Chapter 82: Raising Pigs
Xia Lu Nong stood there, stunned, unsure of how to respond.
Xia Huo Qu, half-asleep, opened his eyes when he didn’t get a reply. “What are you thinking? Go to sleep.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” Xia Lu Nong, still feeling guilty, hurried to the bed, supporting himself with the mattress as he lay down beside his brother.
Xia Huo Qu casually tossed part of the blanket over him to cover his stomach.
That night, Xia Lu Nong’s dreams were chaotic and wild.
He felt as if his dream was like a spilled box of colors, with large patches of warm yellows and reds alternating in the depths of his mind.
This strange dream was also accompanied by an inexplicable dampness.
Wrapped in his blanket, he was soaked in sweat, and even his breathing felt thick with moisture.
When he woke up the next morning, daylight had already filled the room. The spot where his brother had been lying no longer held any warmth, and now, he was alone in the bed.
He threw off the blanket and got up, noticing that his clothes were wrinkled and disheveled, like a piece of paper that had been soaked and then dried.
He still carried a faint scent of sweat, alcohol, and a certain subtle smell that, combined, created a “spring-like” atmosphere.
Xia Lu Nong looked down at himself, a sense of shame and frustration rising in his chest.
Barefoot, he jumped out of bed, grabbed a fresh pair of underwear, pants, and a T-shirt from the wardrobe, rolled them up, and rushed to the bathroom.
Kong Zhi was preparing breakfast when he saw Xia Lu Nong dash into the bathroom. He glanced at him.
Xia Lu Nong took a bucket from the bathroom, filled it quickly from the water tank, sloshing water around and making a mess on the floor.
Kong Zhi asked, “What are you doing with the water?”
“Taking a bath,” Xia Lu Nong muttered, grabbing the bucket and heading back to the bathroom.
Kong Zhi followed him in, taking the bucket from his hands. Looking down at him, he asked, “Why are you bathing with cold water in the morning?”
Xia Lu Nong, worried that Kong Zhi might smell the odor on him, stepped back and replied in a muffled voice, “I didn’t wash yesterday.”
“Even if you didn’t wash, you should at least heat up some water.” Kong Zhi took the bucket outside and replaced it with a pot for heating bath water. He quickly filled the pot with water, lit the stove, and then looked up at Xia Lu Nong. “Watch the fire.”
“Okay.”
Xia Lu Nong knelt by the stove, grabbed a dry wooden stick, and snapped it in half over his knee with a crack, feeding the pieces into the stove. He silently tended the fire.
The water heated up quickly, and Xia Lu Nong used it to wash his hair and take a bath.
When he emerged, breakfast was ready, and Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian had returned, chatting in the living room.
Seeing Xia Lu Nong come out, Yan Xi Nian went to fetch some food and asked with a smile, “Why are you taking a bath so early in the morning?”
Xia Lu Nong replied, “I didn’t wash yesterday.”
The four of them sat down to eat, and Yan Xi Nian brought up the topic of distributing their resources. “I wanted to mention this yesterday. Now that we have more and more supplies, it’s not practical to keep mixing everything together. Why don’t we divide things up?”
When Xia Lu Nong had been unconscious, his brother had sent all their family’s assets to Dr. Ou, leaving them with no savings. At the same time, Yan Xi Nian had invested everything he had into the White Tower project, leaving no surplus. Both families had been living off whatever they could find, without storing anything, so dividing resources hadn’t been necessary.
Kong Zhi had joined their base as a refugee with only a backpack, and since Xia Huo Qu hadn’t charged him for food or lodging, it wouldn’t have been fair to give him a share of their supplies either.
But things had changed.
Xia Lu Nong had made a big profit from selling spicy chili cakes, and when they returned from Yacheng town, they had brought back thousands of pounds of weapons and food. Even after renting some farmland, they hadn’t used it all.
Now they had honey, which was highly valuable, and it didn’t make sense to lump it in with everything else.
Yan Xi Nian proposed, “We’re close, but it’s still important to keep track of accounts. Let’s separate personal contributions from communal resources.”
Xia Lu Nong looked at his brother, then at Kong Zhi, and asked, confused, “But we’re still eating together. How do we divide it?”
“We’ll set aside a portion as communal supplies, which we’ll replenish as needed. For example, the bee larvae we found will be communal, and we’ll share them. But for everything else, we’ll divide it based on contribution.”
Yan Xi Nian had already thought this through. “For example, Xia Lu Nong, you and your brother were the first to find the honey, so that counts as one share for each of you. When we harvested the honey later, you didn’t do much, so only your brother, Kong Zhi, and I contributed. So, we’ll divide the honey into five parts: you and your brother get one part each for finding it, and then for harvesting it, your brother, Kong Zhi, and I get one part each. Your brother gets two parts in total, while the rest of us get one.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded. “That works.”
Yan Xi Nian added, “We’ll apply the same principle to other situations, dividing based on contribution. We don’t need to be overly meticulous, but we should be fair.”
Xia Huo Qu agreed, “I’m fine with that.”
Xia Lu Nong quickly followed, “Me too.”
Kong Zhi nodded silently from the side.
Yan Xi Nian smiled, “Alright, let’s do it that way. The White Tower is my property, and I’ve already taken some supplies for it, including some honey and bee larvae. So I’ll skip my share of the honey this time. You three can divide it.”
Xia Huo Qu responded, “No, you only took about half of your share. You still need to take the other half. We’ll weigh it out later, it’s no trouble.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, no one should take advantage of anyone, but we also shouldn’t shortchange anyone.”
Yan Xi Nian didn’t argue. “Alright, that works.”
“Let’s weigh it after breakfast,” Xia Huo Qu said. “As for the White Tower, I don’t mind using your share, but you need to make some adjustments. There have been too many leaks, and the researchers’ operations are still not up to standard.”
Xia Huo Qu was still concerned about Yan Ming Qing’s actions. Despite Yan Ming Qing apologizing twice, Xia Huo Qu hadn’t forgiven him and had forbidden his brother from associating with him.
Yan Xi Nian nodded, “I’ll talk to Director Jin about it.”
After breakfast, the four of them weighed the honey.
Out of the honey they had harvested yesterday, 186 pounds remained. Yan Xi Nian received 20.5 pounds, Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi each received 41 pounds, and Xia Huo Qu took 82 pounds. The remaining 1.5 pounds was set aside as communal honey, to be used for making honey water.
Xia Lu Nong straightened up and said, “What a huge harvest!”
“Yeah,” Yan Xi Nian smiled, “and this is just the beginning. There will be more to come in the future.”
The honey was divided, but it was still piled up in the Xia family home.
Xia Lu Nong looked at the mountains of grain and rice stacked in the living room and the storage room, feeling a headache for the first time. “It’s already hard to move around in here. Once the peanuts are harvested, we probably won’t even have a place to stand.”
Xia Huo Qu said, “Let’s see if we have time this winter. If we do, we can add another floor upstairs as a storage area.”
Yan Xi Nian raised both hands in agreement, “No objections from me. We’ll definitely have time this winter.”
After breakfast, Yan Xi Nian headed to the White Building, while the remaining three went to spread out the peanuts to dry.
The peanuts that had been cleaned yesterday were almost dry today.
Xia Lu Nong grabbed a small handful from the ground, cracked open the shells, and tasted the peanuts inside. He figured they needed another two or three days of drying before they could be pressed for oil.
After flipping the peanuts to dry, Xia Huo Qu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to his two younger brothers, “Let’s head back for lunch. We can leave this to Aunt Gu and the others to watch.”
Aunt Gu’s family was also drying peanuts, and she was sitting in the shade, occasionally turning them over. Xia Huo Qu, not wanting to watch over them, had specifically asked her to keep an eye out and alert them if it rained.
Xia Lu Nong’s face was flushed from the heat, and he wiped his forehead with his arm. “Let’s have cold noodles for lunch? We can shred some cucumber, slice some tomatoes, and mix in chili oil and vinegar. It’ll be a good meal.”
Kong Zhi offered, “I’ll make the dough.”
“Great! I’ll check if we can trade for some meat to add minced meat for extra flavor.”
The three of them walked home together, but before they got far, someone called out to them, mainly addressing Xia Huo Qu, “Vice Captain Xia!”
Xia Huo Qu turned around and saw a middle-aged woman carrying a pig cage.
He quietly said to Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi, “Her name is Lu Qing Xuan. You can just call her Sister Lu.”
Both Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi nodded and greeted Lu Qing Xuan.
Out of breath, Lu Qing Xuan caught up with them, greeted them back, and set the pig cage down. She said, “Vice Captain Xia, I heard your family was looking for piglets?”
“You’re thinking of trading piglets with us?” Xia Huo Qu asked. “If you want honey, we’re only offering one to two ounces of honey plus twenty pounds of rice.”
“I don’t need honey, just rice,” Lu Qing Xuan panted. “These piglets were raised by my family this year. See if you’re interested.”
While she spoke, Xia Lu Nong had already gone to look at the piglets.
All of her piglets were black, leaner than those from the Shi and Cheng families, and had a rougher appearance.
As for mutations, two of the three piglets had an extra eye, and one had an extra hoof.
Seeing Xia Lu Nong’s interest, Lu Qing Xuan said, “These are good pigs. My family just can’t manage all of them, so I’m trading them. We had twelve originally, and these three are the last ones left.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Sister Lu, did your family build the pigpen at eastern hillside?”
“Yes. There’s still space over there. If you don’t want to raise pigs near your home because of the mess, you can raise them at eastern hillside. Vice Captain Xia knows about it. Renting land there isn’t expensive, and my family has empty pig pens available for rent.”
Xia Huo Qu asked, “Are these piglets a crossbreed between domestic and wild pigs?”
“Sort of. They’re wild pigs, but really they’re just domestic pigs that mutated after the disaster,” Lu Qing Xuan explained. “I won’t hide anything from you. My pigs are a bit wilder than the Shi family’s, but I’m also asking for less rice—just three pounds of rice for every pound of live pig.”
Xia Huo Qu said, “The Shi family also asks for three pounds of rice per pound of live pig.”
Lu Qing Xuan wiped her sweat and smiled, “That’s because someone else set the price, and his family won’t trade at that rate. When he used to trade pigs, it was at least three and a half pounds of rice for one pound of live pig.”
Xia Huo Qu glanced at his brother and Kong Zhi before saying, “We’ll think about it. Why did you bring the piglets here directly?”
“I brought them to show you. It’s no trouble at all. If you don’t want them, I’ll just take them back.”
They were close to home now, so Xia Huo Qu said, “Come to our place and have some water first.”
“Alright,” Lu Qing Xuan replied, preparing to lift the cage again.
Xia Huo Qu took her pole from her. “I’ll carry it.”
Lu Qing Xuan let go and panted, “Thank you.”
Kong Zhi offered, “Brother Huo Qu, let me carry it instead.”
Xia Huo Qu shook his head. “No need. We’re almost there.”
Lu Qing Xuan, worried they wouldn’t take the piglets, started persuading them as they walked. “Raising pigs is worth it. If you put in a bit of effort for a year, not only will you have plenty of manure, but you’ll also have a big, fat pig in the winter. The sausages and cured meat will taste much better than wild pig meat.”
Xia Lu Nong said, “But taking care of pigs every day isn’t easy.”
“It’s not that hard. If you’re too busy, you can hire someone to raise them for you. Like Ye Ba Cheng’s family—they spend only twenty pounds of rice a month for the Jinhua family to help raise their pigs.”
Xia Lu Nong was surprised, “You can do that?”
“Of course you can! If you’re busy, you can just have someone else raise them. It doesn’t cost much rice.”
Lu Qing Xuan added, “I noticed your family has a lot of peanuts. Once you press them for oil, you’ll have a ton of oil cake, which is perfect for feeding pigs. Mix the oil cake with sweet potato vines, and those pigs will grow fast. In four or five months, they’ll be ready for market.”
It was the prospect of using the oil cake that made Xia Lu Nong interested in trading for pigs in the first place.
As for sweet potato vines, the base grew plenty of sweet potatoes, and the vines could be harvested repeatedly. It was easy to trade a pound of rice for a whole bunch of vines.
Xia Lu Nong glanced at his brother and asked, “Is three pounds of rice too much? How about two pounds eight? I heard you traded some piglets at that price before.”
Lu Qing Xuan was surprised that he knew about that and stared at him with wide eyes.
Xia Lu Nong had picked up on plenty of gossip during his nights at the square, so he was well-informed. He calmly looked back at her.
Lu Qing Xuan, feeling a bit pained, said, “This batch of piglets is better than the last one.”
Xia Lu Nong responded with a simple, “Hmm.”
Lu Qing Xuan waited for him to say more, but when he didn’t, she stared at him, a bit dazed.
Xia Huo Qu smiled as he watched.
The three of them returned home, and Xia Huo Qu placed the piglets in the hallway, inviting Lu Qing Xuan in for tea.
Lu Qing Xuan didn’t stand on formality.
To them, a few dozen kilograms of rice wasn’t much. Xia Huo Qu left the negotiations to his brother while he calmly brewed tea. The tea they drank was bamboo leaf tea, traded from the market. It wasn’t high-quality tea, just something to enjoy the taste.
Xia Lu Nong peacefully negotiated with Lu Qing Xuan and eventually agreed to exchange the three piglets for rice at a rate of 2.8 kilograms of rice per kilogram of live pig.
All three piglets were male, weighing 17.7, 17.8, and 21.3 kilograms, respectively. They were recently weaned and had already been castrated.
There was an understanding among pig-raising families at the base: male pigs were usually castrated before being sold.
Before finalizing the deal, Xia Lu Nong made sure that if any piglet died within a month, half of the rice would be refunded. Additionally, if they encountered any issues while raising the pigs, Lu Qing Xuan would provide guidance.
Lu Qing Xuan agreed to these terms and even offered to lend them her pigpen for free for a month.
After the deal was settled, Xia Huo Qu helped her carry the piglets to her empty pigpen in eastern hillside. They also traded some sweet potato vines and rice bran from her to feed the piglets.
These three pigs became the shared property of the four people.
When Yan Xi Nian returned and heard about the piglets, he suggested, “No need to find someone else to feed them. Let me ask Aunt Zheng; if she’s willing, it’ll save us some trouble.”
Xia Lu Nong knew who Yan Xi Nian was referring to since he often mingled in the marketplace.
Aunt Zheng, or Zheng Ling Guang, lived with her eleven-year-old son. Despite her masculine name, she was known for being capable, honest, and straightforward. She raised her son alone and never remarried.
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Do you think she’d be willing?”
Yan Xi Nian replied, “I’ll ask her first. If not, we can look for someone else. But I’m confident she’ll agree.”
That same afternoon, Yan Xi Nian visited her, and Aunt Zheng agreed. She even offered to cook the pig feed at her home as long as they provided her with firewood each month.
Cooked pig feed helps pigs grow faster, so it was essential to have someone cook it. Aunt Zheng’s offer saved them the trouble of looking for someone else.
Yan Xi Nian went to the market, traded for a new pot for Aunt Zheng to use, and also gathered a batch of firewood to deliver to her.
Besides that, they traded for rice bran and placed an order for sweet potato vines with the property management office. It took them several hours, working until evening, to get everything in place.
As they were heading home, someone from the Yu family came by to ask if they wanted more piglets. This was when Xia Lu Nong realized that the pig market at the base was a bit inflated.
Piglets seemed popular, but in reality, most families didn’t want to raise them due to the hassle.
Xia Lu Nong remarked, “No wonder Shi Jia Sheng and Sister Lu were so quick to act. They must’ve thought we were rich customers.”
Xia Huo Qu replied, “The base is only so big, with countless eyes watching. Everyone knows who’s doing well. Naturally, they act fast.”
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Thanks for the chapter!