Learning a Trade

Born low was no disgrace; only one who could bend and stretch was a true man.

Since things had come to this, there was no need to say more. He only needed to bow his head, keep to his place, nurture the essence fire, and await the proper time. One day, he would rise above.

"Steward Liu, then I'll be leaving first." The donkey-faced man bowed obsequiously to the middle-aged man, then led Meng Yuan and the other two out the door. His back immediately straightened. "I'm the head of this livestock manor. My surname is Li. From now on, you'll follow me!"

Old Man Jiang hurriedly offered a few pleasant words, then climbed onto a donkey cart. A young man carrying a blade drove it.

The five of them left the gate without entering the city, instead circling around the long city wall and heading west.

The wheels crushed the snow. Seeing Manor Head Li's cold demeanor, Meng Yuan and Old Man Jiang did not rashly try to strike up a conversation.

"Stop the cart!" After they had traveled for a while, Manor Head Li suddenly called out. He climbed down and scooped up a steaming pile of dung from beneath the donkey's rear, carefully placing it on the cart. He even berated the young driver, "Li Dabiao! How did I end up raising such a wastrel? If I hadn't seen it, wouldn't this dung have been lost for nothing?"

Meng Yuan and Old Man Jiang looked at each other in bewilderment. Even little Jiang Tang was utterly confused.

The north wind bit hard and the snowy road was slick. After traveling roughly forty li, they finally reached the livestock manor when the sky had nearly gone dark.

The manor was vast, with several pens and sheds. The piercing cold wind carried the stench of composted manure. From time to time came the bleating of cattle and sheep, and the calls of deer.

It happened to be dinnertime, and Meng Yuan's group of three each got a bowl of hot gruel.

The three were assigned the former old veterinarian's quarters beside the cattle pen. There was a fenced yard, and the two dilapidated Thatched Cottages were piled full of farming tools.

The bedding was all old, stuffed with dried grass. Though it pricked a little, it was still warm enough.

"Manor Head Li will inspect your skills tomorrow morning, so be ready. And don't go out at night if you have nothing to do. The dogs aren't tied up after dark." The big-headed man guiding Meng Yuan's group was called Zhao Datou. He was an honest sort and lived beside the cowshed as well.

"Thank you for telling us." Old Man Jiang began chatting with Zhao Datou, asking about the manor's owners.

It turned out that the Princess Consort owned several farm estates, all private property from her dowry, and this livestock manor was one of them. It had broad pastureland and two great mountains, making it enormously expansive.

The Princess Consort was also exceedingly kind. Villagers near the manor could enter the mountains to gather firewood and hunt, while bringing animals to the manor for breeding cost nothing.

The main reason Meng Yuan's group of three had been allowed into the manor was that its old veterinarian had been gored to death by a deer.

After hearing this, Meng Yuan and Old Man Jiang knew they were indispensable and felt much more at ease.

After fleeing famine and hardship for so long, they had finally settled down.

There were two broken Thatched Cottages. Jiang Tang occupied one, while Meng Yuan and Old Man Jiang shared the other.

Now that Old Man Jiang had relaxed, he began teaching Meng Yuan about castrating livestock. "Why castrate these beasts? If you don't, the males either fight or mount each other, while the females piss everywhere and make a racket. All they think about is breeding, so none of them put on meat. But once they've been gelded, the meat doesn't stink, they grow faster, and even their temperaments turn gentler."

As Meng Yuan listened, he could not help feeling that those refugees bought and sold at will were much like castrated animals. But if there were enough refugees, that lost vigor would suddenly grow back and sweep across an entire region.

The next day, after the rooster crowed three times, Meng Yuan's group of three had just risen when Zhao Datou came looking for them.

They had expected to begin work immediately, but instead went to the dining hall for breakfast first. There was even thin porridge and pickled vegetables—treatment that ordinary tenant farmers did not receive.

"The Princess Consort once came to the manor and saw how hard the manor folk worked, so she established the three-meal system. Manor Head Li might skim a little, but he wouldn't dare cut out a meal," Zhao Datou said quietly.

After eating, Zhao Datou took Old Man Jiang and Meng Yuan to the pigsty.

The manor mainly raised cattle, sheep, and deer for sale. There were also some chickens and ducks, whose produce was supplied to the Prince's residence. Few pigs were raised, and they were meant for the manor folk to eat during holidays and festivals.

Beside the pigsty, Zhao Datou took out a battered leather tool case—the old veterinarian's equipment.

Inside were a coil of fine thread and two needles. Most conspicuous were two knives, each about a palm in length. One had a narrow blade, while the other was slightly broader.

"The small knife is for castrating chickens and ducks. Pigs and sheep need this one." As Old Man Jiang poured water over the blade and sharpened it, he taught Meng Yuan the trade.

After sharpening the knife in a few quick strokes, they entered the pigsty.

The pigsty was divided into several pens, though there were not many pigs. This time, two sows had given birth around the same time, for a total of seventeen piglets.

Old Man Jiang led Meng Yuan around the pigsty, even lifting two piglets for a look, making the mother sows snort in fury.

"Generally, half a month old is best for the knife. If you wait a month or two, you may have to stitch them up." Old Man Jiang was highly experienced. He had Meng Yuan fetch a basin of clean water and carry it inside, then bring in some straw.

After a while, Manor Head Li and his son Li Dabiao arrived. Only then did Meng Yuan light the straw, while Old Man Jiang held the castration knife over the flames to sterilize it.

Meng Yuan grabbed a little Black Pig piglet from the pen, then sat on a stool. Following Old Man Jiang's instructions, he held the piglet upside down by its hind legs, clamped its head and front legs between his knees, and exposed its rear.

Old Man Jiang felt the piglet's rear, gripped the bulge with one hand, then cut two nail-sized openings. With a squeeze, the testicles slid out. He pulled them slightly and severed the cords.

The two testicles were tossed into the basin of clean water. Old Man Jiang grabbed a handful of plant ash and plastered it over the piglet's wounds, then patted them twice. That was that.

His hand was steady and swift, every movement flowing into the next. The piglet only squealed three or four times before it had been gelded.

"You really have some skill!" Manor Head Li had managed the manor for years and clearly knew something of the trade. The moment he saw Jiang Shuanyou use the knife, he knew he was a true professional. He then pointed at Meng Yuan. "Boy, you haven't finished your apprenticeship, so you can't idle around. Go work in the cattle shed! Datou, arrange it for him!"

"You only get food if you work! Understand?" Li Dabiao glared at Meng Yuan.

After saying that, father and son did not spare them another glance and got up to leave.

Although Manor Head Li had approved, Jiang Shuanyou seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Looking at Zhao Datou, he lowered his voice and said, "Our manor head doesn't seem like such a bad man."

Zhao Datou spat on the ground. He said nothing, yet seemed to have said everything.

Meng Yuan grabbed another piglet. This one was a little sow, and the castration method was different again. Old Man Jiang's hand was equally steady and fast, explaining every detail carefully to Meng Yuan as he worked.

It was clear that he was teaching sincerely.

In less than two quarters of an hour, fifteen piglets had been castrated, leaving two for breeding.

"All done!" The clean water in the basin had long since become bloody water, with strings of things floating inside. Old Man Jiang was quite pleased.

According to the rules of castration craftsmen, after completing the work, they received not only payment for their labor, but also kept the removed testicles. Of course, now that they had been sold to the manor, asking for money was impossible, but they could still keep the testicles.

After washing his hands, Old Man Jiang fished the testicles from the basin, threaded them onto a bamboo skewer, and roasted them over the firewood.

Before long, they were cooked. He handed the sizzling, oil-dripping roasted testicles to Meng Yuan with a smile. "You eat what replenishes what. You're young—eat these and you might grow a little more. You'll surely have plenty of children later. Hurry and eat while they're hot!"

It had been a long time since Meng Yuan had tasted meat. He accepted them. Though he found the stench overwhelming, he still bit down.

Without salt or seasoning, the rank taste was even stronger. He shut his eyes, steeled himself, and swallowed them whole without daring to chew carefully.

Meng Yuan immediately sensed that after those things entered his stomach, a wisp of nourishment was absorbed by the essence fire.

The essence fire, which had been like a candle flame, actually grew slightly stronger.

Looks like I still need to eat meat... Once I nourish my body, the essence fire will take in even more nourishment and grow faster. What will happen then? Meng Yuan silently wondered.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and it was already deep winter.

Because Old Man Jiang taught him earnestly, Meng Yuan learned the craft of castrating livestock with remarkable speed. He could now wield the knife himself.

Meng Yuan no longer suffered from cold or hunger. Though he had not eaten much proper meat lately, he had eaten quite a few sheep and bull testicles.

His body had already recovered greatly. The essence fire within him steadily grew, reaching the size of a washbasin.

He also became more and more energetic. Not only had his strength increased greatly, it seemed as though it could never be exhausted.

Meng Yuan had already been strikingly handsome, and now his popularity grew even better. On top of being diligent, capable, and easygoing in speech, aside from the livestock—which never gave him a pleasant look—the old women and young wives in the manor all liked exchanging a few words with him. Even Li Dabiao's wife had secretly cast Meng Yuan flirtatious glances.

Before the rooster had crowed, Meng Yuan woke with an erection reaching for the heavens. He got up, drew well water, and wiped himself down before finally washing away the burning restlessness.

"In another two years, when Tang'er grows up, it'll be fine." Old Man Jiang had also woken. As someone with experience, he clearly wanted to make the marriage arrangement a reality.

At that moment, Jiang Tang knocked outside, then pushed the door open a crack and poked her head in while leaving her body outside. "Grandpa, I'm already grown up! Brother, why are you bathing again so early in the morning? Be careful not to catch a chill."

The girl was still somewhat thin, but after a month of nourishment, her face had gradually gained some color, and her eyes were bright and lively.

Whenever Meng Yuan had free time lately, he taught her to read. But she only wanted to do needlework and did not study seriously. Meng Yuan said he did not want to marry someone illiterate, and only then did she begin applying herself.

Jiang Tang looked at Meng Yuan happily. "I washed the clothes you changed out of, and I mended your socks too. They're all under your pillow."

Meng Yuan glared at her, and the girl quickly shut the door and ran off.

Meng Yuan had no interest in such a little yellow-haired girl. Yet after spending so long at the manor, he had become increasingly interested in the Princess Consort.

The Princess Consort was Prince Xin's second wife. She had been married for eight years without bearing a single child, and was only twenty-four this year. It was said that she possessed beauty to topple kingdoms and cities, and came from a noble family. She should never have fallen to becoming a second wife, but the marriage had been decreed by the Emperor.

"Every day I cut testicles for the Princess Consort, yet I haven't even seen her face." Meng Yuan sighed.