novelden Chapter 198 The author of the book raised livestock that farted.
Chapter 198 The author of the book raised livestock that farted.
“Look,” Li Xiaoyun pulled a yellowed magazine from her cloth bag and turned to a page, “it says here that cattle need to drink water regularly, at least three times a day. Also, the amount of fodder should be just right; too much or too little is no good.”
The four of them huddled together to read a magazine.
Wang Ergou didn't like reading, but seeing Ma Hongxia reading so intently, he nodded in agreement, pretending to listen: "Yes, that's right, that's right."
"Brother Er Gou, did you understand?" Ma Hongxia asked, suppressing a laugh.
"This..." Wang Ergou scratched his head, "I think I understand..."
"If you don't understand, just ask," Li Xiangyang patted Wang Ergou on the shoulder. "Look how happy Hongxia is to explain it to you."
Upon hearing this, Ma Hongxia blushed even more and lowered her head without saying a word.
Wang Ergou felt embarrassed and stood there awkwardly.
"Alright," Li Xiangyang glanced at the sun, "it's getting late, you should head back. Er Gou and I still need to check all the livestock this afternoon."
Li Xiaoyun reluctantly stood up: "Then I'll come again tomorrow."
“No need,” Li Xiangyang shook his head. “You all have your own jobs. Once Er Gou and I have settled things here, we’ll take you to the county town this weekend.”
"Really?" Ma Hongxia's eyes lit up.
“Of course it’s true,” Wang Ergou quickly chimed in, “I’ll treat you to a big meal then, I have the money…”
These words earned him a big eye roll from Ma Hongxia, and even after the two girls left, Wang Ergou remained standing there in a daze.
After a long pause, Wang Ergou sighed, "Brother Xiangyang, why is Ma Hongxia glaring at me for no reason? Wouldn't it be better if I treated her to a big meal?"
"You silly boy," Li Xiangyang laughed, "they're just saying you're a spendthrift and don't know how to manage a household. Hurry up and get engaged as soon as possible."
Hearing this, Wang Ergou scratched his head and smiled憨厚ly, "That's right, you're getting married soon, I can't fall behind. By the way, could you teach me to read when you have time? We can't be completely without common ground in the future."
"Okay, I'll teach you when I have time."
As Li Xiangyang spoke, his gaze drifted towards the direction of the educated youth settlement, a warm feeling welling up inside him.
Love in this era is so simple and sincere.
There were no romantic moments under the moon, no vows of eternal love, only mutual support and shared growth.
"Alright, stop standing there. Let's take the oxen and horses out for a spin and stretch their muscles."
As Li Xiangyang spoke, he walked into the livestock shed.
Inside the shed, four cows and two horses stood on either side.
Because no one has taken good care of them for a long time, the cattle and horses have become noticeably thinner.
With spring planting just around the corner, this is not a good omen.
Li Xiangyang reached out and touched the neck of an old water buffalo. The buffalo seemed to recognize him and rubbed its head against his hand.
"This ox is amazing, it's so intelligent!" Wang Ergou exclaimed in surprise from the side.
Li Xiangyang carefully examined the old ox's hooves and teeth, then felt its ribs: "Yes, it's lived for over ten years, so it's naturally become intelligent. It's so thin you can feel its bones; we need to feed it well."
“That’s right,” Wang Ergou said, pulling on the rope. “But it’s only early spring; the grass outside hasn’t even grown yet.”
"Well, there's no other way. Let them go out for a walk first, let them get some exercise, and then give them plenty of hay when we get back."
After Li Xiangyang finished speaking, the two of them held the rope and slowly walked towards the edge of the village.
On the way, Li Xiangyang pointed to the old water buffalo and said, "From now on, let's call it Lao Hei (Old Black). It sounds more affectionate that way."
“Then this horse is called Little White,” Wang Ergou said, pointing to a slightly smaller white horse.
And so, the two of them named each of the cattle and horses.
The sun was shining brightly, and although it was still chilly in early spring, the livestock were clearly very happy to be led out, and they walked with more energy.
Xuanmao and Xiaohu also came out, patrolling the territory one after the other.
After taking a walk around, the two began to feed the cattle and horses.
The production team is running low on fodder, but with spring plowing just around the corner, they can't skimp on it.
"Brother Xiangyang," Wang Ergou frowned, looking at the dwindling amount of hay in the trough, "this isn't enough! The book says three times a day, no more, no less..."
Li Xiangyang glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered his voice and said, "Ergou, are you stupid? A writer like him has never raised any livestock. Do you really think livestock are stupid? According to him, why would I choose this lousy job? Tell me, if we give it enough fodder and water, it eats when it's hungry and drinks when it's thirsty, does that mean we don't need to watch over it?"
Wang Ergou's eyes lit up, but he immediately frowned: "But the production team doesn't have enough fodder."
"That's good, it's just not enough. We can just pay for it ourselves," Li Xiangyang laughed. "I've calculated it. If we give them enough food and water for three days, we can free up some time to go into the mountains."
"That's a great idea!" Wang Ergou slapped his thigh, then lowered his voice, "But it'll cost a lot of money, won't it?"
“It won’t cost much,” Li Xiangyang said. “The fodder for a cow for three days only costs a little over a dollar. With six head of livestock, that’s only about twenty dollars a month. That’s enough for a trip into the mountains.”
“That’s right.” Wang Ergou took out his money. “We’ll split it in half.”
Li Xiangyang took the money and added, "Let's make the troughs bigger so they can eat and drink whenever they want. As long as there's enough food, the livestock won't go hungry or thirsty."
"Brother Xiangyang, you've thought of everything," Wang Ergou laughed. "This way, we can find time to go into the mountains. Okay, let's do it this way. You go buy some fodder, and I'll expand the water trough right now."
"Okay, you get back to work." Li Xiangyang patted him on the shoulder. "Remember, the bigger the trough, the better, so they can eat and drink whenever they want."
"Raising livestock is a good job. As long as we feed them well, no one can complain. They'll be energetic during spring plowing, and the production team will praise us."
"Xiangyang, you're the smartest one. I knew you'd try to take this job. Fine, you go ahead, I'll take care of things."
After saying that, Wang Ergou picked up a shovel and began digging a water trough with great enthusiasm.
Right now, as long as these basic tasks are done well, they will have more time to go into the mountains in the future.
Li Xiangyang rode his bicycle to the market. When he returned, he had a large bundle of hay tied to the back of his bicycle, and he also bought some bean cakes.
Wang Ergou wasn't idle either; he had expanded the water tank to more than twice its previous size and even dug it deeper.
"Ergou, give me a hand," Li Xiangyang called out.
The two of them worked together to unload the hay and soybean cakes, divided them into several piles, and stacked them neatly.
"Brother Xiangyang, look, I've enlarged the water tank quite a bit," Wang Ergou said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Now there'll be enough water for them to drink for several days."
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Well done. I've bought enough fodder, and some soybean cake too. That'll definitely give you energy. Let's give you the full amount and see how it goes."