God-Tier Get Rich System – CH98

Chapter 98: Dividing the Pork

“Comrade Mu, are you going to catch fish?” Tie Dan bounced over excitedly.

Mu Lantu said regretfully, “I wanted to break a hole in the ice and catch a few fish to eat, but I’m worried that after I leave, some kids might come over to catch fish too. Without adults watching them, if they fall into the river, it’ll be dangerous.”

The kids all rushed to speak up.

“Comrade Mu, go ahead and break it! We’ll be careful!”

“What are you saying? Comrade Mu, go ahead and break the ice! We won’t come to catch fish!”

“Yeah, we’ll just watch! Promise not to go near!”

“Comrade Mu, after you’re done fishing, the hole will freeze over again soon. Don’t worry!”

Judging from their shifty eyes, Mu Lantu didn’t believe a single word.

“Have you ever heard this saying?”

Mu Lantu was just bored and teasing the kids for fun.

“What saying?”

Mu Lantu stroked his chin mysteriously. “There are two types of people whose words you can’t trust.”

The little kids demanded to know who.

Mu Lantu said seriously, “One is men. The other is children.”

The kids immediately protested, jumping up in frustration.

“I never lie!”

“Me neither!”

“You liar! Just last week you tricked your sister to get her egg! I’m the one who never lies!”

“I did not!”

“…!”

The children’s voices were loud and piercing. Mu Lantu was starting to get a headache from the noise.

“You’re all right. I’m leaving now, and you all should hurry home too.”

Seeing him actually leave, the kids were sorely disappointed.

“He really left?”

“Forget it, let’s just go home.”

Little Minmin tried to cross her arms, but her clothes were too thick. She failed, so she flailed her arms instead, pretending to warm up.

“No rush. Let’s wait. Maybe he’s just pretending to leave and will come back after we’re gone!”

The kids all looked at her in admiration.

“Zhang Minmin, you’re right. You’re so smart!”

None of them felt like skating anymore. They just stared in the direction Mu Lantu had gone. Five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour…

“We’ve waited a whole class period already, still waiting?” a boy shouted. “I’m going home!”

Minmin scoffed, “With patience like that, you’ll never achieve anything big in life!”

The boy, not good with words, just grunted and ran off angrily.

Soon, two more left. Then another three…

In the end, only Minmin, Tie Dan, and Gou Dan were left.

Minmin felt cold and disheartened. She glanced toward the educated youth’s place, stomped her foot, and ran back toward the village.

“Let’s go home!”

At the brigade leader’s house, the men were chatting on the kang bed in one room, the women sewing and gossiping on another kang across the hall, while the kids played jacks.

Minmin climbed onto the kang, sprawled out silently.

The women found it amusing.

“Oh my, who upset our clever and well-behaved little adult?”

Minmin’s cheeks turned red. She clumsily sat up and snuggled against her grandma’s lap.

“Grandma, what’s for lunch?”

The kids all looked over.

Aunt Chunhua paused. “Cornbread and cabbage stew with vermicelli. I’ll add a handful of dried shrimp to the cabbage, sound good?” She knew the kids were craving something better, but times were hard—they had to stretch what they had.

“Okay…” Minmin mumbled. “Grandma, I want to eat fish.”

“Someone went to catch fish at the river? Is the hole sealed up?” Aunt Chunhua grew anxious.

Ice fishing in winter was no joke. The river ran through several brigades—every year, kids had fallen into the ice while fishing.

Minmin quickly said, “No one fished! Comrade Mu wanted to, but he saw us there and was afraid we’d fall in, so he left.”

The women all nodded. Comrade Mu was a careful one!

The men overheard the conversation and came over.

“What’s going on?” the brigade leader asked.

Aunt Chunhua explained. The brigade leader had no solution. It wasn’t just the kids craving meat—the adults were hungry too. The truth was, their bellies lacked oil.

Their household was better off than most. With more laborers, and thanks to the educated youth Mu and Xu often helping them out with gifts, they could treat themselves every few days.

Once the accounts were done the day after tomorrow, they’d divide the grain and pork—everyone would be happy then.

Mu Lantu, like the other educated youths, brought a basin and sacks to the drying field.

“I wonder how much grain and pork we’ll get!” Miao Jiaze said eagerly. “Ever since I came, I’ve worked full points every day!”

Du Xuewen was more realistic. “We’ve only been here six months. We probably won’t get that much.”

Miao Jiaze deflated. “True.”

Zhao Chengxin said, “There’s nothing much to do now. Let’s follow the villagers into the mountains to hunt tomorrow?”

The male youths perked up.

Lin Guodong asked, “Someone’s going into the mountains tomorrow? Will they let us tag along?”

Xie Xiaojun said, “Even if they don’t, we’ve got Comrade Mu! He’s strong—if we run into a wild boar, we won’t be afraid!”

Zhao Chengxin said, “Let’s go tomorrow then! I’m not greedy—just one wild chicken or rabbit and I’m happy!”

Lin Shuzhen tried not to drool. “If you catch a rabbit, I’ll make spicy rabbit stew for you. So delicious it’ll knock you out!”

Bai Ningning said, “Chicken is tastier—braised, poached… every way is good. Never gets old!”

As if they already had a rabbit and chicken in hand.

Mu Lantu said, “I’m not going. Too cold.”

Why freeze when he could be on the kang eating sunflower seeds and watching shows?

A few days ago, Little Five had accidentally let slip that it had downloaded tons of anime, dramas, movies, and novels from his previous life. They’d eventually go up on 005’s system mall.

He’d begged 005 for over three hours before it agreed to let him watch—but for a price. The price was money from this era.

Two yuan per hour—worse than the shady internet cafés from his junior high days!

Xie Xiaojun complained, “Mu Lantu, look how excited everyone is! You’re such a buzzkill!”

Mu Lantu stopped, pulled down his scarf, and looked at him coolly. “You’re shifting the responsibility to me. Of course you’re excited. But if something happens and someone gets hurt, are you going to blame me for not protecting everyone? And you’d be blameless?”

The others thought about what Xie said—it really did seem off.

Xie Xiaojun cried injustice, “That’s not what I meant! Can’t I just praise you a little?”

Xu Jincheng tried to mediate, “Mu…”

“Oh really? Then praise less, thanks.” Mu Lantu sped up. “I’m leaving. You’re not cold, but I am!”

Miao Jiaze and Du Xuewen hurried to catch up.

“Wait for us!”

At the drying yard, the line to collect grain and pork stretched long.

Bags of grain were piled like a mountain. The brigade leader, party secretary, and accountant were all present.

The accountant manned the abacus, clicking the beads rapidly. The party secretary was distributing grain.

The brigade leader supervised the butchers dividing pork.

Members who weren’t in line crowded around the pork stall, eyes scanning the slabs of meat, already planning which piece they wanted. If someone else took the piece they wanted, they’d glare. If theirs went unclaimed, their eyes lit up with glee…

The kids didn’t seem to feel the cold. Though their necks were hunched and snot ran down their faces, they refused to go home, eyes glued to the pork.

Mu Lantu figured he wouldn’t get much pork, so he queued in the grain line.

Xu Huazhang’s household registration had been moved to the machinery factory, so he wouldn’t get much. Mu himself would probably get around 60 jin.

The other educated youths queued for pork.

Mu Lantu got 62 jin of grain—4 jin of wheat, 2 jin of rice, and the rest was sweet potatoes, corn, beans, and sorghum.

The auntie ahead of him chatted with another.

“Did you hear? Our brigade borrowed a pig from the neighboring Diligent Brigade!”

That piqued Mu Lantu’s curiosity.

“Auntie, you can borrow pigs?”

“Why not?”

The village aunties liked talking to Mu Lantu. He was good-looking and had a nice voice. So when he asked, they eagerly explained.

It turned out the Dongfanghong Brigade traditionally divided pork based on headcount—one jin per person. This year, after fulfilling their quota, they had two pigs left. One was eating well and growing fast. The other weighed only 100 jin—too small to slaughter. But they didn’t have enough pork to go around without it.

The Diligent Brigade had done well raising pigs. After meeting their quota, they had two big pigs left. Like Dongfanghong, they divided one jin per person, so only one pig was needed—leaving one extra.

So the Dongfanghong brigade leader negotiated to borrow a pig, promising to return one next year.

One auntie whispered extra gossip.

“At first, the Diligent Brigade didn’t agree. Their pigs were all fat! Even if we gave them back the same weight, it wouldn’t be as fatty. Our brigade leader had to gift them a bottle of good liquor to convince them!”

Mu Lantu looked around. Members who had already gotten their pork were happily showing it off—indeed, it was fatty and would yield a lot of lard.

People seemed to love that.

Mu glanced at the table—what was left were mostly bones, lean meat, belly cuts, and ribs.

With the brigade leader overseeing, the pork was fairly divided—every family got some fat and some lean, though those who lined up first got better picks.

One auntie sighed, “By the time it’s our turn, there’ll probably be no fat left.”

The other comforted her, “Lean and ribs are tasty too.”

“Don’t I know that? But you can’t render lard from lean meat—it’s still not as good!”

Mu Lantu took the unwanted ribs—only a jin.

The butcher added a pig’s trotter for him. The brigade leader didn’t say anything. No one else objected either.

Mu Lantu didn’t want to take advantage, but the gesture was kind. Refusing would be rude, so he accepted and thanked them.