Da Shui Village, the Old Yun family.
"Hahaha, this is great, our family will have plenty of pork this year..."
Old Man Yun, with a pipe in his mouth, stood smiling in front of the pigsty, watching his old sow give birth.
Madam Gu was also beaming, "Old man, how many piglets did our sow have last year?"
"It seems... it seems like ten!"
Old Man Yun scratched his face, glanced into the pigsty again, and said with a smile, "Old woman, look, this old sow is really something. This litter has fifteen piglets. If we raise them well, they'll fetch a good price by the New Year..."
The pigs they raised were usually let out on the hillside to find their own food.
As long as the pigs exercised a lot and roamed enough, their meat would be tastier...
More lean meat and streaky pork, less fat. It was much tastier than pigs raised purely on feed.
However, almost every family in Da Shui Village ate lard and couldn't do without fatty cuts like intestines and caul fat. Therefore, a few large pigs were kept in the sty specifically for fattening...
"We'll slaughter one in the autumn, then call back our youngest daughter and Si Man, and we'll have a good celebration!" Old Man Yun said with a smile.
Madam Gu glanced at him after hearing this, "What's there to celebrate? Gui Hua is paralyzed now, and we don't know when Er Man and Si Man will return. There will be more and more family matters from now on, and many expenses. We should save where we can..."
With the eldest daughter-in-law suddenly falling ill, Yun Gui Fang's business would definitely not be as booming as before.
Although Manager Liu was helping to look after things, he was still a hired hand. No one knew if he was embezzling or stealing...
Moreover, ever since their youngest daughter went to the capital, Madam Gu felt that nothing in the family was going smoothly. Fang'er had been captured, and although Da Man had become a county magistrate, he had to deal with countless trivial matters every day, his hair almost turning white.
Therefore, Madam Gu's only hope now was for her daughter to return soon...
"If we don't slaughter the pigs, what are they for, laying eggs?"
Old Man Yun, torn between laughter and tears, took Madam Gu's hand, "Old woman, our family is not the best, but we're better off than many. Look at those dairy cows, they give milk every day, and we have more than enough to drink. Even the rich gentlemen in the county have to pay for it. What do we have to be dissatisfied about..."
The crops in the fields were growing very well now. The corn stalks were growing tall and strong, one after another.
By late autumn, the family would have a lot of grain, enough for them to eat for more than half a year, or even a year...
Old Man Yun was a contented person. As long as he wasn't forced to live in the county town or the capital, he could be happy to his heart's content in Da Shui Village. "It's not that I'm dissatisfied!" Madam Gu sighed, "Who are we indebted to for our good life? Isn't it our clever youngest daughter? Without her, we would have starved to death on the road during the famine!"
No matter when, they couldn't forget that Xi Tian was the great contributor to the family...
"That's right, our daughter is now a county princess. Who knows how successful she'll be in the future, haha!"
Old Man Yun's smile was bright. Just as he was about to ask Cai Xia to prepare more concentrated feed for the pigs, he saw the village chief walking in with two plump chickens...
"Oh, Village Chief, you don't have to bring anything when you come!" Old Man Yun quickly went to greet him.
The village chief chuckled, "I've drunk your family's milk quite a bit too. This is just returning the favor. Later, you can pluck these chickens, chop them up, and stir-fry them with pickled cucumbers or shredded mustard. They're great with both rice and wine..."
As he spoke, the village chief placed the two heavy chickens into Old Man Yun's hands.
Old Man Yun's face was full of smiles, "That's great. Village Chief, stay for dinner tonight, and we old fellows can have a drink!"
Old Man Sun had been suffering from back and leg pain for the past few days. He had taken two doses of herbal soup, but there was no improvement. Yesterday, Er Longzi had taken him to a clinic in the county town to see a doctor...
Without their youngest daughter and Doctor Guan at home, they had no one to help them with minor ailments.
"No, no, I came today to talk to you about something!" the village chief said.
Upon hearing this, Old Man Yun exchanged a look with Madam Gu, his curiosity piqued, "What... what is it?"
The village chief casually unfastened Old Man Yun's pipe, placed a small handful of dry tobacco into his own pipe, lit it, and took a couple of puffs. "It's about your Da Man!"
Old Man Yun: "???"
Did something happen to Da Man?
He was now the magistrate of Heyang County. Who could do anything to him...
Madam Gu raised her eyebrows, "What's wrong with my Da Man?"
The village chief glanced towards the inner room, then pulled the elders towards the cow shed, "I went to the county yamen yesterday on business and heard a lot of bad rumors. It's said that Da Man is keeping a woman outside. She's so beautiful, much more lively than your Gui Hua..."
Having said that, the village chief blew a smoke ring and continued, "If you ask me, this is pure nonsense. Da Man and Gui Hua have such good feelings for each other. They've been through so much hardship together as a couple for so many years. How could Da Man do anything to betray Gui Hua, right?"
Madam Gu narrowed her eyes slightly. The more she listened, the more absurd the matter seemed...
Da Man was her son, and she naturally understood his character.
Even if Da Man had the wicked heart, he didn't have the wicked courage.
"Damn it, who's spreading this rumor? Are they bored and have nothing better to do?"
Old Man Yun was furious and kicked the fence gate, "When Da Man comes back, I'll interrogate him properly. If he dares to fool around outside and do any improper things, I... I'll break his legs!"
In fact, Old Man Yun didn't believe Da Man would do such a thing at all.
Perhaps those hypocritical scoundrels couldn't stand to see others do well. Seeing that Da Man had become a county magistrate, they were secretly spreading rumors to provoke and disgust him...
"You can save your breath!" Madam Gu pinched Old Man Yun and said irritably, "Da Man is your son, that's true, but he's also a county magistrate now. If you break his legs, the constables will arrest you and throw you in jail!"
This old fool, he blurted out everything...
Old Man Yun opened his mouth, then sheepishly turned his face away and stopped talking.
The village chief sighed, "If this is true, then it will be difficult to handle. It's one thing if Da Man can't continue as magistrate, but it might also affect the reputation of the little county princess. Moreover, Da Man was personally recommended by the little Highness to become an official. Da Man's position as an official hasn't even warmed up yet, and such a scandal has occurred. It wouldn't reflect well on the little Highness either, would it?"
If you make the Crown Prince lose face, then the Prince won't give you a good look either...
Upon hearing this, Old Man Yun felt a surge of indignation. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard a loud noise from the inner room.