Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 69 - 67 Buying Sheep

“Two dimes for a chick, two and a half for a duckling, and three and a half for a gosling,” replied the old man squatting opposite her.

Shen Yunfang nodded; the prices were similar throughout the market.

Then, she started picking through the chicks, identifying the sex of each chick and duckling by vent sexing. Relying on the sunlight for a clear view, Shen Yunfang identified three dozen chicks, ten ducklings, and ten goslings, choosing two males of each and the rest female.

In truth, keeping just one male would have sufficed, but she figured she might want to slaughter one for a feast during the year, which is why she opted for two males.

The total cost was twelve yuan.

“Yunfang, why buy so many geese? They eat too much; it’s not cost-effective,” Dashuan’s wife said, pulling at her arm upon seeing her select ten goslings.

“Well, they do eat a fair amount, but with so many chickens, once they grow a bit, they will surely attract weasels. Having a few more geese can help me guard the house,” Shen Yunfang explained.

Geese are formidable creatures. They’re willing to charge into danger, and their large beaks can deliver a painful twist.

Hearing this, Dashuan’s wife had nothing more to say. Indeed, raising too many chickens might catch the attention of weasels, which could be bad. If you’re not careful, they could swiftly leave you with not a single chicken left.

Reaching the piglet stalls, where the crowd was thickest, Shen Yunfang refrained from buying any more, as her household lacked sufficient grain. After all, raising pigs differed from poultry; pigs could out-eat even humans.

Moving further along, they encountered five stalls selling lambs. Shen Yunfang recognized one of the vendors—it was Liu, the accountant from Gaijiatun, and Shen Yougen. She scrutinized the young lambs they were leading. They looked familiar—they were the newly born lambs from her own flock this year.

“Oh, Accountant Li, you and Uncle Yougen are here to sell lambs,” said Dashuan’s wife, recognizing the people from her own village and starting a conversation.

“Yes, Dashuan’s wife is also here for the market,” Accountant Li greeted with a smile.

“Right, how’s it going, any buyers?” Few families in the village liked to raise sheep. The production team kept sheep only because the state mandated that each team had to deliver a quota of sheep, so they raised them out of obligation. Many production teams ended up with sheep and new lambs every year, but when the lambs couldn’t be sold, they had to keep them, which led to an ever-growing flock at the team.

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Accountant Li frowned and shook his head. He had come to sell sheep year after year, but he could hardly ever sell them.

“Accountant Li, how much are you selling these lambs for?” Shen Yunfang suddenly asked.

Thinking she was merely inquiring and not intending to buy, Accountant Li replied casually, “Eighty cents a pound, and this sheep is about a little over six pounds, so one would be five yuan.”

Shen Yunfang, well aware of the lambs’ weight as a shepherdess, pondered for a moment, then pulled out a Grand Unity banknote and handed it over, “Accountant Li, I’ll take two.”

Shen Yunfang walked home with the lambs in tow, a basket for carrying chickens, ducks, and geese on her back, accompanied by Dashuan’s wife.

“What are you thinking, you can’t even hold back, just have to buy these things, and it wasn’t enough to just herd them, now you’re bringing them home,” Dashuan’s wife lamented over Shen Yunfang’s frivolous spending, “Yunfang, I know you might have a bit of money, but you shouldn’t be spending it like this. You should save up, so you’re prepared for any emergencies. Are you silly? Look around, does anyone in Gaijiatun raise sheep? No, right? Do you know why?”

“Sister-in-law, I know, raising sheep isn’t as suited as raising pigs. But I was thinking, since I have to herd the production team’s sheep every day anyway, it wouldn’t be too much trouble to look after my own lambs at the same time. Moreover, sheep are much less trouble to raise than pigs, and no matter their size, they are bound to be stronger by the end of the year than they are now,” Shen Yunfang explained with a smile.

This had just occurred to her. She had several reasons for deciding to raise sheep. First, she benefited from a convenient situation; since she had to go out to herd sheep every day anyway, adding her own to the mix made little difference. There’s a saying that one sheep is herded by one and a hundred by ten, so if she put them all together, she surely could save up a few dozen pounds of meat by the end of the year. Even if she didn’t sell them, she could still enjoy the meat. Second, she was thinking ahead. Old Man Shen had said that next year she wouldn’t be allowed to herd sheep anymore, so accessing sheep’s milk would become less convenient. If she raised her own, regardless of whether she could continue herding next year, she would still have milk to drink. Lastly, she wanted to improve her life a little, to be able to eat meat whenever she craved it.

The recent experience of clearing and farming land had fully exposed her to the hardships involved and made her realize that it was unlikely she would get rich from farming with her current level of physical strength. Therefore, raising livestock seemed to be the only alternative.

Even though Gaijiatun, this small place, had the nation’s support for farmers to raise chickens, ducks, and pigs on their own, it couldn’t stop some from getting jealous. Having struggled in society for years in her previous life, she had often witnessed trouble caused by envy.

As an orphan girl, if people found out she was raising a large batch of chickens, ducks, and pigs at home, she would certainly become the object of others’ desire. If they coveted her things and pinned some false accusations on her, she’d have nowhere to turn to, so it was better for her to keep a low profile for now in both her conduct and her dealings.

It was just that moment when she saw the lambs for sale that she suddenly thought if she could raise a few more sheep, it might be feasible.

Of course, she couldn’t go all out in raising livestock this year. First, her money was limited, and she couldn’t spend it all; she had to keep some ‘river-crossing money’ just in case of an illness or natural disaster. Second, if she started raising dozens of sheep all at once, it would create a stir in the village; the other members would certainly look at her with envy. It wasn’t the time for a high profile, so even if she wanted to raise sheep, she would have to find a proper way.

After a trip to the market, her purse had slimmed down from seventy-five to fifty-two yuan, and the extra yuan was spent on some soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings.

As Shen Yunfang had expected, the news of her buying sheep caused hardly any stir in Gaijiatun.

The few who knew about it just snorted and cursed her for squandering money before letting it go.