Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 339 Pig Farm

Regardless of the quality of the factory's products, the factory occupies a considerable area. In rural areas, there's plenty of land, and nobody really cares. The area within the walls of a single earthen sintering factory exceeds four thousand square meters, which is nearly eight acres.

The factory is located outside the village, by the river, several kilometers away. Half of the area is likely riverbank, and the other half is clearly farmland.

The courtyard wall is still the original red brick wall. The original thatched houses inside have been demolished and replaced with a row of tiled houses, a small two-story building with the stairs outdoors. The An family lives upstairs.

The entire yard was divided into several sections with corrugated steel sheds, below which were cement-built animal pens, and next to them were sewage sedimentation tanks.

The sound of pigs could be heard from quite a distance from the yard. The car drove into the yard and parked on the cement embankment in front of the row of houses. The three people got out of the car.

Chen Hui pointed to the corrugated steel shed and said, "We built four and a half sheds, and we're using one and a half now. Old An said to take it slow and not rush it; the babies will hatch on their own."

Xiao Wei, smelling the fermented grains wafting from the yard, asked, "How much is there now?"

Chen Hui said, "A little over a hundred, less than two hundred. Lao An said he'd keep a few breeding pigs, the males to raise and sell, and the females won't be sold this year, they'll all be left to raise piglets."

Xiao Wei asked, "How many sows are there?"

Chen Hui said, "There are about seventy pigs, I don't remember exactly. That pen over there is all females, one pig per pen. We just put the boars in before mating. This pen is all males. The first few pens are for breeding pigs, and the ones in the back are castrated, four pigs per pen. Now there are fewer pigs and more space, so we want them to be more comfortable. Old An said that when pigs are in a good mood, their meat tastes better."

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng both laughed. Xia Maosheng pointed to the wall in the distance and asked, "What's that over there for?"

Chen Hui said, "That's the distiller's grains pool. Using distiller's grains to feed pigs is quite complicated. In that pool, the grains are fermented, like dough. This side is for drying. In this room, there are machines. After drying, the grains are ground and then mixed with bran and cornmeal, etc. I don't really understand it."

Xiao Wei said, "Isn't this too few animals for such a big place?"

Chen Hui said, "I'd also like to raise more, but Lao An said we have to take it slow. We should raise one batch and let them reproduce in batches. Next year we'll have six or seven hundred offspring ourselves. Anyway, there's no rush, let's take it slow. How's yours going?"

Xiao Wei said, "The land was bought, and my dad is leading the renovation. It used to be a factory, unlike this empty land of yours, which is easier to manage. That other place had to be demolished and rebuilt, but that should be done soon. This thing should be done quickly too."

Chen Hui said, "The houses for living are so small, but the ones for raising pigs will be much bigger. You see, just build a door downstairs, cover it with corrugated steel on top, and in winter you can just cover the surrounding area with plastic sheeting."

Xiao Wei looked up at the house where Lao An lived and asked, "How do you keep it warm in winter?"

Chen Hui said, "The houses all have heated brick beds (kang) and we burn coal. On the coldest days, we use both coal and electricity."

Xiao Wei glanced at the second floor, wanting to go up and take a look, but then thought it wasn't appropriate for someone to live there, so he mumbled something. Chen Hui said, "The kitchen is on the first floor, and the coal is burned there too. It's a bit troublesome, but it's safer." He went over and opened the door at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor, saying, "This is the room, with two coal stoves. The flue goes directly to the heated brick bed and a section of the fire wall above. We learned this from Longcheng, haha."

Xiao Wei went inside and looked around. There were two stoves, one with a duct for a traditional earthen heating system, and the other was just a regular stove. Chen Hui said, "That way you can boil some hot water in the winter. Alternating between the two stoves can prevent the flue from getting clogged. Coal ash is very strong and easily clogs the flue. That's what the old master said."

Xiao Wei nodded. Chen Hui had changed a lot during this period, and he probably hadn't even realized it himself.

Footsteps approached from outside, and several people turned to look at the kitchen door. An Lei walked in carrying a sack of glass, and seeing the kitchen door open, he tilted his head and peered into the kitchen. Chen Hui asked, "What are you looking at?"

An Lei grinned and said, "I thought a thief had broken in. Why did you come in so quietly and hide in the kitchen?"

Chen Hui said, "Xiao Wei was worried about your heating in the winter, so I brought him in to take a look. Is everything set up over there?"

An Lei put the bag he was carrying at the door and went inside, saying, "The fermentation tank is ready. This is my first time doing something like this, so I have to try it out. Drying and crushing it is no problem; just spread it out to dry. Then put it in the machine to grind it, adding corn as you grind. After that, pick out some of the best fermented mash each day to feed it to the pigs. There aren't many pigs yet, so it's not too bad."

Xiao Wei asked, "How many people did you hire?"

An Lei said, "Four is enough. We can hire a veterinarian when we have more pigs. It's just that Chunqiu is busy these days; there aren't many things to do normally. How's things going back to Longcheng?"

Xiao Wei said, "We bought the land and are currently rebuilding. It should be ready to use around the middle of the month. What time would be a good time to go? I don't even know where to get those piglets. Is it too late to go now?"

An Lei thought for a moment and said, "We'll see when the time comes. I'll contact them again in the next couple of days. If that doesn't work, we can just grab some half a pig first, and then transport some sows and breeding pigs over. Anyway, don't expect to get much this year; we'll have to wait until next year."

Xiao Wei asked, "Are you confident?"

An Lei said, "To be honest, haha, I've never raised so many before. We're just figuring it out as we go. We have to figure out the feed ratios ourselves. We didn't have any precise ratios before, just twenty or thirty heads. Now that we have hundreds, we can't do it like that. My dad and I have been thinking about these things for the past two days. Anyway, as long as they don't get sick, it shouldn't be a big problem."

Xiao Wei said, "Anyway, you two should put in more effort these next few days. They'll be starting soon too, so make sure things are done properly."

An Lei nodded and said, "Of course. I've been watching the videotapes these past few days, and my dad bought a bunch of books to study. We'll definitely get things done, don't worry."

Xiao Wei asked, "Make sure the child is settled. First, ensure their safety. Second, contact us in advance to see how things are arranged for school. Let us know if anything happens."

An Lei nodded and said, "Okay, I understand." Old An came over carrying a rake and asked, "Why are you throwing the yeast here? Who's here?" He didn't recognize Xiao Wei's car.

Chen Hui and Xiao Wei came out of the kitchen. Chen Hui said, "We came to check if everything's alright?"

Old An said, "Everything's fine. I just adjusted the feed. Let's feed it for a few days and see. It should be okay."

Xiao Wei said, "Things in Longcheng are almost done. Uncle An, when would you like to go and take a look? It's up to you." Old An thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait another week. I need to keep an eye on things for a few days. If this goes well, then everything will be fine. I'll go over then. It won't make a difference if I wait a day or two."

Chen Hui asked, "Uncle An, what are you trying to see when you keep saying 'try and see'? What can you possibly learn just by looking at that pig?"

Old An laughed heartily, and An Lei said, "You have to look at the pig's poop. You have to look at the poop it poops every day, how many times it poops, whether it smells bad or shiny, whether it's loose or dry. You have to look at the poop to raise livestock. If you want to know if the pigs are digesting the feed well, you have to squeeze open the freshly poop and look inside. If it's too dry, it means the feed is not digested well. If it's loose, it means the feed is not mixed properly or something. I'm not as good at it as my dad. I'm still learning."

Xia Maosheng nudged Chen Hui: "You should learn from him, your wife is about to give birth." Everyone burst into laughter. Chen Hui kicked Xia Maosheng, and Lao An said: "Xia is right. When a child is young, whatever happens to their health depends on the father. What else can be done? The child can't talk about it when they're young."

Chen Hui was taken aback for a moment and asked, "Really?"

Old An lit a cigarette and said, "It's definitely true. If you don't believe me, go back and ask your parents. You should learn from them."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "That seems to be the case. I remember when my brother was little, my mom would sometimes give him medicine by looking at his poop."

(End of this chapter)