Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

Chapter 88: 88 enter 58

”Yeah, in that case, just keep it for now.” This girl is really stubborn when she sets her mind. But it’s just a sheep, no big deal.

”Girl, this sheep is at most ninety bucks.”

Yuanyuan nodded, ninety it is, selling it now avoids hassle later.

”Uncle Yang, give me a share of all your farming tools here, and I need two large iron pots too.”

”Alright, I’ve got everything prepared for you, come over and pick it up the night after tomorrow.” Old Yang knew to avoid the village people’s eyes.

Yuanyuan went to the general store again and sold a hundred candles, or rather, ten bundles, along with kerosene lamps, kerosene, flashlights, batteries, and bought five rolls of coarse cotton cloth, planning to grind cornmeal at home later, which still required many sacks.

Back home, she started using the big ram for grinding; she wouldn’t need it anymore afterwards.

In a day and night, she’d ground five hundred pounds of cornmeal.

That night, Old Yang came over with a cart, bringing all the tools Yuanyuan wanted.

The five sheep totaled four hundred fifty yuan. After paying for the tools, there was three hundred seventy yuan left.

Watching them leave, the big ram kept turning back to Yuanyuan, bleating.

She stood outside shedding tears, reluctant to part, having lived together for so many years, there were feelings involved.

But she couldn’t take them with her, better to have them taken away sooner, so there would be no worries. Out of sight, out of mind.

She patted the ewe’s head, ”I have no choice, if I really leave, you’d be taken by someone else too.”

The ewe lifted its head to look at Yuanyuan, and from it, she saw fear and despair.

”I might have to leave, can’t take you along, the distance is too far, need to take a train, you can’t go up there. Otherwise, should I release you into the mountains?”

Yuanyuan truly couldn’t bear it, not feeling at ease, no matter what.

She saw tears flowing from the sheep. Her own tears fell too. She patted the ewe’s head again.

”Let’s both work hard to grind all the corn into meal these days. You try going into the space, if it’s okay, I’ll take you along. If not, there’s nothing I can do.”

Yuanyuan thought about being alone and desired to have something familiar, even if it was just an animal.

The house became quieter now, the two of them grinding cornmeal every day. After a week, they finally finished.

Feeling settled after storing them in the space. Soon it would be December. Now she could go up the mountain, no need to collect the dried grass like before. In two days, she stripped the leaves from the corn stalks and tied them up, storing them in the space.

Yuanyuan felt like locusts passing through, leaving nothing behind.

The first snow in ’58 wasn’t too heavy, but the weather was bone-chilling cold, and it hadn’t rained after autumn, it seemed like there would definitely be a disaster this year.

Yuanyuan decided to go up the mountain today. The sheep had been stored in the space for a night, she tied it up, and after seeing it go in, it fell asleep without being kicked out. It seemed that it was okay, if not, she’d time it to hide in the toilet and recapture it promptly if kicked out.

This was very risky, but she couldn’t bear to leave the ewe behind.

Today she went up the mountain without releasing the sheep, wanting to see how long it could last.

Perhaps due to the lack of rain this year, Yuanyuan noticed many more dry trees on the mountain, planning to descend after nightfall, so she tidied up the ones she chopped before storing them.

By the end of the day, she’d harvested as many as ten dry trees.

The next morning, she continued to go up the mountain, and three days later, finally came across wild boars.

Not just one, but a whole family, six in total.

Yuanyuan’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the wild boars, they were money, and even the smallest looked like it weighed five or six hundred pounds. ”Dad” was really taking care of her. She mentally thanked him.

Two apples appeared in her hand. She tossed them towards the wild boars.

For six pigs, she threw over a dozen apples. Watching them eat with heads down, she rushed over and knocked them down.

After bleeding them, she stored them directly in the space, making this year another source of income. Given the circumstance, she considered herself quite lucky.

With a smile on her face, just about to turn and leave, there was a noise, indicating still large animals approaching, and not just one.

Yuanyuan darted into the space, and soon enough, three more wild boars appeared. Was this a wild boar conference?

Excitedly, she threw a few more apples, one accidentally hitting a wild boar on the head.

After sorting these three out, Yuanyuan felt light-headed as she descended the mountain.

She needed to find Old Yang, but how to explain? No wolves, she couldn’t have handled so many wild boars alone.

Racking her brain for excuses but coming up empty, she decided to just leave it. Old Yang wouldn’t pry, and even if he did, she wouldn’t say anything.

Returning home late today, she had just started a fire when Hu Chunhua arrived.

”Girl, did you go up the mountain today?”

”Yeah, nothing much, just checking for wild boars or something,” Yuanyuan said with a smile.

”You better not go, those wild boars are really fierce.

By the way, there was a village meeting today, our village will form a cooperative. All land will be managed collectively, with grain distributed to everyone according to headcount.”

Yuanyuan saw Hu Chunhua excitedly and smiled along, ”Then how will work be done? Won’t lazy people stop working?”

”There’s no such luck! Points are recorded for work every day, grain is distributed by headcount, but money shares are based on work points.”

”I see, if money were evenly split, no one would work.”

”Girl, good thing you sold your sheep, pigs, chicken, and ducks early. I heard pigs and sheep will belong to the commune, but you can keep some chickens and ducks, though not too many.”

”Are they given away for free?”

Hu Chunhua shook his head, ”No, but it definitely doesn’t earn as much as selling your own meat.

It’s not started yet, but tomorrow seven households have asked your uncle to slaughter pigs, he said they’d start at three AM.”

”Will there be so many buyers for the meat?”

”Don’t know, all have to figure it out themselves.”

”Aunt, if anyone you’re close with can’t sell it, send it to me. I’m going to the county in two days, to send it to Old Yang.”

”Sure, our two will be slaughtered, and your uncle will drive them over.”

”You’ll be very busy these days, no need to deliver, have him come over and pick up, weigh it properly, and I’ll bring the money to you.”

”Alright, how much can Old Yang handle?”

”Five to six hundred pounds should be no problem.”

”Okay, I’m heading to the team leader’s house, they are slaughtering pigs at three tomorrow morning, I’ll have Xiubo bring them over, we’re slaughtering ours tonight.”