Chapter 273: Beef Jerky

Chapter 273: Beef Jerky
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Su Zhen took out a cloth bag from the bundle he carried with him. Under the curious eyes of everyone, he took out a piece of dried meat from the bag. The aroma of the meat instantly overshadowed that of the meat pie, indicating that there was still a lot of dried meat inside the bag.
Su Zhen first shared it with Jiang Gu, and then took out pieces to share with the others. The five of them sat around the fire, eating meat pies and gnawing on the dried meat.
Jiang Xia, with her discerning palate, instantly recognized the dried meat as beef jerky. The quality was excellent, most likely sourced from the Central Plains region’s yellow cattle.
This beef jerky, in normal times, wouldn’t be considered rare. There are cattle breeding bases in the Central Plains region. Mature cattle are transported to factories and processed into products like beef in sauce or beef jerky, which are then distributed to shopping mall in towns and larger cities.
It’s not that the manufacturers were unwilling to sell in villages or small towns, but the consumption levels in these areas simply weren’t high enough for them to break even. Thus, Jiang Gu had never seen beef jerky before.
Jiang Gu held the beef jerky tightly in one hand, relishing every bite. However, the jerky was quite tough, and she could only eat it slowly, strand by strand, savoring every bit.
Jiang Xia thought to herself, given the current famine across the country and the likely reduced production at cattle breeding bases, the demand for beef jerky must exceed supply. The price of beef jerky is likely more than double its usual price.
The bag Su Zhen had seemed quite full. If it was all filled with beef jerky, it would be enough to feed their family for a month.
Jiang Xia’s thoughts were mirrored by Jiang Chuan’s. Yesterday, Su Zhen had been probing him. Today, the tables would turn.
After their meal, Jiang Xia shared water from her interspace water flask with her family. Since Su Zhen also had his own flask, she didn’t offer him any.
She was actually wary of doing so, fearing that the astute Su Zhen might notice the difference between the interspace water and regular water.
Su Zhen glanced at the water flask, speculating that the Jiang family might be living better than they seemed. Although a water flask wasn’t a luxury, trading it would require at least ten catties of grain.
Su Zhen’s guess was right. Jiang Chuan had bartered fish for this water flask at Locust Tree Bay. Along with the water flask, he had also acquired an iron pot, which had been on Zhou Lan’s wish list since they had separated from their main family. She had always wanted an iron pot, but they were not available in the town near Pushan Village. Jiang Chuan had kept this in mind.
Had Su Zhen not been present, Zhou Lan would have taken out the iron pot and made some wild vegetable porridge or a warm milk and egg soup.
Before leaving, Jiang Xia discovered a few small mushrooms in a damp corner, barely noticeable. She quietly pocketed them into her interspace storage.
On their journey to Grand Cloud Mountain, Jiang Chuan and Su Zhen took turns driving the horse carriage. They chatted about various topics and gradually built trust.
It was only then that Jiang Chuan learned that, although Su Zhen looked to be in his mid-twenties, he was only eighteen. His clear eyes held a cold depth, not the kind you’d expect from someone his age.
Yet Jiang Chuan realized that times shape individuals. The fact that Su Zhen often provided food for neighboring villages indicated his mental age was much greater than eighteen.
Reflecting on this, Jiang Chuan asked Su Zhen, “When you distribute food to the villagers, do you pick villages at random or specifically choose them?”
Su Zhen replied, “1 select them deliberately. As Locust Tree Bay developed, the nearby villages started emptying out. Young adults would move to Locust Tree Bay after getting married, leaving only the elderly and children in the villages. They can only do limited work and struggle to feed themselves. I do my best to help them.”
“You seem to know Locust Tree Bay very well. Are you from here?”
“No, I’m not. To be honest, my hometown is quite close to yours, located in the nearest county to Pushan village. However, I frequently come here for business and have some understanding of the situation here. Also, among the people who work with me, many are from Locust Tree Bay. Their parents and children are in nearby villages, so 1 feel it’s only right to help out the villagers there.”
“You’d make a great boss.” Jiang Chuan sincerely said this. The development of a company heavily depends on good leadership. Only when a boss treats their employees well can the company’s cohesion be enhanced, enabling the employees to work diligently.
Although Su Zhen is currently just doing business and hasn’t yet evolved it into a full-fledged company, his sense of righteousness is the most critical quality for him to become a great boss.
In a few years, once the country has developed further, he might just have the opportunity to become one of the first wealthy individuals to rise..