"Auntie, if there's nothing I can help with here, I'll go back and let Heng-ge know, otherwise he won't be able to sleep."
"Yes, he must have been worried at home since you've been here for so long. Taozi, go and see your sister Jiaojiao off."
Li's mother helped Li Shutao take Bai Jiaojiao home and said calmly, "It looks like she was born safely."
"Yes, it went quite smoothly, probably because they are twins, both children are very small."
Bai Jiaojiao gestured to Shen Heng to show him the size of her niece: "When I held her in my arms, she felt so light, like nothing at all. I didn't even dare to hold her tightly, but she still cried."
Bai Jiaojiao was happy for Bai Shiqing, and she was beaming with joy when she returned.
"You've worked hard, hurry up and lie down on the kang for a while." Seeing Bai Jiaojiao's excited appearance, Shen Heng smiled and carried her onto the kang.
"Heng-ge, I told my sister last time that I'd give her a down comforter when we go to the wedding. Do you think it'll be easy to receive it now? Are there any villages with reed beds around here? They should raise ducks there, right?"
Otherwise, where do they get the duck eggs they're eating now?
"We can't take them in. These things float on water and are easy to flock together. Once they go out and follow other ducks, no one can find them. Usually, the whole production team raises them in flocks; no one raises them privately."
If they belong to the government, then we can't take them in.
Upon hearing this, Bai Jiaojiao was a little disappointed.
Shen Heng then changed the subject: "If you really want it, I'll try to get it for you."
"Really? How much can you get?"
How much do you want?
"I want to get a quilt for my sister and my dad."
"What about the two of us?" Shen Heng raised an eyebrow.
"If there's any extra, it would be best to get one for the two of us." Bai Jiaojiao looked at Shen Heng expectantly.
Shen Heng's tactic of feigning weakness before revealing strength perfectly controlled Bai Jiaojiao's emotions.
"How many kilograms will that weigh? You're planning to use this as a winter blanket, right?"
"If you're using duck down as the filling, I estimate four or five pounds would be enough. Make a large one for my sister and brother-in-law, and a small single one for my dad. Just go for ten pounds."
Down comforters are advantageous because they are lightweight and warm; making them too heavy is not aesthetically pleasing.
Shen Heng nodded: "Okay."
"Really? Ten pounds of duck down is a lot!"
"When have I ever lied to you? Go to sleep peacefully and don't think about it so much." Shen Heng pulled Bai Jiaojiao into his arms and stopped talking to her.
Bai Jiaojiao wasn't asleep yet when Wang Fushun came to get some snacks.
Wang Fushun had already been told by Shen Heng that if he knocked on the door, Shen Heng would know when he arrived, but he shouldn't knock too many times, as that would disturb Bai Jiaojiao's nap.
Shen Heng tiptoed out and took some snacks from the kitchen for Wang Fushun.
"Besides Jiangwanzi Village, are there any other villages in this area that raise ducks in the reed marshes?"
Shen Heng asked.
Wang Fushun thought for a moment and said, "There really isn't any. All the water here comes from the sea. We're lucky if we have a small reservoir that we can use for drinking water. There really aren't any large reed beds."
No large production team would be willing to raise a few ducks in such a small bay, otherwise they would have to find someone to take charge of it, which is not worth it at all.
Upon hearing this, Shen Heng realized that they would have to go further away.
"What, Heng-ge, do you want some duck?"
"Your sister-in-law's nephew and niece were just born tonight. She just wanted to get a down comforter for her sister out of joy. I've never even heard of that."
Shen Heng looked impatient, but Wang Fushun was no longer the same Wang Fushun who had been deceived by Shen Heng.
Shen Heng was clearly completely obedient to his wife.
"Heng-ge, you really follow your wife's lead. How much feathers does a duck produce? People consider a rabbit fur jacket a rare find, and she wants to pluck feathers from a duck? You're so obedient."
Wang Fushun smacked his lips.
Shen Heng glared at him: "You don't know anything!"
Normally he listens to Bai Jiaojiao, but at night Bai Jiaojiao listens to him. Thinking of how charming Bai Jiaojiao is on the kang (heated brick bed), Shen Heng would even give her his head.
"Yes, yes, I don't understand," Wang Fushun hoped he would never understand, otherwise it would be too terrible. "Then I'll ask around to see if there are any duck farms in the far west. But, Brother Heng, these ducks are usually not privately owned, so we can't just sneak them in."
“I know you’ll have to find at least four or five villages. I doubt you could even get two pounds of feathers from the ducks in one village.”
"Two jin? You could strip a whole duck bare and still not get two jin out!"
"Stop talking nonsense, find out the details and let me know. I'll come and take a look when I have time."
Shen Heng helped Wang Fushun tie the snacks to the car, but Wang Fushun shook his head repeatedly.
It seems that Heng-ge is beyond saving.
However, Wang Fushun was very grateful for the favors he received, so he naturally took things seriously. He had cultivated a much wider network of connections than Shen Heng, who had only recently retired from the business. He soon learned that there was a large bay to the west, and several villages relied on that bay for their livelihood. The duck eggs that the city's supply and marketing cooperative obtained were all from that nearby area.
It's a bit far, though. It's separated from Shili Village by a county. The dirt road is winding and bumpy. If you ride a bicycle there, you probably won't get there until dark if you leave in the morning.
However, there is one advantage: there are enough ducks, and you can actually get about ten kilograms.
At that time, someone told Wang Fushun that as long as the price was right, he would find children to sneak around at night to pluck duck feathers.
Wang Fushun didn't listen to Shen Heng's additional arrangements. He thought Shen Heng must have his own ideas, so he didn't agree.
Ten or so pounds of duck feathers, I reckon I'd be caught before I could even pluck half a pound.
Wang Fushun quickly told Shen Heng the address of Yanglinwan. After Shen Heng found out, he asked Zheng Xu for three days off.
"Three days off? Where are you going?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Xu recalled the days when Shen Heng would wander around the village at night without returning home: "You're married now, why are you still wandering around? Does Jiao Jiao know?"
"She knew that something had happened to my mother's family, and she sent me a message asking me to go and check on them."
"You lie without even blinking. Do you even know which village your mother's family is from?"
"Are you kidding me, Captain? Do you think I don't know which village my mother is from? She's from Shihe Village."
When Shen Heng said that, Zheng Xu was stunned.
Shen Heng's mother had been gone for twenty years. Zheng Xu was only fifteen or sixteen years old at the time, and he had no idea where Shen Heng's mother had come from when she married into the family.
Zheng Xu stared at Shen Heng for a while: "I can give you the leave, but Jiao Jiao has to go with you. Can you agree to that?"
"I can, but I have to go back and ask Jiaojiao. She's at her sister's house every day now, I really don't know what's so interesting about those two brats." Can't she look at me?
Shen Heng had only half a sentence left unsaid.
"Watch your mouth when you speak." The news that Bai Shiqing had given birth to twins had spread throughout the village. It was considered an auspicious sign, and everyone was quite curious about having such a pair of treasures in the village.
But when it comes to Shen Heng, how come he's become a spoiled brat?
"Then go back and talk to Jiaojiao before you come back. Anyway, I can't let you go out alone."
This time, Zheng Xu didn't just save Shen Heng; he saved an entire family.
Otherwise, what will happen to Bai Jiaojiao if Shen Heng gets into trouble?
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