Zhen’er’s marriage left a heavy matter resting in the family’s hearts.
After the initial joy, once a family member was gone, it truly felt as if a large piece of the home had been emptied. The house became quieter, and everyone felt somewhat uneasy.
A girl who used to come and go freely under the same roof would now be managing her life in another family. How could there be no melancholy?
Among those living in the same room, Qiao’er felt this change the most. Usually, there was always someone to talk to.
Not only the young girls, even Fan Elder and Chen Shi sometimes absentmindedly called out to Zhen’er. When no one answered, they would suddenly realize that she had already married away.
It took the Fan family more than a month to get used to the fact that Zhen’er was no longer there.
That day, Kanghe and Fan Jing didn’t go to the city to check on the shop; instead, they sent Huan and Chen Sanfang.
The two didn’t lounge around at home either—they tidied up the animal pens thoroughly.
Kanghe counted the rabbits in the rabbit hutches. There were twenty-eight in total, eight of which were breeding rabbits, and twenty were meat rabbits.
There were twenty ducks: four laying ducks over three years old, ten meat ducks, and six fluffy ducklings that had just left the nest a few days ago.
The number of chickens matched the ducks. There were five laying hens over two years old, several meat chickens, and seven chicks whose feathers were still not fully grown.
Besides these poultry, they also raised four large geese. Chen Sanfang had asked He Xiaoqiu for them. She brought home a mother goose and some fertilized goose eggs, which hatched into a brood of goslings.
The first time they tried, they hatched twelve eggs and successfully raised four geese.
Last year, the Xie family had sent two cages of quail—originally eight pairs. They ate three of them.
Later, seeing that the quail began laying eggs, Kanghe stopped feeding them to the family. He prepared comfortable grass nests for the quail to lay and incubate their eggs. By now, six young quail had hatched and grown.
They had incubated more than a dozen quail eggs, but lacking experience, many of the fragile chicks died.
Among the poultry, the livestock included three donkeys: a male and a female bought one after the other. In early summer, they hired a donkey keeper to help deliver a foal. The female donkey successfully gave birth to a lively little male donkey, now hopping about and nearly ready to wean.
Last year, the female donkey had given birth once as well, but the foal was stillborn.
The household also kept four pigs and two sheep that previously provided milk for Dafu.
Now Dafu ate with the family’s meals; the sheep were no longer useful. They spent their days eating grain and leaving dung for Fan Elder to collect and use as fertilizer, nothing more.
Fan Elder suggested selling the sheep, but Kanghe refused. Those two ewes were carefully chosen at the start—strong and healthy—hard to find again.
This year’s expenses were high with the purchase of land and Zhen’er’s wedding. The family’s finances tightened.
Kanghe planned to take good care of the poultry and livestock, and eventually sell some.
Occasionally, the butcher shop sold meat rabbits, chickens, and ducks, but sales were irregular and unstable. Not much money was made.
Kanghe hoped to ensure the shop had daily supplies of chicken, duck, and rabbit meat, and possibly take orders for banquets.
Over the past few years, he and Fan Jing had run around various villages in the county for slaughtering pigs, getting to know many people.
If their family could raise more poultry and livestock, they could mention it during these trips. When villagers prepared banquets, they might think of them first.
That would at least guarantee some sales.
Kanghe had long wanted to do this, but conditions weren’t right. Initially, the pigsty was small and could only support a few animals. They also worried about grain supply.
Gradually, the family built spacious sheds and acquired over twenty acres of land this year. The feeding areas and grain supply were no longer a concern.
But raising them wasn’t enough. Though their family could raise poultry and livestock, they were not specialists.
Farmers could manage a few animals, but a large number was difficult to handle. If a disease outbreak occurred, many would die, causing great distress.
To raise dozens or hundreds of animals, skilled caretakers were needed.
Kanghe loosened the straw bedding in the shed with a rake and said to Fan Jing, “Let’s find a ram to mate with our two ewes, so we can grow the sheep flock. There’s a patch of fallow land north of the village we can use for grazing.”
Fan Jing fed a piece of cabbage to the little donkey and said, “Raising sheep is good. As long as you want to properly raise more poultry and livestock, no one is an expert at everything. Why not hire different people for different animals?”
Kanghe replied, “It’s hard to find one person skilled in all kinds of animals. If not, we’ll get a few: one for chickens and ducks, another for livestock.”
“Don’t have them come every day, just once every three to five days. That way, we can save on expenses.”
Fan Jing neither agreed nor disagreed, only said, “Let’s ask around and see.”
So Kanghe spread the word. Within two days, someone came to the Fan household claiming to be skilled in raising chickens, ducks, rabbits, and other poultry.
He said, “I raise twenty ducks all by myself, letting them roam the countryside. Not many people have my skills.”
“Give me twenty taels a month, and I’ll manage them for you.”
Kanghe saw that the man was arrogant and thought he probably hadn’t raised many animals. Right now, to increase their stock, they needed more than one person.
But since he was willing to come, Kanghe politely offered him a bowl of tea and asked, “Brother, can you share some of your experience raising chickens and ducks? It would help me understand your skills.”
The man stiffened his neck and said, “I don’t just share my secrets easily. If I reveal my tricks, wouldn’t that be giving them away for free?”
Kanghe saw he was hesitant to reveal even a little, so he probably wasn’t trustworthy.
He said, “If you’re really skilled, you won’t just say it. If you don’t talk about your experience or show your skills, how can I hire you?”
The man pounded his chest and said, “Trust me.”
Kanghe shook his head. “I don’t believe empty promises. You can go. I won’t hire you.”
The man left angrily.
Kanghe sighed. At least someone had come, though it was a disappointment.
A few days later, an old woman and a young couple came claiming to be good at raising poultry.
But upon inquiry, they had only raised seven or eight chickens before and thought it was just simple work—feeding and cleaning up droppings.
Kanghe was somewhat annoyed, realizing it was truly hard to find a skilled person.
Fan Jing said, “If you can’t find one here, go look elsewhere.”
Kanghe agreed and accompanied Fan Jing on their pig slaughter trips, asking villagers everywhere.
One day, heading toward a village south of the county town, he finally heard of someone.
“There’s a family with the surname Mou at the northern mountain hollow of our village. They’re good at raising poultry and livestock.
“Years ago, their family ran a leather business. Later, during the war, life became chaotic. One year, a group of bandits raided our village, stealing and looting.
“The Mou family’s animals suffered badly. The head of the family defended their property and was beaten to death.”
Fan Jing furrowed his brows; he had heard of this before.
During wartime, bandits were starving and homeless, wandering into the county. The strong formed groups of three or five, invading farmers’ homes to rob food.
People were terrified. The Fan family had hidden in the mountains until the government cleared out the bandits.
They returned only to hear about many families suffering losses and casualties.
Such incidents during the war were common.
When mentioning the Mou family, Fan Jing sighed and shook his head.
He continued, “Mou Dalang is capable. Not only does he raise poultry and livestock well, but he also treats their illnesses. Everyone in the nearby villages calls him when their animals are sick.”
Kanghe’s heart stirred at the mention of such a family.
At that time, there were no veterinarians. Ordinary farmers would avoid spending money on animal care. Only with valuable large livestock would they occasionally pay for treatment.
Experts were rare and treasured.
Kanghe and Fan Jing, after slaughtering pigs, found the Mou family’s home in the mountain hollow.
In the small courtyard, they saw a few chickens scratching for insects. Their feathers were unexpectedly glossy.
Kanghe knocked. A man appeared—Mou’s son-in-law—seeing two strangers, he didn’t rush out but asked who they were.
Kanghe said they were there to slaughter pigs and explained their purpose carefully.
Mou’s son-in-law then opened the gate, brought out stools for them to sit in the courtyard, and went to fetch water.
“Don’t trouble yourselves with work!”
“You two came at a bad time. Dalang went to the next village because a cow refused to eat. He had to check on it.”
Kanghe asked, “Brother Mou, when will Dalang return?”
“Only about an hour ago. If he returns soon, it will be in the afternoon.”
Kanghe and Fan Jing exchanged looks. They still had to bring the pigs back to the city shop but weren’t in a hurry to sell them today.
It took over an hour to reach the county town and another hour to return to their village. The sky was dark with clouds; it looked like rain was coming.
On sunny days, waiting wouldn’t matter. But traveling in the dark and rain was inconvenient.
Kanghe said, “I’ve heard Brother Mou is good at caring for livestock. Our family runs a leather business and has been looking for an expert to manage some animals.”
Mou’s son-in-law had thought they came to ask Dalang to treat animals, not to hire someone.
He said, “I’ll tell Dalang when he returns.”
Kanghe saw the Mou family wasn’t rich and might welcome steady work.
He said, “We sincerely seek someone for the job. The salary is negotiable. If Brother Mou’s family is interested, they’re welcome to come to our village.”
Kanghe left their address and exchanged a few more words before leaving with Fan Jing.
At home, Kanghe didn’t have to wait long. By midday the next day, a young man came asking for directions.
He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, slim, carrying a box over his shoulder. He looked like a kind of doctor but not an ordinary one.
He was very polite, standing outside the yard. “May I ask if this is the residence of butcher Master Fan? Yesterday, a brother named Kang came to my home and told me to come today.”
Kanghe recognized the voice and quickly came out to greet him. “This is the place.”
The night before, it had rained heavily. Mou Dalang probably walked quite a distance and had thick mud stuck on his shoes.
Seeing the stone slabs in the yard, he didn’t rush in but used a stick to scrape off the mud and wiped his shoes on a patch of grass before entering.
Kanghe had Erxi bring a bowl of hot tea and invited Mou Dalang inside.
Fan Jing, holding Dafu, came out to look at the man. The little one was eager to see the new brood of rabbits outside, so Fan Jing didn’t stay long and took the child out.
“Yesterday, it was unfortunate Brother Mou wasn’t home, but thank you for coming out in the wet.”
“No problem. Even in the coldest days, if someone calls, I have to go. I was returning from the village east of the county, so I was late.”
After polite exchanges, Mou Dalang said he would go check on the family’s livestock.
Kanghe led him to the animal pens.
Mou Dalang looked around and noted that the Fan family’s livestock was indeed well kept.
“Ah, why are the quail still having diarrhea?”
Kanghe pointed to the quail cages lined with dry straw but filled with watery droppings. A quail had died two days ago, the diarrhea started first, then it stopped eating. Within two days, its eyes glazed over, and by the next day, it was dead.
Mou Dalang inspected carefully.
He said, “Quail cages must be cleaned frequently. Usually, the cages should be scrubbed with wood ash water to disinfect. If straw is left too long, parasites breed easily, causing diarrhea. Some mugwort hung in the cage can repel parasites.”
He told Kanghe the quail should be raised in dry, well-ventilated places. Young chicks need to be kept warm with a charcoal stove.
For hatching eggs, they could use a hen to help incubate.
He then asked for garlic, which he crushed to make juice and mixed with water to feed the quail.
“Garlic juice with vinegar helps prevent quail diarrhea.”
Kanghe was convinced by his thorough explanation.
Few people raised quail, but Mou Dalang knew well. How could he not be an expert?
To be cautious, Kanghe asked about other poultry and livestock management. Mou Dalang spoke clearly and knowledgeably, sharing many things Kanghe hadn’t known.
Kanghe thought that if they hired Mou Dalang, they wouldn’t need to trouble themselves looking for others.
Skilled people were hard to find, and paying well was acceptable.
He offered him a monthly salary of ten taels to help care for their animals, with six days off per month to visit home.
Mou Dalang thought it over and accepted.
Kanghe’s offer was generous; who wouldn’t want that?
Previously, he had gone around caring for livestock, earning only a few copper coins here and there, sometimes ten if the employer was generous.
He wasn’t a veterinarian in the usual sense, but earned enough for daily expenses and had long hoped to save money to restart his former livelihood.
His father also hoped he would marry soon.
They agreed, and Mou Dalang went home to tell his father about the job.
He then hosted a feast, inviting a few close neighbors and relatives.
Though he wouldn’t be going far, he would mostly be staying at other people’s houses, returning home a few times each month.
His father would be alone, relying on relatives and neighbors to help with chores.
Two days later, Mou Dalang packed simple belongings and came to live at the Fan household.
The Fans prepared a small house for him to stay in.