Chapter 24 Buying Chicks and Starting the Stove

On July 4th, the sky had completely turned overcast.

The temperature started to drop, to only around 17 degrees Celsius.

I started putting on a thicker coat.

I went on a trip and spent 17,000 yuan, leaving me with 34,000 yuan. (The money for the pork was always kept separately and wasn't included in this calculation.)

It's time to start the final stockpiling.

Go to the town's market.

The sky was overcast, and the wind blew up the garbage on the ground, making the whole market seem somewhat desolate.

It feels like autumn, but it's only early summer.

There weren't many people shopping, and the vendors were chatting idly as the weather suddenly turned cold.

I found a place that sells chicks. I plan to raise a total of 8 chickens, but I'm afraid some will die along the way, so I caught a total of 12 roosters and hens.

The chicks are inexpensive, only 3 yuan each.

Packed in a cardboard box, their tender yellow little mouths kept making chirping sounds.

So cute.

The shop owner asked me if I wanted to raise a few black-boned chickens, 5 yuan each, and I hesitated.

Black-boned chicken is very nutritious.

You'd be reluctant to kill a chicken once it's grown up, but if the apocalypse continues, you'll definitely need to kill chickens for meat.

In the end, I ordered 8 to round up.

The owner also sells chicken feeders and watering supplies.

After listening to the owner's explanation, I found the drinking water to be quite amazing.

Fill the upside-down bottle with water. The chicks will drink some water from the trough, and some water will spill out of the upside-down bottle.

This way, the chickens won't dirty the water, and it won't spill water all over the ground with just a touch.

He originally wanted me to buy one of each, so I could use them when raising chickens.

But I bought five of them without hesitation.

The chicken and the stone trough cost no more than 200 yuan in total.

After consulting the owner in detail about the precautions for raising chickens, I went to the veterinary store and bought a lot of medicine to prevent fowl plague and to treat common chicken diseases.

Looking at the 20 chicks huddled together in the box, I suddenly felt less lonely.

After buying 20 indoor thermometers, I went and bought another 400 jin (200 catties) of soybeans.

Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn't bought any grain seeds, so I bought 100 jin of millet seeds and 50 jin of buckwheat seeds.

Finally, they took the chicks home.

The chicks are too small; the owner told me they can't be kept in cages yet.

I found two large boxes, and put 10 in each one.

Then sprinkle some millet, fill a cut plastic water bottle with water, and put it in.

A yellow chick returned looking rather listless, and sat in a corner with its eyes closed.

Even other chicks would step on it.

I had to take it out separately, put it in a small box, and then, worried it would get cold, I put tissues underneath it.

I spent less than 1,000 today, and I still have 33,000 left in my account.

The indoor temperature was only 14℃ at night, and I felt a bit cold even wearing a thick sweater. It was time to start heating the kang (a traditional heated brick bed).

The stove burns very well and doesn't produce any smoke.

First, place the straw under the wood-burning stove, then pile up blocks of wood on top.

After lighting the straw, the flames slowly grew and then became stronger, illuminating the stove pit brightly.

Apart from using a wood-fired stove for a few days to dry the kang (heated brick bed), this was the first time we officially started cooking.

The official opening of fire needs to be done with a sense of ceremony.

I was too busy a while ago and didn't have time to cook a proper meal for myself.

We either eat in town or get takeout from town and bring it back. If there's really nothing to eat, we just make do with instant noodles.

Now I've cooked my first meal in the strictest sense.

First, rinse the rice in a porcelain bowl, add an appropriate amount of water, and place it on the steamer rack in the pot.

Since there are no fresh vegetables at home, we can only cook some meat dishes.

Slice the cured pork and sausage into thin slices, pour in soy sauce and oyster sauce, and steam them directly in a pot.

I added two more eggs, stirred them well, added water, and then steamed a sponge cake.

Ten minutes later, bring out the sponge cake first.

Dinner will be served in 10 minutes.

The cured pork was oily and savory, and the steamed egg custard was smooth and tender. With the perfectly cooked rice, half a bowl of cured pork and a bowl of steamed egg custard were completely eaten.

After you finish eating, hurry up and wash all the dishes. There's a lot to do tomorrow, so we can't let the work pile up.

After washing, I touched the kang (heated brick bed) and felt its temperature. It was only slightly warm. It's normal for a kang that hasn't been heated in a long time to not get warm.

So I increased the effort and added another load of firewood to the stove.

Worried that the chicks might get cold, I temporarily put them in the east room, but the indoor temperature is still quite cool.

So they put the box containing the chicks on the kang (a heated brick bed).

I found an old piece of clothing and covered the three boxes with it, leaving a small opening on the side for them to breathe.

Half an hour later, the kang (heated brick bed) got warm.

I was delighted that I didn't need to burn the wood, so I put two more honeycomb briquettes into the fire pit.

Then block the stove opening; this will prolong the burning time of the honeycomb briquettes.

Then I took a hot shower and snuggled into the warm, cozy bed heated by the kang (heated brick bed).

Before long, things started to go wrong.

The heated kang bed beneath me was getting hotter and hotter, so hot that my side was aching.

I had to drag the bed to the furthest place from the heated brick bed.

Then I thought of my chicks. As soon as I lifted my clothes, a wave of heat hit me, and the chicks were all drowsy.

But I don't know if they were overheated or asleep; they almost turned into roast chicken.

Hurry up and bring the chicks to the side of my bed.

I glanced at the thermometer; the indoor temperature was 24 degrees Celsius.

The heat from the heated kang bed was scorching my upper body, and I was both amused and exasperated.

First of all, there is no need to worry about the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) not getting hot, ensuring warmth even in extreme cold.

Secondly, it's just too hot; sleeping in it for too long will probably cause internal heat.

Mr. Fire Pit, you really are slow to warm up. You don't get warm at first, but you become incredibly enthusiastic later.

The chick died on the morning of July 5th.

I felt a little sorry for it, but it was also within my expectations.

The number of chickens that would die was calculated when the chickens were purchased.

I had just gotten up, and the heated kang bed was still warm, but I could feel a slight chill in the air.

It felt even colder when I opened the door; the indoor thermometer on the front door showed only 12 degrees Celsius.

The temperature is dropping so fast.

First, bury the yellow chick next to the small earthen mound outside the yard.

Then we started heating the kang (a traditional heated bed).

When I was little, my grandma said that the kang (a traditional heated bed) must be kept warm. If the fire isn't lit for a day, the room will be unbearably cold, and it will take a long time to warm up again.

I have things to do today, so it would be a waste of time not to cook for myself.

First, add enough food and water to the chicks, and place them on the side of the kang (heated brick bed) furthest from the wood-burning stove, that is, at the end of the kang.

Then, put a honeycomb briquette into the kang (heated brick bed), clean up all the firewood in the kitchen, and stuff it into the stove.

After confirming there was no risk of fire, I drove off.