Chapter 8: Section Chief Wang’s Surprise

“Hmm? Is this jerky?”

Very soon, Wang Weimin discovered that the bottom of the procurement basket contained dried meat.

Zhou Yimin smiled and explained, “I ran into a fellow townsman. His relatives from the vast grasslands sent him dozens of pounds of beef jerky, more than he could finish, so I bought some. The price was a bit high, though.”

Wang Weimin was overjoyed and waved his hand. “A slightly higher price is fine.”

When they procured items outside of the planned supplies, the prices were always a bit above the standard procurement rates—an unspoken rule.

To be clear, this referred to the standard procurement price, not the market price. The rural supply and marketing cooperatives offered even lower rates, so many farmers preferred selling to procurement officers from large factories like theirs.

This was beef jerky! A rare find.

Even if the steel plant didn’t want it, the procurement department staff could enjoy it themselves.

Who didn’t need meat?

“Section Chief, should we keep some for ourselves?” Someone was already eyeing the pile of jerky, practically drooling.

Keeping a small portion was another unwritten rule in the procurement department. It wasn’t free; they would buy a bit at the procurement price to take home—an accepted internal practice.

Of course, once something was registered in the warehouse, it was off-limits.

“Not the jerky, but each of you can keep about a pound of eggs. Just pay Yimin directly,” Wang Weimin wasn’t a rigid person.

Some felt a little regretful, but eggs were still a good deal.

In the end, each person took ten eggs, roughly a pound, and paid Zhou Yimin 30 cents.

Wang Weimin then recorded the jerky and the remaining eggs for accounting. The beef jerky was priced at 2.5 yuan per pound, and the eggs at 40 cents per pound.

At this time, beef and pork were about the same price, or even slightly lower. Unlike in later years, when beef would be three or four times more expensive than pork. However, it usually took three pounds of beef to make one pound of jerky.

So, 2.5 yuan per pound was reasonable.

Zhou Yimin signed off and collected his payment—125 yuan for the beef jerky. Only 40 pounds of eggs remained, adding another 16 yuan. The total came to 141 yuan.

Selling on the black market would definitely bring in more, which was why so many people preferred doing that. But black market sales were troublesome and risky. After careful consideration, Zhou Yimin decided to sell to the steel plant for now.

Once he figured out how the black market operated, he could reconsider. No rush.

Zhou Yimin didn’t immediately transfer all the money into the mental store; he needed some cash for real-life expenses.

At noon, he ate at the factory cafeteria. The food was mediocre and not to his taste at all.

In the afternoon, he idled around the factory, passing the time.

Meanwhile, back in Zhoujiazhuang, the villagers who had gone into the mountains returned. From their expressions, it was clear they hadn’t come back empty-handed.

Two wild boars were carried in, both weighing over 100 pounds.

“Yimin already went back to the city? Alright, I’ll organize some people to send this over to him,” the old village head said with a smile.

He had no intention of keeping any meat for the village.

Why eat meat? Wouldn’t it be better to trade it for sweet potatoes?

The two wild boars weighed about 280 pounds combined, with an estimated net weight of 200 pounds. That could be exchanged for nearly 8,000 pounds of sweet potatoes—enough to sustain the village until the next harvest.

By dusk, the villagers had finally delivered the wild boars to the siheyuan (courtyard house) where Zhou Yimin lived.

“So this is Yimin’s house in the city? It’s so nice! I wish I could live here,” a young man said enviously.

“You dare call him ‘Yimin’ like that? Show some respect! And quit daydreaming about living in the city,” a middle-aged man smacked the young man’s head.

An elderly woman from the courtyard came out and asked, “Fellows, what brings you here?”

“Comrade, hello! We’re from Zhou Yimin’s hometown,” they replied.

Hearing that they were from Zhou Yimin’s village, the elderly woman immediately relaxed and became much more welcoming.

“You’re here to see Yimin? He’s not home from work yet, but he should be back soon. You’ll have to wait a bit.”

Just then, Zhou Yimin, who had left work early, rode up on his bicycle.

“Daguei, you guys came?” Zhou Yimin greeted them.

The middle-aged man leading the group, the same one who had smacked the young man earlier, was Zhou Daguei. He also had to call Zhou Yimin “uncle” due to the village’s generational naming traditions.

“Sixteenth Uncle, the old village head sent us to deliver the wild boars,” Zhou Daguei said as he pulled back the hay covering the cart, revealing two already-cooled wild boars.

The elderly woman gasped in surprise.

Zhou Yimin was slightly startled too. He hadn’t expected the village to catch two.

“Daguei, come inside and rest while I take these to the steel plant,” Zhou Yimin instructed.

“Sixteenth Uncle, we’ll help you—” the young man eagerly volunteered, thinking he was being helpful.

Mostly, he just wanted a chance to see the steel plant.

Zhou Daguei smacked him on the head again. The old village head had explained that the wild boars were to be traded for sweet potatoes—definitely a private transaction with the factory. It was best if fewer people knew about it.

What was this kid thinking, trying to tag along?

“Sixteenth Uncle, we’ll wait here at the courtyard,” Zhou Daguei said.

“Alright! Help me bring my bicycle inside. Here’s the key. There’s food in the cabinet—help yourselves,” Zhou Yimin handed over the key, then turned to the elderly woman. “Auntie, could you show them the way?”

After covering the wild boars with hay again, Zhou Yimin drove the ox cart toward the steel plant.

Earlier that day, Section Chief Wang had hinted that if he could procure more supplies, he might get early confirmation as a full-time employee with a salary increase to 28.5 yuan.

With these two wild boars, his promotion was guaranteed.

Even turning in just one would be more than enough.

Upon reaching the steel plant, the gatekeeper uncle asked in a curious tone, “Weren’t you off work already?”

Zhou Yimin stopped and handed him a cigarette. “I got my hands on something good. Expect some meat tomorrow!”

The gatekeeper’s eyes lit up as he glanced at the cart and quickly opened the gate. “Come in, come in!”

Bringing meat into the factory? That was real power!

Inside, Zhou Yimin first informed his “boss,” Section Chief Wang.

Wang Weimin was both shocked and delighted.

“Two wild boars? Good lad! Your promotion is happening in the next couple of days. Come on, let’s go check them out.”

He wasn’t one to keep things low-key.

Letting the whole factory know that his team had secured two wild boars? Absolutely! It was their time to shine.

The other procurement teams turned green with envy.

“What kind of insane luck is this?”

The other section chiefs started scolding their procurement staff, demanding more effort if they wanted to advance.

A crowd gathered to gawk at the wild boars, some swallowing their drool.

“Get them processed! Weigh them, log them, and pay up,” Wang Weimin ordered the receiving team.

Two burly butchers from the cafeteria arrived with knives, expertly dehairing and gutting the animals.

“Yimin, this is Section Chief Zheng from our department,” Wang Weimin introduced.

“Nice to meet you, Section Chief Zheng!”

Zheng, in good spirits, patted Zhou Yimin’s shoulder in approval. “Yimin, you’ve got a bright future. Keep it up!”

Soon, the final weight was calculated—203 pounds.

Thanks to Wang Weimin and Section Chief Zheng’s negotiation, the factory paid 90 cents per pound, slightly above the 80-cent market rate for pork. But no one complained—meat was too scarce.

Even at one yuan per pound, they wouldn’t have let this slip away.

Zhou Yimin earned 182.7 yuan.

With his previous earnings of 141 yuan, his funds now exceeded 300 yuan.

(End of Chapter)