When these ducks grow up and can lay eggs, they can naturally hatch them. There is no need to spend so much time on artificial kangs to hatch eggs. Song Sanhe estimated that Shao Shengan would be willing to exchange.
"I'll trade fish with you. We'll discuss the exchange later."
Shao Shengan took the initiative and agreed to it. When he got home and told Qiao Qingqing and the others about it, no one objected.
"They are nice people. If we build a good relationship, we can help each other." Shao's father had a simple idea.
Mother Shao nodded in agreement.
Qiao Songzhi counted on her fingers: "It will take at least four or five months to raise it before it can lay eggs. If everything goes well, I can give it to them. It depends on how many they want to change. I can give them a pair." She was very happy and thought that Song Sanhe's appointment was auspicious. The ducklings at home would surely grow up healthily and lay eggs well.
Mother Shao said happily: "When the ducks lay eggs in the future, we can put the eggs in the space and let them hatch together. We did this before, but they didn't notice it. Haha, they are not as smart as Dabao."
Qiao Qingqing laughed when she heard this.
The Chinese cabbage and lettuce in the vegetable garden at home are also growing well, and the former is almost ready to be harvested.
"We can pick them in three or four days." Father Shao's face was filled with joy at the good harvest, and he asked Qiao Qingqing and the others how they planned to eat the first batch of pakchoy.
"Let's eat something spicy, stewed spicy cabbage and fish head!"
Shao's mother's proposal was unanimously agreed by everyone. Shao's father happily agreed and decided to take better care of the cabbages to prevent them from being eaten by mice or stolen by outsiders.
Three days later, the cabbage was ripe, and Shao's mother stewed a pot of spicy cabbage and fish head, the aroma of which spread from ten miles away.
The survivors who gathered together were also working hard to run their business. Some were short of this, some were short of that, and the phenomenon of bartering became more and more common. Qiao Qingqing's family was one of the "small rich families" outside the caravan camp. Many people came to them to exchange things, such as vegetables that had not yet grown in the fields, ducklings, salt and oil... It was not that no one wanted to rob them before - they robbed ducks, but Qiao Qingqing shot them in the arm with an arrow. There were also people who came to steal vegetables in the middle of the night. Qiao Qingqing woke up and got up, but she didn't have to do anything. The man was pecked hard by Dabao twice, and his screams resounded through the darkness.
After intimidating others, when Qiao Qingqing took the duck out to bathe and swim, she felt that there were fewer malicious glances from her. After establishing the image that her family was not easy to mess with, the "neighbors" got along better. If they wanted to exchange things, they would bring things to exchange, but eight out of ten times they were rejected. To be honest, Qiao Qingqing's family was not short of things, and what they lacked, the other party did not have. Too frequent exchanges would only expose the secret that their family had abundant supplies - they were not a supermarket, so how could they exchange everything?
This pot of spicy cabbage and fish head was so delicious that before Qiao Qingqing's family even started eating, many neighbors came to exchange things. Most of the survivors who settled down had no shortage of fish, but they lacked various daily necessities and condiments. When people are hungry, they can eat anything, but when they are full, they think about that one bite of food. It's fine if everyone can't eat, but when someone is cooking delicious food next to them, the fragrance is everywhere, how can they bear it?
"Soup is fine too! Give me more."
"Is a fish enough for your bowl of vegetables? I don't want meat either. Just give me some cabbage."
"Do you have any more dried chilies? I'll give you half a bucket of fish in exchange!"
After seeking consent from Shao's mother, Qiao Qingqing accepted the exchange.
Chen Xiao happily went home holding the fish soup. She put the fish soup on the table and called her daughter, "Is your dad not back from fetching water yet?"
The fifteen-year-old daughter swallowed hard, pulled her eyes away from the fish soup, and answered crisply, "I'm back! But Dad said to go get two more buckets. Mom, look, these are the mushrooms I dug this afternoon! Do you think they're edible?"
Chen Xiao checked it and asked his daughter where the mushrooms grew. When he learned that they were dug out from rotten wood, he nodded and said, "Then they are edible. I'll ask your dad to grill them for you later."
The daughter nodded happily.
Cui Xing came back with two buckets of water and poured them carefully into the small pond. There was no water tank at home, so he could only dig a small pond. He struggled to find some clay and mixed it with sand to barely smooth the pond wall. After pouring the water, he wiped his sweat and said with a smile: "The duck family in Xiaopo is so lively. It seems that they have made something delicious. I can smell the fragrance from afar. Hey, why is it so fragrant?"
Chen Xiao laughed, and his daughter couldn't help revealing the secret: "It's spicy fish head soup! Mom exchanged it with the family on the hill!"
Cui Xing was surprised. He put down the bucket and went into the shed. The afterglow of the setting sun was still there, allowing him to clearly see the bowl of fish soup on the small table. A few familiar small cabbage leaves floated on the red soup, and the red dried chilies on the edge of the bowl added to the visual deliciousness.
"You exchanged this bowl of soup with them? How much did it cost?"
Chen Xiao said: "A crucian carp weighing seven or eight kilograms."
"They are actually willing to change?"
"A lot of people are exchanging. Didn't you say you saw it? Those people are going to exchange. Hey, I can't help it when I smell this smell. It's been a long time since we tasted something so delicious. They cooked a pot for their family. It has salty and spicy flavors. We haven't eaten salt for a long time. How can we eat like this?"
Cui Xing agreed with his wife. If he were in her shoes, he would also make the change. His family worked hard to catch fish, and there were hundreds of fish in the small pond at home. Without seasoning or iron pans, the fish could only be grilled, which made them greasy.
"I'll grill two more fish." Cui Xing said with a smile.
There was only one bowl in the house, so the three of them ate grilled fish and drank spicy fish head soup.
My daughter’s nose turned red from the spiciness, but she was very happy: “Ahem! It’s really delicious!”
"Eat more vegetables." Chen Xiao picked up two pieces of cabbage in the soup with wooden chopsticks, one for her daughter and one for her husband.
"You eat it, I don't like cabbage." Cui Xing avoided it and refused to take it.
The mother and daughter shared the two pieces of cabbage.
It was obviously just an ordinary cabbage. Ten years ago in the company cafeteria, Chen Xiao would not even look at it. But today, ten years later, after eating enough of all kinds of weeds, this vegetable with a familiar texture and taste made her eyes red.
It has been too long, really too long. Those ordinary days of peace and joy are too far away from her.
Cui Xing saw his wife's sad look and said hurriedly, "I'll ask them to exchange cabbage tomorrow. We have a lot of fish in our pond!"
Chen Xiao blinked away the tears and said with a smile: "Forget it, we don't have any oil or salt, it won't taste good if we make it ourselves."
"Then I'll trade them for the cooked fish soup." Cui Xing said firmly. "When their ducks grow up, I'll trade them for ducks again!"
My daughter exclaimed, “Duck!”
Looking at his daughter's thin face, Chen Xiao felt a pain in his heart. The natural disaster happened when his daughter was five years old. Such a young child has never enjoyed any blessings, and has to suffer with them. She is already fifteen years old, but she is as thin as a ten-year-old child, and she hasn't even had her period yet...
"Yes, it's ducks, just wait!" Cui Xing decided to go further tomorrow to avoid crowded fishing spots and catch more fish to improve his family's life.
On the hill, the fish head soup prepared by Shao's mother was sold out. A pot of spicy cabbage fish head soup could bring back hundreds of pounds of fish, which was a huge profit. However, such business was not easy to continue, as it was too dangerous. Qiao Qingqing touched the crossbow hanging on the wooden pole and stood there motionless until the crowd retreated.
Mother Shao didn't feel tired at all and made another pot.
I had dinner two hours late, and it was completely dark after dinner.
There were a few stars in the sky, which were rare to see. At the seaside, Qiao Qingqing looked up and thought those stars were extremely beautiful.
"It's been a month." Shao Shengan said softly beside him.
This month has been so fulfilling and satisfying, it was so beautiful that it felt like a dream.
"After this month, there will be the next month, month after month, and then year after year." Qiao Qingqing turned her head to look at Shao Shengan, her eyes seemed to be full of stars. She said, "I feel very happy and blessed. After the earthquake, I thought that such days would no longer exist."
Shao Shengan held her in his arms, and when Qiao Qingqing leaned on him, he touched her face. He actually had a lot to say in his heart, but he was too busy these days, and the pressure of survival was hanging over his head, forcing him to stop. But tonight, they leaned against each other under the stars and enjoyed the evening breeze, and Shao Shengan didn't want to say anything.
He suppressed his concerns about his wife's mental state during the days of separation and never mentioned it again.
Qingqing is in very good condition now and is optimistic and positive. He firmly believes that as long as their family is together, all the trauma can be healed.
"Is there a light over there?" Qiao Qingqing suddenly sat up straight and looked forward.
"Light?" Shao Sheng'an also looked forward carefully, and indeed saw a few points of light swaying on the sea.
It was too dark and the telescope was useless. Qiao Qingqing pulled Shao Shengan to stand up, and the two of them looked at the water vigilantly until the few bright lights got closer and closer.
"Ok, it looks like a ship?!"
That night, a fleet docked, the headlights were turned on, wooden planks were used to build a bridge, and the people on the ship began to unload the cargo.
The noise was very loud. Normally, most of the survivors would go to bed early at night, but tonight was really unusual.
"Wow! Is this the rescue boat that Ye Shan brought? There are so many people!"
"What is that? It's a pig!"
“And ducks!”
Everybody gathered at the beach, looking at the newly arrived fleet with shining eyes, talking about it a lot, excitedly, and even people from the fleet's camp came over to check it out.
Qiao Qingqing felt a little strange: "Sheng An, look at that man...is there something wrong with his uniform?"
"It's different from Ye Shan's." Shao Shengan also recognized it. After all, they both had worked in the security team before and had a certain understanding of Ye Shan's soldiers. At least they could recognize that Ye Shan's soldiers' uniforms were not like this.
She had a bad feeling in her heart.
Song Sanhe and Liu Zhen went forward excitedly, hoping to contact their superiors, but how could they not see what Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan could see?
Soon, they came back. Looking at their expressions, Qiao Qingqing was shocked. She had never seen Song Sanhe with such an ugly expression. It was as if the sky had fallen.
"Brother Song, how about coming to my house and having a visit?" Shao Shengan invited.
Song Sanhe looked up blankly and nodded.
Seeing him like this, Qiao Qingqing's heart sank. What fatal news had Song Sanhe and the others found out?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
