Chapter 197: The Establishment of the Pig Farm 3.0

Over an hour later, the Overlord-Concubine Chicken was ready, a large, full basin of it, plus the two braised dishes Xu Baisheng brought; they were all snacks for drinking.

"Gulp," Li Huaide laughed awkwardly.

"Ping'an, your culinary skills are decent; they're already no weaker than an average head chef."

"Indeed."

The two old men spoke words of praise, but their hands were not slow; they both set their sights on the soft-shelled turtle and kept digging in.

"Brother Xu, Brother Li, it's just that I specifically learned this dish from Brother He, and I've made it many times, that's why it's tasty; I'm not good at other dishes."

"Mm, mm, mm."

"..."

Watching the two of them wolfing down the food, although Zhang Ping'an felt a sense of accomplishment, it wasn't much, so he joined the ranks of grabbing food himself, targeting only the Overlord-Concubine Chicken; the braised meat, on the other hand, went ignored.

"Hoo~ comfortable. It really is the soft-shelled turtle. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel a warmth in my waist."

"I have that feeling too."

"Ahem, Ping'an, remember to call me next time you make Overlord-Concubine Chicken."

"..."

As long as there is something good for the kidneys, men, without exception, will flock to it.

Leaving Li Huaide's house, Zhang Ping'an held a cloth bag in his hand, filled with China cigarettes, Taiji liquor, and canned goods.

The next day at work, Zhang Ping'an was called to the office by Li Huaide again.

"Ping'an, these are six job openings, all for the Pig Farm. The Pig Farm will be completed in the next half month; arrange for people to start within a week as soon as possible."

"Understood, thank you, Factory Director."

"Don't say such formal things. Let me first give you a rough overview of the Pig Farm's personnel situation."

"Okay."

For the next half hour, Li Huaide introduced the backgrounds of the various leaders of the Pig Farm to Zhang Ping'an.

Deputy Factory Director Nie Baoguo, Yang Zhigang, Factory Office Director Zheng Zhuoyue, Logistics Director Li Shangdao, Finance Li Jianshe, Production Director Ma Guoming, Personnel Li Yiran...

"Most of them are just here to pad their resumes, though some have real skills. You don't need to worry about them; you are still the one in charge at the Pig Farm."

"Understood, Factory Director."

Back in his office, Zhang Ping'an held the six job application forms in his hand, considering who would be suitable.

His second uncle, second aunt, third uncle, and third aunt were not young anymore, so it really wasn't suitable for them to continue farming in the countryside; his father had to be counted as one too, as this old man had too much energy and couldn't stay idle for a day—even the ridges of the one mu of land in their small courtyard were kept polished and bright.

Although they weren't young, they were all experts at raising pigs and could provide technical support; if Zhang Ping'an gave them some emergency training over these few days, it wouldn't be much of a problem.

Let's give the last one to Zhang Laiyou's family; he was the Brigade Leader of their hometown after all, and they would need him to look after their families back in the village in the future. That's settled.

Returning home, Zhang Ping'an voiced his thoughts.

"This... is it appropriate for me to reach retirement age just as I start a job?" Zhang Laohan hesitated.

"Didn't I say? You are there to provide technical support. You've raised pigs for a lifetime, surely you have some experience? This is what I wrote; take a good look at it."

"Second uncle and third uncle will be the same as you. For second aunt and third aunt, I plan to have them enter the canteen, especially second aunt—she has to be a head chef at the very least."

"Ping'an, is it really okay for your father and your second and third uncles to be at this age?"

"It's not a big problem; I'm a Factory Director now, after all."

"Mm." Zhang Dadan nodded with relief upon hearing this; this is how a family should be.

The next day, Zhang Ping'an returned to his hometown and told his second and third uncles about this matter.

"Ping'an, can we really work in a factory at our age?" They had the same doubt.

"Why not? Your experience is a precious treasure. Spend these two days packing up and come stay at my place first."

"This..."

"It's settled then. I'm going to tell Uncle Laiyou."

Arriving at Zhang Laiyou's house, Zhang Ping'an got straight to the point.

"Ping'an, are you serious?" Zhang Laiyou stood up abruptly.

"Yes, Uncle Laiyou. The Pig Farm is a subordinate unit of the Rolling Mill, and there are dormitories to live in."

"Good, good, good. Ping'an, you really are a talent from our Zhang Family Village. Don't worry, I will go check on your three families often."

"Good." That was exactly the promise Zhang Ping'an wanted.

A week later, rows of pigsties had been built, and the entire pasture had been enclosed by walls; they were currently building the final office area, collective dormitory area, and canteen.

"Everyone, first harvest this forage, then put it into the dozens of large vats in the factory area to ferment. There are people specifically assigned to provide guidance there."

That's right, the three Zhang Laohan brothers were now the Technical Instructors of the Pig Farm. With Zhang Ping'an's emergency training, plus the fact that they had been raising pigs for decades, they naturally understood everything at once.

Second aunt and third aunt also entered the canteen, and Zhang Laiyou's second son, Zhang Weixing, was currently in the mowing group.

Most of this forage was Alfalfa, Chicory, King Grass, and so on, all of which had yields as high as four or five tons per mu. However, now with the Space Water buff, doubling that shouldn't be difficult, and it could be harvested three or four times a year, with one planting lasting about ten years of sustainable use.

Another half month passed, and the Pig Farm was completely built; the piglets, old sows, and boars had all been introduced.

A full two thousand piglets, twenty old sows, and ten boars. Of course, just in case, Zhang Ping'an had replaced most of the piglets with little pigs from his space, and half of the old sows and boars as well.

In the future, the piglets born from these would all be considered superior breeds cultivated in the space, so there was absolutely no need to worry about future growth issues.

After doing all this, the Pig Farm was on the right track and didn't need him to manage it at all. His second and third uncles had also moved into the Pig Farm's dormitory area; as Technical Instructors, they were all assigned single rooms.

Li Huaide also paid great attention to this place and often came to take a look. Seeing this small group of piglets growing day by day, he couldn't be happier—this was all political achievement, damn it.

"Brother He, where are the dishwater and leftovers from the kitchen usually transported?"

"Dumped, of course. It's all kitchen waste; there are people specifically responsible for burying it or just throwing it away."

"Waste, a huge waste. Brother He, from now on, keep all the dishwater and leftovers every day. I'll have people from the pig farm come to haul them away. It might be troublesome for you, but I'll mention it to Factory Director Li."

Although the current dishwater and kitchen leftovers didn't have much oil or fat, they were still better than plain water; feeding them to the pigs could also speed up fattening.

"What's troublesome about that? It's just a small effort."

Zhang Ping'an went to the second kitchen again to mention it to Shazhu, and Shazhu patted his chest with a loud thud.

"No problem, Zhang Shu, just come over and haul them away when the time comes."

Zhang Ping'an ran to Li Huaide's office again; the people in the kitchen were helping him, after all, so he had to provide some benefits.

"Factory Director, I've discovered another thing that can speed up pig fattening..." Zhang Ping'an briefly explained to Li Huaide the benefits of feeding pig swill and other kitchen waste to the pigs.

"I was thinking this adds trouble for the kitchen staff, so we should deduct one yuan from the Pig Farm every month for the Kitchen Helpers who are willing to help."

"Done."

It was only a matter of two yuan, and it could speed up the fattening of the pigs, so this deal was naturally worth it.

In the blink of an eye, it was already July, and the fermented forage smelled sour and fragrant; in just four months, the piglets had grown from eight or nine jin to over a hundred jin on average.

"Factory Director Zhang, how come the pigs here are growing like they've been fed fertilizer, shooting up so fast?" Xu Qianshan asked jokingly while visiting on behalf of the Ministry of Heavy Industry.