Chapter 284 Mother's Illness, Purchasing Cattle and Sheep
"Mom, you said you were fine." Lin Heng looked at his mother and said.
"I don't know either. I don't feel anemic."
Mother Lin shook her head innocently.
The doctor said she had severe anemia, but she didn't feel anything.
Xiulan said, "I guess it's because Mom has eaten more meat in the past year to make up for it, and also because she's used to it, so she doesn't feel anything."
"I used to feel a little dizzy and weak, but it didn't seem like a big deal." Lin's mother also said. Lin Heng: "...You're just used to it, not that you're not sick."
He remembered that in his previous life, his mother was a little sleepy and couldn't do heavy work. Because she didn't eat well, she generally had some health problems.
"Just take medicine and eat more lean meat and pork liver." Lin Heng said to his mother.
He felt that the fact that his mother was diagnosed with severe anemia had a lot to do with the fact that she didn't like eating lean meat and didn't like eating pork liver and pork heart.
Otherwise, she would have made up for it in a year, but she likes to eat fatty meat yet can’t gain weight, which shows that her stomach is not in good condition.
"I don't think you need to take medicine. Nothing has happened in all these years." Mother Lin said, looking at the medicine in her hand.
"That won't do." Lin Heng shook his head. "From now on, everyone in our family will have to come to the city for a physical examination once a year, and no one is allowed to refuse."
Mother Lin said with a smile: "If you can call your father, I will come and check it together."
"I promise to call you when the time comes." Lin Heng waved his hand.
As for Xiulan, the doctor told her to take more iron, calcium and folic acid supplements during pregnancy. There were no other problems and she is no longer suffering from anemia.
After leaving the hospital, Lin Heng drove his sidecar tricycle and took his mother for a stroll. They went to the market at the animal husbandry station that specialized in selling cattle and lamb calves to look at the cattle and lamb calves.
Compared with the Fisheries Research Institute, the Animal Husbandry Station has at least quite a few breeds of cattle and sheep. The main breeds of cattle are Qinchuan yellow cattle, Nanyang yellow cattle, Luxi yellow cattle, Jinnan yellow cattle, and Shaanxi southern water buffalo.
Among them, Qinchuan cattle are their local breed, with large physique, strong working power and good meat production performance. The large yellow cattle used for farming in his family are Qinchuan cattle, weighing up to 1,000 kilograms. It is said that the largest can grow to 1,500 to 1,600 kilograms.
As for sheep, the main ones are southern Shaanxi white goats, Ziwuling black goats, Longdong black goats, Hanzhong sheep, and northern Shaanxi fine-wool sheep.
His family raises Shaanxi fine-wool sheep, a breed that can be used for both wool and meat, and its milk production is also good.
"This Longdong black goat is much bigger than the Ziwuling black goat." Mother Lin said as she looked at the black goat in front of her.
At the same age, it is obviously much older than the Ziwuling black goat we just saw.
"This kind of sheep can grow to be up to 200 kilograms in size, which is definitely bigger than our native fine-wool sheep," said someone at the animal husbandry station.
Mother Lin nodded and continued to look at several other goat breeds.
After looking around the animal husbandry station, they went out to look at the lambs and calves being sold by individual traders.
The price at the station is a little higher than outside, but it is guaranteed. A two-month-old fine-wool lamb sold by retail traders costs six yuan, while the price inside is seven yuan.
The big Longdong black goat mentioned above costs ten yuan each, and the others cost eight or nine yuan each.
Calves are more expensive. A two-month-old calf weighing 200 kilograms costs 40 yuan, and a five-month-old calf costs 100 yuan.
Cows have never been cheap. Now an adult ox can be sold for five or six hundred yuan each, and the price will be even higher in the future.
After the viewing, the three returned to the car and sat down. Lin's mother asked, "How much do you think is appropriate to buy?"
Lin Heng calculated and said, "One acre of grass can support three cows and fifteen sheep. We only have three cows and seven sheep in our house, and that's including the musk deer. We can at least raise another six cows and forty sheep. If we reclaim more grass next year, it won't be a problem to raise hundreds of sheep."
"Do you want to buy so much at one time?" Lin's mother was a little worried. The investment seemed a bit too big.
Forty lambs and six calves would cost at least six hundred yuan, which is about the income of a normal family in three years.
"I think it's still not enough. I want to buy a dozen cows or even a hundred sheep at one time." Lin Heng said.
Money kept in your hand is just paper and will become less and less valuable as inflation increases. It is best to exchange it for assets, even if you just buy it as gold you will make money.
In 1980, beef cost one yuan per pound. Now it costs one yuan and fifty-six yuan. In 1989, the price had risen to nearly ten yuan per pound.
Especially after 1987, when the dual-track pricing system was implemented and the market economy recovered, many prices skyrocketed.
This is the dividend of the times. You can make a lot of money by seizing an opportunity.
This is what he thought when he sold the hundred-year-old ginseng. Although that thing might be worth millions in the future, he felt that one million was not even as valuable as five thousand yuan now.
If you use 5,000 yuan to buy a piece of gold now, it can be sold for millions in the future. If you buy a house, it will be easy to make tens of millions.
Mother Lin looked at Xiulan and asked, "Xiulan, what do you think?"
"I think it's okay. It doesn't matter how many cats we raise. It still takes someone to feed them." Xiulan said after thinking for a while.
The main reason was that she felt that six hundred yuan was not a lot of money. After all, there was still twenty-five thousand yuan saved at home, so she could afford to lose it.
"You two are really of the same mind." Mother Lin smiled and shook her head, then said: "How about this, you make a reservation first, and buy them all at once when the cattle and sheep pens are built. Otherwise, you have nowhere to raise them now."
"Okay, I guess we won't have enough to buy so much at once today." Lin Heng nodded.
After discussing it, the three of them went to the front to find the salesperson who was selling the goods.
"Excuse me, what are you planning to buy?" The female salesperson looked at Lin Heng and the other two and asked with a smile. Her attitude was very respectful because she saw that Lin Heng came here on a sidecar.
Lin Heng said, "Ten calves of Qinchuan cows, fifty calves of Longdong black goats, two males and the rest all females."
Because calves and lambs eat less grass than adult cattle and sheep, it is better to buy an integer at one time.
"So many?" The female salesperson opened her mouth wide. She knew that Lin Heng might buy a lot, but she didn't expect him to buy so much.
She took a deep breath and replied, "That calf is enough. The number of Longdong black goat calves is definitely not enough. There are probably thirty or forty two or three months old."
"If I make a reservation, how long will it take?" Lin Heng asked.
"Well, please wait a moment. I'll contact our director." The female salesperson poured a glass of water for Lin Heng and the other two, then turned and left.
He has no say in such a big business.
After a while, the female salesperson came back and invited Lin Heng and the other two into the office. They were received by a man in his forties with a horse face.
After a few pleasantries, the horse-faced director asked with a smile, "How old are the calves you want to buy?"
"A five-month-old." Lin Heng replied. A two-month-old was too young and difficult to raise.
"There are enough five-month-old calves."
The horse-faced director nodded, and then continued: "There are only 38 Longdong black goats, and only 15 of them are females. The rest are rams. If you raise them, it will be the same if you sterilize them."
"No, I want the female lambs." Lin Heng shook his head. These sheep were mainly for breeding and he was not in a hurry to sell them.
"I can give you a lower price for ram." Director Ma Lian said with a smile.
"How much cheaper can you give me?" Lin Heng asked curiously.
"It's one dollar cheaper. A male lamb originally costs nine dollars, but I can sell it to you for eight dollars." said the horse-faced director.
Rams are hard to sell, and he finally found a big customer, so he wanted to sell them all at once.
"What about in another month? Will there be enough ewes?" Lin Heng asked.
It is better to raise a single breed of sheep, as multiple breeds are difficult to manage.
"I can't guarantee anything for another month. I can only guarantee thirty female lambs at most." said the horse-faced director.
"Then let's do this. I'll buy 30 two-month-old female black goats and two male goats instead of fifty." Lin Heng said after thinking for a while.
The total is one thousand three hundred and twenty dollars.
A simple contract was drafted and Lin Heng paid a deposit of fifty yuan.
After finishing all this, Lin Heng took the credentials and left with his mother and Xiulan.
"Son, why did you buy a five-month-old one?" Lin's mother asked after walking out.
"A five-month-old one is easier to raise. It will be troublesome if it's too young." Lin Heng said.
"That's fine, it's your money anyway." Lin's mother said and stopped discussing the topic.
Xiulan looked at her watch. It was already three o'clock. She looked at Lin Heng and said, "Shall we go back now?"
"Let's go to the market and buy some fruits and daily necessities." Lin Heng said as he got in the car.
"Okay." Xiulan got into the car and hugged Lin Heng. Lin's mother sat in the car bed next to her.
The three of them went to the market, strolled around, bought some daily necessities and fruits, and then Lin Heng drove back.
They returned to Hongfeng Village at 5:30. Lin Heng sent his mother back to Hongfeng Mountain. Xiaoxia rushed over and hugged them both tightly. She missed him so much after not seeing him for such a long time.
"I bought you some delicious cherries. Let's go and eat some cherries." Xiulan picked her up and said with a smile.
"Where's Dad?" Xiaoxia turned her head and looked at Lin Heng.
"Me too." Lin Heng touched her.
Back in the house, Lin Heng talked with his father about his mother's health and the cattle and sheep that had been ordered for today.
"I told you that your mother had health problems and needed to see a doctor, but she refused to go. Fortunately, the diagnosis has been done now." Father Lin said to his wife.
"We didn't have money before, and it's not a serious illness, so there's nothing to see." Mother Lin shook her head.
Before last year, I was still worrying about having enough food to eat and building a new house. How could I dare to see a doctor? As long as I couldn’t get up from lying down, I would not say that I was sick.
Lin Heng said, "But now that we have money, we all need to have a physical examination. Dad, you should go with me for a physical examination in a few days."
Father Lin sighed and nodded, "Okay, I'll listen to you. It's better to check it out."
"The sun rises from the west." Lin's mother said in surprise. She knew her husband well. He was even more stubborn than her.
"Do you think I'm the same as you, waiting until my health is no longer able to go?" Lin's father said sarcastically, but in fact he was afraid that if he didn't go, his wife Hongmei would not go either.
"Stop arguing and let's talk about something else." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Father Lin took a sip of water and said, "When will the cows and sheep you ordered arrive?"
"There's still enough time. I told you it will be no more than one and a half months after one month." Lin Heng waved his hand and said.
"Then we have to speed up the construction of the cattle and sheep pens." Father Lin said.
Lin Heng said, "Take your time. If you can't do it, call for help. It's not worth it to tire yourself out."
After chatting for a few more sentences, he took the bag and went into the house to load the hay. The hay that had been chopped up earlier had already been dried before the rain, and the house was dry and not damp.
Put the items in a plastic bag inside the snakeskin bag and then stack them on a wooden shelf.
After finishing all this, Lin Heng took a look at the shrimps. Some of them had begun to hatch. He changed the water first, then made a few new grids to separate the shrimps more widely.
"How do you feed the hatched shrimps?" Father Lin asked curiously.
"I'll teach you tomorrow. Don't worry about it today." Lin Heng answered and asked, "Have you fed the cows at home?"
"I fed a bundle of grass in the afternoon. You can take some back to feed. I have already cut the grass." Father Lin said.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded, went out to tie the fresh hay on the car, and then went to get a bag of dry hay.
"Here, here are some peas. I picked them today." Father Lin took out another bag of vegetables.
"good."
Lin Heng took it and threw it in the car, taking Xiulan and her daughter home. On the way back, there was another red glow in the sky and a blood-red sun setting in the west. The people working in the fields had also returned home, and most of them had their meals ready.
"What are we going to eat tonight?" Xiulan looked up at the sky, feeling a little confused.
"I'll do it. We'll have some cold cucumber, black fungus, and fern root noodles. We can have rice or noodles for dinner." Lin Heng said.
"I like to eat rice." Xiaoxia waved her little hand and said crisply.
"Then eat rice." Xiulan said with a smile.
When they arrived at the door of the house, Xiulan and Xiaoxia got off. Lin Heng drove the car up the slope to unload the hay, drove the car into the yard, and the three of them went to feed the cows together.
Lin Heng first poured some hay for the cow, and was relieved when he found that the cow liked to eat it. After putting the hay on the cow, they found two water cucumbers in the back mountain and another one in the yard. Three were enough.
Wash the cucumber with water, pat it, and cut it into small pieces. Boil water in a pot and add wood ear fern root powder. After cooking, remove from the pot and cool.
For the cold dish, add chopped onion and garlic, sesame oil, salt, MSG, aged vinegar, and sugar. Finally, add a little patchouli leaves and mix well. A very delicious cold dish is ready.
"It smells so good." Xiulan praised after taking a bite.
While frying peas with minced garlic, Lin Heng said with a smile: "If you want to eat it, I'll make it for you. I'll make whatever you want to eat."
"Okay." Xiulan's eyes curved with joy.
Lin Heng fried the peas, added water to cook rice, then went out to drink some water and cool off. Soon the rice and dishes were all served on the table.
The sweet peas and the sour and slightly spicy fern root powder, fungus and cucumber are both great dishes to go with rice.
Xiaoxia likes to eat cucumbers and green peas, but Xiulan has a special liking for wood ear mushrooms and never eats green peas.
"I told you to eat more green peas." Lin Heng picked up two large chopsticks for her.
"Oh, I forgot." Xiulan blinked and said happily. In fact, she just remembered because she wanted Lin Heng to pick some food for her. She liked the feeling of being cared for.
"Eat more cucumber." Lin Heng picked up some more food for her. He also knew that Xiulan often deliberately waited for him to pick food for her, and he was very happy.
"I want a daddy too!"
Xiaoxia was a jealous girl and also held out her bowl.
Lin Heng smiled and picked up a few cucumbers for her, then started eating his favorite fern root noodles. After Xiulan and Xiaoxia were full, he finished the remaining dishes by himself.
After dinner, they went to the yard to digest the food and enjoy the cool air. Tonight, the starry sky could see the upside-down Milky Way. The three of them leaned on the wooden bench and looked at it, somewhat mesmerized.
In the era of poverty, few people looked up at the starry sky. In the era of rampant materialism, few people cared about the starry sky above their heads. But in fact, it has always been hanging above our heads, but the light from life has obscured it.
Lin Heng didn’t know when he started to like looking at the starry sky, but he could always find a kind of tranquility in it, and there was an extra touch of warmth when he looked at it with his family.
It’s just that those damn mosquitoes are a bit annoying. They’ve appeared before summer even begins.
Life seems to repeat itself every day, but every day has a different meaning.
It was almost nine o'clock, and Xiulan said sleepily, "Let's go back to the house!"
"Let's go back and see how the chicks are hatching." Lin Heng nodded.
"Can you see it now?" Xiulan asked curiously.
"Yes." Lin Heng nodded.
I went back to the house, got a flashlight, turned off the light, took out the incubating eggs in the box, and shone the flashlight on them one by one.
"Look, this is a good egg. There are bloodshot and veins on it, which means it is hatching. Over time, it will eventually turn into a chick." Lin Heng showed it to his wife and daughter.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Xiaoxia opened her eyes wide.
"You can actually see it this way." Xiulan's beautiful eyes revealed surprise. Like Xiaoxia, it was the first time for her to see this phenomenon.
"Let's change one." Lin Heng returned the egg and said with a smile.
In his previous life, he had seen videos where the egg shells were peeled off and placed in a sterile room for incubation and observation. In the video, one could clearly see the chick's body taking shape little by little. That was truly magical.
"The one without blood is the bad guy. It cannot be hatched and can be cooked and eaten." Lin Heng soon found a bad guy.
"Why did it break?" Xiaoxia asked curiously.
Lin Heng shook his head: "It's hard to say. It could be that the fertilization was not sufficient, or it could be that it was left there for too long."
Xiaoxia tilted her head and didn't understand, so Lin Heng could only say that she would have to grow up a little more before she could understand.
After irradiating all the eggs one by one, it was found that 11 out of 30 eggs were undeveloped bad eggs.
"Okay, let's wait for ten days or so and then look at it again, and eliminate the bad guys bit by bit." After finishing, Lin Heng clapped his hands and said.
Xiulan nodded, memorized the corresponding steps and prepared to try it independently. The three of them went to the toilet and then went back to the house to rest.
After returning to the room, Lin Heng told Xiaoxia about Journey to the West, and she fell asleep soon after.
Lying on the bed, Lin Heng leaned towards Xiulan and his heart immediately calmed down.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable? Do you need my help?" Xiulan looked at him and whispered.
"No need, just sleep like this." Lin Heng said, holding her soft little hand.
"good."
Xiulan nodded, and they both fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, Lin Hengduo cooked two eggs for breakfast.
"Here, one for each of you." Lin Heng took out the egg yolk and gave the egg white to Xiaoxia and Xiulan.
"What are you going to do? Eat egg yolks?" Xiulan asked curiously.
“No, this is for shrimps to eat. Newly born shrimps can survive more easily by eating this.” Lin Heng said with a smile.
"Eat quickly." Without giving her a chance to continue speaking, Lin Heng stuffed the egg into her mouth.
"I can't eat anymore." Xiulan said helplessly with a gurgling mouth.
(End of this chapter)
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