Chapter 35: 35 Feeding the Piglets Chinese Milkvetch

Chapter 35: Feeding the Piglets with Chinese Millettia

Before the sun grew too hot, Song Sancheng covered all the mushroom logs on the mountain with thick layers of rice straw. Only then did he satisfy himself by setting up the enclosures and heading down the mountain.

Upon returning home, his first stop was the back mountain to check on the piglets.

He could hear their grunting from a distance. Looking closer, it seemed they had just been fed; three white and two black piglets were huddled head-to-head, shoving their snouts into the trough, eating without even looking up.

One of the black ones was eating so intently that it had sprawled its entire body across the front of the trough, occupying more than half the space.

The remaining little white pig was slightly smaller and simply couldn't squeeze in, squealing and grunting anxiously beside them.

Song Sancheng quickly picked up a stick and used a combination of tapping and scaring to nudge them into their proper positions.

Looking into the trough again, besides some rice bran and sweet potatoes, there was a thick layer of lush green leaves that the piglets were fighting over, eating with great relish!

It was Chinese Millettia (*Astragalus sinicus*)! Why did the pigs like it so much?

A standard farmer's smile spread across Song Sancheng's face as he chuckled

"Look at you little pigs, eating better than humans!"

He then went to the pigsty to check the straw. The thick straw laid out in the shed looked both dry and warm.

The leaves in the forest had not yet fully unfurled, allowing large patches of sunlight to filter through, feeling warm and soft. There were already some traces in the nearby manure pit; it was a good environment for raising pigs.

Only then did he return to the front courtyard, satisfied.

Wulan had just finished cooking. Song Sancheng could smell the aroma from afar and rubbed his stomach

"What's for dinner today?"

Qiaoqiao chimed in cheerfully from the side

"Eating pig food!"

"The little pigs eat it, and we eat it too!"

Song Tan patted his fuzzy head. "Silly boy." Then, she turned to Song Sancheng with a helpless smile

"Dad, don't listen to him. I went to pick a handful of Chinese Millettia at noon, and Mom is using it to stir-fry meat. Why don't you try it and see if it's good?"

"If it's delicious, we can make a lot of money!"

...

It had been many years since the family had eaten Chinese Millettia. After pondering for a moment, Wulan took some minced garlic and sautéed it in lard to release the aroma, then added the cured meat and the chopped segments of Chinese Millettia.

With a sudden burst of high heat, the lush green leaves and stems mingled with the slightly reddish cured meat. The fresh fragrance and the meaty scent intertwined, making one's mouth water just from the smell.

Qiaoqiao had already forgotten the pain of losing his mother pig; at this moment, he was using his chopsticks to pick up food

"I eat a bite, Peppa eats a bite. I eat a bite, George eats a bite. Another bite, Sister eats a bite..."

Despite his silliness, he was quite skilled with his chopsticks.

In a short while, his bowl was piled high, clearly having mastered the essence of the "Liu Xing Cake-Sharing Method."

Faced with such a silly child, what else could the family say?

Song Sancheng took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. He felt a refreshing fragrance and a subtle sweetness of wild greens in his mouth, paired with the slightly salty cured meat...

It was divine!

His eyes lit up. "Aiya, why does this feel even better than wild greens? I ate this every day when I was a kid, so why didn't I think it was delicious? I only knew it tasted like grass."

Wulan also took a bite, feeling very confident about the prospect of selling it for twenty yuan per jin. "Who could afford to stir-fry vegetables with lard and cured meat for you when you were a kid? Back then, we just scalded them in water and called it cooked."

That was true.

As the two of them rationalized why the dish was so delicious, Song Tan didn't even need to find an excuse.

Afterward, Song Sancheng remembered

"Tantan, since we're planting such a large area, do you think we should get a couple of beehives? This Chinese Millettia is excellent nectar source. The honey the bees collect will be incredibly sweet."

"You can't even buy them easily right now; no one around here plants this anymore."

Song Tan hadn't actually thought of that!

She had too many things to attend to and hadn't been able to be so thorough. She nodded hurriedly

"Yes! Dad, you know so many people. Let's get a few more boxes. The Chinese Millettia in our fields is growing so well; it will definitely look beautiful when it blooms."

Spiritual honey... just a spoonful in water, that taste...

She couldn't think about it, she couldn't think about it!

Song Tan was already impatient.

"By the way, Dad, Grandpa Li from the village said he'll let his cow graze on this in the fields. When it's time to plant rice, he'll help us plow the fields."

"I'll leave the two bottom plots for his cow to graze, but I want to sell the rest of the Chinese Millettia. It wouldn't be good to let the cow go in and eat it all."

After all, it was a cow; if it ate and then defecated in the field, it wouldn't be good.

Song Sancheng laughed. "He only has that one cow; how could he need two plots? One plot is enough."

"But this Chinese Millettia is indeed good. I saw the pigs eating it well today. In a few days, once they are well-grown, we can find time to drive them into the fields to let them wander around."

However, with five pigs, they might be hard to control for a while...

Song Sancheng was already thinking of ways.

Song Tan laughed. "What's so hard about that? They are still so small. This afternoon, I'll go to the city to buy some large dog harnesses and leashes. Dad, you can take them out for walks when you're free."

"Anyway, the main point is that our pigs eat well. It doesn't matter if they lose a few pounds of fat from the exercise."

Qiaoqiao got excited. "I want to too! Qiaoqiao wants to take the pigs out to play!"

That wouldn't do.

Pigs are smart animals; if you raise them long enough, you develop feelings for them. If they were slaughtered for meat later, wouldn't Qiaoqiao cry himself to death?

Song Sancheng thought it over and refused. "Forget it, forget it. We can't walk them. If I walk them too much, I won't be able to bear it either. Let's just keep them on the back mountain; there's enough room for them to wander there. I'll just provide more food normally."

Recalling her own experiences with raising pigs from her memories, Song Tan thought, *Sigh, that's true.*

It was better to just eat the meat and not develop any feelings.

The adults quickly changed the subject. Qiaoqiao pouted for a long while before throwing the matter out of his mind.

However, there was one more thing he remembered—

"I told Dabai that if it helps me watch the pigs, I'll treat it to biscuits."

Whoa!

Song Tan was startled—she had had that thought, but she hadn't said anything yet!

"When did you discuss this with Dabai?"

That fierce big white goose, wasn't it squatting in front of Grandpa's door every day?

Qiaoqiao huffed. "I told it... I told it a long time ago, it's just that there are no biscuits right now."

Whether a goose was reliable for watching pigs, Song Tan didn't know.

But if that fellow really started honking, it would be earth-shattering; the whole village would wake up.

It would actually make a great alarm system.

The prerequisite was that Qiaoqiao had to coax him not to honk for no reason, otherwise, the back mountain was right next to their house, and they really wouldn't be able to sleep.

She thought for a moment. "Then this afternoon, take the goose to the bottom plot and treat it to a good meal too."

Feeding the cow was eating, feeding the pigs was eating, and feeding chickens, ducks, or geese... it was all the same.

As the siblings arranged things among themselves, Song Sancheng suddenly felt a sense of urgency

"Then I need to tidy up the goose coop first. And the ducks and chickens you want to raise—the timing is about right. I've fenced off the area on the back mountain, but the chicken coop needs more cleaning."

Perhaps, maybe, possibly... there was more to do today?

I'll see when I finish writing.

If there's anything else to plant, everyone think about it together!

(End of Chapter)