Chapter 33 Part 2: The Meat Distribution and a Secret Pact (2)

So now, Cai Zhen’s plan was to get Chen Guoliang to take out that fifty yuan and find a way to exchange it for some meat tickets.

Chen Guoliang scoffed upon hearing Cai Zhen’s words. “Take it to your family to exchange? How many ounces can fifty yuan buy?”

Truth be told, Chen Guoliang had received some favors from his in-laws.

After all, he worked at the cast iron factory, and as the son-in-law of the deputy director, even if they didn’t overtly show him favoritism, he still received some small benefits.

But that was the extent of it. Cai Hongzhi also had two sons, and his sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren were growing up. How much could he plan for Chen Guoliang?

Over the years, Chen Guoliang and Cai Zhen, as a dual-income couple with young children who didn’t eat much, should have accumulated a significant family fortune.

However, this wasn’t the case. Chen Guoliang subsidized his elderly mother in the countryside, and Cai Zhen, not to be outdone, frequently moved the family’s rare good items to her own family.

Before, Chen Guoliang had turned a blind eye, but the cornmeal incident truly struck a nerve. His elderly mother and siblings had almost starved to death! He wouldn’t have the face to meet his father if they had died.

Now, in Chen Guoliang’s heart, he and Cai Zhen were almost no longer a family. Just as his mother had said when he delivered grain home last time, what good was a daughter-in-law who constantly favored her own family?

Cai Zhen was unaware that her husband harbored such thoughts. If she had known, she surely wouldn’t have dared to cause another scene.

But she didn’t know, so when she heard Chen Guoliang sarcastically bring up her family, Cai Zhen immediately exploded and began arguing with him.

The couple nearly tore their home apart. By the end of the argument, Chen Guoliang cornered Cai Zhen with words, saying that if she had the capability to get meat tickets from her family, he would immediately apologize.

Chen Fang took advantage of the chaos to snatch half a bowl of wild vegetable porridge from Chen Xiaohua. After finishing it, she swiftly slipped away.

Chen Guoliang, seething with anger, completely ignored the bullied Chen Xiaohua and left.

Xiang Chen listened, utterly astonished. This family was truly a mess. Fortunately, his capable brother had rescued him; otherwise, his small frame wouldn’t have lasted many rounds in the Chen family’s conflicts.

After Chen Xiaohua finished speaking, the water in her bowl was also gone. She reluctantly put down the bowl and told Xiang Chen she had to go back; her youngest sister was still at home.

Cai Zhen was neglectful, only giving Chen Xiaocao thin porridge water to drink. The child, over a year old, couldn’t speak, cried faintly, and was frighteningly thin and small.

Most of the time, Chen Xiaohua cared for her; the little girl, just over five years old, was already like a small mother.

Xiang Chen didn’t keep her. He simply reminded her to take care of herself and to come to him secretly if anything happened, then opened the door and let her out.

After Chen Xiaohua left, Xiang Chen cautiously squeezed next to Xu Hengzhou, secretly observing him with small glances.

Xu Hengzhou remained focused on his book, not even lifting his head. “Why are you looking at me?”

Xiang Chen quietly asked him, “Brother, aren’t you angry?”

He felt that Xu Hengzhou must have overheard his conversation with Chen Xiaohua.

As a little kid who relied entirely on his brother and uncle for food, he had just promised someone to come to him if they were hungry. His intentions were quite clear.

If his brother were angry with him because of this, Xiang Chen wouldn’t be surprised. Chen Xiaohua had helped him, but that had nothing to do with his brother.

Xu Hengzhou put down his book, turned, and looked at Xiang Chen seriously. “Would you tell her about the things in my space?”

“How could I?” Xiang Chen asked in surprise. “Why would you think that? I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t tell anyone, and Uncle wouldn’t either.”

He thought for a moment, then added, “Brother, you shouldn’t tell anyone else either. They’ll think you’re a monster.”

Xu Hengzhou smiled, pulling Xiang Chen closer. “Then would you help the other Chen family members?”

Xiang Chen puffed out his cheek, displeased. “Brother, what kind of strange questions are you asking? How could I possibly care about them? I’m willing to help Xiaohua because she helped me too.”

“So why would I be angry?” Xu Hengzhou said with a smile.

“You have good judgment. Being grateful and repaying kindness is a good virtue. I’m just giving some insignificant things to my brother so he can help someone he wants to help. What’s wrong with that?”

Xiang Chen understood Xu Hengzhou’s meaning and, deeply moved, threw himself into his brother’s arms. His small arms hugged Xu Hengzhou tightly, refusing to let go, softly cooing, “Brother, you’re the best.”

Xu Hengzhou patted the little bun in his arms, thinking to himself, ‘Yes, gratitude is a good virtue. Remember how much I’ve helped you…’

***

The next morning, Xu Hengzhou resumed his usual routine, as always, waking Xiang Chen after finishing his own ablutions.

The two brothers went to school together. The students’ enthusiasm for discussing meat had not waned; in fact, it had intensified after a night of fermentation.

Xiang Chen felt that his classmates’ eyes were gleaming, looking at everyone as if they were meat. Fair-skinned and tender, Xiang Chen dared not stay in the classroom during recess, finding a place to hide instead.

When Xu Hengzhou came to find Xiang Chen during recess, he discovered him huddled in their usual corner, too scared to come out. He looked as if he had been thoroughly frightened.

Huang Hengzhou suppressed a laugh as he comforted the terrified little bun, then, as usual, offered an after-class snack.

Since he had already revealed the matter of his spatial ability to Xiang Chen, Xu Hengzhou was no longer constrained when choosing items. He gave Xiang Chen a very fresh cream cake and a bottle of milk.

Xiang Chen forgot everything else when there was good food. After poking a large piece with a small fork and feeding it to his brother, he blissfully began to eat his cake.

To him, cream and cake were a perfect match. If they were merely delicious eaten separately, together they were astounding.

Xiang Chen finished his small cake, then drank all his milk.

Unlike Xu Hengzhou, he quite liked drinking milk.

When he was in elementary school, the country had implemented a program, and many schools provided a type of student milk: square paper cartons with various flavors. Students chose their preferred flavor and were very unhappy if they got one they didn’t like.

But Xiang Chen was different; he liked all of them, the only distinction being between ‘like’ and ‘like even more.’ This was because Xiang Chen, who lived with his grandmother at the time, rarely got to drink such sweet beverages.

Perhaps those childhood milk cartons left Xiang Chen with sweet memories, so he loved drinking milk. Even when he grew up and had money, he felt it sounded a bit odd for a boy to like milk, so he would secretly buy it and drink it at home.

What kind of person was Xu Hengzhou? He understood Xiang Chen’s preferences with just a little observation. The little bun’s eyes were filled with satisfaction and happiness when he held the milk.

So, in recent times, he had begun to increase Xiang Chen’s milk supply. After all, it was good for the child to drink, and he could also see just how much the little one truly loved such sweet things.

After Xiang Chen finished eating and drinking, it was almost time for class. The two said their goodbyes, agreeing to meet after school.

***

In the afternoon, as the time for meat distribution drew nearer, by the last two classes, it was impossible to teach in the classroom. The room was filled with chatter, and those who weren’t talking had their minds far from the lesson.

Even the teacher was helpless. The last class was simply dismissed early.

Xiang Chen wanted to find his brother, but he was swept along by the crowd surging towards the school gate. He was too short to see faces and grew incredibly anxious.

Someone pushed him, and Xiang Chen nearly fell. Fortunately, Little Tiger and his friends were nearby, circling around him and steadying him.

Xiang Chen had no choice but to follow the flow of people outside, hoping to find a spot to wait for his brother.

Once outside the school gate, Xiang Chen was surprised to see Song Wenbin. Usually, he wouldn’t be off work at this time.

Song Wenbin strode over, lifted Xiang Chen, and placed him on the back seat of his bicycle, telling him to hold on tightly. Then, they waited together for Xu Hengzhou.

Xiang Chen asked him, “Uncle, why are you off work so early today?”

Song Wenbin smiled. “Because it’s meat distribution day!”

Not only the workers but also the leaders eagerly awaited the meat. After the meat processing plant’s truck arrived that afternoon, the news quickly spread throughout the entire factory.

The workers’ morale was high, and the leaders, considering that not much work would get done anyway, decided to dismiss everyone early. They would distribute the meat, treating it as a small holiday for the workers.

By the time Song Wenbin came to pick up the children, a long queue had already formed at the meat counter. There were always those who had people waiting at home, who, upon hearing the news, immediately rushed over with baskets and money tickets.

Don’t say there was plenty of meat and no need to rush. Was buying meat something one could wait for? A pig had both good and bad cuts, fatty and lean.

For the same weight, others might get good meat with several fingers’ thickness of fat, while you might end up with lean meat with bones. That would infuriate anyone.

So, by the time Song Wenbin picked up Xu Hengzhou, and the three of them returned home to get their baskets, the meat queue had already stretched almost to the family quarters.

Xiang Chen hadn’t been anxious initially, but upon seeing the long queue, he suddenly became agitated. He pulled Xu Hengzhou, saying that he and his brother would queue while Song Wenbin cycled back for the baskets.

Song Wenbin readily agreed to such a small request. He dropped the two children at the meat distribution point, then quickly pedaled his bicycle home.

Because Xu Hengzhou had gone to find Xiang Chen after school, they were delayed, and their family was already quite far back in the queue.

However, there were always those even slower than them. Cai Zhen, along with Chen Fen, also arrived at this time, lining up in the adjacent queue.

The two queues were very close, but the two families at the back of the lines clearly didn’t want to interact. Only Chen Fen, still not giving up, secretly kept looking at Xu Hengzhou.

Xiang Chen felt inexplicably indignant, a sense of unease that his perfect brother was being coveted by a bad person. He leaned closer to Xu Hengzhou and tightened his grip on Xu Hengzhou’s hand.

Xu Hengzhou discerned what his little dumpling was struggling with and found it amusing. He simply pulled Xiang Chen to stand in front of him, wrapping his arms around him.

Although the queue was long, the meat distribution was not slow. The workers from the meat processing plant also wanted to get home for dinner.

The master butchers distributing the meat were highly skilled; they didn’t even need a scale. If you asked for a jin, they wouldn’t give you nine ounces. Although choosing the meat wasted some time, the queue moved forward quickly.

Those who had already bought meat were all beaming with joy, which stirred impatience among those still waiting in line.

When queuing for goods, the best items were often chosen by those at the front. By the time it was Song Wenbin’s turn, only the leftovers remained on the meat counter.

There were pig ears, pig tails, pig trotters, and some offal. The better options included a few ribs with meat, some pure pork belly, and the most presentable piece was a palm-sized chunk of fatty meat.

Song Wenbin took one look and realized there was no choice left. He pulled out his meat tickets, intending to have that piece wrapped up for him.

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