Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 839 - 463: Accountant Xiang’s Matchmaking Agency

Chapter 839: Chapter 463: Accountant Xiang’s Matchmaking Agency

On the main street of Sancha River, a group of people were hurrying along, and passersby, curious at the sight, pulled aside someone they knew from the crowd and asked, "Where are you all going? Is there something exciting happening?"

"Keep up, quickly," the acquaintance whispered, "The cattle farm is selling beef, two dollars a catty..."

"Really? Is that true?" someone who heard immediately followed. "Where are they selling it?"

"Don’t shout about it, of course it’s true..." someone reminded in a low voice. "Just follow along and you’ll know, don’t ask!"

And it was not like shouting would do any good anyway; in the town, any piece of news spread instantly throughout the streets. Seeing everyone on the road hurrying in the same direction, it was clear they all knew!

"What if it’s a scam?" someone still wondered, but seeing others running to join, they no longer cared and started running too.

"Who would play a prank on you for no reason? If you don’t want to go, then don’t. The school’s loudspeaker just announced it. However, only those who work as teachers at the school can buy it; others won’t be able to get any," said someone running ahead without stopping.

"Then what are you rushing for if you’re not a teacher?" the person behind them suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Heh heh, did you forget my kid’s uncle is a teacher at the school? A teacher can buy up to five catties, and he can’t finish that much, giving me half a catty would be enough. I also want to taste what the beef sold to Hong Kong is like..." the person ahead chuckled joyfully.

Among those who had initially stopped, a few had a sudden revelation and immediately started following again.

"My niece’s boyfriend is a teacher at the school, I’ll go find him..."

"Your relation is a bit distant, my niece is a teacher at the school, both she and her husband are teachers, so isn’t that ten catties for them? Haha, I just need to see her..."

"No need to worry if you’re not related, some teachers can’t finish their portion and will sell it right there on the spot, up to five dollars a catty. Paying the price of pork for beef, what’s there to be dissatisfied about? Come on, let’s all go..."

"..."

Actually, these people got the news a bit late. Right after the preparatory bell rang at the school, the loudspeakers from several schools announced it. All teachers from the school were notified to go buy beef at the alley opposite the former Old Yan Family blacksmith shop in the town, two dollars a catty, up to five catties per person. Only the teacher themselves could go, family members were not counted...

Why choose this location? Because it was equidistant from the gates of the three schools, exactly around one hundred and fifty meters away. As for why they announced it this way over the loudspeaker, it was because the beef sale was from Boss Yan’s cattle farm, so of course, there had to be a mention of the Old Yan Family blacksmith shop—otherwise, in a few more years, the town would have forgotten that there was a blacksmith shop, and would have forgotten that the Yan Family was in the blacksmithing trade to begin with, right?

By now, the small intersection already had quite a few people, most of whom were there to see the excitement or to wait and see if anyone was willing to resell the discounted beef. Only a few were teachers, waiting in line at a table. They still had decorum; although there wasn’t a proper queue, no one was pushing and shoving—everyone waited their turn patiently.

Behind the table sat three women from the cattle farm: Xiang Rui, Shao Pingping, and Ma Chao’s heavily pregnant wife. One was collecting money, another writing receipts, and the last standing by the wagon, directing the people on it who to hand the beef to.

Xiang Rui was asking a young male teacher, "Are you here by yourself as a teacher? Don’t you have a girlfriend? Buy more, you can’t finish it—give it to your mother-in-law, eh?"

This teacher, just having graduated not two years ago with a youthful face, blushed at Xiang Rui’s questioning and said a bit embarrassedly, "Just by myself, my home is far away and it’s not vacation time, can’t send it back. I haven’t got a girlfriend yet!"

Xiang Rui was straightforward: "Then give me ten dollars, buy five catties. If you can’t finish it, sell it over there, people are scrambling to buy it at five dollars a catty. Hurry up, no dawdling..."

Quite a few of the recently transferred young teachers were from out of town, all alone here without family. This one intended to buy only half a catty to try—obviously, a single person wouldn’t usually buy five catties of beef to stew at home for several days. And as for reselling it, he would definitely be too shy to do so, so Xiang Rui resorted to a "forced sale" so he wouldn’t lose face.

When everybody at the cattle farm discussed the plan, some suggested half a catty per household, some said a catty, and others proposed charging less. If they didn’t charge anything, wouldn’t that seem a bit off? Giving away free beef, what’s that all about, huh?

So in the end, they decided to simply "sell" it. Two dollars a catty, five catties per teacher. No household would actually eat five catties of beef, so if anyone wanted to resell the extra, they could. Even if it went for five dollars a catty, selling two catties meant getting three catties of beef for free, right?

These days, teachers’ salaries really weren’t high, sometimes even delayed, so their lives weren’t all that easy, so this was considered giving out a little benefit.

Anyway, there was still plenty of beef left—it was all frozen beef, barely any had been processed that morning.

Pang Fa thoughtfully also sent a message to those who often came to help slaughter the cattle at the farm, informing them that the cattle farm was distributing beef today and to slaughter fewer pigs. Otherwise, in this hot weather, most of it would end up as a loss for those few meat sellers.

Chief Accountant Xiang’s presence was formidable, and with the status of the police station chief’s wife, she spoke decisively. The young male teacher wanted to argue a point but ended up not saying a word, obediently taking out ten dollars and handing it over.

Shao Pingping, standing next to the wagon, immediately ordered, "Tie up one catty separately, and the remaining four catties together!"

This was something the female generals considered a bit more, making it convenient for the teacher to directly sell four catties and keep one for himself to eat.

The cattle ranch didn’t have bags for beef either; everything was tied up with hemp rope. It wasn’t just them, all the butchers on the street did the same. Hemp rope was cheap, just a few dimes for a bundle, and one bundle would last a long time.

When the young male teacher received his two pieces of beef, Xiang Rui, who was busy, turned her head and saw a few people gathered around the male teacher, buying his beef. Seeing that the male teacher seemed a bit embarrassed and not knowing what to think, she suddenly shouted crisply towards that group, "Don’t just focus on buying cheap beef! The man’s conditions are laid out right here; whoever has a suitable Little Ni’er, introduce her to him!"

This was certainly something—selling beef and moonlighting as a matchmaker. How idle was Chief Accountant Xiang! Planning on switching careers to start a matchmaking service?

A chorus of laughter erupted around them, but amidst the laughter, some people started looking at the male teacher, whose face was now red, with a scrutinizing gaze—his conditions were indeed not bad, handsome and not many worked in town offices, being a teacher was considered a good job. As for teachers having lower salaries, it wasn’t a big deal since the teacher seemed to dress like his family might not be well off. There were business people in town, wealthy families; they could complement each other!

Normally, these out-of-town teachers only came out to buy some vegetables, and ordinary people didn’t have the chance to see them, let alone inquire further. But now, buying some beef had inadvertently ’exposed’ their personal circumstances. It wouldn’t be surprising if this beef purchase ended up solving a major life event—haven’t you seen how, after Xiang Rui’s reminder, a few more aunties crowded around? They clearly showed more interest in the person than in the cheap beef.

Although Accountant Xiang was not old, there was a difference between a mother and a girl. What started as a spontaneous shout now seemed quite addicting as she started asking every young teacher if they had a partner. She even pointed to Old Ou and a few others on the truck and seriously made introductions to the female teachers: "Those are our people here, the ones without wives. See any you like? Don’t mind their rough edges, now that someone’s taking charge of them, no need to worry..."

The female teachers being asked turned so shy, while the shameless bunch on the truck, as if injected with doping, were passing over beef with such eagerness, you’d think they were about to jump down and offer to deliver it to their homes...

The scene was indeed joyful, and although there was a bit of a delay, no one really minded. Even those waiting around to buy cheap beef got excited and began racking their brains, wondering if they had a relative of a suitable age and condition...

As for Yan Fei, of course, he went back to school.

However, this morning’s lessons could only be considered half-attended, as many classes in the school were self-study because the teachers had gone to buy beef. It was a case of whoever got the beef first would come in to teach; it was treated as a schedule adjustment.

"Aren’t you afraid of losing money?"

Upon hearing this sentence, Yan Fei, who was reading his textbook, almost looked outside to see if the sun had risen in the west today.

Could it be that his deskmate had actually initiated a conversation with him?

It’s funny how these two deskmates were such an oddity. Other deskmates were usually the best of friends in class and even went to the restroom together during breaks. These two, however, had been sitting together for a few days now, and had definitely not exchanged more than ten sentences. And it was always Yan Fei who shamelessly asked to borrow his deskmate’s notes to strike up a conversation.

Seeing Yan Fei’s expression, his deskmate’s face turned red in a flash, and then he stared at his textbook without looking away, as if he hadn’t been the one who just spoke.

But looking at his hand holding the textbook, all pinched and turning blue, it was obvious how nervous he was feeling.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Fei finally understood the meaning behind his deskmate’s words. Everyone had heard the loudspeaker announcement earlier. Since others weren’t familiar with Boss Yan, they naturally wouldn’t come over to say anything; they just discussed it quietly among themselves.

"In business, you can’t expect to make a profit on everything. If this loses money, another venture will make a profit," Yan Fei replied, seeing his deskmate had taken the initiative to talk. Considering that he’d need to borrow notes in the future, he offered a bit more explanation. "The beef I sell out of town goes for dozens of yuan per catty. Just consider it a gift for the teachers. I didn’t intend to make a profit anyway, plus I can’t lose much. Our town only has so many teachers!"

He thought by saying a bit more, his deskmate might also engage in a longer conversation with him.

Instead, his deskmate just hummed an acknowledgment with a red face and continued staring at the textbook without a glance elsewhere.

Deserved it, he thought, who asked him to say more anyway.

In this small town, rural students only spend about ten or so catties of food tickets per week, which included not just meals but also pocket money—items other than food could be bought with food tickets at the school’s shop. Basically, considering the price of wheat at the time, the price of one catty of food tickets was around one yuan.

It’s true, students spent very little money in those days, even minor illnesses didn’t cost much to treat. For a cold or a fever, they’d spend a dime on a few pills commonly known as "Da’an" antibiotics, plus two dimes for Ganmaotong pills. Some, even when quite ill, couldn’t bear to get a fever shot and would just go back to the dorm to cover up with a blanket, sweating it out, since the medications and injections they paid for induced sweating as well.

So what could they say when you sold beef for dozens of yuan per catty?

In fact, these female students spent even less due to smaller appetites; some would not even finish five catties of food tickets in a week. The school’s buns were too big, and some girls could not finish one; they would pair up to buy one together, which was enough for them—when Yan Fei delivered rabbit meat to Miss Xu Xiaoyan, the girls from her high school did the same thing.

To someone spending five yuan a week, the concept of beef priced at dozens of yuan per catty was truly a non-starter. The price of that catty of beef was equivalent to several months of their meals.

Yan Fei hadn’t yet realized he had misspoken again, and seeing his deskmate who had finally started talking ignoring him once more, he hugged his textbook and mumbled to himself, why ask me a question if you don’t want to talk?