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"Girl, it's mealtime, why don't you invite anyone to eat?" Aunt Zhou sent the person to the door and turned back to scold Yezi.
"Aunt, Uncle Wu's house must have prepared good dishes to entertain us; we can't overshadow them!" Yezi wouldn't keep Zhao Yueying for dinner. Just seeing her indifferent face spoiled her appetite.
Hearing Yezi's response, Luo Fengjuan smiled, thinking that Yezi and that distant cousin from Winter Ear seemed to have something going on.
"Dinner is ready!" Xiao Fan shouted while carrying a bowl of stir-fried bean sprouts into the back room. Wolf Child carefully carried a nearly overflowing pot of chicken soup, taking small steps forward. Aunt Zhou, Yezi, and Luo Fengjuan exchanged smiles and helped serve the dishes.
"Xiao Fan wants bean sprouts!" Xiao Fan, with chopsticks in her right hand and a soup spoon in her left, stretched her arm but still couldn't reach them, anxiously calling out.
The bean sprouts were grown from the family's yellow soybeans. Initially, Yezi just wanted to add some variety to the monotonous winter dining table. To her surprise, they received unanimous approval from everyone and quickly spread throughout Zhoujiatun. Those skilled in growing bean sprouts emerged like bamboo shoots after rain in Zhoujiatun. Ever since Xiao Fan and Wolf Child witnessed the miraculous transformation of little Xiao Huang's beans over six days, they clamored to learn. Yezi was happy to teach them; as the saying goes, a good teacher produces excellent students. After their training, Yezi's family no longer worried about not having bean sprouts; even if she didn't grow them herself, her two enthusiastic apprentices were eager to help.
"Eat up!" Yezi served each of them a chopstick full of crispy bean sprouts. Xiao Fan thanked her and chewed happily, while Wolf Child grimaced and slowly put the bean sprouts into his mouth.
After dinner, the two children pulled Elder Brother Yu along while Aunt Zhou strolled in the yard. Niu Niu lay on Black Treasure's head following them, executing Yezi's post-meal Hundred Steps Walk—living to 99!
Yezi washed the dishes in the kitchen while listening to Xiao Fan's crisp counting voice, a smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
"Yezi! Yezi!" Aunt Ren Er shouted as she barged into her home.
"What's going on? Xiao Luo, quickly pour your aunt a glass of water!" Aunt Zhou pulled Aunt Ren Er down to sit.
Yezi dried her hands and ran out of the kitchen. "Aunt Ren Er, what's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Aunt Ren Er smiled widely, spreading her hands, "Yezi, our duck has laid eggs!"
"It laid eggs!"
"Really!" After being well-fed for several months, it was about time for it to lay eggs.
"Yes, really! It laid a total of 62 eggs. That girl, Spring Peach, didn’t even bother to let me know. I only found out when I went to take over the shift tonight!" Mentioning her slow-witted daughter made Aunt Ren Er feel frustrated. As a mother, she had been eagerly waiting for the ducks to lay eggs, especially in the past ten days when she had been anxious and irritable, while that girl pretended to be calm.
Yezhi thought of the honest Spring Peach and couldn't help but smile. "Aunt Ren Er, if Spring Peach came to tell you the news, who would take care of the Duck House?"
"Don't defend that girl; she really... sigh!"
"I think Spring Peach is quite good. She may not say much and is a bit slow with words, but she works exceptionally well!" Aunt Zhou said sincerely.
"Chunhua, with so many people in the rice field and the village head present, how could that girl hold back such good news for an entire day and only tell me when I got there?" Aunt Ren Er was genuinely worried; her daughter had been seeing someone for a year but was always rejected.
Aunt Zhou completely understood the feelings of a mother. She had also deeply worried about Yezi. However, Barefoot's words resonated with her: "Children will have their own fortunes; just let things happen naturally." Aunt Ren Er nodded helplessly.
"These eggs are huge!" Little Fan stretched out his chubby finger and gently poked at the duck egg in Aunt Ren Er's hand. His innocent words made everyone chuckle. In reality, the duck egg wasn't that big; it was just slightly larger than a chicken egg and much smaller compared to modern duck eggs from the 21st century. Without even tasting it yet, Yezi was sure it would be delicious. Feeling greedy, she said to Aunt Ren Er, "Aunt Ren Er, let’s save these two duck eggs for Elder Brother Yu to nourish his body!" If anyone deserved the title of "shameless," it would undoubtedly be Yezhi. Aunt Ren Er's mouth dropped open at Yezhi's words and stayed that way for a long time!
...
With the start of the ducks laying eggs, they began popping out one after another. Zhou Village Head responded to everyone's requests by expanding the Duck House scale. With a loudspeaker announcement, families actively participated in hatching the fertilized eggs.
Aunt Zhou brought back five fertilized eggs and kept them warm under the blankets. This fascinated Little Fan, Wolf Child, and even Black Treasure and Niu Niu. Little Fan squatted on the kang, determined to hatch ducklings. The four adults in the house watched with delight at every move of the little ones and provided timely assistance.
Xiao Cheng frequently visits Yezhi's home to tutor Wolf Child. Not only does Wolf Child refuse to cooperate, but he also drags Black Treasure and Niu Niu along. Despite Niu Niu's small stature, she is clever, full of ideas, and has a terrible temper; when provoked, she becomes furious. Xiao Cheng once lost his temper and locked her up as a warning, which made her hold a grudge against him, often setting traps for him. Xiao Cheng feels helpless on the long road of teaching Wolf Child, but thankfully, he remains undeterred.
After staying at her cousin's house for a week, Zhao Yueying returned to the city with bags in hand. Before she left, Aunt Zhou packed a large amount of Contracting the Mountain goods for her to take back, which made Yezhi feel heartbroken. She thought it would be better to throw it away than to give it to Zhao Yueying. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Zhao Yueying shouldn't get her family's things for free. She cut the pork jerky into Xiao Fang-sized pieces and filled two jars with it, then wrote a thick letter for Zhao Yueying to deliver to Xiaobinzi. Zhao Yueying accepted the items with twitching eyebrows and left in Zhou Xiaowu's horse-drawn carriage amidst Yezhi's repeated instructions.
Life went on without much excitement. Aunt Zhou and Sister Luo worked in the fields every day. Some of the cheap seeds Yezhi found at the second-hand market had already sprouted, bringing a smile to Xiao Fang's face, who was troubled by the harsh conditions caused by Earth's Rarity. Seeing Xiao Fang smile made Yezhi feel bittersweet; she lamented that this was a double-edged sword for those who had nothing better to do than complain about customers under Earth's Rarity, feeling nothing but anger.
Xiao Fang had mentioned closing down for a while, but Yezhi refused, feeling that shutting down would be like retreating. In the 21st century, she might have agreed, but now she was exceptionally resolute and unwilling to compromise.
Every day, besides tending to her vegetable garden, she would check on the Peach Seedlings on the wasteland. After planting the Peach Seedlings, Crop Health Monitor kept track of their needs—water shortages, lack of fertilizer, pest disturbances—and Xiao Fang would remind her; it wasn't necessary to go check on them, but she always felt reassured after seeing them.
Zhao Yueying returned to her rented courtyard with bags in tow, looking weary from travel. The landlord Old Qian was cooking in the kitchen with two other tenants. Upon seeing her return, everyone smiled broadly, especially Old Qian, whose greedy gaze followed Zhao Yueying closely.
Zhao Yueying felt annoyed: this was really not a good time to come back.
Old Qian approached enthusiastically, "Oh, Little Zhao! We haven't seen you in days! Where have you been with all these things?"
"Oh~ I went to visit relatives in the countryside! It’s so poor there; there’s nothing good at all. I just brought back some dried vegetables. Uncle Qian, take this bag; it's a change of flavor—please don't dislike it." Old Qian grinned as he accepted it, internally agreeing with Zhao Yueying's description of the countryside as poor since they couldn't even bring back a chicken.
After flattering Old Qian, Zhao Yueying entered her room. The two tenants who didn't benefit from her return felt uncomfortable; one spat and muttered, "It's just some dried vegetables. Last time I brought back jujubes from the mountains; they gave me half a pound! Who cares about some dried vegetables?"
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