Chapter 62

The next day, as soon as Li Qiang arrived at the office, Li Huade called him over on the phone.

"Li Bro, what do you need?"

"Old brother, you need to help me out again; the factory's supplies have run out—contact your comrades again," Li Huade said with a smile. Li Qiang had already supplied him with plenty before, but the Yagangchang workforce was huge; even the superior allocations plus Li Qiang's contributions could only barely keep up, and now the quota has been cut again, so Li Huade has no choice but to turn to Li Qiang once more for help.

"Li Bro, I'll try contacting them again; the quota has been reduced again, indicating supplies are tight, I can only say I'll do my best," Li Qiang said, feigning difficulty.

"Okay, try to figure out a way to get some supplies back. The workers are already cursing," Li Huade knew Li Qiang was telling the truth; he too had no choice.

"Alright, I'll contact them now; I'll inform you immediately if I hear anything."

"Go."

In the afternoon, Li Qiang went to Li Huade's office again.

"Li Bro, the food situation isn't bad; we just lack meat," Li Qiang said as soon as he entered the room, laying out the issue.

"Having grain is enough; I don't even dare hope for meat now—just being able to fill our stomachs would be good," Li Huade said, a little disappointed.

"Li Bro, I have a way to get meat," Li Qiang said quietly.

"What way?" Li Huade exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Hunting—I want to go into the mountains and try my luck."

"Exactly. Why didn't I think of that?" Li Huade said, slamming the table excitedly.

"You're letting worry cloud your judgment," Li Qiang said with a laugh.

"Alright, brother, take the Security Section personnel into the mountains to scout, and try to bring back as much as you can."

"Li Bro, I'd rather go myself first to check the situation and scout the route; I've heard the villagers near the mountains have voluntarily sealed them off, forbidding outsiders from entering. I'll go alone first to see what's going on; if I can get in, I'll then bring the Security Section people; if they won't let me in, acting alone I'll have a small footprint and can slip in via any little path."

"Fine, go ahead and take a look first."

"Then I'll head out tomorrow morning. It's getting late today; tomorrow I'll borrow a truck from the Transport Team."

"Okay, I'll write you a note; just go see the Transport Team Captain."

The next day, Li Qiang took Li Huade's note, went straight to the Transport Team, borrowed a truck, and left Yagangchang.

Li Qiang didn't go into the mountains; after this period of cross‑breeding, the wild boars, mountain goats, pheasants, and rabbits in his space had multiplied greatly. The big male boar and tiger he had caught earlier were still sitting unused in the space, so this time he took them out to sell to Yagangchang, though he had no intention of selling the tiger.

He drove the truck home and didn't return to Yagangchang until just before quitting time.

"Section Chief, the haul is not small," the on‑duty Security Section worker said happily, looking at the game in the truck bed.

"Just good luck; I'll go hand these over first," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"How'd it go, brother?" Li Huade, having already gotten the news, came running to the warehouse door.

"Not bad—five wild boars, three mountain goats, plus some pheasants and rabbits. Li Bro, it was fine that I went alone; the villagers have set up checkpoints at every mountain entrance, so I had to detour a long way before coming back," Li Qiang said quite sincerely, without blushing at all.

"Thanks for the hard work, brother. By the way, when will the grain arrive, and how much?"

"Tonight at eight at the usual place—five thousand catties of flour and ten thousand catties of cornmeal; that's the most I can manage."

"That's already pretty good. Tell your comrades the price will definitely satisfy them: flour at two yuan per catty, cornmeal at one yuan per catty, and all the meat you brought back today at two‑five per catty," Li Huade said generously.

"Alright, thanks, Li Bro." Li Qiang knew the price Li Huade offered was already very high—about the going rate on the black market.

"What's there to be polite about between us brothers? You've solved a big problem for me—I could still afford to lose out on you. Anyway, the money spent is Yagangchang's, not Li Huade's personal funds; being able to procure supplies is the way to go. If Yagangchang doesn't want them, I'm sure someone will snap them up, and the price certainly won't be low."

After weighing, Li Qiang took the slip to the Finance Section and collected the money. Now he's become immune to the shock of large sums of cash; he no longer gets as excited as he did the first time he saw so much money.

Li Qiang didn't rush to return the truck to the Transport Team; instead, he drove it out of Yagangchang again, having promised Director Wang he'd deliver some game, and this was a perfect opportunity to send her a portion.

As he approached the Street Office, Li Qiang pulled a wild boar weighing over two hundred catties from his space, plus a few hares and pheasants, loading them into the truck bed, then drove leisurely to the Street Office.

"Qiangzi, what brings you here?" Director Wang asked happily upon seeing Li Qiang.

"Director Wang, I went hunting today. I got lucky and caught something—I've left a wild boar for you," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"Really? Thank you so much," Director Wang said excitedly.

"Let's not stand on ceremony; the truck is out front—have your people bring the game inside."

"Okay," Director Wang replied and left the office.

Not long after, Director Wang came over with four or five young men.

"Qiangzi, just let them handle it," Director Wang said, gesturing to the men behind her. Those fellows weren't unhappy about having to work; on the contrary, they were all grinning from ear to ear.

"Alright, then thank you all for your trouble," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"It's no trouble, Comrade Li—we really ought to thank you properly. You have no idea our family hasn't had meat in half a year; even during the New Year we couldn't let the kids eat a single dumpling with meat," said an older male comrade, eyes glistening with tears.

"I understand. Let's first get the boar inside; leaving it out front isn't safe either," Li Qiang said, patting his shoulder to comfort him.

"Right, first bring the game inside; having it out front where others can see isn't good." Director Wang had realized this too. After all, other people are going hungry. If word got out that the Street Office entrance had a big wild boar sitting there, the impact would be terrible.

"Okay," the several men eagerly went to the doorway and lifted the large boar inside.

"Director Wang, these two hares and pheasants are my personal gift to you," Li Qiang said, carrying the hares and pheasants to Director Wang's office, while the others went off to weigh the game.

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony," Director Wang said, taking the game from Li Qiang's hands with a smile. She had heard Zhou Rong say that Li Qiang knew how to hunt, so his household probably wasn't lacking in this, and besides, Li Qiang could provide some for himself—he surely had kept some back.

"Qiangzi, I can only pay you 1.2 yuan per catty for the pork. I know that's low, but the Street Office isn't like Yagangchang—a corporation with money—our funds are allocated from above and are meager; I can't offer a higher price, so I hope you can understand." Director Wang said, embarrassed.

"Director Wang, I understand. Anyway, this cost me nothing, so don't give me 1.2—just make it 1 yuan for easy accounting," Li Qiang said generously.

"Qiangzi, thank you for your understanding and support, but I need to pay you for the grain and meat you delivered last time," Director Wang said, pulling out money and handing it to Li Qiang.

"Director Wang, just give me twenty yuan." If he refused to take even a fen, Director Wang would surely be unwilling, and later, even if he wanted to help her, she'd probably not accept it.

"Qiangzi, that's too little."

"Director Wang, if you want to hear me out, give me twenty; otherwise I won't give the wild boar to your Street Office."

"Alright, sis, thank you." Director Wang knew Li Qiang genuinely wanted to help her; she didn't press further, so she could only keep this favor in mind and look for a chance to repay it later.