Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 64 - 62 Pioneering

“That’s great, you’re such a help. I was worried about not having anything to feed the pigs. Look, Sister-in-law, how about this deal: I’ll give you four cents per pound for bran, the same price I paid Erzhu’s wife. Sell me as much as you have.”

“Okay, we can spare about a hundred pounds from our place. I’ll have Brother Dashuan bring it over in the evening,” Dashuan’s wife offered.

“That works for me, Sister-in-law, you’ve really helped me out of a tight spot,” said Shen Yunfang with a smile. “By the way, Sister-in-law, do you know anyone selling ducks or geese? I want to raise a few, and if there are eggs available, I can hatch them myself.”

“Ah, I do know someone. Jianjun’s wife has a few ducks and geese. If you’re looking to buy, I can ask her later, but ducks and geese are not cheap.” Chickens cost one to two yuan each, and ducks and geese were even pricier.

“No problem. If the price is right, buy me two of each and also get some eggs for hatching. I’ll do it myself.”

“Deal, leave it to me.”

The two women chatted and laughed as they finished their work.

A single layer of branches was too flimsy, so they made it three layers thick, amounting to about seven or eight centimeters when combined. They placed one end into a deep trench and then packed the dirt around it to make it sturdy.

Dashuan even found a wooden board from who-knows-where and placed it horizontally on the wall to provide the pigs some shelter from wind and rain.

After they left, Shen Yunfang moved the piglets from the house to the pigsty, noting that there was no trough inside. After a moment of thought, she took out a small aluminum basin from her space to make do for the time being. She planned to buy a specialized one the next time she visited the supply and marketing cooperative.

She went into the kitchen and used the only large pot they had to prepare the first meal for the two piglets—cabbage leaves and bran.

Watching the two little pigs wrestle and gulp down their food, she felt reassured. Not bad, her journey towards prosperity had officially begun, hadn’t it?

After leading the sheep around the hillside during the day, Shen Yunfang took them back to her own backyard. There was no grass on the hillsides now anyway, and it made no difference where the sheep were. In the backyard, she didn’t have to worry about being seen, and she could also get some work done at home.

Firstly, she milked the sheep and collected a basin of sheep’s milk; another basin she poured directly into the pig pen. This sheep’s milk was good stuff indeed, drinking it herself would enhance her physical strength, and feeding it to the pigs was just as beneficial—they fell ill less often and grew faster.

Next, she went inside to turn over the thirty chicken eggs that were under the bedding. She had started checking the eggs herself since the previous evening, and in seven days she would be able to tell how many were fertilized and how many were duds.

After she had finished the work at home, she walked out of the courtyard, locked the door from the outside, and then looked around to make sure no one was watching. She took a detour to the path that led up the mountain from the backyard and started climbing towards the selected slope with light and nimble steps. Spring had arrived, and it was time for her to start on her own plans. The first step was to clear and cultivate a piece of land on the mountain, because no matter what, having an abundance of food stock was a solid principle.

It took her more than an hour to climb up the slope. She didn’t rush to start work but took the time to carefully check the vicinity, making sure that it was indeed scarcely populated—or rather, except for herself, devoid of people. Only then did she take the iron shovel out from her space and, after finding the right spot, she began to dig into the earth.

The plot had always been overgrown with wild grass, and if one wanted to plant there, deep tilling was a must. However, with Shen Yunfang’s small physique, the task proved to be somewhat difficult. Shen Yunfang persevered for an hour before sitting on the ground, dripping with sweat, to look at her labor’s results. She had dug up over twelve square meters, then glanced at her hands: the center of her right palm already had several large blisters.

Shen Yunfang shook her hands out, feeling somewhat dejected. She had overestimated herself—the challenge of breaking new ground was too great for a young girl like her.

However, since she had started, she had to keep going. She had initially been all confident about clearing the entire slope, but now, if she could manage to clear even a quarter of it, that would be quite an achievement.

After resting for a while, and drinking some water from her space, she wrapped her hands with a towel and then forced herself to stand up from the ground. Bending over, she picked up the tilted shovel and continued to break new ground.

Stopping and starting like this, Shen Yunfang estimated that enough time had passed, gathered her tools and left the mountain, exhausted. She had to sneak back home unnoticed and herd the sheep back to the production team.

The descent took longer than the ascent because Shen Yunfang felt her legs shaking; she was truly exhausted.

After arriving home in a mess, she ignored everything and just collapsed on the kang bed. Only when her head turned and she saw the eggs on the kang did she remember she was incubating chicks. She wondered if they could hatch with only two or three turns a day—Shen Yunfang furrowed her brow.

She lay on the bed for quite a while until she heard the gong from the production team. Pushing herself up from the kang, she slowly walked to the backyard, led the sheep out, and opened the gate. Ah, the workday was over.

She had been trudging through the village like an old cow, and before she even finished her dinner, Dashuan and his wife had already arrived, bringing their own tools. Shen Yunfang didn’t have the energy to entertain them, she just greeted them and told them to make themselves at home, then continued to eat her meal. After dinner, she wanted to lie on the kang and rest without a care, but in the end she forced herself to wash the pots and pans before collapsing.

After a while of working in the backyard, Dashuan’s wife heard no sound from the front and grew worried about Shen Yunfang. She mentioned it to Dashuan then went inside, only to find Shen Yunfang sprawled on the kang, moaning.

“Oh, what’s happened here?” Dashuan’s wife sat on the edge of the kang and reached out to touch her forehead.

Shen Yunfang slightly lifted her head. “It’s nothing, just climbed the mountain a bit too much today and felt sore all over after I came down.”

Feeling that her temperature was normal and hearing her explain, Dashuan’s wife burst out laughing. “Look at you; how old are you, acting like a child.”

She gave Shen Yunfang’s buttocks a pat.

“Ouch, that hurts,” Shen Yunfang cried out.

“Oh, is it that serious? Where exactly did you climb to?” Dashuan’s wife realized she was genuinely in pain. “I’ll tell you, we have all sorts of wild animals in these mountains, especially wild boars, and they don’t care about age. So in the future, when herding sheep, you’d better not venture into the woods.”

“I know, I will definitely not do this again.” Shen Yunfang spoke truthfully, as she felt terribly sore all over.

“Pfft, alright, you are simply overworked. A couple days’ rest and you’ll be fine,” Dashuan’s wife said.