The happy little days of the Ye family

Tang Xiaojing opened the door and saw that the ground outside was a little wet. It seemed that it had rained last night.

Although it didn't rain today, the sky looked gloomy and there were a lot of dark clouds in the sky.

Although there is no sunshine, it feels even hotter than yesterday, with a sultry feeling like before a heavy rain.

Just as Tang Xiaojing closed the door behind him, Tang Shan opened the door and came out not far away.

"Dad, it's a gloomy day today, and there are a lot of dark clouds in the sky. Is it going to rain soon?"

Tangshan used to be a escort outside and often slept in the open air. He knew a little bit about the celestial phenomena. Eight times out of ten, it was the same as what he said.

Therefore, every time Tang Xiaojing saw something wrong with the weather, he would ask.

Tangshan looked up at the sky and saw ants moving on the ground. He said with determination:

"It's a bit muggy, and it looks like there will be heavy rain in the evening."

It rained heavily in the evening, but the father and son went out normally during the day.

Li Changgong should be back today, and the two of them are going to discuss raising goats with him.

When the two came to the valley, they happened to see several long-term workers processing the prey they had taken from the mountains in the morning by the river.

I was very lucky today and caught 3 hares and an ibex in the trap on Stone Mountain.

After the traps in Rabbit Mountain were moved, the harvest was obviously better, with 3 hares and a wild goat.

Tang Xiaojing was very happy when he saw two newly peeled sheepskins.

"These two sheepskins are quite complete. Once they are tanned, they will become two good leathers."

The sheepskins were quite intact, but a few rabbit skins were in poor condition. They were either shot through by the bamboo in the trap, or were damaged when they were peeled off.

After the skins were peeled off, Tang Xiaojing asked one of the two wild goats to take them to a restaurant in the county and sell them.

As for other rabbits, they are made into wax rabbits and sold on the dock later.

Tang Shan and Tang Xiaojing had just stood there for a while when Li Changgong came over happily.

The three of them went directly to Rabbit Mountain. While checking the terrain on the mountain, they discussed raising goats.

"Boss, I went back and asked. Several big households that raise goats in the village have a lot of little goats. The price is not expensive. A lamb that has just turned one month old costs 120 yuan."

"The price of adult ewes is a bit more expensive. Pregnant ewes cost 1 tael and 7 yuan each, while milk-producing ewes cost 1 tael and 5 yuan each."

Hearing the price, Tang Xiaojing was very lucky to be stopped, otherwise he would have been taken advantage of.

"I took a fancy to a newly pregnant ewe yesterday. Fortunately, I didn't buy it at the county livestock market yesterday. The price here is much cheaper."

Hearing that Tang Xiaojing wanted to buy adult ewes as breeding sheep, Li Changgong quickly suggested to his father and son:

"Goats grow fast. They can give birth to lambs within a year. There is no need to buy breeding sheep. Just buy lambs and raise them as breeding sheep."

"And the lambs are only 120 yuan, and a pregnant ewe costs more than one tael. It's really not cost-effective. It's better to just buy the lambs."

Li Changgong's family raises goats, and few people in the village buy breeding sheep. They all buy lambs and raise them to keep the seeds for themselves.

Tangshan looked at his son, "Uncle Li is right, it is more cost-effective to buy lambs. The cost is lower and the risk is lower."

I have never raised goats in Tangshan, and I really don’t know if I can feed them.

If a breeding sheep cost more than one tael of silver each, the money will be wasted if it is not fed.

Tangshan thought it was safer to buy lambs. Even if he lost money, he wouldn't be hurt.

Tang Xiaojing was the one who listened to the advice. Neither father nor son had ever raised goats, so this matter still required the advice of someone who understood.

"Okay, let's buy lambs and pick more females. When they grow up, we will keep some for ourselves as breeding sheep."

Tang Xiaojing thought again about the ducks he raised at home. One was lost today and one died tomorrow. He bought 100 ducks and only about 60 were left after they were raised.

I thought that if I bought 50 lambs, there would only be about 40 when they were raised, which felt a little short.

The three of them discussed for a long time, and finally the father and son decided to buy 60 lambs. After raising them, they could have about 50 lambs.

As for how to select the lambs, the father and son didn't know much about it. In the end, the father and son entrusted the matter to Li Changgong.

If they don't understand, they shouldn't meddle in it, and leave it to those who know how to handle it.

The total cost of 60 lambs was 7 taels and 2 cents. Tang Xiaojing gave Li Changgong 4 taels and 200 cents, and the extra cents was for his hard work.

Li Changgong took the money very excitedly.

"Okay, I'm going back to pick the sheep now. There are so many lambs, and the village probably won't have enough. However, there are people raising sheep in several nearby villages, so it won't be a problem to get enough for these 60 lambs."

If the Tang family raises goats, at least his job will be secure, and he won't be afraid that his employer will fire him in the future.

Although the family raised sheep, they did not have the leather tanning skills of the owner. The sheep raised can only be sold for meat, and the money is not much.

The family lives a tight life, and they have to rely on his salary to support the family.

Tangshan saw that the sky was getting gloomier and the air was obviously more humid, so he warned again:

"I see that the sky is covered with dark clouds, and it's likely to rain heavily in the evening. You can order the lamb first, and don't rush to send it over."

"After the heavy rain passes and the weather gets better, ask a few people to help bring the lambs over. Don't get caught in the rain and get sick on the road."

"I know, Brother Tang, you are more meticulous."

Tang Xiaojing on the side was very wise and took out another 100 yuan, which was the cost of asking someone to send a lamb.

Li Changgong originally planned to pay for it from the extra 200 yuan, but he didn't expect the Tang family and his son to be so generous.

The owner is generous and kind, and Li Changgong is very concerned about this matter and hopes to stay in the Tang family forever.

If you have a little lamb, you must build a sheep shed, otherwise it will not be safe to stay on the mountain at night.

The father and son wandered around the foot of the two hills, and finally decided to build the sheep shed next to the rabbit shed.

The long-term workers of the family here all live here, and there are also a few hounds here, so they are not afraid of outsiders coming in.

If it were kept at the foot of Rabbit Mountain, someone would not even know it was stolen.

With the strength of many people, it only took half a day to build a simple small shed.

Seeing that the weather was not very good in the afternoon, the father and son hurried back, planning to come back later to build the remaining two sheep sheds.

Three sheds for 60 lambs are just right. Even if the lambs grow up in the future, they won't be too crowded.

Sure enough, just as Tangshan said, it started to rain heavily as soon as the father and son arrived home.

There was lightning and thunder at night, which frightened Chenchen so much that she kept crying. The two of them took turns holding her and coaxing her, but nothing worked.

In the end, she cried until her voice became hoarse, which made the two of them extremely distressed.

It wasn't until the rain subsided in the second half of the night and the thunder stopped that the little guy calmed down and fell asleep obediently.

After struggling for most of the night, the young couple slept until the sun rose to the center of the sky the next day, then slowly got up.

The father and son had lunch before going out to build a sheep shed on the mountain.

The sheep sheds are not big, so the remaining two were built in one day, and a layer of soft hay was spread on the ground.

Li Changgong moved very quickly and selected 60 very strong lambs in two days.

He definitely couldn't transport it back by himself, so he specially picked a few familiar people in the village to help deliver it together.

In this way, these snow-white lambs settled down on the Tang family's mountain.