When Su's mother returned with the eggs, Liu Huan told her to grab Xiao Hong and then spread out some unwanted clothes and straw on the ground.
Holding the egg up to the sunlight, Su's mother indulgently asked, "Have you figured anything out yet?"
Liu Huan nodded seriously: "They're all good eggs."
She remembered checking them against the light; if there were black spots inside, it meant they were fertilized, and only such eggs could hatch into chicks. She checked ten eggs and they all had black spots.
The little red thing in her hand started to resist, and Su's mother urged her to hurry up: "You can tell the difference between good and bad now, hurry up and put it in."
To make Xiao Shi feel involved, Liu Huan specially reserved five for him: "Brother, you can place these five."
Xiao Shi, who had been watching with envy, stepped forward with a smile and carefully placed the egg inside, asking, "Huanhuan, is this how it's done?"
"Yeah, you're awesome, bro."
Huanhuan is great too.
Su's mother took one out of her own basket and put it in, probably to prove whether Liu Huan was right.
He interrupted their mutual flattery: "Alright, you two step aside, I'm going to put it in."
After Su's mother released the chicks, the two younger ones stayed around Xiao Hong, eagerly waiting for the chicks to hatch the next day.
Xiao Shi, resting his chin on his hand, asked, "Huanhuan, when do you think the chicks will come out?"
"It will probably take another twenty-odd days." She couldn't remember the exact time.
Xiao Shi pouted dejectedly, "It's been that long?"
Liu Huan comforted him, "Soon, in the blink of an eye, we'll be there. What we need to do now is find food for the chicks, otherwise what will they eat when they come out?"
Liu Huan didn't want to appear too unconventional, so she guided Xiao Shi along, so that the adults would think it was just a child's accident and wouldn't suspect anything.
Xiao Shi tilted his head to look at Xiao Hong's mouth, then asked with wide eyes, "But what do chicks eat?"
Liu Huan pretended to think and prompted Xiao Shi, "I don't know, but I saw Xiao Huang eat an earthworm the other day. Why don't we dig one up and try it?"
The two of them took hoes and dug haphazardly in the vegetable garden next door, making a mess before finally digging out a few fish traps.
When Cao'er came out to pick vegetables, she was startled: "What are you two doing? Come out quickly, or you'll ruin the seedlings. I'll teach you a lesson if you don't get back at Shitou."
Xiao Shi, holding a piece of earthworm, said, "We're preparing food for the chicks."
Cao'er gently instructed, "Even so, you can't come here next time, understand? If you ruin the vegetables, we won't have anything to eat."
The two obediently admitted their mistake and took the earthworms to feed the chicks, but to their surprise, the chicks swallowed them whole in one gulp.
Xiao Shi unconsciously swallowed, his eyes shining. "Huanhuan, it really ate it! Let's go find some more."
The two of them took their baskets and went out again, where they stayed for the entire day.
Even the workers had returned, but they were still nowhere to be found. Shi Tou washed his hands and looked around, "Where's Huanhuan and Xiao Shi?"
Usually at this point, that sycophant will come running over excitedly and say, "Stone, you've worked hard."
Grass asked in confusion, "Didn't we go to find you? I saw them go out with shovels."
Daishi shook his head: "No, I haven't seen it."
Without even washing his hands, Shi Tou went out to look for them. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two people carrying baskets and chatting and laughing a hundred meters away from his home.
"Where did you go? Why are you coming back so late?"
The sudden noise startled Xiao Shi so much that he dropped the basket, spilled the earthworm inside, and quickly scooped it back in with his hands.
Liu Huan ran up to him excitedly, holding up her basket, and said, "Stone, look at the earth dragon we dug! Isn't it amazing?"
Stone took the basket without saying a word and headed home.
Seeing so many cages almost triggered Su's mother's trypophobia. "My God, why are you catching these?"
Xiao Shi stepped forward to boast, "This is what Huanhuan and I caught to feed the chicks. We'll give it to them when they hatch."
Su's father asked with skepticism, "Is this chicken edible?"
Liu Huan said, "Sure, we just caught Little Red and ate it all, didn't we, little brother?"
Xiao Shi nodded proudly, "Yes, Huanhuan and I caught it together."
From a distance, Grass covered her eyes and asked, "We don't know when the chicks will hatch yet. Can they be left out like this for so long?"
Liu Huan had already come up with a solution: "Dry them! We always dry the vegetables we eat in winter before storing them. These earthworms should work too, right? Let's dry more now so we can feed them to them later."
Before going to bed that night, Su's father and mother were still discussing, "Huanhuan is very clever. If she were a boy, that would be amazing."
Su's mother didn't take it seriously: "So what if she's a girl? She can still do anything."
"If it really works out, then we'll raise more of them. Once we have the money, we'll send Shitou to school. He's smart; he'll definitely be a good student."
My eldest cousin was studying in town; he was the only educated person in the village. My mother had a strong desire for someone in our family to be educated as well.
Mr. Su sighed. He never even dared to think about studying, but he didn't want to discourage his wife: "Sigh, let's look at it later. Go to sleep."
In the next room, Shi Tou's wide eyes gleamed, and beside him was Liu Huan, who was still restless even in her sleep. Seeing her unease, Shi Tou turned over and patted her to comfort her. He didn't sleep a wink all night.
The chicks hatched on the twentieth day after being released.
Over the past twenty days, every member of the Su family has tacitly collected any earthworms they see in bamboo tubes, brought them home, cooked them in a broken iron pot, and then dried them in the sun for preservation. They have already collected a small bagful.
Every day, Liu Huan would check to see if Xiao Hong was inside, and would put water and food in front of her, afraid that she would come out and the eggs would get cold.
In the last few days, she would go every morning to listen for the chicks.
On the twentieth day, she overslept. Xiao Shi got up early and saw that there was a fluffy little head under the hen. He excitedly ran into the house to tell her.
"Huanhuan, the chicks are out."
Liu Huan woke up with a start, not angry that Xiao Shi had interrupted her from eating the chicken leg in her dream. She put on her shoes and ran towards the chicken coop.
He reached straight for Xiaohong's belly with his hand, like he was scooping out an egg. Xiaohong pecked his hand, and luckily, it was through his clothes, so it only left a red mark.
Her hissed in pain, and she pulled her hand back, realizing she had been careless.
Xiao Shi shouted anxiously, "Mom, Huanhuan got pecked by a chicken!"
Su's mother put down the wild vegetables she was holding and came out, pulling her up to check, "Where did you peck at it? Let me see?"
Seeing that there was no bleeding, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Getting pecked by a chicken can make you sick. There was a person in the village who died a few days after being pecked by a chicken and bleeding. You should stay away from chickens in the future."
The two nodded seriously; that was truly terrifying.
Su's mother stared at Xiao Hong and said happily, "I heard chicks chirping last night, but I don't know how many there were. She wouldn't let me see them."
“I didn’t expect you guys to actually figure it out. Your dad took Da Shi and Shi Tou to cut bamboo early this morning, saying he was going to prepare a nest for them.”
“Your sister went to catch earthworms. Since you two are up, hurry up and wash your faces. I’m keeping an eye on it and won’t let you see it.”
After saying all that, Su's mother went back to picking wild vegetables.
The two quickly went to wash up, and then, as if on cue, squatted down in front of Xiao Hong to watch.
They didn't get up until Su's father and the others returned carrying bamboo.
Liu Huan couldn't wait to show Shi Tou his battle wounds, "I got pecked by Little Red."
Stone pulled her hand, frowned, and asked, "How did this happen?"
Xiao Shi answered for her: "It was Huanhuan who went to catch the chicks, and Xiao Hong didn't want to, so she pecked at her."
Even a light press on the stone made her scream in pain, so she had to let go. "Are you stupid to provoke it?"
Liu Huan was unhappy and pouted, looking aggrieved: "It hurts~"
Stone lowered his head and breathed twice on the red spot. "It doesn't hurt anymore, go on."
Liu Huan chuckled twice, finally satisfied.
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