Chapter 79: Ba-Snake Pigs
Ying Kongtu wanted to buy pigs, and Wen Zhongshan kept the matter in mind.
That day, Wen Zhongshan received a phone call.
Ying Kongtu was lying on a recliner. When he heard the key words in Wen Zhongshan’s phone call, he turned his head to look at him.
Wen Zhongshan noticed Ying Kongtu’s gaze, gave him a faint smile, and continued answering the person on the other end of the phone.
Ying Kongtu listened carefully and became increasingly certain that Wen Zhongshan had mentioned pigs.
After finally waiting for him to hang up, Ying Kongtu half sat up, his eyes bright as he looked at him. “I think I heard news about pigs?”
Wen Zhongshan walked over, dragged a chair with a backrest over, and sat down in front of him. “A friend helped us get in touch with some Tibetan pigs. He said we can go take a look.”
“Tibetan pigs.” Ying Kongtu had read some information about Tibetan pigs. “I did consider raising Tibetan pigs. The environment for raising Tibetan pigs is somewhat similar to ours, but I didn’t find any piglets of particularly good quality before.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “That friend contacted some local herder friends for us. The piglets over there should be pretty good. I asked him to send the information over. We’ll take a look later.”
Wen Zhongshan’s friend was very reliable and soon sent over a pile of information.
The Tibetan pigs his friend had contacted were local Tibetan pigs raised by a herder’s family.
Judging from the information, the other party’s Tibetan piglets were indeed quite good. After Ying Kongtu looked through it, he could not help feeling tempted.
Tibetan pigs had a long history of breeding, and the breeding system was also relatively mature.
They were very resilient, able to adapt to all kinds of harsh environments and feed on various wild plants.
If they were to raise them, they would only need to release the Tibetan pigs onto the mountain. After that, they would only need to check on them every few days. They basically would not need to spend much effort.
Raising Tibetan pigs would be even easier than raising chickens.
Ying Kongtu flipped through the information seriously. “I feel like this batch of Tibetan pigs will work. They’ve been raised well, and the Tibetan pigs in the pictures all look high-quality.”
Wen Zhongshan raised his head and met Ying Kongtu’s eyes. “Then shall we go take a look?”
Ying Kongtu said, “Sure. We can go out for a walk while we’re at it.”
Since the two of them were going out, they had no choice but to entrust the matters at home to Xing Chang again.
Xing Chang agreed immediately. Holding Dart, he said, “No problem. Leave it to me without worry. Xian Niao is here, so nothing will go wrong.”
“These past two days, we’ve transported the cracked corn and feed to the chicken shed on Qianzhongcui Mountain. I’ll have to trouble you to take them out tomorrow morning and feed the chickens for us.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“Basically nothing. We’re just going to look at pigs this time. We should be back within a day or two.”
“You two go ahead and get busy. Call me if anything comes up. I should be able to handle it.”
With Xing Chang around, Ying Kongtu and the others had nothing to worry about. They quickly contacted Wen Zhongshan’s friend and planned to go take a look locally.
Early that morning, the two went to the city to take the high-speed train.
They were the only two people in the business-class carriage. It was spacious, comfortable, and quiet.
Ying Kongtu put away their things, sat in his seat, and looked out the window. “It already feels like a trip now.”
“Next time, we can specially find time to go out and have fun. A self-driving trip would work too.”
“Then we’ll probably have to switch to a bigger car and bring Tiaozhu and the others along.”
“I’ll look into it when we get back. Do you want to sleep for a while?”
“No. I want to look at the scenery outside.”
As a mountain god who rarely went out, Ying Kongtu was rather curious about everything outside the window.
The high-speed train traveled westward, passing through countless mountains and tunnels.
The terrain outside the window gradually became flatter, and the color also changed from deep green to pale green and withered yellow.
The sky was astonishingly blue. The large clusters of snow-white clouds were also beautiful, while the snow mountains in the distance appeared even more magnificent, unlike the elegant snow mountains Ying Kongtu usually saw.
After the high-speed train traveled for more than half a day, it finally arrived at their destination.
Wen Zhongshan’s friend drove over to pick them up. When he saw them, he was quite excited.
Wen Zhongshan introduced Ying Kongtu and his friend, Sonam Tsering, to each other. Sonam Tsering looked at the two of them and said, “You two look so well-matched.”
Ying Kongtu was also in a very good mood. “Thank you.”
Sonam Tsering smiled. “I’ll take you to the herder’s home first. Their family runs a homestay. We’ll stay at their place tonight.”
Wen Zhongshan and Ying Kongtu had no objections.
The homestay run by the herder’s family was located at the foot of the mountain.
The mountains here were even higher. Large stretches of spruce trees pierced straight into the sky, their green extremely cold and hard.
There were also pastures halfway up the mountain, but the grass had not turned fully green yet. From a distance, it formed a sharp boundary with the spruce forest.
After the two settled down at the homestay, they greeted Sonam Tsering and went out for a walk.
The environment here was indeed somewhat similar to theirs, but drier and colder.
“Wild wormwood, silverweed, wild carrots…” Ying Kongtu looked at the plants in the forest. “Rough-fed pigs probably eat these. The food isn’t as abundant as it is where we are.”
“If they can be raised here, there should be no problem on our side.”
“I think so too. Wait, I think I see their pigs.”
The herder family’s pigs were raised on the mountain. From far away, they could see the pigs on the mountain in groups of three to five, slowly rooting around for food halfway up the mountain. They looked extremely leisurely.
Ying Kongtu watched for a while but showed no intention of going closer.
They strolled around nearby, then returned to the homestay.
Sonam Tsering had ordered stone-pot dishes, a combination of chicken and cured pork. Dried mushrooms had been added inside, and by now it was almost done cooking. The smell was extremely fragrant.
Everyone sat down to eat. They ate until they were slightly sweating and felt deeply satisfied.
After eating, they returned to their rooms to rest.
The temperature in the mountains was very low. Even in June, it was only a few degrees Celsius at night.
The homestay owner was still burning a stove for heating, so the room was warm and cozy.
After washing up, Ying Kongtu wore a long sleep robe and yawned as he crawled under the covers. Nestling close to Wen Zhongshan, he soon fell asleep.
He usually did not sleep so early, but in the quiet mountains, drowsiness seemed to be magnified, thick and overwhelming. It only took a short while before he sank into deep sleep.
A dreamless night.
When Ying Kongtu woke up the next day, he only felt refreshed and clear-headed.
They went downstairs to eat noodles. The noodles provided by the homestay were also very delicious, fragrant and chewy.
Sonam Tsering discussed going up the mountain to look at pigs with the homestay owner.
The homestay owner did not know much Mandarin, so Sonam Tsering helped communicate in the local language the whole time.
Ying Kongtu could not understand the local language, but as a mountain god, he could bypass language itself and roughly understand a little of the meaning.
Sonam Tsering had been emphasizing that they only wanted the best pigs and hoped the homestay owner could drive out the best pigs for them to see. The homestay owner also said there was no problem.
After they finished communicating, on the way up the mountain to look at the pigs, Ying Kongtu said, “Thank you for your trouble. We’re really bothering you.”
Sonam Tsering waved his hands repeatedly. “No trouble, no trouble. It’s just a small matter. I happened to come out for a walk too.”
As the two of them chatted, Sonam Tsering began talking more openly.
Only then did Ying Kongtu learn that Wen Zhongshan had once saved Sonam Tsering’s life.
Back then, Sonam Tsering had been in a car accident. His car had overturned into the river beneath a cliff.
The river water was swift and icy cold, and the rescue was extremely difficult.
Kindhearted passersby on the road saw it and helped call the police, but no one dared to go down and save him.
Later, when the car was about to sink, Wen Zhongshan happened to pass by and managed to rescue him.
Ying Kongtu had seen the local rivers.
The water was all melted ice and snow. It was low in temperature and fast-flowing. Even for a non-human like Wen Zhongshan, rescuing a man from a vehicle that was about to sink would not have been easy.
Wen Zhongshan noticed Ying Kongtu’s gaze and raised his head.
Their eyes met, and Ying Kongtu reached out to wrap an arm briefly around his waist.
The motion was only a fleeting touch, but it conveyed Ying Kongtu’s complicated emotions.
Wen Zhongshan looked at Ying Kongtu with a gentle gaze, meaning that it was all right. Saving Sonam Tsering that time had not been painful.
The homestay owner led them through uneven ground to find the pigs.
The mountain was very large, and the pig herds were scattered everywhere. They were extremely alert. As soon as they saw people, they ran far away.
They chased pigs all over the mountain until they were exhausted, yet they still did not catch a single one.
In the end, Ying Kongtu had no choice but to release divine power and attract the pig herd over. Only then did they successfully catch the pigs and begin selecting them.
Tibetan pigs were not large. The batch raised by the homestay owner mainly consisted of young pigs, most of them only twenty to thirty jin.
Fortunately, the quality of this group of piglets was decent. Ying Kongtu selected them and placed them into cages, three pigs per cage, and soon filled several cages.
Later, they would have to carry the piglets down the mountain, then transport them back to the homestay by motorcycle.
This batch of piglets was pretty good. Out of ten piglets, Ying Kongtu could select four.
He said to Sonam Tsering, “This still isn’t enough. We probably need around thirty piglets, three breeding sows, and one breeding boar.”
Sonam Tsering communicated with the homestay owner, then translated for them after finishing. “Later, we’ll go to another mountain to choose more. This uncle’s brother also raises a batch on another mountain, and there are more uncastrated piglets there that can be used as breeding pigs.”
The homestay owner added something.
Sonam Tsering translated for them again. “He says that if his brother’s pigs still aren’t enough, we can go to other families in the village and choose from theirs. There are pigs on all these nearby mountains.”
Ying Kongtu nodded. “Thank you for the trouble.”
The homestay owner was very warmhearted, but the pigs he sold were not cheap either.
The piglets were eight hundred eighty yuan each, and the breeding pigs were one thousand five hundred each. Locally, the price was about the same. The homestay owner was also willing to let Ying Kongtu and the others go up the mountain to choose the pigs themselves, so it could be considered relatively worthwhile.
Ying Kongtu and the others crossed one mountain after another. By the afternoon, Ying Kongtu had selected twenty-three piglets and two breeding sows.
They could not finish selecting them today, so they would have to continue tomorrow.
When they returned to the homestay, Ying Kongtu discovered that there were several missed calls on his phone, all from Ba-Snake.
There had been no signal on the mountain, so he had not noticed.
Ying Kongtu returned Ba-Snake’s call.
As soon as Ba-Snake opened his mouth, he asked, “Mountain God, are you buying pigs?”
“Yes.” Ying Kongtu said casually, “We’re still selecting them now. What’s wrong? Do you have resources on your end too?”
“I do. They’re the Ba-snake pigs bred by our Ba-snake clan.” Ba-Snake said, “I was just about to tell you. Good things shouldn’t flow into outsiders’ fields. If you’re choosing pigs, you can come over to our side and take a look.”
Ying Kongtu immediately straightened up and exchanged a look with Wen Zhongshan.
“The Ba-snake pigs on your side are?”
“They’re pigs crossbred from local black pigs and mountain pigs. Our clan has raised them for many years. They belong to an extraordinary species, a slightly higher-level extraordinary species than Ai fish.”
Ying Kongtu said in surprise, “They’re actually an extraordinary species?”
“Yes. That’s why if you want to raise these pigs well, they need a little nourishment from divine power. We’re always sleeping deeply, so the pigs aren’t raised particularly well. If you’re interested, you can come take a look. If they’re suitable, you can bring them back and raise them.”
Ying Kongtu said seriously, “I’m very interested. But may I ask about the price? I’m afraid we might not be able to offer a very high price for now.”
“You’re an honest god, so we won’t cheat you either. Right now, we have a total of eighty-three pigs on our mountain, breeding pigs and piglets included. If you like them, you can take them all back. When they’re raised well later, return fifty adult pigs to us, each over one hundred fifty jin—”
Ying Kongtu immediately agreed. “No problem.”
“Wait, I haven’t finished.” Ba-Snake said, “You also need to keep three breeding pigs for us on your side—one male and two females. When we want them, you can return them to us. We have to keep breeding stock.”
Ba-Snake added, “If one day you no longer want to raise them, you can also return the breeding pigs to us in advance. Just let us know ahead of time.”
“Your terms are far too generous.”
“We’re already so familiar with each other. If you’re going to raise them, of course we’ll give them to you first.”
Ba-Snake pulled the topic back again. “Also, if you raise them, you have to make sure the pigs don’t go extinct. Our requirements aren’t high. If anything happens to the pigs, notify us immediately, and we’ll think of a way to treat them. Just don’t wait until all the pigs are dead before telling us.”
Ying Kongtu said, “Absolutely no problem. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. When are you coming over to take a look? If they’re suitable, we’ll sign a contract then to regulate both sides’ actions.”
Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan. Seeing that he did not seem opposed, he said to Ba-Snake on the other end of the phone, “Send us the address? If there’s a car, we can rush over tonight and arrive at your place tomorrow to look at the pigs.”
“Okay, I’ll send it to you right away.”
After hanging up and receiving Ba-Snake’s message, Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan. “I didn’t expect things to take such a turn.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “Shall we go look at the pigs on the Ba-snake clan’s side now?”
“Let’s go take a look. After all, they’re extraordinary-type pigs.” Ying Kongtu said a little apologetically, “We’ll just have to tell Sonam Tsering. He worked hard accompanying us to look at pigs. As for the homestay owner, we can also pay breach-of-contract compensation.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “I’ll go communicate.”
Ying Kongtu said, “Let’s go together. It’ll seem more sincere.”
The two of them went to communicate. Sonam Tsering and the homestay owner both expressed understanding.
The homestay owner absolutely refused to accept breach-of-contract compensation. He said they had come from so far away and even stayed at his home, so there was no need for compensation.
He even said that if they went over and found the pigs unsuitable, they could come back and continue doing business with him.
The other party was too sincere and simple. In the end, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan bought some cured pork and mushrooms, planning to bring them home as local specialties.
That night, they rushed to the small city where the Ba-snake clan lived and made an appointment to meet Ba-Snake early the next morning.
The Ba-snake in charge of connecting with them was named Ba Yi. In human form, he looked like a handsome, strong man.
They chatted briefly and found that they got along quite well.
Ba Yi drove a van over to pick them up. “We live on the mountain, so we’ll have to drive for a while.”
Ying Kongtu had been curious since the night before. “Do you not want to raise pigs anymore?”
“That’s right.” Ba Yi said, “We often hibernate. Once we sleep, it lasts several years. Raising a herd of pigs makes sleeping uneasy. We’re always worried they’ll all die while we’re asleep.”
Ying Kongtu said, “In that case, couldn’t you donate them to the Special Management Bureau? The people at the Special Management Bureau have divine power too. They should be able to raise them, right?”
At the mention of this, Ba Yi said gloomily, “We donated a batch before. They all got raised to death. This kind of pig almost went extinct because of that. It scared us so much that we didn’t sleep for several years and urgently bred another batch.”
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan: “…”
Ba Yi said, “You’ll know once you see them later. Our pigs are very good. They’re large, and the meat is tender, delicate, and delicious. Aside from needing a little nourishment from divine power, there are no other problems.”
Ying Kongtu asked, “Large? How large?”
Ba Yi said, “They can grow to two or three hundred jin.”
Ying Kongtu was surprised. “Rough-fed pigs can grow that big too?”
“Yes. They’re extraordinary species, after all. Their current size is actually smaller than before. In ancient times, they were even bigger and could grow to six or seven hundred jin, like little elephants.”
Ying Kongtu imagined it. “That really is quite big.”
Ba Yi drove them straight to the mountainside.
From far away, they could see the pigs Ba Yi had mentioned.
Those pigs were leisurely rooting for food on the mountain. They looked quite sturdy and did not seem poorly raised at all.
As soon as Ba Yi saw Ying Kongtu’s expression, he knew what they were thinking. “We’re too lazy to take care of them. The pigs in poor health were all eaten by us. The pigs left behind are all of decent quality.”
“How about it? I didn’t lie to you, did I? This batch of pigs of ours is pretty good, right?”
“They’re more than good.” Ying Kongtu said to Ba Yi, “Thank you for thinking of us.”
“It’s mainly because you do business sincerely, and we’re willing to deal with you.” Ba Yi sighed. “If we ran into crooked merchants, we’d have to crawl out of sleep halfway through to handle all kinds of troublesome nonsense. That would be far too exhausting.”
Author’s Note:
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan rescued other little eagles, and Shuangzhong got jealous.
It was fine for Ying Kongtu to touch the little eagles, but not Wen Zhongshan.
The moment Wen Zhongshan touched a little eagle, Shuangzhong would angrily go “Kiken, kiken,” pecking Wen Zhongshan’s arm with its beak. Even if he did not touch them, it would still peck him, then bury its head in a corner and point its butt at Wen Zhongshan.
Unless Wen Zhongshan fed it its favorite jerky.
