Chapter 140 Selling the Pig

Chapter 140 Selling the Pig

Wang Xiaocui had just finished breakfast and was about to feed the pigs when Su Ping returned with a load of pig feed.

Su An cleaned up the dishes and said to Wang Xiaocui, "Mom, after feeding the pigs, let's go to the county town together."

"We already agreed on it last night."

Wang Xiaocui snapped, "Why can't you get it through your head? Mom’s fine, just worn out from the last few years."

Su An protested, "We already agreed, and now you're going back on your word. You’re going, no arguments."

Wang Xiaocui felt a bit embarrassed, "Last night, you kept insisting, and I only agreed because you were so tired and wouldn't sleep otherwise."

"Country folks don’t rush to the hospital unless it’s serious."

"You immediately suggest going to the county hospital. Do you know how much that’d cost?"

Su Ping, hearing his mother's words, said unhappily, "Mom, An An’s got money!"

"Right, I’ve got money with me. Don’t worry about the cost. My brother and I have grown up now, and we haven't shown our filial piety yet. You say you're fine, but take a look in the mirror and see how you’ve aged. If you keep this up, my brother and I won't feel at ease," Su An added, following her brother's lead.

Wang Xiaocui couldn't argue with her children and could only negotiate with Su An, "Alright, alright, you’re impossible to deal with. I'll go, okay?"

"But not today. I’ve got stuff to take care of today."

"I've been hauling bricks at the brickyard, and the corn in the fields isn’t all in yet. The sweet potatoes haven't been dug up either. If we don't dig them up soon, they’ll freeze solid and we won’t be able to dig them up. Besides, I need to go to the brickyard to get my wages."

"We need to get a buyer to appraise this pig. There are still over two months until the New Year. We don’t know how much feed it’ll eat in the next two months. The field’s nearly out of radish sprouts, and there's no more sweet potato vine. There's not much pig feed left to cut. It’s not worth it to keep feeding it grain. We’ve got to sell it to clear our debts."

Su An asked, "Mom, how much do you owe? I have money here. You can take it and pay them back first."

Wang Xiaocui shook her head, "No, that’s not necessary. It's just a few more days. I'll pay them back after selling the pig."

Su An went into the room, took out 200 yuan from her underwear, and handed it to Wang Xiaocui.

"Mom, it’s a big deal that folks lent us money. If we have it, we should pay it back immediately. There are only three of us in the family. Why split hairs between you and me? Maybe they need the money too. Besides, my brother and I are back now, with roasted chicken and new clothes everywhere. If we don't actively pay back our debts, won’t folks hold it against us? Do we really want to wait for them to come asking for it?"

Wang Xiaocui hesitated after hearing Su An's words, "Fine, think of it as a loan from me. After I sell the pig, I'll pay you back?"

She counted the money in her hand and handed 110 yuan back to Su An, calculating as she spoke, "We don't owe that much. I've already paid back some from selling grain and odd jobs. Now, we only owe 20 yuan to your Uncle Changyi, 25 yuan to your little uncle, 5 yuan to your big uncle, 17 yuan to your cousin Ah Wang, and 20 yuan to your granduncle."

"20, 25, 45, 5 yuan, 50, 67, 87, totaling 87 yuan."

"They are all our closest relatives. We really need to thank them properly. I’ll hit the market one day, grab some veggies, and treat them to a meal."

Throughout the morning, they visited each family and paid back the money.

After paying back the money, Wang Xiaocui turned around to head to the brickyard.

Su An had no choice. Her mom was stubborn; she wouldn’t budge until the chores were done.

She and her brother carried baskets and followed their mother's directions to the field to harvest sweet potatoes.

They had done farm work when they were young, and although they hadn't done it for many years and were a bit rusty, Su Ping was strong.

He used a four-pronged hoe to find the roots of the vines and forcefully dug down. As the soil turned over, clusters of sweet potatoes appeared.

While her brother did the heavy lifting, Su An carried a winnowing basket to pick up the sweet potatoes. When it was full, she poured them into a large basket and went back to pick more.

The big basket was full, so Su Ping carried it home, dumped the contents in the living room, and returned.

Working together, the siblings dug up three loads of sweet potatoes in the morning. In the afternoon, with Wang Xiaocui joining them, they worked even faster. The family of three managed to harvest the rest of the sweet potatoes that same day.

The next day, they harvested the corn.

On the third day, the pig buyer came.

At that time, selling meat in the countryside was different from setting up a stall in the city.

The market was only held every three days, and because of the long distance and inconvenient transportation, many people didn’t go for half a month, or even a month.

This led to peddlers who went from street to street, selling tofu, small items like needles and thread, and pork.

The pig buyer, Old Man Duan, was from the neighboring Wanshui brigade. He was in his fifties and had three sons. They took the pigs home.

Early in the morning, after slaughtering, some of the pork was taken to the town for the eldest son to sell at his stall, while the rest was divided. The second and third sons each took some and went around selling it in the surrounding villages.

There were two methods for buying pigs: one was to agree on a price per pound and weigh them directly, and the other was to estimate the value by eye and bargain. If a deal was made, they would pay and take the pig away.

Old Man Duan raised the bamboo cane and struck the pig’s hindquarters in the pen.

The pig, in pain, twisted its hindquarters and pranced around. Old Man Duan glanced casually and said to Wang Xiaocui, “Sister Wang, you’ve raised this pig well; it’s all fat, probably over 160 pounds.”

Old Man Duan was very pleased with this pig; it was fat and would sell well.

“But you fed it, right? It should be less than 140 pounds of meat.”

Wang Xiaocui nodded, “Yes, I fed it this morning.”

Old Man Duan said straightforwardly, “Then, according to the rules, we have to deduct the weight. Sister Wang, do you want to weigh it or estimate the value?”

If she were alone, Wang Xiaocui would have chosen to estimate the value, which would have meant a loss. But now that Su Ping was back, with his strength, Wang Xiaocui naturally opted to weigh it.

“Old Man Duan, let’s weigh it.”

Old Man Duan nodded, “Alright, second and third sons, go get the scale from the cart. Eldest son, you go with this young man to catch the pig.”

The eldest son, Duan, was very experienced. He tied a knot in the hemp rope, put on his rain boots, and entered the pigpen. He slowly approached the pig, then moved like lightning, quickly grabbing one of the pig’s hind legs and slipping the knot over it, tightening it.

In just two seconds, a tight knot was tied around the pig’s hind leg.

The pig, startled, squealed in terror, its hooves flailing as it tried to break free.

“Quick, hold it down and pull its front legs over.”

Su Ping quickly pressed down on the struggling pig as it tried to stand up. Before Su Ping could do anything else, Duan grabbed the pig’s legs and quickly wrapped them several times, soon tying all four legs tightly.

The tied pig was lifted by Su Ping and Duan using a carrying pole and hung on the scale. It was indeed close to Old Man Duan’s estimate, totaling 163 pounds.

At that time, the market price for pork was about one to one and a half yuan per pound. At the end of the year, the price could go up to around 1.5 yuan, but the buying price for pigs was much lower. Old Man Duan only offered 0.73 yuan.

Because the big bones, the head, and many parts inside the pig’s belly were not valuable and couldn’t fetch a good price.

They had to mobilize several laborers to haul it back from such a long distance, and the whole family was busy early in the morning, then carrying it around to sell in the surrounding villages. They definitely had to make a profit.

According to the rules, after deducting the weight, Wang Xiaocui received a total of 102.2 yuan.

Seeing her mother counting the money, Su An couldn’t help but say, “Raising pigs is quite profitable—over a hundred yuan. If you raised ten, wouldn’t that be over a thousand yuan a year?”

Wang Xiaocui shook her head, “It’s not as good as you think. Buying piglets is much more expensive than buying meat. When I bought it, it was 17 pounds, almost 1.7 yuan per pound, costing about 27 or 28 yuan. After deducting this, it’s less than 80 yuan. But think about it, I’ve raised it for almost a year. The pig grass it ate is not to mention, when it was small, it also ate a lot of sweet potatoes, which are all food. And there’s also the risk. If it gets sick or dies, then there’s no capital left.”

Su Ping asked, “Mom, are piglets that expensive? Then raising sows must be profitable?”

“It’s not that easy. When piglets are just born, they need careful nurturing, like taking care of your own child. In the cold winter, you have to keep them warm and even cook porridge for them. You only see others making money, but you don’t see their efforts.”

Wang Xiaocui’s gaze was complex, “In the countryside, everyone depends on the land for food. A family works hard all year round, and if they can save a dozen yuan, it’s already very good. Many families can’t even eat enough. That’s why I wanted you to stay in the city.”