Chapter 314

The convoy, loaded with Xinjiang cattle, sheep and specialties, like a triumphant army after a long trek, finally rolled back to the Steel Rolling Mill on a sunset evening when the sun melted like molten gold, in a grand, majestic procession.

Before the convoy had even come to a halt, the rising and falling cries of cattle and sheep, together with a faint, unfamiliar gamey odor in the air that differed from the usual metallic scent, already set off the whole plant area.

"They're back! Li Chief and the others are back!"

"Whoa! So many sheep! And cattle too!"

"Goodness! How much is this? Our plant is about to have a meat feast."

Factory Director Yang Weiguo personally met them at the plant gate, gripping his hand firmly and repeatedly saying, "Hard work"; Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide was flushed with pride, as if this "achievement" that benefited all the plant workers had been orchestrated entirely by him. Patting Li Ping'an on the shoulder, he announced in a booming voice, "Comrade Ping'an has done a great deed this time! He has solved the big problem of our workers struggling to get meat! It shows the plant leadership's deep concern for everyone's livelihood!"

Soon, the plant committee announced the allocation plan for the cattle and sheep: most would be slaughtered and meat vouchers distributed according to the number of workers in each workshop and department, ensuring every employee's family could get some meat; a small portion of live animals would be kept, fed centrally by the canteen for future improvement of meals.

For a moment, the entire Steel Rolling Mill was immersed in a festive atmosphere of joy; the workers were full of vigor, praising the plant leadership, especially Li Ping'an, who handled the matter directly.

Naturally, this wave of joy also swept through the Siheyuan. Most households in the courtyard had someone working at the Steel Rolling Mill, even if only as a temporary laborer, and each received a bit of meat or meat vouchers this time.

At dusk, the smoke rising from every household's chimney was no longer the thin broth of old days, but a long‑missed, mouth‑watering scent of meat!

In the Central Courtyard, the Sha Zhu family had the most dominant aroma. Sha Zhu himself took the knife, cooking part of the allotted meat as Red Braised Pork and stewing the rest with cabbage and vermicelli in a huge pot, filling the house with fragrance. His two sons, He Xiao and He Dan, circled the pot, drooling profusely. Ma Dongmei also managed a rare, contented smile.

In the Rear Courtyard, the Liu Haizhong household, Er Da Ma took the small piece of meat they received, carefully sliced it into shreds, and stir‑fried a fragrant Beijing‑sauce shredded pork. Though the portion was small, the rich sauce aroma breathed a hint of life into this long‑quiet home. Even the perpetually listless Liu Haizhong, upon smelling the meat, managed to scoop a few extra mouthfuls of rice.

Front Courtyard Wang family, Central Courtyard Li family… almost every window wafted a similar scent. Children chased and tussled in the courtyard, comparing whose meat smelled better tonight; adults wore satisfied smiles, greeting each other, their conversation revolving around "The meat today is really good," "Thanks to the plant this time," and "I heard it was Li Chief's skill."

Yet amid the courtyard's meat aroma and laughter, the Third Elder Yan Bu Gui's family in the Front Courtyard seemed especially desolate and… out of place.

No one in their household worked at the Steel Rolling Mill.

Yan Bu Gui is an elementary school teacher, his spouse is a housewife, their eldest son Yan Jiecheng does odd jobs at the street office, and daughter‑in‑law Yu Xiulian is unemployed.

Previously, when any household in the courtyard received a perk from the plant, those with good connections might get some leftovers, or they could rely on the Third Elder's scheming to trade something else for a benefit.

But this time the distribution was plant‑wide, allocated per capita! The Yan family was completely excluded from this lavish "meat feast."

Yan Bu Gui sat at the Eight Immortals Table, with a plate of pickled vegetable strips and a bowl of Bangzi Noodle Porridge that could reflect a person's silhouette, eating without feeling satisfied. The rich meat aroma that seeped into his nose from all directions, once tempting, now became countless tiny needles, pricking his heart, his lungs, and his abacus beads!

He inhaled sharply, trying to distinguish the sauce scent of Red Braised Pork from Sha Zhu's Central Courtyard home, the sweet aroma of Beijing‑sauce shredded pork from Liu's Rear Courtyard, and the gamey fragrance of scallion‑stir‑fried lamb from an unknown source… Each scent made his Adam's apple twitch involuntarily, followed by deeper loss and frustration.

Miscalculated! Truly miscalculated! Yan Bu Gui felt as if a cat had clawed his heart. Why hadn't he been willing to spend money to let Jiecheng work at the Steel Rolling Mill? Even as a temporary worker, he could have legitimately received meat this time! He stared at the thin broth dinner on the table, listened to the courtyard's bustle, and felt his face burn, as if everyone in the courtyard were laughing at his family's joke.

San Dama, seeing her spouse's gloomy face that seemed ready to drip water, and watching daughter‑in‑law Yu Xiulian lower her head, too timid even to sip the porridge, felt uneasy herself and couldn't help whispering a complaint: "This… this smell is just too fragrant, it makes the cravings crawl out. Old Yan, how about… I go to the butcher tomorrow and we buy some?"

"Buy? With what to buy?" Yan Bu Gui snapped irritably, tapping his chopsticks hard against the bowl rim, "How expensive is the meat at the butcher? And you need vouchers! The little money we have must be scrupulously budgeted! Can we even compare with what the plant distributes?" The more he thought, the angrier he became, the more he felt…

But now it was too late to say anything. Li Ping'an works for the public sector; why should he be pointing fingers at you, Yan Bu Gui?

Yu Xiulian listened to her in‑laws' conversation, burying her head even lower. Having been married for half a year without any sign of pregnancy, she already felt short a step, and now missing out on meat made her feel she could never lift her head in this household. The stronger the meat aroma, the more aggrieved she felt; her eyes reddened slightly, yet she dared not let her in‑laws see.

In stark contrast to their family's bleakness, the Xi Kua Yuan stood out.

Li Ping'an's family naturally received plenty of good meat. Lin Xueqing used part of it to wrap fragrant cabbage‑and‑pork dumplings, and set aside the rest for a weekend stew. Xiao Yaozong ate messily, oil dripping from his mouth, repeatedly exclaiming, "Dad's amazing." Xiao Nuanqing babbled along, clearly delighted by the rare bustle and aroma.

Li Ping'an watched his wife and daughter's satisfied expressions and felt gratified. He understood the courtyard's clamor and the Yan family's predicament, but it didn't bother him. After all, everyone walks their own path; Yan Bu Gui is good at scheming, yet often fails to calculate the most crucial point.

But as he listened to the laughter from Sha Zhu's Central Courtyard home and recalled his own recent embarrassment, the fleeting pleasure he had felt from eating meat evaporated almost entirely, leaving only a deeper resentment toward Sha Zhu.

In the Central Courtyard, the Jia household, Bang Geng, smelling the courtyard's meat aroma, became as hungry as ants on a hot pan, swarming around Jia Zhangshi and the freshly off‑duty Qin Huairu, clamoring, "Grandma! Mom! I want meat! I want Red Braised Pork too!"

Jia Zhangshi scolded, "Little brat, stop fussing," while eyeing Qin Huairu pleadingly. Qin Huairu sighed, cutting a small piece from her already limited portion of meat, intending to stir‑fry it separately for Bang Geng.

Now working in logistics, her job is somewhat easier and her salary has risen, yet the unspoken cost and the invisible pressure from Li Huaide leave her exhausted in body and mind; the meat she puts in her mouth carries a hint of bitterness.

That night, the Siheyuan was suffused with meat aroma, laughter and chatter interwoven with sighs. The overwhelming majority of households were immersed in the rare satisfaction of fatty meat, while the Front Courtyard Yan family's clacking abacus sounds were drowned by the scent, leaving only endless regret and the stark reality of thin broth.

Yan Bu Gui, for the first time, profoundly realized that some things cannot be obtained through scheming. And this meat aroma that spread throughout the courtyard, yet bypassed his home, will probably, for a long time to come,

Yan Bu Gui, for the first time, so profoundly realized that some things cannot be obtained by scheming. And this meat fragrance that permeates the entire courtyard yet somehow bypasses his house will, for a long time ahead, remain a thorn in his heart that cannot be pulled out.