Concerned about her reputation, Sister-in-law Han shamefacedly took out ten yuan to buy ten catties of meat. Seeing that her sister-in-law had paid, the third Han sister felt she could not avoid paying either. After receiving the twenty yuan, Ma Xiangling set aside ten catties of meat for herself and sold the rest to trusted neighbors; after recovering her costs, she made a profit of fifty yuan.
The next day, Han Conghui rummaged through the storeroom of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and found a pile of defective goods—towels, toothbrushes, enamel basins, and enamel mugs—all items that would be useful at home. He took them to Qinghe Village to buy another wild boar from Yuanchun. This time, Han Conghui did not take the pork home; instead, he secretly took it to the black market, where he sold the entire boar at thirty percent above the market price, netting a full hundred yuan.
Having tasted success once, Han Conghui went to Qinghe Village again on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. Yuanchun frowned and glared at him. "Han Conghui, you aren't reselling this meat, are you?"
Chapter 499