Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 157

Chapter 114 Hwwood feigns drunkenness in frustration

Xu Wude happened to have nothing to do today, so he left his workplace and went to the meat stall.

The meat stall, which usually has no customers, is now seeing a long queue of people.

As I approached, I heard them talking.

"Those enemy agents are really damned; they scared me so much that I haven't eaten meat for over a month."

"Yes, I'm so hungry for this. I have to get a piece of pork to satisfy my craving today."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wude was so angry that his nose almost twisted. It seemed that the news was true, and the swine fever incident was actually false. No wonder no pigs in the capital had been diagnosed with swine fever for so long.

Xu Wude asked the butcher who was butchering pork, "How much does pork cost per pound now?"

"Five cents a pound."

“What’s so expensive? You mean 50 cents? It was only 40 cents two months ago!” Xu Wude was very surprised.

"Would I lie to you? The price has already gone up to 5 cents. Isn't the African swine fever news just fake news?"

"I thought the news in the newspaper was fake. Was the swine fever really a sabotage plot by enemy agents spreading false information?"

"Yes, some enemy agents couldn't stand seeing us living a good life, so they secretly spread rumors about swine fever and even produced some fake pork. So at first, the authorities thought it was really swine fever."

The stall owner said, "After a while, we noticed something was wrong and realized that something was amiss. The police officers investigated and finally saw through their lies."

"What are they trying to achieve? They're really something," someone asked.

The stall owner said, "Isn't it all about making money? As soon as they heard about African swine fever, the price of pork plummeted, so they secretly bought up pigs. Otherwise, the police wouldn't have been able to find out that they were up to no good."

"You can make money like this?"

"Why not? Do you know how much live pigs cost per kilogram right now?"

"How many?"

The stall owner said, "Before the advertisement was published, nobody wanted pork even at 1 cents a pound. Now it's gone up to 5 cents. Otherwise, how could pork be so expensive?"

The butcher said, "If someone owned a pig farm and raised dozens of pigs, wouldn't they be rolling in money?"

Yes, but do you have one?

"Are you kidding me? Where would I get the money to open a farm?"

Xu Wude was furious, his face turning ashen. He thought that He Yuzhu had bought the yard and more than twenty pigs, so He Yuzhu hadn't lost money this time, but instead would make a fortune.

Those are 24 big fat pigs, each weighing over 80 kilograms. After more than a month of raising them, wouldn't they all be ready to be sold?

Although He Daqing saw through Xu Wude's plan at the beginning, he still managed to sell the pigs to He Yuzhu, which meant that his plan could proceed smoothly, and he still managed to trick He Yuzhu once.

Although he didn't gain any profit, he was still happy that He Yuzhu lost money.

But today we suddenly received news that the African swine fever outbreak is a rumor. Does that mean He Yuzhu will make a fortune?

Originally, I was looking forward to seeing He Yuzhu make a fool of himself, but only a little over a month has passed and the pigs haven't even been sold yet. I can already foresee that He Yuzhu will make money, and a lot of money at that. Doesn't that mean I'm the one who's making a fool of myself?

It should be noted that when He Yuzhu bought the pigs, they cost two cents per pound. Now, live pigs are priced at over three cents per pound, meaning He Yuzhu has made a profit of over 50%.

Xu Wude quickly calculated in his mind that He Yuzhu could earn two or three hundred yuan this time.

Xu Wude felt a pang of guilt; that damned idiot Zhu, he had forced the money into Zhu's hands.

Xu Wude wanted to slap himself a few times; he was furious.

In the tavern, Xu Huizhen flipped through the newspaper that had just been delivered that day. She quickly saw the official denial, and her face lit up with joy. She grabbed the newspaper and ran to the backyard.

"Brother Zhu, good news, that swine fever is fake."

"What? The swine fever claim is fake?"

"Yes, you see it's in the newspaper."

He Yuzhu took the newspaper and quickly read the official report. He was completely relieved. No wonder he hadn't heard any news of pigs getting swine fever in Beijing for so long.

It turns out the swine fever rumor was fake, and I worried for over a month for nothing.

Xu Huizhen asked, "How many kilograms do those pigs weigh now?"

He Yuzhu said, "I went to check on them the day before yesterday, and they were all around 120 pounds."

Nowadays, pigs are not white-skinned pigs, but large black pigs. Due to the different breeds and the current shortage of concentrated feed, pigs can generally be sold when they weigh more than 110 jin (50 catties).

The official food station divided live pigs into four grades: those weighing 110 to 130 jin were grade C, and those weighing over 160 jin were grade E, which had the highest price.

In other words, those 20-odd pigs have now reached the standard for slaughter, but the price is the lowest grade.

"So you mean they can all be sold now?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "Selling them now will earn about 300 yuan, but if we raise them for another month or two, we can earn even more."

The two were overjoyed and went to Zuojiazhuang for an inspection. Seeing that the pigs were eating and sleeping well, Xu Hui was genuinely happy, as if they had been given away for free.

"After feeding this batch, will you continue feeding the pigs?"

He Yuzhu said, "We keep all the piglets that are born to raise ourselves. Since it's all self-produced and self-sold, the profit is greater this way."

He Yuzhu had previously avoided this industry because he found it too troublesome, but the time for public-private partnerships is approaching, at which point the business will no longer be able to continue.

He Yuzhu discovered that there were no restrictions on pig farming in rural areas. Restrictions would not be imposed until 58, after the complete collectivization of agriculture.

He Yuzhu plans to continue his livestock farming business until 1958, raising not only pigs but also other livestock.

"Okay, so you're not going to do everything yourself, even slaughtering pigs, are you?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Isn't this simple?"

Why bother Dayong when he'd be paid to do it? He Yuzhu taught Dayong how to slaughter pigs anyway, so it's easier to do it yourself.

When evening came, He Yuzhu returned to the courtyard house, which was a rare occasion.

He Daqing and Wen Yuping were both surprised when He Yuzhu brought meat and wine into the house. Usually, He Yuzhu would not come back, and even if he did, he would not stay for a meal, but would only visit for a while before going back.

He Daqing asked, "What's going on today?"

He Yuzhu placed the things on the round table, greeted the two people, and Wen Yuping poured him a glass of water.

After taking two sips, He Yuzhu said, "Did you know that the news about swine fever was just a rumor spread by enemy agents? They wanted to create panic, it's completely fake."

"Is that so?" He Daqing asked.

He Yuzhu recounted the story, and He Daqing said, "That's good now, you don't have to worry anymore. You can make a profit from those 20-odd pigs."

"Yes, I still have to thank Lao Xu for giving me this opportunity," He Yuzhu said with a grin.

He Daqing instantly understood that this was sarcasm, so he went along with it and said, "Yes, you should thank Lao Xu. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have this opportunity. So you came here today to treat them to drinks?"

"Yes, I'm going to toast him a few more times today to express my sincere gratitude."

At this moment, Wen Yuping was still confused. With her big pregnant belly, she said, "What's wrong with you two? Old Xu was clearly trying to trick Zhuzi last time!"

He Daqing rolled his eyes at her and said, "We're here to annoy him."

"I knew it! Why don't you go and invite him?"

"I'll go invite them myself." He Yuzhu said as he went to the backyard. He Daqing plated the braised meat and heated up the cooked dishes in a pot.

He Yuzhu came to the backyard and, without knocking on the door of the west wing, called out directly, "Old Xu, is Old Xu home? I have some great news to tell you."

Unexpectedly, Liu Haizhong came out first, frowning as he asked, "Zhuzi, what's making you so happy? I remember you bought more than 20 pigs. There's swine fever everywhere now, how can you be happy about something?"

This is deliberately rubbing salt into He Yuzhu's wounds. You know, he had previously borrowed 100 yuan from Liu Haizhong, and Liu Haizhong dislikes He Yuzhu in every way.

She would look for any opportunity to make He Yuzhu uncomfortable. Although she didn't do anything excessive, she was always rude and unfriendly.

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "You don't know yet, do you? The swine fever was a false rumor spread by enemy agents. They deliberately caused panic in society and then took advantage of the low price to buy up large pigs, hoping to make a fortune. However, the police saw through their scheme and arrested them all."

"What? The news about swine fever is false?" Liu Haizhong asked in surprise.

"Yes, pork prices are now even higher than before."

"Now you're going to make a fortune, aren't you? That's 24 pigs!"

He Yuzhu said, "Yes, I hope so. Those three sows are all pregnant and have already given birth to a litter of eight piglets. Raising pigs will only get better and better in the future."

"You've really struck it rich!" Liu Haizhong said enviously.

"I didn't make much money, maybe three or four hundred yuan, so I came to thank Lao Xu."

Looking at He Yuzhu's smug smile, Liu Haizhong was so angry he wanted to hit him. This was just too outrageous; he was always looking forward to seeing He Yuzhu make a fool of himself.

Unexpectedly, He Yuzhu earned another three or four hundred yuan in such a short time. The most important thing is that this money was given to Shazhu by Xu Wude.

Liu Haizhong was so frustrated he felt like vomiting blood. He nodded and said, "That's great, you're really lucky."

He Yuzhu said, "Uncle Liu, let's have a drink together tonight. I brought some meat and vegetables today to thank Lao Xu. You can come and have a couple of drinks with my dad too. We can all have a good time."

"Happy my foot!" Liu Haizhong felt that if he stayed with He Yuzhu any longer, he would definitely faint from anger. How could that damned idiot Zhu have such incredible luck?

Liu Haizhong preferred to eat sorghum porridge rather than drink Sha Zhu's wine, and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, but I still won't go."

He turned and went home, ignoring He Yuzhu's calls from behind.

Xu Wude had already heard He Yuzhu's shouts from inside the house. Standing behind the door, he listened to their conversation, and his heart was in turmoil.

Why is He Yuzhu inviting me to dinner? He's clearly just here to show off, but I still have to go out and congratulate him, since I said I didn't know anything about it before, thus distancing myself from the situation.