Chapter 205: Out of the Pen

"Sigh, never mind, let's wait until Yingnan and Yingren return to decide." He really wasn't in a position to interfere in someone else's family affairs; stating his stance was enough.

At the beginning of September, his younger brother Zhang Xile, Bang Geng, and He Yuliang started elementary school. With fourth-grader Jiabao and Jiabei leading them, plus the fact that all three were mischievous by nature, there was no fear of them being bullied at school.

"Suppose I'm a hooligan, attacking you from behind, from the side..." Zhang Ping'an had already been teaching Wang Xiaoling martial arts and some lethal anti-wolf techniques from the future for over a year.

"Very good, just like that."

"Brother Ping'an, wouldn't that be too..." Wang Xiaoling felt a bit embarrassed.

"Xiao Ling, when facing hooligans and bad guys, don't worry about morality. The key is to subdue them as quickly as possible. Always put your own safety first."

"Oh, okay."

Every time he and Wang Xiaoling practiced, it was full-contact. At first, Wang Xiaoling held back, but since every groin kick would be caught by Zhang Ping'an, she let go of her reservations. Now, her groin-kicking was at Great Accomplishment, even more proficient than Shazhu in the show.

"Ping'an, Xiao Ling, hurry up and wash up for work, it's getting late."

Dong Dani was fine watching them spar, but this anti-wolf technique made her heart race; she was terrified that she might accidentally cause Zhang Ping'an some harm.

"Oh, okay, Mother."

Zhang Ping'an washed up and went to check on the children's room. The five little ones were still sleeping in. Seeing the five of them lying side by side like little piglets, Zhang Ping'an felt happiness from the bottom of his heart.

With his mother and grandparents at home to take care of them, plus Weidong and Weijun being five years old and able to play with their younger siblings, it saved him and Wang Xiaoling a lot of trouble.

Now, the Section Chief of Procurement Section Three was Xu Kun, and the Deputy Section Chief was Zhu Jianhua, who had been transferred from elsewhere. He was the eldest son of Zhu Weiguo; it was said to be compensation for Zhu Weiguo not becoming the Logistics Deputy Director.

Zhang Ping'an wasn't worried about Zhu Jianhua acting recklessly. Although he didn't know what background Zhu Weiguo had, with Xu Kun suppressing him, he figured he wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble. After all, Xu Kun's grandfather, Xu Qianshan, was a direct leader of the Rolling Mill.

Returning to the pig farm, he looked at the original two thousand piglets, which had now become big fat pigs weighing over 180 jin.

It was only early October, so they could grow for at least another three months. That meant when these pigs were ready for market, they would likely weigh at least 250 or 260 jin each.

"Weixing, take your team and harvest all the remaining forage from this batch, then dry it into hay to keep as winter reserves."

Although this forage grew in winter, it certainly grew slowly. With two months left before the temperature dropped below zero, he had to hurry and let the forage grow one more time.

The well Zhang Ping'an had dug had now been expanded into a small pond. Because Zhang Ping'an would occasionally pour in some Space Water, the water-carrying team could often catch quite a few fish to take home for extra meals.

Moreover, they had to start building a Fermentation Room now. Otherwise, when winter came and it was ten or twenty degrees below zero outside, how could fermentation happen? Of course, this had to be mentioned through his father and the others.

"Very well, Factory Director."

Zhang Weixing was now a small team leader in the grass-cutting group. Since he was a fellow villager, he had to be looked after. Fortunately, this younger brother was a diligent worker, otherwise, it would have been hard for Zhang Ping'an to promote him to team leader.

Carrying a cloth bag, Zhang Ping'an returned to the Rolling Mill and went to find Li Huaide.

"Factory Director, *cough*, Zhang Laizhong and the other technicians have proposed building a Fermentation Room, otherwise, outdoor fermentation won't work in the winter."

"Hmm, I'll notify the Engineering Department. Just have them follow your requirements." Zhang Ping'an felt guilty under Li Huaide's knowing gaze and smiled awkwardly.

"Hehe, okay."

"Factory Director, this is some milk powder from outside. I heard your wife gave birth, so take this to supplement her or the child."

"Hmm~ Ping'an, you're very thoughtful, hahaha. When your sister-in-law finishes her confinement, you must come to your nephew's full-month banquet."

"Okay, Factory Director, I will definitely be there."

"Hmm."

Li Huaide had a son and finally got his wish. However, it seemed Xu Baisheng's wife had given birth to another son; although he couldn't fulfill his dream of having a daughter, having another son was fine too.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of November. After nearly four months of growth, the pig farms of the major steel mills had taken shape, though the piglets were somewhat uneven—the big ones were over 100 jin, and the small ones were only 60 or 70 jin.

"Hmm, maybe they aren't acclimated to the environment."

"Huh??"

"*Cough cough*, or perhaps malnutrition. Just like people, every pig absorbs nutrients from the forage differently, so naturally, there will be differences in height, weight, and size."

"Then why are the pigs at your Rolling Mill's pig farm all so uniform?"

"Maybe we put more heart into it. I won't say I handle everything perfectly, but at least I participate in it and know most of the pigs like the back of my hand."

"..."

The major steel mills couldn't refute this. Their pig farms weren't just to solve their own meat supply; they were mostly for gilding their resumes.

The leaders of the pig farms were basically their relatives, who knew absolutely nothing about pig farming and were just copying Zhang Ping'an's plan.

The gap between a pig farm that understood breeding and was diligent, and one that only knew how to copy mechanically and wasn't attentive, was naturally clear at a glance.

"*Cough*, Factory Director Zhang makes a valid point. We will supervise them in the future."

Just like that, the major steel mills began to have everyone at their respective pig farms learn how to raise pigs, not necessarily to be as good as Zhang Ping'an, but at least to be able to explain the basics.

After all, these pig farms weren't just theirs; the higher-ups had assessment tasks for them, and they had to turn in a portion. If they couldn't complete the tasks from above, they would lose face.

The fat pigs at the Rolling Mill's pig farm had already reached the standard for market, averaging over 220 jin. The first two litters of piglets were now over 100 jin, and the third litter was over 60 jin.

"Factory Director, let them take them all away, we can save some forage."

"Hahaha, done. Huaide, you arrange it. Anyway, we've already gotten the goods from the major steel mills."

"Right, they've already exceeded the market standard anyway, we can't keep raising them for free."

Consequently, for the past two days, the pig farm was filled with the rumbling of large trucks from the major steel mills, and the pigsties suddenly emptied out by more than half.

There were still over 1,500 pigs of various sizes left in the pigsties, which made the group of factory leaders ache with regret. The scene of pigs crowding pigs was still fresh in their minds, but now it was empty.

"Huaide, hurry up and bring in another 500 piglets. I can't stand seeing these empty pigsties."

"..."

"Very well, Factory Director."

"*Cough*, Ping'an, there's always a loss rate in pig farming. How can all the piglets in a pig farm grow up safely?" Nie Haiquan left this sentence behind and drifted away with the group of leaders.

"Understood, Factory Director." Zhang Ping'an understood in a second. This was telling him to skim off a few pigs next year to provide benefits for the factory.

"*Cough*, just know about this matter, and find a few trustworthy people to do it," Li Huaide said meaningfully, patting Zhang Ping'an on the shoulder.

"Very well, Factory Director."

The people at the pig farm were very convinced by Zhang Ping'an. Not only had he secured them the same treatment as the Rolling Mill, but their food was sometimes even better. How could they be unwilling to keep a few pigs for their own benefits?

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of December. For the full-month banquet of Li Huaide's son, Zhang Ping'an brought Wang Xiaoling along this time, and he was surprised to see Li Baoguo at the banquet.