The three hundred pigs were divided up.
In the end, over a dozen villages pitched in eighty piglets for Leng Yuan, with each village contributing a portion.
As far as they were concerned, having someone else raise their pigs was a pure gain. Why would they possibly refuse?
It was a deal so good that no one wanted to pass it up.
Li Dashan contributed twenty of the piglets.
He had originally wanted to get on good terms with Leng Yuan, but this latest move made him have second thoughts.
’Did that whole thresher incident make him get a big head? Is that why he’s doing something so absurd?’
He had been a team leader for many years, and he had run the numbers on Leng Yuan’s pig-raising deal over and over. In the end, he just couldn’t figure out how Qingshan Team could possibly benefit.
No matter how he looked at it, everyone else was the one coming out ahead.
His Li Jiawan had contributed the most pigs, so they stood to gain the most.
He almost felt bad about it.
Eighty pigs required a huge amount of feed for half a year.
It wasn’t that people didn’t have pigs to raise; it was that feed was limited. Pigs were a precious commodity and had to be tended to carefully. A portion of the grain harvest even had to be set aside specifically for them.
With grain already in short supply for people, letting pigs eat a portion of it naturally led to many restrictions on pig farming.
But since Chen Beiguo had already agreed, there wasn’t much more he could say.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t Li Jiawan’s problem.
The most he could do was wait. If Qingshan Team really couldn’t cover the losses, his own team would provide them with some grain, chalking it up as payment for the feed.
Even then, they would still be getting the better end of the deal. ’Taking care of pigs requires manpower, after all!’
They were still coming out way ahead.
At that thought, Li Dashan shook his head and sighed, convinced that Qingshan Team was doomed.
Once everyone had settled the distribution details, they were all but dancing with glee.
Only the members of the Qingshan Team had long faces, showing no hint of happiness.
The joy on one side and the gloom on the other formed a stark contrast.
Seeing Chen Beiguo’s hesitation, a team leader from another village couldn’t help but tease him.
"Chen Beiguo, who’s the team leader here, you or Leng Yuan? How can you be less decisive than Mr. Leng? You’re not backing out, are you!"
Hearing this, the crowd started to jeer.
"Oh, come on! It would be a real loss of face to back out now."
Since they were all getting something for nothing, they had nothing to fear and immediately resorted to goading him.
Leng Yuan remained expressionless and silent.
Chen Beiguo gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Fine, we’ll sign! Anyone who’s too scared is a coward!"
At his words, the others quickly set about drafting the contract.
The general terms were to be clearly written out: the number of pigs each team was lending to the Qingshan Team for raising. Within a six-month period, the Qingshan Team could return the grown pigs to their respective villages at any time. If the pigs were not returned after six months, the other villages had the right to go to the Qingshan Team and demand them back.
When it was time to sign, Chen Beiguo’s hand was shaking uncontrollably.

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