Chapter 327

Not just thinking about it, what’s most important is actually taking action.

Yes, in the past, I did consider raising pigs and sheep to make money selling them. However, firstly, I didn’t have the capital and couldn’t afford the risk. If they died while being raised, I would lose everything, including the money spent on buying piglets. Secondly, I feared not being able to sell them or not being able to sell them at a good price. It wouldn’t make sense to work hard all year and end up with nothing.

But things are different now. Honestly, having money in hand gives me confidence.

A piglet costs between seven to eight hundred wen or up to one or two taels of silver. Even if they die, it’s something we can afford. Losing a few hundred wen won’t leave us starving. Plus, if we can’t sell them, we can feed our family with them, adding a bit of profit.

And if we can sell them, even better! A pig can fetch around four to five taels of silver. Deducting the cost of buying the piglet, we’d clear about three taels. If we raise two or three, just from raising pigs we can earn six to nine taels a year!

If we raise more, say a dozen… well, that’s too much to handle with just pig feed.

However, there are many people in our household. Keeping around five pigs would be very comfortable. If we raise five pigs, that’s fifteen taels of silver a year!

We can keep some for ourselves: cured meat, smoked meat, sausages, and pork fat, which can be a good supplement for our health from time to time.

Aunt Wu thought more and more beautifully. After discussing with her family, she took a little delay to go to Shuiqing’s house.

When she arrived, Aunt Wu saw many women around the pigsty of Shuiqing’s house!

Shuiqing was pointing at the little piglets in the pigsty.

She hurried forward in big steps, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and asked anxiously, “Shuiqing, do you still have piglets? I want to buy five or six to raise at home.”

“Hey, Sister Wu, you’re being too greedy! We dare only think of two or three at most. You’re talking about five or six straight away, which is too many!” Aunt Li joked calmly.

Aunt Wu had a good relationship with her and didn’t mind the joke. Breathing heavily, she replied, “Well, I earned some money at the herbal medicine shop. With a full stomach, winter clothes made, and shoes bought, now I’m thinking about improving the family’s meals so they can eat better too.”

Working at the herbal medicine shop, she ate well at noon. Returning home to eat coarse black porridge and bland food with no profit made her feel the huge gap!

To eat well at home, don’t you have to work hard? Earn money diligently, raise livestock diligently! Good days are made by oneself.

“One pig would be enough to eat, but you don’t have any pigs left. You’ll have to wait for the next batch,” Aunt Zhang said, not wanting to discourage her, but knowing the truth would come out.

Aunt Wu was stunned, opened her mouth, and unwillingly asked, “What? None left?”

She remembered that Shuiqing had many piglets. She had even thought that it was fortunate her household had many servants who could bring back a few carts of pig feed during the busy farming season to feed the pigs.

“Did I come too late? Have you all made your choices?” She had heard the news and hurried over, no, no, she had discussed it with her family before coming over.

But only half an hour had passed, and they were already gone?

Shuiqing confirmed, “Yes, they’re gone. I promised Guifen that they could have three, and there are others here who have decided as well, Aunties.”

Aunt Li and the others chimed in, “There aren’t enough to go around! I originally wanted three, but there aren’t enough. Two would still be great.”

“I heard Guifen was raising pigs, so I came over immediately. Luckily, I arrived early and got two!”

“I came late, and there’s only one piglet left. If the old sow gives birth again later, can I buy more?”

Aunt Wu became anxious when she heard this, “You already have one piglet. Give a chance to those of us who don’t have any.”

Shuiqing opportunistically interjected, “There are no piglets left, but we have plenty of lambs. Although lamb meat isn’t as fatty as pork, it’s still meat, isn’t it?”

“And sheep can be left to roam as a herd, driven to the hills to graze, let them eat their fill and then driven back to the pen. It’s easier than raising pigs. During busy times, you can slaughter a fresh and delicious sheep.”

Aunt Wu had tasted Shuiqing’s lamb, which was neither fishy nor gamy, with thin skin and thick meat. Its oiliness was incomparable to pork. Lamb was nourishing, lamb tripe soup was delicious, and lamb spine had a rich flavor. Just thinking about it made her unconsciously swallow saliva.

Aunt Zhang, as Shuiqing’s most loyal supporter, heard Shuiqing praise the goodness of sheep and immediately shouted, “I want five!”

Anyway, she was idle at home, and herding sheep seemed quite nice.

While Aunt Wu hesitated for a moment, seeing someone had already reserved some, she immediately called out, “I want eight, no, ten!” In an instant, all the young lambs at Shuiqing’s place were gone.

Shuiqing chuckled; herd mentality applies anywhere.

Originally, Aunt Wu just came to buy piglets. If piglets were sold out, she might have gone home. But now that others were buying sheep, she followed suit and bought ten at once!

Those who missed out or bought fewer felt regretful, thinking they had been too slow.

She looked at everyone present, “No rush. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Start with a small number, and later, my sheep will breed, and the ones you buy will breed, and their offspring will breed again. In just a couple of years, our village will have more pigs and sheep than we can eat, and we’ll have to sell them!”

Pigs and sheep didn’t breed as quickly as rabbits, but with so many, the numbers would multiply several times over, and things would snowball and grow faster and faster.

With so many livestock in the village, her brush shop would never lack for bristles!

The women who bought piglets happily went home to build pigsties with adobe bricks. Those who missed out went home to build sheep pens.

Now that the village had fences, keeping these large animals at home would create a strong odor. And with so many households raising them at once, the smell would be unbearable!

At this moment, she finally understood why the former village head and his family built pigsties at the foot of the mountain—to prevent the smell from bothering others.

She suddenly realized they could follow suit. After all, they had their own hillsides, and whether raising pigs or sheep, they needed grass, which was perfect.

Aunt Wu arrived late, but fortunately, she managed to grab ten young lambs and secured priority for the next batch of piglets. The women who hesitated at home finally made up their minds to buy piglets. When they visited Shuiqing’s place, not only were the current piglets and lambs gone, but the next batch was already fully reserved!

They stared blankly, regretting their indecision.

They realized their hesitation was due to listening to their husbands. They instantly regretted not taking charge!

Looking at Aunt Zhang, whose husband had passed away, living such a good life, she had secured two piglets in one go. Wasn’t it because she could make decisions without delay and without asking her husband’s opinion?

Did they miss out on piglets and lambs? No, they missed out on having better days than others!