| TBBOTOF | 277
The time has quickly reached early June, and the rainy season has begun. It rains every few days.
Tang Xu got up early to feed the pigs in the backyard. This year, he raised five pigs. Besides the sow, there are also three piglets from last year. Because they are fed well every day, the pigs are very eager to eat.
Fortunately, there are many people in the family, and since he lives near the mountains, there’s plenty of pig feed and soybean residue cakes.
Since Tang Xu learned that the soybean residue cakes from the oil mill have increased in price, He hasn’t been buying much. However, there’s not much growth in price, and every time he does buy soybeans, he doesn’t buy too much.
The pigs made a grunting sound as they heard Tang Xu, and all five of them came to the feeding trough.
Tang Xu scanned the pigpen. It’s been raining a lot these days. Although half of the pen is covered by a roof, the other half gets wet, and the ground has become a mess from the pigs trampling on it. He’ll have to sweep and wash it later.
Luckily, the ground is covered with stone slabs; otherwise, it would be unbearable to look at.
The sound of five pigs pushing and eating together is really not pleasant. Tang Xu filled up the two feeding troughs, and there was still some left in the barrel. He poured it into the chicken coop’s feeding trough. If it’s not enough, He’ll need to cook more.
Now there are fifty ducks and fifty chickens in the backyard, all of which are adults that can lay eggs. There are also twenty baby chicks and twenty baby ducks. The little yellow, soft chicks and ducklings are really adorable.
Tang Xu placed the empty bucket aside, turned around to cut some grass, and when it’s chopped, he’ll mix in some cooked soybean residue cakes to feed them. It should be just right.
On the other side, the rabbits are kept together. Tang Xu hasn't counted how many there are, but there are probably around thirty to fifty in total.
There are also more than twenty adult white geese and five goslings, but the geese are growing faster than the ducks, so they are not kept together.
Originally, there were more animals, but a few days ago, Liu Yao went to the town to sell some chickens, ducks, and geese, so now only these are left.
In the bamboo house, there are a thousand marinated ducks and chickens drying. These are the chickens and ducks he usually collects. They are slaughtered and marinated all at once.
"Brother Xu, why are you up so early?" Xu Ze came from the front yard, saw that Tang Xu was already chopping pig feed, and couldn't help but ask, "Did you not sleep well?"
Tang Xu sighed, "I had a dream and woke up."
"What dream?" Xu Ze took a small stool from the side, sat down, and also started cutting grass.
Tang Xu tilted his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I forgot," he said, yawning, clearly not having slept well.
It wasn't just that one night; he had been waking up in the middle of the night for several days now, which had been leaving him feeling a bit sluggish recently.
Xu Ze looked at him with some concern. "Why don't you let Old Wen check your pulse?"
Tang Xu smiled at him. "I see, Ze’er even knows how to care for others now."
"I've always known," Xu Ze responded, slightly embarrassed. His face reddened, and he chopped the grass with a bit more energy. "Don’t tease me."
"Alright, alright, no more teasing. When the sun comes out, we’ll let the ducks and geese out to swim in the water. Our little pond here is quite useful now." Tang Xu looked up at the small pond not far away.
It used to be just a muddy pit, but as the number of ducks and geese increased, Wei Dong occasionally expanded it, and now it was quite a decent size.
"Yesterday, Ah Yang even went to scoop up some stuff from the edges," Xu Ze continued, pushing the chopped grass into a wooden basin, "He said there’s a lot of mud and snails at the bottom, so he smashed them and gave them to the ducks and geese."
He added, "He also said he’s going to go to the river in the next couple of days to catch some fish and shrimp to feed the chickens, ducks, and geese. They especially love them and lay more eggs."
Tang Xu nodded. Although the kids at home were all young, they were very lively. Even though they spent a lot of time studying, they would always help with chores when they had free time.
"Has anyone been buying eggs recently?" Tang Xu remembered that not long ago, people from the village often came to buy eggs, so he casually asked.
Xu Ze curled his lips and muttered, "They’ve taken advantage enough. They keep saying there are plenty of eggs now and want me to sell them cheaper, saying they’ll spoil if I leave them at home. I stopped selling to them. I'd rather hatch chicks and sell them than sell it to them."
Tang Xu chuckled, grabbing another handful of grass and placing it on the board. "Do whatever you want, it’s up to you."
"Brother Xu, I’ve sold quite a few spring chicks. Now we can hatch the eggs and sell them in autumn. I heard from a woman who bought chicks last time that autumn chicks sell for a good price," Xu Ze said, thinking about how much money he could make from selling the chicks. He was really happy about it.
Tang Xu always encouraged the kids to save their own money. For example, Wei Xi and Tang Yang, both of whom were good at writing, were scholars.
They often helped others write or read letters, and they enjoyed copying books and sending them to the town’s bookstore, which also earned them some money.
Xu Ze was in charge of feeding the animals in the backyard, and when he collected eggs, he decided whether to sell them or hatch them. Tang Xu never interfered.
The three of them could save up quite a bit of copper each month. At first, they wanted to give the money to Tang Xu, but he refused.
"Brother Xu, I’ve already saved three taels of silver just from selling eggs and chicks!" Xu Ze excitedly exclaimed.
Tang Xu raised an eyebrow. "That’s quite a bit."
"Brother Xu, let me give you half of it. After all, the chickens, ducks, and geese at home were bought with your money, and you still provide for me," Xu Ze said, feeling a little embarrassed.
Before Old Xu passed away, he left some silver for him. He usually relied on Tang Xu for food and lodging and only helped with some chores. He felt he had no right to keep the money from selling eggs.
Tang Xu raised his eyelids and retorted, "I don’t need these few coins from you. Besides, you help me with so many things. What’s next? Should I pay you for your work?"
Xu Ze quickly closed his mouth. Normally, he found it amusing when Tang Xu retort others, but now that it was directed at him, he didn’t feel as comfortable.
"Just keep saving your little stash of silver. In a couple of years, when you meet a suitable family to marry into, you’ll have your own money, so you won’t have to worry about being bullied by your in-laws."
As Tang Xu looked at how the young boys were growing up, he couldn’t help but feel concerned. Sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, he would think about it and end up staying awake even longer.
Xu Ze’s face turned red, and he mumbled, "I’m still young. It’s too early."
Tang Xu took a deep breath, thinking it wasn’t too early. In a few years, they’d need to marry off.
He looked at his younger sister Ah Li, who had already reached the age for marriage in the blink of an eye.
Then, he thought of himself— sigh, he was almost twenty-five.
The man in his family was almost thirty!
Ahhhh, no, no, they’re still young!
As his thoughts became a chaotic mess, his hands didn’t slow down. He gathered the chopped grass into a wooden basin, brushed off the grass clippings from his clothes, then stood up and said, "I’m going to cook some more soybean residue and wheat bran. You finish chopping the rest."
"Okay," Xu Ze nodded obediently.
In the front yard, Liu Ge’er helped the three younger ones get washed up and took them to the main hall.
Sun Yang first went to check on his mother and younger brother before heading to the main hall to wait for breakfast.
Tang Xu placed the wheat bran and soybean residue cakes into the pot, added water, and began to cook. While wiping his hands, he walked toward the stove room.
Tang Mei noticed him coming from the backyard and seemed a bit surprised. "Didn’t you say you hadn’t been sleeping well these past few days? How come you're up so early again?"
Tang Xu gave a wry smile. "I couldn't sleep."
"Is it because Dongzi has been gone for a while and hasn’t come back yet? Are you missing him?" Tang Mei teased with a sly look.
Tang Xu responded with a simple "Mm," not feeling particularly shy about it.
"Well, yes, according to what was said before, he should have returned by now. Who knows if something happened on the road and delayed him."
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