My 1995 Small Farm.

Actually, the environment in the mountains is very suitable for raising pigs.

Chen Ling has tried modified versions of local beef and mutton.

In other words, he had eaten beef and mutton whose quality had changed due to the influence of his own spiritual water.

The only thing I haven't eaten yet is better pork.

As a true foodie, it would be a lie to say he didn't secretly hope for it.

So he really wanted to raise pigs, but he just couldn't stand the smell.

Thinking to myself, once the deer farm, as well as the cattle and sheep farms, are built over in the forest, I could raise a couple of pigs there.

As for the little lamb, he wants to try something new, like raising a second-generation wild boar, which is perfect.

Chen Ling was also looking forward to seeing the quality of this thing's meat.

"Professor Zhao is back? Oh my, Professor Zhong is back too! That's wonderful! We've been waiting for the two of you to write couplets for our family!"

A cheer erupted from the village entrance.

“Let Lao Zhong write it for you. He’s a painter, and he’s the best at calligraphy and painting. I also have to go to Fu Gui’s house to help prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner.”

As always, Zhao Yubao was unreliable and shameless. He waved to the enthusiastic villagers, chuckled, and left.

Old Zhong is different; he's thin-skinned, cares a lot about his image, and isn't good at saying no.

If those with a strong sense of self-interest ask for his calligraphy or paintings, he can refuse them without hesitation.

But these simple and honest villagers cannot do that.

They were treated with exceptional respect, and whenever they had something, they would have their children deliver it to their home, showing great care for the two families who had just moved in.

"Let's do it tonight. I'll write it down for everyone tonight. Don't worry, I'll get Old Zhao's men; he won't be able to run away."

Professor Zhong gritted his teeth and said to Zhao Yubao, who had already run far away.

"Fugui, why are we talking about raising pigs? Are you slaughtering a pig for the New Year? If so, I'll have Dahai pick out a good one, and we'll slaughter the New Year's pig this afternoon."

Zhao Yubao walked over and, after seeing Chen Ling and the other person talking, took out a piece of paper.

"I've written all of that down. I asked around in the county town which nearby village raises good pigs?"

"Uncle, you don't need to do that. Just find two families from our village, either Lishan's or Baoliang's or Baoshuan's."

Chen Ling didn't even look at the note he remembered. Who in the neighborhood could raise pigs that could compare to those in his own village?
The soil and water around Chenwangzhuang have been affected by itself, making it different from other places.

Although it wouldn't affect the villagers, the quality of the pigs fed with grass and leftover grain is definitely much better than in other villages.

This goes without saying.

It's said to be a subtle influence, not very obvious, but it's been a year already.

By the end of the year, the pork has long since changed from ordinary pork.

"Oh? Then I've wasted my time memorizing those numbers. I was saying if all else fails, we could go to Kuliu County and take a look. They have a lot of pig farms there! Lots of them raise big white pigs!"

Zhao Yubao said with considerable regret.

"No need, Uncle, don't you know? Don't they all say that pork from the big white pig is more substantial and thicker?"

"Yes, that's what everyone says. And that big white pig looks clean too. It's much fatter than the black pig. I think its meat must taste even better."

As Zhao Yubao spoke, he swallowed hard. Influenced by Chen Ling and the others, the old men had also begun to learn to enjoy all kinds of delicious food.

Seeing delicious food, or thinking about delicious food, makes me crave it.

"They're just talking nonsense. This afternoon, I'll have Dahai drive to Kuliu County to buy a few pounds of pork. When he comes back, we'll compare it with the pork from our area, and you'll be able to taste the difference."

Chen Ling shook his head. Nowadays, people don't pay much attention to things that are purely natural or pollution-free.

They also don't really understand the dangers of hormones, feed additives, and other harmful substances.

Adhering to the simple traditional Chinese mindset, people believe that bigger food is better, and thicker, more meaty food tastes better.

In short, it still can't escape some misconceptions about the beauty of bigger.

"Since you say so, Fugui, then it must not taste good. Let's just forget about it."

Zhao Yubao himself didn't know that he had actually eaten pork in the city, but he had never experienced the pleasure of slaughtering a whole pig on the spot.

"Uh, according to Fugui, does that mean white pigs can't be raised?"

The young man from the Li family quickly inquired, as he planned to raise white pigs next year.

“It doesn’t taste good. It’s not that it can’t be raised. This kind of pig can be sold faster than local pigs, so you can make money faster. But the meat definitely can’t compare to our local pigs.” Chen Ling didn’t hide anything from his fellow villagers: “The price of pork is okay now. It’s over five yuan a pound at the end of the year, almost six yuan a pound.”

It takes about a year for a normal local pig to grow to 200 pounds and be ready for market. Even if you castrate the pig and prevent it from reproducing, and just let it grow fat, it will still take at least a year.

Sometimes, even after a year of raising them, they may not even weigh 200 pounds.

These big white pigs are different; they grow very fast. They are fattened up with feed and can be sold in about six months.

Sometimes, even if it takes two months or seven or eight months to raise them, they still make money sooner than our black pigs.

For pig farms, once a live pig is loaded onto the truck, even if it's not five or six yuan per kilogram, it only costs five yuan. That means each pig can earn an extra thousand yuan a year.

Earning an extra thousand yuan per pig per year is no small amount for a pig farm these days.

"So, you're saying large white pigs can be raised?"

Upon hearing this, the young man perked up again. Having just gotten married, who wouldn't want to earn more money?

Life will be even better after we have kids.

"It's possible to raise them, but if you want them to be ready for market in more than six months, you'll need to feed them, which will involve all sorts of hassles..."

Chen Ling told him what had happened.

If you want to raise white pigs and get them to market quickly, you need to start investing in them from the beginning.

It's very different from raising your own local pigs and waiting to slaughter them for the New Year.

We just feed our own free-range pigs leftovers and swill, some pig feed, and whatever else we can find.

If kept in a dry toilet, they would eat fresh human feces, just like dogs, which is extremely disgusting.

It's not easy to gain weight to over 100 pounds throughout the year.

It's because I don't eat enough to get enough weight, so I don't gain weight.

"The pigeon camp has a farm for raising white pigs, but it's a small farm. They say they invested 7,000 catties of grain in the first half of this year and it can make money, but not as much as you think. Making a pure profit of 1,000 yuan per pig is just wishful thinking."

The place Chen Ling was referring to was Han Chuang's father-in-law's family.

Huangni Town has many factories, and the people there like to do small businesses. Pigeon Camp is not far away, and influenced by this, it became the first place in the surrounding area to raise white pigs.

"I understand, I understand. You know a lot."

The young man from the Li family nodded and muttered to himself that he would be satisfied if raising one or two pigs could fatten them up faster than black pigs, and each pig could sell for one or two hundred yuan more than the black pigs of previous years.

In those days, for people in the countryside, ten yuan was enough to have a good New Year.

If you raise pigs all year round and sell them for an extra hundred yuan, it can make a family happy for a long time.

"Okay, this kid isn't greedy."

As Zhao Yubao walked home with Chen Ling, he smiled.

"Whether they are greedy or not, most of the villagers think this way; they don't dare to invest too much."

Chen Ling was used to it; without money, he lacked confidence.

So many people in the village wanted to follow his lead and raise this or that, but none of them have succeeded so far.

It's not that he's hiding anything; even if he taught all the techniques except for his own spiritual water, it would still be very difficult to succeed.

The key issue is the cost of investing money, which has stopped everyone.

To venture into unknown territory with no clue whatsoever, to do something with no concrete results—the thought of spending money on such an undertaking is like having a piece of your own flesh cut off.

Chen Ling did not look down on the villagers.

I didn't think they were unambitious.

He knew perfectly well that once a person starts supporting a family, there are expenses for everything from daily necessities to food and household necessities, making it really difficult to come up with too much money.

This is genuine poverty.

So starting in the second half of the year, he stopped thinking about sharing his ornamental fish with the villagers.

Because they're useless, they can't be raised properly.

We only call them when we encounter situations like picking wild fruits in the mountains, or raising crayfish, or building a site that requires labor but doesn't require much investment.

This doesn't mean he didn't help his fellow villagers make money.

Sometimes it's just that I can't carry them. (End of Chapter)