Chapter 7

is the seventh chapter of the Silver Spoon manga.

With a majority of the students back from Golden Week, they begin their new term at the high school. The first-year students are instructed to take care of piglets for a time. While in the pig pens, Hachiken ends up becoming attached to one of the piglets and even decides to raise it finely throughout the next three years, until he realizes that it only has three months left until it is slaughtered for its meat. Meanwhile, a former teacher from Hachiken's middle school calls the principal to check up on his former student.

Summary
With Golden Week now over, several of the students from Yezo Agricultural High School return to their dormitories to start the next term. On the night of their return, they are welcomed back by the adults in the facilities, before they are then told to deposit their cell phones. While Hachiken goes to drop off his, he notices an unread text message and sees that it is from his mother, telling him that she has already deposited his allowance and would like to know whether he is doing well; however, Hachiken immediately shuts off his cell phone and throws it in his basket before sending a text back.

Hachiken and Aikawa later get ready for classes. As they get dressed, Hachiken tells Aikawa about his experience at a clinic for the Ban'ei races. He also mentions how one of the men working told him that an important requirement to become a veterinarian would be for the person's ability to kill, which, after hearing about, causes Aikawa to wonder whether he is truly suited for the line of career. Hachiken then reflects on Komaba's words before he asks Tokiwa about his dilemmas for his future; to this, Tokiwa explains that he would need to worry about costly bird diseases for his family's chickens. Tokiwa then starts poking at Hachiken for being able to get a "risk-free" job instead of becoming a farmer and is subsequently poked at for his difficulties in mathematics; Tokiwa immediately states that he could simply hire an accountant to handle his own financial dilemmas but is told by Komaba that it would simply be a waste of money.

The first-year students then head to the pig pens where their instructor explains to them about the nature of pigs. She elaborates on how intelligent they actually are, such as rolling in mud to stay clear of parasites and to keep themselves cool in hot days, and also mentions how their teeth are powerful enough to bite off a person's finger; as she explains the final part, one of the pigs attempts to clamp down on Hachiken's own hand.

Afterwards, the instructor takes the students to see the pens for the piglets, which some of the male students comment is similar to a doghouse. However, when the piglets emerge, all of the students, both male and female, begin fawning over the cute appeal of the piglets. The instructor tells them that they will be caring for the piglets for sometime and has them watch a mother pig nurse eight of her young; while watching, one of the male students comments on how a piglet at the end is very small, to which the instructor explains that the runt of the litter tends to get the teat with the least amount of milk flowing. This causes Hachiken to feel upset and he wonders whether they can help the piglet, especially after its siblings finish their own meals; at his instructor's suggestion, he moves the piglet closer towards it mother, but it then goes back to its former position. The instructor explains that it is nature for pigs to stay where they've picked throughout their entire lives and she asks whether the students are just the same as them.

Later, Hachiken continues to stay close to the runt of the litter. Aki suggests that he can understand the piglet better because they are the same, which Hachiken agrees with, even stating that they are both "eight". Aki misunderstands and believes that he is trying to name the piglet; afterwards, she ends up getting several of their female classmates involved in the matter, with Tamako even suggesting that Hachiken name the piglet "Pork Bowl" instead. Upon hearing their remarks, Hachiken decides that he will raise the piglet to be a fine pig for the next three years; however, he then learns that the piglet only has three months until it is killed for bacon. Afterwards, Hachiken faints next to "Pork Bowl" and two other piglets.

The instructor then decides to move on with the day's lesson, which is to castrate the male pigs so that their meat becomes softer when they are killed and made for bacon, much to the horror of the male students. She orders Aikawa to be the first to castrate the piglets, despite the warnings from the other students and Aikawa's own collapsing at the sound of the matter.

Meanwhile, the principal of the high school receives a call from his office. He picks it up and finds that Hachiken's career counselor wants to know how the student is doing in Yezo. After listening further, the principal suggests that the man come to visit the high school himself.