Old Xu had just finished smoking a cigarette when Yu Wenli came out after sweeping the pigsty.

Just as the two were about to lock the door and go home, they saw Li Lide walking towards them with his hands behind his back.

"village head?"

"Let me see how your pig farming is going this month?"

When Li Lide heard that Zheng Xu had been encouraged by Bai Jiaojiao to raise pigs, he thought it was nonsense and that even if it was effective, it would be of no use.

In the past month, I only decided to take a look today because I happened to be passing by.

When Old Xu saw that the village chief was a rare guest, he immediately said, "Village chief, the effect is very good. The biggest pig weighed 22 jin a few days ago and it must have gained even more weight in the last two days!"

Old Xu happily shared his results with Li Lide, who exclaimed in surprise, "How much?"

"Twenty-two jin!" Old Xu held up two fingers, very proudly. "I only just learned that there are so many tricks to raising pigs."

"Let me see!"

Li Lide immediately bypassed Lao Xu and entered the pigsty. When he saw the completely different appearance of the pigsty and the five big fat pigs inside, Li Lide's eyes widened in surprise.

"How about it, village chief? Isn't this pig bigger than the one our village slaughtered last year?" Old Xu pointed to the biggest one.

"big!"

Li Lide's eyes were glued to the five clean and plump pigs in the pigsty.

He stayed in the pigsty for about half an hour, chatting casually with Lao Xu about pig farming.

Yu Wenli, who was standing to the side, finally had a chance to interject: "Village chief, this pig is so precious now, can't we find more people to take care of it?"

Li Lide wasn't stupid; he immediately saw through Yu Wenli's meaning: "Isn't this pigsty big enough for you and Lao Xu? There are only a few pigs here. They haven't even had piglets yet. If they did, wouldn't you be banging your head against a wall?"

Li Lide has learned his lesson about Yu Wenli more than enough.

Zheng Xu assigned him to sweep the pigsty and even found an oddball like Lao Xu to watch over him, which Li Lide greatly approved of.

This month, Yu Wenli hasn't been causing trouble in the village with Liu Ying every day like last month. His neighbors say that Yu Wenli doesn't make a big fuss with Liu Ying at home anymore. He's probably too tired after a long day.

Anyway, Yu Wenli can't do much work in the fields, so it's perfect for him to sweep the pigsty.

Upon hearing Li Lide's reply, Yu Wenli wanted to say something, but Old Xu interrupted him: "With your meager livelihood, the brigade leader gives you seven work points a day, what more could you ask for? Can you even earn seven work points in the fields?"

In Shili Village, men of this age usually earn ten points, while some strong women can earn eight or nine. Bai Jiaojiao's group, for example, has changed jobs and now earns seven points a day.

When Lao Xu said that, he was implying that he was even worse than a woman.

While the two were talking, Li Lide left the pigsty. After all, it was a pigsty, and no matter how clean it was, it still smelled.

"Old Xu, keep it up! If you raise this pig well, you'll get a big share of pork for the New Year!"

Old Xu's eyes immediately lit up: "Village chief, then I want the fat one!"

"Take whichever you like!"

Li Lide was anxious to get home and write a report for the town, so he hurriedly left.

Old Xu had no idea about the ulterior motives behind this; he was simply pleased by Li Lide's promise: "Take care, village chief!"

Two days later, two men on bicycles arrived in the village. They were wearing unpatched Zhongshan suits and had their hair neatly combed, so they were clearly not old farmers.

Everyone in the village saw it. Zheng Xu saw that it was Li Lide who received them, so he figured it must be a leader from above. He was afraid that if the villagers crowded around, it would give the leader the impression that he was slacking off in his work, which would be a bad impression.

So he urged everyone, "Get to work! Put your eyes in the ground, anyone who dares to look around will be caught red-handed! All of you stay put in the field!"

Zheng Xu thought it was a leadership inspection, so he found the team leaders and instructed each team not to let anything happen to the commune members today.

He was on edge all day, but the leaders never came down to the ground, which puzzled him greatly.

After everyone left, Zheng Xu finally had time to ask Li Lide, "Brother De, what were those two people doing here today? Weren't they supposed to be inspecting?"

"It was just an inspection; they took a quick look and left. The leaders even praised our village for raising pigs well!" Li Lide said with obvious pride.

"You came to see the pigs? Why didn't you tell me you came to see the pigs! And Bai Jiaojiao, she has experience in this!"

Zheng Xu was getting a little anxious.

"Brother, what kind of attitude is that?"

When Li Lide countered with a question, Zheng Xu became furious.

Zheng Xu had wanted to talk about Li Lide last time, but the fried noodles thing didn't even make a ripple. This time it's even worse. He and Bai Jiaojiao had worked hard on raising pigs, and now that they had finally made some progress, Li Lide just took it all.

His tone became somewhat harsh: "I'm just asking you, what does pig farming have to do with you? When the leaders come, can't you at least let those of us in the know say a few words?"

“Brother, I see you’ve gotten close to Bai Jiaojiao and started to learn her greedy and reckless ways.”

Li Lide turned the tables on Zheng Xu, who laughed in anger: "You're saying I'm greedy for credit and reckless?"

As the village head, it's only natural for him to do things for the village, but is Li Lide trying to make him work for free?!

"That's a collective pigsty. When the leaders praise it, they're also praising our Shili Village brigade for raising pigs so well. When word gets out, the discussion will be about our Shili Village. Do you think I, as the village chief, have received any benefits? It's all for the collective!"

Li Lide was righteous and awe-inspiring, while Zheng Xu was filled with hatred but didn't know how to retaliate.

From the official perspective, Li Lide's statement is perfectly valid; if he were to nitpick about it, he would appear petty.

Zheng Xu went to the pigsty and asked Old Xu, "What did the village chief say when the leaders came today?"

Old Xu had clearly been praised by his superiors. When he talked about what happened during the day, his face was full of pride: "Captain, why didn't you and that girl Jiaojiao come today? You don't know, the leaders praised us for raising pigs well. They said they would commend us throughout the commune and even report us to the county to make our village a model worker!"

Zheng Xu couldn't be happy; he felt as if his fruit had been stolen.

He raised pigs for the village, simply so that the villagers of Shili Village could eat well and generate more income for the village. However, his credit was stolen from him, and Zheng Xu couldn't let it go.

"What did the village chief say to the leaders? Did he mention that Bai Jiaojiao provided the guidance?"

Old Xu then understood Zheng Xu's expression and realized what was going on: "The village chief didn't seem to mention her. Brigade leader, what do you think the village chief meant...? He even assured the leaders today that these two sows would definitely have twenty piglets by autumn."

"Is he dreaming about that place every day?"

It's common for a sow to give birth to a dozen or more piglets in one litter, but it's even more common for her to give birth to only three or four at a time. Li Lide is really just bragging to the heavens; he's not putting in any effort at all, just shouting slogans.

"What if these two sows can't have that many piglets?" Old Xu began to worry.

"Stop thinking nonsense. Since the village chief is bragging like this, he must have his own recipe."

Zheng Xu really couldn't do anything about Li Lide. If it weren't for the sake of the villagers, he would have really given up and ignored the situation.