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Su Niannian left the Educated Youth station and hurried toward the village entrance.
Old Jiang, who was driving the ox cart, was already waiting at the village entrance.
Thanks to Su Niannian’s heroic act of saving someone yesterday, she was now famous far and wide.
The aunts and older women who were already on the ox cart greeted Su Niannian warmly as soon as they saw her.
Some offered her a handful of freshly harvested peanuts, while others handed her some dried sweet potatoes.
Su Niannian accepted everything graciously, then took out some sunflower seeds and hard fruit candies, sharing them with everyone.
Of course, Old Jiang, who was driving the ox cart, also got his share.
When most of the people had arrived and the time was right, Old Jiang collected the small fees, then hurriedly urged the oxen to head toward the county town.
“Educated Youth Su, I really didn’t expect you to have such medical skills. You have no idea how much you’ve helped the Zhou family.”
“Yes, Houzi is the Zhou family’s lifeblood. Aunt Zhou even slaughtered a chicken this morning, saying it’s a gift to thank you.”
In this era, a chicken as a token of gratitude was already considered quite generous.
“It was really no trouble at all,” Su Niannian smiled, nibbling on the freshly harvested peanuts that one of the aunts had given her.
They were four red kernels, fragrant and well-preserved. Su Niannian guessed they were likely leftovers from the past harvest.
“Su Niannian, you’re truly amazing. If Aunt ever needs your help again in the future, I hope you won’t refuse.”
“Yes, our Kaoshan Village is too far from the county town. Even if we take a tractor, it takes an hour. If someone falls seriously ill, they might not even make it to the county town in time.”
“Now that Educated Youth Su, is here, it really is a great blessing.”
The compliments were abundant, and Su Niannian just smiled and accepted them.
If there was a need, Su Niannian would definitely offer her help—she had the self-awareness of a Huaguo physician.
Throughout the journey, everyone treated Su Niannian with great warmth.
Even Old Jiang, who was driving the ox cart, chimed in several times, saying his wife had been praising Educated Youth Su, nonstop after returning home yesterday.
He also mentioned how Su Niannian hadn’t minded giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a child who had no breath, unlike some of the newly arrived female Educated Youths, who looked down on country folk with their muddy legs and all.
It was nothing but praise. Even though Su Niannian wasn’t easily embarrassed, she still felt a little shy from all the compliments.
Fortunately, the two-hour journey passed quickly, and the time seemed to fly by as they chatted along the way.
Once everyone had gotten off the ox cart, Su Niannian circled the area near the Black Temple a couple of times before finally heading inside.
Lu Hongliang’s pork stall was located right in the center of the Black Temple, making it quite conspicuous.
As soon as Su Niannian appeared in front of Lu Hongliang’s stall, he spotted her right away.
With a face full of excited smiles, Lu Hongliang eagerly walked over to greet her.
“Little Miss! You’ve finally come!” Lu Hongliang’s voice was filled with excitement, and he couldn’t stop smiling as he saw Su Niannian.
“Uncle Lu, did you manage to sell the braised pig offal you tried out yesterday?” Su Niannian smiled and asked.
“Of course! I have great confidence in the seasoning you gave me, so I rushed to get some pig offal after noon.”
“The manager at the pig farm, when he heard I wanted 30 kilograms of pig offal, immediately dropped the price to six fen per half kilogram. I never expected it,” Lu Hongliang said, not hiding his cost price at all. Six fen per half kilogram was indeed much lower than what Su Niannian had imagined.
“That’s great!” Su Niannian nodded.
“Exactly. I had to get my two sisters-in-law, my wife, my mother, my sister, and my three brothers to help out just to process these 30 kilograms of pig offal.”
“The loss was pretty much what you mentioned. After processing a couple fifty kilograms of fresh pig offal, with a little bit of broth, it comes out to around a fifty kilograms.”
“Yesterday afternoon, it sold like crazy!!”
Afterward, Lu Hongliang told his family—his parents, wife, and others—about his collaboration with Su Niannian to sell braised pig offal.
At first, they thought it was just a random idea. But after tasting the two pieces of braised pig offal left over in Lu Hongliang’s lunchbox, all three of them believed there was potential in this.
Although a lot of bowls and pots were needed, since Lu Hongliang thought it was doable, they all expressed their support.
Without Lu Hongliang selling pork at the black market, the family wouldn’t have been able to live so well.
Lu Hongliang called in two of his sisters-in-law who weren’t busy taking care of children, and contacted three of his good brothers to help out.
The group worked for over three hours to braise the pig offal.
Then, Lu Hongliang and the three brothers divided the 68 kilograms of braised pig offal into four portions and took them to four different locations.
Some went to the family compound of a large factory, some to the factory entrance, and some to the black market, as well as to places with high foot traffic but somewhat hidden.
At first, as passersby smelled the aroma, they couldn’t help but gather around, each one curious. They couldn’t figure out what was in those pots, but the scent was so enticing that it even smelled better than the meat dishes at state-run restaurants.
However, when people heard that these were pig offal, many of them hesitated and turned away.
In their eyes, pig offal not only had a strong odor but also wasn’t considered very clean.
If they had money, who wouldn’t prefer to buy some fatty pork to eat? Why would they choose pig offal instead?
Fortunately, Lu Hongliang had a good business mind and offered samples to the crowd.
Although some people were reluctant to try because they knew it was pig offal, the smell was truly irresistible.
Some who tried it found it delicious. Even though one yuan per pound was a bit expensive, they still bought two pounds to satisfy their cravings and enjoy a treat.
There were also people who felt that for one yuan per half kilogram, they could buy fatty pork instead, so even though it tasted good, they decided not to buy.
However, the majority still bought it.
In less than two hours, the four men had sold all the braised pig offal they brought out, leaving nothing behind.
When Lu Hongliang returned home and saw the piles of small bills and the twenty-some large bills stacked on the table, his eyes turned green with excitement.
“Son, pinch me… is this really how much money we made?” Lu Hongliang’s mother was deep in self-doubt.
She had never seen so much money in her life.
Although most of it was in small bills, when stacked together, it was quite a sight.
“Yes, this business really is a goldmine!” Lu Hongliang’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the pile of cash.
Anyone who saw that much money couldn’t help but have their eyes light up.
“Such a pity, though, that we have to share a portion of it with that little girl we’re cooperating with.” Lu Hongliang’s wife said, feeling a little reluctant.
“You’re really short-sighted,” Lu Hongliang’s wife said, feeling dissatisfied. “Today, we sold 100 kilograms of braised pig offal, and made 100 yuan. Even if we give the girl 300 yuan, we still have 200 yuan left.”
She paused and then continued, “Tell me, how much pork do I have to sell to make 200 yuan?”