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墨書 Inktalez
"The scenery is indeed beautiful, and the air is fresh, but there is too little farmland. Do the villagers rely solely on this small piece of land for their livelihood?" Tai Man looked around; the limited arable land in Minhua Village could only be considered subsistence farming. It was impossible to have any surplus just by farming.
Yang Chen chewed on a blade of grass and replied, "If we only rely on farming, we can barely avoid starvation. In the past, the villagers mainly relied on logging, working in coal mines, and foraging for herbs as their sources of income. They were busy all year round and earned a decent living. Later, when the mines closed and logging was banned, they mainly survived on a bit of farmland and foraging for herbs."
"But that meager income barely sustains life. The older folks are used to this way of living, and no one wants to hire them if they go out to work. They have no choice but to maintain the status quo; most young people have left!"
Yang Chen was also a young man who had come from Minhua Village, and he was one of the most successful among them.
"Have you ever considered moving away?"
Yang Chen spat out the grass and brushed off his hands. "It's hard to leave one's hometown, and those who remain are mostly elderly. What can they do if they move away? They will wait for the old folks to pass away, and Minhua Village will slowly disappear! By the way, every family in Minhua Village raises some poultry to increase their income. Let me take you to see my family's Chicken Farm."
"You have a Chicken Farm? Let's go take a look."
Yang Chen's Chicken Farm was located on a hillside. The so-called Chicken Farm was just a patch of land enclosed with wooden boards and some old nets among the trees, where nearly a hundred chickens were raised.
Tai Man rolled her eyes at Yang Chen and said disdainfully, "Your Chicken Farm is quite large!"
With fewer than a hundred chickens, how could it be considered a Chicken Farm?
"My mother manages it alone; if we raise too many, she can't handle it. Most families have a similar scale; aside from what we eat or keep for eggs, the rest are sold at the market during festivals," Yang Chen said as he opened a simple wooden gate and entered what he called his Chicken Farm. After much effort, he caught an Azure Feather Rooster and proudly held it up, saying, "We'll eat this tonight."
"Your mother has taken care of these chickens with great care; you should put it back. I don't like eating chicken," Tai Man urged Yang Chen to return the rooster to the Chicken Farm.
However, Yang Chen found a piece of string and tied the rooster's feet together. "My mother raised these chickens primarily for food. Every time I come back, I kill one, and during festivals, I bring a few to give to my colleagues and superiors. The old cadre especially loves my family's old hens."
"Turns out the reason you could become the secretary of the old cadre is thanks to the chickens your mother raised," Tai Man joked.
Yang Chen replied seriously, "I sent the chickens after I became the secretary, and that doesn't count as bribery, right? If that's the case, then you should be receiving bribes too, Leader."
The two laughed as they walked down the mountain and returned to Minhua Village.
Dinner was prepared by Mother Yang, while Yang Chen helped in the kitchen. Tai Man wanted to lend a hand but not only did he not help, he ended up breaking a plate.
"My mom's stir-fried chicken is truly exceptional; it will leave you craving for more," Yang Chen boasted while tending to the stove.
Soon, Tai Man caught a whiff of the fragrant stir-fried chicken, the aroma of meat mingling with spices, making his taste buds tingle. The chicken was ready, and the other dishes were also finished.
Once all the dishes were served, the three of them sat around the dining table.
Mother Yang untied her apron and said with a hearty smile, "County Chief, it's just some home-cooked meals; please don't mind it."
"Auntie, you're too kind. I haven't had such a lavish meal in a long time," Tai Man replied.
Yang Chen interjected, "Mom, what she said is true. She eats nothing but gutter oil and pre-made dishes every day; there's hardly any nutrition."
Tai Man secretly kicked Yang Chen under the table; this guy was too good at talking nonsense.
Mother Yang also gave Yang Chen a light slap on the arm and scolded him, "The County Chief is your superior; how can you be so disrespectful? County Chief, please don't take Yang Chen's words to heart; here, have a big chicken leg."
She served one chicken leg to Tai Man and another to Yang Chen.
Yang Chen was already tearing into the chicken leg, and Tai Man followed suit, picking up a chicken leg with chopsticks to take a bite.
“How does it taste?” Mother Yang asked with anticipation in her eyes.
Tai Man nodded repeatedly, swallowing the chicken meat and praising, “It’s delicious, the meat is firm and fragrant. I’ve never had such tasty chicken before.”
“Of course, just look at whose chicken it is and who cooked it. My mother…”
Mother Yang gave Yang Chen a hard slap on the back and scolded, “Just eat your food. If you can’t speak properly, say less.”
Having worked in a government office for several years, how could he still not know how to speak? Mother Yang thought she needed to have a serious talk with her son later about how to communicate in front of his superiors.
Tai Man focused on the chicken leg in his bowl and soon finished one.
Seeing that the county chief enjoyed her cooking, Mother Yang was naturally very happy and kept adding more dishes to Tai Man's bowl.
After dinner, Mother Yang cleaned up the kitchen while Yang Chen took Tai Man for a walk around the yard to help with digestion.
Tai Man rubbed his protruding belly and complained, “I ate too much again. I had two bowls of rice for lunch and then so much chicken for dinner. If I keep eating like this, I’m really going to turn into a pig.”
“You’ve only had two meals; it’s not that exaggerated.”
Tai Man sighed, “But your mom’s cooking is really good, especially that stir-fried chicken. I feel like I ate half a chicken all by myself.”
“Not just half.”
"You..."
Tai Man kicked Yang Chen again in anger, but Yang Chen seemed to have anticipated it and dodged.
After running a distance away, Yang Chen triumphantly said, "After being kicked by you so many times, I finally dodged once."
"Well, let's see how many more times you can dodge," Tai Man suddenly launched a series of high kicks, nearly hitting Yang Chen in the neck.
Yang Chen, still shaken, said, "Boss, are you trying to kill me?"
"Don't worry, killing is illegal. I can only kick you into the wall."
"Wait a minute!" Yang Chen hurriedly stopped Tai Man from advancing. "Boss, do you know why the chicken is so delicious tonight?"
"Because your mother's cooking is good."
Yang Chen nodded and said, "That's one reason. The other reason is the quality of the ingredients. The chicken we had for dinner was free-range chicken, which means it was raised in the mountains. It takes at least a year to grow, so its meat is naturally better than that of chickens raised for just a few months. Moreover, our Minhua Village chickens are not only good ingredients but also excellent for medicinal dishes. I once selected a few Minhua Village chickens for testing at City Hospital, and the traditional Chinese medicine department confirmed they have great nourishing effects."
"Is that true?" Tai Man looked at Yang Chen with skepticism.
"I still have the test report. I can show it to you later. In Minhua Village, we may not have much, but we have plenty of mountains. There are many herbs on the mountains, and the free-range chickens eat herbs almost every day, which is why they have such excellent nourishing effects."
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