Jiang Yue and her partner were complete novices in pig farming. They had no idea when the sow became pregnant. They only noticed it when her belly started to bulge.
Generally speaking, a sow will give birth after about three to four months of pregnancy, which means that a sow can give birth to a baby twice a year at most.
Now the bellies of the two pigs in their family look very big, and they will probably give birth to piglets soon.
Jiang Yue felt a little tired from running back and forth between the city and the farm recently, so she lay on Jiang Nian's back and buried her face in his neck.
"In a few days, the pig and chicken pens on the farm will be completed. We'll ask the pig farmer Zhang Liang to come over and take a look. After the pigs are delivered and raised for half a month, we'll move them back to the farm."
"Okay. Shall we move then?" Jiang Nian held her legs with both hands, carried her on his back and walked back into the house.
"We won't move. We can just set up another home there. We usually live in the farm, and if we get bored we can go back to the city. Switching back and forth won't make us bored."
"I'll do whatever you say." It doesn't matter where Jiang Nian lives.
Going up to the second floor, Jiang Nian squatted down and wanted to put her down, but her hands were tightly holding his neck and refused to let go.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Yue shook her head and snuggled closer to him, leaning against his neck as she spoke, feeling tingling and numb. "I'm so tired. I don't want to get off. I just want to hold you."
Jiang Nian's heart softened, "Change the way you hold me, you'll get tired this way."
Jiang Yue let go, and he took off her shoes and coat, then carried her astride the bed.
"Give me a kiss." Jiang Yue put her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Two pairs of soft lips touched, noses touching. They didn't close their eyes, looking into each other's eyes, their own reflections reflected in each other's eyes.
Both of them have been busy during this period, so it is rare to have such a quiet and warm moment.
The moon had risen at some point, its bright light casting a shadow over the two of them. Mid-spring had already passed, and the night breeze drifted in through the window, soft and gentle.
Tired of kissing, Jiang Yue felt sleepy under his gentle pat on her back and fell asleep in a short while.
Two days later, seeing that the sow's movements were becoming increasingly clumsy and slow, Jiang Yue went to the farm to pick up Zhang Liang and his family of three.
Zhang Liang can deliver pigs, Zhang Sao is responsible for hatching chicks, and Zhang Xiaomu helps them.
After working on the farm for so long, Zhang Liang was finally able to come into contact with pigs. He was excited for half the night.
He has been raising pigs since he was a child and has a heartfelt love for it.
He could tell at a glance that the two pigs in the master's house were well raised and very fat!
Jiang Yue prepared clean cloth and scissors according to his request, as well as a wooden barrel specifically for washing pigs.
In order to avoid colliding with the sows, Jiang Nian has isolated the boars.
Zhang Liang stepped into the pigpen cautiously, fearing that he would upset the sow.
He touched the sow's belly and said happily, "It will be time in about three to five days. Sows like to give birth at night, so we need to prepare candles and clean the pigsty to keep it clean. This way the piglets born are less likely to die."
Jiang Yue felt relieved after hearing that his arrangements were well-reasoned and he was indeed an old hand at raising pigs.
It only takes four or five months to raise a chicken, but it takes a year to a year and a half to raise a pig of this size, and it requires even more energy and food.
Even most families can only raise pigs weighing less than 180 kilograms after raising them for more than a year because they are reluctant to feed them with food for humans.
It’s no wonder that pig farmers regard pigs as important family assets. They are really not easy to come by.
It will definitely be very noisy when the pigs give birth, so Jiang Yue specially sent three eggs to each of her neighbors, explaining the situation and expressing her apologies.
Jiang Yue thought this was disturbing their sleep and a serious nuisance, but she was surprised by how happy the neighbors were. Eggs are so expensive, so of course they had to buy them, but they were also genuinely happy that the sows were about to give birth. For farmers, this was a happy occasion!
It was common knowledge that the Jiang family had pigs, because the pigs used to make loud noises and everyone could hear them.
Many people were itching to ask the Jiang family for a piglet.
But firstly, they didn't dare to ask the Jiang family for help. Secondly, given their situation, even if they had piglets, they wouldn't be able to raise them properly. It wasn't like they were in the countryside. In the city, even pig grass was hard to come by.
I can't even feed people. I'm afraid if I order a pig in the morning, I'll have meat in the afternoon...
The next morning, Fan Jin came to Jiang's house and found that his position had been "taken away". He pouted and looked at his boss aggrievedly.
Jiang Yue had a headache. These three people were unable to work in the fields, so they could only be placed in the shop in the city.
She thought for a moment and said to Fan Mo, "You should reopen the shop today. The farming season is over, so people should come to buy cloth. Still limit the purchase quantity. There's no shortage of firewood now. Those who have money can buy it, and those who don't can exchange it for grain. If there's no business, it's not a big deal. You can just use it as a way to kill time."
She looked at Fan Jin, whose face was wrinkled, and said, "Let's open another shop next door, specializing in dried fish."
Fan Jin's face brightened up, and he said with a smile, "Boss, let my brothers and sisters take care of the cloth shop. I'll go over and sell dried fish."
Jiang Yue smiled brightly, but her words were ruthless. "No, I don't trust your self-control. You and Fan Mo will look after the cloth shop, and you will collect the money for her cutting the cloth. Let Fan Bai look after the dried fish shop alone. He's big, and he won't let anyone take advantage of him easily."
Fan Jin was depressed again, but when he thought about the fish he liked to eat next door, he felt a little better and shook his head...
Various small shops have opened up in the city one after another, and those with a keen business sense have already started to take advantage of them.
For example, the Wang family opened a cloth shop in Xishi a month ago. The cloth they use is newer than that in Jiang’s shop. They specialize in serving wealthy people, with no quantity limit, and the shop is booming.
Now the roads to and from Qingshui City have been completely cleared by the Liang army, and they have gathered their men and are ready to resume their trade routes.
Therefore, although Jiang Yue’s dried fish shop is rare, it is not so abrupt that it is unacceptable.
Of course, once this store opened, it sparked discussion among the people again, and business became polarized.
Only a few ordinary people are willing to exchange grain for dried fish. At most, they are willing to buy one during festivals to nourish their family members.
Salt was sold only by the government in the city, and it was not only expensive but also rationed to each household, so very few people could afford it. Sea fish was somewhat salty, so they stewed it with vegetables, eliminating the need for salt.
Unlike the poor who lived frugally, the wealthy bought food every day. There was always a meat dish on their table, but even if there was no fresh meat, fresh dried fish would be a great addition.
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