Spring scenery in the fields

Chapter 404 Pig Food

The westernmost pigpen is empty. When the pigs in the two eastern pigpens grow bigger, we will send a few of them out.

Shen Rongshan came out of the pigsty and said, "Wen He, I'm going to town to buy wheat bran. I won't be home for lunch."

"Are you going alone?"

"With Yuan Shan."

"Then bring some money with you and go to town to eat."

"No need. Leave some food for us at noon. We'll be back soon after buying the bran. It won't take long."

"That's fine. I'll make some extra food for you guys at noon."

Shen Rongshan nodded and called into the pigpen: "Yuanshan, let's go."

Ji Wenhe came to the kitchen and saw Miao Zhaodi cutting pumpkin into pieces and putting them into the pot.

"Wen He, take the pumpkin seeds in the basin back and put them in the sun. Put them upstairs after they are dry and save them for winter."

Ji Wenhe picked up pumpkin seeds from the basin and asked: "Can they be stored for that long? I dried them a little last year and ate them a long time ago."

Later I went to town and bought some more, but the ones sold in town were fried.

"Yes, as long as it doesn't get damp, it can be stored until winter. My family dried a lot of it in the summer, but we never had the heart to eat it, so we saved it for the New Year."

"Your fields are often irrigated with manure water, so the pumpkins you grow are bigger than ours, and the pumpkin seeds are also bigger."

"Aunt Miao, you guys should also take the manure water from the pigsty to water the vegetables in the vegetable garden. In summer, we need to change the water every day. My family only has so much land, so we don't need to water it every day. You and Brother Liang can take it. Don't be polite to me."

"If you say so, then I won't be polite."

Ji Wenhe smiled and said, "Don't say that. There is also pig manure. If you want to take it, just take it back. You don't need to ask us."

"That won't work. If I carry your pig manure back, the villagers will see it and say something. Then they will come to your house to carry pig manure too. You can keep it for your own land and I can just carry some manure water."

"Just tell them that they bought the pig manure from my house. If they come to pick it up, they can pay for it. In the future, since there are two more people in your family, you should plant more vegetables. Xiaoxi has a big appetite, so you have to keep her plump and white."

Miao Zhaodi replied with a smile: "Yes, my little brood has a big appetite, so we have to plant more vegetables this year. I am thinking of planting some pumpkins and long beans in my small yard, but if I carry manure water, the smell in the yard will be too strong."

Ji Wenhe shook his head: "You can't use manure water in the yard, otherwise the house will smell like manure water and you won't be able to eat."

"Yes, your elder brother Liang said to put some beans and pumpkins there and let them grow on their own. If they don't grow well, don't irrigate them with manure or they will smell bad."

No one in the family agrees.

"Okay."

Their yard is too small. If it were a little bigger, they could plant a small plot of grass.

Ji Wenhe looked at the melon pulp in the basin and said, "Aunt Miao, do pigs eat melon pulp?"

"They are all put into the pot and cooked, mixed together, and the stomach cannot pick them out after eating."

"Okay." Ji Wenhe poured all the melon pulp in the basin into the pot and went to the back of the stove to light the fire. "The firewood I chopped all winter is almost burned out. I have to go to the mountain to look for firewood in a few days."

"You have to have lunch at noon and cook pig food, so the firewood burns too fast."

"If we burn firewood like this, will we burn all the trees on the mountain?"

Miao Zhaodi smiled and said, "No, that won't happen. This mountain is so big that you can't burn it all in your lifetime. If you want to cut down trees, you might as well cut down the trees near the foot of the mountain and the edge of the fields. Trees near the edge block the light in the fields and they don't grow well. You don't need to cut down too many, just a few will do."

"I thought so at first, but Brother Shen said that cutting too many trees is not good. He cut down the trees on the slope at the foot of the mountain. When it rains heavily, the rocks and soil will be washed down. It's better to have trees to block them."

"Now that you mention it, I remember." Miao Zhaodi covered the pot, "We can't cut down all the trees at the foot of the mountain. Cutting down four or five trees is not a big deal. There was a landslide in the village before. The rocks in the wasteland here all fell into the dry land during the landslide."

She carried the two wooden buckets to the side of the wood, scooped the bran into the buckets, and continued.

"When it rained heavily, some trees were blown down by the strong wind. The villagers cut down these trees first, fearing that the trees would fall and damage their houses."

Shen Rongshan also told her the same thing.

They would look for trees on the mountain that were about to fall and cut them down first, leaving the healthy trees behind.

"Mom, Wen He, you guys are here." Zhao Xiaoxi walked in. "I looked around but didn't see you guys."

Ji Wenhe said, "Why don't you stay indoors? It's still very cold in March. You have a big belly, so walk carefully."

"I was feeling bored staying in the house, so I came out for a walk. I was delighted to see that your pigs have grown so big."

"Yes, I've thought about it. I'll feed them three times a day in the last month and sell them for a good price."

Miao Zhaodi took over the conversation: "Okay, I plan to drive the pigs to the town to sell them in June or July."

"I think we should wait until the beginning of July, which is exactly the end of the year. I'll weigh the pigs and see how heavy they are. If that doesn't work, I'll just keep them for two more months."

"Oh, Aunt Miao, we take the pigs to town ourselves. Don't they come over to take a look, weigh the price, and then take the pigs away themselves?"

"That's fine, but they have to charge for coming over. If you deliver it yourself, you don't have to pay extra."

"Then let's ask them to come over. It shouldn't cost much. It's troublesome for us to take it to town ourselves."

It is not easy to pull such a big pig, and the pig collector must have professional tools and vehicles.

Zhao Xiaoxi asked, "Wen He, don't you keep one at home to kill and eat?"

"No, we'll sell them all. We can't even finish eating a pig. Even if we sell them, we won't be able to sell much in our village."

It is impossible for a family to buy several kilograms, most of them buy a few ounces.

Moreover, they don’t eat meat often. They don’t necessarily buy meat during important festivals, such as Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese New Year, and Lantern Festival.

Ji Wenhe tilted his head and asked, "Aunt Miao, are we slaughtering a pig for the New Year and inviting everyone to come over for dinner?"

Miao Zhaodi shook her head: "No, we raise pigs to sell them for money. After raising them for a year, we kill the pigs and invite the villagers to eat the meat. How much money can we get from selling them?"

"We don't have that here. Besides, we raise pigs at home, so why should we invite the villagers to come and eat pork?"

Zhao Xiaoxi agreed: "Mom is right, we don't have such a thing. Wen He, if someone in your family raises pigs, do they have to kill the pigs and invite people to dinner during the New Year?"

"No, I just heard that some places have this tradition."

“Do they pay for meals? If so, how much do they pay?

Ji Wenhe shook his head: "I don't know either, I just heard people mention it."