Chapter 163: The Exhausted Poop Scooper
The captain was holding two lifeless, bluish piglets and shoved them right in front of Ning Xiyue’s face — so close that they were only about two centimeters away from her, their tiny snouts almost touching her own.
Completely unprepared for the sudden sight, Ning Xiyue recoiled several steps, clutching her wildly beating heart before she finally processed what the captain was saying.
“Yuewa, take these two suffocated piglets home. At least they’re still meat.”
Everyone around them looked at Ning Xiyue with envy — and at the two piglets in the captain’s hands with unconcealed hunger.
It was obvious the captain truly wanted to thank her, even giving away both piglets that everyone had been eyeing.
But Ning Xiyue was internally screaming. Her whole body rejected the offer — she just couldn’t bring herself to accept it.
“Captain, there’s no need. If possible, could you just record the work points for me instead?”
She waved her hands and refused, looking the captain firmly in the eye to show she truly meant it.
“Alright, I’ll record the work points for you.”
The captain withdrew the piglets he’d offered and silently decided to credit her with two full days of work points — 20 points in total — for saving the situation. And when it came time to slaughter pigs and divide the meat at the end of the year, he’d make sure she got a generous share of the best cuts.
Ning Xiyue was relieved that the captain didn’t insist on giving her the piglets and respected her wish instead.
She’d rather have the work points than the meat in front of her.
The others, however, thought differently — those piglets were still several jin of meat, far more valuable than a handful of work points. Since Ning Xiyue didn’t want them, they now had a chance to claim the meat themselves.
And so Ning Xiyue witnessed a rather comical scene: everyone’s eyes locked on the captain’s hands, following every movement of those two piglets awaiting their fate.
She just smiled and chose not to get involved. Patting her rumbling stomach, she excused herself:
“Captain, aunties, uncles — I’ll be going now. I’m starving.”
“Alright, go on,” the captain nodded.
“Goodbye, Comrade Ning!”
“Goodbye, Doctor Ning!”
Everyone waved enthusiastically, clearly hoping she would leave quickly.
And so she did. Taking her military coat and the cloth bag with the half-finished scarf from Aunt Qiujü, Ning Xiyue strode off toward the educated youth compound, leaving behind the sound of people pestering the captain about what he’d do with those piglets.
When she got back, everyone there had already finished lunch long ago and were out in the yard building snowmen — one for each person, by the looks of it.
After greeting them briefly, Ning Xiyue headed straight for the back kitchen.
As soon as the door closed, she scooped up Little Gray — who had just come back from playing — in her right arm and entered the space’s fully automatic kitchen to eat. A hot meal was already waiting.
That surgery earlier had absolutely exhausted her. Even though the skill was already etched into her mind, doing an actual surgery for the first time was physically and mentally draining — and above all, she was starving.
A glance at the clock told her it was already 3:40 p.m. — no wonder her stomach was growling so loudly.
It wasn’t until she had eaten three big bowls of rice that she finally set down her chopsticks, collapsed onto her rattan chaise lounge, and lazily stroked Little Gray’s fur as drowsiness overtook her.
“Finally filled the temple of five organs. So comfy. But why do I always feel sleepy after a big meal?”
The comfortable temperature in her spatial kitchen made her even more reluctant to move.
[Host, host! Don’t sleep — get up quickly, your pig is giving birth!]
“Your pig is giving birth!!”
A loud, urgent voice from Lazy Sheep suddenly crashed into her hazy mind, jolting her awake. She leapt to her feet.
“What? What did you say? Who’s giving birth?”
[The pig — your pig! It’s having piglets. Hurry and go assist!]
The system spirit flew over, shoved Little Gray off her lap, and grabbed Ning Xiyue with all four tiny paws, pulling her toward the pigpen.
Ning Xiyue quickly grabbed the set of tools she’d used earlier, just in case.
“How did our pig decide to give birth now? Did it make an appointment with the team’s sow to deliver together?”
She had just finished assisting a pig birth, eaten her meal, and hadn’t even fully closed her eyes — and now she was rushing to deliver another sow. Too much.
[Host, our sow is amazing — it’s going to deliver naturally! I just saw a piglet’s head coming out.]
“Then hurry!” urged Ning Xiyue.
Indeed, the system spirit was carrying her, flying a meter above the ground so she didn’t have to move herself.
At her command, the spirit sped up, and within moments, Ning Xiyue was standing firmly in the pigpen.
“Oh! One’s already out!”
Inside, a chubby white piglet was wobbling unsteadily around the pen.
Ning Xiyue quickly grabbed the extra-large woven basket she’d prepared earlier from the corner. It was lined with dry straw and old rags.
Removing the stone slab sealing the pen’s entrance, she stepped inside, scooped up the piglet trying to climb onto its mother’s face, cleaned the blood from its body, and placed it gently into the basket, covering it with cloth.
“It’s great that our sow can give birth naturally — I just need to stand here and catch them one by one.”
Relaxed, Ning Xiyue leaned against the pen and watched the sow continue laboring. Now this is a grateful pig.
[Host, come sit and watch.]
The little turtle — no bigger than a palm — shuffled over, dragging a chair many times its size and setting it across the walkway.
It was none other than the chaise lounge she had just been lying on.
“Thanks, system spirit. You’re the best.”
Ning Xiyue patted the little turtle and reclined on the chair, perfectly positioned to watch the birthing sow through the open pen door.
Natural births were slow. It wasn’t until 20 minutes later that the second piglet emerged after a strong push.
Just as she went in to collect it, there was another squelch and — plop! — another piglet slipped out.
“Oh! Two in a row this time!”
Delighted, Ning Xiyue carried a piglet in each hand out of the pen, careful not to disturb the sow.
Perhaps because of the two consecutive births, things slowed down afterward. After checking the sow’s belly and birth canal and confirming there was no sign of dystocia, she felt reassured and stepped back to wait.
Time was passing quickly, and it was already time to cook dinner. This time, she had to use the outside kitchen to heat the kang properly.
In between cooking, she went back to help deliver another piglet before returning to her meal.
She wolfed down her dinner, washed up, and lay down on the kang, planning to return to the space to keep watch.
Chen Yechu, sitting nearby reading, glanced at how quickly she finished everything and lay down. “Xiyue, why are you going to bed so early today?”
“Oh, I’m exhausted from helping the team’s sow give birth. I need to rest early and recover my energy. You do your thing — I’m going to sleep.”
“Alright, sleep well. I’ll read a bit longer.”
Chen Yechu continued soaking his feet and reading.
Ning Xiyue pulled the curtain closed, clipping it to keep the wind from blowing in through the door crack.
With the blanket pulled over her, she shifted her consciousness into the space again — to keep assisting the sow.
[Host, perfect timing — look, another head is coming out!] said the system spirit excitedly, pointing at the sow’s rear.
Ning Xiyue nodded, stepped forward, and gently pulled the newborn piglet out.
Including this latest one, there were now five piglets in the basket, all huddled together and sleeping with their heads facing the same direction.
The later births came even more slowly, about one every 1–2 hours, which was exhausting to wait for.
By the time the fifteenth piglet was born and the placenta still hadn’t been expelled, it meant there were still more inside.
A quick glance at the clock — it was already 5 a.m. The time inside the space synced with the outside world, which meant it was 5 a.m. in reality too.
From the start of labor at 4:30 p.m. to now, 12.5 hours had passed, and the sow still wasn’t done.
It was even more tiring than a C-section.
But natural birth was ultimately better for both the sow and her piglets — they’d be healthier and easier to raise compared to those delivered by surgery.
It was just… exhausting. As long as the sow kept giving birth, she had to stay and watch.
Her sow could keep going — but it was her, the “poop scooper,” who was utterly spent.
It was even more draining than studying at 100× time speed in the study room or simulation chamber.
Her body and consciousness were both in the same flow of time — twelve and a half hours really felt like twelve and a half hours. It was basically an all-nighter in the real world.
Her head was buzzing.
“I wonder how many more are still in there. I should go feel for them.”
Ning Xiyue could no longer sit still. She stood up and walked toward the pigpen.
