Chapter 53

Originally intending to buy two piglets, Mu Jin couldn't resist when she arrived at the destination. She spent the money she had earned from selling vegetables for nine days—four qian and fifty wen—to buy three piglets.

One sow and two boars, all black and white.

The sow was well-fed, and the piglets were chubby and looked very pleasing.

The feeding trough and water trough in the pigsty at home are easy to clean.

These days, after Zhou Lin comes back for dinner, he takes a little time to cook for a while, and then puts the pigs in the pigpen the other day.

After bringing the piglets home, Bai Qiqiu quickly filled the water trough, and the three little piglets drank happily.

Mu Jin, Zhou Si, Wen Zhaoran, and Bai Qiqiu, the four brothers, stood in a row in front of the pigpen, watching the pigs drink water.

Their eyes were fixed on the piglets, their faces beaming with joy.

"Big brother, weren't you only supposed to carry two? Why did you buy three?"

Bai Qiqiu made two "clucking" sounds at the piglet, teasing the short-legged, chubby little piglet.

Mu Jin smiled and said, “Thinking that we have a lot of land at home, we should buy more pigs and make more fertilizer so that we can have a better harvest next year. So my mother decided to keep them for breeding.”

Bai Qiqiu sighed and chuckled, "This little pig can eat a lot, and the bigger it gets, the more it can eat. I'm afraid we'll be quite busy."

Mu Jin had thought of this matter when she bought it. Upon hearing this, she said, "I was just about to say this. In our family, Zhao Ran doesn't know how to do farm work, so he and Si'er cut pig feed and feed the livestock and poultry. Qi Qiu and I take care of the vegetable garden and farm work."

Wen Zhaoran nodded, looking at the little piglets in the pen with curiosity in her eyes.

"Don't worry, big brother, I'll make sure they're fat and healthy."

Mu Jin smiled and thought, "When the piglets grow up and have litter after litter, that will be litter after litter of silver."

Just thinking about it makes my heart burn with excitement.

“Brother, look, the black spots on that sow look like plum blossoms, let’s just call it Plum Blossom.”

Well, they've even given a name to the pig.

Mu Jin was both amused and exasperated. Seeing his enthusiasm, she laughed and said, "Alright, let's call it Plum Blossom. What about the two boars?"

Wen Zhaoran stroked her fair chin and thought for a moment, "White hooves, black hooves."

The name sounds rather perfunctory.

However, the two boars happened to have white hair on one hoof and black hair on the other, so the name was quite fitting.

Zhou Si glanced at the sky and smiled at Wen Zhaoran, "Zhaoran, let's go to the foot of the mountain to cut pig feed. Don't let Meihua, Baiti, and Heiti go hungry."

After Zhou Si and Wen Zhaoran left, Mu Jin and Bai Qiqiu closed the pigpen door. The piglets were still small, so they put them in a pigpen.

After drinking the water, the three little spotted pigs inspected the pigpen. They weren't shy at all and all lay down on the straw laid out under the pigpen to sleep.

Mu Jin smiled, thinking that the fertilizer at home was almost ready, so she and Bai Qiqiu carried it in baskets and went to the field.

This is newly cleared wasteland, and it's the first time we've fertilized it. The seedlings in the field are shorter and thinner than those in neighboring fields.

Using wooden shovels, they scooped the soil and scattered it in the field. Mu Jin and Bai Qiqiu worked in separate rows, their efficiency remarkable.

If you encounter insects that are eating the leaves, just use a wooden shovel to knock them off and crush them in the field.

Birds peck at the food, but there aren't many insects on it yet.

However, there are also insects that gnaw on the roots of the seedlings underground, so you still have to sprinkle some wood ash mixed with lime water first.

As the hibiscus spreads manure, it transforms into a ruthless pest killer, crushing the "wicked" pests without a trace of emotion.

Thinking to myself that I still need to go to the foot of the mountain to dig up some reed roots later.

Dry them in the sun, grind them into powder, and then harvest the mugwort in the summer. All of these can be made into a medicinal solution to be sprinkled in the fields to repel insects.

Bai Qiqiu was no less ruthless, showing no mercy to pests and turning them all into mud and fertilizer on sight.

"Brother, once summer comes, I'll catch a basket of frogs and release them into the fields."

When Mu Jin was applying manure, she didn't want to talk; it smelled terrible. She just nodded.

Because of the addition of a lot of withered grass and leaves, and the addition of a lot of manure water in recent days, a lot of manure fertilizer has been produced.

After two days of hard work, there was still some left, so they scattered it on the acre of wasteland that Bai Qiqiu had cleared.

Mu Jin bought piglets, and Zhou Lin went to town with Mu Heng every day during this period.

Even if the whole family kept it a secret and didn't tell outsiders, they couldn't hide it from the villagers.

Even the village dogs can tell if a needle has fallen in the village, let alone this commotion.

Everyone says that the young couple's life is about to get better.

Zhou Wu heard some of the comments, and she was very upset.

Zhou Si said she was busy making her wedding dress and couldn't spare any time. During this period, she only received a little over one qian of silver from the embroidery shop.

The money Zhou Lin earned was tightly controlled by that scoundrel Mu Jin, who didn't even give her that silly big son a single penny of pocket money.

Mu Qing stroked her belly and watched as Zhou Wushi left happily and returned in a huff, and she understood a little better.

He went back to his parents' home a few days ago and overheard a bit of it. The thought that the two of them hadn't received a single penny but were still able to live a good life made him feel extremely bitter.

With a quick glance, she stirred things up, saying, "Mother, look at my eldest brother and his brother. Since they separated from the family, they've rarely come to visit you and Father. We still live in the same village, and Qiu-ge'er hasn't even married into the family yet, but the two of them get along like brothers. I've also heard that our brother's son-in-law often sends them wild pheasants and rabbits. Poor Father and Mother, you haven't had a single bite."

Zhou Wu was already feeling suffocated, and when she thought of that basket of meat buns that she had only seen and smelled, she felt even more like tearing the hibiscus apart with her bare hands.

"With that family in control, your useless older brother doesn't dare utter a single word! Zhou Si is the same; after the family split up, his heart is no longer with me and your father!"

As Zhou Wushi spoke, she grew increasingly angry. She sat on a stool in the courtyard, patted her chest, and tried to calm herself down.

Mu Qing continued to stir things up, "I thought the third brother was fine before, but after the eldest brother came, well, I can't really say."

"I knew that Mu Jin was no pushover! She's such a precious thing to your older brother!"

Mu Qing smiled and said, "Mom, we haven't had any piglets for this year's New Year yet. My eldest brother has three pigs, but he's probably too busy to take care of them. Let's go ask for one, and we can give them a few pounds of meat at the New Year."

Although Zhou Wu was angry, she knew that she couldn't get anything from Mu Jin.

"Let's talk about it when your older brother comes back from town. When Erming runs into that kid Mu Lingyun, let him say something to him. How can he not come and pay his respects to his father-in-law?"

Mu Qing nodded. Zhou Wushi lived a very frugal life. With Zhou Qiang not at home, she couldn't eat meat at all.

He relied on the fact that he was pregnant with the eldest grandson of the Zhou family and occasionally managed to get an egg, but he was really craving meat.

When my husband comes back, I must tell him to go to the hunter's place and ask for more meat to eat.

Hibiscus was unaware that her little pig had been targeted; after spreading manure, it reeked of stench.

He couldn't wait a moment longer, so he boiled water, took a quick bath, changed into clean clothes, and only then did he feel a little better.

When there was still a stove in the chest and cabinet, Mu Nianjun gave him a piece of cotton cloth.

Before the fabric was dyed, Mu Jin took it out. Summer was approaching, and it was time to make two summer outfits.

The only clothes Zhou Lin could wear out was the spring outfit he had made for him before. He had washed it a while ago and was planning to wear the one with the fewest patches to work in town.

Seeing this, Mu Heng immediately took two sets of Mu Yunqian's old clothes.

He didn't want it, but Mu Heng said, "If you go out to work wearing these patched clothes, you'll be embarrassing your master."

Zhou Lin had no choice but to accept it. With three sets of clothes, he was finally able to change and go to work in town looking somewhat presentable.

Mu Jin thought for a moment, then glanced at the cotton cloth on the bed and decided to have Zhou Linming take it to the dye shop in town to be dyed blue.

I'll make him three summer outfits later. Summer outfits use less fabric, so maybe I can make myself a new outfit with the leftovers.

The cotton cloth that Mu Nianjun gave me before was used to make two sets of spring clothes. Some of it was also used for Xiao Weiwei, and there wasn't enough left to make one set of clothes.

The hibiscus was then kept to make shoe uppers.

After tidying up, I went to check on the pigsty. There were three little spotted pigs happily munching on pig feed in the trough.

Ever since three outside pigs arrived in his territory, the little night owl has stood guard at the entrance to the pigpen, never leaving for a moment.

Mu Jin patted his head, and seeing that it was getting late, she went back inside to cook dinner.

The fish that was left at home, which we hadn't kept for long, also died belly-up at noon today.

In the evening, Mu Jin picked some perilla leaves by the roadside. At that time, the perilla had just sprouted and the leaves were still tender.

Just as Zhou Wushi and Mu Qing entered the courtyard after they had stewed a pot of perilla fish and added water, Zhou Wushi and Mu Qing walked in.

"Hey, big brother, stewing fish? Things are really getting better at home."

Mu Jin put the pot lid back on and said with a forced smile, "We can't afford pork, so we can only eat this cheap fish to satisfy our cravings."

Mu Qing glanced around the yard. The vegetable garden was neat and orderly, surrounded by a bamboo fence. From time to time, the sounds of chickens clucking and ducks quacking could be heard from behind the house.

In the corner, the newly built pigsty was spotless, and a guy was scattering pig feed inside while making "clucking" noises.

Bai Qiqiu was paving the yard with the piled-up stones when she saw the two people come in. She nodded and said, "Auntie is here."

Hearing the noise, Zhou Si put down her needlework and came out of the house. "Mother, Second Brother-in-law."

When Wen Zhaoran returned after feeding the pigs, she paused for a moment, then nodded to the two of them.

Mu Qing had heard of Wen Zhaoran's name before, but this was the first time she had seen him. A hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes. "My brother-in-law is indeed as rumored, quite handsome."

Suddenly, it became clear why Zhou Ling and Mu Laoqi had made their only son marry this refugee.

When Zhou Wushi thought of her youngest son, she lost her appetite for two or three days because of this boy. No matter how beautiful he was, she was not happy at all.

Seeing her fiancé, her youngest son's husband, she felt a pang of sadness.

"Mother, Second Brother, what brings you here?" Mu Jin's eyebrows curved slightly, but upon closer inspection, there was not a trace of a smile in them.

A red sun hung over the western mountains, the sky was filled with colorful clouds, and a few birds flew by.

With Zhou Wushi and Mu Qing right in front of her, Mu Jin had no mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

"Where's the boss?"

Zhou Wushi looked at the neat and clean courtyard with a sullen face. The boys in the house all seemed to be in good spirits, and it looked like they were doing better than before the family was divided.

“A-Lin hasn’t returned yet. If you need to see him, you can tell me first, and I’ll let him know when he gets back.”

Zhou Wu snorted and sat down in the courtyard, seemingly determined to wait until Zhou Lin returned before speaking.

Mu Jin smiled but remained silent. The aroma of stewed fish gradually wafted from the kitchen, and Mu Qing couldn't help but swallow hard at the smell.

Last time, Zhou Wu bought a fish, but the way she cooked it didn't smell as good as Mu Jin's. I was a little tempted.