Chapter 187: Piglets and Hens
While she was examining the muskrat, the Sang family father and son stood silently by, not daring to breathe, until she smiled again, then they joined in the laughter.
"Hehe, this big rat is not that difficult to catch." Sang Yongjing started to show off.
"Oh? Then there are still a few splints left. Give them to Dad and catch a few more."
Sang Yu didn't tolerate him at all and pretended to take out the remaining plywood from the bamboo basket.
Sang Yongjing could only admit his mistake at the speed of light: "Ahem, Dad was just saying it casually, don't take it seriously."
Handing the muskrat in his hand to him, Sang Yu walked to the stream and looked at the cave on the other side. The mud and grass leaves blocking the cave entrance showed obvious signs of having been moved recently.
Is this muskrat coming back from foraging, or is there another muskrat in the cave?
As far as Sang Yu knows, muskrats are generally not social creatures.
Adult male muskrats are solitary creatures with a strong sense of territory and only seek out females during the breeding season.
Unless they live in an area with abundant food or in a very cold winter, they will choose to build nests nearby or live in groups.
Thinking about it this way, regardless of whether there are other muskrats in the cave or not, it cannot be a male, and of course it has no scent glands, so there is no need to capture it.
I can come here from time to time in the future to check, maybe there will be other male muskrats active in this area.
"Let's go home."
Catching a muskrat is almost equivalent to digging up gold. Although this gold cannot be exchanged for silver that can be spent for the time being, it is indeed an asset.
The three members of the Sang family couldn't suppress the smiles on their faces. Even Sang Yu, who had been telling people not to get excited, couldn't help but beam with joy.
When Sang Yu returned home, he saw a whole piglet on the table in the pavilion in the yard.
It looked to be about twenty pounds in weight, and had been killed and bled. There were two hens with their wings tied on the ground next to it.
"Could these be sent by Zhang Pingchun's family?"
If it wasn't their family, Sang Yu really couldn't think of who else in Qingxi Village would give them such a big gift.
"Yu'er, you're finally back."
Seeing her come back, Xie Qiujin hurried forward and looked at the things on the table and on the floor with helplessness.
"It was indeed sent by their family. I knew you wouldn't want to accept it, so I kept asking them to take it back, but they just put it down and ran away..."
She wanted to chase after him and return the things to him, but just as she picked up the piglet and the two chickens and walked out of the yard, she disappeared from his sight.
As a woman, she didn't know the exact location of the other party's residence, so she couldn't go door to door to ask.
So these things were kept for the time being and dealt with when Sang Yu came back.
After Sang Yu went forward to take a look, he couldn't help but sigh: "What a grand gesture."
The pigs at that time were not as good as the later breeds. They could grow to 200 kilograms and be slaughtered in eight to ten months. The most common ones were the unimproved native Chinese black pigs.
They grow slowly and are small in size. The weight of an adult pig is only one-third to one-half of that of a modern pig. They have to be raised for a year or even longer before they can be slaughtered.
Unless it is a special sacrifice or an important festival, no one would be willing to slaughter piglets.
And those two hens were not cheap either. Compared to the price of ordinary broiler chickens which was around one hundred wen, the price of egg-laying hens could more than double, reaching a staggering four hundred to five hundred wen.
The combined price of these two items would probably be close to two taels of silver. How could an average person easily come up with so much money?
"Okay, just put the things here first. I'll go ask where their house is and then return it. Dad... forget it, big brother, come with me."
If she goes there alone at this time, she might get into trouble, so she needs to find someone to accompany her.
She originally wanted Sang Yongjing to accompany her, but after changing her mind, she decided to ask Sang Xingjia instead.
Sang Yongjing was about to agree when she mentioned him, but she immediately changed her mind and interrupted him hurriedly, "Hey, Dad can go with you."
"Dad, you are older than me, so it's not convenient for me to talk to you. Big brother, just go with me."
When talking with Zhang Pingchun before, Sang Yu always communicated with the other party as an equal.
If he took Sang Yongjing with him now, the other party would probably have to ask him to call him uncle, which would be too serious.
What she said made a lot of sense. Sang Yongjing thought about it and became quiet and stopped talking.
Calling Sang Xingjia along, Sang Yu and he went to the nearest household and asked a few simple questions.
This family also helped rescue Baoer at the riverside yesterday. They immediately recognized Sang Yu as the young lady who saved people yesterday, and their attitude instantly became much more enthusiastic.
Not only did he point out the route to her in great detail, he even wanted to lead her there himself.
Sang Yu thought that she was just simply lending a helping hand yesterday, but in the eyes of other villagers, she was a doctor who had the magic power to bring people back to life.
Nowadays, anyone who knows a little about medicine would dare to call himself a doctor, let alone someone with such amazing skills as hers.
Because of this, no matter whether one's family members are sick or not, one must be courteous to her. After all, no one knows whether one will get sick or need help from her one day.
How could Sang Yu let the other party help lead the way? After politely declining, he and Sang Xingjia turned back and took the piglets and hens sent by Zhang Pingchun's family and rushed to her home.
It was already late at night, and white smoke was already rising from many chimneys. It would be inappropriate to go there rashly, but Sang Yu had to bite the bullet and go there, as it was not a good idea to leave the return of the gift overnight.
Zhang Pingchun's house is a bit far from theirs, and they have to go around the stone mill and walk a little further to get there.
Just as she walked out of the courtyard gate and was about to knock on the door, the Zhao family members who had set up a wooden table in the yard to prepare for dinner discovered them in advance.
The old lady of the Zhao family coughed lightly and reminded her daughter-in-law, who was placing dishes with her back to the door, "Someone is coming."
Zhang Pingchun subconsciously turned around and looked, then a look of joy appeared on his face: "Hey, Miss Sang, please come in, please come in, let's eat something together."
"Uh, sister-in-law is planning to eat?"
Arriving just as people were about to start eating, Sang Yu didn't know whether to be happy or embarrassed.
"Yes, I just told your brother that I would invite you to our house for dinner someday. I didn't expect you to come. It's a good day, better than tomorrow. Let's sit down and eat together."
Zhang Pingchun really liked Sang Yu when she saw her. If it weren't for her own baby, her life would definitely not have been saved.
Not to mention the whole family sitting in the yard with happy smiles on their faces to eat, I'm afraid the funeral is already halfway done.
"Uh, I won't eat. It's already prepared at home."
After some pleasantries, Sang Yu felt that it was almost time to get down to business.
"These things are too valuable, not to mention that I already received so many gifts yesterday. How can I accept more? Sister-in-law, please take them back."
As she spoke, she winked at Sang Xingjia, who was hiding behind the door, and asked him to come in with the piglet.
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