Chapter 82: Sweet New Year
The pig of Nie Laosan's family was originally 200 kilograms, but it defecated on the way, and when it arrived at the pig farm, it was not big enough to carry the weight.
When this news got out, everyone laughed like crazy.
Think about that poor pig, how could it poop in the middle of nowhere? Couldn't it hold it in a little longer and wait until it was weighed?
It's hilarious just thinking about it. The members of the cooperative took it as a joke. Someone asked Nie Laosan's wife when they saw her, "What did you feed your pigs? Why did they have to poop in the middle of the journey?"
Nie Laosan's wife was also worried. How could she know why that useless pig had to do something to poop? What kind of thing was this?!
Now her husband has brought the pig back. She doesn't dare to eat good food these days and can only eat the pig. She hopes that the pig ancestor can grow a few more pounds of meat so that she can pass the test.
After feeding the pigs like this for a few days, I watched with eager eyes that it should be enough. Before leaving, I fed the pigs a big meal of cornmeal mixed with pig grass. I fed the pigs very well, and quickly borrowed a wheelbarrow to send the pigs to the commune pig farm. This time, I took strict precautions and was careful at all times. I really treated the pigs as my ancestors and didn't even dare to shake them, for fear that they would poop and urinate accidentally and lose weight again.
After being extremely careful, we brought the pig to the pig farm and waited anxiously for the farm staff to come and weigh it. But when it was finally our turn, the pig started to move its butt.
Nie Laosan's wife was shocked: "No, no!"
People around looked over.
In public, her pig pooped again...
Nie Laosan's wife almost cried, but it was their turn at this time. Holding on to the last glimmer of hope, they put the pig up to be weighed.
The weight came out, and the staff reported: "One hundred and ninety-nine pounds and two ounces, eight ounces short. It's unqualified and cannot be accepted."
Nie Laosan's wife almost fell there.
Nie Laosan wanted to cry, but he still pulled himself together and begged, "Comrade, look, it's only eight ounces short. Please take it. Our pig must have weighed 200 kilograms, but it just pooped. If it hadn't pooped, it would definitely be enough! Please be kind and take it away?"
As he spoke, he pointed to the pile of shit the pig had just pooped and said, "That pile must weigh a pound, right?"
The staff member looked at the weight, frowned, and said seriously, "Fellow villager, we collect pigs, not pig manure. If the pigs haven't defecated, we won't force them to do so for you. But since the pigs have defecated, the manure cannot be included in the calculation."
Nie Laosan's wife really wanted to cry this time: "We didn't expect the pig to poop at this time!"
It doesn't poop a moment earlier, and it doesn't poop a moment later. Why does this pig have to poop at this time?
At this time, there were still pigs to be weighed. After all, the New Year was approaching, and who wouldn't want to kill a pig quickly to eat the meat and exchange it for food, cloth, and firecrackers? So the staff quickly went to weigh the other pigs.
Nie Laosan's wife and Nie Laosan looked at each other and pushed the pig home listlessly.
As they walked along the street, Nie Lao San finally couldn't stand it anymore: "Why are we so unlucky?"
Nie Laosan's wife: "How would I know that?"
Nie Laosan remembered the rumors among the members of the production brigade. They said Fubao was a blessed child, and that whoever adopted Fubao would get a great deal. They said that the Gu family lived a very good life. They also said that Gu Weidong was not caught for speculation and profiteering because he was blessed by Fubao. They also said that even though Gu Weidong broke his leg, he could eat chicken if he wanted to, and that if he said there was a doctor to see him, there really was a doctor to see him.
Anyway, it can't be said that you can get whatever you want, but you are luckier than others in everything.
Of course, the most shocking thing is that a daughter-in-law who had been mute for ten years actually spoke.
Don’t you think this is strange?
Nie Laosan took heavy steps, lifting his legs that felt like they were filled with lead, and said dully, "You said, Fubao is really blessed and has brought prosperity to the Gu family?"
Nie Laosan's wife was unconvinced: "How is that possible? Look, the Gu family has split up, and Gu Weidong has returned in such a disgraced state!"
Nie Laosan: "Their pig weighed over 270 kilograms! Over 270 kilograms!"
This had never happened before. Everyone said that Fubao was a lucky child for the family, and that not only did the Gu family have fat pigs, but the crops from their private plots were more abundant than those of others. In the words of Chen Youliang, "The wheat ears of the Gu family are so heavy that one is worth two of others'."
Nie Laosan carefully counted all the things that had happened in the Gu family since Fubao came to them. On the surface, it didn't seem like a big deal, and they even had to split up the family. However, the situation of the Gu family was actually at the point where it was time for a split. On the surface, they didn't seem to have made a lot of money, but in fact, they lived a pretty comfortable life.
As for the efforts I made over the past year or so, I broke my leg, spent several months in jail, and raised a pig that nominally weighed 200 kilograms, but in fact 100 kilograms belonged to the production team, and 100 kilograms was sold on credit to the members. In the end, I even had to pay back 8 taels of pork!
Nie Laosan turned around and looked at the pile of feces that his pig had pulled out.
Maybe all that's left for me are a few piles of pig manure.
Nie Laosan's wife was also a little confused when she heard this: "If that's what you said, then why didn't she bring us any good luck when she was living with us? We were still poor, and nothing good happened to us!"
Nie Laosan glanced at his wife with a sad look: "When did we give birth to gold and silver? Have you forgotten?"
Nie Laosan’s wife was stunned.
Nie Laosan sighed, "Some things are in the past, and I don't remember them very well myself. But now that I think about it, when you were pregnant, you said you wanted to eat sour fruit. I asked where you could find sour fruit in this season. But that day in the mountains, we happened to come across a tree with sour fruit. There weren't many, but I picked them and let you eat as much as you wanted. Do you remember?"
Nie Laosan's wife suddenly remembered.
This happened so long ago that I have almost forgotten it.
At that time, she was pregnant and holding Fubao, chattering that the thought of sour fruits made her drool. As a result, Nie Laosan went to the mountains to chop firewood that day and picked up a big bag of sour fruits.
Nie Laosan closed his eyes and walked forward weakly. "When you were in confinement, our family was so poor that we had no eggs or meat, let alone brown sugar. Our chickens laid eggs, and each hen laid two eggs for you to eat. I even caught a wild fox and brought it to the city. It happened that people in the city wanted this kind of thing, so they gave us thirteen yuan. I bought you some brown sugar seeds, and you had a good confinement. I remember that I also used the money to buy you some nice clothes!"
Nie Laosan's wife's legs went weak and she fell to the ground.
Nie Laosan looked at his wife slowly, did not help her up, and simply squatted on the ground dejectedly.
"I remember when Fubao was in our house, we treated her very well. We were lucky too, and everything went smoothly. We got what we wanted. Although we lived a poor life, it was really comfortable."
Nie Lao San sighed: "How did things change?"
Why did it change?
He can't remember clearly.
He was just happy that he had twins, a boy and a girl, and worked hard every day. When he occasionally paid attention to his family, his wife was already beating and scolding Fubao, not giving him food, and starving him.
Nie Laosan's wife's eyes widened, and she was stunned for a long time before she murmured, "What you mean is that Fubao is really blessed. She was in our family because we treated her badly, so she is no longer a blessing to us."
Nie Laosan held his head in agony. "I don't know. I can't figure it out... Hey, how did things turn out like this... How did our lives become like this?"
Nie Laosan's wife: "If that's the case, then, why don't we take Fubao back?"
Nie Lao San sighed, "Come back? That's not that easy. Besides, we haven't treated her well. How can she bring us good fortune if she comes back?"
In the following days, both Nie Laosan's wife and Nie Laosan were in a state of entanglement and pain. Nie Laosan's wife was wondering whether Fubao should come back or not, and Nie Laosan was eagerly hoping that his pig could grow to the weight of 8 taels, or preferably a few more kilograms, so that he could have some meat for his family.
But the Nie family was really unlucky. Whatever they wanted, they just couldn't get it. He fed the pigs diligently and went to the pig farm every two days, but he still couldn't get enough of the 200 kilograms. Finally, on the day before the New Year, he went again, but the staff were so impatient that he barely managed to weigh the pigs, and the total was 201 kilograms.
When Nie Laosan's wife saw this, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. After she breathed a sigh of relief, she was so happy that she almost cried: "We can still save a pound of meat!"
Nie Laosan's face turned black.
After working hard for a year, you only get a pound of meat?
He got the receipt for the meat delivery from the pig farm, had the pigs killed, and took back 101 kilograms of pork. After returning, he went to Chen Youfu and handed the receipt to Chen Youfu first, thus settling the debt for the piglet.
Then Nie Laosan's wife and Nie Laosan called out to everyone to come and pick up the pork they had bought on credit.
In fact, everyone is desperate recently.
The pig in Nie Laosan's family didn't even grow to 200 kilograms, so it couldn't be slaughtered. They couldn't eat pork during the New Year.
Just when everyone was in despair, they heard that Nie Lao San had finally killed the pig, so they all went over to ask for the meat.
Nie Laosan borrowed a scale from the production team and started weighing meat for everyone. One weighed two pounds, another weighed three pounds, and another weighed four and a half pounds. After a busy day, they finally paid off their debt and left happily.
Shengjin ran over and watched the cart of pork slowly being divided up. He stamped his feet in displeasure, "Dad, Mom, I want to eat meat. Why are all our meat being given away to others?"
Nie Laosan's wife looked down and was puzzled: "Didn't they bring back 101 kilograms? We should have an extra kilogram of meat!"
Nie Laosan was stunned for a moment: "Yeah, why is it gone?"
Nie Laosan's wife thought about it and angrily scolded Nie Laosan: "How did you divide the meat?!"
A pound of pork was wasted like this, gone out of thin air!
Her pork!
——
The Gu family brought back a total of 174 kilograms of pork. Everyone in the Gu family was very happy, even Liu Zhaodi grinned with joy. Now that the family has divided up, each family can get 30 to 40 kilograms of pork. This is a huge sum of money. For farmers, it is a bumper pork harvest at the end of the year.
Before she even got her share of the pork, Liu Zhaodi had already started thinking about how much she would eat and how much she would be able to exchange for food at the market. She had planned everything, even how many pounds she would take back to her parents' home.
I must give my mother's family a few pounds of pork, preferably pork belly, with two layers of lean meat and one layer of fat. Then I can let my mother's family have a meal of braised pork belly. My mother will definitely be happy, and my sister-in-law will definitely be proud, Liu Zhaodi thought.
Just as I was thinking about it, I heard Miao Xiuju say, "Our family got so much meat all of a sudden. Who should we thank?"
When Miao Xiujiu asked this question, everyone was stunned. Who should we thank?
Miao Xiuju said: "We have to thank the Party, thank New China, thank Chairman Mao, and thank our Pingxi Production Brigade!"
Everyone was a little confused, but they still nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
Miao Xiuju added, "We also have to thank Fubao and Gu Shengtian for always cutting grass for the pigs, thank our team leader Chen Youfu for taking care of us, and thank our neighbors for helping us over the years."
Everyone: “…”
Mom, just say what you want to say!
Miao Xiuju cleared her throat and said, "We have a big fat pig. Everyone knows about it. During Chinese New Year, I hide away and eat the delicious meat, not letting others eat it. Is that appropriate? Will others be jealous?"
The sons and daughters-in-law looked at each other, and finally Gu Weidong stepped forward and said, "Mom, should we give some of this meat to them? Otherwise, you can decide on this matter."
Miao Xiuju nodded: "I'm thinking, let's not divide the meat for now. I'll give one pound to your Grandma Hu, one pound to the team leader, and one pound to your Uncle Li. There are also some for your uncle's family, your third cousin's family, and your grandmother's family..."
Miao Xiujiu counted on her fingers all the favors she owed to others in the past, such as who had helped her, who had come to the nunnery to be the head monk when she split up, who had given her red eggs when she gave birth, and so on. She counted them all.
Liu Zhaodi's heart ached when she heard this: "We have to give meat to these people, right?"
Miao Xiuju raised an eyebrow: "Why do you have any objections?"
Liu Zhaodi originally thought, if someone wants to give, then I can just give it to them myself and then give it away. Why should I use everyone else's things as a favor? But she didn't dare to say this.
Miao Xiuju saw through Liu Zhaodi's thoughts and sneered, "When the family was divided, it wasn't you who helped them, and you've been bothering them all the time. Can't you send something during the New Year or other festivals? If the eldest wife sends something and the second wife doesn't, people will say you're stingy and ignorant, don't you understand? If you go alone, then for every kilogram you send, the four brothers will have to go in!"
She is exhausted from worrying so much, and yet no one appreciates it?
Chen Hongying and Niu Sanni understood that this was the best way. If the whole family donated pork to someone else together, the favor would be repaid in due time. However, if they donated pork themselves, they would only get two pounds of pork. This idea couldn't be better!
So they nodded quickly: "Okay, okay, Mom, we'll do as you say!"
Gu Weiguo also reacted. As the eldest brother, he was the first to express his opinion: "Mom is really thoughtful. This way, the favor is repaid, but she won't give too much at once. Otherwise, we have to pay it back one by one, which would be four!"
That's what's called life-threatening!
Naturally, the other sons and daughters-in-law also nodded quickly. Although Liu Zhaodi felt distressed, she couldn't say anything and nodded reluctantly.
Miao Xiujiu calculated that the relatives and neighbors had to send a total of thirteen portions, which was thirteen pounds, and of course her mother's family had to send two more pounds, for a total of fifteen pounds.
So there were 174 pounds, and after subtracting the 15 pounds of meat given as a gift, the final weight was 159 pounds.
The total weight for the family was 31.8 jin (15.6 kg). Miao Xiujiu borrowed a scale and knife from the brigade and began to divide the meat.
When the meat was being divided, everyone stretched their necks to stare. You have to know that although it was all meat, some had bones and some didn't, some were pig heads and some were offal, which made a big difference.
Miao Xiujiu sighed in her heart. She certainly understood what her daughters-in-law meant, and was particularly careful when dividing it. Finally, she cut it, weighed it, and divided it into five portions for everyone to choose.
Miao Xiuju said calmly: "Hongying, you are the boss, you choose first."
Shen Hongying was delighted and immediately felt that Miao Xiuju was really good to her. She picked and chose among the five portions for a long time and found that Miao Xiuju was really fair. None of them looked particularly good. Some had more fat but also had offal, and some had more lean meat but relatively less offal and pork heads.
Finally, she made up her mind and picked one at random. Then it was the second and third children's turn. After they all chose, Liu Zhaodi got the last one.
Everyone was extremely happy after getting their own 31.8 jin of meat. They first carried the meat back to their own rooms, then thought about how to store it. They were afraid of stealing it if they put it in the cellar. Finally, they thought it best to chop it up or stew it. The chopped meat could be frozen into minced meat and kept for a long time. They could take it out and eat it when needed. They put it in a big basket and hung it on the beam. They didn't have to worry about it getting lost or being damaged by rats or something.
Since Liu Guizhi had gotten some pork, she naturally had to plan to give some to her parents. In fact, a few days ago, Gu Weidong had said that now that he had made some money, he wanted to give some to his parents to buy some things, and then see if he could repay the original investment. Liu Guizhi thought so, so she took out 70 yuan from the 420 yuan and prepared to give it to her parents.
Now that pork had just been distributed, she discussed it with Gu Weidong and bought ten kilograms of pork. She then took the money and food coupons to the market and exchanged them for New Year snacks and fruits, thinking of going back to her parents' home.
When I passed by a stall, I saw that one of them was selling hair ornaments. There was a piece of plastic oilcloth spread out on the floor, and on the oilcloth were various homemade hair ornaments, as well as small clips, small headbands, small bows, and hair ties, all of which were little girls' toys.
Liu Guizhi felt something in her heart and looked at Fubao next to her. Fubao now used a red hairband to tie her pigtails. Although it looked good this way, it always felt too plain.
She squatted down, looked at the flower, and thought about buying one for Fubao.
Liu Guizhi: "Fubao, pick the one you like."
Fubao also squatted down and took a look. After all, she was a child at heart. As a little girl, she also loved beauty and liked to look good.
But after thinking about it, I finally asked the stall owner: "How much is it...is it expensive?"
The stall owner was a woman in her twenties. She pinned her hair back in a nylon mesh bag, looking quite neat. Upon hearing this, she chuckled, "Look at this little girl, so pretty and sensible. You're so lucky! Other children, when they see hair ornaments, clamor for them and won't budge. If their parents don't buy them, they'll cry for a while. But your daughter, on the other hand, comes right up and asks how much it costs. She'll be a great help in making a living in the future! You're so lucky!"
The stall owner is a businessman, he knows how to praise others and is sweet-mouthed. As a mother, every mother likes to hear others praise her children. Liu Guizhi was naturally very happy to hear that.
She raised her hand, touched Fubao's head, and said with a smile: "Fubao, you can choose whatever you want. A hair ornament is nothing. It's New Year's Day, so I'll buy you something nice. I have enough money."
Now that life is better, of course I want to pamper Fubao more, buy him good things, and give him whatever he wants.
The child is too sensible. He always asks if something is expensive before choosing one. It makes me sad as a mother.
Fubao's eyes flickered a few times after hearing this, and he pointed his finger there: "Mom, I want that, is it okay?"
Liu Guizhi looked over and saw that it was not a head flower, but a narrow piece of red gauze, about two feet long. The gauze was soft, translucent, and bright red. Although there was no decoration on it, it looked quite eye-catching.
The stall owner praised: "This is good. People who come to the market like to buy this for their daughters. Go home and cut this into two pieces. It will be just right for a small braid and a flower."
Liu Guizhi was happy to hear this. She had seen other girls wearing red gauze flowers on their heads before, but theirs were not as big or as beautiful as this one. So she decided to buy it right away.
Liu Guizhi spent money, and Fubao smiled with pursed lips, excitedly comparing the red gauze flower to her head. Gu Shengtian squatted beside her, holding his chin, and muttered softly: "How boring, does it look good..."
He thought it was not pretty at all.
It would be better to buy a small gun and play with it, which would be more exciting!
Liu Guizhi rolled her eyes at her son and said, "What do you know?"
You little brat, all you do is shoot guns!
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