sinovels Chapter 57 The teacher also helped with chores at my house.
Chapter 57 The teacher also helped with chores at my house.
Xu Chunsheng happily accepted it; it was a book about pig farm management. He flipped through it a couple of times and smiled:
"This is great, thank you so much, Professor Tang. This is so useful. I felt the booklet the veterinarian gave me wasn't comprehensive enough, and this book is a lifesaver."
Teacher Tang waved her hand and smiled gently:
"It would be great if this could help you. You're the first family in the village to start a livestock farm, and you have to figure everything out on your own without any opportunities to learn from others. This book is quite comprehensive, you can take a look."
Xu Chunsheng placed the book on his lap, preparing to express his gratitude, when he saw his elder sister approaching with two cups of tea.
"Teacher Tang, have some tea."
Tang Changping stood up, took the teacup with both hands, and offered the chair, "Thank you, would you like to sit down and rest?"
His hand holding the teacup began to turn red again, and his other hand unconsciously touched the seam of his trousers.
"Hey, sis, sit here with me and chat with Teacher Tang. The tiles from yesterday are still on the truck, I'll take them down."
After Xu Chunsheng finished speaking, he casually put the book on his lap on the windowsill, then reached out and put his hand on his sister's shoulder, pressed her down on his stool, and then went to remove the tiles.
Xu Chunsheng walked to the tricycle next to the thatched hut and uncovered the plastic sheet covering it.
The truck bed contained two layers of blue tiles, tied together in bundles of twenty with straw ropes, and each layer, each column, and each bundle was cushioned with a thick layer of corn husks.
These tiles were ordered for the previous pig farm repairs. Xu Chunsheng specifically ordered extra, partly to prevent damage from the bumpy road.
Secondly, and most importantly, when we were digging for Ophiopogon japonicus in Sankuaibao, my family casually mentioned that we needed to fix up the roof, so we ordered all the tiles we needed at once.
After the pig farm was completed, some of the remaining tiles were left at the pig farm, while Xu Chunsheng took the rest home.
A pile of tiles had been stacked outside the thatched hut. It was placed there because it didn't block the way and made it convenient to work.
All Xu Chunsheng had to do was neatly stack the tiles on the cart. While he worked, he kept his ears open, listening to the two people chatting awkwardly under the eaves.
"Ahem, Teacher Tang, my little sister has caused you trouble at school."
"I'm not afraid of trouble, I like trouble..."
Xu Chunsheng: ...
After lunch, Xu Chunsheng told his family that he was going to drive his tricycle to the town's livestock station.
Tang Changping offered to go with Xu Chunsheng since he had nothing else to do and help him out.
"That won't do!"
Upon hearing this, Xu's mother, who was tidying up the table, immediately refused.
"It can do it!"
But Xu Chunsheng readily agreed, pulled Tang Changping into the car, and then drove off in the tricycle.
"Why!"
Xu's mother called out, and seeing that the tricycle did not stop, she turned around and glanced at her eldest daughter.
She had already walked towards the thatched hut, sat down in front of the pig feed, and was constantly chopping pig feed without looking up, swinging her knife.
Xu Chunsheng parked his car in front of the livestock station, went inside, and asked, "Livestock worker, have the pigs arrived safely?"
"What's your name? When were you registered?"
"Xu Chunsheng registered on the 25th of last month."
The livestock handler opened the registration form on the table, found that day's form, and saw that it listed forty piglets. He said:
"Oh, I remember now, it was the forty pigs you ordered. They all arrived yesterday."
"You ordered only crossbred pigs with complete vaccinations. Give me your deposit receipt."
The livestock worker took the receipt from Xu Chunsheng and carefully checked the information on it: the number and breed of piglets ordered, and the amount of the deposit.
He quickly calculated the remaining balance and said to Xu Chunsheng:
"Okay, you can pay the remaining balance and then go see the piglets."
After Xu Chunsheng paid the remaining balance, the livestock worker wrote "remaining balance settled" on the receipt, and then the two signed to confirm.
The livestock worker handed the original receipt to Xu Chunsheng, pasted the duplicate copy into his ledger, and sighed to Xu Chunsheng:
"Now that pig farming has been allowed, more people are ordering pigs. You're lucky you ordered early; otherwise, you might have to wait another two weeks to get one."
Xu Chunsheng took the receipt and smiled, "Thank you for your help. Looks like I'm pretty lucky."
Tang Changping chuckled along, adjusted his glasses, and felt quite uncomfortable after the bumpy ride on the dirt road.
The town usually keeps a few to a dozen piglets on hand, so they don't have too many piglets in their hands. People like Xu Chunsheng, who order thirty or forty piglets at a time, need to make reservations in advance and then have them transferred from the county's breeding pig farm. If you don't make a reservation, you won't get a turn.
Moreover, spring is the peak season for buying piglets. For large orders, you need to place an order at the livestock station at least half a month in advance and pay a 20% deposit for each pig.
Logically, after Xu Chunsheng paid the deposit, they could have agreed on a pickup date. However, because he needed a large quantity, the livestock station made him wait almost a month before coming, having already informed him that it was uncertain whether all the goods would arrive.
Then a technician arrived and led Xu Chunsheng and his companion into the pigsty. The technician pointed to a large pen and said:
"If you need a lot, it's all locked in this one circle. Just click on it."
The two of them counted them one by one in front of each other, and there were exactly forty heads, no more and no less.
Xu Chunsheng carefully examined the fur of each piglet, confirming that none were sick, weak, or injured, before nodding in relief and saying:
"Everything's here, no problem."
After Xu Chunsheng finished confirming, the technician took out a pandemic prevention card and handed it to him.
Xu Chunsheng took it and carefully looked through it. It contained handwritten information about basic vaccinations, the timing of piglet vaccinations, and finally the signature of the person in charge and the red seal of the county and township livestock stations.
Xu Chunsheng put the epidemic prevention card in his pocket and then borrowed twenty pig cages from the technician:
"No problem, please rent me twenty pig cages. I can't load them all in one trip on my tricycle, I'm afraid I'll have to make two trips."
"Okay, you pay a five-dollar deposit later, and I'll refund you when you return the cage."
"Yes, I will."
With the help of Tang Changping and the technician, Xu Chunsheng herded the piglets one by one into the pig cages, and then loaded them one by one into the tricycle. Before loading, the technician looked at his bare truck bed and said:
"Your tricycle is all smooth; if it bumps around, Piglet won't be able to handle it."
Then he called Xu Chunsheng, and the two of them carried a lot of straw, spread it in the truck bed, and then neatly laid the piglets on it.
"Thank you for your help, teacher. I'll come back later to pack up the rest."
Xu Chunsheng then drove home slowly, being extra careful and slow to avoid upsetting the piglets. It took him an extra half hour to get home.
"Beep beep—"
Xu Chunsheng parked the car in the yard, honked the horn twice towards the house, and shouted:
"Mom and Dad, Sister, the piglets are here."
"Here it comes, here it comes."
Only Xu's mother and eldest sister came out.
Xu Chunsheng lifted the piglets off the truck.
Tang Changping also helped carry the piglets down.
"Little sister, why is Teacher Tang always helping your family with chores?"
In the afternoon, Xiaowei delivered cherries from his own tree to the Xu family. He was playing in the yard with his younger sister when he saw this scene. His eyes widened in surprise, and he asked his sister in astonishment.
The youngest sister puffed out her little chest and said, "My second brother is the best! Teacher Tang listens to my second brother now!"