Around noon, the main frame of the chicken coop was finally completed. Uncle Li helped Lin Wanqiu lay a thick layer of thatch on the roof, providing both rain protection and insulation. Lin Wanqiu then wove a fence around the coop using resilient willow branches, weaving them tightly and securely together. She even added a small door in the fence for easy access to feed the chickens and collect the eggs.

"Alright!" Uncle Li clapped his hands, looked at the finished chicken coop, and smiled with satisfaction. "This coop is sturdy, it won't be afraid of wind or rain. Girl, if you add a feeding trough and a waterer, you can raise chickens."

Lin Wanqiu looked at the chicken coop in front of her—square and neat, standing in the open space like a small fortress—and felt a sense of accomplishment. She took two freshly made white steamed buns from her bamboo basket and handed them to Uncle Li: "Uncle Li, thank you. Please have a bun to tide you over." These white steamed buns were taken from her spatial storage; she and Nian'an usually couldn't bear to eat them, but today she brought them especially to thank Uncle Li.

Uncle Li couldn't refuse, so he took the steamed bun, took a bite, and exclaimed in surprise, "This steamed bun smells so good! It's even better than the ones the commune gave us during the New Year!"

Lin Wanqiu smiled and said, "It's flour that I asked a relative to get for me. If you like it, I'll bring you a couple more next time." The two chatted for a while longer, but Uncle Li, worried that his daughter at home would worry, went back first.

With Uncle Li's help, the poultry shed was quickly built. Slightly larger than the main space, it could hold a dozen or so poultry. The roof was covered with thick thatch to protect them from wind and rain, and the shed was surrounded by branches to prevent the poultry from escaping and to keep out wild animals. Lin Wanqiu also dug a small pit next to the shed to store feed and tools, and brought a thin bamboo pipe from the stream to bring water to a waterer in front of the shed for the poultry to drink.

After setting up the breeding shed, Lin Wanqiu, under the cover of night, quietly moved five free-range chickens and three ducks from her spatial storage to the shed on the back hill. Following the methods in the "Basic Animal Husbandry Manual," she prepared the feed and poured it into the feeding trough. The chickens and ducks immediately gathered around, happily pecking at the food. Watching them eat, Lin Wanqiu was filled with anticipation. She knew that her animal husbandry business had officially begun from this moment on.

In the days that followed, Lin Wanqiu would secretly go to the back mountain every morning or evening when no one was around to feed the poultry, change their water, and check on their growth. Under her careful care, the chickens and ducks grew very well. The chickens' feathers became increasingly glossy, and the ducks gradually grew gray feathers and began to try swimming in the stream.

That evening, Lin Wanqiu went to check on the poultry on the back hill as usual. Just as she reached the vicinity of the breeding shed, she heard a "clucking" sound coming from inside. She was delighted and quickly walked over. There she saw a chicken standing in a straw nest in the corner of the shed, with a warm egg lying next to it. The eggshell was light brown and had a few downy feathers on it.

"Great! It finally laid an egg!" Lin Wanqiu carefully picked up the egg, the warm touch filling her with joy. This was the first egg she had ever laid since she started raising livestock. Although it wasn't big, it was the result of her hard work and a symbol of her and Nian'an's hope for a bright future.

She carefully placed the eggs into her cloth bag and turned to go home. The setting sun cast its golden rays across the hillside, bathing the grass and trees in a warm orange hue. Lin Wanqiu gazed at the distant village, its chimneys emitting wisps of smoke, and silently vowed to make her livestock business a success, to provide Nian'an with a prosperous life, and to make those who had once looked down on her look at her with new respect.

When she got home, Shen Nian'an was sitting in the yard waiting for her. Seeing Lin Wanqiu return, she immediately ran over: "Mom, you're back! Were there any surprises today?"

Lin Wanqiu smiled and took the egg out of her cloth bag, handing it to her son: "Nian'an, look, what's this?"

Shen Nian'an's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Eggs! Eggs! Mom, where did these eggs come from?"

"This is a surprise your mother prepared for you." Lin Wanqiu patted her son's head and said with a smile, "From now on, we can have eggs to eat every day. If Nian'an eats eggs, he will grow taller and stronger."

Shen Nian'an carefully took the egg, holding it like a precious treasure, and said happily, "Great! Thank you, Mom! I want to eat boiled eggs tomorrow!"

"Okay, Mom will boil eggs for you tomorrow." Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart as she looked at her son's happy face. She knew this was just the beginning, and as the scale of their breeding operation expanded, many more surprises awaited them in the future.