As the year drew to a close, pork was not cheap, costing twenty-five Wen for a pound. Wild boar meat was rarely seen in the market, but affluent families always sought novelty and freshness, willing to pay fifty Wen per pound if necessary. These three hundred pounds of wild boar meat could be exchanged for two large fatty pigs. To simply chop it up for sausage filling for the New Year is truly squandering!
Mo Yan couldn't outright say her family did not lack silver or pork, so she found another reason: "My father has been under the care of several teachers at the Academy and hasn't properly thanked them for their kindness. With the New Year approaching, we can only make some sausages to present as New Year gifts."
This was not something Mo Yan made up on a whim. After all, in an era that honored teachers and valued education, giving New Year gifts to educators was customary. It didn't need to be anything particularly valuable, but it had to be presentable.
