dognovel Chapter 2 A Little Surprise for My Sister
Chapter 2 A Little Surprise for My Sister
Xu Chunsheng gritted his teeth, feeling utterly disgusted by this "brother".
"yes!"
Qian Junwei stood there, stunned.
"You really won't lend it?" Qian Junwei asked again with a sullen face.
"No way! Get out!"
Xu Chunsheng was adamant and didn't give the other party a friendly look.
Qian Junwei clenched his fists, put on a stern face, and wanted to shove Xu Chunsheng, but seeing that the other party was a head taller than him and that Xu Chunhua was there, he held back.
"I'll pay you interest, is that alright?"
Qian Junwei planned to use interest to deceive Xu Chunsheng, and then renege on the debt later.
"No, I have my own uses."
Xu Chunsheng replied.
Qian Junwei laughed angrily, "Fine, then you'll regret it!"
Xu Chunsheng ignored Qian Junwei and pulled his sister toward the supply and marketing cooperative.
"Chunsheng, you're really sharp today. No matter how I try to persuade you, you always think he's your best friend and I can't stop you."
Xu Chunhua felt that her younger brother was acting strangely today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with him.
"It's always a good thing as long as I don't associate with Qian Junwei," Xu Chunhua thought.
……
The siblings stood motionless at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.
Xu Chunsheng is paying close attention to current prices.
Indica rice: 0.14 yuan/jin
Flour: 0.18 yuan/jin
Rapeseed oil: 1.70 yuan/jin
Pork: 1.8 yuan/jin
Local breed piglets: 1.8 yuan/jin
Mixed breed piglets: 2.4 yuan/jin
……
Xu Chunsheng's heart was burning with excitement. He thought to himself, "Prices are really cheap right now. This is a huge business opportunity!"
Xu Chunsheng knew that the grain coupons would be invalid next November, and this price would become a thing of the past, while the price of grain would only go higher.
"Boss, I'd like to buy some kerosene." Xu Chunsheng handed over the oil coupons and money he had brought from home, preparing to complete the task his parents had given him.
Xu Chunsheng noticed that his sister kept staring at the price of piglets, muttering, "Oh dear, the price has gone up again. When will I ever save enough money to buy one?"
Xu Chunsheng didn't say much, only tugged at his sister's sleeve: "Sis, let's go!"
The two then returned to the street.
In the 1990s, the town's streets were mostly dirt roads, lined with clothing stores, hardware stores, etc., far less developed than in later years. There was no KFC or Mixue Ice Cream.
There were very few cars, and men and women carried baskets on their backs as they walked through the streets and alleys.
But not long after, Xu Chunsheng saw his older sister stop and stare blankly at the state-run livestock station where piglets were being sold.
Seeing this, Xu Chunsheng said, "Sister, we need to raise a pig at home."
He remembered that pork prices would continue to rise, so raising pigs at this time was a sure thing.
The older woman nodded: "It's just that the price of piglets has gone up again!"
"Then take this money and use it."
Xu Chunsheng said.
"Your money isn't enough. You should save it and not spend it recklessly. I'll try to save more myself."
The eldest sister rejected Xu Chunsheng.
Xu Chunsheng didn't say anything more and walked with his sister towards their home—Xujia Village.
Xujia Village was still the same as he remembered it, surrounded by mountains and water, with mostly houses with blue tiles and earthen walls, interspersed with a few brick and tile bungalows, and occasionally the sounds of dogs barking and roosters crowing could be heard.
Xu Chunsheng handed the rice to his eldest sister, saying, "Sister, take the rice back with you. I'll go check in the back."
"where did you go?"
Xu Chunsheng did not answer.
His destination was Liu Shubing's house at the end of the village.
He thought he could buy a pig on credit instead of waiting around like his sister to save up enough money to buy it.
The Liu family were outsiders. They didn't own much land and relied on raising poultry and livestock to make money. Villagers also liked to exchange some grain with them for eggs, duck eggs, and the like.
"Uncle Liu, Uncle Liu, are you home?" Xu Chunsheng called out as he stepped onto the threshing floor of his house.
"Hey, hey, who is it? Wait until I empty this bucket of pig feed."
A moment later, Liu Shubing came out of the thatched hut, wiping his hands on his apron as he walked. "Oh, it's Xu Erwa. What's up?"
"Uncle Liu, I wanted to ask if you have any piglets left? I'd like to buy one on credit."
Xu Chunsheng wasn't sure if his family still had any piglets that hadn't been reserved.
"Erwa, yes, I do, but this is just for me to feed him. Everyone else in the village has already ordered him."
Liu Shubing handed him a stool. "There was a litter of kittens that we haven't reserved yet. We can take them home and feed them in about a month. Do you want to reserve one?"
Xu Chunsheng frowned. "Uncle, how about this? I'll pay you 10 yuan first, and you can give me one on credit from the one you've been saving. I'll bring you the rest of the money when I have it."
"You got your bonus? You've got guts, aren't you? Aren't you afraid of hurting yourself?" Liu Shubing said with a smile. "If you pay 10 yuan first, I can give you one on credit, but does your old man know about that?"
Back in the 1990s, when farmers bought pigs on credit, they would usually draw up a written agreement, take the piglets home to raise first, and then pay for the piglets after selling the pigs in winter.
Few people like Xu Chunsheng pay in advance, so Liu Shubing is willing to give him one of his piglets on credit, since he can keep another one when it grows up anyway.
"I understand, I understand, thank you, Uncle." Xu Chunsheng nodded repeatedly.
"Okay, come with me and pick one." Liu Shubing led Xu Chunsheng to see the piglets. "These two mixed-breed pigs are three yuan and fifty cents each. Which one do you want?"
"Uncle, I want that one." Xu Chunsheng pointed to a pink and white piglet sleeping in the corner.
"Are you sure? This is a mixed breed, it costs four yuan and fifty cents." Liu Shubing assumed that Xu Chunsheng, like most villagers, was buying a local mixed breed to raise.
"Yes, I'll take this one." Xu Chunsheng knew that hybrids were easier to raise than native ones, and they grew faster.
"Okay. You have a good eye. I was originally keeping this one for myself." With that, Liu Shubing stepped into the pigpen, grabbed the piglet by its hind legs, and pulled it out.
The piglet was terrified; its white fur stood on end, its front legs pawed wildly in the air, and its hind legs kicked wildly, making a shrill squeal.
"Fifteen pounds and six ounces." Liu Shubing weighed the piglets. "Two yuan and fifty cents a pound, that's thirty-nine yuan in total. You give me ten yuan, and I'll give you the remaining twenty-nine. If there's no problem, we'll go find the village chief to draw up a written agreement."
"Yes, Uncle," Xu Chunsheng replied, feeling a surge of joy as he could already imagine the excited expressions on his family's faces when they saw the piglets.
Especially her older sister, who envied Xu Ermei next door for being able to walk her scruffy piglet from time to time. She had never noticed these things in her previous life. It was just that her older sister's two sentences in town had stirred up some memories of the past.
But now my eldest sister no longer needs to envy others.
Liu Shubing, who was standing to the side, put the piglets into the basket on his back and prepared to carry them on his back.
Xu Chunsheng quickly stopped him, saying, "I'll take it, Uncle. I'll bring you this basket later."
After saying that, they nimbly shouldered their baskets and went together to the village chief's house to sign a written agreement.
Xu Chunsheng also paid Uncle Liu ten yuan in front of the village chief.
It was the busy season for farming, so the group exchanged a few words and then went about their own work.
Xu Chunsheng carried the piglets on his back and walked home with light steps.
He was already imagining how his sister would feel when she saw him carrying piglets back home.
He believed that with his sister's meticulousness and diligence, she would definitely be able to raise the pigs very well.
The Xu family.
"Tap, tap, tap." Xu Chunhua was cutting houttuynia cordata.
She came back at a moderate pace today, and since she couldn't do much work in the fields, Xu Chunhua simply tidied up the houttuynia cordata she had dug up from the field ridge yesterday, chopped it up, mixed it in, and prepared it for lunchtime. The taste would be just right.
Then they heard Xu Chunsheng's voice coming from outside.
"Sis! Sis! Come out quickly, I brought you something nice..."