Li Qiang shook his head awkwardly. Ye Chenming packed his luggage and bags; he was going to move into Liu Limin's room.
Originally, Liu Limin wanted Zhang Dali to switch rooms with Ye Chenming, but Zhang Dali was unwilling to share a room with Li Qiang, so the three of them would just have to make do.
Ye Chenming handed over important money and some books to Ye Chen'er, so at least Ye Chen'er could go back to her room at the educated youth settlement to sleep every day.
The weather has turned cold, and the villagers are starting to put warm coats on the winter wheat again. From now on, they only need to come and water, fertilize, and weed regularly.
After all that was done, Mushroom Village gradually entered the winter season, and everyone began preparing for the Lunar New Year's Eve.
The villagers who raised pigs became even more diligent, as the day to hand over the pigs was fast approaching, and Village Chief Ma began to call a meeting with them.
The Yan family's pigs were the strongest, each weighing over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), which made the village chief so happy that he could only sigh at Yan Xiaoqiang's abilities.
The other four pigs were a bit less suitable, but they all met the standards for slaughter. As long as they met the standards, Village Chief Ma felt at ease.
Several villagers drove five pigs to the work station to hand over the live pigs. The staff praised Yan Xiaoqiang's pigs for being well-raised.
Those staff members also have quotas; the better the pigs they receive, the more bonuses they will receive.
Based on the pig that Yan Xiaoqiang raised, the staff gave Mushroom Village a certificate for submitting a high-quality pig, and this certificate was very important.
At the year-end summary meeting, Mushroom Village was awarded the title of Advanced Village, Village Chief Ma was awarded the title of Model Worker, and Yan Xiaoqiang was awarded the title of Pig Farming Expert.
Given the numerous exemplary deeds of Mushroom Village, the application for draft cattle has been approved by the relevant departments, and the draft cattle will be in place before next year's autumn harvest.
The other village chiefs watched with envy as Village Chief Ma went on stage to receive his award with a big red flower. After all, Mushroom Village had established a primary school and produced a pig-raising expert.
People are in high spirits when they have good news. Village Chief Ma returned to the village with a bag full of certificates and awards on his gleaming bicycle.
The village committee was bustling with activity today, as everyone wanted to see what the certificates and prizes looked like.
Accountant Ma specially got a picture frame, put the award certificate for the advanced village into the frame, and hung it properly in the most conspicuous place.
The pig-farming expert gave Yan Xiaoqiang his little red flag and tea mug. Looking at the little red flag, Yan Xiaoqiang was somewhat flustered, unsure whether to be happy or...
Yan Xiaonan was overjoyed with the little red flag. No matter what, your efforts have been rewarded, and that is a successful effort.
As for the other rewards, they were nothing more than teacups and towels, which Village Chief Ma kept in the warehouse and would be awarded to whoever had the most work points at the end of the year.
After delivering the live pigs, it was time to eat the "pig-killing feast," and Yan Xiaoqiang generously slaughtered the first pig.
The villagers excitedly spread the news everywhere. This was a big, fat pig weighing over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), so they were sure they would have cabbage and pork dumplings for the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The pigs raised by the Yan family naturally went first to the Yan family, as their large, fat pieces could be rendered into lard, and they took half of them.
The village chief cut half a pig, leaving at least eighty pounds of meat. He placed the meat at the village committee office, and anyone who wanted to eat it could exchange it for money or public points.
The other three families followed suit, slaughtering their pigs and giving half of them to the village chief to sell to the villagers.
Everyone can see that the Yan family's pigs were sold out in just half an hour, and the remaining three pigs were also sold out before dinner.
Grandma Yan, along with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law, busied themselves at home. Meat that was to be eaten was placed in the kitchen, and meat that needed to be cured was cured and placed in the cellar.
The rest of the work involved making jerky and sausages, and Xuemei and Tang Xiaoling took on this task.
The pigsty at home was finally cleaned and sprinkled with lime powder. Yan Xiaonan let out a sigh of relief. Pork is delicious, but raising pigs really does smell bad.
From now until next spring, we can breathe fresh air. Seeing Yan Xiaonan's appearance, Cuihua lightly patted her little bottom. Now it doesn't smell bad, does it?
Ye Chenming and Zhang Dali worked together very well in the fields. They finally discovered that as long as you find the pattern, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort in any task.
After learning how to farm, they followed the example of the local villagers and planted vegetables that could be grown in winter in the front yard of the educated youth settlement.
They went to the village committee to borrow cornmeal and corn flour. Accountant Ma's "you've finally arrived" attitude annoyed them.
We don't know, so can't you just give us a heads-up, you bad guy?
Winter was a painful time for Li Qiang. He and Li Ping didn't have very thick cotton-padded clothes and quilts, but thanks to Ye Chen'er, Li Ping always had a warm kang (heated brick bed) where she slept.
Li Qiang was in a different situation. The educated youth lived separately, so he couldn't touch other people's firewood, but he didn't have enough to burn himself.
Since Ye Chenming moved into Liu Limin's room, less firewood has been used. The kang (heated brick bed) is only so big, and the amount of firewood needed is also limited, so huddling together for warmth is the most cost-effective option.
On the other hand, Li Qiang couldn't gather enough firewood by himself. Even though he worked hard every day to cut firewood and collect dry branches, he was still an outsider and didn't know the terrain as well as the local villagers.
So while everyone else returned with their bags full at the same time, Li Qiang, Li Ping, Wang Yan, and Tian Fang all looked worried and distressed.
Tian Fang tried several times to live with Ye Chen'er, but Wang Yan and Li Ping disliked each other, especially Li Ping, who was unwilling to change rooms and wanted to rely on Ye Chen'er to get through the winter.
On the 28th of the lunar year, Ye Chen'er knocked on the door of the Yan family. The New Year was just two days away, and the two siblings spent ten yuan to buy eight catties of pork and a piece of lard.
The two of them planned to render the lard into pork fat, use the pork cracklings for stir-frying, save the pork for the New Year, and pickle the rest.
But they didn't know how to pickle it, so they had to ask Yan Xiaonan for help.
Yan Xiaonan couldn't help but laugh when he saw Ye Chen'er's timid, submissive demeanor. The environment really can change a person; the pampered city girl had turned into a country girl.
It's better to teach someone how to fish than to give them a fish. We're making sausages at home, so why not let Ye Chen'er participate?
As soon as Ye Chen'er entered the main room, a wave of warmth relaxed her muscles that had been tense from the cold, and every pore seemed to be clamoring to absorb the warmth.
Yan Xiaonan made a cup of malted milk powder and handed it to Ye Chen'er. Ye Chen'er wanted to cry when she saw the malted milk powder. It was such a distant memory. She had only been away from home for half a year, but it felt like half a lifetime had passed.
The cup was warm, which warmed Ye Chen'er's heart. She took a sip of the malted milk powder, and the sweet taste filled her taste buds. What a familiar taste!
Ye Chen'er was incredibly envious of Xue Mei's quick and skillful sausage-making.
I quickly followed her example and started working, but why did the meat become so disobedient once it was in my hands?
Cuihua took out a small earthenware pot and cut the pork that Ye Chen'er brought into pieces of uniform size and thickness, along with prepared scallions, ginger, peppercorns, and star anise.
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