Siheyuan: All the incense in the family is counting on you

Fox is a good guy in every way, except that he can't stand these kinds of shit.

But what can we do if we encounter this situation?

They have the scarce resources and can give them to whomever they want. Why should they give them to you?

Because of his local status and good friends like Fox, Li Bowen had smooth sailing when purchasing goods, without having to entertain or give gifts. But when other buyers from the factory went to the countryside, they all begged and pleaded, promising various benefits from the commune, before they could get the goods.

Now they are also facing the same dilemma.

"Fox, this is also a helpless move. You have to show some appreciation when you ask someone for help. Let's go around the commune first to see what's lacking here. Only then will it be effective if we prescribe the right remedy!" After thinking for a while, Li Bowen threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped it out, stood up, tightened his belt, and then pulled Fox away.

The two men rode a tricycle around the commune, and on the way they found someone to ask about the location of the pig farm. Following the man's instructions, they walked up and came to a fenced area on the mountain behind the commune.

Through the iron gate, you can see that this place is surrounded by mountains on the west and north sides, which are quite steep. The east and south sides are surrounded by brick walls. It is about a hundred meters long from north to south and more than two hundred meters wide from east to west. There are rows of pig pens inside, which made the two men's eyes sparkle.

"This is too much! There must be at least hundreds of pigpens. That's how many pigs they can raise!" the fox said excitedly, his voice full of surprise and joy.

"I think there should be at least 61 or pigs. How can they afford to raise so many pigs in this era?" Li Bowen also found it incredible, with doubt and curiosity flashing in his eyes. You have to know that it is , when food is in short supply. People are not getting enough to eat, so how can they raise pigs?

As the two stood there, marveling at the sight before them, a voice suddenly came from behind them: "Hey, what are you two doing?"

When the two heard the sound, they turned their heads and saw an old man in his sixties coming out. He was wearing a simple coarse cloth garment with a sheepskin coat on the outside, holding a wooden stick in his hand, and staring at them with a vigilant look on his face.

Li Bowen quickly put on a friendly smile, took out a cigarette from his pocket, handed it to the old man enthusiastically, and said, "Hello, uncle! We are buyers from the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill. We heard that your commune has pigs for sale, so we came to check the situation. Come, have a cigarette!"

The old man's nervous expression eased a little, but he remained alert. He walked slowly towards them and asked, "Do you have a work permit and a letter of introduction?"

Li Bowen quickly nodded and responded: "Yes, yes, this is my ID!" Then he handed his work ID to the old man.

The old man took the work permit and looked at it carefully. He saw that it said: Li Bowen, Red Star Steel Rolling Plant, Deputy Chief of Purchasing Section 1, and there was a bright red seal on it.

He couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wow, so you are still a cadre!"

Then he said doubtfully: "But you have come to the wrong place. If you want to discuss purchasing, you should go to Director Wang of the commune. We are only responsible for raising pigs here."

Li Bowen smiled and politely handed the old man a cigarette and lit it for him, then stuffed the whole box of cigarettes into the old man's hand: "We have already met Director Wang, but the number of pig heads we need to buy has not yet been determined, so we came over to check the situation first. Uncle, can you let us in to take a look?"

However, the old man shook his head firmly and refused: "That won't work. If you want to come in and visit, you must get Director Wang's consent."

Li Bowen did not give up and continued to ask: "Uncle, how many pigs do you have here?"

The old man didn't have much guard and answered casually: "If it's big, there should be more than 300 of them."

Hearing this number, Li Bowen sighed: "It is not easy to raise so many pigs these days. Each pig must eat at least 400 to 500 kilograms of feed."

The old man nodded in agreement. "Yes, pigs have a huge appetite. If we only feed them concentrated feed, the farm would have closed down long ago. We have more than a dozen people on this pig farm. We have to go up the mountain to dig weeds and find tree roots every day to feed so many pigs."

Li Bowen echoed, "That's true. Nowadays, even feeding ourselves is a problem, let alone raising pigs. It's really not easy."

The old man seemed to be a chatty person, so the two began to chat about family matters.

After chatting with the two for a while, he reminded them, "Young man, I think we are compatible. Let me remind you that you should hurry up and buy them. There are many people coming to see you recently!"

Li Bowen smiled gratefully: "Really? Thank you for your reminder, but how can we order so many pigs at once?" he asked puzzledly.

The old man explained, "Not all of these pigs belong to our commune. Half of them, more than 200, are entrusted by the Material Bureau to raise them. When the time comes, they will be taken away. The remaining or so are our own. Do you think it's too much?"

Li Bowen suddenly realized: "So that's how it is, no wonder!

"It turns out that these pigs are not all their own. No wonder. If no one entrusts them to provide feed, it would be unrealistic for a single commune to raise so many pigs.

"It's really not much now. Thank you for your reminder, sir!"

The old man continued, "You're welcome. So, you better hurry up and buy the pigs, or else they will be snatched up by others."

Li Bowen then asked, "Uncle, do you know where Director Wang lives?"

The old man glanced at Li Bowen and said jokingly, "Why, are you looking for a way out?"

Li Bowen scratched his head a little embarrassedly, and answered sincerely: "Of course, if we don't do this, how can we get the pigs? There are thousands of people in our factory who are looking forward to this batch of pork for the New Year! Please give me some advice!"

After hearing this, the old man smiled and said, "Then wait for me here for a while. I will be off work soon. When the replacement comes, I will take you there."

"Really? That's great! Thank you, uncle!" Li Bowen's face was full of surprise. He didn't expect that this old man was so kind-hearted.

So the two of them sat down on the tricycle at the door and waited. They waited until the old man came out from get off work, then they invited him to sit on the tricycle and let the fox drive to the village according to the old man's instructions.

Finally, they stopped in front of a large courtyard gate.

"Okay, we're here. Just follow me in." The old man got out of the car and opened the gate of the yard.

"Is this Director Wang's home?" Li Bowen asked curiously.

"No, this is my home!" Looking at the two people's puzzled expressions, the old man continued: "But, Director Wang you are looking for is my son."

Li Bowen suddenly understood, that's how it was! It seemed that the old man had already mastered it.