He was afraid that the child would fall ill, as Lu Liu had been ill before and had nearly died.
Medical treatment was expensive, but Xie’s child was a bit slow-witted and had a good heart.
Lu Yang brought some flour back today. Last time he came to deliver New Year’s gifts, he said he wanted to bring flour, but Xie Yan forgot about it. He bought rice from Li Feng.
They eat both rice and flour here. Generally, they eat more rice at noon, while in the morning and evening, they eat more porridge or flour cakes. The flour supply must not be insufficient.
There are also two jars of sauce and three pounds of glutinous rice.
Since he brought back a piglet, Lu Yang saved on meat, eggs, sugar, and wine.
Visiting relatives during the New Year nearly depleted his savings. After another busy period, the shop needed restocking, but he simply couldn’t afford it.
The two fathers wouldn’t mind if the gifts were modest, so Lu Yang told them, “This time, we’ll keep one piglet for our family and send the other to Uncle’s house. As originally agreed, each family gets one. I’ll visit their house with Xie Yan, and we’ll grind the glutinous rice along the way. Later, we’ll make yuanxiao to eat.”
The glutinous rice had been soaked in the shop and was stored in a basin.
If the rice is soaked for too long, it will turn sour. Soak it before leaving, and by the time you arrive, the rice will have absorbed enough water to be ground into flour.
Wang Fengnian wanted to make meat-filled yuanxiao for them to eat. The two of them were used to being frugal, and a pound of meat would last them a long time.
Li Feng had given him plenty during the New Year, so some of it was perfect for the filling.
Lu Yang didn’t want meat filling; all the buns in his shop were meat-filled, and he was already tired of them.
He said, “Just make vegetarian filling.”
Wang Fengnian remembered that Lu Yang was sick, so he prepared vegetarian filling for him as well. He went back to the house, washed the dates, steamed them, and made date paste filling.
There weren’t many red dates, so they peeled some peanuts and thought about making some peanut filling to make up for the shortage.
Making the filling didn’t require two people, so Lu Erbao helped out, but he was worried about the piglets and went out to move their pen.
They had already built the pig pen during their free time, so they didn’t build it in the backyard, but in the front yard.
In the front yard, they could keep an eye on the pigs.
In the small yard, there was a small path in the middle, separating the two sides. One side was the chicken coop, and the other was the pigsty.
Near the house, they left a small piece of land where they usually washed clothes and vegetables.
They went to the back yard to dry things and chop wood.
He carried the piglets into the pigsty and went inside to fetch the feeding trough.
The trough was carved out of wood. The wood was given to him by Li Feng, who had selected a large piece for the trough.
As he was crouching outside the pigsty watching the piglets, Lu Liu and Li Feng returned.
They had eaten yuanxiao and brought some back with them. They were raw yuanxiao with peanut and sesame filling, which could be cooked in a pot and eaten.
Wang Fengnian replied, “They went to Uncle’s house to deliver the piglets. Have you eaten yet?”
Lu Liu and Li Feng had already eaten, and Li Feng was feeling suffocated in this room.
The Lu family’s house was too small, and he was too tall. Before, he could go out to the courtyard to get some fresh air, but now the courtyard was also crowded.
He left Lu Liu to talk with his father and went outside to find Lu Erbao.
“Father, with the courtyard arranged like this, it will be inconvenient to hang clothes to dry in the future.”
Lu Erbao had no solution: “The courtyard is small.”
The back could be tidied up, but he was worried about keeping an eye on the piglets.
Li Feng went to the back to take a look, measured the space with his steps, and checked the location of the outhouse. He returned and said, “We should move the pigsty to the backyard.”
He spoke with a touch of defiance: “I’ll see who dares to cause trouble.”
Since there was only one piglet, it would be quick to clean up today. Li Feng took off his cotton coat, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.
He was skilled at work, and household chores were no match for him; this outdoor task was simple.
The Lu family didn’t have many iron tools, unlike Li Feng’s, who had a complete set. He used the axe as a hammer and a shovel, digging the ground and hammering the stakes.
Li Feng grew impatient with digging, so he relied on his strength to shake the soil loose along the wooden stakes, pulling one out at a time, which left Lu Erbao staring in amazement.
The pigsty was simple, just a temporary partition. They would build a roof later when the piglets arrived, which was more convenient. Today, there was no roof.
They carried the wood to the backyard to build the pigsty, working busily.
Wang Fengnian and Lu Liu were making the filling inside the house, chatting idly.
Lu Liu hadn’t expected her brother to come home, so the yuanxiao she brought was enough for two people. After steaming the red bean paste and removing the seeds, it was roughly enough for one person. They would need to peel some peanuts as well.
Wang Fengnian told Lu Liu, “Your brother is sick and has lost a lot of weight. When I grabbed his hand, it was all bones.”
Lu Liu grew anxious: “How did he get sick?”
The last time he saw his brother, he was still in good health.
Lu Liu reflected for a moment and realized that since they last met, it had always been his brother leading him by the hand, pulling him along, while he had mostly held onto his brother’s arm, so he hadn’t noticed how much his brother had lost weight.
Both of them were thin, but it wasn’t very noticeable on their faces. Only when they were extremely thin would their faces show the bones.
Wang Fengnian was the same. He had seen Lu Yang in good health recently, so when Lu Yang said it was a cold, he took it at face value: “The Xie family boy is doing well. He’s willing to pay for medicine for him.”
Lu Liu’s impression of Xie Yan improved a bit.
When asked about other matters, Wang Fengnian didn’t know either.
Lu Yang hurried home, but didn’t stay long before heading to his uncle’s house.
At that moment, at Lu Dahu’s house.
Lu Yang brought over a piglet, and the entire family came out to see it.
Lu Song had gone to the charity house with Xie Yan, so he was the one in the family who was most familiar with Xie Yan. Everyone crowded around Lu Yang, so he didn’t want to ignore him and stayed behind to talk to Xie Yan.
“Can we get more piglets?” he asked.
Xie Yan nodded: “If you want them, you can have them. How many can you raise?”
He had heard Lu Yang mention these things many times and had a good idea of the situation.
If it were up to Lu Song, the more the better.
His husband, his younger brother’s wife, and his father—none of them could do heavy farm work, so raising pigs at home would be perfect. At the very least, they could raise three, right?
Lu Song had saved up some money, and they sold their mats, which was enough to buy the piglets.
Seeing that Xie Yan agreed so readily, he asked, “Can we have two more?”
Xie Yan refused without hesitation: “No.”
When asked how many he could raise at most, he said, “Three.”
Lu Song: “…”
He should have asked for more at the beginning.
This was the number Lu Yang had calculated. The butcher would only give them eight piglets.
The two fathers would raise three, and the eldest uncle’s family would raise two. They insisted on three.
He would give one to Lu Lin and raise another one in Lu Jia Tun.
The Li village wouldn’t get any, as they didn’t need to raise pigs.
Lu Yang shook his head: “Don’t do that this year. The butchers are counting on you to raise fat pigs. Next year, you’ll have your own breeding stock and piglets, and you can sell them to whoever you want.”
After slaughtering the pig for the New Year, you can set up a stall in the village to sell pork.
This is definitely more profitable than selling to the butcher, as the prices are different.
However, this is stealing business, which is unethical. If you cooperate once, the butcher won’t consider it again. One day, when there are no more piglets to raise, it will be difficult to go and buy piglets again.
Miao Qing was slightly disappointed: “I suppose so. This year, someone in our village slaughtered a pig for the New Year, and we all bought some pork. It was freshly slaughtered and butchered, very fresh, and tasted better than the meat we bought in the county.”
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