Chapter 69: Golden Roc
Seeing that Little Shanghai would say something so serious, Zhao Wendong was touched and no longer insisted.
"Alright, you win. You even brought up cutting ties. I’ll listen to you, okay?"
"Haha, that’s more like it!"
A smile appeared on Little Shanghai’s face, and the others around them also breathed a sigh of relief. Their gazes toward Little Shanghai held a bit more warmth.
Zhao Wendong counted out twenty Dahei ten-yuan notes and handed them to Little Shanghai, then turned to Liangzi.
"Fuck, if you try to give me money, I’ll get pissed!"
Seeing him look over, Liangzi immediately jumped back, staring warily at Zhao Wendong.
"Third Brother, you just make the arrangements. We all listen to you!"
Zhao Wenjun was the oldest. Since he had spoken, Zhao Wendong stopped overthinking it. He wouldn’t dwell on how to split the money anymore, as doing so could easily sour the bonds between these brothers. From now on, he would just treat Little Shanghai and Liangzi like family. Continuing to divide things up would only create distance.
"Alright, let’s go then. Station Chief Wang, could you please take us to exchange this for grain first?"
"No problem. The truck and I are at your service today!"
Wang Defa patted his chest and said jovially. Never mind Jiang Weimin’s instructions—just based on the fact that Zhao Wendong had let him be in the photo with the fish haul today, he was determined to make sure everything was arranged perfectly for him.
As they left the finance office, a woman quickly hurried over, looking left and right as if searching for someone.
"Wei Shufen, what are you looking for?"
Wang Defa glared at the woman, not in the best of moods. His face still hurt from where she had slapped it.
"Where’s Old Zheng? Didn’t he come back with you?"
"No, he’s staying behind at the Qianjin Commune to clean up the purchasing station. The main gate was torn down. Why are you looking for him?"
"Oh, then it’s... it’s nothing."
Wei Shufen turned and ran. Station Chief Wang was clearly angry with her, so it was best to stay out of his way. ’Sigh, making a bit of extra on the side is so hard!’
First, Wang Defa took Zhao Wendong and the others to the cafeteria for lunch. It was just simple dry rations, congee, and some pickles. He was in a good mood and offered to treat them. As a result, Zhao Wenwu alone nearly ate him into bankruptcy. The others didn’t hold back either, only stopping once they were completely full. By the time Old Wang led them out of the back courtyard, his heart was bleeding.
The group left the purchasing station’s back courtyard and was about to get on the truck to go to the grain station when Zhao Wendong suddenly froze. He had heard an animal’s thought.
’I shouldn’t have risked going for that rabbit. Damn humans.’
Zhao Wendong looked in the direction the thought had come from. He saw Wei Shufen, the woman from before, talking to someone at the purchasing station’s entrance. The man was holding an eagle, which was the source of the thought.
"Station Chief Wang, wait a second! I’m going to go take a look!"
With that, Zhao Wendong ran over, and his brothers quickly followed.
"This is a Big Eagle! How can it be only thirty cents a jin?"
The man holding the Golden Roc looked to be in his thirties. His face was weathered, and his cotton-padded jacket was covered in patches, with cotton peeking out in some places. He was questioning Wei Shufen in confusion.
"Comrade, all fowl are this price."
"But my Big Eagle is still alive!"
Wei Shufen patiently explained, "Alive or dead, the price is the same. It’s the rule."
"Then I’m not selling. I can’t buy much grain with this little money. I’d be better off taking it home to eat!"
Saying this, the man took the eagle and prepared to leave.
"Wait!"
Zhao Wendong arrived just in time to stop the man.
"Brother, how much are you looking to sell this eagle for?"
The man sized up Zhao Wendong, thought for a moment, and said:
"You want to buy it? This Big Eagle is eleven jin. I don’t want money, I want to trade for..."
The man calculated for a while before stating his decision, "I want to trade for thirty jin of grain."
"Done. Come with us. I’ll take this eagle, and I’ll take you to get your grain."
"Really?"
The man was hesitant, so Wei Shufen quickly pointed to Wang Defa beside them. "This is our Station Chief Wang. They won’t cheat you."
Hearing this, the man’s face immediately lit up.
"Alright, I’ll go with you then."
Zhao Wendong took the eagle from the man’s hands and examined it closely. Its feathers were a dark brown, its talons were as sharp as iron hooks, and its gaze was piercing. ’That’s right, it’s an adult Golden Roc.’
"Third Brother, I want to play with the eagle! Give it, give it!"
Zhao Wenwu excitedly snatched it away. Worried he might let the Golden Roc fly off, Zhao Wendong had Wei Shufen find a rope to tie to the eagle’s leg, with the other end fastened to Zhao Wenwu’s wrist.
The truck soon pulled into the courtyard of the county grain station. Zhao Wendong noticed that the grain exchange window facing the street was lined with people, and even more were crowded outside, densely packing half the street.
When the grain station manager saw that Wang Defa had personally brought them, and hearing there were instructions from Secretary Jiang, he readily agreed to exchange five hundred jin of grain for Zhao Wendong.
In addition to millet, cornmeal, and sorghum flour, Zhao Wendong also managed to trade for a sack of wheat flour and a sack of rice. The man who sold the eagle was stunned. ’This kid is dressed just as shabbily as I am, so how can he be so lavish with his money?’
The grain cost over a hundred yuan. If sold on the open market, it could instantly fetch five times the price. But at a time like this, few people would sell. Money can’t fill your stomach when you’re starving.
The middle-aged man chose the cheapest cornmeal and took his thirty jin. Seeing how down-to-earth he was, Zhao Wendong took a liking to him and said:
"Old brother, I’m Zhao Wendong from Dragon King Pond in Qianjin Commune. Where are you from? What’s your name?"
"I’m from Dahei Mountain. My name is Chen the Seventh."
Zhao Wendong knew of Dahei Mountain. It was in the southern part of their county, near Yin County. It also had a large mountain range, about the same size as the one near his own home. There were quite a few people over there who made a living by hunting.
"Alright, Brother Old Qi. If you have any other rare, live game in the future, come find me. I’ll take it all."
"Okay, I got it!"
Chen the Seventh happily shouldered the sack of meal and left. As soon as he walked out of the grain station, a crowd started chasing after him.
"Are you selling your grain?"
"I’ll pay five times the price!"
He smiled honestly, his face full of pride, and waved his hands repeatedly.
"I’m not selling! My kids at home are still starving!"
Looking at the grain in the back of the truck, Zhao Wenjun felt a fire in his heart, so much so that he no longer felt the sting of the north wind on his face. Zhao Wendong and Wang Defa sat in the cab. Zhao Wendong still had nine hundred yuan left, and he wanted to spend it.
"Station Chief Wang, can we go to the County Supply and Marketing Cooperative first? I want to buy a few things to take back home."
"No problem! The director of the County Supply and Marketing Cooperative and I are buddies."
The truck turned around and headed for the cooperative. There were very few vehicles on the road back then, and no traffic lights. The driver drove as if he were just cruising around his own backyard, going however he pleased.
They soon arrived at the County Supply and Marketing Cooperative. It was much larger and more impressive than the one in Qianjin Commune; it even had two stories. Zhao Wenjun and the others didn’t get out, wanting to stay in the truck bed to watch the grain. Zhao Wendong saw the longing in his second brother’s eyes and waved with a smile.
"Second Brother, why don’t you come inside with me!"
"You got it!"
Zhao Wenwu handed the Golden Roc to Zhao Wenjun, bent his knees, and jumped straight down from the two-meter-high truck bed. He landed with a BOOM, and the ground seemed to tremble.
Wang Defa looked at Zhao Wenwu’s fists, which were as big as large bowls, and couldn’t help but swallow hard. ’If Zhao Wenwu had been the one to hit me instead of Wei Shufen,’ he thought, ’would I even be alive right now?’