"Since you enjoy reading storybooks, why don't you write some yourself?"
Song Wanyin subconsciously shook her head. "That won't do. Writing stories is not an easy task. I've never tried it before, and I'm afraid what I write will be laughable."
"It's just a simpler version of writing. Since you like it, why not give it a try? Besides, you can use a pseudonym. Even if it's not well-written, who will know it was you who wrote it?"
Song Wanyin was persuaded, and a hint of eagerness flickered in her eyes: "Really?"
Meng Zhao nodded seriously, "Nowadays, most of the storybooks are written by men, and the stories they write naturally cater to their preferences. Since they can write them, why can't you write some things that women like to read, just to satisfy me as well?"
After hearing Meng Zhao's words, Song Wanyin's heart began to stir. She often got angry at the stories in the novels written by men. She thought that if she were to write them herself, she would definitely not write them like that. Perhaps, she could really give it a try.
In short, after the two opened up to each other, they didn't become estranged; on the contrary, they became even closer.
***
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was clear and sunny, which was the perfect time to castrate pigs. Originally, the end of the year was the time when every household slaughtered pigs for the New Year, so piglets were not easy to find. Fortunately, she had Meng Dashan's connections, and Meng Zhao had been keeping an eye on any pregnant sows that were available.
At this moment, Meng Zhao was leading five piglets that had just been castrated back to the pig farm. Worried that it would be too cold on the way, he had prepared cotton blankets for them.
Fortunately, the piglets that had just been castrated were not very energetic and lay quietly in the donkey cart without making a fuss. Meng Zhao was not in a hurry and slowly made his way to Shenjia Village.
As soon as they got close to the pig farm, Dahuang probably smelled the odor and started barking from afar.
Dahuang is the big dog that followed Xiaochuan before. After arriving at the pig farm, everyone discussed giving it a name. Since Meng Zhao was not the main breeder, the right to name it was delegated to Shi Tou Shun'er.
After racking their brains, the two finally settled on the name "Dahuang" (Big Yellow). To be fair, the dog's brown fur and large size suited the name quite well.
The piglets on the truck were awakened by Da Huang's squeals and started to grunt. Meng Zhao was afraid that if the squeals continued, they would be frightened and stressed, so she quickly went closer to try to soothe Da Huang.
As soon as she got closer, Da Huang lowered its head, its erect ears drooped obediently, and then it began to wag its tail happily at Meng Zhao, making low whimpering sounds.
When Shun'er and Shitou came out and saw this scene, they were both surprised. "Sister Mengzhao, Dahuang still remembers you. Ever since we started feeding it every day, Dahuang only recognizes the two of us. Last time, when the village head came over to ask us how we were doing, Dahuang barked for a long time before stopping."
Stone nodded repeatedly, "The same goes for everyone else in the village. Whenever someone gets close to the pig farm, it starts squealing, and it won't stop unless the two of us come out."
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao was overjoyed. She squatted down slightly and gently stroked Da Huang's head. "Really? Da Huang, you still remember me after just a few days!"
As if it understood her words, Da Huang immediately barked twice, its eyes showing a hint of intimacy and flattery.
"Good boy, Da Huang. I'll give you something delicious to eat tonight, okay?" Da Huang seemed to understand what he meant, and his tail wagged even faster.
Meng Zhao played with Da Huang for a while, then asked Shi Tou and Shun'er to take the piglets from the car to the breeding shed. The ten pigs they had raised before had all grown up by now, with the largest one weighing about 100 pounds. If they were put together, the piglets would not be able to compete with the big pigs for food, and they would easily be crushed by the big pigs when they were playing or sleeping.
So Meng Zhao had given prior notice, asking the two of them to prepare a clean cubicle in advance, which was just the right time to put the five little pigs in together.
When the pig farm was first built, we didn't have much money, so we didn't build it too big. Now, the ten adult pigs and five piglets have already filled all the cubicles in the breeding house. It's freezing cold outside, so it's not suitable to expand. It seems that the pig farm can only maintain its current size before spring.
Seeing that the piglets were gradually waking up, Meng Zhao asked Shi Tou to get some pig feed that the piglets could eat, and together with Shun'er, they moved the stove in the pig farm closer to the piglets.
While there are some advantages to castrating pigs in winter—cold weather makes it less likely for bacteria to grow and reduces the mortality rate of piglets—if the temperature gets too cold, the piglets are not resistant to the cold, and if they freeze to death, it would be terrible.
"Shun'er, don't turn off the stoves in the pig farm during this time. If you don't have enough charcoal, call Gu Yun and go up the mountain to burn some more."
Shun'er nodded obediently, "Don't worry, Sister Mengzhao. We've already burned two more batches of charcoal a couple of days ago, and we can get them soon. We'll burn a few more batches before the New Year, so they won't freeze this winter."
Meng Zhao smiled and nodded, "Okay, but you also need to be careful. Remember to clean up all the dry grass and firewood around the earthen stove before you start a fire. Before you seal the stove, you must not leave it unattended."
Shun'er patted his chest and said that they would take turns watching over them, so Meng Zhao could rest assured.
Then Meng Zhao gave a few more instructions on how to take care of the piglets. After the piglets regained some energy and seemed to be alright, he prepared to go to the starch workshop to check on the situation.
On the way to the workshop in the donkey cart, Meng Zhao happened to run into Li Yunxiang. Seeing that no one was around, Meng Zhao pulled on the reins, stopped the cart, and asked:
"Yunxiang, where are you going with that cart?"
Hearing someone call her name, Li Yunxiang turned her head and her eyes lit up instantly. She first looked around to make sure no one was there before speaking.
“Because I had been faking illness, I didn’t apply when the workshop was hiring. But Er Ya and I couldn’t just do nothing. A few days ago, I happened to see the new workers from other villages that were hired in the workshop. They didn’t go home for lunch; they just squatted outside eating dry biscuits. That’s when I suddenly had an idea.”
At this point, Li Yunxiang was a little embarrassed and smiled shyly.
Meng Zhao carefully examined Li Yunxiang and noticed that her overall mental state had improved significantly since leaving the oppressive environment of the Li family. So she asked encouragingly, "What are your thoughts?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
