Chapter 75: A Really Big Heart

Li felt distressed again and muttered, "It would be great if we could use our own meat to make dumplings when we slaughtered a pig today. I should have just endured it all day by not buying meat yesterday. It was a waste of money."

Zhulan couldn't help rolling her eyes. Why didn't she tell me when she bought the meat yesterday? Why didn't she tell me when she ate the dumplings? It's hindsight. "My own meat is not money?"

Seeing that her mother was unhappy, Li slapped her lips and changed the subject, "Mother, how much meat should be left this year?"

Zhulan had never thought about it. In previous years, the family didn't keep much meat. Who let the family have two holes to burn money? Every year, they raise two fat pigs and keep more than ten pounds of meat. Zhulan calculated the time of winter and thawing. She was a meat lover, and the meat at home was cheaper than the purchased meat. The more she kept, the more money she saved. "Leave a whole pig's ribs, four elbows, and a pig's offal. Sixty pounds of meat will be enough."

Excluding the weight of the pig's blood, the meat that can be sold from a 250-pound pig is less than 100 pounds.

Li was happy at first that she had more meat to eat, but she couldn't help but think, "Mom, won't my third brother go to private school next year?"

"Who told you that? Did the third brother himself say he couldn't go?"

Li waved her hands hurriedly, "I guessed. Mother was reluctant to save meat in previous years. I thought she thought that my third brother was wasting money by studying, so she didn't let him go."

Zhulan let out a sigh, thinking that her third son was tired of studying, and explained, "I was wrong before. I won't be reluctant to eat in the future. After a serious illness, I would rather eat well than spend money on medicine. It's better to eat well and drink well to keep healthy than to spend money on medicine. Don't you think this makes sense?"

Li thought about it and realized that it was true. In previous years, the child would get sick in the winter. This year, the child had good food and clothes, and was healthy and had not gotten sick. She had indeed saved money on medicine. "Mother is right. Mother, do you want to save some more meat?"

Zhulan wanted to eat sausages, but Wang Ru didn't make any. She didn't dare to make them. It seemed that fresh meat was the best for sausages, and there was no point in leaving more. "I know what I'm doing, so don't worry about it."

Butcher Li came with his family. The male laborers in his family were enough, so there was no need to hire outsiders. One pig could be slaughtered quickly, and the other pig could be brought directly to Butcher Li's house. The whole pig was sold for 5.5 cents per pound, and the butcher charged 7 cents per pound for the pure meat. Zhulan's family received more than 2 taels of silver from the two pigs.

Zhulan calculated that if you feed pigs with coarse food, they will grow fast and you can make some money from each pig after deducting the cost. If you don't feed them with coarse food, the pigs won't grow big and won't be fat. The price of a pig won't be high but you can still make some money. Zhulan's family made a little money from the two pigs, not counting the pork.

It's a pity that in ancient times, there was no vaccine for pigs and the mortality rate was quite high. No one in the village raised pigs specifically. Most families raised one pig so that they didn't have to buy meat during the New Year and could earn less money. No one expected to get rich by raising pigs as the risk was too high.

Of course, there were also people who did not have enough to eat, and every family was not well off and could not afford to raise pigs.

Zhoujia Village is considered a good village in the surrounding area, because Zhoujia Village is a large clan with the surname Zhou in the surrounding villages. There are several scholars in the clan, and each scholar can be exempt from tax on 20 mu of land. There are five old scholars and new scholars in the Zhou family, so nearly 100 mu of land is exempt from tax. They can earn a lot of extra money every year, making them richer than other villages.

Of course, life is still tight when there is a scholar in the family, and the scholar has to spend more money to pass the exams. However, the family members who have registered the land in the name of the scholar and the uneducated people in the family have some spare money.

After Zhou Lao Da sent Li the butcher away, Zheng came with Sun. Zheng took advantage of them and said, "Sister-in-law, they killed a pig. I heard it very clearly at home. It was a big fat pig. Sister-in-law, you raise pigs really well. Look, there is a basin of pig blood. Sister-in-law, there is so much pig blood, can you give me some?"

Zhulan cursed in her heart, how shameless she was, "No."

Zheng Shi was embarrassed by this and snorted, "Stingy."

Zhulan would not get angry unnecessarily, so she pretended not to hear it.

Wang Ru touched her hair. She had been taking care of it for so long but it still hadn't grown well. Looking at the pig's blood, she remembered that pig's blood was good for the body and cheap. However, she knew that the Zhou family would not sell it to her. She didn't want to make trouble. She might as well go to the butcher Li's house to buy some. She came here for a purpose. "Grandma Zhou, I remember Aunt Li's family sells spicy cabbage. How come there has been no movement for more than half a month?"

The brush in Li's hand fell, "Oh, how could I forget this!"

Zhulan, "........"

I have to admit that Li is really generous!