It was common for new shops to sell goods cheaply at first. After the first two days, they couldn’t keep it up, or they’d disrupt the market.
Since the piglets at home had only been raised for half a year and weren’t ready for slaughter yet, they had to buy one or two pigs from other families to get the business started.
A fully grown pig usually sold for around three taels after slaughter. If the meat was priced cheaper, it might not reach three taels. Raising pigs themselves was more cost-effective - feeding them grass, wheat bran, and grain husks didn’t require much additional expense. Deducting the two qian spent on piglets, they could still earn over two taels, which was quite good for villagers.
Today, they had gone to Li Zhuzi’s place to inspect the pigs and settled on a price of two taels and six qian for one pig. Selling at eighteen to twenty copper coins per catty, they could make a profit of three to four qian. But since this was their first opening, they weren't greedy. As long as they recouped the two taels and six qian, even making one or two qian extra would be good.
As they talked, Shen Xuanqing thought for a moment and said, "I forgot today. Next time we buy pigs from Li Zhuzi, we should also buy a few piglets. The four we have at home, one will be kept as a breeding sow, leaving only three for slaughter by the end of the year. That’s not enough. Next time, if we buy both piglets and grown pigs, maybe he’ll give us a qian discount on the grown ones."
Shen Yaoqing considered this and said, "You’re right. Even if we slaughter one pig every two months, we’d need six grown pigs a year."
"But in another six months, Hua Hua will be ready for breeding. It’s too late this year, so she’ll only have one litter. Starting next year, we don’t need too many, two litters a year would be enough. If each litter has seven, eight, or even ten piglets, we won’t need to buy from others anymore."
Shen Xuanqing steered the mule cart onto the fork in the road leading toward Qingxi Village and couldn’t help laughing at this.
Hua Hua was the sow with two black patches on her rump. Since Shen Yaoqing often stayed overnight at the new house to keep watch, Ji Qiuyue and Zhao’er had been living there more frequently lately. After feeding the pigs for so long, she sometimes chatted with them out of boredom and had jokingly named the sow Hei Hua Hua.
The whole family knew this sow would eventually provide them with many piglets, so they took great care in feeding her, ensuring she grew plump and healthy. Gradually, even the name Hei Hua Hua caught on, clearly setting her apart from the other pigs.
Three characters were a bit long, though, so lately Ji Qiuyue and Shen Yaoqing had shortened it to Hua Hua.
Shen Xuanqing found it amusing but didn’t comment. He mused to himself that even their pigs had names now. But then again, their dogs were hunting and guard heroes, each with their own names. If Hua Hua would be giving them piglets in the future, she’d be a hero too, so naming her made sense.
By the time they made it back, the sun had already set behind the mountains. Ji Qiuyue and Zhao’er were at the new house. She had already eaten, so Shen Xuanqing and Shen Yaoqing unhitched the cart and led the mule to the backyard.
"You two go ahead. I’ll fetch water." She handed Zhao’er to Shen Yaoqing to carry over while she poured water and brought hay for the mule. Someone had to watch the child—otherwise, if he stumbled or got hurt, the crying wouldn’t be the main concern, but the risk of injury was.
They had eaten lunch at the Yang family and started back in the afternoon. They hadn’t stopped when passing Fenggu Town, so by now, they were both hungry.
When they got home, Shen Yan was the first to see them come in and went to the kitchen to bring out the food. Lu Gu came out of the room carrying little Lingjun while Shen Xuanqing washed his hands with ladled water. He found a chair and sat down.
"Here, I’ll hold him. You go wash up." Wei Lanxiang lit a candle and took Zhao’er into her arms.
But Zhao’er ignored her, turning his face away to look at his father in the yard.
"You little rascal, still holding a grudge against your grandma." Wei Lanxiang laughed and scolded lightly.
Earlier, when Ji Qiuyue was here, Zhao’er had tried to snatch the milk fruit from little Lingjun’s hands, twisting and crying until Wei Lanxiang smacked his hand. Now he was sulking, so Ji Qiuyue had carried him away to prevent the little troublemaker from bothering his younger brother again.
Children were like this, they learned slowly. Besides, they were quick to forget punishments when food was involved. Wei Lanxiang broke off a small piece of sesame pastry for him, and as soon as Zhao’er took it and started eating, he smiled again.
"Give some to your brother Lingjun, alright?" Wei Lanxiang teased her eldest grandson.
Zhao’er knew who his brother was and who Lingjun was. After scratching his cheek in thought, he pinched off a tiny crumb of pastry and offered it toward Lu Gu.
"Stingy!" Wei Lanxiang tapped his forehead lightly, laughing so hard she could barely speak. The little thing had scraped off such a tiny flake, not even enough to fill little Lingjun’s gums.
"So generous." Lu Gu joined in the teasing, equally amused. Shen Xuanqing finished washing and came inside, bending down to play with little Lingjun before sitting down to eat.
Wei Lanxiang pushed Zhao’er’s hand back, pretending to scold. "Your hands are dirty. Our Lingjun won’t eat this. You have it."
Shen Yaoqing washed his face and hands before coming in to eat. Seeing his son’s miserly gesture, he flicked the boy’s forehead lightly. Giving his brother such a measly piece, how stingy.
Since the two of them were eating, Lu Gu carried little Lingjun back to the room.
By the time Shen Xuanqing entered the room to sleep, the night had grown deep.
Moving quietly to avoid waking his already sleeping little shuang'er, he lay down comfortably and whispered to Lu Gu about the day’s events.
"At lunch at Master's place, Yang Xian mentioned he ran into Dai Yongsheng from the gambling den a couple of days ago and brought up the shop matter. No worries there. After finalizing the stove setup, we went to the blacksmith’s to order four iron hooks and a few knives. The big pot for the stove is already bought and stored at Master's place for now."
"On the way back, we secured a grown pig from Li Zhuzi’s place…"
He spoke softly, and Lu Gu listened attentively. Outside, the moonlight drifted in with a gentle breeze, making even their dreams feel peaceful.
