Chapter 122: Sister Ling’s Troubles

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Since Xiao Weiguo was the only temporary worker in the entire commune who had been officially regularized early, and his workplace was good—a textile factory—with an even better position as a procurement officer, plus he had been allocated a house in the city, he was set to become a true city dweller. The other members of the brigade envied him greatly.

Arriving at the village center, which was actually the threshing ground where meetings had been held before, Xiao Weiguo saw a group of elderly folks sitting there, basking in the sun and chatting. From the moment he appeared, he became the center of their conversation, with various elders taking turns to praise him.

Before long, Xiao Weiguo’s smile stiffened; he decided such occasions were too taxing on his ability to maintain a smile. Yet he couldn’t afford to keep a straight face either, as these were all his elders, and it would be disrespectful.

Seizing a quiet moment, Xiao Weiguo leaned close to his grandmother and whispered, “Granny, I brought back a bag of grain. It’s in the inner room. Remember to check it.”

Hearing this, his grandmother, forgetting to boast to her old friends, immediately rose and headed home. Though she was a small-footed old lady, she walked quite swiftly.

Xiao Weiguo followed her back to the courtyard, and before his grandmother could even see how much grain there was, he pushed the cart out and told her he had to get back to work.

He had to leave quickly; otherwise, if Granny saw how much grain he had brought home, she would surely scold him. He just hoped that the elderly couple, seeing so much grain, wouldn’t feel too burdened and reluctant to eat it.

Yesterday, he had even considered bringing home a wild boar weighing several dozen jin but now thought better of it. The whole brigade’s members harbored resentment; seeing his family doing so well, with plenty of pork to eat, would only stir unfair feelings.

It would be better to sell both the big wild boar and the smaller one to the factory to avoid trouble.

With these thoughts, Xiao Weiguo pedaled straight to the commune. By chance, he saw Li Daniu driving a large truck approaching.

“Daniu, I’ve finalized the purchase of two pigs. They’ll be ready to haul soon. Let’s head back to the factory together.”

“Alright, Weiguo. I’ll wait here for you. Want me to drive the truck straight over?” Li Daniu asked.

“No need. I’ll find someone with a flatbed cart,” Xiao Weiguo replied. Since he hadn’t taken the meat out of the storage space yet, he didn’t dare have the large truck go directly to the factory.

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As before, Xiao Weiguo called a flatbed cart handler at the commune and followed him to a secluded grove. They placed the two pigs in the woods ahead of time, then together lifted them onto the flatbed cart and transported them back to the commune warehouse.

Li Daniu’s eyes lit up as he looked at the two pigs. “Nice, Weiguo. Wild boar meat again! The factory folks will be lucky for the next couple of days.”

“Even if that’s true, we won’t get to eat any; we’re out running around every day,” Xiao Weiguo said, motioning for Li Daniu to help lift the pigs into the truck bed.

Li Daniu carried the meat and said, “Yeah, these two jobs keep us at the factory for too short a time; we’re out all day.”

Xiao Weiguo sized up the pigs in the truck bed. The big wild boar was a sow, so not too large, probably around two hundred jin; the smaller one was about seventy or eighty jin. All told, it would fetch over two hundred yuan.

Li Daniu, figuring nothing else was amiss, started the truck. Xiao Weiguo took the passenger seat, and they set off for the textile factory.

On the way, Xiao Weiguo asked about Li Daniu’s married life.

Li Daniu vented without stop: “Don’t mention it. It’s like a battlefield at home every day. My wife and my mother are always fighting, and my three kids are raised by my mother, getting more withdrawn and speaking less and less.

The whole household is filled with conflict. I’m truly overwhelmed, sigh.”

Xiao Weiguo didn’t know what to say. The path was chosen by oneself. He quickly changed the subject to something else.

Back at the factory, he went to the first canteen to deliver the procured goods.

Zhou Da, the canteen manager, saw the two wild pigs in the truck and beamed with joy.

Holding the delivery note, he conveniently handed it over to Sister Ling.

When Xiao Weiguo arrived, Sister Ling looked as if she had been crying, and nearby, Yi Xiaohe was constantly comforting her.

“Sister Ling, who bullied my sister? I’ll get back at them for you,” Xiao Weiguo said, pulling over a chair to sit beside her.

Chang Ling, her eyes red-rimmed, helped Xiao Weiguo process the order and said, “Stop joking. I’m fine. You guys should go eat; it’s already noon.”

Xiao Weiguo glanced at Yi Xiaohe, who remained silent.

He pulled Yi Xiaohe out of the office and asked him quietly in the corridor.

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“Weiguo, do you know what’s going on with Sister Ling’s family?”

“I’ve heard a bit from Yicheng. They say she still doesn’t have children—is that it?”

“More or less. Everyone used to think it was Sister Ling’s problem, but recently they checked thoroughly and it turned out to be her husband’s issue. They say his sperm is weak or something, so they can’t have kids.

Sister Ling has suffered so much over the years. Today she finally let it out and has been crying all morning.”

That explained it. Indeed, it was worth a good cry. In this era, a woman married for so many years without children, especially after being suspected of having health problems herself, would feel deeply wronged.

Suddenly, Xiao Weiguo thought of the medicinal wine he had just brewed—the tonic for kidney and sperm health could treat this very issue. It was a perfect opportunity to test the efficacy of the wine.

Moreover, this wine was known as a friend to men, so he planned to find someone troubled by such problems to try it out.

He himself dared not try it, fearing he might be unable to get any sleep during his night watch.

No rush anyway; the wine would take at least a week to brew properly.

Returning to the office, Xiao Weiguo said to Sister Ling, “Sister Ling, I have an elder from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. He brews medicinal wine that’s excellent for male health. Are you interested? If so, I can bring some to you next week. It’s precious, so the amount will be small at first—just a trial.”

Sister Ling looked at Xiao Weiguo suspiciously. “Weiguo, does it really work? If it does, I’ll be forever grateful to you!”

“No need to be so dramatic. Just wait for my news,” Xiao Weiguo replied.

After that, he and Yi Xiaohe went to the first canteen to eat together.

Xiao Weiguo decided to eat at the first canteen from then on because Zhou Da knew him; he didn’t expect extra servings, but at least nothing uncomfortable would happen.

While waiting in line, he saw Liu Yanran at the front, just about to be served. The server heaped two large ladles of food and gave her the biggest steamed bun.

Liu Yanran’s delicate face showed great surprise as she carried her much larger meal to the table.