Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 9

When they got home, Wu Lan immediately started asking about the money. Every time Song Tan explained an expense, the vein on Wu Lan’s forehead twitched a bit.

Song Tan felt nervous: she didn’t want to be a mommy’s girl, but she really had no other choice!

It was time to employ the tactic of diverting attention: “Mom, I want to raise a few pigs. What do you think?”

Currently, pork prices were fluctuating, but farm-raised pigs were always in demand, so it seemed like a reasonable plan.

“How many?”

Wu Lan snorted, thinking her daughter was too pampered: “Pork is expensive now, and piglets cost a few hundred yuan each. We’ll also need a separate stove to cook pig feed. It’s so cold now, we’ll need bran, rice husks, and corn…”

Not to mention, hungry pigs make a lot of noise, and building a pigsty would add to the workload. Wu Lan thought Song Tan was too ambitious and unreliable.

“Besides, even if we had a fortune, livestock doesn’t count. What if they get sick…”

But Song Tan was determined!

Now that she could cultivate, she wanted to improve the quality of her food. Farm-raised pork would be much tastier.

She said, “Mom, raising our own pigs is safer and tastier. The pork outside doesn’t taste as good as it did when I was a kid. And with pork prices so high, we could even sell some…”

“When we slaughter the pigs, we can make pork stew, fried pork scraps, and stuffed cabbage buns. It will be so delicious!”

Fresh pork was indeed tempting!

As a farmer who had raised pigs for many years, Song Sancheng was also tempted. He forgot his initial refusal and chimed in, “Yes, yes, maybe we should raise one.”

Little Qiao, who was watching Pink Peppa Pig on his phone, suddenly looked up: “Mom, you’re my pig mom!”

“Sister, can I live with Peppa?”

Wu Lan took a deep breath—her silly son was driving her crazy!

Thinking about future expenses for him, and the high pork prices, she finally gritted her teeth and agreed:

“Let’s do it!”

“The village doesn’t allow pigs at the front door, so we’ll secretly build the pigsty behind our house. Our place is secluded anyway, so it won’t affect the look. But the pigsty will be small, only for two pigs.”

That wouldn’t do at all!

In the countryside, pigsties were small fenced yards with a shed in the corner and a pond for waste. The pigs had their little playground…

Their house was a bungalow with the bedroom window facing the back mountain. If they built a pigsty, the smell would be unbearable!

Song Tan quickly suggested, “Let’s put up a wire fence and enclose part of the hillside. We can raise more pigs and let them roam the mountains.”

Farm pigs weren’t too destructive and would be fine with some fencing. Plus, the hillside was spacious enough for them.

“And the back mountain is close, so we can hear if there’s any noise.”

Now even Song Sancheng looked at Song Tan in disbelief: Who raises pigs like this?

Free-range pigs on the hillside? What about the risk of injury, or the snakes, insects, and rats? And how would they gain weight?

“Not white pigs, let’s get black pigs! They’re more active and leaner, but more expensive and tastier!”

Just as she was about to face more objections, Song Tan grabbed Wu Lan’s hand:

“Mom, please let me try! I really have a plan!”

She turned to Song Sancheng: “Dad, I’ve been obedient all my life. Just this once, listen to me, okay?”

Silence filled the room.

After a long pause, little Qiao suddenly whispered, “Listen to me, okay?”

Song Tan almost laughed out loud!

Wu Lan also smiled angrily: “Fine, I have two troublemakers! We’ll do as you say!”

She turned and huffed, “I’ll call to check the prices! Old Song, go clean up the back mountain!”

As she left, Song Sancheng added, “Tan, if you raise pigs on the mountain, you’ll need two big dogs to watch them. Otherwise, they won’t be safe.”

It wasn’t just about wild animals; they also had to worry about people.

Don’t think the village was all harmony—people used to steal cabbage from each other’s fields!

And a few years back, someone poisoned their neighbor’s pigs over a pumpkin dispute!

Dogs would alert them to any trouble, keeping things safe!

After a moment of silence, Song Tan asked, “Dad, if we have dogs and pigs on the mountain, can we also raise some chickens and ducks?”

Ducks could have a separate area and play in the front pond daily, without much hassle…right?

She thought it was best to handle everything now rather than dealing with it bit by bit later.

Song Sancheng was stunned!

They hadn’t even started, and she was talking about pigs and dogs?

Thinking of how she had spent money today, he felt even a ten-yuan pack of Emperor cigarettes was too expensive. After a long silence, he sighed:

“You’re grown now. Do what you want. While we can still move, even if it fails, we can support you.”

“But remember, use your own money and the 60,000 yuan we can give. Don’t borrow any money! Not a single cent!”

He sighed again, “Otherwise, I’m afraid if you fail, I won’t even be able to afford cigarettes.”

Song Tan sighed too: “Dad, it’s not easy for me either. Why don’t you quit smoking? You could save 100 or 200 yuan a month, and that would add up to 2,000 yuan a year for me!”

She had wanted him to quit for years, but it never worked—her grandfather never quit despite his bad lungs.

“No way!”

Song Sancheng loved his cigarettes too much.

He whispered, “I only smoke half a pack a day. Sometimes, when I’m really tired from work, a cigarette helps me relax…”

With that, Song Tan had no choice.

But he definitely needed to quit!

She thought for a moment: “Then, Dad, try to cut down. One pack every three days. That would save 100 yuan a month, okay?”

Her dad’s eyes widened: “Are you trying to raise me too? Your grandpa is so frugal he still smokes hand-rolled cigarettes, which are even worse!”

Song Tan thought it didn’t matter whether it was hand-rolled or factory-made; both were bad!

She made a mental note of this and then went to get the snacks she bought in town:

“I’ll go see Grandpa and Grandma.”

“Qiao, come with me!”

Song Sancheng nodded: “Go ahead, their spirits aren’t what they used to be… They’re getting old.”

He then warned:

“If they give Qiao snacks, let him take them but don’t let him eat!”

Qiao lifted his head at the mention of snacks: “I want to eat…”

“No!” Song Sancheng firmly said: “Your grandma is very frugal. Every year she buys new snacks but eats the old ones—last time she gave us snacks that were half a year past the expiration date. You can’t eat them!”