Chapter 51: The Child Who Fainted from Hunger on the Road

That night, Li Youde and Dapeng found Zhou Yimin and had a few drinks together.

Zhou Yimin bought some braised pig head skin, a plate of stir-fried tripe, and a dish of peanuts.

“Comfortable!”

Dapeng felt that this was exactly the kind of life he dreamed of.

Ever since he started following Zhou Yimin, he could make three to four yuan a day, or at least close to two yuan on a bad day. He would hand over half of his earnings to his mother and keep the rest for himself.

Before this, he wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a life.

Drinking a bit of liquor, eating pig head skin and stir-fried tripe—it felt like a dream.

Li Youde nodded in agreement. He had caught wind of something and spoke up, “Let’s not go to the black market tonight. I heard a rumor that there might be a crackdown.”

Regardless of whether the news was true or not, as long as there was even a slight chance, he didn’t want to take any risks.

To survive in this business for a long time, one had to be extremely cautious and never take chances.

“Not going?” Dapeng was stunned.

Losing even two yuan in a day was like bleeding money.

“You didn’t hear anything?”

“I did hear a little, but…”

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yimin cut him off, “Dapeng, listen to Youde from now on. We can’t gamble. It’s better to earn a little less than to take unnecessary risks.”

He thought to himself: Sure enough, Li Youde is the more reliable one.

“Alright then!”

Since Yimin said so, Luo Dapeng naturally wouldn’t insist.

Then, Luo Dapeng took out a key and handed it to Zhou Yimin. “Yimin, this is a copy of the key to that house for you.”

It had already been agreed that their goods might be stored in a room in the front courtyard from now on. Dapeng had no objections to this—after all, they had only gotten that house thanks to Yimin.

And just as Yimin had said, storing things in the front courtyard was safer and more convenient for moving goods later.

Zhou Yimin didn’t hesitate and accepted the key.

“Have you cleaned it out? Should we get Master Gu and his people to repaint it?” Zhou Yimin asked.

Luo Dapeng waved his hand. “No need. I’m not as particular as you. As long as it’s livable, it’s fine.”

Then, he added, “I’m planning to host two tables tomorrow. You free?”

Luo Dapeng knew that lately, Zhou Yimin had been spending a lot of time in Zhoujiazhuang and rarely came back. So, he wanted to confirm in advance.

“Tomorrow night?”

Luo Dapeng nodded. “That’s right!”

“Alright, I’ll get some meat for you tomorrow. Want some dried fish? If you do, grab a couple now—they’re over there.” Zhou Yimin pointed.

“Of course! More dishes are always better.”

Meat was meat—who would complain about having too much?

Seeing that Li Youde was also tempted, Zhou Yimin told him, “You take two fish as well.”

Both Luo Dapeng and Li Youde knew how to handle things. When they took the dried fish, they left behind two yuan, making it clear: Even between brothers, accounts must be settled properly.

They couldn’t just take advantage of a childhood friend’s hospitality without giving anything back.

At Li Youde’s house, his parents were emotional. Their family no longer had to worry about food—something they knew was thanks to Zhou Yimin.

“Big Brother, can I take some to school tomorrow?” Li Youde’s younger sister, Li Youjing, asked.

She admired her big brother now.

Her answer came in the form of a flick on the forehead from her mother.

“Eat whatever the other kids at school eat. When you’re home, I won’t interfere, but at school, don’t stand out.”

Eating well for just a few days, and already she was getting carried away?

Seeing his sister being scolded, Li Youde didn’t dare to speak up. He simply gave her a helpless look.

“And another thing! At school, don’t tell others what we eat at home, understand?” Their mother warned her daughter, twisting her ear for emphasis.

“Ow, ow! Mom, I got it!”

Meanwhile, their second sister was happily munching on the peanuts their big brother had brought home, looking like a little foodie.

—

The next day, as usual, Zhou Yimin checked the store’s 1-yuan flash sale section.

Today’s items were 100 catties of rice and 100 catties of pork.

Finally, rice was back in stock—just what he wanted. Stocking up on rice was always a good idea.

As for the pork, he cut off ten catties and split it into two portions.

One portion went to Second Auntie’s house.

As they had agreed earlier, she would help with cooking, and in return, she would receive five catties of meat.

“Second Auntie, here’s the meat for you.”

Seeing the meat, Second Auntie was overjoyed. This was high-quality pork! It had a thin layer of lean meat and a thick layer of fat, almost two to three finger-widths thick.

“Great! Yimin, thank you!”

She quickly put the meat away. Later, she would rub it with salt and make cured pork. With this much, eating it once a month, their family could make it last half a year.

After that, Zhou Yimin took the other five catties to Dapeng.

“So soon? Let me get you the money.” Dapeng was surprised.

He had thought getting two or three catties would be great—but Yimin had brought him five!

“I had someone set it aside for me. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading to Zhoujiazhuang.” Zhou Yimin accepted the payment and got ready to leave.

As for the steel factory? He had no interest in going there. As a procurement officer, it didn’t really matter whether he checked in or not—as long as he met the monthly procurement quota, he was fine.

In a few days, he’d supply the factory with another batch of meat, and that would cover everything.

Zhou Yimin also bought a bunch of pencils, a stack of exercise books, and ten boxes of chalk from the store—all meant for the village school, which he figured was about to start classes soon.

In addition, he picked up a kerosene lamp and a flashlight.

Since the store didn’t have kerosene lamps, he had asked Li Youde to buy one for him. Though the store stocked rechargeable lamps, he didn’t dare use those.

He also added ten catties of pork belly for making braised pork and twenty catties of taro to his cart.

On his way back, he came across two children—most likely brothers. One of them had fainted from hunger on the side of the road, while the older one was trying to give his younger brother water.

Zhou Yimin cursed under his breath, tossed a few taro their way, and left.

Seeing the taro, the older boy quickly took off his shirt, wrapped the taro in it, and helped his newly-awakened brother up.

“Let’s go! A kind person gave us food.”

But they didn’t head home. Instead, they took the taro to a ‘secret base’ only they knew about and hid it.

They knew that if they brought it home, they wouldn’t get to eat any of it.

Ever since their father remarried and had another child, they had become unwanted—treated as laborers while being given the least food.

At the secret base, the older boy lit a fire and used a broken pot he had found somewhere to cook a taro.

“Big brother, who gave this to us? Can we eat it now?” The younger one stared at the boiling taro eagerly.

“A kind man on a bicycle. Wait a little longer, it’s not ready yet.”

Though he hadn’t seen the man clearly, he felt he could recognize their benefactor if he met him again.

“Big brother… are we really going to Auntie’s house?” The little one asked anxiously.

If their father caught them, they would be beaten again. The whip marks on his back still hurt.

“We’re going! Once we’re full, I’ll take you. I still remember the way.”

If things continued like this, his younger brother might starve to death.