Chapter 195: Establishment of the Pig Farm

"Alright, stop playing, everyone come inside to eat," Dong Dani called out to Zhang Xile and her two grandsons, Weidong and Weijun, who were still picking up firecrackers.

"Coming, Grandma (Mother)."

Zhang Ping'an's family had made quite a bit of meat dishes during the New Year, so they could just heat them up simply to eat, and the smell wouldn't be too strong.

It wouldn't be easy to make meat dishes again after the New Year; after all, people these days could barely afford to eat, so having meat dishes at every meal certainly wasn't realistic—not to mention it would make people jealous, and if things went wrong, someone might even report them.

Zhang Ping'an spent three days at home, reading medical books, playing chess with the old man, walking around the room holding his daughter, and teasing his son—it was truly pleasant.

As for Li Huaide, because he had secured year-end benefits for the Rolling Mill workers—three taels of pork—he was supported by the staff, and with a little maneuvering, his promotion at the end of the year was a sure thing.

"Dad, Big Brother, do you think what Ping'an said is feasible?" Li Huaide was discussing Zhang Ping'an's idea of building a pig farm with his father-in-law.

"Hmm, the idea is good, but everything depends on whether the grass seeds can survive. There is no surplus grain to raise pigs right now."

Li Huaide's expression darkened after hearing this; he also knew the difficulty involved. It was hard for pigs to grow big just by feeding them grass.

"However, you can try it in the spring. Once the grass seeds grow, it will be perfectly fine to build the pig pens then."

"That's right, Huaide. If this succeeds, your Rolling Mill will have pork freedom. If done well, you could even expand the scale, and then your political achievements will be incredible."

Xu Baisheng's wife had successfully become pregnant, so he had a very good impression of Zhang Ping'an, and he truly felt this matter was feasible. Even if the grass seeds didn't perform well in the end, it would at most waste a little labor, but once the grass seeds grew, the harvest would be huge.

"Try it after the New Year. The Ministry will also provide you with support when the time comes," Xu Qianshan said, making the final decision.

"Alright, Dad."

With his father-in-law's support, Li Huaide's confidence was suddenly bolstered, and he was full of anticipation for Zhang Ping'an's grass seeds.

The three-day holiday passed in a flash, and everyone in the Siheyuan started their work routine again. Zhang Ping'an was also called to Li Huaide's office immediately.

"Ping'an, the higher-ups have decided. We will start finding people to reclaim wasteland at the end of February. You should prepare the grass seeds."

"Alright, Director. I have nearly three hundred catties of grass seeds. I also planted quite a few in the deep mountains, which can produce another three to five hundred catties by then."

"Why did you plant so much forage in the deep mountains?" Li Huaide asked curiously.

"To attract wild boars and rabbits. Initially, I just wanted to have a fixed place for hunting. I didn't expect the range of these grass seeds to get bigger and bigger, and it saved me a lot of effort in hunting."

"Hahaha, you are clever indeed. No wonder you can catch so much game." Li Huaide admired Zhang Ping'an even more; even his hunting was different from others.

"Hehe, I just took a shortcut."

The two discussed the details further. Once all the details were nearly perfected, they just had to wait for the end of the month and for the workers to arrive.

Time quickly reached the Lantern Festival, and the Rolling Mill's loudspeaker blared.

"The following is an appointment: the former Logistics Director Li Huaide is stepping down as Director and is now the Deputy Factory Director, responsible for logistics and the Security Department."

Zhang Ping'an did not feel surprised. In this era of scarce supplies, being able to obtain supplies and gain the support of the workers was a skill in itself.

Yang Zhiguo looked at Li Huaide with envy. Under normal circumstances, he could have been promoted to the position, but having been involved in the Deaf Old Lady incident, he could only wait for a major breakthrough in the Rolling Mill's workshop production before he would have a chance to be promoted.

The former Logistics Deputy Director Wu Aiguo was promoted, and the position of Deputy Director was temporarily vacant, though Zhu Weiguo was eyeing it covetously.

At the end of February, the Rolling Mill hired a group of temporary workers from the neighborhood to start reclaiming the three hundred mu of land outside the Rolling Mill.

"Factory Director Li, it's too much effort for us to water this. Let's dig a well right here," said Li An, the person in charge of the temporary workers.

"That's fine. I'll find someone to locate the water source right now."

Li Huaide thought for a moment; if they were to build a pig farm later, they would need a water source, and constantly carrying water from the Rolling Mill wasn't a long-term solution.

"Factory Director, there's no need for that much trouble. Just light some mugwort, see where it smokes, and dig where it smokes; you'll definitely find water."

"Really? Ping'an, how do you know these things?" Li An also looked at Zhang Ping'an curiously.

"I read it in books. In ancient times, armies on the march found water this way."

"Good, good, good."

Zhang Ping'an found some mugwort and lit it, then covered it to observe where the smoke rose in the surrounding area, while simultaneously using his space to scan for the optimal spot.

Soon, smoke rose from several places nearby, and Zhang Ping'an found the spot where an underground river passed.

"Factory Director, here. Team Leader Li, give me a shovel." Zhang Ping'an took the lead himself and started digging, *clank, clank*.

Zhang Ping'an soon dug out a circular hole with a radius of one meter. At three meters deep, no water was seen yet, but at four meters deep, the soil was much damper.

"Ping'an, why don't we stop digging?" Li Huaide felt a bit uneasy looking at the dark, deep pit.

"It's fine, Factory Director. In a few more meters, we should see water." Zhang Ping'an had been using his space to stabilize the surroundings, so he wasn't afraid of a collapse.

"Phew~" After digging down another three meters, they finally saw water. Zhang Ping'an used his space to dig down another five meters to reach the underground river.

"Factory Director, there's water!" After Zhang Ping'an was pulled out, the water slowly rose up.

"This... Section Chief Zhang, you are too amazing."

Team Leader Li An was full of admiration. This one person had saved them so much time. Li Huaide felt the same; even the donkeys of the Production Team couldn't work as hard as Zhang Ping'an. It could be said that Zhang Ping'an had saved the Rolling Mill a lot of manpower, material resources, and money.

"Good, good, good. Ping'an, hurry back and change your clothes."

"Alright." Zhang Ping'an was indeed covered in quite a bit of mud.

"Being young is truly good," Li Huaide sighed with emotion as he watched Zhang Ping'an walk away.

"Indeed," Li An agreed.

Zhang Ping'an didn't go back; he just found an alley, ducked into his space, and when he came out, his clothes were brand new.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed. The three hundred mu of land had been reclaimed, and Zhang Ping'an had sown over eight hundred catties of grass seeds. The ones sown earliest were already showing green, and now they changed with each passing day.

"Not bad, not bad."

Li Huaide looked at all this with satisfaction. He also came from a poor background; he knew that grass seeds usually took at least a week to germinate from the time they were sown, and that was in an environment with temperatures above fifteen degrees. Now it was only just above zero to five degrees, which showed its cold resistance.

"Ping'an, I'm afraid you're going to make a great contribution this time."

"Factory Director, this is mainly your credit. I am just working under your guidance."

"Hahaha, Ping'an, you... I am now very much looking forward to what this land will look like in seven days."

"It will definitely surprise you."

Zhang Ping'an was full of confidence. This batch of grass seeds had been soaked in diluted Space Water, so the growth rate would definitely be astonishing.

"Hmm, it's also time to build the pig farm."

"The Factory Director is in no rush; once these three hundred mu of land are established, you should have more say in the Factory Committee."

"Moreover, even after this forage grass grows up, it will be even more effective to harvest and ferment it directly to feed the pigs."

"Oh? Ping'an, you understand pig farming too?"

"How could a country person not understand pig farming? Plus, I have read quite a few books on this subject in the Library over the years, so it just so happens that I can combine theory with practice."

"Hmm~ how about this, Ping'an: you put this complete planting and breeding plan into a written report for me, and I will be able to request a commendation for you then."

"You got it."