Grandma Li suggested building the pigsty further away so that the stench of pig manure wouldn't affect the village and valley, and the accumulated manure could be composted to fertilize the fields and orchards.
From now on, this will be like a small pig farm in the village. The children in the village can earn work points by cutting pig feed, dividing up the work to raise pigs, and cleaning the pigsty. At the end of the year, they can share the meat and sell it together for money.
Of course, the Li family would receive half of the meat and silver for the first three years after producing breeding pigs and piglets, and after that, they would share the profits equally with the rest of the village.
The villagers naturally agreed, since the Marquis had brought so many good pigs specifically for the Li family.
The Li family's willingness to share cooperation with the village demonstrates their benevolence and righteousness.
The Li family provides the breeding pigs and piglets, the village provides the labor, and the profits are divided equally in the end—this is all as it should be.
In fact, if you look closely, the Li family actually suffered a loss.
After all, everyone has the energy to raise pigs, but it's hard to find such good pigs!
The village chief and the men of the village were doing the final cleaning; the pigsty was basically finished.
Although everyone was tired, they all put in their best effort, and even when they talked about sharing meat and eating dumplings during the Lunar New Year, they were all smiles.
These days, life is much better at home, and buying meat to make dumplings is not a difficult thing at all.
But thrift and diligence are habits ingrained in the bones of all poor people.
Even if they had money, they wouldn't be willing to buy meat to eat all the time.
Besides, after killing that white pig, everyone took some meat home. They all felt that the pork was more fragrant and didn't have a fishy smell. It was different from what they had outside and tasted exceptionally good.
The village chief wiped the sweat from his brow, walked over to greet Madam Cui, and urged her with a smile, "It's too dirty here, and you're all men. You should go home quickly. You don't need to do any work. Just eat the meat together when we slaughter the pig at the end of the year."
The old lady and Madam Cui couldn't help but laugh. Madam Cui, being a worldly-wise woman, said, "Since we're going to eat meat, I can't just offer my mouth; that would be unfair. How about this: there's not much work to do on our estate these days, and our manpower and carts are all idle. Why don't you all come over tomorrow and help move the stones to pave this path?"
"Oh, that's great. I was worried about how to repair this road. It's okay now, but it will probably be muddy when it rains."
The village chief readily agreed without any hesitation, and added, "If your village also has pigsties, send over the pig farmers or managers. I'd like to chat with them and learn from their experience."
Madam Cui guessed that the village chief wanted to find "husbands" for the sows on their estate, but she was too embarrassed to explain it too clearly to a woman like her.
She quickly agreed, then had Sister Qiong carry Jiayin while she helped the old lady back to the village.
Seeing that she had been blushing the whole way, the old lady couldn't help but laugh and asked in a low voice, "Jinrou, are you planning to live alone like this for the rest of your life?"
Madam Cui paused for a moment, her face turning even redder as if she had thought of something, but she still replied, "Auntie, now is not the time. Even if I were to remarry, I would have to wait a few years."
The old lady remembered Mr. Wen, who lived alone in his own courtyard, and understood what was going on. She smiled and patted his hand.
Jiayin pricked up her little ears to eavesdrop and couldn't help but giggle.
Actually, back when she was still struggling in the mountains, she felt that Mr. Wen had feelings for Mrs. Cui.
After all, not everyone can risk their life to turn back and search for someone in a life-or-death situation.
The bond between master and disciple cannot explain this at all.
Moreover, after Mrs. Cui's divorce, Mr. Wen refused to remarry, which caused a rift with his family.
No matter how you look at it, it seems like both of them are in love.
However, Mr. Wen is not yet capable of keeping the household in check, and Madam Cui's ex-husband, Marquis Dingbei, also occasionally causes trouble.
It's definitely not the right time for them to get married.
Both of them were single, and because of Suijintan and the Liu family, they could often meet, which was not bad.
As soon as they arrived home, they saw Sister Liu accompanying Hui Niang and Aunt Wu to visit.
The courtyard became quite lively, with several women gathered together, all happy about what they were saying.
After Sister Liu became pregnant, she and Li Lao Er divided the work.
She spent the morning in the valley and returned home to rest in the afternoon.
It just so happens that Li Lao Er teaches the children to read in the morning and then takes over in the afternoon.
Actually, Sister Liu wanted to work full-time, but Chief Escort Liu disagreed.
Liu Yang was already a teenager when he and his wife finally had their second precious child. They were determined to ensure the child's safe delivery no matter what.
Not to mention going to work, Liu Biaotou has now taken over all the cooking and laundry at home.
When the villagers found out, they were so shocked they almost lost their teeth.
Such a rough and tough man as Liu Biaotou has actually become a stay-at-home husband...
Sitting together now, everyone still laughs non-stop when they talk about this, and they also envy Sister Liu.
Aunt Liu blushed at the teasing, and while peeling pine nuts to feed Jiayin, she said, "Our head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) is thinking about having a little girl like Fu Niu. He nags me about it countless times a day, and I'm so annoyed."
That's what she said, but her expression was full of joy.
"Then let Fu Niu hug you more, and you'll definitely be able to have a little girl just like Fu Niu." Old Mrs. Li laughed heartily. Fu Niu also hugged Liu's neck, sniffing the soap scent on her clothes like a puppy, which made Liu's face beam with joy.
“I went to town with Huiniang yesterday and bought some fabric. I’m going to make a little dress for Fu Niu’er. I can’t let Fu Niu’er bring me good fortune for nothing.”
The old lady quickly waved her hand, "No need, no need, you should keep them to make clothes for the child. Fu Niu has too many clothes. The Marquis's mansion sends over several sets every few days, and Jin Rou and Yu Ru always make clothes for her too. All the clothes in the family combined don't even amount to as many as this little maid."
Sister Liu insisted, "Others' clothes are other people's, and mine are mine. Besides, young girls love to look pretty, so it's good for them to have a few more dresses."
After saying that, she looked down at the chubby girl in her arms and asked, "Isn't that right, Fu Niu?"
Fu Niu'er smiled, revealing a set of small white teeth, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
In this way, she expressed her desire for the dress without contradicting her grandmother.
Everyone couldn't help but laugh, and Aunt Liu exclaimed, "This child is so clever, his eyelashes are all empty! He's so young, imagine what he'll be like when he grows up!"
“So,” the old lady said, pointing to Hui Niang, “I’ve already spoken to Hui Niang and asked her to teach Fu Niu manners and etiquette. It would be best if she also learned embroidery to temper her temperament. Otherwise, this girl will probably be the biggest headache for me when she grows up.”
The entire afternoon passed in such laughter.
Dinner was prepared by Grandma Li, Sister Qiong, and Dongmei. Jiayin followed her around, playing and causing trouble. In the end, Dongmei carried her out, and Jiayin took the opportunity to whisper a few words in her ear.
Dongmei nodded in agreement and went back to the next room.
When Tao Hongying returned from the valley, the meal was already laid out on the table. She felt a little guilty, "Mother, I've made you work so hard again."
"Don't talk nonsense. We're all family. You're all busy, so what's so tiring about me just cooking?" The old lady gestured for her daughter-in-law to sit down. Seeing that her daughter-in-law's expression was not good, she asked, "Is it still so busy in the valley?"
Tao Hongying nodded, "Second Brother already told the guests today that they are not allowed to bring extra wine. The guests were a little dissatisfied, but things will probably be much better in the future."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com