Chapter 195: Picking a Pig Son
The wrinkles on Lu Minghai's forehead seemed to deepen because of his words. "That's the case, but you know our family is a mess. I'm still wondering whether to feed one or two pigs this year. Dongcai's wife is pregnant. She took a break for half a year after giving birth to Chuyi last year. I think it will be difficult this year. Your sister-in-law is still taking care of Chuyi. She can do some work but not others. We feed two pigs at home. They are hungry and can't be let go even if people go hungry. We don't see much food to begin with, and we rely on grass to fill the gap. I'm worried that I won't be able to take care of them this year."
"So you mean, feed one this year?"
Lu Minghai scratched his head irritably. "That's the thing. It's easier to feed one person, but how do you turn in the task? Your family must still have two, and it's not easy to deal with this with an outsider. Besides, there have been two for the past two years, and there's no lazy person in our family. We always move forward in life, never look back. But feeding two is just what I said. Dongfu can still be at home for the first six months and can help out, but if he passes the exam, he'll have to go to school in the city."
"I may not be able to pass the exam. If my family is too busy, I will come back to help. Why should I go to school if I can't even make ends meet?"
Lu Dongfu responded.
This caused Lu Minghai's long-suppressed anger to suddenly burst out: "Bullshit, you better do it properly. If you don't, I'll break your legs! I've supported you for all these years just to let you keep nagging me and keep digging?"
Lu Dongfu was also angry. He hadn't felt relaxed this past year. He was usually a well-behaved child, but when Lu Minghai yelled at him in front of everyone, he became angry: "Life is almost unbearable, and you're still nagging? What's the point of nagging? What's the point of pretending to be rich?"
"What's the problem with life? Did I give you less food or drink?"
Lu Mingjiang grabbed him and said, "Brother, what's wrong with you? Why did you start yelling at Dongfu? Dongfu is such a good kid. You're such a fool! No matter how angry we adults are, we can't take it out on children."
Over there, Lu Donglin and Lu Chun'e also grabbed Lu Dongfu and said, "Come on, let's go out and bask in the sun. It's already burning your butt, why are you still warming yourself by the fire?" They pushed and dragged him out. Wen Wan also got up and followed him out, calling out to Lu Donglin, "It's only the third day of the Lunar New Year. Do you want to go up the mountain? If not, you can just take a walk around the commune. Today's community fire is not far from Haoping Brigade. Dongfu didn't get to watch the fun yesterday, so let's go today!"
Lu Dongfu squatted on the edge of the eaves with red eyes: "No, what's the fun in it? I'm not a child anymore."
Lu Donglin said: "Yes, you are not a child anymore, but you still need me to coax you, I am younger than you!"
"Uncle is really angry. Why are you arguing with him? You're a good student, so he must have high hopes for you. If you say you don't want to study anymore, he'll be furious."
Lu Dongfu sniffed and rubbed his face with his hands. "I didn't make him angry, so why is he taking it out on me? If I were him, if I couldn't handle my daughter-in-law, I would try to handle my son. I would ask my second brother if he can still live with this woman. If he still wants to live with that woman, I will separate them. But do it quickly. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch."
Lu Minghai sat there in the room and sighed deeply.
Zhang Hongying looked at this and that, thought for a while and said, "It's nothing, really. It's the same now as before. Laiying is pregnant, and it's still early in the month. The pigs were small and didn't eat much in the first half of the year. The grass in the wheat fields has sprouted in spring, and she doesn't have to walk far to pull grass for the pigs. She should be able to do it. If she can't pull grass to feed the pigs, then going to the fields will be even more difficult, right? I'm not saying anything bad about my niece's wife as an aunt, but we don't spoil our daughters-in-law like this. Let's not talk about when we were young, let's talk about now. Among the young daughters-in-law of their generation, which one has to lie at home all day and night when she is pregnant? It's not like they have lost their arms or legs. Sooner or later, a woman will have to carry two taels of meat in her belly. No one is nobler than the other. As long as it's not physical work, she has to do what she is supposed to do. You can't say it to your daughter-in-law, but you can always say it to your son. If Dongcai can't order his wife around, you as a father can teach him."
Lu Mingjiang said, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. It makes me even more unhappy. Whether we raise one or two pigs, we have to go pick out the pig sons early. Big brother, are you busy today? If not, let's go take a look."
"You say wind means rain. It's not even the fifth day of the Lunar New Year yet. Why would you go to a pig farm to catch pigs on Lunar New Year's Day?"
Lu Mingjiang said, "Don't be so particular. We're just going to take a look. If they want to arrest someone, I'll arrest him if I see someone suitable. I can just send the money back after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. It doesn't count as spending money."
He stood up and pulled Lu Minghai with him, saying, "Come on, come on. It's a nice day outside. Why are you sitting here sulking? A day of happiness is a day of sadness. You're half buried in the earth now. Live the next few decades well."
The two brothers left the kitchen, and Lu Mingjiang called out to Lu Dongfu: "Dongfu, let's go to the pig farm to see if we can catch our pig son!"
Lu Dongfu was still angry and awkward, so Lu Donglin pulled him and said, "Let's go. I'll go too. I'll have to carry one on my back once the selection is made. In previous years, my brother always went with us, but this year it's finally my turn." His son called him into the pigpen to catch pigs as if he was going to sit at the table.
Everyone left in a flash, and the yard became quiet again.
Zhang Hongying was washing the pots and dishes in the house. Lu Chun'e came in and moved the wooden table out from the main room. She called out to Wen Wan, "Sister-in-law, are you going to do some needlework today?"
Wen Wan said, "It's sunny and warm today." She still had a lot of work to do. Everyone in the family had put on their cotton-padded jackets, so it was time to put on the clothes Lu Dongping and Old Wen had given them.
That piece of navy blue material was just right for making a Zhongshan suit for Lu Dongping. It was cut before the New Year, but work hadn't started yet.
She came out with her needlework and sat down at the gate. She looked at the shoe soles in Lu Chun'e's hand and said, "Have you finished your holiday homework?"
"It's done. It will be finished before the New Year."
Wen Wan said, "You still have to read books from time to time. You'll get rusty after a while." After that, she glanced at the shoe soles in Lu Chun'e's hand and said, "Is this a new pair? I remember you knitted a pair before, and they were almost done by then!"
"Well, that pair is done, and here's another pair. I'll have to wear them anyway, so I'll get a couple of stitches if I have time."
"By the way, sister-in-law, what kind of shoes do you like? Slip-on ones or the ones with straps?"
"Me?" Wen Wan paused and glanced at her. "I like slip-on shoes." Then she started laughing. "Why are you asking? Do you want to make shoes for me?"
Lu Chun'e didn't hide it from her: "Yes, I'll make you a pair of shoes. The soles of the previous pair of shoes were made for you, but I haven't made the uppers yet."
Wen Wan's eyes lit up: "Really? Then don't bother with the uppers, I'll do it myself, and when I'm done you can just help me put them on."
Lu Chun'e nodded: "That's fine."
She had originally thought of asking her brother if he had any cloth coupons, but then she thought it was too difficult to ask. Her brother was married now, and the little money and coupons he had had to give to his parents and his wife. If she asked him and he didn't have any, it would be embarrassing.
Anyway, her brother's property now belongs to her sister-in-law, so she might as well just tell her sister-in-law directly.
"I saw the pair of shoes you made for Brother Qingming last time. The uppers are different from the ones we made before. They look much better. Sister-in-law, when you make them again, please call me. I want to learn from you."
Wen Wan was amused by her: "If you want to do it, I will cut a pattern for you and you can just follow it. You can also steal my skills."
As she was talking, Zhang Hongying came out of the kitchen after cleaning up. "What are you talking about? You look so happy."
Lu Chun'e said, "I asked my sister-in-law to teach me how to cut shoe patterns!"
Zhang Hongying said, "Your sister-in-law is busy, so don't bother her with all the things you need all day. You guys can just sit here and bask in the sun while I go check on the pig farm. I don't know what your father is so anxious about, and your brother isn't home. It's only the third day of the Lunar New Year, but he's already rushing off to catch his pig son. I have to go check it out. He's a man who can't be trusted without making a fuss."
Lu Chun'e waved her hand: "Go ahead!"
She wiped her hands and left the yard.
Wen Wan asked Lu Chun'e, "I remember that we went to catch the piglets a few days after slaughtering pigs in the winter of the year before last, before the New Year. Why did we go so late this year?"
"Well, it's not that there aren't suitable ones. You can't just catch piglets whenever you want. The sows in the pig farm have to give birth! It was unfortunate at the end of last year that the sow didn't give birth until almost the twelfth lunar month. So, no one dares to catch pigs that are not yet a month old. By the time they are a full month old, they will be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and it's almost been a week now, so they are almost ready. If you wait any longer, the weight will definitely go up over time, and it will cost more money. Besides, there are definitely more people in the team who feed pigs than us. Everyone wants to catch the good ones, so it would be pointless to pick the leftovers."
There are no taboos at the pig farm, and there is no rule that pigs must be sold after the fifth day of the New Year. If someone comes to catch the pigs, they can be caught, picked out, weighed, recorded, and then taken away.
When Lu Mingjiang went there, he carried a backpack with him. When he came back, the two piglets weighing about 20 pounds in the backpack were grunting all the way.
The pigpen, empty for half a month, had a new arrival. The manure had been shoveled out before the New Year, leaving it bare and smooth, the ground covered in a layer of shoveled earth, long since dried. As soon as the two piglets were in the pen, Zhang Hongying got busy. She quickly carried a backpack to the back beam, dug up a basket of leaves, and dumped them into the pigpen. Lu Chun'e also put down her needlework and took a basket to her private plot, pulling up yellowed vegetable leaves and pig grass and dumping them in. With food, the pigs finally stopped grumbling.
This year there are two pigs, one is completely black and the other has two tufts of white hair on its head. They weigh about the same, so it depends on which one grows faster.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
