Chapter 4 Learning Art
Being from a humble background is not a shame; being able to bend and stretch is a husband.
Now that the matter has come to this, there is no need to say more. All you need to do is bend down and keep your position, cultivate your essence and fire, and wait for the right time, and you will always get ahead.
"Mr. Liu, I'm leaving first." The donkey-faced man saluted the middle-aged man obsequiously, and took Meng Yuan and the others out of the house. He straightened up, "I am the head of Mu Village. My surname is Li, you will follow me from now on!”
Old man Jiang quickly said a few good words, and then got on a donkey cart, driven by a young man carrying a knife.
The five people went out without entering the city. They just walked around the long city wall and headed west.
The wheels were grinding against the snow. When Meng Yuan and Old Man Jiang saw Li Zhuangtou's coldness, they stopped talking rashly.
"Stop!" After walking for a while, Li Zhuangtou suddenly shouted to stop. He got out of the car and took back a handful of steaming dung balls from under the donkey's butt. He carefully put them on the car and scolded the young man driving the car, "Li Dabiao! Why did I give birth to such a prodigal thing like you? If I hadn’t looked at it, wouldn’t this shit have been wasted?”
Meng Yuan and Uncle Jiang looked at each other, and even the little girl Jiang Tang was at a loss.
The north wind was strong and the snow was slippery. After walking for about forty miles, it was finally dark when the sky turned dark, and we finally arrived at the ranch.
Zhuangzi is a vast place with several sheds, and the cold wind brings the smell of dung. From time to time there are cattle and sheep bleating, and deer croaking.
It happened to be dinner time, and Meng Yuan and the three of them mixed a bowl of hot gooey.
The three of them were arranged to live in the old veterinarian's former residence. There was a fenced yard next to the cattle pen, and two shabby thatched houses filled with farm tools.
The bedding was old and stuffed with hay. Although it was a bit prickly, it was still warm.
"Li Zhuangtou is going to test his abilities tomorrow morning, so be prepared. And don't go out at night if you have nothing to do. The dog will be left unleashed at night." The man who led the way for Meng Yuan and the others was a big-headed man named Zhao Datou. He was a real person and lived there. Next to the cowshed.
"Thank you for informing me." Old Uncle Jiang chatted with Zhao Datou and asked about the affairs of his master's family.
It turns out that the princess has several farms, all of which are dowry private properties, and this ranch is one of them. The ranch has a wide pasture and two large mountains, which is very vast.
The princess is also very kind. The villagers near the ranch can go into the mountains to collect firewood and hunt, and they don't charge for coming to the ranch to breed.
The main reason why Meng Yuan and the others were able to enter Zhuangzi was because the old veterinarian of Muzhuang was gored to death by a deer.
After hearing these words, Meng Yuan and Uncle Jiang felt relieved knowing that they were indispensable.
After running away for a long time, I finally settled down.
There are two dilapidated thatched houses, Jiang Tang lives in one, and Meng Yuan and Uncle Jiang live in the other.
Old man Jiang relaxed now and began to tell Meng Yuan about the knowledge of grooming animals. "Why do you castrate these beasts? If you don't castrate, the males will either fight or hump their butts; the females will urinate and make a fuss. Just thinking about breeding, they will not grow any meat. But as long as they are castrated, the meat will not grow. I’m not arrogant anymore, I’m growing faster, and my temperament has become docile.”
When Meng Yuan heard this, he always felt that the refugees who were bought and sold at will seemed to have been emasculated. But if there were more refugees, the force would grow violently and sweep across the area.
On the second day, the rooster crowed three times. As soon as Meng Yuan and the others got up, Zhao Datou came looking for them.
I thought I would have to work right away, but I didn't expect that I would go to the canteen first to eat, and it was porridge and pickles. Ordinary tenant farmers did not receive this kind of treatment.
"The princess came to the village before and saw that the villagers were working hard, so she decided to have three meals a day. Li Zhuangtou could only deduct some, but he didn't dare to skip a meal." Zhao Datou said in a low voice.
After eating, Zhao Datou took Old Man Jiang and Meng Yuan to the pig house.
The main livestock raised in Zhuangzi are cattle, sheep and deer, which are sold outside. There are also some chickens and ducks, which are produced for the palace to eat. There are not many pigs raised, they are used by villagers to eat during the New Year and festivals.
When he came to the pig house, Zhao Datou took out a worn leather wallet that belonged to an old veterinarian.
When I opened it, I saw a circle of thin thread and two needles. The most conspicuous ones are the two knives, both about one palm long, one with a narrow blade and the other with a slightly wider blade.
"The knife is for capons and ducks. Pigs and sheep have to use this handle." Old man Jiang taught Meng Yuan knowledge while pouring water to sharpen the knife.
After sharpening the knife three times, he entered the pig house.
There are several pens in the pig house, but there are not many pigs. This time, two sows gave birth to piglets together, a total of seventeen piglets.
Old man Jiang took Meng Yuan around the pig house and even picked up two piglets to take a look, which made the old sow angry.
"Generally, it's best to perform surgery within half a month. If it takes more than a month or two, the finger may need stitches." Old man Jiang was very wise and asked Meng Yuan to fetch a basin of water and bring it in, and then went to bring some firewood.
After a while, Li Zhuangtou and his son Li Dabiao came. Meng Yuan lit the firewood, and Old Man Jiang used his sword to set it on fire.
Meng Yuan grabbed a small black piglet from the pen, then sat on a stool and followed Uncle Jiang's instructions, holding the piglet's two hind legs upside down, clamping the piglet's head and front legs between his knees, exposing the pig's butt.
Uncle Jiang touched the piglet's butt, held the bulge with one hand, and then cut two wounds the size of fingernails with a knife. Then he squeezed the piglet's butt and pulled it out to cut the spermatic cord. The two eggs were thrown into the basin of clear water. Old man Jiang grabbed a handful of plant ash and put it on the piglet's wound, then patted it twice, and it was done.
He cut the knife steadily and quickly, and his movements were coherent. The little piglet only squealed three or four times before it was castrated.
"What a surprise!" Li Zhuangtou has been looking after Zhuangzi all year round. He obviously knows a few things. As soon as he saw Jiang Shuan using the knife, he knew he was a master. He pointed at Meng Yuan again and said: "Boy, you haven't done it yet. When you leave the army, you can’t be idle, you have to work in the bullpen! Datou, you have arranged it!”
"You have to work to eat! Do you understand?" Li Dabiao glared at Meng Yuan.
After speaking, Li Zhuangtou and his son didn't look any further, got up and left.
Seeing Zhuangtou's approval, Jiang Shuanyou felt a little uncomfortable. He looked at Zhao Datou and whispered: "Our Zhuangtou seems to have a good character."
Zhao Datou took a sip on the ground, said nothing, and then seemed to speak.
Meng Yuan grabbed another piglet, this time it was a sow. The method of castration was different again. Old Man Jiang also cut down very steadily and quickly while explaining it to Meng Yuan in detail.
It can be seen that he is really teaching.
In less than two-quarters of an hour, fifteen piglets were castrated, and the remaining two were kept for breeding.
"Let's work together!" The clear water in the basin had already turned into bloody water, and strings of things were floating. Old Man Jiang was very satisfied.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
According to the gelding rules, after doing the work, in addition to receiving some hard-earned money, the eggs that are removed also belong to the gelding. But after all, the person has been sold to the village, so it is impossible to ask for money, but Eggy can accept it.
After washing his hands, Old Man Jiang picked up the eggs in the basin, threaded them on a bamboo stick, and roasted them on the firewood.
After a while, they were baked. He handed the sizzling and oily baked eggs to Meng Yuan and said with a smile: "You can eat whatever you eat to make up for it. You are young. If you eat it, you will grow longer. You will have more babies in the future. Take advantage of it." Eat it hot! ”
It had been a long time since I had tasted meat. Meng Yuan took it. Although it felt extremely fishy, he still bit into it.
Without salt for seasoning, the fishy smell is even stronger. I closed my eyes and became furious, not daring to chew carefully and swallowed it all.
Meng Yuan immediately felt that after these things entered his belly, a ray of nutrients was absorbed by the essence fire.
The essence fire, which was like a candle sprout, actually grew slightly stronger.
"It seems that I still have to eat meat... When I take good care of my body, my essence and fire will absorb more nutrients and I will grow faster. What will happen then?" Meng Yuan thought silently.
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already late winter.
Due to Uncle Jiang's serious teaching, Meng Yuanjie learned the skill of cutting animals very quickly, and now he can do it himself.
Meng Yuan was not suffering from cold and hunger. He had not eaten any serious meat these days, but he had eaten a lot of sheep and cow eggs.
The body is already in great shape, and the essence fire in the body is slowly growing, reaching the size of a basin.
People are also becoming more energetic, and their strength is not only much stronger, but also seems to be inexhaustible.
Meng Yuan, who was already outstanding in appearance, was even more popular. Coupled with his down-to-earth ability and easy-going speech, in Zhuangzi, except for the livestock, all the old and young women were willing to have a few words with Meng Yuan. The daughter-in-law of the village head's son Li Dabiao He also secretly winked at Meng Yuan.
Before the rooster crows, Meng Yuan wakes up in the morning, draws water from the well, and wipes his body to wash away the heat.
"Tang'er will be fine when she grows up in another two years." Old Uncle Jiang also woke up. He was someone who had been there before, and he clearly wanted to make the marriage a reality.
At this time, Jiang Tang knocked on the door outside, then pushed open a gap, got in, and stayed outside, saying: "Grandpa, I have grown up long ago! Brother, why do you take a shower in the morning again? Be careful to catch a cold."
This girl is still a little thin, but after raising her for a month, her face has gradually become rosier and her eyes are very lively.
Meng Yuan recently taught her how to read whenever he had free time, but this girl just wanted to do some needlework and didn't take the study seriously. Meng Yuan said that she didn't want to marry an illiterate person, so she meant it.
Jiang Tang looked at Meng Yuan now and said happily: "I washed the clothes you changed out of, sewn the socks, and put them under your pillow."
Meng Yuan glared at her, and the girl quickly closed the door and ran away.
Meng Yuan had no interest in this kind of yellow-haired girl. However, as time went by in the village, he became more and more interested in the princess.
The princess is the second wife of King Xin. She has been married for eight years and has not given birth to a son or a daughter. She is only twenty-four years old now. I heard that the princess was beautiful and of noble birth, so she would not have been reduced to a second marriage. It was the marriage that the emperor had indicated.
"I cut the princess's balls every day, but I haven't even seen her face." Meng Yuan sighed.
(End of chapter)