The season of early summer has arrived, the grass is growing and the orioles are flying, the clear water is flowing continuously in the river, and a few small fish can be vaguely seen rolling.
On the trees on both sides of the river, cicadas chirped incessantly, and a few drops of water flowed down from time to time, causing farmers crossing the bridge to raise their heads unconsciously.
A dozen or so young children, led by older children, were playing in the river, turning over stones from time to time, looking for the little crab.
Occasionally, I can catch a few small fish, holding them in my hands and reluctant to let them go, to show off to my brother.
At this time, the eldest child dug out a hole on the shore, and placed a smooth stone slab on top, making a sizzling sound.
It turns out there's a fire burning down there.
The children picked up branches and hay with interest, and continued to invest in it.
After some miscellaneous fish, insects, birds, etc. were stripped and cleaned, they were grilled on the stone slab, emitting an attractive fragrance.
In order, everyone took turns eating finger-sized pieces of meat, each one drooling, not to mention how happy they were.
At this time, on the river, on the stone bridge built by Mr. Huang in the town for his son to pass the scholar examination, that is, the scholar bridge, a child of thirteen or fourteen years old was running fast, with holes in the straw sandals on his feet.
"It's born, it's born!"
This life's cry shocked the children who were grilling fish under the bridge. They raised their heads one after another, then put out the fire in threes and fives, hid the stones, and ran ashore in three steps and two steps, towards the direction of the village.
And go.
At this time, the fields at the east end of the village were already busy.
After the wheat is planted, it is very busy to suppress, pull weeds and water.
Basically, the whole family comes together.
As for children, their legs and feet are weak, so don’t pull out the wrong seedlings, so it’s time to play.
At this time, Chen Datou, who was immersed in the fields, suddenly heard the cry "It's born, it's born!" He immediately trembled, picked up his hoe and ran away.
Some farmers nearby also had dark faces full of curiosity, and they hesitated for a long time before following behind.
Suddenly, a crowd of dozens of people ran towards the village.
After a while, along a path, everyone came to a small courtyard.
At the corner of the courtyard, under a persimmon tree, a pigsty is ridged, and a wooden trough is three feet long.
At this time, the pigsty was covered with a layer of straw, an old gray sow was lying down, and a dozen piglets were sucking milk.
A group of villagers gathered around the sow and watched it with great interest.
Chen Datou couldn't help but smile with relief when he saw his wife and children caring for the sow.
"Datou, how about you give me one of these piglets?"
"I didn't expect this sow to be so strong, weighing more than two hundred pounds, and her white flowers are so beautiful..."
"There are too many cubs -"
For a moment, everyone was very excited.
They were not surprised that the sow had many babies, but the size of the sow was so appetizing.
You know, a black pig in an ordinary home would weigh only 1,500 pounds until it is fed to death in a year, but this big sow already weighs over 200 pounds in half a year.
Forty or fifty pounds more meat, half the time lost.
At first glance, it seems that there is more fat and less lean meat.
Local pigs have very little fat.
At this age, fat meat is naturally more popular than lean meat.
Old Chen put his hands on his hips and said with a smile: "I am not an ordinary pig. My brother-in-law works in Huangzhuang, and I get the piglets sold there by him when I get the chance."
"Think about it, even the emperor raises white pigs. Isn't it better to eat this white pork?"
"Half a month's work is equivalent to a year's work. What a good pig!"
These words were naturally recognized by everyone. Everyone nodded and praised the emperor's pigs for being so good and extraordinary.
Then asked about the price.
Old Man Chen glanced at the boar in another pen that was still feeding, and stretched out five fingers: "For five cents, you can keep one back!"
"Or five buckets of grain."
"too expensive!"
Everyone looked bitter.
In this lean time, food is very expensive, and the price of food has climbed to about one stone and one silver dollar.
Although the past few years have been peaceful, every family has had children. No matter how much they save, they will all be used up.
"Chen Datou, you can't feed so many piglets. You might as well sell them. If you keep them, you'll lose a lot of money!"
At this time, Chen Mazi from the village couldn't help but said.
Everyone also cooperated to lower the price.
Out of ten piglets, he would keep at most two piglets, and sell the remaining eight piglets for three or four bushels, which would give him at least two stones of food, and he would be able to live a much easier life.
At least my son can read and buy pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
"Okay, three buckets and five liters, no less than one or two liters!" Chen Datou gritted his teeth and said:
"This is a fine white pig. If you raise it now, you can kill the New Year pig. Then you will make a lot of money!"
"A pound of meat in the market is worth ten cash, and during the Chinese New Year it will be worth at least twelve cash!"
At this time, everyone fell silent and began to calculate how much profit they would make.
If you can really raise two hundred pounds in half a year, you can earn two silver dollars.
After excluding three buckets and five liters of grain, plus the fodder fed, the net profit can reach more than one yuan.
It’s not necessarily difficult to make a lot of money by farming all year round!
For a moment, everyone was in agitated mood!
At this time, it all depends on the distance of the relationship.
The better the relationship, the more likely you are to get it.
Seeing that most of the people had regretful expressions on their faces, Chen Datou tried to persuade them: "I heard from my brother-in-law that in two months, during the summer harvest, Huangzhuang will still be able to sell cubs. Then I will help you ask!
"
On the way home, everyone was chewing their tongues and praising the white pig.
Half a year's worth of black pigs takes one year, how much food and energy will be saved!
And in the market not far away, there was a butcher shop.
With the growth of population, the entire north has returned to the bustle of previous years. Although the market day has not arrived, the market is still bustling.
"Snapped!"
A piece of fine pork belly was hung by a straw and was thrown heavily on the meat board.
The black-faced woman put a bucket on her waist and cursed: "Fat Zhang, how come your pig is white? Do you have some disease?"
"My son is not sensible, and I am not that easy to deceive. I am really heartless. I have been buying meat from your house for many years, and before I came here..."
Zhang Darong had two pieces of meat hanging on his face, exposed the dense hair on his chest, and had a big belly sticking out of his apron, as if he was pregnant in seven months. He lived up to his profession as a butcher.
Seeing the woman's color, he slashed the butcher's knife on the chopping board, raised his right leg and put it on the wooden pier:
"Don't talk nonsense, my meat is real!"
"Look at your ignorant look. This is a white pig. The big white pig that came out of the imperial village has been eaten by the city of Beijing and the county. You are the only one who has no knowledge."
"I'm telling you, this white pork can cost twelve cents per pound. I think your family is a regular customer, so it's cheaper for me to take care of you. You don't know what to do -"
This conversation attracted the attention of passers-by in the market.
And their eyes were completely focused on the pork on the chopping board.
That white pigskin is extremely eye-catching.
This is completely different from the black pork of the past, even the hair is thinner.
Of course, the fat meat is hanging around, especially the rare pork belly with so much fat, it is really unbelievable.
This is too much fat!
"What, Huangzhuang?"
"The emperor also eats this?"
In surprise, the white pork sold out very quickly.
The black-faced shrew had to carry the meat and walk away in disgrace, but she didn't give up and insisted on taking a piece of bone back to make soup.
As he was busy with his business, Butcher Zhang paid no attention to him.
The excitement at the market is just the tip of the iceberg. As early as last year, the huge Shuntian Prefecture started selling piglets on a large scale to improve the pig breeds in the countryside.
And this pig is naturally a new breed that is a cross between York large white pigs and local black pigs.
It's said to be white, just compared to the black pigs of the past.
Combining the characteristics of black pigs and white pigs, this new type of white pig is durable, less susceptible to illness, and fast at the same time. It is obviously loved by everyone.
But there are some shortcomings, and that is that I am a bit picky about food.
That is, unlike ordinary black pigs, it does not like to eat human excrement, but prefers to eat grass, wheat bran, etc.
For farmers, this is a minor shortcoming, but in Zhu Yixi's view, this is indeed an advantage.
To be honest, excrement has no nutrition, which is why native pigs can weigh only 70 to 80 pounds all year round.
This is why ordinary people eat pork, while nobles eat chicken, duck, fish, beef and sheep.
Zhu Yixi came out of Yuquan Mountain and felt really happy when she saw the rows of pig pens with no less than a hundred pigs.
The estrus period of pigs is very early, and they can give birth in seven or eight months. By crossing with the local excellent black pigs, an excellent breed was obtained in just two years.
At first glance, this white pig is not as white as the York pig. Instead, it is mostly pink and white, as well as yellow and white, which makes it look more natural.
"Your Majesty, there are twenty-eight palaces in Shuntian Mansion, big and small, all of which are breeding these white pigs. There are three to five hundred in number and a hundred or so in number."
Duan Mengshu, the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was worried about the emperor's urgent needs. Seeing that the emperor had no words, he still endured the stench and introduced:
"Since last year, piglets have been sold to the public one after another. At the same time, a large number of pigs have also been sold, and many people eat white pork."
Zhu Yixi nodded, approving the achievements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"White pigs are ready in half a year, and at the most they can weigh one hundred thirty or forty pounds. And with good feed, two to three hundred pounds is easy."
Duan Mengshu continued to talk about the words he memorized last night with ease: "Everyone in Huangzhuang likes to raise white pigs. Compared with black pigs, this guy is more docile."
The native black pig has many advantages, but one distinctive feature is that it is wild.
Because it is basically a domesticated wild boar with a long nose, it only needs to wander in the wild for a few months to turn into a real wild boar, and its big tusks can grow in minutes.
Therefore, in ancient times, latrines were often located next to pig pens. Sometimes the black pigs would get sexual and chew half of your butt when you went to the toilet.
Compared with white pigs with fat heads and big ears, they are docile and look honest and honest.
Zhu Yixi was noncommittal.
But how many pigs are docile?
It's just appearance deceiving.
However, Zhu Yixi is happy about the popularization of localized breeding of white pigs.
Just as he has always done, he continues to activate the rural economy, thereby maintaining the fragile small farmer economy.
In an era without industrialization and fertilizers, small-scale peasant economy was inevitable and irreplaceable, so it could only be strengthened.
The optimization of pig breeds is an important part of this.
After eating for decades, he has been pampered and contented, but his concern for the countryside has not diminished but increased.
He deeply understood that chickens and ducks could only improve the food supply, but it was too difficult to produce large livestock such as cattle, and only pigs were the most suitable.
It is normal to have more than ten babies.
Pigs are large and produce meat quickly, which can greatly improve farmers' plight and even promote the popularity of meat in rural areas.
Raising one more pig may save an ordinary family's life, support their son's education and change their destiny...
Therefore, although black pigs are native, they can only be eliminated gradually.
Just like in later generations, white pigs dominate the world.
“Pig diseases can be prevented and cured!”
Zhu Yixi said seriously: "This white pig is better than ours, but our black pig is more delicate and needs to be taken good care of."
"yes!"
Duan Mengshu nodded hurriedly.
"How long will it take for it to spread throughout Hebei?"
Suddenly, the emperor asked him confused.
"This will take about ten years!"
Duan Mengshu said sincerely: "The Huangzhuang is concentrated in Shuntian Mansion, so the speed can be faster, but there are fewer Huangzhuang in Hebei, so we can only do it slowly!"
"In my opinion, it is better to start from the northeast."
"Oh? Why?"
"Your Majesty, there are so many noble farms in the Northeast, and there are many royal ones, so the white pig will spread quickly."
"Liaodong Binhai, when the number of white pigs increases, they can be transported across the sea to Shandong and Hebei, which can save a lot of time..."
Zhu Yixi nodded and praised: "It's very good, let's do it like this."
"Go get it!"
Duan Mengyao agreed happily.
The emperor's ability to hand over tasks is a sign of trust in him.
…
At this time, Chahar, the Khan tent area.
Compared with other Mongolian places, Chahar is different from other places. There are about 20,000 Khan tent herders here.
They all have their own pastures without any exploitation by the nobles. Everyone is completely equal and the only master is the emperor.
They did not need to bow to the nobility or the court, but directly obeyed the emperor's orders, and did not even need to pay taxes.
The emperor also trusted them a lot, and the Ouchi guards would select elites from them to enter the capital every year.
At the same time, when the vassal kings left, they were also willing to select cavalry from the Khan tents to join the army and take them with them to the vassal.
For example, the King of Liao selected three thousand cavalry from the entire grassland, and the Khan tent occupied one thousand.
When the King of Yue went to Ezo, he also chose five hundred tents.
Being deeply trusted, they also produced a large number of Mongolian officials to govern those grassland areas, making almost every family wealthy.
"What's this?"
On the grassland, hundreds of officials escorted hundreds of black and white cows. The passing herdsmen expressed surprise and couldn't help but gather around to watch.
The Baihu official was wearing a green Mongolian official robe. He did not hesitate and explained directly:
"dairy cow!"
As he spoke, he directly grabbed the handle of the cow and squeezed it: "This milk is so big that just eating this milk can kill a person."