A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 179: Raising Pigs and Educating People
After a morning meeting,
At noon, they had pig-killing dishes. The cook of Wuji Castle had learned a lot of pig-killing dish recipes from Li Yi.

There are more than a dozen dishes including pig blood tofu, red-braised pork, winter melon stewed pork ribs, garlic pork, pork soup, pickled cabbage stewed meat, meatballs, pig blood sausage, stir-fried meat, stir-fried kidney, etc.
It also opened the eyes of many local people.

Sun Fujia, the Imperial Censor, and Du Ruhui, the Chief Clerk of the Shaanxi Prefecture and an official of the Prince of Qin's Palace, who came specially today, both praised it highly.

The pig-killing dish and the roasted persimmon are a perfect match.

"Come, let me offer a toast to everyone. Thank you for your care for Wuji Academy and its over one hundred students over the past six months. I'll drink first."

Burn a few persimmons until they are completely dry, leaving the bottom of the cup bright.

Everyone raised their glasses.

"This pig-killing dish tastes good, doesn't it? I plan to raise some pigs next year. For now, I plan to buy four piglets for each of the ten tenants of the society. We will provide some wheat bran, rice bran and some feed, and ask a veterinarian to check on the pigs regularly.

Each household raises four pigs a year. After the pigs are slaughtered, after deducting the costs, we share the profits with the pig farmers.

We helped them build the pig pens and provided the straw for the pigsties, but the manure from the straw in the pig pens also belonged to us and was used to fertilize the fields.”

"A good crop depends entirely on manure. To be honest, this year, my thirty mu of rice fields along the He River were irrigated with manure from the Qiaotou latrine, and the yield increased by more than one dan per mu.

The fields we learned from can also increase production significantly if they are fertilized with fertilizers such as pig manure.

It doesn’t matter if pig farming doesn’t make money, as the income from the fields can be increased.

As the saying goes, people raise pigs, pigs raise fields, and fields raise people. Moreover, judging by the current situation, raising pigs can also make money."

Li Yi proposed to learn how to raise pigs, build a pig farm by himself, raise some pigs in a centralized manner, raise some sows, and also set up a joint raising model with tenant farmers.

Provide piglets to tenant farmers, help them build pig pens, and even provide some feed, as well as regular veterinary check-up support.
The tenant farmers can increase their income. Not only can they make money by raising pigs, but they can also obtain a lot of pig manure, which can increase the yield of the fields they learn from.

"Our Yusu Township is only forty miles from Chang'an, so we don't have to worry about not having a market for our pigs."

Sun Fujia also came from a farming family and knew about farming. He very much agreed with Li Yi's idea.

"That's a good idea. The academy has some extra money. We can use it to buy piglets for the tenants to raise. We can both make a profit. It's worth a try."

Although Du Ruhui came from a prominent family, he knew that this was indeed feasible.

"Here's another piece of data: a piglet can be slaughtered after one year of breeding. Usually, we use some manure, bran, wild vegetables and pig grass from the fields to feed the pigs, and add some bean cakes and feed. It mainly utilizes the by-products from the farmland, so the investment is not large.

But the profit is not small. After raising it for a year, it can weigh about 200 kilograms and produce a lot of meat.

Furthermore, if a pig is kept in a pen, it can produce 40 to 50 dan of pig manure a year. Each additional dan of manure can increase rice production by at least 10 kilograms. Therefore, the manure of a pig can increase rice production by 400 to 500 kilograms.
Raising four pigs can increase rice production by 1,600 to 2,000 kilograms, which is a huge benefit.

So an old man once said, "Raising pigs is like raising money, it's a way of saving money in small amounts and withdrawing it in large amounts."

None of the local people had expected that raising pigs was such a complicated matter, especially since most people raised pigs in the past by free-range means and made little use of manure.

I always feel that raising them in captivity requires more time and manpower.

But I never calculated that the biggest benefit of pig farming is manure, and the pigs are secondary.

This is the secret to getting rich.

Guo Erlang became excited when he heard this. He now admired Li Yi very much, even to the point of superstition. He felt that everything Li Yi said made sense and that it was right to listen to Li Yi.

He was silently calculating in his mind.

Now a piglet costs 3,000 coins, but when it grows to 200 kilograms, it can be sold for about 20,000 coins. In the meantime, there are also costs for feed, pens, and even possibly pig slaughtering and medical treatment.

From the time a piglet weighs 50 jin (150 kg), it must eat fine bran with some fine food added in. From 50 jin (150 kg) to 100 jin (150 kg), it grows slowly and eats poorly, just to build up its skeleton. Its main food is swill, pig grass, and bran.

After the weight reaches 100 kilograms, you need to start fattening it up. Not only should you eat better, but you should also eat enough. You can add some bean cakes, distiller's grains, etc.

If you calculate the cost of fine feed, then it should cost twice as much as the piglets, which is six thousand coins.

Roughly speaking, if the initial investment is 10,000 yuan and the pigs can be sold for 20,000 yuan when they are sold, then there is still a profit of 10,000 yuan. At today's high prices, it is indeed a bit amazing.

The pigpen fees and other pig feed costs can be ignored. The main cost is labor, which is the least valuable.

I usually take some time to find some pig grass, chop it up and cook it.

Of course, manure is valuable. The manure of four pigs can increase rice production by 1,600 to 2,000 kilograms, which is more important.

If we learn how to raise 40 pigs from 10 tenant households, we can increase rice production by 16,000 to 20,000 kilograms and earn a gross profit of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan.

If you learn to share profits with your tenants, and if it's 50-50, you can still get a profit of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, not counting the 10,000 to 20,000 kilograms of rice that have increased from the rice fields.

As for the investment, the first batch was piglets, which cost 3,000 yuan each, and 40 pigs cost 120,000 yuan.

One hundred thousand to two hundred thousand yuan was invested in feed, veterinary medicine, etc.

Of course, some of the forty piglets may die of illness, and they can be raised again, but the cost will be higher.

But when the account is spread out like this,
All the local people saw that there was still a lot of potential here.

Li Yi said that one load of fertilizer and manure could produce ten kilograms of rice, and everyone basically believed it. This year, Li Yi's rice fields have increased their yield by more than 100 kilograms per mu.

Increasing yield by one stone per mu is basically no problem.
If there is enough fertilizer on 500 acres of land, the yield can be increased by more than 500 dan.

Raising forty pigs is not enough to support the five hundred acres of school land.

Someone suggested raising more pigs. The manure from one pig can provide fertilizer for four or five acres of land, so we should raise at least a hundred pigs.

Some people even suggested giving farmers piglets, guaranteeing that each pig would produce 50 dan of manure per year, so that more of the profits from selling the pigs could be shared with the farmers.

Some also suggested that the program could extend beyond the tenants of the school's fields and include providing piglets and feed to other villagers, without interest. The interest would be 40 to 50 dan of pig manure per pig. When the pigs were raised and sold, the profits would go to the farmers, who would then simply return the money for the piglets, feed, and veterinary expenses to the school.

Regardless of the cooperation model, the school is very profitable.

It is equivalent to an alternative loan, but this type of loan helps provide capital to raise pigs and make money. The repayment of the principal is relatively guaranteed, and the interest is also quite substantial.

The principal is about 10,000, and it is paid in installments, which is about a year. The interest income is 400 to 500 kilograms of grain. At the current price of 3,600 yuan per stone of rice, this interest is more than the principal. Of course, this is not just paying money directly as interest.
It is used to add pig manure, and then increase the yield of the land.

But the final benefits are still there.

Guo Erlang had already planned to go back and buy some piglets, build a pig farm to raise pigs, and then give some piglets to the villagers of Guozhuang to help raise them.

The society has agreed to raise 100 pigs and 10 sows next year.

After the pig-killing meal, the society came up with a new plan to raise pigs and get rich next year.

"You have such a good idea, why do you tell everyone? I'm sure everyone will raise pigs this way in the future." After dinner, Dong Xiucai said to him while taking a walk with Li Yi.

"It's okay. It's not a bad thing if everyone raises pigs. In Chang'an, the capital, the demand for mutton and pork is there. The supply has always been insufficient. If everyone raises pigs, it won't have much impact.
Increasing the income from the fields is also a good thing.”

Dong Xiucai looked at Li Yi and felt that this student would not be so simple.

"You must have other plans, right?"

"I plan to raise more sows next year,"

"Selling piglets?"

"Ah."

Old Dong knew that Li Yi would not be so simple-minded and let others know that raising pigs can make money, so all the landlords will start raising pigs next year. The demand for piglets will definitely increase greatly. Li Yi raises sows and sells piglets, which is indeed a good business.

"anything else?"

"Also, I have always remembered what you said, sir. As scholars, even in the countryside, we should be sages of the local community, cultivate ourselves, manage our families, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.

If landlords were willing to provide piglets to farmers and tenants, and they could raise pigs together, it would provide many ordinary people with a way to increase their income, and why wouldn't students be interested in joining in?

Dong Xiucai nodded.
The cold face finally showed a smile, "That's well said. It's really a good thing to help the villagers increase their income."

Li Yi had another plan that he hadn't mentioned yet.

He planned to produce salt from the Jiechi salt fields next year so that he could pickle meat and make bacon and ham in the winter. He also planned to see if he could send the salt to the border and other places. Now there were wars everywhere and supplies were in short supply.

Bacon is easy to store and transport, and can even be salted and smoked. It is a treasure in places where supplies are scarce.

If bacon sells well,

Then Li Yi must need a lot of pork. If the local area starts raising pigs in large quantities, it will be convenient for him to purchase pork, and even the cost can be reduced.

Why not kill two birds with one stone?

Of course, this is just an idea. Whether the cured meat can be sold well or not depends on actual practice. He pickled some cured meat this time and will start trial selling it when he finishes it. If it sells well, it will prove that this method is feasible and he can start a big business next year.
From now on, I won’t have to worry about where to sell my thousands of stones of salt, and I’ll also have a supply of pork. How great is that?

"Sir, my wife just told me that she wants to build a separate girls' branch of Wuji Academy and hire female teachers and female school workers. What do you think?"

Dong Xiucai's support was beyond his expectation.
"If you are really willing to do it with all your heart, I fully support you. I can stand up for you and wave the flag for you."

"Thank you, teacher."

"Why thank me? What you have done is worthy of praise. To be honest, when I asked you to open a private school, I never thought you could run it to this level, and it will be even better in the future. I have taught in Fengjiabao for many years, but I am not as good as you. I am ashamed."

The meeting continued in the afternoon.

This year's review work was completed, and Li Yi, Dong Qilang and others also accepted inquiries from a number of directors, supervisors and members of the association.
Then everyone also approved some of Li Yi's plans for the next year, such as expanding enrollment, buying another 500 acres of land, recruiting ten more disaster victims as tenants, and raising 200 pigs next year, etc.

The first annual meeting of the Wuji Society concluded successfully.

Li Yi presided over the event and distributed pork to everyone.
Excellent teachers will each be given a pig's head and two pig's legs, plus twenty kilograms of pork and ten kilograms of lard.

Outstanding students were also given a pork leg, ten pounds of pork, and five pounds of lard.

Each of the other teachers was given ten pounds of pork, ten pounds of lard, and a set of pig heart, liver, lungs, intestines, and stomach.

The other students were given a pound of pork each.

As for the members of the society, each of them will receive ten pounds of pork.

The scene of distributing pork was quite spectacular. Everyone tied one or several pieces of pork with straw. The students were all smiling and the teachers were also very happy.

Although the local elders did not lack the ten pounds of pork, they were also happy because in addition to the ten pounds of pork, a stele carved by Li Yi's craftsmen had also been completed. Today, it was erected in front of Wuji Fort in the presence of everyone.

A small pavilion was specially built for this monument.

The monument of merit lists the names of these members, as well as the money, grain, land, paper, pens, etc. they donated to the society, with every single donation counted.

Having your name on the monument brings glory to your face.

The local celebrities and wealthy people present today were not members originally and had never donated. After attending today's meeting and the monument-raising ceremony, they were all excited to donate. Some wanted to donate land, some wanted to donate money, and some wanted to donate grain. Everyone was very active and felt that donating to the society would be more virtuous than donating to the temple.

What's more, by becoming a member of the society, your descendants will be eligible to study at Wuji Academy at their own expense.

(End of this chapter)