Volume One, Chapter Five: Alas, the Little Village Chief Is Off to College

According to the price Wang Youfu had previously offered, these wild game animals were worth at most 100 yuan. But today, with Lu Yang’s arrival, they earned more than double that amount. Wild animals are also intelligent; if hunted too often in one place, they stop coming. So, the hunters didn’t stay put every day but rotated among a dozen or so forest patches. This time, the hunting grounds were near the old mountain, covering a much larger area, resulting in the biggest haul—roughly five to six times the usual amount. What Lu Yang accomplished was equivalent to half a month’s work.

“We’re still selling at a loss!” Lu Yang was not satisfied.

Wild game could not be preserved without curing, so they had to sell it cheaply. But if cured too long, it lost its original flavor and couldn’t fetch a high price either. To earn more, they needed to process the meat further.

“Come on, let’s go to the spice shop!” Lu Yang waved his hand and set off toward the front street with two young admirers, unaware that two men were watching them from afar.

“Brother Wang, this kid actually came here to buy by himself. What do we do now?” Wang Youfu was burly, with a thick beard and a large belly, rare for this era. He rubbed his stomach and sneered, “Just a country bumpkin, thinking he’s something because he’s been to the city.”

“I haven’t collected from him yet. They still have at least seven or eight hundred kilograms of goods. They’ll definitely come to buy in the next couple of days. Just wait and see how I deal with them!”

By now, dawn had broken. The three young men had good stamina and, energized by their earnings, each bought a couple of dry cakes. After walking more than four hours, they arrived home, though their feet were blistered and sore.

Seeing the villagers waiting anxiously at the crossroads made Lu Yang feel it was all worth it.

“Little village head, how did it go?”

“Little village head, did you sell it all?”

“Little village head, how much did you get?”

These were their biggest earnings of the month, and everyone, including children and elders, watched eagerly.

Excitedly, Lu Yongchun climbed onto a large rock and announced, “Everyone, I now solemnly declare that our little village head, Comrade Lu Yang, has sold our wild game for 326 yuan this time.”

Hearing this, people looked at each other in disbelief. After standing stunned for a moment and confirming they weren’t dreaming, a cheer erupted.

Farther away, Lu Xiugu also watched quietly. Hearing the joy around her, a smile spread across her face before she silently turned and returned to the group.

Lu Yongchun continued loudly, “Do you all know what this means? After deducting a tenth for the village head, that’s 32.6 yuan, we still have 293.4 yuan left.”

“Our team has twenty-four households and seventy-eight laborers. On average, each person can get—can get…” Lu Yongchun scratched his head, unable to finish the calculation, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

“Erwa Lu, you blockhead! Let Winter Melon explain it!” Lu Yongguo, captain of the third team, smiled and took out his notebook, speaking seriously.

“Since everyone’s here, consider this a meeting. I’ve calculated that each laborer in our team will get 3.76 yuan this time.”

“You all know our village is famously poor. Last year, the net income per laborer was only 68.55 yuan.”

“According to the broadcast, the average rural income nationwide last year was 133.57 yuan, nearly double ours.”

“But this time, it’s 3.76 yuan, and that’s just part of it.”

“If we sell all the goods this month, each laborer can get at least seventeen or eighteen yuan.”

“That adds up to about twenty yuan this month. Over a year, just from hunting, that’s more than sixty yuan.”

“That means if we keep this up, even if we hunt only three months a year, our income will at least double this year!”

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up. Doubling income meant two sets of clothes instead of one, thick porridge instead of thin…

And all this was thanks to their little village head.

They all turned to look at Lu Yang, who was walking slowly toward them. Their gazes were filled with admiration, respect, and a hint of reluctance.

“Ah!” someone sighed, “It’s a pity, though. The little village head is going to university next month.”

If he left for university, there would be no one to lead them. They would still have to sell to Wang Youfu, whose prices were only slightly better than farm labor. At half that, farming would be worse.

But farming barely provided enough food and clothing; no one knew when this hardship would end.

The joyful atmosphere faded, replaced by more sighs.

Lu Yongguo realized he had caused trouble.

True, Lu Yang was going to the city for university. But university meant learning, finding a good job, earning big money…

In the future, he could buy a bicycle, live in a clean house, marry a city girl…

Who wouldn’t want such a life?

If he could study, he wouldn’t still be here.

He cleared his throat hastily. “Hey, who said that? The little village head is a university student. If he didn’t go, would he stay here farming with us?”

Only then did people cough, laugh awkwardly, or busy themselves with the dirt around them.

After all, if Lu Yang stayed, it would be for them, forsaking a happy life.

Putting themselves in his shoes, they knew they wouldn’t do the same.

Besides, they had agreed beforehand that as long as Lu Yang solved this, there would be no debts between them.

Still, a few couldn’t help but look at Lu Yang with eyes full of hope, as if expecting a miracle.

Lu Yang wasn’t pretending. At his age, having experienced some highlights, there was no need for pretense.

But compared to the two men who had long hunted in the mountains, his physical condition was far worse.

Seeing he could barely walk, he stopped to rest.

Unexpectedly, as he approached, he noticed the looks on their faces.

He was momentarily stunned. “What’s wrong, folks?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing!”

“We’re just happy!”

“Little village head, you must be tired. Come, have a rest!”

Everyone parted to make a path, some taking off their straw hats and placing them on the stones to offer him a seat.

Lu Yang waved them off and took a gourd of water handed to him, drinking a few sips before feeling somewhat revived.

“Fellow villagers, I want to discuss something more with you.”

Instantly, the crowd fell silent, no one spoke.

It wasn’t a discussion but a waiting for orders.

Lu Yang was taken aback again. Lu Yongchun leaned in.

“Little village head, if you have something to say, just broadcast it live. No need to discuss with us.”

Though blunt, Lu Yang saw from their expressions they genuinely meant it.

“Alright, then I’ll tell you.”

“This time, we did get a much better price for our wild game, but there are two problems.”

“First, our village is far from the city. Traveling back and forth like this every day is exhausting.”

“Second, wild game is seasonal. After two or three months, hunting will no longer be possible.”

“So, I want to say two things.”

“First, we can’t just sell the wild game as is; we need simple processing to earn more.”

“I’ve already bought the materials for processing. Now I need someone from the team experienced in marinating to step forward.”

They looked at one another, puzzled.

Suddenly, someone asked, “Little village head, you… you’re not going to university?”