Chapter 70 : Pig Farming

Zhuang Guoliang lobbied hard for the whole family to seize this opportunity together. Otherwise, he alone would not be able to come up with so much money and would not be able to handle it.

“Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, if you are willing, let’s all join in. After selling the pigs, the money will be divided according to the amount. A family can earn at least several hundred yuan.”

Boss Zhuang was so overwhelmed by this figure that he immediately forgot all the implicated words he had just said. “Of course we have to do it. The brave ones will die from overeating while the timid ones will die from starvation.”

Zhuang Er thought for a moment and nodded. He and his wife could not do any work in the fields, and whenever they went to the fields, they would slack off as much as possible.

Now, they relied on subsidies from their family and his wife’s family for food and drink. Yanyan was about to give birth, and the expenses would be even higher in the future.

Only Zhuang San hesitated. “This is a big deal. I have to go back and discuss it with your sister-in-law.”

Zhao Xiangyu also disagreed, but was swayed by Zhuang Guoliang and his brothers.

Zhuang Guoliang thought for a moment and said, “Everyone, go back and think about it. Give me a definite answer tomorrow morning. They won’t wait too long.”

Zhuang Laosan returned to his room and got on the kang in the dark. As expected, his wife was still waiting for him.

Afraid of waking up the child, Gao Xiuqin lowered her voice and asked, “What’s the matter with you guys?”

Zhuang San told Gao Xiuqin about it. “Wife, do you think this can be done?”

Gao Xiuqin thought for a moment and sighed, “Boss, listen to me.Regardless of whether this thing can be done, I think it is a shaky plan to raise pigs together because of a few difficult sisters-in-law.”

“Think about it, the eldest sister-in-law is sweet on the outside but bitter on the inside, and the second sister-in-law won’t even help when she’s in trouble. The new one who came in now is stupid and stubborn, and I think she’s a bit foolish.”

Zhuang Laosan agreed with what his wife said. Isn’t it foolish for a good girl to be willing to be someone else’s stepmother?

“Then we’re not going to do it anymore?”

Gao Xiuqin nodded. “Boss, I’d rather we live a hard life than live in fear. We are farmers, we just need to live an honest life. If we take too big a step, we’ll tear our pants.”

The couple made their decision, and Gao Xiuqin said, “When the time comes, don’t just say you don’t think this business is a good idea. Just say we don’t have that much money on hand, and my parents can’t lend it to us for the time being.”

“I’ll ask your sister-in-law to go back to her parents’ home and borrow some money. We can gather about thirty or fifty. Second brother, how much can you give?”

Zhuang Er looked at the situation and said vaguely, “I’m almost there too.”

In fact, he had more than 20 yuan in his hand, and his wife had 50 yuan in private savings. Her family was well-off, so she should be able to borrow 50 or 60 yuan, but he was afraid that all the money would go to waste.

Zhuang Guoliang had saved up almost a hundred yuan in the past few months, but he was still short of forty or fifty yuan.

He looked at Zhuang San. “Third brother, how much can you get together?”

Zhuang San frowned and said, ” your sister-in-law was injured during childbirth a few days ago, and she spent a lot of money on medicine. Seeing that Yingzi is about to go to school, I have less than five yuan in my hand. I really can’t make up the money, so I’ll give up on raising pigs.”

Zhao Xiangyu was unhappy when she heard this and curled her lips. “Why should a little girl go to school? We provide her with food and drink, and we also support her to go to school like a landlord’s daughter. In my opinion, she should just do some work at home and get married when she’s old enough.”

Zhuang San didn’t refute. He knew that the girl he gave birth to was not as important as a finger of Dabao and Xiaobao in her mother’s eyes. No matter what he said, his mother would never even look at Gao Yingzi.

But he thought his wife was right. You have to go to school. If you can’t read, you’re blind. You won’t even know when someone is deceiving you.

Zhuang Guoliang frowned. His third brother couldn’t raise the money, and there was still a gap of several dozen dollars. The matter seemed over.

“Brother, ask your wife to go back to her parents’ home and borrow some money. Any amount is fine. Didn’t her ancestors sell vinegar? They should have some family background, right?”

Zhuang San lowered his head, looking ashamed. “My father-in-law didn’t ask for a dowry when I got married, and he has been giving us a lot of money since we got married. I really don’t have the face to ask for it.”

Having said that, Zhuang Guoliang also knew that his third brother was determined not to get involved in pig farming. He was not optimistic about this business and felt that he could not do it.

Zhuang Guoliang’s face showed a bit of anger, as if he was being looked down upon. “Third brother, you better think it over carefully. Don’t wait until we become rich and then say that we won’t take you with us.”

In the end, the eldest brother Zhuang took thirty, the second brother Zhuang haggled for a whole day and finally gave fifty, and Zhuang Guoliang took out all the ninety yuan he had on him.

The remaining seventy was made up by Zhao Xiangyu, using the money she had saved bit by bit over the years, including her daughter-in-law’s savings.

The whole family spread all their money on the kang, as if signing a military order. Zhuang Guoliang was ambitious and ready to do something big.

“Fourth brother, when are you going to the pig farm? Do you want to ask your eldest brother and second brother to go with you?” Zhao Xiangyu was worried and urged him in front of Zhuang Guoliang’s house before dawn.

Jiang Hongmei was originally dazed, but she suddenly came to her senses. She saw Zhuang Guoliang put on his clothes and quietly go out. She heard a low voice outside, “Mom, it’s too conspicuous to leave together during the day. Let’s go to the pig farm in the middle of the night.”

Jiang Hongmei sat up straight, her heart pounding.

Yes, she remembered. Last night at midnight, she was lying at the door of the old woman’s house and overheard them talking about raising pigs together at the pig farm.

Zhuang Guoliang hadn’t said a word to her about such a big thing, and it was obvious that he treated her as an outsider. Jiang Hongmei was so furious she could almost feel blood dripping from her heart.

If it were before, she might have been happy that Zhuang Guoliang was going to get rich, but given her current situation, she wished she could drag the entire Zhuang family to ruin.

No, she couldn’t die. Instead, she had to use this as leverage, live a good life, and let Jiang Li next door see that she had made the right choice of a man.

Jiang Hongmei waited patiently for a few days. That night, several brothers of the Zhuang family and Zhao Xiangyu sneaked out of the house, and Jiang Hongmei quietly followed them.

They made their way to a valley in Xiaoxingling and found the pig farm.

The pig farm was foul-smelling. Several people were busy working, carrying pig grass, mixing pig feed, and shoveling pig manure.

Jiang Hongmei rushed out at this moment and sneered, “Well, your family is raising pigs here privately. This is the poisonous weed of capitalism. I’m going to report it!”

Zhuang Guoliang’s expression suddenly changed. He threw down the pig food ladle in his hand and strode over. Zhao Xiangyu rushed in front of her son and said, “You dare to report me! I’ll beat you to death!”

But she didn’t expect Jiang Hongmei to be even more arrogant than her. Her resolute look scared everyone. “Okay, if you have the guts, beat me to death and bury me here, or I’ll take your whole family with me to die!”

Zhuang  Er was more tactful. He went up to his brother and sister-in-law and said, “We’re all family. If you report this, it will also implicate you, right? Besides, once the pigs are sold, our family will be able to live a good life.”

“What does your good life have to do with me?” Jiang Hongmei snapped. “I’m already living a life worse than that of an animal. Why should I let you throw me aside and live a good life by yourselves?”