In modern pig farming, piglets are kept in fixed cages and troughs, so there's no worry about them running around.

Things are different now. A pigsty is still a pigsty. In addition to being divided into several small areas for easy management, several functional areas have also been specially set up.

The piglets can run around freely in these areas.

Taking care of a hundred piglets is no easy task.

"That's right. Our sister-in-law is the most hardworking. Sometimes the adults' meager salary has to be used to support the poor. In fact, most of the time, it is our sister-in-law who earns money to supplement the family income. She does whatever she can to earn money, such as washing clothes for others."

Perhaps due to the hardships of life, the woman looked a few years older than her actual age. She was not very tall, but she worked extremely efficiently and nimbly. She carried dozens of kilograms of pig feed with great speed and quickly chopped it up and threw it to the piglets to eat.

Seeing Gu An'an staring intently, Master Liang added fuel to the fire, "Actually, Sister-in-law Lian is the easiest person to get along with, but she's always been serious and doesn't smile much, that's just her personality."

"He's a good person."

Gu An'an's evaluation left Master Liang a little confused. And then? Just that one sentence, what does it mean?

Having given her the "good guy" card, Gu An'an didn't intend to explain further. Instead, she saw a lot of traditional women's lives reflected in Sister-in-law Lian.

At home, a woman obeys her father; after marriage, she obeys her husband. But what happens after her husband dies?

She pinned her hopes on her son.

A woman's life revolves around these few men.

Having experienced freedom, Gu An'an would not tie her fate to a few men.

She also hopes that, within her capabilities, she can help more women who yearn for freedom achieve personal and economic independence.

After all, the economic base determines the superstructure.

Even Sister-in-law Lian was completely unaware that she had been targeted by Gu An'an.

She thought this was someone who was coming to work here and trying to get close to Master Liang.

Upon hearing Gu An'an introduce herself, Sister-in-law Lian immediately put down her work, "So you are Manager Gu."

Her tone was somewhat respectful, which made Gu An'an feel a little embarrassed.

"Did I disturb you while you were working, Sister Lian?"

"No, no."

Madam Lian had heard of Gu An'an before, since her brother-in-law would mention her every day when he returned home, and his words were full of praise for her.

Women don't receive much praise. Being respectful, filial, good at needlework, dutiful to their parents-in-law, and harmonious with their sisters-in-law might earn them a plaque recognizing them as filial daughters-in-law.

If she came from a scholarly family, she might have some talent and be known as a talented woman.

However, the younger brother's praise of Gu An'an had nothing to do with these things—

He is intelligent, quick-witted, and good at business. Although he is a small-scale businessman, he has a strong sense of righteousness.

She is truly an extraordinary woman.

She never expected that this extraordinary woman would appear right in front of her.

And they're so easy to talk to.

He even asked himself what his thoughts were about raising pigs.

Lian hesitated slightly, "I do have some ideas, but I don't know if this method will work."

"Just tell me, tell me whether it's feasible or not. Otherwise, I can't read your mind, so I won't know what you're thinking, right?"

Her somewhat humorous words softened Lian's expression a bit, and her gaze towards Gu An'an revealed a different side. "It's like this, I used to raise pigs before. Pigs can be taken out of the pen relatively quickly, but they also eat a lot. We have so many piglets here, and if we want to raise them well, we need a lot of pig feed. However, we have to take care of the pigs and cut pig feed at the same time, which is a bit too much to handle. I was thinking if we could spend some money to hire someone to cut pig feed."

The Lian family is used to being frugal and thrifty. It's not that they don't care about selling their family's land now, but they feel that there are priorities in some things.

Taking care of the piglets is even more important. If it were only ten or eight piglets, it wouldn't be so bad, but now there are several hundred piglets.

Isn't that taking up space?

“Our local children can go. Give them one coin for every ten catties of pig feed, and the children will be happy to do it.”

The money wouldn't be too much, and the job would be done well, so Lian thought it was a good deal.

Gu An'an nodded, "That's a good idea. Are there any others?"

Looking closely, and seeing that Gu An'an didn't seem angry, Lian said, "I have another idea. Although Du Shen is also good at administrative affairs, he lacks experience in some matters and handles them inappropriately. Of course, I'm not trying to undermine him, but these piglets are alright. Once the pigs grow up, it's best not to let the child raise them."

Several yamen runners in the county government office have their wives and children come to feed the pigs, which is not good.

This pig was domesticated from a wild boar; it looks docile, but it might still have wild instincts deep down.

“Before I married his older brother, I raised pigs at home. One of my aunts fainted while feeding the pigs and later had half of her face eaten away by the pigs.”

The bloody, mangled sight left a deep impression on Lian Shi, and she still remembers it vividly to this day.

Gu An'an nodded repeatedly. She had seen news reports about domestic pigs biting or even eating people, and it was indeed something that needed to be taken seriously.

Is there anything else?

Ms. Lian offered several suggestions in succession, and her mouth became a little dry from talking so much.

The way he looked at Gu An'an became increasingly different, as if the person in front of him was a fairy descended from heaven.

The younger brother-in-law was right. This Manager Gu was not only smart and capable, but also very patient. He listened attentively to what she, a mere woman, had to say and even discussed things with her.

She is truly an extraordinary woman.

Gu An'an had no idea that her status in the eyes of her uncle and sister-in-law in the Du family had risen infinitely.

She listened carefully to Lian's opinion, "Sister-in-law Lian, do you have time now? Why don't we go and talk to Lord Du?"

After a little brainstorming, we drafted the rules and regulations for the pig farm and strictly followed them to avoid any further problems.

Lian hesitated slightly, "Should I, a mere woman, not participate in your discussion?"

“What’s wrong with women? Look at Lord Du, who is well-read and scholarly, and Master Liang, who is so clever, but even they couldn’t think of these things. Sister-in-law, you have your advantages. We’ve just started our business, so we need to learn from everyone’s strengths. We should listen to whoever’s opinion is better. There’s no distinction between men and women.”

Gu An'an's words stunned Lian Shi, who remained silent for a long while before finally saying, "You really are different from other women."

She doesn't respect men at all; her audacity is astonishing!

Gu An'an laughed, "When doing things, you have to pool your wisdom and efforts. You can't just have one person make the decisions. One person's energy is limited. Only by uniting everyone can we accomplish great things."

Magistrate Du is a public official who cares deeply about the people; otherwise, Gu An'an wouldn't have gone to such lengths to help.

When Lian heard this, she felt that it was similar to what her brother-in-law usually said.

"I'll give it a try." Her palms were sweaty, but her heart was pounding.

They are very eager to try.