Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 118 Selling Pigs and Calculating the Money

The foremen laughed and said, "Although you've done a good job in this aspect, we still need to check the pigs."

After saying that, the young Master Zhang casually picked a pig, put his four fingers together, and pressed down on the pig's belly. The pressure from his fingertips was just right; after pressing down on several pigs, he immediately knew how much pressure they had.

"How are you feeling?"

The older Mr. Li told him, "Anyone who is fed a lot of sweet potatoes or corn in the morning, or who secretly drinks water, will have a soft, bloated belly. If you press on it, it will leave a dent, and it will bounce back slowly. It's all just a feeling of emptiness and heaviness."

Xu Chunsheng listened attentively beside them, occasionally asking his own questions: "Master Li, are there any other ways to tell if a pig has been fed?"

Master Li had never encountered such a clean pig farm before, and he explained to Xu Chunsheng with more patience: "You can tell the difference by the sound. A good pig with an empty stomach will feel heavy when patted, while a pig that has been force-fed and given water will feel empty and hollow when patted, because it is full of stagnant water and food inside."

Master Li gave Xu Chunsheng a thumbs up: "We came to collect pigs, and we agreed to stop feeding them 12 hours in advance. Pigs like this have firm and upright bellies. Boss Xu's pigs are like this; he didn't feed them any extra."

Xu Chunsheng laughed and said, "Master Li is joking. Honesty and integrity are the most important things in business!"

"That's because quite a few people deliberately feed the pigs water in order to gain some advantage. When we take the pigs back to the factory, they all become weak from the diarrhea."

Master Li then walked over to Master Zhang and asked Xu Chunsheng to stay by his side and keep an eye on things, so that any problems could be clarified on the spot later.

Master Li picked out a pig and ran his fingers along its spine to its lower back, carefully feeling the pig's back: "First feel the belly, then feel the fat. A good pig has evenly colored fat that is well-covered, neither too thin nor too oily. Pigs that are too thin or too fat to walk will all be sold at a lower price by the factory."

The remaining young master also stepped forward, grabbed the pig's ear, pried open its mouth, and looked inside: "Master Li, the pig's teeth are flat and not worn much."

At this point, Xu Chunsheng realized that Master Li must have been training the two younger drivers and also taking Master Zhu under his wing.

For each item they checked, Master Li would give them a few more instructions: "You can tell the age of a pig by looking at its teeth. Pigs with heavy wear are old, their meat is tough, they don't produce much oil, and they're the least valuable. Young, fattened pigs have smooth teeth with little wear, and their meat is of good quality."

After examining the teeth, he pried open the pig's eyelids and glanced at them, then said with a smile, "The eyes are clear and not cloudy, nor are they red or swollen, which means there's no fever or inflammation. If a pig has a minor illness, you can tell at a glance by looking at its eyes."

The three men slowly inspected the pigs, going from one pen to another, carefully examining each pig: whether its fur was smooth, whether there were scabs, and whether there were bruises, swellings, or broken skin.

Another young man, Master Zhou, stepped forward, bent down and squatted beside the pig, watching the pig's chest and abdomen rise and fall as it breathed.

"Young master, what are you doing?"

Xu's father looked at his actions and asked with some curiosity.

Master Zhou glanced at Master Li, and seeing that Master Li was gesturing for him to explain, he began to explain: "Check if the pigs have been force-fed water. Normal pigs breathe slowly and evenly. If they are force-fed too much water, their abdominal cavity will compress their chest cavity, making their breathing rough and rapid. They will open their mouths to pant from time to time, and they will be too panting to walk after taking just a few steps. They also won't dare to run around much."

Mr. Xu smiled and exclaimed, "I never knew there were so many methods for inspecting pigs! I've truly learned a lot from you all today!"

.

Master Li shook his head: "Normally, the inspections aren't this complicated. It's because I'm working with some young people. I see that all the pigs here are in good condition, so I'm having them practice various inspection methods and remember what a good pig should look like under different methods."

Xu Chunsheng laughed along, "Looks like I've benefited from this today and learned so much."

"Hehe, these are all skills, not something I easily tell people. Boss Xu will be cooperating with our factory for a long time in the future, so there's no problem for you to learn these."

Master Li then gently touched the pig's hind leg with his toe: "Look, a normal pig has strong and powerful limbs, walks steadily, without tumors or limping, and most importantly, there is no swelling or deformation, which means the pig is healthy."

Master Zhang squatted down and used a wooden stick to carefully examine the pig's rump: "Master Zhang, this pig's rump is clean, without any redness or ulceration."

"Okay, you two go check the next pen, and do the same for each one." After instructing the two young workers, Master Zhang explained to Xu Chunsheng, "If the pig's excrement is clean and dry, without redness, swelling, or ulceration, and there is no loose stool stuck together, it means there is no intestinal problem or diarrhea."

He raised his hand and gently patted the pig's ribs: "Come here and listen."

Xu Chunsheng leaned closer and listened to the pig's breathing. In his ear, Master Li explained: "Listening to the rise and fall of the breath inside, the breathing is steady and even, without any heavy coughing or wheezing, which means there is no problem with the heart and lungs."

After the entire inspection was completed, Master Zhang took out a veterinary mercury thermometer from his canvas bag, gently inserted it into the pig's anus, held the tail rope for a moment, pulled it out, squinted at the scale under the light, and saw that the body temperature was stable and normal, with no signs of fever or illness.

"Okay, this one's fine." Master Zhang straightened up, nodded, and smiled. "No disease or injury, good body condition, no force-feeding or watering, a truly good pig. I didn't expect that someone so young could be such a good pig farmer."

Master Zhang called out to Xu Chunsheng, "Boss Xu, let these two check this place. Can you help me out?"

"Can you light this up for me so I can put the scale away?"

Xu Chunsheng found a flashlight and shone it on Master Li: "Master Li, how heavy is this scale? I watched you carry it down just now, it didn't look easy at all."

"It is a bit heavy, the whole set weighs over 200 jin, and this scale alone weighs over 100 jin. We'll leave someone here to record the weight, and then we'll just have to drive the pig onto it."

As he spoke, Mr. Li erected the pillar, fastened the connecting rod and scale, and quickly assembled the disassembled mechanical scale provided by the factory. Finally, he casually calibrated the zero point of the scale.

After everything was ready, Master Li went in and shouted, "Are you done checking? If you're done, hurry up and put them on the scale one by one."

Two young apprentices carried a pig out. While instructing the two young apprentices, Master Li also greeted Xu Chunsheng and his family, saying, "Boss Xu, you two lend a hand. Remember not to yell or chase the pig while carrying it. Pigs are very timid. If they panic, they will scatter and run away. If one of them runs away, it will be difficult to carry it back."

"Xiao Zhang, you guys teach them how to weigh the pigs later. Boss Xu, who's going to keep track of the weights? After you finish weighing one, check it with me."

Xu Chunsheng said to his mother, "Mom, you stay inside the pigsty and guard the gate. Let the pigs out slowly."

"Sister, you follow Master Li to keep track of the weights, I'll come with the old man to herd the pigs."

This arrangement couldn't be more suitable. Xu's mother is frail and not suitable for working outside with the pigs. The eldest sister is literate and will definitely have no problem keeping track of the weights. Xu Chunsheng and Xu's father are both physically fit, and if the pigs become agitated, the two of them can control them to some extent.

The group worked efficiently, each with their own tasks. One worker took a thin bamboo stick and, without striking it hard, simply swayed it gently beside the pig, slowly blocking its path. Another worker stood guard over the truck, responsible for opening and closing the gates of the truck bed.

Xu's mother stood guard at the exit of the pigpen, blocking the corners to prevent the pigs from turning back; the eldest sister and Master Li guarded the weighing platform, with Master Li weighing the pigs and the eldest sister waiting to record the weight.

Xu Chunsheng and his father followed Master Zhang's movements, slowly supporting the pig.

They all lowered their pace, making no loud noises, and moved extremely slowly, opening one pen gate after another. Xu Chunsheng stood inside the pigpen, gently pushing the pigs towards the gate, occasionally making soft "hissing" sounds. After a couple of times, the pigs understood Xu Chunsheng's intention and wobbled towards the gate.

The fat pigs in the pen, who had been huddled together and grunting, were slowly led out by the crowd, without any panic or impatience, along the passage that had been left open.

Along the way, Master Zhang gently adjusted the pig's direction with a thin bamboo stick, guiding it towards the weighing platform. The older sister stood to the side, gently guiding it with a bamboo stick, not daring to urge it at all.

Once the pig stepped onto the weighing platform and stood still without any restlessness, Mr. Li, who was guarding the platform, looked down at the height of the scale, adjusted the weight with his fingertips to stabilize the scale, and loudly announced the weight. The woman recording the weight quickly wrote it down in her notebook.

After the two confirmed that the weight was correct, Mr. Zhang slowly guided the pig down the side of the weighing platform.

"Boss Xu, have you figured it out? Just urge it slowly like this, don't rush it, it will know to walk on its own."

"Yes, no problem."

The pigs in the pen are usually fed by Xu Chunsheng's family, so they are more familiar with the pigs than the family.

When Xu Chunsheng pushed the pig to the main road, he saw that the truck bed had already been lowered, and a ramp was built behind it with wooden planks. The ramp was gentle and did not look scary. The truck bed was also covered with a thick layer of dry straw.

"Boss Xu, just like before, slowly chase them over. They'll know to come up."

Xu Chunsheng stood on the side of the slope, slightly blocking the pig's way to dodge to the side, and led the pig slowly uphill.

The pigs steadily climbed onto the truck bed via the wooden ramp, but they were a little unaccustomed to being in such a place.

They released the pigs one by one, weighed them one by one, and finally loaded them onto the truck one by one. The whole process was slow, but it was very reliable.

It took the three of them more than a dozen trips to finally load all the pigs onto the truck.

After all the pigs were loaded onto the cart, Mr. Xu washed his hands and couldn't help but sigh, "Your method is really effective. It's the first time the two of us have ever loaded so many pigs, and we haven't had a single problem. I've seen other people sell pigs before, and they always chase each other around like chickens and dogs, with the pigs trembling with fear. You guys handled it so smoothly."

Master Li wiped the dust off his hands and replied with a smile, "I've been in this business for over ten years, it's all experience. Pigs can't stand being startled. If they lose weight due to stress, that's a minor issue. What I'm worried about is if they get injured or fall, causing cuts and bruises. That would result in them being downgraded, which would not only hurt you but also cause us trouble. Going slower and more steadily will save everyone a lot of trouble."

Xu Chunsheng took the hot water his mother handed him, drank a sip, and said, "Let's not talk outside. Let's go inside and sit down to settle the accounts. Although it's already broad daylight, the temperature is still not high."

After entering the house, the eldest sister took out the notebook she had been holding and then took out an electronic calculator from the canvas bag hanging on the wall, ready to start calculating.

Mr. Li was somewhat surprised to see that they had even prepared electronic calculators: "I didn't expect Boss Xu to have even prepared electronic calculators. These things aren't cheap."

Xu Chunsheng said with a smile, "People are just lazy and prefer convenience. We'll be cooperating more in the future, and having a calculator will make things more comfortable. We'll have to buy one sooner or later, so the sooner we buy it, the sooner we can enjoy it."

"That makes sense. As Mr. Xu's pig farm grows bigger in the future, he will need these things even more. It's better to be prepared."

Everyone present stared intently at the calculator on the stool, but when they pressed the button, the calculator did not announce any numbers.

Mr. Li reads out a number, the older sister presses a number, Mr. Zhou watches from behind, and another driver guards the vehicle and the pigs on the road.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the eldest sister announced the final weight: "A total of 7,285 jin and 4 liang."

As she spoke, the older woman pressed buttons on the calculator. Once the result came out, she told everyone, "One pound is 1.65 yuan, so it should be 12,020.91 yuan."

Master Li took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Section Chief Sun told me that if you sign a contract and there are no problems with the pigs, you'll have to pay a deposit of five thousand, right?"

After seeing Xu Chunsheng nod, Master Li then said to the older woman, "Come on, little sister, reduce it by five thousand, see how much it is."

"There are still 7,020.91 yuan left."

"OK."

Master Li counted out five thousand yuan on the spot and handed it to Xu Chunsheng, along with a blank IOU.

Xu Chunsheng took it, and his parents and eldest sister also came over to look at it. The white paper clearly stated:

Purchased forty pigs from Xu's pig farm and paid a deposit of five thousand yuan.

Xu Chunsheng handed the note to his older sister, counted out the five thousand yuan in front of her, and after confirming that there was no problem, Xu Chunsheng signed his name on the note and the other party's register, clearly writing that he had received five thousand yuan.

Master Li also signed his name on the notebook and the blank slip.

"Mr. Xu, now that everything's confirmed, please keep this note safe."

Master Li then gave Xu Chunsheng another "settlement slip": "Boss Xu, if you see that everything is okay, you can collect the remaining money in a few days."

"Okay, thank you for your help today, Chef Li. I'll cook you some noodles before you leave."

"No, no, we're in a hurry to get back. We brought our own flatbread, could you please get us some hot water so we can soak it and eat it on the way?"

"Here's the thing, Mr. Li, I'd like to go to the county with you to take care of some business. You can stay and have a hot breakfast; it won't take up much of your time."

"It's cooking right here. Look, my mom's already boiled the water."

After the weather got cold, Xu Chunsheng carried a small stove and a pot to the pig farm so that he could cook noodles in the morning without having to bother his family to bring him food or go home in the cold.

Mr. Li saw that the water in the yard was indeed boiling, and it was really nice to have something hot on a cold morning, especially since he had left home at two or three o'clock last night and hadn't had a proper rest since.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, sister-in-law. Mr. Xu, please come with us to the county later, so you won't have to go to the town to catch a bus."

"May I ask what you're going to the county for?"

"Didn't the price-based system get canceled? I see that grain is cheaper in the county than in the town, so I'm planning to get my professional farmer certificate to buy some."

"Boss Xu really knows how to think things through. Although it doesn't seem like there's much money left, pig farms like yours need a lot of feed, so it really does save you a lot of money!"