Chapter 1649
is actually quite cruel.
To be honest, it was only in this era that wild boars were less valuable than domestic pigs. If this were in later generations, wild boar meat would be several times more expensive than domestic pork.
Of course, this is not to say that wild boar meat is particularly delicious, but rather because wild boars are protected, and the only wild boars that people can eat are farmed wild boars, and those who eat them are just trying something new.
However, in any case, this is all many years in the future, so Wang An didn't want to explain too much.
So Wang An nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"I was thinking that the three of us could each take one sow and a litter of baby boars. But if you two don't want to keep them, you can kill them all."
Although Wang An wanted to eat roast suckling pig, he didn't want to raise too many wild boars.
It's fine to change things up occasionally, but if Wang An's family had to eat wild boar meat all the time, no one would want to eat it.
The key issue is that raising wild boars isn't very economical, because these creatures eat just as much as domestic pigs, but grow very slowly. While domestic pigs are already ready for market, these wild boars are still just yellow-haired creatures.
Furthermore, just a few days ago, Wang Dazhu bought two litters of piglets at the market, a total of 18 piglets. Therefore, Wang An's family had no shortage of pigs to raise or pork to eat.
The current situation is that if the sow is killed, these little tadpoles that can't even feed themselves will also die.
However, as mountain people, we have no pity for wild boars whatsoever. For the farmers in the mountains, it would be best if these creatures disappeared completely, because the amount of grain lost each year due to wild boars damaging crops is countless.
After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli and Wang Li's eyes lit up. Mu Xueli eagerly said:
“Brother-in-law, then I’ll slaughter the one that’s allotted to me. Anyway, my family doesn’t want to raise wild boars. It’s too unprofitable to raise these things. It’s better to kill them, dry them into jerky, and then keep them to feed the dogs later.”
After Mu Xueli finished speaking, Wang Li also said:
“My family doesn’t want to raise them either. Let’s kill the one that’s going to be mine. Raising these things is such a waste of food, and they grow so slowly. They’re completely useless.”
Wang An took a bite of his steamed bun, nodded, and said:
"You two can do whatever you want. After that, all those little rascals are mine. If I can keep them alive when I get them home, great. If not, oh well."
Mu Xueli echoed:
"Yeah, you can have them all. I don't want any of them. Without a mother wild boar to carry them, I think they have a good chance of surviving."
Wang Li also chimed in:
"I don't want one either. Just looking at wild boars annoys me; those things are such a menace."
After finishing their meal, Wang Li and Mu Xueli, without saying a word, each picked up a knife and headed towards their respective sows.
With a white knife going in and a red knife coming out, the two sows that had been tied up with great difficulty died one after another, leaving behind only two litters of hungry baby boars in this world.
To be honest, humans can be quite cruel, but when you think about the enormous harm wild boars cause to people in the mountains, this cruelty is understandable.
The four of them worked together to skin and butcher the wild boar, and they were quite fast.
About an hour later, the four tied the wild boar and its meat to the horses, and led the horses and dogs down the mountain.
On the way back, Wang An said to Mu Xueli and Wang Li:
"Since you two have nothing to do at home these days, spend more time among people, listen to their conversations, and see if anyone is looking for bears or deer in the mountains. While there's no work in the fields right now, let's earn some extra pocket money."
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li asked him, "Fourth Brother, are we not going to hunt wild boars anymore?"
Wang An glanced at Wang Li and said:
“If you two are just trying to train the dog by hunting wild boars, that would be a perfectly good idea. But if it's just about hunting wild boars, I definitely won't go into the mountains. If you two don't want to go deep into the mountains, just take the dog and wander around the area around the village.”
Using an experienced dog to train a new dog is a very simple thing. Just let the experienced dog lead the new dog on a hunting trip a few times, and the new dog will be trained quickly.
After a pause, Wang An continued:
"The main problem is that it's easy to kill this thing, but it's really hard to transport it down the mountain. Look at us, we still have to lead the horses home, it's so tiring."
After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli said to Wang Li:
"Fifth Brother, what are you thinking? Shall we both pull the dog together, or will we each pull our own?"
Wang Li said nonchalantly:
"I'm fine with whatever you ask. In a few days, the work in the fields will start to get busy again, and we won't be able to go into the mountains for more than a few days."
Mu Xueli nodded and said:
"Alright then, I won't be coming over for the next few days either. When I have time, I'll take the dog for a walk around our house; when I don't, I'll just stay home."
The group discussed their business as they walked home, and didn't feel particularly tired.
It wasn't until almost 6 p.m. that the four of them led the horse home.
Huang Zhong's new courtyard is located to the right front of Wang An's old courtyard, and is on the same line as Shen Wei's house.
Therefore, if Wang An were to return from the mountains and enter his own gate, he would inevitably pass by Huang Zhong's house.
Just as Wang An and his three companions passed by Huang Zhong's new house, the people who had helped build it were astonished to see them carrying a live wild boar down the mountain. Various expressions of envy and praise poured out from their mouths:
“Young Master An, you guys are really too wicked. People usually bring meat home, but you guys are just bringing back live pigs.”
"Yeah, I didn't know that. I'd think your pigsty was in the mountains."
"You just don't understand. Young Master An is doing this so that the pork can be stored for a while. It's getting hot, and pork can only be stored for a few days. If you raise live pigs, you can slaughter them whenever you want. Isn't that great?"
"You know what, over the years, I've seen at least eighty or a hundred people hunting, and I've never seen anyone whose skills can compare to those of Young Master An and his group."
"Absolutely. Young Master An and his group can drive sika deer right into their own yards and catch wild boars alive and bring them home. Who else has that kind of ability?"
Wang An and his companions were quite pleased with what these people said, mainly because who wouldn't want to hear nice things?
However, Wang An didn't respond to the crowd's comments. Instead, he smiled and said to everyone:
"Now that we've brought back the meat, we can have meat with every meal from now on. Everyone better work hard! Hahahaha."
Unexpectedly, after Wang An finished speaking, everyone immediately turned their anger towards Huang Baoguo. (End of Chapter)