Chapter 179: Bear Gallbladder
Ning Xiyue squatted in the sow’s pen, applying fresh medicine to her wounds and bringing over the piglets from the neighboring pen to feed them.
After taking care of all her sows and piglets in her spatial storage, the two pigs outside were finally slaughtered, bringing them to the most exciting moment — dividing the meat.
Chen Ye Chu ran in, beaming: “Xiyue, are you done over there? We’re starting to divide the meat.”
“I’m almost ready. You go ahead, I’ll be there in a minute.” Ning Xiyue finished tidying up, slung the medicine box on her back, closed the pig pen door, washed her hands, and went to claim her pork leg.
Thanks to the team leader’s promise, Ning Xiyue didn’t need to queue with Chen Ye Chu and the others; she got VIP treatment.
From a distance, the team leader waved at her: “Yue girl, come over. I’ve already set aside your share.”
No waiting in line — Ning Xiyue happily followed the team leader. He led her to the butcher’s cutting board where Li the Pig Butcher had been working, bent down, and pulled out a basket from underneath.
Inside was exactly what had been promised: one whole, uncut pork leg and a massive bear paw. The bear paw wasn’t just a paw — it could even be called a bear thigh, loaded with meat.
This time, the hunt had yielded plenty of game, so the team leader generously had the butcher cut the bear paw from the base of the leg for Ning Xiyue.
Of course, the basket also included Ning Xiyue’s share of domestic pork — a piece of fatty and lean pork belly weighing about two pounds.
Seeing the pork, Ning Xiyue immediately thought: perfect for braised pork.
The team leader, kindly, held the piece out and asked:
“I heard from your aunt that your favorite is braised pork. I set this piece aside for you. Is that okay? If not, we can swap. But in my opinion, fatty meat is best — flavorful and perfect for rendering lard for cooking.”
“That’s fine, no need to swap. Thank you, Uncle Dawei.”
Ning Xiyue waved her hand to refuse. She still had two jars of lard from the wild boar she processed last time, so fatty meat wasn’t needed. She planned to take this pork belly home tonight for braised pork.
“Good, glad you like it.” The team leader then pulled out another basket from under the board.
“This one’s the black bear’s hide — a whole piece peeled off. If you like, take it.”
“Team Leader, I already have so much. I don’t need the bear pelt. But could you give me the bear gallbladder instead? I want to use it for medicine. I can trade meat for it.”
Ning Xiyue had been coveting that bear gallbladder.
Bear gallbladder is a precious medicine: clears heat and toxins, calms the liver, improves eyesight, promotes bile secretion, dissolves stones, lowers blood lipids, and more. It could activate her totem, make wellness products for her parents, and even help her protect her own eyes.
This was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“Whatever you want, take it. Which meat to trade, let me find for you.”
The team leader didn’t understand medicinal properties and had no idea what bear gallbladder could do — maybe it worked like pig bile?
Still, since Ning Xiyue wanted it, he crouched down and pulled out a large basket of leftover trimmings from the hunt.
After rummaging, he found some pig bile. “Yue girl, here’s some pig bile if you want. It treats sores. In the past, anyone with sores would ask me to save some. This year, we killed more pigs, so there’s extra. I can spare you two.”
“I’ll take one.”
Ning Xiyue accepted the pig bile graciously. They continued searching the basket, and eventually, amidst a pile of livers, found the long, flat bear gallbladder.
“Found it! Team Leader, this one. Can I take it?”
The team leader, tidying the basket, nodded: “Yes, take it. Only you can make proper use of it.”
“Thank you, Team Leader.” Ning Xiyue’s face lit up as she carefully removed the bear gallbladder with a butcher’s knife nearby.
While she handled the gallbladder, the team leader asked about the intact pork leg: “Yue girl, really not having Li the Butcher cut it into smaller pieces?”
“No need. I’m making ham.”
Ning Xiyue waved him off.
She had long planned to learn ham-making from Chen Ye Chu. From their private chats, Chen Ye Chu mentioned her family’s ham was exceptional — even praised by the Premier. Ning Xiyue wanted to try it herself, so when the team leader brought back a large prey’s leg for her, this was the perfect chance.
“All right. You handle that. I’ll help Uncle Anguo sell the meat.”
The team leader walked to the nearby cutting board where two half pigs were laid out.
This hunt had yielded many pigs. After slaughtering two team-raised New Year pigs, there was more pork. The team leadership decided to sell one pig officially.
Team members could buy at a subsidized price — five cents cheaper per pound than the grocery store — without a ticket, but only for the team. Others had to pay full price. Any unsold meat would be taken to the town’s agricultural purchase station. This was a secondary income source for the team.
The team leader, standing by the board, shouted through a megaphone: “Anyone want to buy? If not, we’ll take it to the purchase station.”
This year, team members had already received plenty of meat. Although cheap, most didn’t want to pay extra. Ning Xiyue saw only a dozen households with more labor buying small amounts — just one or two pounds each, meant for busy farm work.
Ning Xiyue glanced at a string of small intestines hanging on a branch behind the team leader, thinking about buying some to make sausages. How could the New Year go without sausages?
Before she could act, she saw Chen Ye Chu handing her portion to Yu Zhiyu, then walking to the team leader’s cutting board.
Chen Ye Chu, holding a large piece, asked: “Team Leader, can I buy a pork leg? I want to make ham.”
She smiled at Ning Xiyue as she spoke.
Ning Xiyue understood. Chen Ye Chu wanted to teach her to make ham, and she herself craved it. A good chance to buy the meat couldn’t be missed.
The team leader was surprised, recalling Ning Xiyue had mentioned making ham earlier. He realized this Chen Youth might have planned with Yue girl to make ham, so he nodded: “Sure. Which leg?”
“The hind leg here,” Chen Ye Chu pointed to the right half of the pig.
Li the Butcher cut according to her direction, yielding exactly twenty pounds.
At 0.75 yuan per pound, the total cost was fifteen yuan.
No ticket needed, this was a real bargain. In some cities, meat without a ticket cost 1.2 yuan per pound. The team’s welfare price was genuine.
Chen Ye Chu bought the entire pork leg confidently, drawing attention. Others, seeing the price, decided to buy a few pounds as well.
