Chapter 1359: Gratitude
But his wife is pregnant now, and still upset, so he didn’t show his happiness.
"Fengzhen, don’t take it to heart, it’s not a big deal, it takes all kinds to make a world."
"I know, just feeling uncomfortable, that’s all."
"Tomorrow I’ll find someone to come over for you to see. This is Director Wu’s cousin-in-law, her children have all started families, and she lives alone, see if she’s alright."
Actually, Li Yunqiao had noticed Wang Wugu’s inability to keep up with the workload since before the New Year. So he started asking around.
His wife wanted her niece to come, and he didn’t care either. He just knew it wouldn’t be good. That child, when they went back for New Year’s greetings, her eyes were fixed on the New Year’s gift.
She’s no child, she’s a fifteen-year-old girl, and shouldn’t be doing such things.
But if he refused, his wife would certainly be upset. However, considering the situation, it would have been better to refuse from the start, instead of letting his wife get angry.
Li Yunqiao first took his wife home, then went to refuel the car, reminding Secretary Wu tomorrow, since there wasn’t much fuel left.
Lu Fengzhen lay in Li Yunqiao’s arms, still unable to recover. Anyway, she was just unhappy.
"Wife, you’re being a bit fussy this time. This really isn’t an issue. Stop thinking about it. If you must think, think about me."
"I’m already in your arms, what else should I think about you?"
"Alright, you better not tease me."
Lu Fengzhen thought, how did I tease you? But she didn’t refute.
The next day, Secretary Wu refueled the car and brought his cousin-in-law to the leader’s house.
Lu Fengzhen took one look at the woman and felt she seemed alright, she appeared quite clean, but nothing else was known. However, since she was familiar to them, she stayed.
A few days later, everything seemed fine, and Li Yunqiao was relieved.
Li Family Village is quite busy now, the daytime temperature has risen above freezing, and the soil has thawed, so everyone is busy with spring planting.
Four tractors are working simultaneously, moving very quickly. Manure was spread last fall, so it’s directly turning the soil and planting seeds now.
This year there’s even more manure, with so much chicken manure already on the fields. Now Li Cunshan is relieved. The villagers feared the soil would become infertile, leading to poor harvests.
Li Yungui couldn’t hide the smile on his face; he had just come from the pig farm.
They caught a fat pig and weighed it. It was already three hundred pounds. Now it could be sold, and the twenty-three piglets from the two sows were already over ten pounds each. But it’s still not enough.
Xiao Wei and the others should be back in at most half a month. He’ll have to go once more to the city’s pig farm to buy a few hundred more piglets, as their own breeding was too slow. They need at least two years before they won’t need to buy piglets from outside.
"Village head, what makes you so happy?"
A villager returning for seeds saw Li Yungui’s cheerful face, knowing something good had happened.
"Our pig farm’s pigs have reached over three hundred pounds."
"Really, that fat? Village head, should we slaughter them after spring planting?"
"We will, certainly. As long as you work hard, there will be bonuses."
By noon, everyone in Li Family Village knew the news.
What could be more joyful than this? Meat to eat, money to share.
Now, several families are lined up, waiting for the mason to build brick houses for them, something they never dared dream of before.
Li Yungui rode his bicycle to check on the work of the power supply station. He estimated it would reach the village in about a week, then each household could have electricity.
Once there’s electricity, they can buy a grinder so they won’t have to go to town for milling grain.
Everyone’s opinions had been solicited, and the village plans to set up a mill. In the future, cornmeal, corn grits, and flour won’t need to be bought from outside, the village can provide it.
Actually, Li Yungui didn’t know that neighboring villages were desperately contacting the town, driving Xing Mingying mad.
"If you want electricity, submit your application to the power supply station. It’s out of my control."
"Why can Li Family Village and Li Yungui get it?"
"Because they contributed the pesticide factory and the corn thresher to the public."
Xing Mingying’s words silenced them. Indeed, that’s reason enough.
Wang Shulin was listening from the side. Actually, Li Yungui had long said they applied to the power supply station. Their village’s electricity was estimated to be difficult because it wasn’t in the same direction as Li Family Village.
The township’s substation was built last year, and he found someone to write the application, which had been submitted. This visit was just to see if there were any updates.
All of it was useless; there’s nothing you can achieve by making a fuss here. Following the procedure is the best option.
Xing Mingying got irritated with them. "Speak up quickly if you have anything to say. If not, then leave. I have no time to waste with you."
Wang Shulin hurried back. Who has time to waste here? It’s the spring planting season now, and this year they need to use Li Family Village’s tractors again. But this year, they won’t need to pay as much as before. Every time they paid, Wang Shulin’s heart ached.
Li Yungui went to the county’s supply and marketing cooperative today.
Zhao Manjiang had done him a favor before, so he’d naturally be the first to think of him for good deals.
"What wind blows you here? Isn’t it spring planting time?"
"Family matters are being taken care of without me. I’ve brought good news for you."
"Can we butcher pigs now?"
"Yes, we can. Yesterday I weighed an average one, and it was already three hundred pounds."
"Wow, that’s really fat. When do we kill them? You don’t need to do it; I’ll directly contact the slaughterhouse. Old Li, how much per pound for live pigs?"
"Sixty-five cents per pound."
"Okay, sixty-five cents it is."
"Old Zhao, I’m offering seven cents to the city and the town."
Zhao Manjiang understood. This was a favor for him.
"I get it, I’ll do seven cents here too."
"Right. I’ll note it down. You can come to me whenever. But Old Zhao, this can only happen with this batch."
This was a decision reached together with Li Cunshan and Yun Qiang.
"Alright, I understand. No worries, Old Li. Come to me if anything comes up in the future."
"Hmm, I know. Okay, I’m heading to the city now, I’ll leave the bike here."
When Li Yungui got to the city, the director of the supply and marketing cooperative was so thrilled to hear that pigs could be sold that he was stumbling over his words.
During a provincial meeting, they were asked to find ways to fill the people’s food baskets. But solving the pork issue wasn’t immediate. Now, this was truly a boon.
"Old Li, thank you so much. I’ll make sure to commend you at this year’s meeting."
"Thanks to Director Wu, this is what we should do."
"And the price for the live pigs?"
"Seven cents per pound."
"Alright, seven cents it is."
This resolved a big problem, meaning they could earn provincial recognition for excellence this year again.