Chapter 217 Do you know what five hundred pigs mean?
Sang Zhixia received a total of 5,000 taels of silver.
In the eyes of the Xu family in the past, this amount of money might have been just an ordinary vase or a set of head ornaments that were not very precious, but that was only in the past.
Compared with the hard-earned money saved by moving bricks and burning charcoal in the early days of Luobei Village, the sum in front of them was a huge sum.
Xu Wenxiu had stated early on that he would not have to worry about food and drink at home, and that the two younger ones were being taken care of by Xu Yu and Sang Zhixia. He would not touch any of the income from the eldest house, and that it would all be controlled by the young couple.
But Sang Zhixia still felt it was inappropriate after thinking about it, so she seriously discussed it with Xu Yu: "My mother-in-law's current expenses are not big, but she can't do without money. Why don't you give her five hundred taels?"
Xu Wenxiu was in charge of the public accounts, and all expenses, big and small, had to be recorded in the books.
At this time, if there is any private expenditure, it cannot be recorded in the account, and it is definitely not acceptable to not pay for it at all.
Xu Yu nodded and said, "Okay, you decide how to divide it."
Sang Zhixia was muttering about breaking the banknotes into silver coins for easy spending and sending them to Xu Wenxiu. She was also thinking about arranging a good set of four treasures of the study for each of the little ones, and replacing a similar chessboard and chess pieces for the old man, so that the old man would not have to hold on to the wooden ones as treasures all day long.
After adding up all the expenses, big and small, he finally took out four thousand taels and stuffed it into Xu Yu's arms, saying, "Here, this is yours."
"I don't know what's going on with Xu Minghui and Chen Jing'an. You can divide it between them. I'm going to keep the rest for breeding and to buy some livestock."
The enclosure is almost complete, everything is ready, just waiting to buy the cubs to raise.
Sang Zhixia babbled, "I didn't know you were out selling grain during this time. More than 30 people came to the barn, and the contract I signed with them was similar to the one with the farm."
Sang Zhixia paid for the purchase of the livestock puppies, and she also paid for the construction of the pen. She also covered all the expenses required for their subsequent feeding.
But those who join in need to put in the effort.
When the livestock in the pen grow up, the money earned can be divided into dividends, and the more you work, the more you earn.
Sang Zhixia pulled out a page from the neatly stored indentures and showed it to Xu Yu, explaining, "For the poultry pen, I'm going to buy 500 chickens, ducks, and geese each to test the waters."
"I've also made an agreement with the twenty people who are raising chickens and ducks. For every 500 eggs produced, each person will receive five. And when the poultry are ready for slaughter, the owners will receive 10% of the money from each batch sold."
The number of chickens and ducks is limited, and it may not be very tempting to divide them up, but the number of chickens and duck eggs can be expected in the future.
The number of poultry chicks that Sang Zhixia wanted to buy totaled over a thousand. Even if he couldn't raise all of them, it would not be difficult to keep most of them alive.
After getting through the first few months, when the hens and ducks start laying eggs, as long as you take good care of them, it will be easy to pick up seven or eight hundred eggs a day. By then, each person will have a lot!
Moreover, Sang Zhixia also said that the number of poultry such as chickens, ducks, geese, etc. raised will gradually increase in the future, so won’t we get more and more?
Those who were too timid to join the farm thought that it was a good deal just to contribute their physical strength, and they did not hesitate at all when they raised the ink pad to sign.
Xu Yu nodded, stared at the words "pig farm" on the deed and said, "You want to raise 500 pigs too?"
Sang Zhixia was amused.
She tilted her head to look at Xu Yu's frown, which seemed to be a reflection of something, and said with a smile, "Do you know what 500 pigs means?"
Xu Yu raised his eyebrows.
Sang Zhixia opened one hand and raised five fingers, saying in a gloomy tone: "Five hundred pigs have grown up. They only need to charge you face to face once, and they will crush you into a meat pie with their hooves."
Xu Yu: “…”
Xu Yu took a deep breath and looked at Sang Zhixia expressionlessly, his tone inexplicable: "Speaking of which, why would I charge into battle against five hundred fully grown pigs?"
"Hahaha!"
Sang Zhixia couldn't help laughing so hard that she leaned against him, then fell on his stretched-out legs and lay on her back. She looked at his perfectly shaped chin and blinked, "We can raise more poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese at once, so it's not a big problem. But piglets are not an option for now."
"I don't want to feed them solely with grain. That would be too expensive, and I wouldn't necessarily make much money in the end. It's better to use distiller's grains."
The lees left after brewing wine are actually a good thing.
Those are all real grains, and extracting wine from them cannot change the essence of the grains.
It is excellent nutrition for pigs, and the lees brought from the winery go directly into the pigs' troughs, so there is no waste on either side, which is just right.
However, the brewery couldn't produce the huge amount of lees needed to feed 500 pigs in the short term, so there was no need to be impatient.
Sang Zhixia raised her hand and waved it in front of Xu Yu's eyes: "Fifty piglets and ten cows."
Oxen are used to plow the land and clear wasteland, and do not require much daily feeding.
Piglets are also used to test the waters.
The structure of the pen was finalized after repeated discussions between Sang Zhixia and Uncle Xu. There is a large fermentation tank on the open space behind the pen.
The manure produced by poultry and livestock in the pens will be poured into the fermentation tank for fermentation, and when the spring plowing begins next year, it will become irreplaceable soil nutrients.
Fertile soil means good crops, and good harvests mean thriving livestock.
This is a cycle that can repeat itself infinitely.
Xu Yu thought about what she said, then lowered his head and pecked her nose lightly: "This way, you will have a harder time next year."
"What's the big deal?"
Sang Zhixia narrowed her eyes and said, "In the first year of the farm, we have to put up the sign no matter what. This will attract more people to join us next year."
"The stall cannot be destroyed. Once the slogan is given, everything must be done well."
In this era where farming and breeding rely entirely on human labor, enough manpower means countless possibilities on the wasteland.
A spark has just been ignited in the Northwest Wilderness, and Sang Zhixia will not relax at all.
Xu Yu looked at her deeply for a while, then put all the silver that Sang Zhixia had given him back into her hands.
"Keep it for yourself."
Sang Zhixia frowned: "We agreed that this is for you."
"I don't know how your investigation into my father-in-law's affairs is going, but to do these things and take care of the people outside, which one doesn't require money? You..."
"Zhizhi."
Xu Yu interrupted Sang Zhixia with a smile and whispered in her ear, "The biggest help you gave me wasn't money, it was food."
Some opportunities cannot be opened with money.
Food is OK.
Xu Yu saw the confusion in Sang Zhixia's eyes, stroked her earlobe and said lightly: "Food is the foundation of life. Even in times of natural disasters, food is scarce."
No amount of silver can buy you a full stomach to keep you alive. Even a grain of rice may not be heavy, but it can kill you at a critical moment.
Especially when most of the rice in the Central Plains is controlled in the south, the large amount of grain that can be transported from the northwest wasteland can be a key factor.
The rice that Sang Zhixia produces incessantly is exactly what Xu Yu needs.
Although Sang Zhixia herself never realized this.
Sang Zhixia still looked confused, not fully understanding what was going on. Xu Yu didn't want to say much, but simply stroked her hair and said, "Be good. I'll keep everything I give you."
"If I need you, I'll come back for you."
Sang Zhixia thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Anyway, everything Xu Yu brought back, what she had, and the money she had on hand would all be put into that small box. Whoever wanted to use it could just go and get it.
Sang Zhixia was about to put the banknote away, but after thinking about it, he took out another one.
"I don't know what's going on in Kyoto right now. When someone from the Bai family comes next time, can you help me send some money back?"
The sky is high and the earth is far away, thousands of miles away.
Sang Zhixia was concerned about the current situation of her mother and brother who were still in Kyoto, but she could only get a glimpse of the situation from a letter that was sent back every two months.
The letter only contained good news, or everything was fine.
It is easy to imagine that with an unfavored concubine and a young child, how could this mother and son live as comfortably as described in the letter?
Sang Zhixia is still wondering how much to give at one time.
Unexpectedly, Xu Yu smiled when he heard this. He supported his long, strong arms behind his waist and looked at Sang Zhixia lazily. "When I sent the letter back last month, I also included an extra silver note for five hundred taels. I think you should receive it soon."
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