"one two three……"
Wang Shufen counted them, and there were exactly twenty-eight quails in the basket.
She nodded, quite satisfied. "Girl, I'll keep six, and you can raise the rest."
"Okay, Sister Shufen, give them all to me first. I'll make a brooder box and then you can raise them when they're a bit bigger."
Looking at the trembling little quail, Lu Fangfang pondered again.
The first two days are the most important for these quails; they need to be taken good care of. She only has about twenty quails, and her capital is limited, so she can't afford to lose even one.
"Girl, a brooder box? What's a brooder box?"
Wang Shufen scratched her head, somewhat confused.
"It's...it's the box for raising baby quails."
“Isn’t this basket of mine good enough? I’ll cover it with a cotton-padded coat tonight and put it on the kang (heated brick bed), and I guarantee it won’t freeze.”
Upon hearing Wang Shufen's words, Lu Fangfang looked her over carefully.
This basket is a round one, woven from wax strips, and lined with dry grass. It's good as a brooder, but it's still missing something.
She looked up at the room.
The electrical wiring in Sister Shufen's house is not fixed, and even the light bulbs are tied to the wall, making them easy to remove.
"Sister Shufen, these quails need to get some sunlight for the first couple of days to grow well and become strong. It's raining today and there's no sun, could I take the light down and use it for now?"
"Is that so? But chicks need to bask in the sun, which is really unfortunate today. But will this electric light even work?"
"Sister Shufen, it works."
Wang Shufen could only nod with some skepticism.
Lu Fangfang stepped onto a stool and unplugged the light bulb from the room.
Holding the old-fashioned black lamp base, she placed it in the basket, hung it above the quail, and then tied it tight.
Turn on the light, and the basket immediately lights up.
Bathed in the yellow light, Wang Shufen noticed that the quail seemed to be a little better. "Girl, this is really good. You know so much."
"It's a waste of electricity, Sister Shufen. Let's leave the quail here for now, and take it out to dry in the sun tomorrow when the sun comes out."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shufen quickly gave some instructions to Tiedan and Daya.
Lu Fangfang watched the quail for a while, then went to the outer room to pour some warm water and put it in the basket.
Next, she prepared to cook the quail's first meal.
Back home, Lu Fangfang took a small basin and poured some cornmeal into it.
In the corner of the room, there was half a sack of cow bones. She took out a rib and then smashed it into bone powder with a hammer.
Fearing the baby quail would choke, she slammed it a few more times.
These bones, after being boiled for a day and dried in the sun for several days, were already quite brittle; they crumbled into dust with a single smash.
She carefully scooped the beef bone powder into a small basin, added some water to make it simmer, and then took it to Commissar Xiao's house.
Inside the room, Tie Dan and Daya were still looking at the little quail inside the basket.
These two little rascals were completely captivated by the quail's adorable appearance.
Lu Fangfang smiled and pushed the iron egg aside, then placed the small basin under the light bulb.
Driven by instinct, the little quails immediately ran to the small basin and began pecking at it.
Seeing this, Lu Fangfang was completely relieved.
She gently touched the light bulb, felt it was a little hot, and then took her tattered cotton-padded coat and draped it over the basket.
"Alright, stop looking for now. The baby quails have just hatched and need to be kept warm. We can look at them later."
After telling the two little kids, Lu Fangfang went to the outer room.
The rain outside has lessened a bit, and it's a little foggy.
Taking advantage of the time, Wang Shufen called Lu Fangfang and planned to go to the riverbank to transplant the vegetables from the seedling field to the ground.
As Lu Fangfang carried her hoe out, she glanced at the small vegetable garden in front of the yard.
The hawthorns and chives planted inside haven't sprouted yet.
She shook her head and followed Wang Shufen.
Having not visited for many days, Lu Fangfang didn't rush to transplant the seedlings; instead, she went to check on the rapeseed she had planted earlier.
As soon as she reached the riverbank, she was delighted to see a row of lush green rapeseed plants stretching upstream, a truly beautiful sight.
In just a few days, the rapeseed that started with two small sprouts has grown into two or three large leaves.
These rapeseed plants are still a bit small, but they're still edible.
"They grow really fast."
Lu Fangfang couldn't resist any longer and decided to pick some vegetables to take home that evening and stir-fry them.
To be honest, her craving for green vegetables is stronger than her craving for fatty meat right now.
To the west of the rapeseed fields, the sunflowers she planted back then have all sprouted.
She glanced around along the riverbank.
It must be because of the rain that her vegetables looked so vibrant; she liked them more and more as she looked at them.
The five rows of potatoes that were planted in the field have now sprouted. When she planted them, she spread a lot of horse manure, and the sprouts are all strong and healthy, not at all like they were planted in undeveloped soil.
The half-acre of corn that was planted back then has also sprouted tiny green shoots after a light rain.
Of course, there's no shortage of grass in the field.
She looked around and found that not only the vegetables had sprouted, but even the weeds had sprouted little green shoots.
A summer rain brings everything back to life.
Lu Fangfang was both delighted and a little worried; it seemed she would have to weed again in a few days.
"Hey girl, come quick! How many of these persimmons do you want to plant?"
Lu Fangfang carried a hoe and hurried over to take a look, only to find that Sister Shufen was talking about tomatoes.
She glanced at it and saw that the small packet of tomato seeds she had given her had now grown into seventy or eighty tomato seedlings.
"Sister Shufen, why are there so many?"
Lu Fangfang was startled. There were so many seedlings that she could have sold them at a stall, but unfortunately, this era did not allow it.
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