Chapter 14: The Pig-Raising Business
Of course, although there were many customers, waiting for him to grind experience points, Chen Fan also understood the truth that you can't eat a hot tofu in one bite.
With my current physique, if I go out and offer to help, people will think I'm just trying to mooch off them.
It's good if they don't chase me away with a broom, let alone offer help? He was thinking to much.
So, considering sustainability, Chen Fan felt that he should first understand the basic situation of the production team. Which families were struggling and needed more help, and which families had less serious difficulties and were more feasible to assist.
Then I'll make a table, prioritizing tasks based on the actual situation, and then work on them slowly.
As for now?
He thought of Captain Yang mentioning that he was slaughtering a pig, and that it was his family's pig?
Aren't all the pigs in the production team collectively owned? How come they have privately owned pigs?
With some confusion, he walked to Jiang Lili's room. Before he could speak, Jiang Lili came out. "Captain Yang just came, did something happen?"
Chen Fan stood at the door and said with a smile, "Oh, Captain Yang said that his family is slaughtering a pig the day after tomorrow, and he asked us to go to his house to help."
"Ah?"
Jiang Lili looked at him with disbelief, "He asked me to go too?"
Chen Fan was slightly taken aback, "Ah, that's what he said."
Seeing Jiang Lili's unconvinced expression, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Lili lowered her head, "I've been here for three years, and he's never asked me to do anything. He only calls me to help when the team slaughters a pig, but everyone has to go then."
Chen Fan's eyes widened, "But he really said that just now."
Is he just being polite?
Jiang Lili was also a little confused. What did the Captain mean?
Chen Fan thought for a moment, "Anyway, he really did say that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you. No matter what, you'll come with me tomorrow. What if there's a task for you, but you didn't come? That wouldn't be appropriate, right?"
Jiang Lili thought about it carefully and felt that what Chen Fan said made sense, so she nodded, "Okay, I'll go with you the day after tomorrow. If there's nothing to do, I'll come back."
Chen Fan smiled and asked, "Hey, you mentioned that the team also slaughter pigs. Are the pigs raised by the team and those raised privately separate?"
Jiang Lili shook her head slightly and said, "It's not entirely separated, they're still related. The country called on all production teams to raise more pigs and raise them well. Then they allowed members to raise their own chickens, ducks, and pigs. If they couldn't finish eating them, they could sell them to the food station. So, the production team has a pig farm with more than a dozen pigs. They also suggested that each household raise two pigs.
The pigs in the production team are only left with two or three of the smallest pigs each year. They are slaughtered and distributed to all the members in the team. The meat is calculated according to the proportion of work points. The more work points you earn, the more meat you get. Those with fewer work points may only get some pig's head meat, or even pig offal.
For the two pigs raised from each household, the larger ones must be sold to the commune's food station. But the food station only accepts pigs that weigh over 120 jin. They don't want anything less than 120 jin. The smaller one can be keep for themselves."
Chen Fan put his arms around his chest, put his chin in his hand, leaned against the doorframe and pondered, "That's pretty good. Besides work points, villagers can also raise chickens and pigs, they must get a lot of meat at the end of the year."
When I read period novels, they all said that the production teams in the countryside only ate meat once a year, at the New Year. Now it seems that not all places are poor.
Jiang Lili looked up at him, then lowered her head again. She whispered, "It's not like that."
"Ah?"
Chen Fan looked at her, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Lili patiently explained, "Raising chickens, ducks, and pigs all requires feed. Chickens and ducks can forage for insects in the fields, and adding some rice bran and green grass can help them survive. Raising pigs is much harder. You have to go out and gather pigweed every day, and you have to do it early. Otherwise, you won't be able to go to work with the team. If you miss work, you'll be criticized and have your work points deducted.
And pigs that only eat pigweed are very difficult to raise. They don't grow strong, and they're prone to illness. They get sick and die before they grow up. Even if they can grow up, by the time the food station collects pigs before the twelfth lunar month, they won't meet the 120 jin requirement.
Some members, to reach 120 jin, feed their pigs a lot of pigweed that morning. But pigs that eat too much, when they're hung and carried, they're very prone to running and having diarrhea."
Chen Fan saw that Jiang Lili's face flush red—she was so easily embarrassed.
He also realized that it was still the 1970s. White-meat pigs had not been widely promoted, and only a few places had large-scale breeding. Unlike the white-meat pigs that were improved after nearly a century, native black pigs and spotted pigs were small, slow-growing, and prone to disease. Their breeding efficiency was very low.
Later, the "native pigs" in various places across the country were actually improved after decades of research. Otherwise, a single disease outbreak could bankrupt a pig farm. They also grew much larger and could produce much more meat.
But now, most of the pigs in the country are still raised from unimproved local breeds. Even within the same province, there are several different breeds. This means that the breeding efficiency is naturally not high. The frequent failure to raise pigs to sufficient size and weight was unsurprising..
Jiang Lili's ears were slightly flushed. She lowered her head and continued, "When the pigs are taken to the food station, if they weigh enough on the scale, you can get 30 yuan and some coupons. If not, you have to carry it back.
Pigs that don't meet the weight requirement can't be sold casually. If you slaughter them for meat and not kept for personal consumption, the meat can only be sold to the production team. The production team will calculate the work points for the members according to the amount of meat. That meat is either turned over to the state, to make up for the production team's losses, or it's included with other goods and distributed to members as dividends."
After she finished speaking, Chen Fan understood, "So, raising pigs for villagers isn't necessarily profitable? Not all villagers are willing to raise pigs?"
Jiang Lili nodded, then shook her head. "If they have the conditions, villagers are still very eager to raise pigs, because if they only rely on work points, they may not be able to eat meat all year round. If they raise pigs, they can exchange a pig for over 30 yuan and some coupons by the end of the year, which can supplement a large part of their household expenses, and they can also eat some pork themselves.
But raising pigs is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Strong laborers need to earn work points, so they don't have much time to take care of pigs. Some families are not willing to raise pigs, or they just raise one to meet the requirements. If they can grow it to 120 jin, they sell it to get money and coupons. If they don't grow enough, they can still make a small profit, but they may not have any meat to eat themselves.
Only families with many children are willing to raise two or even three pigs. They can keep one for themselves and sell the others to the food station. Children can't earn much work points, so they're specifically sent out to gather pigweed and cook pig feed. And the pig manure can be given to the team in exchanged for work points."
Chen Fan listened, finding it interesting at first, then feeling heartache.
They even calculated the labor of children so carefully. Life in the commune is not easy.
After being silent for a while, he shook his head and turned around to look. He asked, "Doesn't the educated youth dormitory raise chickens or pigs?"
When he asked this, Jiang Lili didn't answer immediately. Instead, she was silent for a few seconds.
Chen Fan's eyes widened. Did I say something wrong?
Then Jiang Lili said, "The educated youth dormitory used to raise a few chickens, but before they went home, they killed them all and made a big pot of soup to eat. Raising pigs is too tiring, and it smells a lot. Some people are not willing to raise pigs, and those who do raise them aren't willing to take care of them. Gradually, the pigsty in the educated youth dormitory became empty."
Chen Fan nodded in understanding. So that's how it was.
Then he paused, turning to look at Jiang Lili, remembering what she said before.
They ate them all before going home?
They didn't even leave one for her???
(End of Chapter)
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