Chapter 53: Take a Look for Me

The meat in the pot was fried until golden brown, and the pork skin puffed up, forming the characteristic “tiger skin” texture. Only then did Zhou Yimin take the braised pork out.

After letting the oil cool slightly, he stored it in a large ceramic jar to be used later for cooking.

“Big Brother, is it ready to eat?” Laifang had somehow slipped over and was staring eagerly at the dish.

Zhou Yimin shook his head. “Not yet.”

He then began peeling taro, washing and slicing it for later use.

Grandmother asked, “You’re cutting so much—can we even finish it?”

Never mind the braised pork—even this whole basin of taro was too much for their family to finish! Plus, her grandson had fried so much meat into braised pork. She was a little worried it wouldn’t keep well.

If he had made cured pork instead, it would last much longer.

Instead of answering, Zhou Yimin asked, “Grandma, are there many elderly people over seventy in our village?”

Grandmother thought for a moment and answered, “Around ten to twenty, I’d say.”

Zhou Yimin then explained his plan: he intended to share a small bowl of braised pork with every elderly person in the village who was seventy or older. Otherwise, why would he have made so much? He could have just prepared a little for his own family.

In the future, Zhoujia Village would be his base. By taking care of the village’s children and elderly, he would essentially be securing his position there.

One shouldn’t underestimate the influence of elders over seventy. In some village matters, their word carried significant weight. Even the old village head sometimes had to consult them before making decisions.

Some of them were even clan elders.

If someone needed to be expelled from the village, their approval was required.

Zhou Yimin’s efforts to support Zhoujia Village weren’t just out of kindness—he had his own calculations. Otherwise, did people really think he was doing this just for fun?

“Yimin, you’re doing great,” Grandpa affirmed.

He had already seen through his grandson’s intentions.

In fact, not only had he noticed, but the old village head had as well. People shouldn’t assume the villagers were fools. But even though they saw through it, no one stopped Zhou Yimin. Instead, they were more than happy to align themselves with him.

“However, when it comes to distributing the meat, Yimin, you should let the village head handle it,” the old man advised.

By having the village head take responsibility for the distribution, the impact would be even greater.

It was true—experience comes with age!

Zhou Yimin nodded. “Alright!”

He then began slicing the braised pork and marinating it with five-spice powder and other seasonings for ten to twenty minutes.

After hearing her grandson’s plan, Grandmother went around borrowing extra bowls—there weren’t enough at home. Once she had gathered them, she washed them clean and started arranging the bowls, filling them with meat and taro.

Each bowl contained alternating layers of three pieces of braised pork and three pieces of taro.

In total, they prepared around thirty bowls.

Then, they placed water in the pot, brought it to a boil, and set up a steaming rack. The bowls of taro-braised pork were neatly arranged on top. Once one layer was full, another rack was placed above, and more bowls were stacked.

Fortunately, their iron pot was large enough to steam everything in one go.

“Grandpa! I’ll go find the old village head now.”

The old man nodded. “Go on! Your grandma and I will handle things here.”

Over at the construction site, Zhou Zhiming and the others smelled the meat and couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

“Focus! You bunch of hopeless fools!” Zhou Zhiming scolded.

Though he was scolding them, he himself had secretly swallowed several times.

Which farmer could resist such temptation?

The others silently thought: Wanting to eat is normal, so why does that make us hopeless? If they could eat meat regularly, they’d be fine with being called hopeless!

They were willing to be “hopeless” people if it meant they could eat meat more often.

Sixteenth Uncle, being a procurement officer at the steel factory, often managed to bring back some food. The workers who helped him out would occasionally get a taste, satisfying their cravings.

The old village head had just returned from the riverbed. By now, half of Zhoujia Village’s riverbed had been developed and planted with various vegetables. Following Zhou Yimin’s advice, he planned to use the remaining land to grow autumn corn.

If they could get a good autumn corn harvest, then even if the village’s farmland crops yielded less, Zhoujia Village wouldn’t have to worry about food shortages for the next year.

Thinking about this put the old village head in a great mood, and he couldn’t help but hum a tune.

“Village head, you’re in a good mood!” Zhou Yimin greeted him, offering a cigarette.

The village head saw that it was Zhou Yimin and smiled. “All thanks to you.”

“Village head, I fried some braised pork and want to share it with the elderly in our village who are over seventy. Can you help distribute it?” Zhou Yimin lit the village head’s cigarette for him.

The village head was momentarily stunned, but then he understood.

This was a good thing!

He had already guessed Zhou Yimin’s intentions, but he didn’t mind at all. In fact, he welcomed the idea of Zhoujia Village having such a strong backer. In times like these, as long as someone could feed the people, they could be treated like an ancestor for all he cared.

“Alright, I’ll handle it,” the village head agreed, knowing exactly what to do.

He personally went to each household with elderly members over seventy, explaining the situation and especially emphasizing Zhou Yimin’s generosity.

The elderly were overjoyed and grateful, showering Zhou Yimin with praise.

Among them, some were even of the same generation as Zhou Yimin.

“Sixteenth Brother is truly promising! If not for him, our village wouldn’t even…”

“Alright, just remember to go pick up your portion later,” the village head interrupted, quickly moving on to the next house.

One household had two elders over seventy.

Meanwhile, back home, Zhou Yimin suddenly remembered something—the newspaper! He hurriedly took it out.

“Grandpa, look! I made it into the newspaper!”

The old man was momentarily stunned before his hands trembled as he accepted the paper. His literacy level wasn’t very high, but he could still read.

Seeing the report about his grandson, he read it over and over again, his face beaming with pride. At that moment, he forgot all about the braised pork.

His grandson had truly brought honor to their family.

If it weren’t for the crackdown on superstition, he would have gone to the ancestral grave to burn incense and thank their ancestors for looking after their descendants.

“Good, good, good!” The old man decided to paste the newspaper onto the wall.

In fact, he was even considering posting it on the village canteen’s bulletin board so more people could see it.

Grandmother, who couldn’t read, listened as her husband read the article aloud. She was overjoyed. Now, even in the afterlife, she could proudly tell the ancestors about their grandson’s achievements.

Of course, there was still one important task left—seeing her grandson get married and have children. Only then would her life be complete.

As for their son, well, he ran off, so let him be!

Who even remembers him anymore?

Just then, the old village head arrived with the elders.

One elderly man immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply to Zhou Yimin.

Startled, Zhou Yimin quickly dodged—this kind of gesture was too much!

His grandfather, however, calmly accepted the bow. With his seniority, he was entitled to it. At that moment, he was still engrossed in reading the newspaper, pretending not to notice the visitors.

The old village head sighed and spoke up. “Uncle, what are you reading?”

It was frustrating to have to call someone younger than himself “Uncle.”

“Huh? Oh, you’re here? Zhihong, why are you still kneeling? Get up, get up!” The old man finally “snapped out of it.”

Then, turning to the village head, he said, “Oh, nothing much—just reading about Yimin in the newspaper. Some words I don’t recognize. Help me take a look.”

At those words, the village head and the others widened their eyes in surprise.