Chapter 33 Part 3: The Meat Distribution and a Secret Pact (3)

However, a sharp female voice cut in before him: “This piece, this one with the fat, give it to us!”

The three members of the Song family looked over, and indeed, it was a coincidence. Who else could it be but Cai Zhen, who had intercepted them mid-way?

She was truly something, queuing in the adjacent line, yet trying to buy from the Song family’s counter. Song Wenbin glanced at her queue’s meat counter and understood.

It turned out Cai Zhen’s queue was even worse off than theirs. They at least had some fatty meat, but Cai Zhen’s queue had only a palm-sized piece of pork belly left.

Song Wenbin ignored her, asking the butcher to weigh the piece of meat for him. Cai Zhen’s eyes nearly bulged out. She quickly stopped the butcher and offered Song Wenbin a fawning smile.

“Director Song, look, our two families are neighbors, and your nephew even ate at our house. How close our relationship is! Please, let us have this piece of meat.”

Song Wenbin forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Comrade Cai, you jest. Our two families have no relation. I’ve already compensated you for the sorghum and wild vegetables my nephew ate at your house. If you’re still not satisfied… how about this: you return the extra money, and I’ll pay you for exactly what he ate.”

Cai Zhen immediately recoiled. Xiang Chen ate so little at her house; how much could it be worth? If Song Wenbin really took the money back, that would be a real loss.

Watching the butcher prepare the meat for Song Wenbin, Cai Zhen was furious but dared not openly confront him. She could only mutter under her breath, criticizing him, “A factory director, snatching food from us workers…”

Song Wenbin completely ignored her. Such a person was like a fly; you had to swat them with a fly swatter. If you used your hand, you’d only get it dirty and feel disgusted.

Xiang Chen paid no mind to Cai Zhen either; his gaze had long been captivated by the ingredients on the meat counter.

What others considered undesirable scraps, Xiang Chen, accustomed to modern delicacies, saw as a wealth of culinary possibilities.

Cold shredded pig ears, braised pig tails, braised pig trotters, sweet and sour spare ribs, braised pork belly… Wow, all delicious!

The only thing he hadn’t considered was the large piece of meat with a thick layer of white fat, but his uncle had specifically bought that, and it seemed he wasn’t planning on getting anything else.

Xiang Chen immediately grew anxious, quickly tugging on Song Wenbin’s sleeve.

Song Wenbin looked down at him. Xiang Chen’s words reached his lips, then he swallowed them back. Never mind, although those other meats were cheaper, they still required meat tickets, and it wasn’t easy for his uncle to save money.

“What do you want to eat, Chenchen?” Song Wenbin, sensing he probably wanted something else, asked him.

Xiang Chen shook his head, pointing at Song Wenbin’s basket. “Just this.”

Xu Hengzhou suddenly interjected, “Uncle, let’s buy a bit more. Who knows when we’ll get meat again?”

Song Wenbin agreed. That made sense. His family had a decent foundation, and an occasional splurge like this was perfectly fine.

So, Song Wenbin patted Xu Hengzhou’s shoulder. “Go see if there’s anything else you want. It’s fine to buy more.”

With his permission, Xu Hengzhou immediately went to select items. He bought four pig ears, which would make excellent appetizers, something Song Wenbin would surely enjoy.

He didn’t miss anything else either. He had seen Xiang Chen’s longing glances, and he made sure to buy some of everything Xiang Chen desired, filling the basket to the brim.

Fortunately, these items were much cheaper than the fatty meat Song Wenbin had bought, almost as good as free.

However, because they required meat tickets and bones made up a large proportion, no one bought them even if they were practically free. The meat counter had accumulated a pile of them.

Because they bought so much, the butcher was quite pleased. He dragged out a large bucket from the back, filled entirely with large bones, and offered them one for free, asking if they wanted it.

Xiang Chen’s eyes instantly lit up. Yes, bone broth!

What he had thought of, Xu Hengzhou couldn’t possibly miss. He immediately asked the butcher how these bones were sold.

The butcher scratched his head. The meat processing plant had an abundance of these bones, scraped clean of meat, leaving only bare bones; who would buy them?

Of course, some people knew they could be used for soup, but it was too time-consuming and required too much firewood. Moreover, the definition of ‘good taste’ at the time was ‘rich and oily,’ making bone broth seem bland in comparison.

The butcher, hearing that he wanted to buy them, looked at Song Wenbin. Such matters were certainly decided by the adults.

Song Wenbin smiled, indicating that the child’s words counted.

The butcher thought for a moment. These bones had no meat on them, so he certainly couldn’t accept meat tickets. The meat processing plant had piles of bones, and he couldn’t rip them off.

Selling them here would save him the trouble of taking them back.

So the butcher quoted an exceptionally low price. How low? Four fen per jin. The good meat Song Wenbin bought was six mao per jin, enough to buy fifteen jin of bones… and it didn’t require tickets.

Without Xiang Chen needing to say more, Xu Hengzhou immediately took the entire bucket. He arranged with the butcher to borrow his bucket, take the bones home, and then return the bucket.

They were all from the same machinery factory, so the butcher wasn’t worried they would run off.

The family returned home laden with goods. As they were about to leave, Cai Zhen was still haggling with her butcher, insisting that he cut the lean meat from the pork belly; she wanted to buy the rest of it…

Once they were home, Xu Hengzhou volunteered to return the bucket. Song Wenbin, wanting him to rest, offered to go himself.

Xu Hengzhou gave Xiang Chen a knowing look. Xiang Chen immediately understood and pulled Song Wenbin, babbling about how he had been squeezed by the crowd after school and almost fell.

Song Wenbin, hearing this, immediately asked for more details. Xu Hengzhou seized the opportunity and ran off with the bucket.

By the time he reached the meat counter, the buyers had all left, and the butchers were packing up the remaining items, preparing to load them onto the truck.

Huang Hengzhou found the butcher who had sold them the meat, returned the bucket, and first exchanged a few pleasantries to build rapport. Then, he asked what they would do with the remaining items.

The butcher, seeing that the child was quite capable and spoke well, replied that the factory usually disposed of them at a low price.

Huang Hengzhou, hearing this, tentatively said, “It’s like this: our family has some relatives who don’t have enough meat tickets. They can’t even dream of good meat. Could you perhaps help us out and share some of these scraps with us?”

Seeing the butcher’s hesitant expression, he quickly added, “Of course, we’re not asking you to violate regulations. We can add some money…”

The butcher’s expression showed interest. These trotters and tails, even if taken back to the factory, were usually sold internally at a low price, and fewer tickets were required.

If he sold them here, he could simply record the quantity under his own name back at the factory and pay the factory price, thus making a profit.

Huang Hengzhou, seeing this, added another line: “I can also help you deal with some of your remaining bones. How about six fen per jin, using the same price you gave us just now?”

The butcher immediately understood. He had just sold the bones to this family for four fen, not six. The extra two fen would be his commission.

Moreover, bones were not strictly accounted for at the factory, so there was even more room for profit.

“Alright,” the butcher said, looking at Xu Hengzhou with profound affection. “We’re all workers; I, Old Zhu, will help you out!”

Huang Hengzhou immediately seized the opportunity, smiling. “Uncle Zhu, you’re helping us a great deal! Why don’t you leave me your address so we can keep in touch?”

Master Zhu understood the underlying meaning. There was more to come! Good meat was hard to find, but the items this child wanted were abundant at the factory.

If he bought them himself and resold them, it would be a steady source of income.

The two quickly reached an agreement. Master Zhu wrote down his address, and Xu Hengzhou then paid for many more items. Master Zhu specially found two large buckets for him, telling him to return them after he was done.

Huang Hengzhou claimed his relatives were waiting nearby and politely declined Master Zhu’s offer to escort him. Master Zhu, hearing this, thought it made sense; what adult would dare to let a child carry so much money without supervision?

Huang Hengzhou found an secluded spot and immediately poured the items into the large buckets he had prepared earlier in his space. Then, he went to return the empty buckets.

In a deserted area, Xu Hengzhou took out a small bag containing a small section of ribs and two trotters he had separated.

Huang Hengzhou was extremely satisfied with the new supplies in his space. He had a substantial amount of money on hand.

When he was alone in the provincial city, he had acquired a sum of money through various means. Later, when he managed the household, Song Wenbin gave him quite a bit more.

When he had moved things like milk powder into the house, he claimed the money was spent, but the items were from his space, and he had actually kept the money.

Initially, he hadn’t intended to buy so much, but while buying meat earlier, he had secretly compared these meats with those in his space.

He found that while his space had good meat, most of it didn’t feel as good as what the meat processing plant sold.

Thinking of food safety issues in later generations, he understood why.

Since there was good quality available, it was natural to eat the best. Who would complain about having too many good things? His space wouldn’t spoil food, so storing more had no downside.

Moreover, the source of supplies in his space had always been an issue. Pushing everything onto the black market wasn’t feasible; he couldn’t always stumble upon such good things.

This was an opportunity. Now that Xu Hengzhou had connected with Master Zhu, he would have a plausible explanation when bringing meat home in the future.

He would take these items back and tell Song Wenbin that he had bought them at a high price. Then, he would explain the connection with Master Zhu to Song Wenbin.

Song Wenbin wasn’t a rigid person, so the family’s meat supply wouldn’t be so tight anymore.

His little dumpling was still young; how could he thrive on coarse grains alone? Bone broth provided calcium and, like milk, should be a regular part of his diet.

Meat shouldn’t be scarce either. That little bun-like face felt so good to pinch; it would be such a shame if he got too thin from hunger…

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