Chapter 8 What Do Pigs Eat, Anyway?

Chapter 8 What Do Pigs Eat, Anyway?

Meanwhile, the caretaker also received the cabbage he bought.

Influenced by his wife, he had tasted many delicious vegetables that weren’t available on the market, so he remained calm about this relatively tasty cabbage.

His wife wasn’t optimistic about his online vegetable purchase.

"Online shopping, and from some obscure little planet? Forget about it being delicious, I even doubt if it’s edible! You’re never happy unless you’re getting scammed, huh? You dare to buy anything online! Look at me, I always have friends bring it for me. The fresh produce market is a minefield, you can’t handle it!"

His wife wasn’t blaming him, just a bit helpless.

"I felt bad for the kid, out there on his own. When he came to collect supplies, he was all by himself, not knowing where his family was, and he had a younger brother with him. Two kids, how pitiful! I just wanted to help, and besides, I got some cabbage."

"I managed to grab it!"

Hearing her husband say this, the caretaker’s wife was even more convinced that he had been scammed.

She had heard of such tactics, where some live streams hire shills to create an atmosphere that the products are in high demand, tricking unsuspecting people into buying.

But her husband was just kind-hearted, and she didn’t say much, not wanting to crush his good intentions.

It’s just that the world is full of cunning bad people.

However, after tasting the cabbage, the caretaker’s wife began to feel glad that she hadn’t labeled the cabbage-selling kid as a bad person.

But she had some nasty suspicions in her heart, and now she felt a bit embarrassed.

"Honestly, I’ve never enjoyed a meal so much!"

After dinner, the two lay on the rocking chairs on the balcony to rest, the caretaker said.

His wife also agreed wholeheartedly. This cabbage might be a notch above the best cabbage she had tasted before, but the aftertaste was unmatched. She couldn’t explain it, but if she had to, it left you feeling happy.

"The grower must really care," the caretaker’s wife said.

Otherwise, it’s hard to explain why this vegetable carries such intense positive emotions.

"This cabbage must be tough to grow," the caretaker’s wife said with some melancholy. Anything delicious is rare and hard to come by.

The caretaker was silent for a moment. His wife thought he was agreeing, but unexpectedly, he suddenly said, "Not really, just plant the seeds, and it sprouts in no time."

"So simple?" the caretaker’s wife was surprised.

This didn’t match what she knew.

Although she wasn’t a professional in this field, because she liked to eat well, she’d picked up a lot of knowledge over the years, even more than many professionals due to her connections.

But this mysterious cabbage grower indeed made her somewhat puzzled and even curious.

Asking her husband for the live stream link, the caretaker’s wife started to frequent Yun Wan’s live stream, curious to uncover the secret of this amazing cabbage.

Compared to the first two buyers who knew what they were doing, the third buyer, Zhang Xiaomei, was pretty average. She was just a poor college student studying at a federal aristocratic college.

People like her could only attend such a school thanks to sponsorship from the aristocracy. In the future, she would also need to serve the aristocracy.

This was a sort of talent investment, which might not pay off much, but it wouldn’t be a loss. With some luck, they might snag a few good talents.

Zhang Xiaomei didn’t think she was any good talent, just a tad more hardworking than these young masters and misses who had no clue about life’s struggles, putting in more effort, and naturally reaping more rewards. Otherwise, she would be a fool.

When she first entered this school, the nobles kind of looked down on her. To get by better, she had to suck up to others.

She couldn’t handle any drama. All she wanted was to finish school and live a quiet life.

As for sucking up, she didn’t even know where to start. She had no clue about the nobles’ lifestyle. She just felt they’d seen and eaten things she could only dream of. She didn’t even know how to butter them up.

Until she stumbled into Yun Wan’s live stream.

She was really into the live broadcasts of the Lord’s Charisma Competition. Watching those lords grow from nothing gave her a sense of satisfaction she’d never felt before.

She checked out Yun Wan’s stream because of the bold claim of “domination.” She wanted to see what kind of host dared to say such a thing. Could it be a noble? If so, she could take this opportunity to learn about the lives of the nobles.

However, she was disappointed.

The streamer was scavenging to get by, worse off than her.

She wasn’t planning on buying anything. But seeing those cabbages grow made her curious to see the real deal. Plus, with so many people fighting for it, if she managed to snag one, it’d be fate.

Coincidentally, the nobles were into this kind of natural food. She could use this chance to invite them to try it, figuring they wouldn’t say no.

She didn’t think she’d get one, but she managed to snag it.

In her surprise, she stuck to her plan and invited her roommates to taste the cabbage.

After buying the cabbage, she was broke and had to play chef herself.

Whether the nobles would look down on her poverty wasn’t even a concern anymore. She was poor, and there was no hiding it.

She thought this little gathering might be awkward—a common girl, just decent cooking skills, some unimpressive dishes—not getting mocked would be a win.

The food didn’t have to be great; it was the gesture that counted.

But the result was surprisingly good. Someone even added her contact, asking her to share where she got the cabbage. Their tone wasn’t as cold as before.

She hadn’t tried other veggies, but she knew this cabbage was legit. Could it be that even the nobles found this taste rare?

A sense of pride welled up in her heart—she had eaten something the nobles hadn’t.

After the pride, she couldn’t help but feel sorrow.

Some things, some people can never touch or even imagine in their lifetime.

Especially those beautiful things.

*

The first batch of cabbages was Yun Wan’s focus, as they were related to the future direction of Shennong Star.

Therefore, after the courier was sent out, Yun Wan didn’t put this matter aside but kept an eye on the follow-up. Seeing three consumers successively giving five-star reviews, she felt much more at ease.

This not only proved the quality and potential of the cabbages but also showed that the system was reliable. As long as the virtuous cycle continued, the planet’s assessment in a year shouldn’t be a problem.

The successful sale of the cabbages was announced, and many live stream viewers started asking about the next batch of vegetables, even wanting Yun Wan to do pre-sales, more anxious than Yun Wan, the seller.

However, they weren’t worried about not being able to sell but about not being able to buy.

The enthusiasm of the viewers filled Yun Wan with motivation. Not only did she often check the vegetable field, but she also explored a hundred miles around the lord’s mansion to prevent any large raptors from attacking.

The good news was that no more traces of wild beasts were found.

Yun Wan didn’t let her guard down because of this.

Being on edge all day is exhausting, and she feels that this modest lord's residence needs some defensive facilities.

She opened Starnet and entered the keyword "planet defense," and many high-tech products appeared.

A planetary shield costs 50,000,000 star coins—way out of her budget. A visitor access system costs 200,000 star coins—still too expensive. A raptor repelling device is 38,000 star coins—still unaffordable.

After scrolling to the bottom, Yun Wan summed it up in three words.

Can't afford it.

1,500 star coins meant she was no longer in poverty, but she was far from wealthy. She couldn’t even afford basic supplies.

"Life was tough, and Yun Wan sighed."

Hearing the sigh suddenly, Yun Ge, absorbed in tinkering with machinery, was startled.

He kept glancing at Yun Wan but stayed silent.

Some things were better left unsaid.

In case she one day saw him as a freeloader and decided to kick him out.

Keeping a low profile, staying in the corner, and being like a doll suited him just fine.

Yun Ge had a bit of an ostrich mentality.

But even after selling vegetables, were they still broke?

He held onto a small glimmer of hope, but her sigh told him things weren’t good.

"Yun Ge, come on."

"Huh?" Yun Ge stood up slowly, clutching the long arm of the machinery helplessly.

Was she kicking him out?

Hadn’t she said she wouldn’t kick him out?

Hadn’t she said they’d live together on this barren planet?

He wanted to ask but stayed silent.

If it was already decided, asking wouldn’t change a thing.

Yun Ge numbly followed Yun Wan outside.

He couldn’t help but think, could he leave today? Had she arranged it long ago?

He wanted to cry but couldn’t.

At this moment, he didn’t blame anyone, but rather felt more of a sense of loss.

"Don’t bring toys when going out to work, right?"

Yun Wan also understood a child’s love for play, but there was no reason to keep playing all the time, which was why she took the few-year-old Yun Ge out to work.

Children still needed to study!

But they’d have to wait a bit longer.

"Huh, work?" Yun Ge was stunned for a moment, his mood brightened. He dropped what he had in his hands and ran over and stood straight in front of Yun Wan.

"What are we doing?"

Yun Wan thought Yun Ge's sudden energy was just a kid's mood swing. Just a moment ago, he was upset when she called him, but now he probably felt happy thinking he could go out and play.

Yun Wan couldn't think of any other reason. She wasn't sure how to deal with kids, going by her own childhood memories.

"Did you forget? We’ve got two pigs to take care of. Today, we need to find them some food."

Like always, Yun Wan went live. First, she wandered around the vegetable patch to humor her viewers, then she headed out to find food.

Yun Ge followed his sister for a bit. After thinking for a while, he finally asked.

"Hey sis, what do pigs eat?" Yun Ge glanced at Yun Wan nervously. For him, the big deal wasn’t the question, but calling her 'sis.'

Would she scold him for calling her sister?

He hardly ever called her sister, and she hardly ever called him brother.

The word felt strange as he said it.

Yun Wan didn’t notice the way he addressed her. She didn’t even realize Yun Ge had never called her that.

She was more concerned about—

"Right, pigs, what do pigs eat?"

Yun Wan was a little flustered.

From what little she knew, pigs ate feed. But in this interstellar age, no one raises pigs, there’s no pig feed, and even if there were, she couldn’t afford it.

She thought pigs could eat sweet potatoes and pigweed. But she couldn’t even afford sweet potatoes for herself, much less for pigs! And pigweed? Who even knows what that is!

Yun Wan remained silent for a long time, secretly asking the system how to feed the pig.

[Host, pigs are omnivorous and can eat a variety of foods.]

"So what exactly do they eat?"

[Omnivorous.]

"Uh... to be honest, do you only know how to recite encyclopedias and not how to raise pigs?"

[Host, just feed it whatever it can eat.]

Yun Wan rolled her eyes.

Nonsense, if it couldn't eat it, it wouldn't eat it! It's a pig, not stupid!

Well, asking was the same as not asking.

Their family's conditions weren't great, so the pig would have to be raised poorly. Forget about fattening it up for meat, as long as it didn't die, that would be enough.

Yun Wan's prolonged silence made Yun Ge feel like he was standing on pins and needles, regretting calling her "sis." She must be unhappy.

After a long while, Yun Wan murmured, "I've never raised pigs before, so let's not worry about what they eat. Even if they want to eat something, we don't have it. All we can give them is these weeds, as much as they want."

"Ah? Weeds?" Yun Ge's thoughts were led astray. Looking at the vast expanse of weeds on the ground, he thought being a pig wasn't so bad after all; at least they wouldn't starve.

[Hahaha, the streamer's level of poverty has blown my mind.]

[Did anyone notice the pig the streamer mentioned? Is it the warthog caught earlier? Why even raise that? It’s not cute or tasty!]

[It’s probably the only pig, right?]

[I just checked, warthogs don’t even eat grass?!]

[Is it just me, or is anyone else wondering why the streamer’s raising a pig?]

[Streamer, why not put that effort into growing veggies instead? Raising pigs is a dead end!]