Chapter 66: Celebrating the Lunar New Year in 1958

As He Zhizhuo firmly established his position in the municipal bureau cafeteria, the year 1958 arrived imperceptibly.

With the issuance of various ration coupons, material controls became increasingly stringent. Meat, eggs, and other commodities grew harder and harder to purchase, leading to the rapid growth of black markets and underground pigeon markets. As the Spring Festival drew near, the prices of meat, eggs, and fish in the underground markets continued to climb.

Under the cover of night, He Zhizhuo carried a heavily draped bamboo basket on his back and appeared at a pigeon market. After paying the entry fee, he found a spacious spot, set down the basket, and took out several burlap sacks to spread on the ground. Concealed by the basket, he retrieved a whole pig from his dimensional space and placed it on the sacks.

The moment the pig was laid out, it drew a crowd of curious onlookers.

"How much for the pork?" someone asked.

He Zhizhuo replied, "Two yuan per catty. No coupons required."

"So expensive! Who can afford that?" People in the surrounding crowd murmured among themselves.

He Zhizhuo said indifferently, "Take it or leave it. That's the price, non-negotiable."

He Zhizhuo pulled out a prepared knife and began butchering the pork, slicing it into neat blocks.

Unable to resist the temptation, someone finally dug out their money and bought a cut at the two-yuan-per-catty price set by He Zhizhuo. With someone taking the lead, others quickly joined in the scramble for the pork.

In a short while, the entire pig—including the offal—was sold out. Those who missed out asked, "Big brother, will you be coming back to sell meat tomorrow?"

"No. All the meat is sold out," He Zhizhuo answered.

The disappointed look on the faces of those who failed to buy was palpable. Although two yuan was steep, nowadays you couldn't even buy meat with money alone.

That very night, He Zhizhuo headed to another pigeon market and, using the exact same method, sold another whole pig at two yuan per catty. Just as he was about to leave, he felt someone tailing him. It seemed selling a whole pig at once was a bit too high-profile.

Maintaining his composure, He Zhizhuo walked into a quiet alleyway and slipped into his dimensional space. When his pursuers caught up, they found that he had completely vanished. The moment the pursuers turned around to leave, he stepped out of the space and immediately subdued them.

He Zhizhuo interrogated them, "Who sent you?"

"Nobody sent us. We were just blinded by greed."

Seeing that they were determined to keep their mouths shut, He Zhizhuo picked up a brick, smashed one of their fingers to pieces, and continued his harsh interrogation.

It turned out the two men were watchmen for this pigeon market. Seeing that He Zhizhuo was alone and had made a handsome profit selling an entire pig, the head of the pigeon market had plotted to rob him, never expecting to be taken down by He Zhizhuo instead.

After dealing with the two men, He Zhizhuo changed his appearance and returned to the pigeon market. Spreading his spiritual sense, he began searching for the pigeon market boss's hidden stash.

After wandering around the periphery of the pigeon market, he located the boss's money cache in an inconspicuous courtyard. Using his spiritual sense, He Zhizhuo swept the box containing the money straight into his dimensional space.

Upon returning home, He Zhizhuo opened the box. Inside were five hundred "Big Black Ten" banknotes, one hundred small gold bars, two thousand US dollars, and two Mauser handguns. When the boss of the pigeon market discovered his money was gone, one could only wonder if he would die of anger.

On New Year's Eve, He Zhizhuo and Yushui rode their bicycles carrying a large chunk of pork, fish, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables to deliver to his master's home.

When his master, Fan Dakang, saw that He Zhizhuo had brought such a massive cut of meat, he grew somewhat worried. After all, a regular butcher shop would never sell someone that much meat at once; it could only have come from the black market. "Zhuzu, try to go to those places less often. It's not safe."

He Zhizhuo tapped his fist against his chest and said, "Master, don't you worry. Three or five men can't even get close to me."

Fan Dakang scolded, "Don't think you're hot stuff just because you know a few martial arts moves. Those people have guns! Even if you don't look for trouble, stray bullets don't have eyes."

"Alright, Master, I'll try to go as little as possible from now on."

Fan Dakang knew that avoiding the black and pigeon markets entirely was impossible. With a sigh, he conceded, "Sigh, just avoid it whenever you can."

He Zhizhuo reassured him, "Don't worry, Master. I usually never go anyway since us cooks don't lack food. Isn't it almost the New Year? We just had to buy some meat to eat."

His mistress chimed in, "Alright, Zhuzu, you still need to listen to your master. Safety comes first, after all."

In the evening, He Zhizhuo cooked the New Year's Eve dinner, preparing a table laden with rich dishes.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Jianye returned with Senior Sister Fan Ting and little Yuanchao.

His mistress asked, "Why are you back at this hour? Did something happen?"

Senior Sister Fan Ting replied, "Nothing happened. Jianye has to be on duty at the substation tonight, and it was so desolate with just me and Yuanchao at home that he had us dropped off here."

His mistress asked, "Have you eaten?"

Fan Ting answered, "We ate at his dad's place."

Fan Dakang urged, "Sit down and keep us company while we have a bit more."

He Zhizhuo fetched chopsticks for Zhou Jianye and his senior sister, and the two sat down to join in for a few bites. He Zhizhuo invited Zhou Jianye to have a drink: "Come, come, let's have a little sip."

Zhou Jianye declined, "I won't drink tonight. I have to head to the substation for duty shortly."

The mistress said, "You guys keep eating, I'll go wrap some dumplings for you."

Fan Ting also stood up and followed the mistress to the kitchen, saying, "Mom, I'll help you."

Zhou Jianye glanced at his watch and said, "It's getting late. I should head to the substation."

Fan Dakang told him, "Wait a moment, take some dumplings with you when you go."

Zhou Jianye replied, "The deputy chief at the substation is still covering my shift and hasn't gone home yet. If I go earlier, he can get off work and go home earlier."

He Zhizhuo offered, "Master, let him go. I'll drop some off for him when I head back later."

Zhou Jianye smiled, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Zhuzu."

He Zhizhuo added, "Oh, right, there's pig's head meat and spiced beef I made in the kitchen. Take some of that with you too."

"Really? Then I'm in for a treat!" With that, Zhou Jianye went to the kitchen to get the meat from his wife.

After finishing the dumplings at his master's home that evening, He Zhizhuo left with the portion intended for Zhou Jianye. Yushui stayed behind to sleep at the master's house.

He Zhizhuo brought the dumplings to the police substation and saw Xiao Zhao on duty. "Brother Zhao, pulling the night shift?"

Xiao Zhao looked up: "Ah, it's Zhuzu! It's the grand New Year, you should be staying home, what brings you out here?"

He Zhizhuo answered, "I'm delivering food to Chief Zhou."

Xiao Zhao chuckled, "Hey, what goodies did you bring for the chief this time?"

He Zhizhuo replied, "Dumplings. I brought plenty, I'll leave a box for you guys to share and taste. Consider it making up for New Year's dumplings."

Xiao Zhao reached out to take the lunchbox while saying, "Oh, how embarrassing." Judging by how eagerly he took it, however, he looked anything but embarrassed.

He Zhizhuo delivered the remaining dumplings to Zhou Jianye's office: "Your dumplings have arrived."

Zhou Jianye opened the lunchbox, picked up a dumpling with his fingers, and popped it into his mouth. "Delicious."

He Zhizhuo said, "Alright, eat slowly. I'm heading back first."

Zhou Jianye advised, "Right, you hurry back too. Don't leave Yushui waiting alone at home."

He Zhizhuo replied, "Yushui is staying over at Master's place. I'm just going back to sleep."

He Zhizhuo stood up, stepped outside, and walked home.

The next morning, the first day of the Lunar New Year, He Zhizhuo woke up and first went to pay his respects to his master's family, then took Yushui to pay respects to his senior uncle's family.

Senior Uncle Peng Dahai looked deeply troubled. He Zhizhuo couldn't help asking, "Senior Uncle, what's wrong? Why do you look so worried on New Year's Day?"

His senior uncle sighed, "Sigh, the restaurant isn't doing well. Not making a profit is one thing, but if this keeps up, your martial brothers won't even have a chance to practice their skills."

Hearing this, He Zhizhuo knew that the Tan Family Cuisine would be moving into the Beijing Hotel this year, but since he couldn't spell it out directly and didn't know how to comfort him, he could only offer a dry remark: "Senior Uncle, there will be a turnaround."

His senior uncle shook his head, "Forget it, we'll take it one step at a time."

At noon, He Zhizhuo and Yushui had lunch at their senior uncle's house before heading back home.