The pork ribs were used to make soup, and the pig's head meat was used for braising. The braising spices were from the supermarket. The pork and potatoes were stewed together. There were only three dishes in total when it was served, but the portions were generous. A big pot of pork stew with potatoes was also stewed with mushrooms. It smelled so good that everyone's mouths watered.
"There's too much, we probably can't finish it all. And eating too much oil at once, won't our stomachs be able to handle it?" Several elderly people smiled broadly, but they were also worried that eating too much meat at once would upset everyone's stomachs.
"I also cooked sweet potato rice. Everyone, eat as much as you want. Don't hold back. If you can't finish the meat, any table that can't finish, you and your table can discuss taking the leftovers home. Don't save any for me. I've already set aside a few pounds of meat." She and Tantan didn't want to eat anyone else's leftovers. Don't be polite with her. Eat what you can, and take the rest home.
Since Song Zhuiyan had spoken, the villagers didn't stand on ceremony. With the old woman there, they immediately said, "Don't rush to eat. Go back and get a bowl, pour a bowl of meat and vegetables back, and we'll eat the rest later."
Once someone did this, others followed suit, reluctant to finish all the meat and vegetables at once, saving them for later stew. By being frugal, they could even eat them for several days. As a result, Song Zhuiyan's family consumed a lot of sweet potato rice.
Although the villagers' eating manners were a bit unseemly, and they were already complaining before even eating, Song Zhuiyan had already made her statement, so there was no way to say anything now. Besides, she wasn't short of rice or meat, and this was just the first time she let everyone take advantage of her. Normally, no one would dare to come over and take advantage of her family.
After all, neither she nor Tantan were pushovers. Besides, they kept more than a dozen wolfhounds at home. When no one was home, no one dared to enter her house, otherwise they would be torn apart by the wolfhounds and no one would stop them.
When their owner was around, the dozen or so wolfhounds were quite docile, neither barking nor baring their teeth. But everyone in the village knew that when their owner was away, these wolfhounds would bark loudly and bar their teeth as a warning if they smelled someone approaching.
After Zhao Pingjun was bitten by Taishan, he eventually went mad and died suddenly. The villagers were terrified and genuinely feared Taishan. The other dozen or so wolfhounds also kept their distance and did not try to get close.
Of course, the twelve wolfhounds generally don't go out. When they do, Ye Moxun and Song Tantan lead them. Their territory is deep in the mountains. They encounter villagers in the mountains but never harm anyone. They even help the villagers when necessary.
Just a month ago, a woman was picking chestnuts when she ran into a cobra. At the critical moment, Eleven pounced and bit the cobra's vital spot, saving the woman.
Even earlier, a five- or six-year-old child ran to play in the stream and accidentally wandered into a deep part of the water, almost drowning. It was the fifth brother who discovered this in time and carried the child out of the water.
There are many other small stories about how the wolfhound helped the villagers.
Eleventh refers to the eleventh wolfhound. Yes, apart from Taishan, the other wolfhounds are named from second to twelfth, with the third, fourth, fifth, and so on in between...
Therefore, the villagers had extremely complicated feelings towards the dozen or so wolfhounds belonging to the Song family. On the one hand, they were grateful for their bravery, which had saved many villagers, but on the other hand, they were afraid of being bitten into madness by them.
In light of the flower thief incident, the villagers have become even more enthusiastic about practicing martial arts, even more so than about learning to read. Some of the older villagers who originally didn't want to learn martial arts or thought it was useless have also started to learn.
They didn't expect to become masters; they just wanted to be able to protect themselves in critical moments. For these people, learning martial arts was secondary; learning how to escape was the main focus. When hunting, they would chase after their prey with a specific purpose. From initially being unable to catch rabbits and pheasants to later being able to walk alongside them, it's clear how diligently they practiced their leg strength and speed.
In this way, even if some barbarians broke in, at the very least, escaping would be no problem. Of course, this is the worst-case scenario, focusing only on saving one's life and putting everything else aside.
The busy autumn harvest season is here again. Last year, everyone reclaimed an extra acre or two of land, and the yield was much higher. The fertilizer in Song Zhuiyan's biogas digester has already been used, and the things coming out of the biogas digester are quite amazing.
Not only can it be used as fertilizer, but it also has an insecticidal effect. This year's wheat and millet have significantly fewer insects than last year, resulting in a higher yield.
The yield per mu was more than 80 jin more than last year, and some families who managed their land well even harvested more than 100 jin more. Everyone was very happy with this result and was thinking about whether they should build a biogas digester for use.
After the initial excitement, they might realize that having a biogas digester alone is useless; they need to raise pigs. Without pigs, where will the pig manure come from? And raising one or two pigs won't be enough; they need at least ten or more. Not to mention that they can't get that many piglets, even if they did, if the whole village raised a bunch of pigs, where would they get pig feed to feed them? They'd have to strip the mountain bare.
Song Zhuiyan said that everyone should raise one pig at a time, and by the end of the year they can slaughter them for food. Once they learn how to raise pigs, Songlin Village may be able to connect with the outside world in a few years. At that time, everyone can raise more pigs to sell. As for biogas digesters, they can build them if they want. They can make their own bricks and build their own pigsties. It's just a matter of manpower.
Those who were good at getting things done followed in Song Zhuiyan's footsteps, building pigsties and biogas digesters. After the autumn harvest, they were idle. Now they had enough food to eat, and they would occasionally go into the mountains to hunt some game for a treat. Most of the time they had nothing to do, and they didn't want to reclaim any more wasteland.
Because it's located in the mountains, the land cultivated in Songlin Village is all terraced. The area is only so big, and the whole village has been cultivating it for three years, turning the nearby mountains bare. They can't go any further; they're afraid of wild animals and it's not safe.
Instead of burning bricks to build pigsties and biogas digesters, we can start immediately when we are connected to the outside world in a few years and can raise pigs to sell. We won't have to crowd together with everyone else and fight to build pigsties and biogas digesters.
At crucial moments, others can already sell their pigs while you're just starting to raise them. Falling behind will definitely cost you money; if the price of pigs isn't high, you'll earn less. That's why they say opportunities are for those who are prepared. So, people must always plan ahead.
Most people still raised one pig. Apart from a few flower thieves, no one else was seen in the mountains. Why think so far ahead? Just raise one and slaughter it at the end of the year for your own consumption. Pigs eat a lot. Apart from sweet potato vines, people were reluctant to feed them any other grains. They relied on gathering pig feed from the mountains.
Who would dare to feed pigs like Song Zhuiyan, using rice bran, sweet potatoes, and corn? All thirty-odd pigs were fed to be big and fat, wasting a year's worth of grain.
The villagers of Linjia Village have all made a deal with Song Zhuiyan to raise piglets next year. The two sows that Song Tantan brought back earlier have been able to conceive every year. In the past, few people in the village wanted to raise pigs, but now that they have enough food and have experienced the benefits of biogas digesters, they are all willing to raise pigs.
Zhu Xiu's family also wanted to raise one. She and two women with children lived together, so it was a three-family joint effort to raise the pig. They took turns cutting pig feed and feeding the pig. The two women's child was six years old this year and could help cut pig feed, so they decided to raise one piglet.
Zhao Zhongnian also placed an order for piglets. Zhang Qingyu and Zhang Qingling didn't care about this; it was his own idea to raise them. He didn't want everyone in the village to have pigs to slaughter while his family didn't.
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