Chapter 50: Sewing Machine Ticket

For the past few days, Zhang Hu had been dead set on having Zhang Huacheng become a barber. After all, Huacheng was highly skilled and would soon be famous far and wide; a true barber of his caliber commanded great respect, unlike a half-baked amateur like Chen Yuanqiao. Furthermore, Zhang Hu and Chen Yuanqiao had once come to blows while working on the production team, a fight that had ended in bloodshed.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Huacheng felt a headache coming on. "Forget about it, and don't go finding me any work. Let whoever wants to do it do it; if it comes to that, I'll just teach my dad and let him be the barber!" He couldn't stomach being a barber in this day and age—either the hair was matted with grease or it was infested with lice, and you couldn't get it clean without washing it at least three times.

"What about teaching Big Brother?" Hua Ling recalled that her sister-in-law had mentioned this very thing.

"That's a good idea. With my teaching, Big Brother will definitely become the number one barber in the region. I'll teach him when we get back." Zhang Huacheng agreed immediately. Let someone else take the job; he only cared about hunting and making money.

The morning market had been getting livelier these past few days, with people lining up early to buy meat. Naturally, there were those who would report them, but Zhang Huacheng discovered that Qin Xiaodong and his crew were exceptionally resourceful with deep-reaching networks. The situation was completely different from the strict crackdowns he had imagined of the sixties. Even the market management committee in Changhai County, tasked specifically with curbing speculation and profiteering, left them alone.

Zhang Huacheng was a man who understood the ways of the world. Every morning, he would give Qin Xiaodong a dozen pounds of meat to help him grease the right palms—after all, who in these times would turn down meat? Yesterday, even the Red Guards from the market management committee, who usually arrived on time, were ten minutes late. Qin Xiaodong had once remarked that in the county town, money could make the devil turn the millstone.

"The department store opens at eight, but it's still early. Linlin, take them for a walk around the street and get some breakfast to fill your bellies."

Little Ya, having never been to the county town before, couldn't stop turning her head, looking this way and that. If Zhang Huacheng hadn't kept a close eye on them, they might have gotten lost. Dou Dou, tucked in Wang Lin's arms, was also looking around with curiosity, occasionally pointing her tiny hand at things she didn't understand.

As they walked, the rich aroma of deep-fried dough sticks drifted toward them. Little Ya tugged incessantly at Zhang Huacheng. Dou Dou, who had never tasted a dough stick, was also drawn by the smell, her little hand gripping Wang Lin’s hair with involuntary force.

"Second Brother, what is that? It smells so good!" Hua Ling was swallowing her saliva.

"There's a dough stick stall up ahead. Linlin, why don't you take them to get some? Tie Zhu and I will go sell the meat." Seeing they couldn't move their feet, Zhang Huacheng decided to let them go eat first.

"Okay!" Wang Lin was delighted; it had been a very, very long time since she had eaten one.

"All right, let Er Gou go with you. If anything happens, come find us at the morning market." Zhang Huacheng signaled to Er Gou. While the county town was relatively safe, these times were chaotic, and having Er Gou around gave him peace of mind. Little Ya let out a happy squeal upon hearing this.

The morning market was already bustling with long lines. As soon as the crowd saw Tie Zhu pulling the flatbed cart over, everyone fixed their eyes on it. If the cart had little meat, they wouldn't bother lining up, but since there was plenty, they were more than happy to wait.

"Little comrade, is there plenty of meat today?"

"Plenty! Five or six hundred pounds of wolf meat, enough for everyone. Everyone, please line up voluntarily!" Zhang Huacheng hurriedly stopped those who were trying to push forward. Crowds always led to trouble. Just yesterday, someone had tried to seize meat, but Qin Xiaodong had pinned him down and given him a sound beating before he could even make a run for it.

Wolf meat sold the best at the market, followed by red deer, then pork and roe deer. This was why he kept the wild boar meat for himself and brought the wolf meat to sell. It fetched a high price and moved quickly.

As the morning market grew more crowded, Qin Xiaodong arrived with Lei Zi half an hour later. Lei Zi was a dark-skinned, short, but fierce young man; he had been the first to charge during the skirmish with Zhang Huacheng.

"Brother, I'm here to help you!" Qin Xiaodong stepped forward enthusiastically. He had made a lot of money through industrial coupons—earning two yuan for every single one—and Zhang Huacheng’s 350 coupons had made him a fortune. Now, the little brothers who followed him were eating high on the hog every day. Lei Zi followed silently, helping out.

"It looks like we won't sell out today. Take the remainder to the black market later and sell it off," Zhang Huacheng said. He had already sold two wolves and still had three left. He knew they wouldn't sell out; the people in line had already bought theirs, and although new people kept arriving, there was simply too much wolf meat this time.

"Leave it to me, brother!" Qin Xiaodong glanced at the wolf meat on the cart and was startled. Had they gone out and wiped out an entire pack? He also set his sights on the wolf pelts on the cart. "Brother, don't sell these pelts to the state supply station. You can get at least ten yuan more per pelt on the black market. Those stations are absolute crooks."

Wolf pelts were high-quality goods—warm, durable, and comfortable.

"I wasn't planning on selling them. I'm going to have them made into wolf-fur coats for when I head into the mountains." Zhang Huacheng shook his head. A wolf-fur coat was worth far more than a hundred yuan; for a mountain guardian, such a coat could save a life. Even while selling the meat, many had tried to buy the pelts, with one offer reaching fifty-five yuan, but he hadn't budged.

He had already decided that when he returned, he would ask his sister-in-law to sew him, Er Gou, and Tie Zhu each a top-tier, cold-resistant hunting outfit. With deer-skin boots, deer-skin gloves, wild boar leather knee pads, a wolf-fur coat and hat, and a wild boar leather vest, he wouldn't just be protected from the mountain chill—even a wolf's bite wouldn't necessarily cause an injury.

Qin Xiaodong looked on with envy. "By the way, Brother, I got a sewing machine coupon and a bicycle coupon. Do you want them?" He pulled several coupons from his pocket.

Zhang Huacheng was delighted. He took the sewing machine coupon, four fifty-pound grain coupons, and two cloth coupons. "I don't need the bicycle coupon. Riding a bike in the mountains would just make my backside sore. Take the money from the bag yourself." If he were living in the county town, he would definitely want it, but in Chentang Siliqu, it was useless. It was impossible to ride there.

Zhang Huacheng handed the remaining coupons and his money bag to Qin Xiaodong. He planned to buy a sewing machine for his sister-in-law today. In reality, giving it to her was the same as giving it to their own family; she would be overjoyed, and as the top-tier "beast of burden" for their clothing, it was a worthy investment.

Qin Xiaodong took the money and returned the bag. "Brother, is it hard to hunt wolves? Can you take me with you?" Seeing Zhang Huacheng bring in so many wolves, he was genuinely jealous; both the meat and the pelts were valuable. Lei Zi couldn't help but look over as well.

Zhang Huacheng shot him a glance. "Last night, Tie Zhu and I were surrounded by over twenty wolves. If I hadn't taken down the alpha with a single shot, we wouldn't have even had our bones left. Are you sure you want to go?"

In this day and age, even some professional hunting teams wouldn't dare enter the mountains. With the heavy snow sealing the peaks, there were countless dangers—the Changbai Mountains were home not just to wolf packs, but to even more terrifying bears, and perhaps even the Northeast Siberian tiger!

"Hahahaha, well, uh, I think I'll stick to trading coupons, hahahaha." Qin Xiaodong’s scalp tingled at the thought. To survive being surrounded by twenty wolves? And to have killed so many? He knew full well how savage a wolf pack was in the winter. This was just too intense! Lei Zi also shrank back; no wonder they had bagged five gray wolves at once—they had been surrounded!

They didn't know that Zhang Huacheng had actually killed six gray wolves and one adult wild boar, but he and the others planned to save the boar and the last wolf to distribute in the village. After all, as mountain guardians, it was only right to share some meat with the Zhang family.