Chapter 5: Life

At the meat stall, Li Yancheng blinked hard, staring at the pile of items on the cutting board. The butcher had told him there was no more meat left, only this remaining batch of ribs. He truly could not fathom why such good cuts had been left behind. Even in the early nineties, the most sought-after pork was always the fat and lard, as they could be rendered for cooking oil. Ribs were difficult to sell because they required too much oil to prepare. Oil was a precious commodity, and with the strict monthly rations, few were willing to use it so liberally.

"Master, how much for these?"

"Sixty-five cents a pound."

Cuts with bone were cheaper than pure meat; pure meat ranged from seventy to seventy-five cents depending on the cut.

"How much is in this pile?"

The butcher was taken aback, lifting his eyes to peer at Li Yancheng. He asked hesitantly, "Young man, are you planning on buying it all?"

"Yes."

"That will require half the amount in meat coupons." The butcher suspected this young man might just be playing a prank. In his dozen years of selling meat, he had never seen a private citizen buy so many ribs at once. He had originally intended to send the leftovers to a restaurant down the street later.

Li Yancheng beamed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of coupons; the top few were meat coupons, totaling over ten pounds. Since ribs required only half the meat coupons of regular cuts, his stash was more than enough.

"Master, I have the coupons. These city-issued ones should work, right?"

The butcher leaned in for a look. "Oh! These are city coupons." The suspicion vanished from his face instantly.

"Yes, yes, of course they work! Just a moment, let me weigh them for you." The butcher nodded enthusiastically. He could take these city coupons to the black market and trade them for local county coupons, pocketing the difference.

"Oh, and Master, could you please chop the ribs for me? About this size." Li Yancheng gestured with his hands; he didn't have the proper tools at home to hack through bone.

"No problem."

Pigs in this era didn't grow as large as they would in later times; the ribs and spine from half a carcass weighed less than seven pounds. Once the butcher finished chopping them to his specifications, Li Yancheng paid four yuan and forty-two cents in cash, plus three pounds in meat coupons.

Carrying the oil-paper-wrapped ribs, Li Yancheng walked out of the market, pushing his bicycle with a spring in his step.

Once he was gone, the butcher began tidying his stall, pleased that he had sold out before eight o'clock, allowing him to head home early.

"Old Jiang, you ran into a real big spender today." The neighbor, who ran the seasoning stall, had been next to him for years and had never seen anyone buy so many ribs outside of the holidays. Usually, people would buy one or two to get a taste of something fresh. The ribs left at the stall almost always ended up at the local restaurants.

"What are you talking about? Maybe they have guests over today," Old Jiang replied with a smile, leaning down to wipe meat scraps off the board.

"Looking at his age, maybe he's hosting the family of a prospective bride."

"Hey, that's actually possible. He had city coupons; maybe he's back for a blind date. I don't recognize him, though; I don't think I've ever seen him before."

"I haven't either," Old Jiang shook his head. "The young man's clothes and gear look military. He’s either just demobilized or serves in a city unit."

"That can't be," the seasoning seller disagreed. "Didn't you see his uniform? It's the old style. The military changed their uniforms last year. He must have been a cadre who demobilized before last year and got assigned to a job in the city. If any local girl marries him, she's headed to the city to live the good life."

To the town residents, coming to the county seat was considered "entering the city," but to the people in the county, only going to the provincial city counted. The consensus was that life in the city was far superior, and any girl who could marry into the city had truly struck gold.

Li Yancheng was unaware that, in the eyes of others, he had already become a man preparing to host his future mother-in-law.

After leaving the market, he rode his bicycle toward the bus station. Along the way, ensuring no one was watching, he tucked the package of ribs into his storage space. This space, which he had brought with him when he transmigrated, had no concept of time. He had tested it: a cup of hot water put inside overnight remained scalding hot the next day, exactly as it was when first poured.

He didn't have to worry about the food spoiling due to time. He planned to buy more things to store whenever he had the chance—mostly meat. It wasn't like the "three difficult years" anymore; while everything was still somewhat scarce, at least the monthly grain rations were sufficient.

His monthly grain ration was thirty-two pounds. Thirty percent was fine grain, and the remaining seventy percent was coarse grain—bean flour and cornmeal. Of the fine grain, ten percent was rice, and the rest was flour. He didn't mind rice or flour, but he needed to find a way to swap the coarse grains for fine ones. The bean flour pancakes and cornmeal steamed buns he had been eating in the cafeteria for the past two days felt like sandpaper in his throat. But those changes would have to wait until he finished his medical support mission next month.

Within five minutes, he arrived at the Yishun County bus station and parked his bike in the designated lot outside. It cost two cents, and he had to retrieve it by six in the evening. If he missed that window, he wouldn't be able to get it until the next day; the attendant would chain all remaining bikes with a heavy iron chain, and he would have to pay another two cents.

"Master, I'm heading to the city. If I come back this afternoon, will I be able to pick up my bike?"

He paid the two cents and received two wooden tokens—one to tie to the bike, the other to keep on his person. Only when the two tokens matched would the attendant release the bike.

"As long as you catch the three o'clock bus, you'll be back here by five at the latest."

"That works. Thank you, Master."

"You're welcome."

With his token safely tucked away, Li Yancheng hurried toward the ticket window. The bus went directly to Qianmen, a journey of about fifty kilometers that usually took two hours, costing sixty cents. From Qianmen, he still had another five or six kilometers to get home, which would require a bus transfer.

Handing his ticket stub to the conductor, Li Yancheng finally relaxed. As he thought about returning to the home of his current life, he felt a strange, inexplicable excitement.

The bus was scheduled to depart at 8:20. When he boarded, only six or seven people were seated, but by the time it pulled away, all thirty-plus seats were occupied; everyone arrived right at the last minute. With the bus full, it grew noisy. Strangers chatted with ease, their speech filled with the local "er" suffix, fast-paced and swallowing syllables.

Li Yancheng sat in the corner of the last row, leaning against the side of the bus with his eyes closed. He listened with interest to the chatter of those in front of him, feeling that this was what life was truly about.