CHAPTER 72: MAKING TROUBLE

Many hands make light work, and before long, the pork was handled.

Split in half down the middle, the two slabs of skinless pork looked especially appealing.

"Third Brother, it’s getting late. If we send it to town now, it will be too late. The weather is hot, and the pork won’t keep for long. I suggest we ask around the village if anyone wants to buy it. We can sell it to the neighbors at a cheaper price," Lin Ershui said.

Lin Sanshui had the same thought and said, "Alright, let’s go with Second Brother’s plan. We’ll sell what we can, and whatever doesn’t sell, we’ll eat ourselves."

Lin Ershui spoke up, and quite a few people immediately expressed interest in buying. Some who were unsure quickly ran home to consult with the head of their households.

In town, fatty meat costs sixteen wen per pound, and lean meat twelve. Naturally, Lin Sanshui wasn’t asking for that much. Each pound was three wen cheaper than in town.

Even those hesitant to buy fatty meat wanted at least a pound of lean meat as a treat.

Lin Shui held a kitchen knife and started dividing the meat on the spot. "Whose family wants to buy quickly? The early birds get to choose the best cuts, and the latecomers can only pick what’s left over!"

With those words, families preparing to buy swarmed forward instantly.

In the village, Mrs. Zhang heard that the Lin Family had brought back another big wild boar. Her eyes turned red with envy.

Grabbing a few friends she usually got along well with, Mrs. Zhang began to bad-mouth Lin Sanshui’s family without regard to consequences.

People are sometimes like this; they look down on those who are not doing well, and they envy those who are doing too well.

Lin Sanshui was facing precisely this situation now.

Clearly, everyone used to be the same, but now the Lin Family was different.

Having just collected several buckets of honey, now they’d brought back a wild boar.

Isn’t that something to be envious of!

Just as they were talking, Little Niu came running over, panting, "Mom... Mom..."

"Oh dear, my big son, why are you running so fast? What if you fall down?" Mrs. Zhang hurried to catch Little Niu, who had thrown himself into her embrace, her delight evident on her face.

"Mom, I want to eat meat. Buy me some meat!" Little Niu demanded boldly, clearly indicating that he wouldn’t give up until his wish was granted.

Mrs. Zhang’s smile froze, "Eat meat? What meat? It’s not a festival, and what kind of condition is our family in? We can’t afford meat!"

"I don’t care, I don’t care, I just want to eat meat. Little Hu’s family is selling pork, and a lot of people are buying it. You go buy some too. Anyway, I just want to eat meat. If you don’t buy it, I’ll tell Grandma!" Little Hu immediately threw himself on the ground, kicking and screaming.

If there was one person Mrs. Zhang feared most, it was undoubtedly Little Niu’s grandmother.

In previous years, before Little Niu was born, Mrs. Zhang had given birth to four daughters in a row, suffering quite a bit under Little Niu’s grandmother’s hand because of it.

It was only in these last few years, after having Little Niu, that she finally held her head high.

Watching her son throwing a tantrum on the ground, Mrs. Zhang, instead of getting angry, started to laugh, "Good son, Mom has a way for you to have some meat. Get up quickly..."

Business was booming for Lin Sanshui over there.

However, the poor have limited purchasing power, and most bought only a pound or two just to taste the flavor of meat, so not even half of it sold.

Seeing the large amount of meat still left, Lin Sanshui started to worry, "Why don’t we go to town overnight? Even if we sell it cheap, at least some of it will sell; otherwise, if the meat spoils at home, what will we do?"

Gu Nian happened to overhear and stepped forward, "I have an idea. We can make pork sausages. Although it will be quite a hassle, once made, they can be preserved for a long time, enough to last until the New Year."