“Third Brother, what exactly do you want to talk about?”
As soon as Xu Jianbei entered the small farmhouse near the outskirts of the city, he spotted Xu Jiannan and asked directly. He hadn’t expected Liu Meiling to bring them all the way out here to the suburbs.
Xu Jiannan replied, “Oh, you’re here. I was worried it might be a bit far and you two might have missed the bus.”
Liu Meiling chimed in, “What nonsense are you talking?” Then she turned to Xu Jianbei. “Little brother, what do you think of this little courtyard?”
It was a simple farmhouse, taking up just over sixty square meters. Surrounded by a wall, it had three single-story rooms inside. Nothing particularly special about it.
“We specially borrowed this place from someone. From now on, we’ll make our braised meat here.”
Before coming in, Bai Lan had already observed the surroundings. She wasn’t surprised by this revelation. Behind the house was a river, the neighboring houses were scattered far apart, and beyond that were farmland. Making braised meat here, as long as they controlled the smell properly, would carry almost no risk.
Bai Lan knew that Liu Meiling had previously made her braised meat at that private restaurant. She’d heard they were looking to expand the business by securing more meat sources, but she’d worried that with more meat, controlling the flavor might become a problem.
Now, seeing the environment, Bai Lan knew she didn’t need to worry.
Meanwhile, Liu Meiling was explaining the situation with the house to Xu Jianbei.
“As for the meat supply, we’ve already made arrangements with your wife’s second uncle’s family. They’ll deliver everything here for processing…” Xu Jiannan also began going over various details.
In summary, Bai Lan felt like there wasn’t really any role for her and Xu Jianbei to play. But then Xu Jiannan continued:
“Your wife’s second uncle’s family later introduced us to other meat sources too. But I have to work my regular job and also run around to several places to pick up the pork. I can’t handle it all on my own. I’m planning to find someone to help.”
Speculation and profiteering were still being strictly cracked down on. For something like this, they could only hire people they knew and trusted. Previously, Xu Jianbei and Liu Meiling had handled everything together. But with the scale expanding, they were short on hands. The problem was, almost everyone they knew already had jobs. No one would risk doing this with them. And even if someone was willing, they’d worry about being reported.
Now that they had a fixed location and fixed meat sources, choosing the right person was even more critical.
Hearing this, Bai Lan breathed a sigh of relief. She’d thought it was something much bigger.
Then Liu Meiling asked Bai Lan if she wanted to join in. Bai Lan immediately shook her head.
The money from making braised meat would definitely be more than what she earned making pastries at the cafeteria. But Bai Lan truly didn’t want to do it—it would be too exhausting.
However, she did have someone to recommend.
Just as she was thinking this, Xu Jianbei spoke up: “How about Ning Cong from our courtyard?”
As soon as he said the name, Xu Jiannan and his wife paused for a moment. Bai Lan smiled and said, “He’s Ning Datou, who lives in the backwards-facing room in the front courtyard. He’s my classmate. A reliable person.”
Hearing it was him, Xu Jiannan had no objections.
Although Datou didn’t have much to do with him, since they lived in the same courtyard and given his family’s circumstances, the kid really was usable.
After settling on the person, Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei followed Xu Jiannan and his wife on a walk around the area. Then they all headed back together.
On the way, Bai Lan quietly asked Xu Jianbei, “How come you thought of Datou, just like me?”
Xu Jianbei answered, “Actually, Datou came to me asking about work before.”
Bai Lan was surprised. Because when Qin Yan had found a job, she’d also asked Datou what he thought. Back then, Datou hadn’t shown any interest in finding a job. The main reason was that Datou usually picked up odd jobs here and there. He also ran errands in the black market. The money he made was more than what he’d earn from a regular job.
More importantly, Datou had a paralyzed father at home. His mother had taken over his father’s job and went to work. Most of the responsibility for feeding and caring for his father fell on Datou.
Under those circumstances, Datou couldn’t even take a factory job. He had to be home to care for his dad.
As for having his mother quit and Datou take over her job—that was even more impossible. Datou’s mother was a third-grade worker. If Datou took over her job, he’d have to start as an apprentice.
The wage gap between a third-grade worker and an apprentice was nearly ten yuan a month. That money was enough to buy medicine for Datou’s father.
So, given his family situation, Datou hadn’t had any intention of joining a work unit in recent years.
Now he’d actually come to Xu Jianbei asking about work. That was really strange.
Xu Jianbei knew Bai Lan was puzzled and explained directly, “He didn’t tell me the reason, but I have a guess.”
Then Xu Jianbei shared his guess. Bai Lan was shocked after hearing it. She thought to herself, if what Xu Jianbei suspected was true, then Datou probably wouldn’t take this kind of underground work.
But then Xu Jianbei brought up another idea. And this time, Bai Lan knew it would probably work out.
…
Sure enough, after Datou heard what Xu Jianbei had to say, he immediately asked, “Really? You’re really going to teach me how to drive?”
Xu Jianbei nodded. “I also know people who drive big trucks. If Third Brother’s friend isn’t willing to teach you, I can find someone who will. Once you learn to drive, your options will really open up. Plus, being a driver doesn’t mean you have to be out on the road every single day. You’ll still have time to go home and take care of your father. And if all else fails, drivers get paid well—you can hire someone to help out.”
Back in the hutong, Xu Jianbei had called Datou out as soon as they returned. He started by telling him about the pork transport job. As expected, Datou immediately refused. But when he heard that someone could teach him to drive a big truck, his attitude did a complete one-eighty.
“However, transporting meat comes with some risks. And there’s only about a week left until the New Year. You’ll need to leave early and come back late every day this week.”
Datou said, “No problem. It’s only a few days. I’ll talk it over with my mom. She can check in on my dad during her work breaks.”
When he was younger, his mother had done the same thing—running back and forth to care for his father. The factory people never said anything, since his father had become paralyzed due to a work-related injury. It was only after Datou grew up, unable to bear watching his mother exhaust herself running back and forth, that he took over the responsibility of caring for his father himself.
With everything set, Datou followed Xu Jiannan out early the next morning.
Xu Jiannan’s job was relatively relaxed, so he planned to personally show Datou the ropes for a couple of days.
Bai Lan, for her part, wasn’t worried about any of this. She gathered her thoughts and headed back to work at the factory cafeteria.
Naturally, as soon as she arrived, she was met with a wave of well-wishes. Saccharin was expensive back then, so Bai Lan hadn’t bought any wedding candy to share. She simply smiled and thanked everyone for their blessings. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she went to the back kitchen to start her shift.
“Hey, did you hear? Our factory’s New Year’s welfare includes half a catty of meat per person.”
Bai Lan was wrapping buns when she heard this and looked over at the speaker.
“Really? Half a catty? That’s a lot. Even though our factory isn’t one of those huge ten-thousand-person operations, we’ve still got several thousand employees!”
“Hey, I’m not bragging. It’s not like I’m the one handing out the meat.”
This confident claim got everyone excited. As soon as the head chef arrived, the back kitchen buzzed with activity. Everyone crowded around him, asking if it was true.
The head chef didn’t hide it. “I heard that our factory’s purchasing agent found out that the steel mill’s purchasing agent has connections. They’re planning to hitch a ride. If they can actually get their hands on some meat, half a catty per person might be tough. But two taels per person should be no problem.”
Hearing two taels of meat, everyone was still thrilled.
Seeing this, Bai Lan went along with the general excitement. But inwardly, she wondered where all this meat was coming from. Two taels per person—with that many people in the factory, the total amount of meat was staggering.
And since when was the steel mill’s purchasing agent so impressive? Not only was he getting meat for the steel mill, but he was also getting it for their textile factory—a factory completely unrelated to his. What a great guy!
But just as Bai Lan finished marveling at what a wonderful person this was, she immediately learned that the so-called steel mill purchasing agent was none other than Bai Mingzu, the youngest son of her uncle Bai Daniu. The same family that had barged into the communal courtyard spouting nonsense on her wedding day two days ago.
If she remembered correctly, not a single person in that family held a city job. How did Bai Mingzu, a rural resident, suddenly become a purchasing agent for the steel mill?
That seemed like quite a stretch!
Bai Lan’s question was answered that afternoon.
After finishing her work, Bai Lan clocked out and instinctively walked straight home. Her mother saw her and immediately burst out laughing.
“Our little daughter is home!”
Bai Lan caught on and laughed along. “Yes, yes, I’m home.”
After her laughter subsided, Bai’s mother said, “This morning, when I went to buy vegetables at the station, someone pulled me aside and told me that your uncle’s family had all gone to the steel mill.”
Bai Lan immediately thought of what she’d heard that morning and told her mother.
“So, they’ve somehow managed to use some connection and probably really did start working at the steel mill.”
Their family didn’t actually have any ties to the steel mill anymore—not since Bai Ping had married the factory director’s son. But Bai Lan was sure her uncle’s family hadn’t gotten into the steel mill through Bai Ping. After all, Bai Ping was too selfish to let anyone take advantage of her like that for no reason.
“Don’t think about it. Whoever they’ve hitched a ride with, the important thing is that our family stays far away from them.”
Just as mother and daughter were talking, they saw Datou walk in carrying a basket.
Bai Lan knew at a glance it was meat. She immediately walked over. “How did it go? Smoothly?”
Datou was just as excited. He carried the basket straight into the Bai family’s main room.
“Smoothly, very smoothly. Brother Nan is processing the rest of the meat. He had me bring these back. Divided into three shares—one for your family, one for mine, and one for the Xu family.”
Bai Lan looked down and saw that the meat weighed about a catty or a little more. Each household could get nearly half a catty. She didn’t refuse and went straight to the kitchen to grab a kitchen knife, quickly dividing it up in a few swift cuts.
“Take the Xu family’s share directly to my mother-in-law.”
Datou didn’t hesitate and delivered the meat right away. Then he came running back. Seeing this, Bai Lan asked directly, “Is there something else?”
Datou said, “Do you know where that meat came from?”
Bai Lan shook her head, and Bai’s mother also looked curious.
Datou continued, “Someone secretly set up a pig farm in the mountains. Your cousin took us there. Today, it wasn’t just us—people from the steel mill also went to pick up pork.”
At this point, Datou’s expression turned strange. “Among the steel mill people was that fellow who showed up on your wedding day.”
Bai Lan understood immediately. So they’d moved that fast.
But she wasn’t curious about that. What intrigued her more was who had the guts to set up a pig farm in the mountains without having it confiscated by the authorities. Instead, everyone was lining up to buy from it.
“I’m not sure. I only heard it has some kind of connection to the steel mill…”
These vague, shadowy matters weren’t easy to investigate. Bai Lan figured her family just wanted to eat some meat, so she didn’t bother trying to dig into the farm’s background. The meat was real, and that was what mattered.
Over the next few days, Datou left early and came back late, bringing meat home every day. Everyone was so busy preparing for the New Year that nobody noticed what he was up to.
It wasn’t until New Year’s Eve that Datou finally got a break. But that morning, he still went out with the Xu brothers for one last trip to the mountain pig farm before the New Year.
This time, they came back carrying half a side of pork.
That caused a stir in the communal courtyard.
“Oh my, such fresh meat! Where did it come from?”
The meat was fresh, with a pure, authentic aroma. It was clearly freshly slaughtered. You couldn’t find fresh meat like this at the vegetable station anymore.
Xu Jianbei sent Datou off and said with a smile, “A friend helped us get it. If everyone wants some, each household can have half a catty. That’s all there is. Our family has many people and many relatives. We still need to share with them.”
Hearing there was meat to go around, nobody minded that it was only half a catty. Everyone squatted down, pointed at the half-side of pork, and started calling out, “I want this piece! I want this piece!” Afraid that someone else might grab the part they had their eyes on.
Standing at the side, Bai Lan watched Xu Jianbei getting jostled and overwhelmed by the crowd of aunties and elderly women. She covered her mouth and laughed.
“Aren’t you going to help?” Liu Meiling teased.
Bai Lan shook her head. “No, no. Let Jianbei experience the enthusiasm of the aunties and grannies for himself.”
She knew that Xu Jianbei had gone with Xu Jiannan to check out the pig farm today. She just hadn’t expected them to come back with half a side of pork. The meat really did look good—with two finger-widths of fat. That kind of meat was in high demand.
“Third Sister-in-law, do you know anything about that pig farm’s background?”
Starting a week before the New Year, the pig farm had begun selling meat, and to several large organizations at that. Their textile factory alone had bought a considerable amount. Everyone’s New Year’s welfare really did include two taels of meat.
It didn’t sound like much, but multiplied by the number of people at the textile factory, it was a huge amount.
Besides those organizations, small-time buyers like Xu Jiannan—operating in a gray area—had also purchased a fair bit.
A rough estimate put the number at several hundred pigs at the very least.
With such a large-scale operation and no one investigating it, Bai Lan was starting to suspect that the pig farm had a very big protective umbrella.
Hearing Bai Lan’s question, Liu Meiling shrugged. “Who cares who owns it? We’re not the only ones buying meat. Several big organizations are buying too. Though I’ve heard the pigs sold there come from several batches. Probably brought in from different places.”
Bai Lan nodded and dropped the topic. She continued standing there watching Xu Jianbei play the role of part-time pork seller.
Once everyone had bought the meat they wanted, Bai Lan finally went over and prepared a basin of warm water and some soap for Xu Jianbei to wash his hands.
“That pig farm is quite well set up. It doesn’t look like a fly-by-night operation.”
Xu Jianbei quietly shared his observations. The main reason he’d made the trip was that the pig farm was supplying so many pigs that he felt uneasy and wanted to check it out for himself.
“Third Brother doesn’t see any problem with it either?”
Xu Jianbei nodded. “After the New Year, that farm won’t have any pigs left anyway. So we don’t need to worry about it.”
Neither of them realized at the time that this pig farm would cause so many problems down the line.
Just as they were talking, the lively courtyard suddenly fell silent.
Bai Lan looked up and didn’t immediately recognize the person who had arrived. But Xu Jianbei beside her had already exclaimed in surprise, “Second Brother!”
At the sound of “Second Brother,” the quiet courtyard erupted into noise again. This time, everyone stopped talking about pork. One by one, they crowded around the newcomer.
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