Chapter 193

"Brother Chang'an understands me. If the effect is truly as you say, the people above me will certainly be willing to spend the money."

"Fine, then the bottle my brother left behind is also for you, brother. Please do me the favor of pulling some strings." Zhang Ping'an feigned a look of gritting his teeth in heartache.

After all, if you don't risk the bait, you won't catch the wolf. This Tiger Penis Wine was a godsend for middle-aged and elderly men, not to mention that Zhang Ping'an's Tiger Penis Wine was an enhanced version, even if it had been diluted.

"Good, good, good." Tong Siye looked at Zhang Ping'an with great satisfaction.

The hook wrapped in bait had already been cast, and he was just waiting for them to take it. Zhang Ping'an did not believe they wouldn't be tempted.

Time flew by, and seven days had passed. Today was already the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. Zhang Ping'an continued to drop sweet potatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, and small amounts of meat in the Black Market at irregular intervals.

"Director, is the warehouse for Procurement Section 1 still in use? There might be twenty or thirty Wild Boars sent over in a couple of days."

Ever since the second half of '59, the difficulty of procurement for Procurement Section 1 had doubled. Now, one had to beg everyone to get even a small share of supplies, so the warehouse had been left idle ever since.

"Good, good, good, no problem. I'll get the key for you right now; the warehouse has been idle for a while."

Li Huaide was overjoyed. Originally, Zhang Ping'an's daily volume of thirty or forty wild rabbits and one Wild Boar had already made him extremely satisfied, and with the other hunters in the Third Section also having harvests, he hadn't expected another surprise at the end of the year.

"Here is the key, Ping'an. You've really done me a huge favor."

Li Huaide calculated rapidly in his mind. If one pig weighed two hundred jin, and there were thirty of them, then this year he could distribute about three liang of meat to every Worker. That meant his position as Deputy Factory Director for next year could be considered basically secure.

"Actually, Director, we could open our own pig farm. It wouldn't need much space; out of the several hundred acres of land outside the Rolling Mill, just approving one hundred acres would be enough."

"I collected quite a few grass seeds when I went to see my grandfather in Beijiang before. They are all cold-resistant and drought-tolerant, and they could definitely be planted on those hundreds of acres of empty land to feed the pigs."

Li Huaide's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and his expression immediately turned serious.

"Ping'an, how certain are you?"

"I'm eighty percent sure. Director, how about this: after spring begins, we recruit a batch of temporary workers to turn the soil, and I'll scatter the grass seeds. You can decide based on how it goes. Even if it doesn't work, we've only invested a little labor."

Li Huaide paced back and forth in his office, finding it more and more feasible the more he listened. He was in charge of logistics, and there was nothing more frustrating than having no supplies. A small Section Chief at the slaughterhouse could now put on airs with him; it would be a lie to say he wasn't angry.

"Fine, we'll discuss the details after the New Year."

"Yes, okay."

Judging by Li Huaide's demeanor, this matter was eighty percent likely to succeed. It was estimated that many refugees would come next year; by then, not only would the labor problem be perfectly solved, but they would also be able to eat their own farm-raised pork in a few months—the best of both worlds.

If the pig farm was run well, Li Huaide might even be able to advance further, and he himself could strive for the position of Logistics Director. Even if the wind started to blow, he could provide better protection for his family.

Early the next morning, his second uncle and third uncle brought four more Wild Boars over. Zhang Ping'an directly arranged for the Wild Boars to be sent to the warehouse and exchanged them for over two thousand jin of corn flour for them to take back.

Zhang Ping'an's original intention in giving his second and third uncles the Space Water was for them to get one Wild Boar to eat for the New Year, but now it had developed into them seeking benefits for the village.

However, Zhang Family Village was full of aunts and cousins, all related by blood, but Zhang Ping'an had forgotten that he lived in the city and didn't need to consider these things.

But his second and third uncles were both in the village, so it was impossible for them to eat alone. Still, this was fine; it saved him from having to find excuses to arrange food for his hometown.

"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, this is some veterinary medicine I recently concocted. Use it sparingly."

"Got it."

After everyone left, Zhang Ping'an waved his hand, and thirty-six Wild Boars were in place, making exactly forty. After locking the door, he went to the Rolling Mill to tell Li Huaide the good news.

It was only eight o'clock, and Li Huaide had just sat down in his office, preparing to brew a cup of tea.

"Director, the Wild Boars have all been delivered, forty in total."

"Hahaha, good, good, good, Ping'an, you're a good man. I'll arrange for people to go and haul them over right now."

Li Huaide didn't even have time to drink his tea; he picked up the phone and called the Transport Team, then put on his coat and greeted Zhang Ping'an as they went out.

With the rumble of the large truck, the group soon arrived at the warehouse.

"Hiss~" Opening the warehouse door, everyone saw pork everywhere and gasped in unison.

"Hahaha, good, hurry, hurry, hurry, weigh them and load the truck."

After a flurry of activity, the logistics personnel responsible for recording the results told Li Huaide the final count.

"Director, the pork totals eight thousand three hundred and twenty-five jin, worth sixteen thousand six hundred and fifty yuan in total."

"Mm, hurry up and issue the voucher."

"Ping'an, when you get back to the factory, just take the voucher to Finance to collect the money."

"Yes, Director."

Li Huaide was more and more satisfied with Zhang Ping'an now. Not only did he make him a real man again and help his wife reshape herself, but now he had even provided the capital for him to advance in his career. He was truly a lucky star. At the same time, Li Huaide felt even more confident in Zhang Ping'an's previous proposal.

Zhang Ping'an also sent three hundred jin of pork and seventy or eighty jin of Big Bone scraps to the two Sub-bureaus respectively; brewing some Big Bone soup would also allow the patrolling Public Security comrades to drink something to warm their stomachs.

"Ping'an, how is things back home?" After Zhang Ping'an returned, his grandfather would always ask every once in a while.

"Don't worry, Grandfather, every household has enough to eat now."

"Mm, that's good."

Zhang Ping'an's family didn't eat white flour Steamed Buns anymore. Zhang Ping'an added corn flour, chestnut flour, sorghum flour, and sweet potato flour to the white flour. In any case, it looked gray and dull, similar in color to cornmeal buns, but the taste was worlds apart; no one would know what kind of flour it was without eating it.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ping'an's family of seven went to his father-in-law's house, bringing two bags of flour, two bags of sweet potatoes, five jin of fatty meat, two fish, braised meat, as well as cigarettes, alcohol, and tea.

"Ping'an, I'll keep the other things, but you take the grain back later."

"Dad, Mom, I have wheat in my small courtyard, and it will be ripe in a few months. Besides, I saved quite a bit in the past few years, so it would be a waste not to eat it."

What Zhang Ping'an said was the truth. He didn't intend to keep the stored grain; when his nephews and cousins returned home, he would distribute thirty jin to each of them to take back.

His family ate Space Ingredients, and Zhang Ping'an had told his mother that everything was taken from the basement, which he would replenish every few days.

"You, everyone is short of grain now, and you still have more than you can eat. Don't go around talking nonsense outside."

"I know, Dad."

Having a few drinks at his father-in-law's house and listening to his father-in-law tell interesting stories about his travels when he was young (which was just bragging) also broadened Zhang Ping'an's horizons.

In this era, the places he had been were still too few. Apart from Sijiucheng and the few cities around it, the furthest he had been was Jilin Province and Beijiang.

After sending Wang Xiaoling and the children home, Zhang Ping'an went to the Pharmacy to bring some things to his master and mistress.

Master Lao Wang hadn't shown any signs of aging under Zhang Ping'an's constant feeding over the years; on the contrary, he seemed to be getting younger as he lived.

Zhang Ping'an also handed over the subsequent parts of the Yin-Yang Medical Book from the Yongle Encyclopedia to Lao Wang one after another, which also allowed Lao Wang's medical skills to advance further.

"Master, Mistress, I've come to see you."

"Why did you bring so many things again? The Na Family is not lacking anything."

"Hehe, I promise to come empty-handed next time."