Chapter 49 Task Pig

By mid-December, the village’s task of organizing mahjong games was successfully completed, and the remaining half of the month officially marked the beginning of the winter hibernation period.

However, the leisure wouldn’t last long because the New Year was approaching, and it was time to hand over the task pigs. Once the task pigs were submitted, it would be time to slaughter the New Year pigs and celebrate the festival.

The village was bustling with preparations to deliver the task pigs to the town, while the educated youths were relatively idle since they didn’t raise pigs and thus had no worries about submitting task pigs.

Tan Yanlu had already harvested a ginseng root, and in her room, several jars contained ginseng seeds with sprouts emerging.

However, Tan Yanlu didn’t use a large amount of Spirit Spring to rapidly accelerate the growth and ripening process. Instead, she slowed it down. After all, even if she managed to grow several high-quality ginseng roots now, she couldn’t take them to the purchasing station to exchange for money.

Finding a ginseng root in the mountains was a stroke of luck, but having several high-quality ones at the same time might raise suspicions at the purchasing station. They might suspect Tan Yanlu of stealing them, and it would be hard to explain.

Tan Yanlu decided to take one ginseng root to exchange for money. As long as she had enough to spend, she would store the others after they matured. When she had the opportunity to return to the city to visit relatives, she could sell them in a big city for a better price without arousing suspicion.

Tan Yanlu discussed with Jiang Pan Yu whether they should follow the main group delivering the task pigs to the town. With the New Year approaching, it was time to think about enjoying good food and drinks. After all, what’s a New Year celebration without some indulgence? So, they needed to prepare some New Year goods.

Moreover, since they had moved here, their furniture was still incomplete. They needed to find time to visit the scrap purchasing station. They couldn’t possibly celebrate the New Year without even a chair or table to entertain guests, could they?

Jiang Pan Yu naturally had no objections, so the matter was settled.

Jiang Pan Yu pondered whether Tan Yanlu had avoided her fatal calamity this time by not letting Gao Shaolin obtain her tears. Did this mean the task was completed?

Uncertain, Jiang Pan Yu consulted the Gossip System.

“Theoretically, yes. Gao Shaolin’s success was based on Tan Yanlu giving her tears and the ginseng, which laid the foundation for his lifelong prosperity and smooth sailing. Without these, given Gao Shaolin’s abilities, he would barely manage to support his family.

Prosperity and smooth sailing would be out of the question. In a way, Tan Yanlu has completely broken free from her predetermined fate, but her issue with psychological suggestion still exists.

If she doesn’t break free from this suggestion herself, even if she doesn’t give Gao Shaolin the golden finger this time, she might do so next time.

Therefore, our task isn’t considered completed yet.” The Gossip System couldn’t be 100% certain, but there was at least a 60% chance this was the case.

Jiang Pan Yu now had a clear idea. As long as Tan Yanlu’s psychological suggestion was broken, the task would be considered completed.

Did this mean her Beijing courtyard house was almost within reach?

The thought made Jiang Pan Yu feel elated. She unconsciously touched her face. In the more than a month since they had moved out, she had changed significantly.

Perhaps it was because she had been diligently practicing the Body Tempering Art, but she had not only grown taller but her skin had also become softer and fairer.

Her facial features had also matured, and her once flat chest had grown from an A cup to a B cup, truly changing day by day. It wouldn’t be surprising if it reached a C or even D cup soon. Fortunately, the cold winter weather allowed her to wear thick cotton-padded jackets, so the changes weren’t noticeable.

However, from her facial features alone, it was now clear that she had blossomed into a young and beautiful girl, though this was partly due to her improved nutrition and overall health.

But Jiang Pan Yu had a feeling that without this Body Tempering Art, such rapid transformation wouldn’t have been possible. It would have taken at least half a year to reach her current state.

Moreover, Jiang Pan Yu also noticed that her senses had become sharper and more acute, and her strength seemed to have increased slightly. She might even become a super-strong beauty in the future, pretending to be weak while secretly overpowering others with a single punch. The thought was quite delightful.

Thinking about the courtyard house she was about to acquire and the origin of this Body Tempering Art, she realized it was all thanks to Tan Yanlu.

Jiang Pan Yu sincerely prayed for Tan Yanlu in her heart, hoping that she could break free from the psychological manipulation, regain her true self, and take control of her own destiny.

On December 20th, the village was set to deliver the Task Pigs.

Tan Yanlu and Jiang Pan Yu got up early, as did their neighbor Wu Dama, who had also raised a Task Pig and was planning to take it to town that day.

According to regulations, each household could raise two pigs, but Wu Dama’s family had limited labor, so they only raised one Task Pig.

After a year of hard work, selling the pig could earn them several dozen yuan. In rural areas, opportunities to earn money were scarce. Besides selling pigs, the only other significant income came from distributing grain. If they earned enough Work Points, they could exchange the surplus grain for money.

Apart from these two sources, the only other income came from selling eggs. Money for weddings, raising children, and building houses had to come from these limited avenues.

Wu Dama brought out a pig cage and secured the pig inside. A young relative from the Wu family came to help, loading the pig cage onto a flatbed cart and tying it down.

The young man pushed the cart, while Wu Tingting, holding Wu Dama’s hand, walked beside it. Tan Yanlu and Jiang Pan Yu followed behind as they all headed to town.

Once in town, Wu Dama and her family parted ways with Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu. The festive atmosphere was already strong, and the bustling market was filled with people, creating a lively scene.

Although speculative trading was prohibited at the time, not all private sales were banned. Aside from planned supply goods, which could only be purchased at designated places like supply and marketing cooperatives, other items such as agricultural by-products and daily necessities were allowed to be sold.

These included surplus vegetables, dried vegetables, pickles, and various mountain products like mushrooms and fruits grown by farmers themselves.

Additionally, handmade items like brooms, heated brick bed mats, bamboo cradles, bamboo mats, stools, beds, chairs, winnowing baskets, and sieves were considered agricultural products and were permitted for sale.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the so-called “big market” mainly featured these kinds of goods.

Especially as the year-end approached, these markets were relatively open, with stalls selling handicrafts like New Year paintings, couplets, and firecrackers.

At this time, controls were more relaxed, as traditional practices and goods were still allowed to circulate.

Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu had discussed it and concluded that their food supplies were sufficient. Even if they weren’t, they had prepared enough with their money, so there was no doubt they would have enough to eat.

What they were really lacking now was some greasy food, but there was no meat being sold at the market. However, there were people selling sweets and sunflower seeds.

The so-called sweets were actually a kind of syrup made from sweet potatoes. It was very sweet, but it had a strong sweet potato flavor when eaten.

As they walked through the market, they bought some sweet potato syrup, sunflower seeds, dried persimmons, and various pickles, filling up a small basket with these miscellaneous items.

After finishing their shopping at the market, Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu headed to the recycling station to see if they could find some suitable chairs and tables to buy. They planned to have them repaired by a craftsman, which would save them some money.