In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.
The wild grapes in the mountains were almost gone. Those that hadn't been picked had fallen to the ground and were slowly rotting. These wild grapes could no longer be used for drying into raisins.
Not only would they affect the taste, but they could also make people sick.
Zhao Yi led his father-in-law to the city.
Like last time, his father-in-law had made 70 jin of raisins.
Last time they sold for 14 yuan, and this time was about the same.
After getting the money, the two didn't linger in the city and headed straight back to the village.
"Dad, it's so late, don't go back. Stay at our place tonight. It'll still be timely to go to work tomorrow if you leave then."
Zhao Yi said to Zhang Fusheng.
"I have to go back. I need to go early tomorrow to the Commune pig farm to buy piglets to raise."
Zhang Fusheng waved his hand in refusal.
Zhao Yi and Zhang Jing had already bought one piglet and were also raising one assigned pig.
They had bought a lot of bran from the processing workshop in the city. Last time, his father-in-law had helped as labor, carrying nearly over 100 jin of bran and walking mountain paths for several hours.
As they talked, they looked at the piglets in Zhao Yi's pigpen.
"These piglets really grow fast eating bran and chestnuts. It feels like they change every day."
His father-in-law said with a laugh.
Bran in the city cost a few li per jin, but when transported to livestock farms, it sold for one fen per jin.
Zhao Yi had also gathered plenty of wild chestnuts from the mountains, drying and grinding them into powder to mix with bran and pigweed for feed. When bought, the piglet was only over 20 jin, but now it seemed to gain nearly a jin every day. It already looked as big as those piglets raised in the production brigade for over a month.
Whenever Zhao Yi went to work in the fields, he would gather plenty of loaches, small fish, and shrimp to cook into pig feed.
"Just eating grass has no nutrition. Cooking the fish and shrimp from the fields with the pig feed not only helps chickens lay more eggs but also makes piglets grow meat faster."
Zhao Yi said cheerfully.
"Alright, if we chat any longer, I really won't make it. I'm heading back now. If anything comes up, have Xiao Jing come over and let me know."
Zhang Fusheng looked at the two piglets in the pen, somewhat reluctant to leave.
Such plump, round piglets unconsciously lifted one's spirits.
Now, his father-in-law's family had raised quite a few chicks, about over ten. Once they grew up, the roosters would be selected and sold to the Commune farm, while the remaining hens would be kept for laying eggs.
Zhang Jing had just stir-fried a plate of wild scallion eggs and brought out the loose liquor Zhao Yi had prepared, coming to call the two for dinner, only to find her father had already left without her knowing.
When Zhao Yi returned from the village entrance, Zhang Jing learned that her father had already left.
"Husband, these next few days, don't go into the mountains. Last month you only had 260 Work Points, and you were delayed for 4 days. If it's the same this month, I'm afraid the Brigade Leader will criticize you."
Zhang Jing said to Zhao Yi.
"There's no important work right now. Why would I criticize Xiao Yi?"
Li Dequan happened to walk into Zhao Yi's courtyard and heard Zhang Jing's words.
Last month, Zhao Yi had given Li Dequan two gifts but hadn't asked him for any favors, only taking four days off. With no urgent work in the village now and no need for so much labor, there was no issue.
It was just that others were unwilling to rest; even during idle times, they insisted on going to the fields to earn Work Points. Li Dequan couldn't do anything about it.
"Brigade Leader, you're here. Have a drink with us."
Zhao Yi smiled upon seeing Li Dequan and quickly poured him a cup of wine.
There were no proper cups in Zhao Yi’s home—this one was made from bamboo as thick as a wrist, holding about three liang of wine.
"Perfect timing—I wanted to discuss something with you. Let’s have a drink together."
Li Dequan sat down cheerfully. Zhang Jing hurried back to the kitchen to busy herself and soon brought out a plate of peanuts, dry-fried without a drop of oil.
Peanuts could actually be sold for money at the Commune, but the brigade never planted too many each year, so each household received only a small share.
"I’ve seen the pigs you’ve been raising—they’re indeed growing faster than the piglets in our brigade. I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to work at the brigade’s pig farm."
Li Dequan ate a peanut and took a sip of wine before stating the purpose of his visit.
The larger the piglets in the village pig farm grew, the more meat would be distributed to the village at the end of the year.
"Brigade Leader, I’m afraid that might be difficult. The reason my piglets grow fast is because they’re fed with grain. I bought this bran from the city myself. Most people in the brigade wouldn’t be willing to spend money on bran to raise pigs."
Zhao Yi shook his head as he spoke.
"Is there no other way?"
Li Dequan looked at Zhao Yi and asked.
"No. If you want piglets to grow fast, you have to be willing to feed them grain."
Zhao Yi nodded in agreement.
It was unlikely that Commune Members would spend money to raise these assigned pigs. No one could guarantee that spending money would ensure the piglets would grow beyond first-grade standards. Moreover, pigs had big appetites. Without spending money, a strong laborer could still get over two jin of meat a year. How much more could they get by spending money?
No wonder Zhao Yi shook his head—even if he personally tried to persuade the Commune Members, it wouldn’t work.
The two chatted for a while until Li Dequan finished his three liang of wine and left.
Zhao Yi didn’t drink a drop, merely keeping Li Dequan company in conversation.
"Husband, isn’t there chestnut powder that can also be used to raise pigs?"
Zhang Jing waited until Li Dequan was far away before whispering.
"If you teach everyone everything, what will we do then?"
Zhao Yi shot a glance at his naive wife. If more households in the village learned about this, they would all go into the mountains to gather chestnuts. Zhao Yi couldn’t start earlier than them and wouldn’t be able to compete.
Those people set out before daybreak.
"I just realized—did you eat all the eggs my mother sent?"
Zhao Yi pointed at the empty plate in front of him.
Some time ago, his mother-in-law, Wang Kaihui, had brought ten eggs, saying they were to nourish Zhao Yi and Zhang Jing. In reality, it was to thank Zhao Yi for helping her family. With three trips to the city, Zhang’s family had earned over thirty yuan.
And now, with so many more chicks, if they could raise pigs as well, their future would be incomparably better.
"No, I only ate four. There are six left. I’ll fry them with wild onions for you when we gather some from the mountains."
Zhang Jing said cheerfully.
Their own hens weren’t laying eggs yet—they had only been raising them for over a month and needed more time.
"Husband, are you really not going to work tomorrow?"
Having overheard the conversation between Li Dequan and Zhao Yi, Zhang Jing knew Zhao Yi still had three days off this month.
"Don’t worry about it. The Brigade Leader has already approved it. What are you concerned about?"
Zhao Yi said with a laugh.
"Alright."
Unable to argue with Zhao Yi, Zhang Jing could only pout in resignation.
Zhao Yi took his newly bought flashlight, shouldered his hoe and sickle, and headed into the mountains. Though Zhang Jing was somewhat worried, she knew it would be useless to try and dissuade him from what he intended to do.
The wild grapes would soon rot completely, and even the wild boars wouldn't come near them then. This was the final opportunity.
Those wild boars only foraged during the day, returning together to rest in one place at night.