Lin Erxi, patting his stomach, said, "If this rabbit meat were served in a restaurant in the county, the way the people there ate it wouldn't be much better than us."
Lin Fengshou's eyes lit up immediately, and he said, "Then Mother, can we sell the recipe for this dish to restaurants? That way we can make a lot of money."
Song Anxin didn't expect her second son to be so quick-witted, coming up with another way to make money for her, but this method had its drawbacks.
So he said, "These rabbits aren't available every day. Even if you sell the recipe to a restaurant, where will they get the rabbits?"
Lin Fengshou said, "Then I'll go up the mountain to catch rabbits every day. With my mother's methods, I won't have to worry about not catching rabbits."
Song Anxin shook her head and said, "Rabbits are very clever. Mother's method will probably stop working after a while."
Even if it works, can you guarantee a stable supply of ten or twenty rabbits a day to the restaurant? What if the restaurant wants to increase the quantity?
When Lin Feng heard his mother say this, his eyes darkened immediately. Yes, you can't catch rabbits every day.
Looking at her second son, Song Anxin continued, "However, your method does have its merits."
Lin Fengshou immediately perked up and asked, "Mother, how can this be done?"
"That's raising rabbits! Rabbits only need to eat grass and they don't eat much. They're also very prolific, able to have five or six litters a year. And rabbits can reproduce after three months. Then the rabbits will breed and breed again, so there won't be any shortage of supply."
Lin Fengshou was amazed that his mother even knew about rabbits giving birth. No wonder she was the daughter of a scholar and the older sister of a student!
Lin Erxi immediately became interested upon hearing this: "You can raise rabbits? Then can I raise them too, Auntie? I'll sell them to restaurants in the county town."
Song Anxin said, "Of course, but I don't plan to sell the house. You can sell it to me later."
Lin Erxi said excitedly, "Okay, then it's settled, Auntie. I'll go catch more rabbits tomorrow."
Lin Fengshou quickly added, "I'll go rabbit hunting with you tomorrow too."
"Great! Second Brother, let's catch rabbits together tomorrow and raise them. I'll cut grass every day to feed them, and I guarantee they'll grow up fat and strong," Lin Fengyao said, patting his chest.
Song Anxin silently wept inside. Well, her mushroom-picking team was one person short again.
Perhaps sensing his mother's emotions, Lin Fenghe quietly said to Song Anxin, "Mother, I will always accompany you to pick mushrooms."
Song Anxin smiled; this third brother was truly a thoughtful and warm-hearted child.
After thinking for a moment, Song Anxin said, "Since you've decided to raise rabbits, you'll need to set up a place to keep them in captivity by tomorrow's harvest. You won't be able to eat these rabbits anymore; today will be their last meal."
Upon hearing this, the group immediately slumped down, their eyes still fixed on the remains of the rabbit meat. Lin Fengyao and Lin Dongzi, the two younger ones, even picked up the pieces in front of them and took a couple of bites. The bones, which were gnawed cleaner than faces, had hardly any meat left.
--------------------------
Night fell, and the bright moonlight bathed the earth. The night sky was dotted with stars. Song Anxin had already finished washing up and was admiring the starry sky. In this ancient time, there were no large areas of modern electric lights, so the starry sky seemed exceptionally bright.
After the five of them finished washing up, they all gathered in the main room to wait for Song Anxin to tell them a story. They were both excited and afraid, looking forward to their mother's story, but also afraid that they would not tell it well.
Therefore, they all asked Lin Fenghe about the story of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it, several times. They discovered that although this third brother usually didn't talk much, he was very smart and had a good memory. He could recite the story that his mother told him word for word.
Seeing that the younger children were ready, Song Anxin returned to the main room under the moonlight.
"What do you all think about yesterday's story? Who wants to go first?" Song Anxin asked, sitting in the top chair.
Upon hearing this, everyone except Lin Fenghe looked up or down at Song Anxin, but dared not look at her.
Song Anxin wasn't annoyed and said, "Feng Yao, you go first."
Lin Fengyao was startled and flustered when his name was called, but seeing his mother's expectant eyes, he slowly calmed down and expressed his thoughts:
"I think we shouldn't be greedy like the praying mantis and try to eat the cicada, otherwise we'll be eaten by the oriole. I won't be greedy when I'm out, otherwise some thief will try to cheat me."
"Selling thieves" was the term used to refer to human traffickers in ancient times. Because human trafficking was deeply hated and despised, people in ancient times compared human traffickers with criminals such as thieves and gave them the name "selling thieves."
Song Anxin was surprised that Lin Fengyao could use this story to prevent her from being trafficked. She immediately praised him, saying, "Fengyao is right. Some traffickers will use small profits to lure you, so don't fall for it. You can also tell your other friends in the village to be more vigilant."
Lin Fengyao was surprised to receive praise from his mother. He had been envious of his mother's praise of his older brother last time.
Lin Fengyao was so happy that his tail was practically wagging, and he grinned and said, "Okay, I will definitely tell my friends."
When everyone saw that Lin Fengyao had received praise from his mother, it seemed there was no need to say anything profound or literary. The group was no longer as nervous as before, and there was even a hint of eagerness in their eyes.
Song Anxin then called on Lin Fengshou.
Lin Fengshou said, "I think this story is meant to make us think further ahead. For example, when I talked about selling rabbits to restaurants today, I didn't expect that I wouldn't be able to supply them. It would be terrible if the restaurants came to bother me then."
After Lin Fengshou finished speaking, Song Anxin also praised him: "It's good that you can connect today's events to this; it shows that you have learned to think from events."
Lin Fengshou was also beaming with joy when praised.
Then it was Lin Fengnian and then Zhang Mei. Zhang Mei rubbed her hands and said, "I don't know anything. I only know that if I were that mantis, I would check behind me to see if there are any birds like orioles that want to eat me when I eat cicadas."
Song Anxin gave her a big thumbs up and encouraged her, "You know that you can't just look at the immediate benefits when doing things, you have to consider the consequences. You understand the principle of thinking ahead and behind. Meizi, you're great!"
Zhang Mei was surprised by her mother-in-law's lavish praise, who even said she understood the principles of looking before and after, which sounded very cultured. She was overjoyed that a country woman could be so educated.
Lin Fengnian was also happy for his wife, and the two held hands tightly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com