Five dollars and a bit of grain, in exchange for a person’s forgiveness, is worth it.
As for reciprocation, don’t expect any when you’re being generous, it’s not something to contemplate.
Then, Lu’s father added, "Now that we’re in a position to, we must be mindful of our demeanor when we’re being benevolent. Consider the other party’s pride, don’t show a face of charity, be kind and friendly, it’s better to say you lend them something, rather than saying you’re giving it to them. Some people pride themselves on honour, even in desperation, they won’t accept handouts."
Feng Qingxue, Guan Cheng, and Lu Tianjun quickly agreed, subtly etching it into their hearts. They didn’t care if they were helping a good person or a bad person, as long as the person they were helping wouldn’t bring danger to their homes.
Fortunately, it was snowing when He Hongjun came and went, causing no ripples in Wanglou Brigade.
Life in the Lu family returned to tranquility.
With the snowfall and the approaching Spring Festival, all laborers were finally allowed to rest. Plus, with plenty of food this year, there were no worries about starvation, so everyone was all smiles.
Just then, Wang Jiao came to Feng Qingxue, hopping and skipping.
"Xiaoxue, Xiaoxue!" Wang Jiao cried out from outside the door. Once she heard Feng Qingxue respond, she rushed in and lowered her voice, "I have good news for you!"
Feng Qingxue laughed, "What’s the good news? I’m all ears."
"My husband Yuejin said that the grocery store will have beef for sale tomorrow. Do you want some? If you want it, I can ask him to set some aside."
"Beef?" Feng Qingxue’s eyes lit up, then dimmed, "Of course I want it, I don’t have any pork, so having beef for the new year wouldn’t be bad! But, I don’t have any more meat tickets."
Wang Jiao giggled, "No need for a ticket, it’s 50 cents a pound!"
"No ticket? Is that even possible?" Feng Qingxue knew that beef and mutton were cheaper than pork. Cattle were working livestock and were treated more valuable than humans. Starving people was better than starving cattle, that was the consensus of many production teams. So beef was rarely seen unless a cow died of illness. As for mutton, it had more lean meat and less fat, and its gamey taste was less pleasant, so its price was low, all at 50 cents a pound, while pork was 72 cents a pound.
"It’s good for us, not so much for others!" Wang Jiao lowered her voice, "I heard that the snowfall was too heavy and it collapsed the cowshed. This calf got its both legs broken by the weight of the snow, roof beam, and haystack, they couldn’t heal it, and even if they could, it would be lame and useless. So, the production team sold it to the supply and marketing store, which then sent it to the city. Yuejin is in charge of slaughtering and selling, it’s not part of the regular supply, doesn’t need a ticket, many organizations and people with connections have already pre-ordered their preferred cuts."
Feng Qingxue quickly handed ten dollars to Wang Jiao, "Cousin, please ask your husband to save some good meat for us."
"Twenty pounds?" Wang Jiao was startled, "No, no, we can’t get that much, a lot of people are watching! Yuejin can only get five or six pounds of meat for each of his and our families, any more would cause dissatisfaction."
Feng Qingxue laughed, "Cousin, you just hold on to it, you get us as much as you can."
Only then did Wang Jiao take the money, "Alright, I’ll go tell him. He has to go back to the city this afternoon, he’ll come back after selling the meat tomorrow."
By the next evening, she had delivered the beef to her mother’s house and the Lu family.
The Wang family got five pounds of beef tripe, a beef leg bone, and a bit of beef tallow, while the Lu family got six pounds of beef shank and a beef leg bone.