coobybook Chapter 21 Piglet
Chapter 21 Piglet
Zhu Laisan, nicknamed "Pig Teeth," was overjoyed today! Who would have thought that his trip to the East Market to sell piglets would lead him to such a big customer! This generous client bought fifty piglets directly from him. Looking at the heavy wad of silver in his hand, Zhu Laisan grinned from ear to ear. He counted it again and again—a total of one hundred taels of silver! This unexpected windfall filled him with ecstasy, as if a pie had fallen from the sky.
Zhu Laisan, overjoyed, took the silver and happily headed home. His steps were light, his mood cheerful, completely forgetting the panting nephew behind him. The nephew, panting heavily, struggled to keep up with Zhu Laisan, but was clearly exhausted. However, Zhu Laisan didn't notice his nephew's fatigue; he was so engrossed in his joy that he couldn't wait to get home and share the surprise with his family.
Zhu Laisan was from Zhujia Village, thirty li away from Xianyang City. He was the third son in his family, hence his name. His older sister had married into a neighboring village, and his older brother, Zhu Lai'er, was a kind and honest man. One year, Zhu Lai'er went fishing in the river to nourish his wife, who was in confinement after childbirth, when he encountered a child who had fallen into the water. Without hesitation, Zhu Lai'er jumped into the river to save the child. The child was rescued, but Zhu Lai'er, exhausted, was swept away by the current. When he was found, he was lifeless. From then on, the widow and her child struggled to make a living.
As the youngest child in the family, Zhu Laisan was pampered and cared for by his parents from a young age. After Zhu Laier's death, Zhu Laisan proposed dividing the family property. Everyone in the village knew that Zhu Laisan was afraid of having to support the widow and her children, so he wanted to divide the family property. Because of the elders' favoritism, there were no objections to the division, and it was completed quickly. Zhu Laisan received most of the family property, while Zhu Laier's widow and children received a dilapidated house and enough millet to last them only a month.
While Zhu Lai'er's widow struggled to raise her child, Zhu Lai'san used the money he received from the family division to start raising pigs in the village. Lacking manpower, he suddenly remembered his adopted nephew, Zhu Xiaozhu. He devised a plan to trick Zhu Lai'er's son into helping him raise the pigs. Thus, Zhu Xiaozhu was brought to Zhu Lai'san's pigsty and began his pig-raising career.
This continued for seven years. During those seven years, Zhu Xiaozhu gradually grew from an innocent child into a sensible teenager. However, his life remained unchanged; he was still confined to the pigsty, spending his days with pigs and raising them for his third uncle. His childhood and adolescence were trapped in this small pigsty, unable to spread his wings and soar.
Zhu Laisan returned home overjoyed. As soon as he entered, he tightly grasped his wife's hand and quickly closed the door. His wife, Zhang, looked at him with a puzzled expression and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you? Why did you close the door in broad daylight? And why are you home so early today?" Zhu Laisan smiled mysteriously, then carefully took out a bulging money pouch from his pocket, gently opened it, and took out the silver coins one by one. With his actions, Zhang's eyes widened, and an expression of disbelief gradually appeared on her face. Her voice trembled as she asked nervously, "So much money...where did you get it? Did you do something illegal?" Zhu Laisan smiled smugly and said, "Look at what you're saying! I just got lucky today and met a big customer who bought fifty piglets at once." Zhang was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth. She exclaimed excitedly, "What? Where did we get fifty piglets? What are we going to do? If you take the money and they find out we don't have fifty piglets, they'll definitely report us to the authorities!" Zhu Laisan comforted her, "Don't worry, even if we don't have them, we can buy them from other people. If we go to a few more places, we'll definitely be able to gather fifty piglets. Don't worry!"
"Also, our big customer wanted someone who knew how to raise pigs, so I sent Xiaozhu," Zhu Laisan said to Zhang.
Upon hearing this, Zhang's face fell, and she angrily questioned, "Xiaozhu is gone, who will raise our pigs? They're a vital source of income for our family!"
Zhu Laisan quickly comforted Zhang, saying, "Don't worry! Xiaozhu is growing up. We can't keep raising pigs for our family forever, can we? What will the villagers think of us? They'll definitely curse us to death. Now there's a good opportunity for Xiaozhu to raise pigs for a wealthy family. This will not only train his skills but also allow him to earn more money. Besides, the client said he'll give him two taels of silver every month!"
Hearing this, Zhang's expression softened slightly, but she still asked with some worry, "Then what do you plan to do? Our pigs can't be left unattended!"
Zhu Laisan explained with a smile, "Don't worry, once Xiaozhu goes to his client's place, I'll find someone to help take care of the pigs at home. This way, we can guarantee our family's income and also give Xiaozhu a better chance to develop. Besides, I'll give my second sister-in-law one tael of silver a month, and we'll keep one tael for ourselves. Just think, won't people say you're a kind aunt?"
After listening to Zhu Laisan, Zhang felt that what he said made a lot of sense, and her worries gradually disappeared. She began to imagine receiving one tael of silver every month, and a smile couldn't help but appear on her face. Finally, she decided to stop worrying about these things and happily counted her silver, looking forward to a bright future.
After comforting Zhang, Zhu Laisan took Zhu Xiaozhu out to visit other pig-raising families in the village. They came across a family named Zhu Youyong, which was the second largest pig-raising family in the village after Zhu Laisan.
Zhu Youyong warmly welcomed them and showed them around the pigsty. Zhu Laisan carefully observed each piglet, silently assessing their health and growth potential. After some selection, he chose about a dozen piglets.
Next came the price negotiation. Zhu Laisan and Zhu Youyong began a back-and-forth bargaining, both hoping to get a satisfactory price. Finally, after some intense haggling, Zhu Laisan bought fifteen piglets from Zhu Youyong at 10 qian each. Zhu Laisan was very satisfied; he could still make a net profit of half.
After the transaction was completed, Zhu Laisan counted out fifteen taels of silver and handed them to Zhu Youyong. Then he drove the fifteen piglets home. Back home, he put the newly bought piglets into the pigpen, raising them alongside his original thirty-five piglets. Looking at the pen full of lively and adorable piglets, a satisfied smile appeared on Zhu Laisan's face.
Before dawn the next day, Zhu Laisan and Zhu Xiaozhu borrowed several donkey carts from the village in the dark. They then tied the legs of fifty piglets together and loaded them onto the carts one by one. They filled five carts in total and drove them towards the estate Ying Wuyou had given them. Along the way, they carefully tended to the piglets, ensuring their safe arrival at their destination.