I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 285 - 276: The Reply, Favoring Gu Xiaoxiao

Xiao Ran and Xiao Meng went to dig wild vegetables with some coal.

She was the only one at home again.

Jiang Mingyue pulled out some distiller’s grains from the space and poured them into the troughs of the two little pigs. Qingshan Village had a lot of stones, and stone made for the best troughs. No matter how much the pigs flipped them over, they’d hardly damage the stone troughs.

It’s said that early on everyone used wood to make troughs, but wood wasn’t durable, lasting only half a year before getting scrapped. Some families thought if they used iron pots, these pigs wouldn’t stand a chance, so they went around looking for iron. It just so happened that there was an iron mine in neighboring Cang County. At that time, Jian Guo wasn’t established yet, and no one managed Cang County, so those with relatives there secretly passed messages, and the word spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred... Then, everyone carried their loads, sneaking to Cang County to get iron ore. Once they got back, however, there was another problem; they couldn’t use the iron ore directly.

So they asked around and finally heard about a small workshop where they could privately smelt iron. Plus, they had molds on site, so you could make whatever you wanted at a low cost. After some effort, everyone managed to get their desired large iron pots.

These big green basins could be used as washtubs or pig troughs. Of course, almost everyone got them for pig troughs because when lazy pigs got hungry, they went wild, and other materials just wouldn’t hold up.

They thought they’d be worry-free with the iron pots, but after three months, some people’s iron pots had chips.

What happened?

The homeowners replied in frustration: "Our pig butted it; they’re like monkeys, can’t stand up to them."

Who said they were pigs?

Then within a year, those hard-to-get iron pots were mostly scrapped.

Despite trying everything, things weren’t going as hoped, and the old farmers worried.

At that time, a stonemason passed by and said, "You have a treasure and don’t know it. Just wait, I’ll make a couple for you."

Then the stone troughs appeared, with the stones sourced from the mountains for free, and all they needed was to provide the stonemason with a good meal.

The villagers got innovative again.

Well... might as well try this; can’t keep using the home footwash basin for the pigs.

And so, decades passed, and the stone troughs remained, still intact.

Jiang Mingyue once flipped a small stone trough over but didn’t see any writing. Still, she wasn’t disappointed; even if they were antiques, stones wouldn’t be worth much, right?

And besides, how ancient could they get?

Pig troughs were filled, but leaving the chicken troughs empty didn’t seem right. There were even stone troughs for wild chickens. They’re all poultry, so shouldn’t they be treated the same?

Before the family raised pigs, she used the distiller’s grains in her space to feed fish in the pond, or as fertilizer for the fruit trees. Now there’s one more use, but it’s a pity that the distiller’s grains could supply a large pig farm.

Sigh! The nth time she lamented being born in the wrong era. If only reform and opening-up happened now.

While her mind wandered, the two little pigs already finished off the distiller’s grains, looking up with eager eyes.

Upon hearing the sound of the stone trough being hit, Jiang Mingyue snapped back from her thoughts. Seeing the stone trough clean as if washed with water, she tossed another third of distiller’s grains to the two little pigs.

"Alright, you’ll lie flat again and won’t get up for half the day. Luckily, you’re pigs."

Looking over at the two chicken coops next door, they had also eaten so cleanly, as if they were pecking off the last drops of liquor.

"Cheep cheep!"

"Snort snort!"

Chickens and pigs in harmony!

And there were rabbits scurrying all over the cages.

You can’t eat this, just wait; white radish greens will be fed to you later!

The four square meters of carrots sown earlier were now a lush green, about the height of a hand. Rabbits wanting to eat carrots had to wait at least another two months.

It was autumn, and except for the banana tree, the five fruit trees had shed all their leaves and were bare. Flocks of sparrows often perched on the branches. If one had a camera and some skill, they might just win an award.

After amusing herself enough, Uncle Tiezhu appeared.

With no one else around, Jiang Mingyue reported what she needed, and Wang Tiezhu moved quickly.

"The spices are all here."

"These two bags are seasonings."

"This bag is salt."

"And here’s the rapeseed oil you wanted. In total..."

Jiang Mingyue was about to pay, but Wang Tiezhu quickly stopped her.

"Ming Yue ah, give me some liquor. Your Uncle Tiezhu hasn’t had a drink in many days. Give me a few more jars."

Jiang Mingyue laughed, "Uncle Tiezhu, you have connections. I’m sure there are many places to get liquor. Why focus only on me?"

"Ah, Little Mingyue, after drinking your liquor, I can’t drink anything else. Don’t think I don’t know; this is what your cousin brought back from some ancient brewing family in the mountains, right? Quietly give it to me, and don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, nor spill the beans to your family."