Before the sun got too hot, Song Sancheng covered all the mushroom sticks on the mountain with thick straw. Then he put up the fence with satisfaction and went down the mountain.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to go to the back hill to see the piglets.
I could hear their grunting sounds from quite far away. Now I took another look and saw that they had probably just been fed. The three white and two black little pigs were leaning against each other with their snouts stuck into the trough, eating without even raising their heads.
One of the black ones was eating with great concentration. It laid its entire body across the trough, taking up most of the space.
The only remaining little white pig was a little smaller and couldn't squeeze in, so it kept humming and screaming anxiously.
Song Sancheng quickly picked up a stick and knocked and threatened them before he got them into the right position.
Looking again into the trough, in addition to some rice bran and sweet potatoes, there was also a thick layer of green leaves, which were fought over by the piglets and eaten with great sweetness!
This is Chinese astragalus! Why do pigs like it so much
Song Sancheng couldn't help but reveal a typical old farmer's smile on his face, and said with a smile:
"Look at you little pigs, you eat better than humans!"
I went to the pigsty and looked at the straw. The thick straw spread in the shed looked dry and warm.
The leaves in the forest had not yet fully unfurled, and the sun shone through in large patches, making it warm and fluffy. There were already some traces of the pig manure pond nearby, making it a good environment for raising pigs.
Only then did he go back to the front yard with satisfaction.
Wulan had just finished cooking. Song Sancheng could smell the aroma from a distance. He touched his stomach:
"What are you eating today?"
Qiao Qiao happily replied:
"Eat pig food!"
"The little pigs eat, and we eat too!"
Song Tan patted his furry head and said, "Silly boy." Then he said to Song Sancheng with a smile:
"Dad, don't listen to him. I went to pick some astragalus at noon, and my mom is using it to stir-fry meat. Try it and see if it tastes good."
"If it tastes good, you can make a lot of money!"
…
This purple clover may not have been eaten at home for many years. Wulan thought about it for a while, then took some minced garlic, stir-fried it with lard, and then added bacon and chopped purple clover.
Now the fire is burning loudly, and the green leaves and stems of the vegetables and the slightly red bacon, the fragrance and the meaty aroma, are intertwined together, making one's appetite grow at the mere smell.
Qiao Qiao has forgotten the pain of losing his mother pig, and now he is picking up food with a quick spoon:
"I eat one bite, Peppa eats one bite. I eat one bite, George eats one bite. Then I eat another bite, sister eats one bite..."
Although he looks silly, he is quite skilled in using Kuaizi.
In a short while, he filled his own bowl, as if he had mastered the essence of "Liu Xing's cake-dividing method".
What else can the family say when faced with such a silly child
Song Sancheng took a bite, chewed it twice and swallowed it, feeling the fragrance and sweetness of the wild vegetables in his mouth, along with the slightly salty bacon...
Absolutely amazing!
His eyes lit up. "Oh, how come this tastes better than wild vegetables? I ate it every day when I was a kid, but why didn't I think it tasted good? I only smelled like grass."
Wulan also tasted it and was now very confident about the prospect of selling it at 20 yuan per pound: "When you were a kid, who would be willing to use lard and pork to cook for you? They would just blanch it in water and it would be considered cooked."
That's true.
The two of them made up their own excuses for why the dish was so delicious, so Song Tan didn't even need to find an excuse.
Then, Song Sancheng remembered:
"Tan Tan, we have such a large plot of land, do you think we should get two beehives? This astragalus is a great source of nectar, the nectar collected by the bees is so sweet."
"You can't buy it now if you want to. No one around grows it anymore."
Song Tan really didn't expect this!
She was so busy that she couldn't be so thoughtful at the moment. She nodded hurriedly:
"Yes! Dad, you know so many people. Get a few more boxes. The astragalus in our field is growing so well. It will definitely look really beautiful when it blooms."
Spiritual honey, just take a spoonful and soak it in water, the taste is...
Don’t think about it, don’t think about it!
Song Tan couldn't wait any longer.
"Oh, by the way, Dad, Grandpa Li in the village said that when the time comes, we can let his cows into the fields to eat this, and then plant rice, and he will help us plow the fields."
"I will leave the two lowest fields for him to graze the cattle, and I will sell the other astragalus. It will be bad for the cattle to eat them."
After all, it is a cow. It might poop while eating, which is not good.
Song Sancheng laughed: "He only has one cow, why does he need two fields? One field is enough."
"But this astragalus is really good. I think the pigs are eating it well today. After they are well-fed in a few days, I will take the time to drive them to the fields and let them walk around on their own."
But five pigs are hard to control for a while...
Song Sancheng has already started thinking of a solution.
Song Tan laughed and said, "What's so difficult about that? They are so small now. I will go to the city to buy some harnesses for big dogs this afternoon. Dad, you can take them out for a stroll when you have nothing to do."
"Anyway, this pig is mainly for our family to eat, so it doesn't matter if it gets more exercise and loses a few pounds of fat."
Qiao Qiao got excited: "I want one too! Qiao Qiao wants to take the pigs to play!"
That won't work.
Pigs are smart animals, and you develop feelings when you raise them for a long time. When the time comes to kill them and eat their meat, won’t Qiao Qiao cry to death
Song Sancheng thought about it again and again, but still refused: "Forget it, forget it. We can't take them for a walk. I can't bear to let them go for a long time. Let them stay in the back mountain. The back mountain is big enough for them to go for a walk. I can just make some more food for them on weekdays."
Song Tan recalled his memory of raising pigs. Alas, it was true.
Then let’s just eat meat and not cultivate any feelings.
The adults quickly changed the subject. Qiao Qiao listened for a long time with a pout, then put the matter out of her mind.
But there was one more thing he remembered—
"I told Dabai to help me look after the pigs, and I'll treat him to some biscuits."
Wow!
Song Tan was also surprised—she had this idea, but she didn’t say it out loud
"When did you discuss this with Dabai?"
Doesn’t that ferocious big white goose squat outside grandpa’s house every day
Qiao Qiao snorted, "I already said it a long time ago, but there are no cookies now."
Song Tan didn't know whether it was reliable for the big goose to watch the pigs.
But if this guy really yells, it's so loud that it's deafening that everyone in the village will wake up.
I think it would be great to make an alarm.
The prerequisite is that Qiao Qiao has to coax him and tell him not to make noises, otherwise the mountain is next to her home and she will not be able to sleep.
She thought for a moment and said, "Then take the goose to the field at the bottom this afternoon and treat it to a good meal."
It doesn't matter if you feed it to cows or pigs, or chickens, ducks, or geese...
The two siblings made their own arrangements, and Song Sancheng suddenly felt a sense of urgency:
"Then I have to tidy up the goose pen first, as well as the ducks, chickens and other things you want to raise. Now the time is almost right. I have already fenced in the area behind the mountain, and I need to clean up the chicken coop."