Early the next morning, Fang Shuqin dragged Song Tian into town.
The supply and marketing cooperative hadn’t opened yet, but a long line had already formed outside, full of people waiting to buy goods.
As soon as the doors opened, everyone surged forward.
Song Tian gaped. “Mom, are all these people here to grab bicycles?”
Fang Shuqin waved her hand. “Impossible. Bicycle tickets are so hard to get, and even if you have one, it costs 120 yuan.”
If everyone could just buy them easily, she wouldn’t have had to beg her father and mother-in-law just to get Song Tian a nearly falling-apart bike!
Such a long line meant something good must have arrived.
Fang Shuqin inquired and learned that today the slaughterhouse had delivered a pig, and everyone was waiting to buy fresh pork.
“What luck! I happen to have meat coupons on me. Little Sweetie, let’s line up too and see if we can get half a kilo or a kilo.”
Ideally, they wanted pork fat so they could render lard.
After all, they hadn’t yet paid back the half bottle of peanut oil that had gone into Jiang Xiaoyu’s belly, and now their kitchen was running low on cooking oil!
Song Tian nodded and followed Fang Shuqin into the line.
Before the doors opened, everyone queued in an orderly fashion.
Once the clerk opened the door, the crowd went wild, pushing madly inside.
The scene was comparable to what Song Tian had seen in supermarkets—elderly women fighting over eggs and flour.
Fang Shuqin was no match for this crowd and was directly pushed out.
“Mom, I’ll go,” Song Tian said. “I’ll grab some!”
If it came down to grabbing, it was every person for themselves.
Her strength now came in handy.
The crowd, packed like sardines, parted easily at Song Tian’s hands, and she made a clear path to the counter.
“Hello, comrade. I’d like to buy some pork and pork fat,” Song Tian said.
The clerk rolled her eyes in disdain. “Sold out.”
Sold out?!
Before Song Tian could respond, the people nearby erupted.
“How can it be sold out? They clearly brought half a pig today, and only twenty or thirty kilos were sold. Where’s the rest? Did you hoard it for yourselves?”
“Exactly! I’ve been here several times, and every time they say it’s sold out. The slaughterhouse kills pigs weekly, and I haven’t had a bite in three months!”
“I bet you’re hiding the meat for yourself and your relatives!”
Hearing this, the clerk’s temper flared.
She snapped sharply, “Do you have proof? You dare make accusations here? Half a pig? Where did you see that?”
The accuser straightened his neck. “I saw it myself—half a pig was brought into the cooperative’s backyard.”
The clerk sneered. “No wonder stuff has been missing from the warehouse lately. Did you steal it?”
“Impossible!”
“Then why were you hanging around the back gate? Scoping it out?” the clerk pressed.
The man was so angry his face turned green, but he couldn’t get a word out.
“Next time, come earlier if you want meat. Now disperse. You’re blocking everyone else from shopping,” the clerk ordered.
Seeing this, the rest had no choice but to leave disappointed.
Song Tian stayed, feeling rather impressed.
From reading period novels, she knew many clerks would hide the best goods for themselves or relatives.
And since customers couldn’t search inside, whatever the clerk said went.
It was truly frustrating.
Just as she was about to speak, Fang Shuqin came over and took her hand. “It’s okay, Little Sweetie. If we can’t buy meat, that’s fine. We weren’t here for meat anyway.”
Today’s main goal was to buy a bicycle!
Song Tian just nodded, saying nothing further.
Unfortunately, the bicycles were sold out and they had to wait for restock.
“You can register your names and workplaces first. Once we have stock, I’ll call your workplace to notify you.”
Since bicycles cost over a hundred yuan, the clerk’s attitude was fairly reasonable.
Song Tian registered, returned the notebook, and left with Fang Shuqin.
After they left, the cooperative quieted down.
At noon sharp, the clerk locked the door, pulled out a red enamel basin from under the counter, and inside was twenty kilos of streaky pork tied with palm leaves.
She carried the pork, mounted a bicycle, and headed straight for the machinery factory.
At the factory gate, the guard saw her and immediately locked the gate.
“Uncle Liu, I’m here to deliver pork to the director. Look at this prime streaky pork—if it goes bad, what a waste!”
Then the clerk pulled a package of cigarettes from her coat and handed one to the guard with a flattering smile. “Could you open the gate so I can see the director?”
The guard threw down his cigarette.
“Deng Juan, stop wasting your time. Your son caused such a huge loss at the factory, and just firing him shows the director’s mercy. You still want him back? Forget it!”
Deng Juan’s son, Niu Jianguo, was the worker in the third workshop who had quietly disabled the alarm.
Because of him, the factory not only lost money, but everyone in the third workshop was now idled at home.
How could Deng Juan dare bring gifts and try to sneak Niu Jianguo back into the factory?
“Also, if you really want to give gifts, give them to Comrade Song Tian. If she hadn’t turned on the alarm, your son’s firing wouldn’t have been so simple.”
He might have ended up in prison—or worse, executed.
“What did you say?” Deng Juan widened her eyes. “Who turned on the alarm?”
Thinking she had come to give a gift, the guard repeated, “Song Tian. Don’t let her small size fool you—she’s very capable!”
Deng Juan immediately remembered: the girl who registered to buy a bicycle this morning was named Song Tian, worked at the Third Machinery Factory, and was a young girl.
It had to be her!
If Song Tian hadn’t turned on the alarm, would her son have been fired?
Deng Juan thought the factory was overreacting.
Why fuss so much? If it was a big deal, so what? It would look generous—like when selling meat, they might throw in some trimmings, which made everyone happy.
But the director insisted on recalling all those steel coils and said they were ruined.
How could perfectly good steel be ruined?
It must have been Song Tian tricking them.
A delicate young girl—what would she know about mechanical steel?
Looking at her soft skin and well-dressed appearance, able to afford a bicycle, her family clearly wasn’t poor. Maybe she had relatives in the factory?
The more Deng Juan thought about it, the more it seemed likely.
Otherwise, why did Niu Jianguo lose his job the moment she entered the factory?
It was to make a place for Song Tian!
That wretched girl—so infuriating!
And now she wanted a bicycle?
Forget your bicycle!
Deng Juan stormed off with the meat, eyes full of resentment.
She’d remember this grudge. When Song Tian came to get her bicycle, let’s see if she could ruin her!