23 023

◎The Twenty-Third Day of the King of Scrolls◎

"First, separate sick pigs from healthy pigs and keep them in separate pens. Isolate the severely sick pigs separately."

Jiang Weiguo selected several able-bodied men to carry the pigsty, and also called on several older women to start cleaning it up.

"Second, soak wood ash in water and thoroughly rinse all the pigsties. Wood ash can kill bacteria."

Jiang Weiguo hesitated: "Is it really reliable?"

"Let's use this for now. If we need anything else, I'll have my younger sister go to town to buy it tomorrow," Shen Xinglian said to Jiang Wanzhou.

Jiang Wanzhou nodded: "Okay."

Aunt Li stood up for them both: "We just finished cooking at home, I'll go get it right now."

Shen Xinglian continued, "Third, the water must be clean."

She spoke slowly and clearly.

Aunt Wang was reluctant to believe it: "Can something so insignificant really be useful?"

Jiang Weiguo glanced at her: "So you know a lot, why don't you go and do it?"

Jiang Wanzhou knew that Shen Xinglian wanted a tree branch, so she found one for her.

Shen Xinglian drew a simple diagram on the ground with a twig.

After cleaning the pigsties, we'll have a clear plan for which pen to keep sick pigs and which to keep healthy pigs.

The commune members were all stunned.

No one expected that the taboo subject of "bad class background" could actually be explained in such detail.

Jiang's mother scoffed, "Wood ash can cure diseases? I think you're just spouting nonsense and trying to get away with this!"

“Mom, I haven’t told my older brother about what happened today yet,” Jiang Wanzhou immediately interjected, glaring at her mother.

Seeing that Jiang's mother remained silent, she continued, "If this trick of yours doesn't work, everyone will suffer losses. Mom, you are also a member of the Red Star Brigade!"

"You!" Jiang's mother was speechless, choked with emotion.

"I think it's a good idea!" Jiang Weiguo gritted his teeth, flicked his cigarette butt to the ground, and stomped on it. "Comrade Shen is right, it sounds reasonable! Eldest daughter-in-law, let's do it your way. Just ask if you need anything, and the team will fully cooperate! We'll get a certificate from the secretary later, and the team will reimburse us for anything we need in town tomorrow."

He turned to the commune members and shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Get to work!"

"Move the sick pig away first. Old Li, move the big pot over here and set it up. We'll wait for the wood ash to come! Gou Dan, fetch some water and boil some hot water first!"

The members dispersed and began to get busy.

Jiang Husheng wanted to say something more, but Jiang Weiguo glared at him and shut him up. He then slunk off to follow his mother to get the wood ash.

"Wow, you were so impressive just now." Shen Xinglian tugged at her arm.

“Didn’t I treat them all like two-dimensional characters before? Jiang’s mother’s character was created by the author, not by herself.” Jiang Wanzhou squeezed her hand, smiling confidently. “But I can’t stand to hear her insulting our Xingxing. I’ll definitely stand up for her!”

Shen Xinglian was amused by her, and the fatigue in her eyes faded considerably.

His originally pale face now had a touch of color.

Jiang Wanzhou looked at her, and her restless heart suddenly found peace.

From the day she transmigrated into the book, she was afraid that she couldn't protect her best friend and that she would die a tragic death like in the original book.

But now, seeing Shen Xinglian's calm and composed demeanor, she suddenly understood.

Her best friend, like her, was a wild grass that could take root in the mud and bloom.

They all need to bask in the sunlight.

Shen Xinglian went to check on the pigs, while Jiang Wanzhou went to the brigade headquarters to write an explanation.

It turns out that disinfectants include not only wood ash, but also lime powder, bleaching powder, lime milk, alcohol, etc.

The secretary said that the brigade had bleach and alcohol, and the others needed to be listed.

When Jiang Wanzhou returned, everyone was still busy in the pigsty.

The shouts of those carrying pigs, rushing into the pens, and tending the fire rose and fell.

Shen Xinglian stood to the side, offering reminders from time to time.

Jiang Weiguo listened from the side and nodded repeatedly. His gaze toward her had changed from initial doubt to complete acceptance of her decision.

Jiang Wanzhou didn't stay idle; she went to the educated youth settlement to borrow a pencil and a notebook from Zhou Qingyu.

Shen Xinglian was asked to write down the precautions one by one and give them to the aunt who was in charge of feeding the pigs.

“This is…” Zhou Qingyu had somehow ended up standing outside the circle, looking at the diagram on the wall with a slight raised eyebrow.

"We're treating swine fever." Jiang Wanzhou waved the notebook in her hand, her tone tinged with pride.

Zhou Qingyu's gaze fell on Shen Xinglian, who was bending over to demonstrate to an aunt how to prepare wood ash water.

He seemed to see his teacher.

He then turned to look at Jiang Wanzhou. Her face was covered in dust, but her eyes shone as brightly as fallen stars.

Where is there even a trace of the spoiled and unreasonable behavior of a "perfect sister-in-law"?

He stared at it silently for a while, then turned and left.

A short while later, Zhou Qingyu returned with a kettle and two bowls in her hands, which she handed to Jiang Wanzhou: "Warm water."

Jiang Wanzhou paused for a moment, then took it: "Thanks, Zhou Zhiqing."

He didn't speak, just nodded, and turned to disappear into the night.

Jiang Wanzhou unscrewed the water bottle cap, walked to Shen Xinglian's side, and handed the water bottle to her: "Have some water, it's from Zhou Zhiqing."

Shen Xinglian took the water bottle, took two sips, and looked up at Jiang Wanzhou, seemingly lost in thought.

Jiang Wanzhou shrugged.

Shen Xinglian shook her head and handed her the water bottle. "Let's go, that's enough here. Let's go back."

"good."

The two walked home side by side. Jiang Wanzhou kicked at the pebbles by the roadside and suddenly started humming a song.

Shen Xinglian turned her head to look at her: "Happy?"

"Yes." Jiang Wanzhou nodded, smiling brightly, "I feel like there's something to look forward to."

The wind blows through the rice paddies, and the rice ears rustle.

"Isn't it bad to have two children in three years? How did you suddenly get pregnant?" Jiang Wanzhou asked when no one was around.

Speaking of this, Shen Xinglian got angry: "I don't know if it was my cheap mother-in-law or my cheap second uncle who punctured the condom, and that's how she got pregnant."

"Oh my god! I'm going to smash their place up!" Jiang Wanzhou rolled up her sleeves and headed over there.

Shen Xinglian pulled her along: "Your brother has already made a scene. They officially separated the family and even got the money back. More than two thousand yuan is with me."

"The land for our homestead has been chosen. He'll be back in a few days to find someone, and we'll be able to move in before winter."

"It's worth it."

Jiang Wanzhou disagreed, and tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of Shen Xinglian's frail health: "Health is important. Your body was already malnourished before you gave birth. You've only been recuperating for half a year."

Shen Xinglian wiped away her tears: "I promise I'll rest for a long time after giving birth. Why are you crying?"

"My two children in my past life were so disappointing. I must have more children in this life, so that at least a few of them will be sensible."

"Then aren't you scared to death?"

Jiang Wanzhou patted her: "Really? Of course I'm scared. Children really need to be raised carefully. It's no use having more children. Why don't you reconsider?"

Shen Xinglian chuckled: "Of course it's fake. We're going to be busy soon. There's the college entrance exam and business to deal with. Isn't building your own career more appealing than having a baby?"

"No more having ten or eight children, that's terrifying." Jiang Wanzhou patted her chest.

Shen Xinglian burst into laughter.

Jiang Wanzhou pretended to be angry.

—

The next day, Shen Xinglian woke up just as dawn was breaking.

The rooster outside the window has just crowed for the first time.

Shen Xinglian put on her clothes and got out of bed. As soon as she stepped out, she smelled the aroma of steamed buns coming from the kitchen.

"Xingxing, why are you up so early?" Jiang Wanzhou asked, propping her eyes open and sitting behind the stove in a daze. "Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"I can't sleep, I'm thinking about the pigsty." Shen Xinglian lifted the lid of the pot, took out a steamed bun, and said, "You sleep a little longer, I'll go check on it and come right back."

“I’m going too!” Jiang Wanzhou stood up.

Shen Xinglian smiled helplessly: "What will happen to the children if we all go?"

Aunt Li called from outside the yard, "Xiao Shen, Zhou girl, are you up yet? A pig died in the pigsty."

"She's awake, she's here!" Shen Xinglian put down the steamed bun and went outside.

"Another big pig died last night!" Aunt Li's voice trembled. "Old Li and the others are afraid to touch it. They said they'll wait until you two get there before they deal with it!"

Shen Xinglian's expression darkened: "Go and take a look."

The two hurried towards the pigsty.

From afar, Jiang's mother's wailing could be heard, even halfway across the street: "What a tragedy! The perfectly good pig is gone just like that! I think it's that jinx from the city who's behind this! Uncle, you can't let her cause any more trouble!"

Aunt Li was furious when she heard this. She rolled up her sleeves and was about to rush over to argue when Shen Xinglian grabbed her arm and said, "Auntie, let me check on the pigs first."

Upon entering the pigsty, the atmosphere indeed became tense.

Several commune members squatted against the wall, smoking, and no one spoke.

In the innermost pigpen, a thin, large pig lay stiffly, already lifeless.

When Jiang's mother saw them arrive, she felt as if she had found her pillar of support and pounced on Shen Xinglian, ready to tear her apart: "You vicious woman! Did you deliberately kill the pig? I knew you had no good intentions!"

"Eldest son's mother!" Aunt Li pulled Shen Xinglian behind her, "Look carefully before you speak! This pig was almost dead yesterday, what does it have to do with your daughter-in-law?"

“How can it not be a problem?” Jiang’s mother threw a tantrum. “If it weren’t for her bad instructions, telling us to soak the pigs in water with some kind of wood ash, would they have died so quickly? I think she just wanted to ruin the production team! Maybe her uncle overseas taught her that.”

The moment those words were spoken, the air froze.

In this era, "overseas connections" and "sabotage" are crimes that can cost you your head.

Jiang's mother dared to say such things in order to smear him.

Aunt Li's face paled, and she subconsciously clenched her hands: "You're really biased all the way to the beach! Saying that, does your eldest son not care about his future?"

"What's the use of raising a son? He forgets his mother as soon as he gets married! I only have one son, my second son!" A hint of hatred flashed in Jiang's mother's eyes.

"Liu Cuihua!" Jiang Weiguo trembled with rage, kicking over a haystack. "If you dare utter another word of nonsense, I'll tie you up and take you to the commune right now! Who is Comrade Shen? It's clearly written in the marriage application file. Who are you to gossip here?"

Jiang's mother trembled in fright and dared not wail anymore, but she still stubbornly insisted, "That's just how it is..."

"Shut up!" Jiang Weiguo roared, "If you make another sound, I'll deduct six months' worth of work points from your whole family!"

Jiang's mother then shut her mouth, but her eyes were still fixed on Shen Xinglian with resentment.

"Eldest daughter-in-law, I'm sorry, I've made you suffer." Jiang Weiguo took a deep breath, turned to Shen Xinglian, and his tone softened considerably. "Look at this pig..."

Shen Xinglian composed herself, walked over to the dead pig, squatted down, examined it carefully, touched its skin, and stood up, saying, "This pig started bleeding yesterday and was never going to live past this morning."

"How did you know it was bleeding from its stool?" a member of the commune couldn't help but ask.