?Chapter 59: 59 Choices Chapter 59: 59 Choices “It really is,” she said, “obviously fatter by a whole circle.
Just look at the meat on its belly, it’s grown so well!”
“If it keeps growing like this, the pig might weigh one hundred and eighty pounds by the end of the year!”
…
Lin Lu and Li Xiuli, hearing the envious remarks of the villagers, simultaneously lifted their chins, radiating an indescribable air of pride.
It was all thanks to their Tangtang!
After the emotions of Lin Fu and the other commune members had calmed down, he brought up the matter of castrating pigs.
“Quiet down, everyone!”
“I know the folks here are struggling with the lack of pig-raising techniques, worried about not being able to complete the year-end task, and we cadres are also troubled!
We’ve gone to the commune to plead with the leadership, to the Jianming brigade to learn their secrets, tried everything, but none of it did any good.
Me and Jiancai have been so anxious, unable to sleep night after night…
Finally, in desperation, we had no choice but to go to the recycling collection station, hoping to find a book on pig-raising.
Who would have thought we wouldn’t find a book, but instead, we discovered a torn piece of paper,
It said that if piglets are castrated, they will grow fatter and faster.
We didn’t know whether what the paper said was true or false, so what could we do? We could only try!
The fat piggy you see here has been castrated for some time now.
Take a look, everyone, doesn’t it look quite different…
I called you comrades here today because I have something to inform everyone,
My big nephew, Blue Mountain, has mastered the skill of castrating pigs, and any commune members interested in castrating their pigs can go find Blue Mountain to schedule a time.
The piglets in the homes of several of the brigade cadres, my third brother’s home, Ziqiang’s home, all of their piglets have been castrated.
We don’t force it on any of the folks here, if you want to castrate, go and line up to register.
If you don’t want to, then just raise them as before.
The road is laid out in front of you… how you choose to proceed is up to you…”
Lin Fu announced this through a loudspeaker.
By the time he finished speaking, his throat was hoarse.
Immediately, the crowd below erupted into a buzz.
Some commune members, who trusted the brigade cadres, rushed straight to Lin Qingshan.
“Qingshan, my family wants to castrate pigs…”
“And me, my family too…”
…
There was no shortage of people agreeing, but there were also those who found it amusing.
Wu Chunhua eyed the plump little piggy on the wooden platform, feeling a moment of temptation to join the queue.
But then.
She thought about the person she’d have to ask—her archenemy’s son—and she couldn’t swallow her pride.
She stood at the back of the crowd, her expression particularly ugly.
Clearly infuriated.
Seeing her mother in such a terrible state, Wang Zhaodi stood a few steps away from Wu Chunhua and muttered under her breath.
“…Just because they’ve cut that part of the piglets, doesn’t mean they’ll grow up successfully!”
Better if they all just died.
That way, the Lin family would offend the whole brigade.
Wu Chunhua’s eyes gleamed faintly, silently agreeing with Wang Zhaodi’s words.
Right, perhaps they won’t survive!
Her gaze flickered, and she moved towards several women with whom she got along.
Wang Daniu saw Wu Chunhua wasn’t heading to the queue and grabbed her.
“Wife, where you off to? Aren’t you going to line up? If we don’t register now, we’ll be last in line.”
Wu Chunhua angrily shook him off, “Get lost! If you want to go, go yourself, I’m not going!
To ask for help from that bitch Li Xiuli’s son, don’t even think about it!”
The woman was fiercely intimidating, scaring Wang Daniu into a shiver, and he quickly let go.
Wu Chunhua scoffed disdainfully, “Hmph, spineless!”
Then, she went to find others.
Wang Daniu’s face momentarily darkened, the light in his eyes quickly extinguished, and it seemed as if all his vitality had drained away.
Knowing she couldn’t control Wu Chunhua, Wang Daniu sighed.
He glanced at the bustling threshing ground and, with his head hung low, walked away.
Although there were unreasonable people in the Shuangshan Brigade, the majority were diligent, kind, and grateful.
The villagers worked together and trusted the brigade’s cadres relatively more, showing a particularly high level of cooperation in their work.
The vast majority of people had gone to line up to register.
Only a very few women had been persuaded by Wu Chunhua and harbored doubts about castrating the pigs, so they didn’t plan on registering.
Lin Fu and the others didn’t force them.
Democracy meant prioritizing the wishes of the villagers.
It had been clearly stated from the beginning, no one would be forced.
Lin Fu broke it down for the brigade members; the overwhelming majority were willing, after all, the fattened piglets were right there.
There were also a few households that disagreed, worried about potential problems.
They felt their own piglets were growing well and saw no need for the extra step.
When the brigade members had almost finished discussing,
Lin Fu specifically sought out the few who were unwilling to castrate the pigs.
After confirming their steadfast attitude, Lin Fu said, “Okay, whether you’re willing or not is up to you!
We’ve said it before, we won’t pressure comrades.
If you disagree, just sign your name or put your thumbprint on this document to opt out of the castration.”
Just to avoid any complications later on.
When these people heard about signing or thumbprinting, they were naturally reluctant and immediately made a fuss.
“… Is this what the Captain called no pressure?”
“If you’re not pressuring us, why make us sign this?”
“We’re not signing; who knows if signing this could harm our interests?”
…
Lin Fu’s face darkened.
He cast a cold glance at Wu Chunhua, who was stirring up trouble, and said coldly, “What interests do you have that we need to be concerned about?
Aren’t those comrades over there who agree also signing? As if you can!
Since you belong to the brigade, you have to follow the arrangements; there have to be rules for everything,
It’s not up to you to do whatever you want; I always prefer to cover all bases in my work.
If you’re unwilling, go to the commune and have Secretary Yan replace me.”
The Captain cursed rapidly.
This scared several families into shrinking back, and they didn’t dare to make a sound for a while.
The noise here reached the ears of the brigade members waiting in line a few steps away; they all couldn’t help but look over. sea??h thё N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Even Li Jiancai and a few others walked over here.
The few brigade members who were reluctant to castrate the pigs panicked.
Those who needed to sign, signed; those who needed to thumbprint, thumbprinted.
Not a word more was said.
How obedient they were!
They had to be, or it wouldn’t do.
They could talk tough all they wanted, but if they truly angered the Captain and the scorekeeper,
It would be their own interests that suffered.
But their unwillingness to castrate the pigs was genuine.
They believed their pigs were growing just fine, and who had the best care in the end was still anyone’s guess.
That evening, at the Wang family,
Wu Chunhua cast a glance at the neighboring Lin family and imperiously directed Wang Zhaodi to work.
“Zhaodi, hurry up and feed the pigs again; if our pigs don’t grow as well as the Lin family’s, you can get out of this house!”
Wang Zhaodi was meek and submissive, a far cry from her former bullying of Lin Tang.
Smiling obsequiously, she nodded repeatedly, “… I’m on it.”
Wang Jinbao, who was sitting nearby, didn’t even look at Wang Zhaodi but said to Wu Chunhua, “I want to eat eggs, go boil eggs for me.”
His attitude was one of utter laziness, evidently spoiled rotten.
Wu Chunhua didn’t seem to mind at all and looked at her son affectionately, saying softly, “Jinbao wants to eat eggs? Alright, Mommy will cook them for you.”