Lin Hongying returned to the farm with the tetracycline and prepared specialized medication based on the condition of the pigs, providing targeted one-on-one treatment for a group of severely affected pigs.  

Custom-made herbal decoctions, combined with tetracycline mixed into the feed—a two-pronged approach that yielded remarkable results!  

The severely affected pigs showed significant improvement in their mental state. Their diarrhea stopped within half a day, and they began eating again.  

Yu Liang was thrilled. “Xiao Lin, I knew you could do it!”  

The old-timers were amazed. They had thought these pigs were on their last legs, but unexpectedly, the pigs held on long enough for Lin Hongying’s medicine to take effect. For now, they weren’t going to die.  

With a smile, Yu Liang invited Lin Hongying, “Our farm recently slaughtered a batch of pigs. How about joining us in the canteen for a feast?”  

Lin Hongying rubbed her nose and coughed lightly… Were these the pigs infected with swine fever?  

Even though she had inspected them, and high heat could indeed kill the virus… thanks, but she still felt a bit resistant to the idea.  

Still, to save the farm director some face, Lin Hongying nodded and followed them to the canteen.  

As she entered, she found the canteen unusually lively, filled with many unfamiliar faces.  

It was as bustling as a New Year’s celebration…  

Deputy Director Li explained with a smile, “We were cautious about putting these pigs on the market, so most of the meat was reserved for the farm’s staff. We bought the pigs at the factory price. Each worker gets three taels of pork for free every day, and they can bring their families to eat too—though family members have to pay, but only at the factory price.”  

He anticipated Lin Hongying’s question and quickly added, “Don’t worry! The kitchen staff strictly followed your instructions. The pork was stewed for at least an hour.”  

Lin Hongying nodded and inhaled the rich aroma of meat wafting through the canteen. At the serving window, a worker beamed as he held out his enamel bowl, receiving a full three taels of pork.  

As the spoonful of meat landed steadily in his bowl, his eyes sparkled with joy.  

Beside him, his wife held their child, her face glowing with happiness, her eyes crinkled into slits.  

The family sat together at a table, eating heartily, their mouths glistening with grease, utterly content.  

The canteen chef’s braised pork was absolutely divine, far surpassing the fare at the military family canteen. The rich, savory aroma left everyone in raptures.  

The market price for live pigs was seven mao per jin, but the factory price was undoubtedly much cheaper. And since no food coupons were required, it was enough to stir anyone’s heart!  

The sorrow they had felt just days ago while burning the pigs was nowhere to be seen now.  

Their tears of grief had now turned into drool of delight, dripping uncontrollably from the corners of their mouths!  

Yu Liang smiled and said, “Xiao Lin, you can take two boxes of braised pork back with you to enjoy slowly.”  

Lin Hongying was about to decline, but the canteen chef insisted, shoving two large boxes of braised pork into her hands. With a warm, earnest smile, he said, “Instructor Lin, eat up! You’re too thin!”  

Touched and amused, she accepted them gratefully.  

Well, Shao Qingfeng and Han Weidong would probably love these boxes of braised pork.  

Lin Hongying thanked the chef.  

Yet Yu Liang’s eyes dimmed slightly. As he sat down, he sighed to Deputy Director Li, “I should feel ashamed of this!”  

But his workers were so easily satisfied. Just three taels of meat could make them happy for a long time—happier than during the New Year.  

The farm had been forced to slaughter pigs that were still in the rapid fattening phase, an act that should have been deeply sorrowful and humiliating. But the workers had gone so long without tasting meat that getting at least one jin per person felt like a stroke of luck, a blessing in disguise.  

Lin Hongying thought, of course the workers were happy. Their monthly ration was only one tael of pork per person, meaning they could eat at most one jin per year—a jin that had to be shared among the whole family, leaving each person with barely a few taels.  

Now, with the farm buying back all the pigs, each person could eat at least one jin. How could they not be overjoyed?  

But… eating one jin of pork was just an ordinary, trivial matter for people in the future.  

For them, though, it was a happiness akin to celebrating the New Year… and they were eating diseased pigs.  

Lin Hongying instantly shared Yu Liang’s sense of shame. How could this not be humiliating?  

She immediately stood up and made a solemn vow: “Director, rest assured! In the future, we’ll have plenty more pork to eat—healthy pork, safe and worry-free meals!”  

Yu Liang and the old-timers finally relaxed their furrowed brows and smiled in relief.  

“Xiao Lin, I believe in you… but that goal is too grand. For now, let’s just focus on getting through this crisis!”  

…

Residential Compound.

Lin Hongying returned home carrying two large boxes of braised pork.  

There was no way she and Shao Qingfeng could finish it all, so she called Han Weidong over to help.  

However, as soon as she set the boxes down, she heard a voice outside the courtyard hurling thinly veiled accusations: “Who’s the heartless thief who stole my goose? May their conscience rot, their guts fester, and may they choke on their food!”

The one cursing was none other than Granny Li Sanya from the Qian family.  

In a fit of rage, she even vented her anger on Yang Xiu’e, lashing her twice with a whip.  

“Useless wretch! Can’t even keep a goose safe! That was brought all the way from my hometown—my parents raised it with great effort just for my son to eat!”

“Some people have no shortage of food or clothes, yet their hearts are rotten, always eyeing what others have. Country folk really are something else—”

Lin Hongying noticed Li Sanya glaring venomously in the direction of her house and quickly caught on.  

Li Sanya suspected her?  

What an outrageous accusation…  

Lin Hongying pushed the door open and said coolly, “Stop making insinuations. I’ve been busy all day, barely home—when would I have had time to steal your goose?”

Li Sanya screeched, “It was you! I even found the goose bones! How dare you deny it?”

“Country folk have no shame, always thieving!”

Just then, Shao Qingfeng returned with Han Weidong. Hearing Li Sanya’s curses, his smile vanished. “Aunt Li, it wasn’t Hongying.”

“The stewed goose we ate was brought back from the farm canteen three days ago. Both Weidong and I can vouch for that.”

Han Weidong was speechless. The food Lin Hongying had brought back that day wasn’t just stewed goose—there had also been crispy pork, braised pork, and pork-stuffed vermicelli. The lunchboxes even bore the official “Zhenhua Farm” stamp, clearly the work of a state-run canteen chef.  

Had the Qian family’s goose flown all the way to the neighboring county farm three days ago to be butchered by a chef?  

Han Weidong stepped forward. “We don’t tolerate baseless accusations here.”

Li Sanya glared at Lin Hongying. “Then find my goose, and I won’t blame you!”

Han Weidong scoffed in disbelief.  

After a brief exchange with Shao Qingfeng, they entered the apartment building and called down all the residents.  

The building had twenty-four households. Aside from two families away on assignments, everyone else was summoned. Most had been preparing dinner, and their expressions were far from pleased at the interruption.  

Lin Hongying said calmly, “Aunt Li’s goose is missing, and she suspects someone in this building stole it. Let’s all prove our innocence.”

Li Sanya shot her a glare. “You’re twisting my words—”

Lin Hongying met her gaze coldly. “I’m helping you find the goose. If you keep causing trouble, I’m walking away.”

Li Sanya shut her mouth.  

Though she still suspected Lin Hongying, Shao Qingfeng was known for his integrity, and Han Weidong—a bona fide second-generation elite—would never stoop to lying. Li Sanya was starting to waver.  

Fine. She’d see how Lin Hongying talked her way out of this!  

Lin Hongying asked patiently, “Aunt Li, describe your goose—what did it look like? Where was it kept? When did you notice it was missing? Be specific.”

Li Sanya began recounting: “My goose weighed four jin and was black! I fed it bran in the morning and locked it in its cage.”

“I went to the canteen for lunch, and when I came back, it was gone!”

Lin Hongying pressed further, “What time did you feed it in the morning? What time did you return at noon?”

After some hesitation, Li Sanya replied, “Around… 8 or 9 a.m.? By noon, it was gone.”

Lin Hongying nodded and proceeded to ask each household about their whereabouts between 8 a.m. and noon. The apartment building’s layout was unique—the units were spaced far apart, and with the freezing weather, few people visited each other during this time.  

This line of questioning immediately ruled out half the residents who hadn’t been home that morning.  

Even Lin Hongying herself was cleared—  

“I left before dawn at 6 a.m. in the farm’s car and only returned in the evening. The sentry on duty can confirm that.”

Shao Qingfeng specifically called over the guard from that morning and requested the residential compound’s entry-exit logs for the day.  

Many in the building were dual-income families who left early and returned late, giving them no opportunity to commit the theft.  

The log alone eliminated over half the suspects, and Shao Qingfeng dismissed those neighbors.  

Only six households remained with possible motive and opportunity:  

1. The Zheng family (the elderly matriarch was home all day, but she had mobility issues and came from a well-off family—she wouldn’t have wanted the goose).  

2. The Wang family (Nurse Liu had taken the day off).  

3. Widow Zhou’s home (her children were on winter break).  

4. Third-floor neighbor Auntie Wu (who had retired two years ago and had previously gifted Lin Hongying winter melon and pickled cabbage).  

5. Two fourth-floor households—Sister-in-law Sun and He Yingchun, the gossip who had badmouthed Lin Hongying before.  

He Yingchun, ever the instigator, chimed in: “Aunt Li, maybe you’re just getting forgetful in your old age? If you misremembered the time, then Lin Hongying could still be a suspect… After all, goose bones were found in her home. Caught red-handed!”

(She still held a grudge over the punishment she’d received because of Lin Hongying.)