This time, Jiang Zhi didn't ask the villagers to raise money; instead, she bought the cattle herself... In any case, Magistrate Zhang would compensate her.

The villagers take turns raising the cattle, and they can also take turns using them in the future.

As for how long it will last, that depends on how well you take care of it.

The villagers were overjoyed to hear that they could use it for a few days without paying anything, and they all said they would take good care of it.

Several households each grabbed one piglet, and the lambs were all snatched up.

Because the conditions in the pigsty were not suitable, no one wanted to raise sows, which allowed Xiaoman and Jiangzhi to get two sows by chance.

Chunfeng didn't manage to snatch the little lamb she had been longing for.

Jiang Zhi also bought the old mule; the original price was thirty taels, but it was sold for ten taels.

According to the cattle dealer, ten taels of silver is a good deal. If you take good care of it, it can be used for several years. Even if it dies, you can still get several taels of silver by selling its meat.

In this pig-buying frenzy, Xia Xiucai shone like a bright star, showcasing his talent in front of everyone and attracting admiring glances.

In the past, the villagers felt pity and sympathy for him, but they did not worship him. Although they did not oppress him, they often jokingly called him "Scholar!"

Now that they know that Xia Xiucai only sang a tune they couldn't understand, yet the cattle dealer was willing to sell to him at the lowest price, they immediately admired him.

Farmers are the most honest and simple people; as long as there are tangible benefits, they will be grateful in return.

Now everyone who sees Xia Xiucai will respectfully call him "Xiucai Gong" (Master Scholar).

Even when Xia Xiucai recited poems and texts aloud, he didn't find it noisy. Instead, he would say, "Listen, that's the sound of money!"

The child earnestly corrected his mistakes: "The village chief once said, this is what 'there is gold in books' means!"

Jiang Zhi has already said that once the scholar's health improves, a school will be opened in the village.

All children, regardless of gender, must participate; anyone in the family who dares to obstruct participation will be punished.

Jiang Zhi only mentioned it while the iron was hot, after all, Xia Xiucai was still ill, and it wouldn't be good if his unstable emotions frightened the child.

To everyone's surprise, the whole village agreed as soon as he mentioned it.

If it were at any other time, sending the child to school wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

The fact that Xia Xiucai had driven himself mad from studying was still fresh in everyone's mind; no one wanted to drive their child mad as well.

In the minds of ordinary farmers, studying meant taking the imperial examination and becoming an official. Knowing that their ancestors' graves were not blessed with good fortune, they did not have this idea.

But now that I see education is also related to money, that's different.

Even if you don't become an official, it's always a good thing to know a lot.

Taking advantage of the momentum, everyone agreed, fearing that their families would suffer losses. This even led to many embarrassing incidents during their school years, but that's another story.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zhi and Er Rui, along with Xiao Man, led the piglets back to the mountain.

During the short half-day the three of them were away, Chunfeng, Xu Dazhu, and Xiaomanye on the mountain did not stop. They reinforced the shacks where the wounded soldiers used to live, put up fences, and prepared to turn them into pigsties.

This area has always been a playground for wild boars. When they saw people adding fences, they became unhappy and always wanted to tear them down.

The man and the pig fought back and forth endlessly.

Finally, when they saw Peppa Pig, who had been causing trouble all along, suddenly take off running down the mountain, they knew that Aunt Jiang and the others had returned!

Everyone was overjoyed, and Chunfeng hurriedly went outside to greet them, while Xiaomanye and Xu Dazhu went home to hide.

Farmers have many customs when buying pigs; the first person they meet with them is very important.

If the person the piglet meets is healthy and quiet, the piglet will also be obedient and won't jump over the pen. If the person is picky about food and sickly, the piglet will not grow fat.

Those who are still at home now, like Grandpa Xiaoman who is too old and Dazhu who has difficulty moving around, will all be phased out.

Of all the people, only Chunfeng is suitable.

Just as she saw Xiaoman Jiangzhi and the others carrying piglets appear on the hilltop and preparing to come over to greet her, Nini, who had been playing with Caixia in the yard, somehow ran out.

Nini saw Xiaoman and ran over excitedly to greet him: "Uncle, Uncle! What did you bring back? Is it delicious?"

Seeing that it was Nini running over, Xiaoman sighed, "You little glutton, all you know is eating. I have piglets in here."

Jiang Zhi laughed: "It's really good to have a Nini. She wants to eat everyone she sees, and she'll only grow if she eats a lot."

Nini giggled, "My great-grandmother said I'm a little piggy!" She then made a funny face, which made everyone laugh.

Four-year-old Nini is healthy and sturdy. She spends her days either working on the mountain with the adults or running around wildly after Peppa Pig. Her little face is tanned to the color of the sun.

Moreover, it's very active every day, eats and sleeps well, and looks like a little piglet, making it quite a mascot.

Chunfeng arrived at this moment, glanced at the piglets in the basket, and couldn't stop smiling. She didn't even have time to pay attention to Nini and quickly led everyone to the newly built pigsty.

Once the piglets had cooled down and calmed down a bit, the prepared bran was poured into the feeding trough from a bamboo tube.

The hungry piglets ignored everything else and pounced into the feeding trough to eat heartily.

In no time, the food bowl was licked clean, and the two piglets immediately asked Chunfeng for more.

Seeing that the piglets had such a good appetite right after they were bought, Chunfeng smiled with satisfaction.

Next, you just need to watch over them for a few days until the piglets develop a fixed habit of defecating and urinating in a fixed location, and then pig farming can enter the long-term development stage.

After buying the livestock, Jiang Zhi rushed home and made mosquito coils for two days.

When she was about to go to the county government to register the oxen, she also delivered the mosquito coils to the Huo family's pharmacy.

However, there are still two days left. The old mule was just bought and is currently being raised at Xu Genyou's house. We'll let it get used to its temperament and feed it good feed for a few days to help it recover.

Jiang Zhi also took advantage of the break to harvest the violets she had planted next to Peiqi's outhouse; it was now the season for them to bloom and be harvested.

She dug with a hoe, while the wild boar was not idle either, deftly rooting over the rocks with its snout.

Most of the flowering herbs were harvested, leaving only the scraps and seedlings for sowing.

From now on, this place will be covered with violets year after year, and they can be harvested at any time.

Finally, the medicinal herbs were packed into baskets, which Jiang Zhi carried on her back and the wild boar carried on its shoulders.

Peppa whined and didn't want to walk, her little legs swaying.

Jiang Zhi patted its back: "Don't be lazy, help will be here soon. You can come to play with your little girlfriend every day from now on, you don't have to go home."

Unexpectedly, when Jiang Zhi said "You don't need to go home," Peiqi immediately grabbed her basket and ran as fast as she could, heading straight home, afraid of being kicked out.

When Jiang Zhi caught up with him, panting, Peiqi was already flipping over her food bowl, making a loud clanging noise.

"That ungrateful bastard!" Jiang Zhi laughed.

Wild boars usually live separately from males and females, especially since Peppa Pig is still a naive young boy whose mind is only on eating.

It went to visit the piglets as soon as we bought them.

Peppa's fierce appearance frightened the two little sows so much that they hid in a corner, trembling with fear.

The pig ran away in fright, but Peppa Pig set her sights on the pig's food bowl. She immediately pushed open the fence and snatched the whole bowl of food, which naturally earned her a few slaps from Jiang Zhi, who then forbade her from going back into the enclosure.

Peppa didn't understand why she was beaten again, but she only remembered one thing: she didn't seem to have eaten the fine bran flour over there, so she started smashing the bowl when she got back.