Chapter 7: Past Events Are Hard To Recall

  Phoenix eyes contain prestige, willow eyebrows upside down, slender fingers straight poke, single courage subconsciously leaned back to dodge the raging beauty, knowing that he couldn't pretend anymore, hehe smiled and suddenly realized with a mischievous grin: "Wow wow wow, didn't recognize you at first, is it you? Jiajia, who dares to recognize you when you dress up like this?"

  "Hmm!?" She bit her lower lip, with an expression that seemed to want to slap the single brave man in front of her, and asked irritably: "What's wrong with me like this?"

  Her red skirt was above the knee, with bare arms and shoulders. This cool outfit wouldn't be considered too unusual on Lu Zhou Street, but the semi-transparent fabric made it a bit hard to say. The inner quality was vaguely visible. "Wow, you've become even prettier after not seeing you for years!"

  "This still sounds like human language, don't mention me, what are you doing dressed like that?" The girl smiled and pointed at Dan Yong, saying "This is the situation", as many onlookers gathered to watch the rear-end collision. Jia Jia waved her hand to hurry people along: "Let's go, no need to look, we're acquaintances, just playing around... Oh, Officer has arrived quickly, nothing's wrong, we'll handle it ourselves, each party will fix their own."

  While talking, not only did he block the crowd and shoo away the patrolling traffic police, but also like in high school, Ning Jia was like a creditor to Shan Yong, making him feel guilty for no reason. He drove the car forward, Ning Jia parked the car and rushed down, knocking on the window and asking Shan Yong: "I'm asking you, haven't told me how did it become like this? What are you doing now?"

  "Meat for sale." Shanyong jumped down and shouted. The girl named Ningjia burst out laughing, holding her knees in a joyful somersault. Only then did Shanyong realize that the word was not quite right, and he added with a smile: "Donkey meat for sale."

  "No way, I seem to recall someone in our class mentioning that you also lived in Luan Institute later on?" Ning Jia laughed for a while, asking with surprise, looking at Shanyou's old shirt paired with torn jeans and a bag slung over his waist, dressed exactly like a second-hand dealer. His surprise increased even more. Shanyou leaned against the car, smiling and saying: "That's right, I graduated."

  "Graduation without finding a job?"

  "Isn't this my job?"

  "Is this... also considered work?"

  "Ah, the donkey meat sales company's general manager, sales director and employees are all waiting for me alone."

  "Cut..."

  A few words brought back memories of school days, and Dan Yong's carefree appearance made Ning Jia laugh. She smiled at Dan Yong's dusty appearance, and in that smile, there seemed to be a hint of regret. Wanting to say something, but Dan Yong asked with interest: "And you? I often stroll around the streets but haven't seen you."

  "You won't ask about our classmates, will you? My dad later sent me to Canada, and I didn't come back for several years. I've been in touch with many of them, but I couldn't find you." Ning Jia said, Dan Yong pointed at himself: "What do you want from me? Is there something going on?"

  "You can't find me for nothing?" Ning Jia said displeased. Shan Yong hastily nodded: "Can...can."

  That familiar yet somewhat awkward feeling was very strong, so strong that after a few questions, it seemed like there was nothing more to say. It seemed like what lay between the two people was not just a classmate relationship. At this time, another head popped out of the car, also a pretty girl, stretching her neck and shouting: "Jia Jia, hurry up! I'm in a rush to pick someone up!"

  "Hey, something's up, you're busy then." Shanyong easily found an excuse. Ningjia also took advantage of the excuse, opened her bag, handed over a business card, and just as Shanyong was about to take it, she suddenly stuffed a wad of money into his hand, which looked like around 1-2 thousand yuan. Shanyong was extremely embarrassed, stuttering: "Th-th-this... don't want it... Jiajia, what are you doing? This broken car is always getting scratched."

  "Here, take it and fix your car... Don't make me angry again, by the way, call me back later, if you have nowhere to go I'll find a place for you."

  Ning Jia said a sentence and forced it into Shanyong's hand. Afraid that Shanyong would decline, she got on the car, closed the door, and locked the embarrassed Shanyong who was holding the money outside the car door. She reversed the car, waved her hand, and with a "whoosh" sound, the car drove away erratically and at high speed.

  The girl in the passenger seat looked at Shanyong once before leaving, and with Shanyong's current appearance, she must have given him a disdainful look. Shanyong held onto the money for a long time without reacting, then after a while, he looked down at his sweat-stained shirt, his faded jeans, and finally at the money in his hand, and suddenly understood, silently cursing to himself:

  "What's going on with his horse? Poor me..."

  Suddenly, the excitement turned into depression. He got on the bus, lay down in his seat, and the fleeting image of her kept flashing before his eyes, leaving him depressed for a while.

  In the car, two girls started blaming each other. The one in the passenger seat complained: "Jiajia, drive slower, you're scaring me to death! Luckily I wore my seatbelt."

  "Come on, this is slow enough already. I'm learning how to drive in Canada and the instructor yells at me every day that my speed is too slow and I'll fail."

  "This is China, isn't it Lu Zhou?"

  "It's like this, after not coming back for several years, who would have thought it'd be crowded like this, the roads aren't even well-maintained, but there are a lot of cars."

  "Slow down..."

  Can't help but slow down, by the afternoon rush hour, the main road of Yingxiong Road is congested again, it's easy to wait for two minutes, and when you're about to reach the intersection, it turns red again. Ning Jia is so angry that she slaps the steering wheel and scolds the traffic for being too bad, looking like a typical short-tempered and poor driving skills.

  No cure, just wait, the girl in the co-pilot seat found a topic and remembered the young man who had collided with the car earlier. She asked Ning Jia: "Jiajia, who was that young man just now?"

  "My high school classmate."

  "Is it? From Evergrande Royal School, driving that car?"

  "Rarity? Our class has people who jumped to death from stock market losses, officials who were caught for bribery and corruption, children who became mentally ill... At least Danyong knows how to make money, that's already not bad."

  "What did his family used to do?"

  "He opened a big restaurant, but it went bankrupt later, so he dropped out of school. It's been four or five years since I last saw him."

  "How can I look like your classmate? Are you an early lover or something?"

  Back to the topic that girls often drag on, Ning Jia rolled her eyes and said with a smirk: "Tao sister, didn't know you had the potential of being a gossipmonger."

  The green light turned on, Ning Jia started the car, and Tao Tao in the passenger seat was already laughing so hard that she was shaking all over. It seemed like she had guessed it, and judging from the current situation, it was likely that Ning Jia's trust had been misplaced back then. Tao Tao teased Ning Jia as she drove: "Ning Jia, come on, tell us about your wonderful first love, let me be envious too! Don't pretend, sis, I can tell just by looking at you."

  "So what? Don't look at how he's fallen now, in high school, Shuang Yu was a famous handsome guy, played soccer well, and every time there was a school football match, a group of girls would cheer him on... Not only did he play soccer well, but he was also very loyal, in high school he led us, a group of boys and girls, to fight against Liu Zhong, we went with over 100 people, they saw our formation and directly fled in disarray... I remember, on my birthday, he gave me a bouquet of roses, it moved me so much..."

  "Then I just gave myself to him... Why does it sound like a lover!?"

  "Ah, Tao Tao you rascal, believe it or not, I'll seduce your boyfriend away."

  "Hehe, trying to scare me with this? I was just thinking of changing it anyway..."

  The two girls' laughter continued, heading straight to the airport to pick up Tao's boyfriend. As soon as they entered the waiting hall, Tao rushed over to greet him, and her boyfriend from afar didn't forget to present a bouquet of roses. Then came the couple's romantic hug. Ning Jia watched this pair of lovers and inexplicably returned to her confused high school days. She had once received a bouquet of roses that made her heart flutter, but when she saw it again, everything was different. The person who gave her the roses was vastly different from what she had imagined, so much so that she only felt pity. Perhaps she would never experience the thrill and romance again.

  That's right, I forgot to get his phone number. Ning Jia suddenly remembered this big oversight. However, it wasn't really an oversight, she thought again, maybe he would take the initiative to call over, looking at him, he seemed quite displeased.

  When recalling and yearning, Ning Jia was thinking again whether she should help him or not. But when she saw Tao Tao and her handsome boyfriend walking over intimately, the thought that had just arisen suddenly disappeared. If she really brought Shanyu into her own little circle, if people knew that her first love was now a small vendor selling donkey meat, she would probably become everyone's laughing stock.

  It's all in the past, maybe it's better to let it go.

  Ning Jia and Tao Tao walked out of the airport with a smile, and this thought arose in their minds.

  Perhaps it's really not that great, stroking that fragrant business card with English and Chinese on it:

  Victoria Model Management Company. Chief Planner, Ning Jia.

  The difference between people is really big, Single Courage looked at his own outfit which was no different from that of a small vendor, then turned back to look at the donkey meat covered with coarse burlap, used this fragrant name card to scratch the itch on his cheek, and stroked it several times, feeling like he had once caressed that face, that fragrant shoulder, that raised buttocks, and that soft little chest. In an instant, Single Courage's fingers trembled, thinking about the absurd things he had done with this girl in the dormitory of the boarding school.

  In the dark, chaotic and flustered, with a guilty conscience, rustling sounds... only remembering that after finishing the deed, feeling so tense, excited, and scared. Even falling off the water pipe under the girls' dormitory didn't feel painful, but Ning Jia kept shouting in pain... no mistake, although the first time in life is forgotten, it won't be forgotten, it's always placed in a corner of your heart, only to find out when accidentally flipped through that memories can be so clear.

  Business cards, money, and a gaze full of pity. This is what the reunion left for Dan Yong, his self-esteem was slightly wounded, but he also felt a little bit of goodness, warmth still remained, though complicatedness increased by many folds.

  Modeling agency? Shan Yong didn't quite understand the business of this company, different industries are like different mountains, over the years, everyone has gone their separate ways, and should have found their own lives by now. The recklessness of youth was probably a memory that had been put away in each other's minds. Shan Yong lightly tucked the business card into his wallet, putting the increasingly clear image to the back of his mind. He didn't have the time, energy or mental space to think about these things anymore. Now, he also had his own chosen life.

  Look at the time, start the car and head north along Lianhua Pond... At the intersection of Lianhua Road, Dan Yong stuck his head out of the window and shouted: "Song Ge, how about giving you a ride now."

  Qī Shū, if it's not enough to sell, you can call me, I'm just wandering around nearby.

  At Xicheng Hospital intersection, Shanyong shouted again: "Gao Ge, how about leaving a few more pounds for you?"

  Even some old customers who didn't place an order were moved by the generosity and left a little something. Occasionally, there would be those who refused, but Danyong didn't have time to be disappointed and continued on his way to the next delivery.

  Everyone in the business knows that donkey meat is not easy to sell, mainly because of its high price. The raw meat costs over 30 yuan per kilogram, and the cooked meat normally sells for over 40 yuan per kilogram. For this kind of braised and stewed product, the retail price is over 50 yuan per kilogram. Even if it's profitable, retailers are afraid to take a loss, let alone wholesalers. The orders from busy stalls are only around 10-20 kilograms at most, unless they have refrigeration equipment like restaurants, which dare to order a bit more.

  While familiar meat is sold as fresh, this rush for freshness is not easy to do for anyone. Moreover, Lu Zhou is the hometown of donkey meat, and there are more than a dozen varieties of braised, sauce-braised, dried, and stewed donkey meat. There are also over a dozen restaurants and workshops that can be counted as famous. The reason why Shijia Village's flavor is good is that it has two advantages: one is the ingredients and the other is the craftsmanship. Even with the best ingredients and the best craftsmanship, if you work alone, you will obviously lack competitiveness.

  Walking, delivering, on West Avenue, Dan Yong hastily ate dinner at a street stall, seeing that there were still over 100 catties left in the car, and thinking about running to the Huafeng Road area. If they can't sell them all, they'll lose a few dozen catties' worth of profit.

  No choice, can only run a longer distance, find more stalls to sell, Hua Deng Street, one person, one car, Dan Yong is as usual, shuttling between restaurants, cooked food stalls, and beer stalls. These small vendors struggling at the bottom always see that smiling big boy, and cannot bear to refuse his enthusiasm and politeness.

  As the day went by with less and less donkey meat on the car... "Give me that piece of donkey meat to weigh."

  "Alright."

  At the stall next to the Zifang Agricultural Products Trading Market, a big customer came, and Lao Qi happily put half a catty of donkey meat on the scale, pointing and saying: "Two kilograms two liangs, high... Oh, Accountant Zhang, doesn't your factory have any? Why are you visiting our small stall?"

  "Cut the crap, or I'm outta here." A stout man with a crew cut retorted.

  "Sell... I dare not sell, at the price you paid." Old Qi calculated the account, muttering to himself. This was Zhang Fakui, the accountant of Zifang Meat Union Factory. Most of the cured meat, sausage and offal in this street market were supplied by the Meat Union Factory. Privately, people called this accountant "Zhang Famao", which meant that he often sold long-haired pork belly to small vendors at a low price.

  However, it seemed like nothing was wrong, Accountant Zhang paid the price and walked away with a small plastic bag, got into a car. It wasn't until then that Old Qi noticed, it was the factory's big off-road vehicle, not the accountant's car. You can see it every day when goods are being delivered.

  It seems like he thought of something, vaguely, and Old Qi began to worry about that child who occasionally sent meat.

  In the car, Zhang Fa-kui tore off a piece of donkey meat, put it in his mouth and chewed it for a while, then stuck out his tongue to lick his lips, humming: "Hmm, not bad, better than what we have at our factory."

  "Zhang accountant, coming out so late at night and going so far, just to buy a catty of donkey meat?" the driver asked in surprise.

  "Look, this guy suddenly came up with a bunch of onions, and it's really making our workshop unable to deliver goods on time. In the past, we used to deliver over a ton every day, but now there are only a few hundred kilograms left, what can we do? This period has been good, sometimes leaving half a ton behind, I'm going to go process them, so expensive! Isn't the boss anxious about this?"

  "That's not just a few other households that have moved over, Dashen Village, Beishi Dian, Nancheng all have meat processing plants."

  "No, they're about the same level as us, just this flavor, except for old brands they can't make it, and it's not right, there are only a few old brands, their production is not enough for their own sales, let alone low-priced wholesale to stalls?" Zhang accountant muttered, saying suspiciously, very puzzled.

  The driver suddenly remembered something and said, "Huh? Right! Zhang accountant, I've heard that the donkey meat in Zhongma Village is authentic. Is someone doing this business there?"

  "Nonsense, how much would the transportation cost and sales cost be for that mountain? How would he even get it up there? What about slaughter and processing? You'd have to build a workshop up there, that's just asking to get kicked in the head by a donkey. Who knows who might cause trouble." Zhang the accountant retorted professionally.

  It's a done deal. Although new entrants to the market may not be very aware of it, those who have been in the food industry for many years know that prevention is much cheaper than the cost of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. If you wait until they've become famous, it won't be so easy to move them.

  Of course, the priority is to investigate the source. Zhang Kuai took a few samples back to the meat factory on Zifang Road. The boss was waiting and also sliced the samples thinly and tasted them carefully. As the saying goes, "since ancient times, Shangqiu has been famous for its donkey meat". Those who do business in the food industry all have good taste buds. Factory director Wang Shouyi chewed on the problem for a few mouthfuls before speaking out in surprise: "This is wrong! Who got kicked in the head by a donkey and made such a good batch to sell to small vendors?"

  People are divided into three, six and nine grades, and the food they eat is also divided into three, six and nine grades. The cooked food stalls on the streets and roadsides are almost all supplying food for the common people, most of which are bulk purchases from breeding bases, frozen meat, simple processing, just roasted and boiled out of the oven furnace of the meat factory. To achieve the level of this dish in front of you, it must be braised over low heat, and the ingredients should not be frozen meat.

  The two of them looked at each other, generally depressed. Director Wang tasted another piece and asked incredulously: "This... is it something you bought from a street food stall?"

  "That's right, now more than half of the familiar food stalls that often come to our factory have this stuff, it's a van delivering goods, don't know where they came from." said Zhang accountant.

  "What's the price?" asked the factory director.

  "Forty-four, wholesale and retail are the same," said the accountant.

  "How many?" asked the factory director.

  "I don't know, I've been to seven or eight houses, and they all have them," said the accountant.

  "Yoho, didn't notice for a moment, and indeed a big garlic head popped out." The factory director was even more puzzled.

  As soon as he said this, Zhang the accountant's shrewdness returned, and he began to calculate with his fingers: "Director, I also think it's not right. If we say that the old brand in the city is producing it, I really don't believe it, their craftsmanship is sold out before it even leaves the door. But if we import goods from other places, only the donkey meat from Luzhuang and Daxinzhuang is of high quality, but that's dozens of kilometers away. If he imports a small amount, it's not cost-effective, and if he imports a lot, isn't he afraid of losing money? In order to impact our sales, his sales cost and sales volume must be huge! The wholesale price is the same as ours. Could someone be squeezing our factory?"

  "You... you... don't bother calculating the cost with me." Manager Wang pulled his hand back, feeling a bit uneasy.

  But this ingredient is not like a few dollars of pork, it can't be afforded to be wasted. The frozen ingredients cost 30 yuan per kilogram, and if they are not sold out within two days, they will go bad in the warehouse. This thing is not like pig fat that can be refined into industrial oil, once it goes bad, it can only be thrown away. Zhang the accountant was nagging: "I'm in a hurry, aren't I? We can afford to lose money on other meats, but we can't afford to lose money on donkey meat. These few items have been seriously declining, especially this month. Not a single cent has been earned, and several tens of thousands of yuan have been lost. If the sales really can't be accurately predicted, the workshop will have to stop for a few days, it can't go on like this."

  "Ugh, are you annoying or what? It's like I don't know. Go ahead, mind your own business. Tomorrow, stop messing around and just let the workshop and procurement department coordinate with each other, order as much as we need and that's it."

  Director Liu waved his hand to dismiss his subordinates, walked back and forth in the office with his hands behind his back, walked for a while, and still couldn't figure out why he was so puzzled by this strange thing. When he couldn't think it through, he got up annoyed, opened the window, and saw that the workshop was still busy, with steam rising from it. The workshop, which could process tens of tons of finished meat products every day, was the rice bowl of the entire factory, but now someone had stolen food from this rice bowl, and it was not clear who it was. This was not like the small-scale slaughter of a few pigs, sheep, cattle, and donkeys by rural households in nearby villages during holidays, but rather a continuous large-scale wholesale on Xicheng Street for several months. If this continued, Director Wang knew that it wouldn't take long before the meat processing factory would be squeezed out of business, not even having any donkey meat to sell.

  "Who is this, his mother's so unruly."

  Wang Changlang shrugged, although he didn't quite understand who it might be, but he had already figured out what to do. In fact, the business of that industry is each their own path, and in this donkey meat hometown, donkey meat is a special line of work, from slaughtering, freezing, transportation, processing, sales, each link has its own big players, dealing with these outside troublemakers, there's no need for Roulian Factory to think of ways at the downstream processing end.

  The solution was simple. Director Wang picked up his phone and dialed the supplier's number, asking angrily: "...... Mr. Qin, are you handling this? Our shipments have shrunk by half. If it continues like this, I won't be able to digest even 200 kilograms a day... What? The same thing happened in Nancheng? Then hurry up... Alright, with your assurance, I can rest assured..."

  The so-called Qin boss on the phone only replied faintly: "Nothing, no matter who it is, he will disappear soon, and I'll compensate for your losses."

  He hung up the phone, and Wang Chang's heart was put at ease. He glanced at the donkey meat on the table with a scornful smile. To say that there are many donkey meats that taste better than those from Meat Union Factory, it's possible that they might snatch away the factory's donkey meat business. After all these years, it really hasn't happened yet.