Chapter 26: A Watch for Grandpa

As Zhou Yimin approached the entrance of Shangshui Village, he stopped at a turn and took out the sweet potatoes and potatoes he had bought earlier, which had been stored in the shop’s backpack.

Sweet potatoes: 15,000 jin.

The combined weight of the wild boar and black bear meat was 372 jin. According to the previous agreement, 100 jin of meat could be exchanged for 3,500 jin of sweet potatoes. This meant he should have received about 13,000 jin of sweet potatoes.

However, considering the special nature of the black bear, he added another 2,000 jin to Shangshui Village.

In reality, Zhou Yimin had only spent 150 yuan on all of this.

It seemed like an absolute profiteer’s move, but it wasn’t that Zhou Yimin wanted to be a ruthless businessman—it was just that, in this era, this was already quite an extravagant trade.

Over 10,000 jin of food!

Even though it was just sweet potatoes, how could an ordinary person get their hands on so much?

If it weren’t for Zhou Yimin’s status as a procurement officer at the steel factory, he wouldn’t have dared to do this.

The sight of over a hundred sacks of sweet potatoes stacked up was quite a spectacle.

Not far away, Village Chief Wang had already brought people to the village entrance. He asked, “Did he say the steel factory would send a vehicle to transport it?”

“That’s what he said.”

“Then that’s good. Since—”

Before Village Chief Wang could finish his sentence, Zhou Yimin appeared from the turn.

“Village Chief Wang, over here! The factory’s vehicle had another task, so we had to unload here.”

Hearing Zhou Yimin’s shout, Village Chief Wang and the others looked over and immediately rushed over, their faces full of excitement.

Seeing the sacks piled up like a small mountain, Village Chief Wang and the villagers were overjoyed.

“No problem! I understand. It’s a big factory, after all—they have production tasks.” Village Chief Wang said understandingly with a smile.

“They’re all sweet potatoes, totaling 15,000 jin. This time, I also mentioned to my superiors that the villagers got injured while hunting the black bear. When they heard that, they gave a little extra.”

Village Chief Wang’s eyes lit up, and his lips trembled as he expressed his gratitude. “Comrade Zhou, on behalf of the villagers of Shangshui Village, I thank you! This means so much to our village.”

They had already done the calculations themselves—based on the agreement, they should have only received around 13,000 jin of sweet potatoes.

Now, they had received an extra 2,000 jin!

That much could save many lives.

“Village Chief Wang, no need to say that. You are also supporting our steel factory. This is mutual assistance. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back now.”

“Alright, alright! You should hurry home—the commune has brought people to your house to inspect the hand pump well.” Village Chief Wang informed Zhou Yimin.

Zhou Yimin was shocked. He immediately got on his bicycle and rode off.

He had expected the news of the hand pump well to spread and gain recognition eventually, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

Watching Zhou Yimin’s figure disappear into the distance, Village Chief Wang couldn’t help but feel a little envious of Zhoujiazhuang for having such an outstanding and capable young man. With him around, the village wouldn’t starve.

“Hurry and move everything back. You all know what to say, right?”

“Yes!”

“Good! Then get it to the village canteen’s storage quickly.” Village Chief Wang instructed.

As for the villager who injured his leg, the village would definitely compensate him. In reality, the injury wasn’t serious—he would recover in two to three months.

The old branch secretary of Zhoujiazhuang had guessed right—the man had exaggerated his injury on purpose.

The villagers of Shangshui Village worked with enthusiasm, carrying two sacks at a time without complaint.

The shadow of famine was finally lifting.

—

When Zhou Yimin returned to Zhoujiazhuang, he hadn’t even entered the house when his grandfather told him, “Yimin, the commune brought people to our house to inspect the hand pump well, including some professor. You should go to the brigade leader’s place right now—they’re being received there.”

“Grandpa, no rush! Let me bring these things inside first.”

“Whoa! You brought back so much? How will we ever finish all this?” The old man finally noticed the sheer amount of stuff packed onto the bicycle.

Bicycles of this era were impressively sturdy—carrying 300 to 500 jin of goods was nothing.

“This bag of potatoes and this bag of corn are for Dachun’s family. Grandpa, have them come pick it up later.

This bucket is peanut oil—don’t be stingy with it when cooking. Your grandson has connections and can get more.

These two chickens are already butchered, Grandpa, take them to the kitchen.”

The old man was stunned.

Even when people moved houses, they wouldn’t bring this much!

He hurriedly carried the chickens inside, afraid others would see. He even lowered his voice and called, “Old woman, come help with the oil.”

This much food couldn’t be seen by others—jealousy could lead to trouble.

Zhou Yimin carried a sack of soybeans in one hand and a sack of sorghum in the other. He set aside 20 jin of soybeans at his grandparents’ place so they could make some soy products later.

His grandmother hurried out, her quick steps showing her urgency. Seeing all the food, she was also shocked.

“Are you moving back to the village instead of living in the city?”

“Yimin—”

Grandpa cut her off. “Don’t ask questions, just get everything inside.”

Grandma snapped out of it.

Once everything was safely stored away, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Grandpa, Grandma, you don’t need to be so nervous. Your grandson is a procurement officer at the steel factory. I just delivered a wild boar and a black bear to the factory today, so I made a big contribution.

The factory not only rewarded me but also allowed me to buy some soybeans and other things.” Zhou Yimin gave them a reasonable explanation.

Sure enough, the old couple found it convincing.

“The steel factory really treats its people well!” Grandma beamed with joy.

Zhou Yimin took out a Shanghai brand watch and handed it to his grandfather. “Our department head, Director Ding, rewarded me with a watch voucher. Grandpa, I bought this for you—try it on.”

The old man was dumbfounded.

His eldest grandson had bought him a watch.

He was so touched that he nearly shed tears.

Grandma, however, quickly pushed the watch back. “Yimin, you should wear the watch yourself. You’re a procurement officer—you need a watch to keep track of time.

Your grandpa doesn’t need one. What would he use it for? He either sits or lies down all day.”

“Ah! Yes, yes! Grandpa doesn’t need it.” The old man, though interrupted, quickly regained his composure.

His grandson’s thoughtfulness was enough.

Not to mention, his own son had been working for years and never once bought him a watch. What a disappointment!

“Grandma, look—I have one too. I bought this from a consignment store, no voucher needed.” Zhou Yimin showed them his own watch.

“Grandpa, this one is for you.”

Seeing that his grandson also had a watch, the old man finally accepted it with joy.

He put it on, and it fit perfectly. When he noticed a fingerprint on it, he immediately breathed on it and wiped it clean, staring at the ticking hands with fascination.

He treasured it dearly.

“Yimin, are you hungry? Grandma will cook for you.”

“Grandma, take a break. I’ll eat when I get back. From now on, just enjoy life.” Zhou Yimin coaxed her.

Grandma grinned from ear to ear—she loved hearing such words.

“Alright! Grandma will wait.”

Zhou Yimin left, heading toward the brigade leader’s place.

At that moment, inside, a lively discussion was underway.

“Professor Chen, is large-scale drilling of this type of hand pump well feasible?” A man in a Zhongshan suit asked.

This was a crucial question because he knew that many places in the country were experiencing drought, and the situation was severe. If nothing changed, there would be a major grain shortage this year.

(End of Chapter)