My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 249 Delivering Money to the Door
"Huh? Let me see."

The old man glanced at the deer head, then frowned and took it into his hands to examine it carefully.

"It doesn't look like a deer's head at all; it looks more like a muntjac's."

"But muntjacs aren't this big. Look at the horns on their heads, they're almost the size of my palm."

A normal muntjac is about the same size as a newly grown fawn, so this deer head is clearly not from a muntjac.

Wang Cunye pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, scratched his head and said, "It might be a large yellow muntjac? But large yellow muntjacs aren't from around here. Could it have come from the flood as well?"

The yellow muntjac, also known as the red muntjac or black-footed muntjac, is more commonly found south of the Yangtze River.

"Oh, the yellow muntjac? You mean the red muntjac? If that's it, then I understand."

"It's normal for this thing to come to the Qinling Mountains, regardless of whether there's a flood or not."

Chen Ling grabbed the head and looked at it against the setting sun. The fur on the head was somewhat fiery red, so it was very likely a red muntjac.

This creature is migratory; in some years it migrates from south of the Yangtze River to the Qinling Mountains. If it encounters few predators along the way, it can even cross the Qinling Mountains and go straight north to the border of Inner Mongolia.

This is similar to how local wild animals migrate south in winter in search of places with abundant food.

"Hey, now I can add some new gadgets to my hunting gear room."

Chen Ling happily tossed the red muntjac's head back into the basket.

Unfortunately, we didn't get the red muntjac's pelt.

According to Lynx, the red muntjac's fur is fiery red, glossy, and without any other colors, making it quite beautiful.

Of course, such things are not worth selling for money; they are mainly for collection.

Unfortunately, the leopard didn't know where it had gone with the fur; they never saw it.

Chen Ling had originally thought that he might sneak into the mountains to look for it while his father-in-law wasn't looking.

But after returning home and spending two busy days cutting and drying the snakes, and nailing together several snake boxes to settle them, he completely forgot about the whole thing.

Moreover, Rui Rui has been restless these past two days. After following Chen Ling into the cave, he has become a bit too energetic. He goes to bed later and later at night, and even when he is asleep, he is not still. He will ask for milk when he is hungry, or he will ask for a diaper change when he poops or peees.

This little troublemaker has really given me a hard time.

It doesn't look like a baby who is only about two months old at all.

"Attention, folks of Chenwangzhuang! Anyone who raised pigs this year, come to the brigade! Anyone who raised pigs this year, come to the brigade right now!"

Just as Chen Ling was worrying about her troublesome child, the sound of the village loudspeaker came from afar.

Although the village is quite far from the farm, the wind is blowing from the southeast, and with his superhuman hearing, hearing the shouts clearly is no problem.

It was a little after nine in the morning. The father-in-law was drying herbs in the courtyard in front of the bamboo house, the mother-in-law was helping to take care of the child, and Wang Susu was taking the opportunity to sleep upstairs.

The two elders could vaguely hear some sounds at this point.

Chen Ling pretended to listen, then said to the two, "I don't know what the brigade is shouting about. I'll go take a walk around the village and see if it's related to us."

Before having a child, he had been looking forward to it for ages, never imagining that raising a child would be so tiring.

Who knew that after only two or three days of letting the child cause so much trouble, I would feel mentally exhausted.

Especially after not sleeping well for two or three nights in a row, he felt a bit depressed and wanted to go out for a walk.

"Go ahead, don't let what we said last year about not having to pay grain taxes this year turn into something else."

Gao Xiulan held Rui Rui, who had been restless all night but was now sleeping soundly, and frowned as she spoke.

Chen Ling shook his head: "No, that can't be. This was all agreed upon, and it's not just for one village or one household."

Last year, the disaster destroyed all the crops, causing considerable losses to the people. It is only right that the public grain and agricultural taxes be exempted for a year.

How could one easily go back on their word?

So he walked towards the village alone.

Halfway there, we saw Wang Zhenzhen leading a group of children, searching for cicada shells with bamboo poles.

Catching scorpions and finding cicada shells are two things that rural children must do after summer vacation. They can play everywhere and also save pocket money.

These little monkeys were incredibly enthusiastic when they started looking for these two things.

"Brother-in-law, where are you going?"

From afar, Wang Zhenzhen stood on the wall of a house on the edge of a village and waved to him.

"I heard the village loudspeaker announce something, so I'm going to check it out."

Chen Ling answered, while glaring at her: "Climbing over someone's wall again, be careful you don't trample the wall bare and get beaten up."

"Don't worry, this is my third aunt's house. My third aunt is very kind. She said we can climb here as much as we want."

The little girl stood on the wall and shouted loudly.

Then, the people inside the wall also started laughing loudly.

"Is it Fugui? Where are you going?"

"Brother Lihui, I'm going to take a walk around the village and see what the village loudspeaker is saying."

"Oh, that's a matter for pig farmers. They need to register with the brigade. My brother said someone is coming to the village below to buy pigs."

People inside the courtyard shouted, and a man's head popped out from over the wall, grinning at Chen Ling. It was Wang Lihui, Wang Lixian's cousin, the one who used to run a tailor shop in the village.

Most tailors are quite clean.

Take Wang Lihui for example. He looks similar to Wang Lishan; both are lean men, not very tall, but their temperaments are vastly different.

One was slovenly, the other was clean and neat.

If they weren't standing together, you wouldn't be able to tell they were brothers.

"Someone's come to the village to buy pigs? I'll go check it out."

There was no announcement over the loudspeaker, but Chen Ling found it intriguing. He wondered if someone was coming to buy pigs, perhaps because of the floods in the surrounding area, and was here to resell them for a profit.

After all, prices are generally higher in disaster-stricken areas.

If so, ask them if they buy eggs.

If the price is right, you won't have to go to the market to sell it yourself.

My son has been causing a lot of trouble lately, and it's not right for him to keep asking his father-in-law to help him sell things.

"Wait a minute, Fugui, I'll go with you."

Seeing this, Wang Lihui waved to him, then jumped down from the wall and ran over to find him.

"Zhenzhen, you guys aren't allowed to run up the mountain, understand?"

"Okay, we definitely won't go up the mountain."

The little kids never seem to get enough of searching for cicada shells. Sometimes, the more they search, the more unsatisfied they become. Once they gather in a group and discuss it, they easily end up running up the mountain.

The mountains are not peaceful this time of year, and adults have to be very careful when going up.

Chen Ling gave them some instructions before walking towards the main force with Wang Lihui.

When we arrived at the brigade, there was a motorcycle parked at the gate, and an old man and a young boy were standing in the yard.

These are the people who came to buy pigs.

When Chen Ling went inside, he was surprised to find that he recognized him.

"Good heavens, an old acquaintance. Why aren't you selling grain this year, but buying pigs instead?"

The old man among the two was the same old fellow who took away Chen Ling's peanuts and soybeans last year.

"Oh, it's you, young man."

When the old man saw him, his face lit up with a smile. "You're raising pigs this year too? No, you were raising wild boar piglets last year. Have they grown up?"

"Haha, what's the point of growing up? There's no need for it to grow up. This greedy kid would have killed and eaten it long ago."

Wang Laishun chuckled and said, "Besides dogs and cows, everything else he raises is for meat."

The old man was dumbfounded.

Wang Lihui, on the other hand, kept laughing.

Chen Ling was immediately puzzled: "Does your family not kill and eat anything else besides dogs and livestock?"

"Nonsense, we still need to make money. Who's like your kid who only knows how to eat all day?" Wang Laishun got angry when he talked about this. His eldest son was raised by this gluttonous kid, who even slaughtered two of the family's sheep last year.

Two sheep, just for food. How much money will they cost to sell them by the end of the year? It breaks my heart just thinking about it.

The second son argued with his parents for a long time over this matter.

"Hey, young man, did you kill all five of your wild boars?" the old man who came to buy the pigs asked with a smile.

"Of course not. I gave two to my father-in-law, one to relatives and friends, and we slaughtered two for ourselves at the end of the year." "Wow, you're quite generous."

The old man was astonished, and the young man behind him also showed envy on his face. There were really few people with such a magnanimous spirit in the countryside.

"Old man, stop talking about him. He's the most capable man in our village now, making money is easy for him. But you, where do you send your pigs?"

Wang Lihui said.

After saying that, he pointed to Wang Lishan, who had rushed over, and said, "This is my brother. His family raises pigs every year. Don't try to fool me."

"Hey, how could I dare to fool you? Ask that young man, didn't I pay him a high price when I bought his grain last year?"

The old man waved his hand, and seeing that more and more pig farmers were gathering, he said to everyone, "Come and register, write down your situation clearly. As long as your village has a lot of pigs, we will definitely offer you a higher price. Everyone knows that the price of pigs is not good this year, and it is even showing signs of declining. If you can sell them before the end of the year, then don't wait until the end of the year."

If pork prices are low, then the prices of live pigs will be even lower.

Several pig farmers were also worried, so they all started arguing and surrounded the old man and his son, asking them all sorts of questions.

No one registered, they just kept asking for prices.

Finally, they found out the price, and everyone was stunned.

"What? The highest price you're offering is only three yuan? I'm not selling."

"What do you mean, pork prices are falling? Come on, don't try to fool us. I heard Fugui say the other day that there were floods in the surrounding provinces and cities, just like here last year. Prices of all kinds of things outside are bound to go up again. Otherwise, why would you, a grain dealer, suddenly come to buy pigs? It must be because pigs are profitable."

"Exactly! They even told us that pork prices weren't high. If prices weren't high, how could you keep doing this if you couldn't make money? You dealers are the most heartless. You always use fake weights and prices, just trying to fool the people."

"..."

This year, there are quite a few pig farmers in the village. Even Cui the Cripple has raised two pigs. Everyone was talking at once, leaving the old man stunned on the spot. His face turned pale and red, and his expression was extremely unpleasant.

This situation is completely different from what he expected.

Other villages were overjoyed to hear that there were people buying pigs, because pig prices in towns and counties had indeed declined, and pork was not particularly expensive in the first half of the year. So, many families were afraid of losing money and were eager to sell.

But things were different when we got to Chenwangzhuang.

Are all the people here so shrewd?

Seeing that he couldn't fool them anymore, the old man hurriedly explained that he was there to buy pigs for a big boss, and that he would transport the pigs to other provinces and cities, offering the villagers the highest price.

However, since he lied earlier, the more he explained, the less people believed him.

Everyone shook their heads, unwilling to stay any longer, and dispersed.

Chen Ling also went outside and chatted with Wang Lixian and his brothers, as well as Chen Dazhi.

Feeling bored with idle chatter, they found a chessboard and set up a game outside the brigade's courtyard.

Seeing this, the old man had no choice but to call his son, say goodbye to Wang Laishun, and then ride away on his motorcycle.

“Fugui, look, this old peddler must have made a fortune. He even bought a motorcycle. I wonder what his relationship is with the Party Secretary.”

"Well, we don't know, but this old dealer is quite a troublemaker. He buys both grain and pigs; that's not something an ordinary person can do."

As the group chatted and played chess, Wang Laishun, noticing their gossip, also came over with his teacup.

When people saw this, they joked that Uncle Wu must have received some kind of bribe to help people shout through the village loudspeaker.

"Of course I didn't get any kickbacks. Do you think I'm that kind of person? They got the stamped purchase orders, and many villages and households in the townships sold their properties to them. That's a big business."

Wang Laishun said, "There are quite a few pig farmers in our village this year. I've noticed that the price of pigs hasn't been very good lately. If the price really drops and it becomes difficult to sell, I'll let you come and take a look. That way, you won't lose out."

"Not at a loss? Fifth Uncle, you almost made us suffer a huge loss." Wang Lishan glanced at the old man and snorted.

The group played chess and bickered for a while. Soon, half a day passed, and the old peddler came back on his motorcycle. This time, in addition to the father and son, he brought someone else with him—a woman.

Somewhat coincidentally, Chen Ling also knew this woman.

It turned out to be Sun Yanhong, Erzhu's ex-girlfriend.

Good heavens! How did this woman end up with this old peddler?

Chen Ling stared in disbelief, feeling as if his brain was suddenly not working properly.

After they arrived and stood with Wang Laishun, talking to him, everyone realized that the big boss who bought pigs was this woman.

"Fugui, it's been a long time since I've seen you. How have you been lately?"

After they finished talking, Sun Yanhong saw Chen Ling and greeted him with a smile.

"Very good, very good."

Chen Ling nodded with a smile, "Sister Hong's business is getting bigger and bigger."

Last year, it was said that this woman's brother was brought down. Back then, people even came to her begging to buy her eels as gifts.

It was indeed quite a mess back then, but after more than a year apart, I don't know how this woman has managed to become so confident and high-spirited again.

To be honest, people are just different.

Ordinary people may never amount to anything in their entire lives, but when others fall from grace, they always seem to rise again.

"What business or not, he just can't sit still and keeps messing around with the few trucks left at the freight station."

Sun Yanhong smiled, turned to Wang Laishun and said, "Secretary Wang, go and call them twice more. Tell them that if they're willing to sell the pigs, we're willing to give them a portion of the money first."

Wang Laishun had a pretty good impression of this woman. When Erzhu was arrested, she at least came over to help Erzhu settle the rent and wages he owed. Just for that reason, he went to call out for her a couple of times.

This time it worked well; the pig farmers who had left all rushed back when they heard that they would be paid first.

"You pay first, it's a partial deposit. If the price of pork is significantly lower than the market price, I'll make up the difference. If it's less, you don't need to refund me..."

Sun Yanhong explained the terms to the person.

Many villagers knew her and knew that she was Erzhu's ex-lover, so most of them actually believed her and said yes.

The father and son were dumbfounded, wondering how things could be so simple once someone else came over.

The reason is still the same: she helped Erzhu settle the rent for the land and the wages for building the greenhouse. Based on this, the villagers were willing to trust her.

Seeing this, Sun Yanhong felt quite accomplished. "Come on, everyone, come and register!"

The pig farmers in the village, including Wang Lixian who raised a few wild boars, also came forward to register.

While they were registering, Sun Yanhong came over and apologized to Chen Ling.

It is said that some of the things Erzhu did last year, some of which were because of her, caused Chen Ling a lot of trouble.

His words were sincere.

The more Chen Ling listened to this series of apologies, the more uneasy she felt.

Finally, the woman couldn't hold back any longer and revealed her true intentions: she wanted to buy wine from him.

This surprised Chen Ling again.

Then he secretly sighed to himself: This sly woman is no ordinary person. Her information network is still so good. It hasn't been long, and she already knows that a leader has bought wine from me.

As for why Sun Yanhong asked him to buy wine, there's no need to ask further; it was nothing more than a gift.

"Sure, but my wine is expensive."

Since she wanted to buy it, Chen Ling certainly wouldn't refuse. In the meantime, he had already mentally reclassified the quality of his family's wines.

Based on the experience of selling wine last time, the price has been increased again.

"I know, I know, I've heard people say that Fugui's wine is good stuff."

Sun Yanhong still had a smile on her face. Since she dared to bring this up with Chen Ling, she was naturally prepared to be taken advantage of.

That guy holds grudges; she knew that a long time ago.

Don't be fooled by his seemingly carefree attitude; he actually keeps a very clear record of every single expense.

Chen Ling didn't care whether she was being sarcastic or not. Since this woman had come to his door with money, he naturally wouldn't turn her away.

So he took her back to the farm to buy wine.

She sold the last two jars of wine for a little over two thousand yuan; that's almost as good as Moutai.

"Boss Sun went to Fugui's house to get two jars of wine. I thought you went with Fugui to do something."

"What do you mean by taking two jars? They were bought with money; each jar of wine costs over a thousand yuan."

"What? What? What? A jar of wine costs a thousand yuan? Are you dreaming?"

There were many people near the brigade at that time, and their eyes lit up when they heard this.

Sun Yanhong, that cunning woman, became even more animated when she saw the large crowd: "Your village is incredibly wealthy. Your father-in-law knows how to make medicinal wine, and even the leaders are impressed and willing to pay for it. What am I compared to that?"

Everyone was stunned again. The leader even paid for the drinks? Damn, is this still the father-in-law? This is a living god of wealth!

(End of this chapter)