou stood on the platform, hands behind his back, watching trucks haul away livestock one after another. "Good lads, two hundred cows and six hundred sheep. Nobody in all of Beijing can bring back so many animals at once."

He Yuzhu took a travel bag out of the escort vehicle and handed the railcar receipt and quarantine certificate to Director Zhou. "Director, we've exceeded our target."

Li Huaide jumped out of the truck cab and circled He Yuzhu. "Yuzhu, you've won a great victory this time. Two hundred cows and over six hundred sheep—the blood and offal alone will fill the workers' vegetable bowls. Tell me, how should I reward you?"

He Yuzhu lit a cigarette and chuckled. "Brother Li, how many cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes does your father-in-law have?"

"Here we go again!" Li Huaide slapped his thigh. "My father-in-law's comrade-in-arms has applied for a transfer to Lanzhou, and I've been put on the unwelcome list too. Let me take the extra forty sheep first, and I'll trade them for the mutton. It'll definitely work."

He Yuzhu put a cigarette in his mouth and got into the driver's seat of Li Huaide's truck. Two hundred cows and six hundred sheep were a credit, and the more than fifty tons of lean meat in the cargo space was his own ammunition depot.

This trip was worthwhile. The sandstorm from the grassland was still lingering in his throat, and he was already planning what to bring back next time.

Herdsmen have no shortage of meat or milk, but they lack tobacco, alcohol, cotton cloth, tea bricks, and small hardware. These items are piled up like mountains in the warehouses of the supply and marketing cooperative, and they become hard currency on the grasslands.

Next time he goes, he'll bring several more boxes.