Chapter 102 Killing the New Year Pig

On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, the Liushutun Brigade slaughtered the New Year pig.

The pigs were raised in the brigade's collective pigpen. After completing the pig task, two were left and slaughtered at the end of the year and sold to the members at a low price.

Everyone ran to watch the pig being slaughtered.

In the countryside, everything is there for people to watch and everything is lively.

If someone is getting married, I want to go see them. If someone is fighting, I want to go see them. If someone is having a funeral, I want to go see them…

The pig-slaughtering scene was surrounded by people in three layers.

One pig was already on the slaughterhouse, and the other was tied up and placed on the ground.

Some are sharpening knives, others are boiling asphalt.

The noise could be heard from a long distance away, and the pungent smell of asphalt could be smelled.

Everyone was discussing how heavy the pig was, how much meat and blood it would produce, how much meat they planned to buy, and how they planned to eat it afterward.

The two pigs grunted and gave up struggling.

Soon, the knife was sharpened and shiny.

Someone placed a bucket under the pig's head to collect the pig's blood, and someone went over to help hold the pig down. Although it was tied to the slaughtering table, they were afraid that the pig's blood would be wasted during its struggle.

White knife goes in, red knife comes out.

The pig let out a terrible cry, but it did not arouse any sympathy from the people, as everyone was waiting to eat its meat.

The pig's blood was drained and the pig stopped struggling completely.

Someone used a long spoon to scoop up the melted asphalt and poured it on the pigs. When the asphalt cooled and solidified, people tore off the asphalt and the pig hair at the same time.

Then comes the meat-cutting part that everyone loves to see.

The quantity is limited, so purchase restrictions must be implemented.

Two pigs weighed about 200 kilograms of meat, which came to about one ounce per person. Xie Yun's family had three people, so they could only afford three ounces of meat.

Xie Yun was immediately helpless. Her mother probably forgot about this matter and even said she wanted to buy more meat.

The brigade leadership team is upright and lets the masses buy first. If there is any left after they buy, they will buy more. If there is no more, then it is gone.

Xie Yun squeezed in front of the leadership team who were also watching the excitement and said, "Can't we kill two more pigs? This little meat won't even taste like meat when used to make dumplings."

Zhang Guangzong snorted and laughed: "You're dreaming. Wouldn't I like to kill two more? The problem is that I need pigs too. After delivering the pigs on the mission, there are only these two left."

"Raise a few more."

"You think I don't want to? We built such a big pigpen back then, and raised a lot of pigs every year. But then a swine fever killed almost all of them. Otherwise, every household would be allowed to raise pigs."

Isn’t that because collective pig farming has failed?

They even tried raising chickens collectively, but that also failed. A chicken plague struck, and not a single one survived.

Xie Yun recalled that in 1958, individual pig farming was indeed prohibited, and all the pigs and chickens raised by households were confiscated. Later, it was allowed again because the current pig farming technology was not up to standard, and collective pig farming was prone to disease. The loss would be too great if all the pigs were confiscated.

There was no other choice but to delegate the right to raise pigs again. However, collective pig pens were still raising pigs, but not in large numbers, only a dozen or so.

At the same time as the decentralization of pig-raising rights, the opening up of private plots was also carried out. Initially, there were no private plots; nothing "private" was allowed. But there was no other way. If every household was not given a private plot, how would they raise pigs?

Therefore, private plots are prepared for pigs, not for humans.

Xie Yun thought for a moment and said, "Then you should find a way to train a veterinarian to treat illnesses and prevent them. Then figure out how to raise and fatten the pigs. Next year, we can eat more meat. More pigs, more fat, more food, Captain, this is a virtuous cycle."

The Chairman said, "A pig is a small fertilizer factory." If you raise a few more pigs, it is equivalent to having a few more fertilizer factories.

The Chairman also said, "Nothing is difficult in this world as long as you are willing to climb." Collective pig farming has had its share of failures, but you can't let failures stop you. Roll up your sleeves and work hard. Solve problems as they arise. Raise pigs quickly. The people are waiting to eat meat! Raising more pigs means you're contributing more to socialist construction!

Zhang Guangzong: “…”

Hey! He found that this kid was really good at fooling people, and he was persuaded.

But, that's easy to say!

He was just thinking about the difficulty of this matter and was about to have a good talk with Xie Yun when he heard an excited voice say, "Captain, I'm willing to study veterinary medicine! It won't interfere with my work. If the veterinary class is at night, I'll work during the day. If the veterinary class is during the day, I'll do the work at night. Is that okay with you?"

It’s Wang Qingli.

She saw Xie Yun the moment he arrived. However, there were too many people, and Xie Yun was standing a little far from her, so she didn't squeeze over to talk. But as she watched the pig being slaughtered, she kept an eye on Xie Yun's movements. Seeing him squeeze over to the leadership team to talk, she slowly squeezed over as well.

She hadn't had much contact with Xie Binbin before, only knowing him as one of the rare intellectuals in the brigade, who rarely interacted with the others. She assumed this was due to his aloofness, as even after dropping out of school and returning home to farm, he still couldn't get along with the peasants like them.

But after living with her during militia training, her preconceived notion of Xie Binbin changed. She might be a bit introverted and reluctant to speak up, but once they got to know each other, she realized her preconceived notion was completely wrong. Xie Binbin was lively and righteous, well-educated and opinionated. She never shied away from challenges and always offered help when necessary. She also didn't act like she was superior to others simply because she was a high school student.

Wang Qingli felt that she was probably just a little shy.

Moreover, she had a hunch that Xie Binbin had many ideas and she could be inspired by following her.

As soon as I got there, I heard her suggesting the brigade train a veterinarian. And from her tone, she didn't really want to be one. So what were we waiting for? She wanted to be one. She wasn't afraid of hard work, fatigue, or dirt.

Wang Qingli immediately broke through the crowd and rushed out, recommending herself.

Captain: “…”

Xie Yun smiled and said, "Captain, what are you waiting for? Isn't this a ready-made veterinarian? Look at Sister Qingli, she's hardworking and capable, loves the Party, the country, socialism, and our Liushutun Brigade. When she heard about the mission, she immediately stepped forward and took the initiative to take the lead.

Doesn't our commune have a veterinary station? Send Sister Qingli there for some training, and she'll start working right away. With veterinary training, she can raise not only pigs but also chickens. Chicken manure can be used as pig feed, and pig manure can be used as fertilizer. More fertilizer means more food. What a wonderful thing!

Is our commune veterinary station unwilling to train veterinarians for the people? That's too outrageous!"

Zhang Guangzong glanced at her and said, "You've already said everything, what else do you want me to say?"

Xie Yun stepped back and gave him the stage. "You say, I'll follow your arrangements."

Yan Guixiang encouraged him, "No matter what, there's no harm in training a veterinarian. In the past, if the pigs in our brigade got sick, we had to run to the veterinary station to ask for help. Not only was it troublesome, but sometimes they didn't come in time, causing unnecessary losses. If we had our own veterinarian, the brigade would always have some medicines on hand, which would be beneficial to everyone in our brigade.

"As for collective pig farming, we can try raising a few more pigs. We have to try something new and not just stay the same, right?"

She nudged Zhao Fuguo with her elbow, and Director Zhao immediately said, "That's right. Lao Zhang, give it a try. All you need to do is go to the commune and get Comrade Wang Qingli a veterinary training qualification. It's not too busy right after the New Year, so you can have her go for training then. We can catch a few more piglets, and then she can take charge of them when she returns."

Zhang Guangzong glanced at Wang Qingli and asked, "Is it okay?"

Wang Qingli thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay! Captain, I'll do my best."

Yan Guixiang smiled and said, "Be at your best. But don't worry too much, we are here to help you."

"Um!"