Chapter 69 My Ducks Don't Eat Rice

At noon, the sun is at its zenith.

The scorching sun baked the earth.

At this hour, those who were busy in the fields had all gone home for their midday rest.

Cheng Wanwan was making lunch in the kitchen, and she didn't let her daughter-in-law be idle either. She was in charge of cooking, while Wu Huiniang sat on a stool to control the fire in the stove.

It was too hot, so for lunch I cooked millet porridge with some wild vegetables and bamboo shoots, and also fried an egg pancake.

The two hens at home are quite diligent, laying eggs for two days and resting for one day. In addition, Cheng Wanwan occasionally sneaks a few eggs in, so the family has accumulated almost ten eggs.

Just then, San Niu returned from chopping wood. He was exhausted and drenched in sweat. He drank a large bowl of ice jelly to cool off.

Cheng Wanwan placed the food on the table: "I'll go call Dashan and Sidan back for dinner."

These past two days, Zhao Dashan has been so busy with business that he's neglected his work in the fields. Even at midday, when everyone else has gone home to rest, he's still working in the fields.

He was wearing a woven straw hat and no shoes. He was standing in the mud of the paddy field with his trousers rolled up above his knees. He was bending over and pulling weeds in the paddy field when suddenly water came in. The weeds grew rapidly. If left unattended for a day, they would grow into a large patch and steal the fertilizer from the field.

"Dashan, put on your shoes first, then go back for dinner."

Cheng Wanwan threw the straw sandals she had brought onto the edge of the field.

Zhao Dashan chuckled sheepishly, "I'll go back after I've pulled all the weeds out of this field."

Cheng Wanwan shook her head: "Come back when the sun isn't so strong. Hurry back, wash your hands, and eat. I'll go call Sidan."

She continued walking along the paddy field ridge. Their family's paddy field was five mu, no more and no less. After walking a dozen steps, she saw Si Dan squatting on the ridge digging for wild vegetables. The boy's basket was full of sow thistle, and there were weeds he had casually pulled from the paddy field at his feet.

Cheng Wanwan sighed softly. These children were all too sensible, so sensible that it broke her heart.

She said, "Sidan, the food is ready. Let's herd the ducks back together. You go over there, I'll stay here."

Twenty ducklings swam leisurely in the shallow water of the rice paddy, occasionally pecking at a grasshopper and swallowing it whole.

The ducks were having a great time when they were suddenly told to go back, and they started hopping around everywhere.

It was Zhao Sidan's first time herding ducks, and Cheng Wanwan had no experience either, so the mother and son were in a flurry of activity.

Aunt Wang from the neighboring field suddenly popped her head out: "Oh dear, how did this duck fly into my field? Si Dan, hurry up and catch it and take it back, don't let it ruin my rice!"

Zhao Sidan ran over and explained, "Auntie, my ducks don't eat rice, they eat insects."

As if to prove itself, the little duck flapped its tiny wings and landed on Aunt Wang's feet, pecking at a grasshopper on her trouser leg.

In ancient times, grasshoppers were also called locusts. Upon seeing this creature, Aunt Wang's face turned pale: "How come there are locusts in my rice paddy? Where did these locusts come from?"

Cheng Wanwan's voice was a little deep: "I discovered locusts in the village several days ago, but there weren't many, so I bought some ducklings to guard the rice paddies."

The little duck opened its mouth and swallowed the locust, then quickly grabbed the next one.

Aunt Wang thought of what happened last year. Swarms of black locusts flew over like dark clouds, and in less than half a day, thousands of acres of rice were completely devoured.

The locust plague is terrifying.

Even just a few scattered ones made her turn pale.

She had been pulling weeds and hadn't noticed that locusts had appeared in the field. Now that she had seen them, she couldn't just ignore them.

It's difficult for people to catch locusts, but she witnessed firsthand how amazing this little duck was.

She immediately asked, "Mother Dashan, where did you buy the ducklings? How much are they? I'll go buy some and raise them in the fields."

"I didn't see any ducks for sale in Ping'an Town, only in Hekou Town. I'm going to Hekou Town tomorrow, and if I see any, I'll bring them back for you."

Aunt Wang was extremely grateful and even helped herd the ducklings back home.

With the three of them working together, the twenty ducks dared not fly around anymore and obediently followed them into the yard.

There were some chopped wild vegetables that Zhao Sanniu had just picked up on the ground in the yard, but the twenty little ducks had already eaten their fill in the rice fields and didn't even look at the chopped wild vegetables.

Zhao Sidan said with a smile: "Ducks can eat insects to get full, so we don't need Sister Xia Hua to help us dig wild vegetables anymore."

Cheng Wanwan nodded. The ducks' daily food needs were perfectly solved, so there was really no need for Xia Hua to come again. However, Xia Hua was a diligent girl, and keeping her around would be very useful. For example, she had to go out every day to pick up hay and then roll it into grass balls that could be put into the stove. This job did not require any technical skills, but was extremely time-consuming, so perhaps it could be handed over to Xia Hua.

The family sat down to have lunch. Zhao Ergou was not there, and Cheng Wanwan was a little uncomfortable.

I wonder if the magistrate took Er Gou and the others out for something to eat, and if Er Gou listened to her advice... I just hope everything goes well.

After lunch, Cheng Wanwan changed into her new clothes.

This is the most common and cheapest kind of cloth in rural areas. It rubs against the skin a little when worn and is slightly uncomfortable, but no matter what, it is new clothes, without patches, and without years of accumulated dirt on the collar and cuffs. It feels refreshing to wear.

She glanced at the seven or eight wooden barrels and basins placed in the yard and had no intention of returning them for the time being, so she took some ice jelly left over from the morning and walked towards the Zhao family's old house.

At midday, most farmers take a nap, but it's just too hot for them to fall asleep.

Old man Zhao was sitting at the door chopping trees. He chopped a large fir tree into cylinders more than half a meter long.

Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai were weaving straw mats. The two brothers worked together and wove them quickly. Wen Shi and Sun Shi, the sisters-in-law, were also busy with various things.

As soon as Cheng Wanwan walked in, everyone in the courtyard looked up at her.

Sun's eyes flashed. Her sister-in-law was actually wearing new clothes. The khaki color made her skin look brighter, making her look several years younger.

She felt a pang of sadness in her heart, and her words also brought out a bit of sourness: "Sister-in-law must have made a lot of money. It's not a festival, but she's wearing new clothes. How enviable."

When Wen heard this, she looked over and felt a little envious.

She only gets a new set of clothes during the Lunar New Year, but last year there was a locust plague, and the whole family had a hard time getting new clothes.

Cheng Wanwan even laughed.

She has money, so why would she wear tattered clothes every day?

The purpose of making money is to live a good life, not to be afraid of this and that, not daring to eat or wear.

"Third Aunt, you're joking. If I made a fortune, I'd buy silk and satin. Who among the rich would wear homespun clothes?" Cheng Wanwan said calmly, "Homespun clothes are two cents a foot. If Third Aunt wants new clothes, she can afford them."

Sun was a little annoyed. She had indeed secretly saved more than a hundred copper coins over the years, but asking her to use ten cents to buy cloth to make clothes was like cutting off a piece of flesh from her body. How could she bear to do that?

Old Mrs. Zhao said unhappily, "Third daughter-in-law, there's a basin of clothes behind the house. Go wash them."

Sun turned around and went to the back room.