Bai Jiaojiao calculated the time. Shen Heng had finished frying the meat floss, which took the most time, so wrapping it up would be much easier. She planned to wait for Deng Min to come over and fry the glutinous rice strips before getting off the kang (a heated brick bed) to help her. So she lay down on the kang next to Shen Heng.
Shen Heng rolled over and snuggled up to Bai Jiaojiao, burrowing into her neck like a puppy.
After Shen Heng fell ill, he realized that Bai Jiaojiao had been very obedient to him when he was sick, so he learned to act like this.
Shen Heng even pretended to be weak and frail for two days, but he couldn't help but act like a hooligan to Bai Jiaojiao and was exposed. From then on, whenever Bai Jiaojiao saw Shen Heng like this, she would push him away and say, "Stop it."
With a build like Shen Heng, all he ever thought about was those things that happened at night with the lights off and the doors closed. Bai Jiaojiao simply couldn't muster any pity for him.
However, Shen Heng was strong and Bai Jiaojiao couldn't push him away at all. He even tried to blame Bai Jiaojiao: "When you first started dating me, you weren't like this. Back then, you were very obedient to me."
"I didn't know you were like this at first."
In her past life, Bai Jiaojiao couldn't see any signs of Shen Heng's roguish nature. Before their divorce, she and Shen Heng had never even consummated their marriage. Later, when they met again in Yancheng, Shen Heng's attitude towards her became even more gentlemanly.
"Do you regret it now?"
Shen Heng's expression was dangerous. If Bai Jiaojiao was sure, he would definitely go up and devour her.
"I don't regret it, I don't regret it," Bai Jiaojiao touched Shen Heng's face, "It's just that now you have your own little secrets, and it makes me sad."
"What have I been hiding from you? You're being incredibly heartless."
Shen Heng thought to himself that he had given all his wealth to Bai Jiaojiao and stayed by her side all day long. In Bai Jiaojiao's eyes, he was just a naked man, so there was nothing to deceive her about.
“I asked you why you wanted children, and you didn’t tell me the truth.”
Bai Jiaojiao pouted. She was used to Shen Heng's unconditional kindness towards her, and she kept thinking about it until Shen Heng explained things to her clearly.
Shen Heng stiffened and licked his back teeth.
"Look at you, you're hiding something from me!"
“I’ll tell you, there’s nothing to hide from you,” Shen Heng said, but he felt it was a bit pretentious to say it out loud, and it might even make his little wife cry. “I want to leave you with something to remember me by, so that if something bad happens again in the future, I don’t want you to do something foolish without thinking.”
Bai Jiaojiao was stunned. No wonder Shen Heng refused to tell her.
"You are being incredibly irresponsible towards our child."
"It's not like I'm not going to support him. I found him such a good mother like you, what else does he want?"
Shen Heng was self-righteous; he hadn't received much fatherly love, so he didn't really know what kind of responsibility a father should bear towards his children.
He only had Bai Jiaojiao in his heart. Bai Jiaojiao was the best person in the world. The fact that he was willing to let others call Bai Jiaojiao "Mom" was such a great blessing.
Bai Jiaojiao was touched, annoyed, and amused at the same time: "Wait until you know how to be a father before you bring up having children again."
That's impossible.
Shen Heng pulled Bai Jiaojiao into his arms: "I'm not having any more children. Look at the suffering your sister has gone through."
"You really are fickle."
Shen Heng wasn't really keen on having children, so it's normal for his opinion to keep changing.
The next day, the brigade's loudspeaker announced to everyone that it was time to settle the year's work points.
Upon hearing that grain would be distributed, every household smiled, and all the able-bodied people went out to work, keeping a close eye on the accounts in the hands of the brigade leader and the accountant, determined not to suffer even the slightest loss.
In Hushan Commune, ten full-time work points were worth 55 cents. Shen Heng and Bai Jiaojiao only earned 260 yuan in a year in the production team. They exchanged it for 500 jin of wheat, 300 jin of sweet potatoes, and 300 jin of cornmeal. They also had to deduct the 300 jin of peanuts they had saved from the production team for oil, as well as other miscellaneous grains distributed during the harvest season. They only received a little over 100 yuan. If they didn't have any other extra income, this little over 100 yuan would be their entire year's expenses. Some families with few laborers would even owe the production team money and have to save grain to make ends meet.
Bai Jiaojiao originally wanted to exchange all the grains for refined grains. Not to mention what she and Shen Heng ate throughout the year, she spent a lot of money making meat floss cakes. Exchanging them at the production team was cheaper than buying them at the supply and marketing cooperative. However, the accountant wouldn't allow it. All the refined grains had been handed over to the public. This year, they had only harvested about 80% of the wheat, and there wasn't much left. Other families still needed to eat it.
Bai Jiaojiao had no choice but to give up, and had the accountant settle the money while she went to weigh the grain.
Chen Heng is very strong; it will take several trips to transport this much grain.
Bai Jiaojiao watched over her family's pile of grain, waiting for Shen Heng to finish moving it so they could go together to watch the pig being slaughtered and the pork divided.
The three boars in Shili Village had an average weight of 190 jin (approximately 65 kg), and the boar that was already growing well and was castrated early weighed over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg).
Zheng Xu even joked with her, mentioning that Bai Jiaojiao had promised each pig would weigh 200 jin, and if that wasn't enough, she would cut off a piece of her own flesh.
Bai Jiaojiao laughed and said, "I was talking about those little piglets. You can't blame me for not laying a good foundation for these three pigs."
Zheng Xu was already very happy with this achievement. He thought about how his two sows had given birth to a total of fifteen piglets this year, which were now growing up healthy and plump, and that made him happy.
With a beaming smile: "Then you must keep up the good work next year."
"That's for sure!"
Now that Bai Jiaojiao has the title of pig farmer, she doesn't have to work anymore; it's a win-win situation.
Zheng Xu waved his hand and ordered all three pigs to be slaughtered. The distribution would be based on the work points earned by everyone. Those with ten work points would receive half a jin, those with eight work points would receive four liang, and Bai Jiaojiao and Lao Xu would each receive an additional half a jin for their contributions to raising the pigs. They would be the first to be slaughtered.
After dividing the land in this village, there were still three pigs left over. If any family had extra money, they could take out more money to cut off more pigs and sell the offal as well, which was half a cent cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative.
This is something no one would have dared to imagine before.
Everyone laughed at Zheng Xu, the team leader, for not planning to live a frugal life, but they all excitedly lined up to get their pork.
Some families who were really struggling could tell the brigade that they didn't want the pork anymore, and instead exchange it for cash to sell on consignment in the village as a form of unexpected income.
The village committee is providing such good benefits this year that the villagers of Shili Village don't know how to celebrate the New Year.
Bai Shiqing followed Li Shuxian out to see the excitement. Li Shuxian and his brothers went to move grain, while she came with Li's mother.
"Stay away for a while, don't let the scene of slaughtering the pig scare you or the children."
Bai Shiqing is now Li's mother's darling. She said, "Mom, it's not like I haven't seen pigs slaughtered before. What's there to be afraid of? It only happens once a year, so don't be so strict with me."
Li's mother could only smile and join the queue to sell pork.
Shen Hui wandered around the Li family's neighborhood for half a day yesterday, but Bai Shiqing didn't come out again. He felt that the opportunity for the brigade to call out the whole village today was like God was helping him.
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