Chapter 87 Today the whole town is having chicken, have you had any? I rushed over...
After a long journey, they finally saw the familiar outline of Hope Town's city walls. Before they could even get close, a patrol team responsible for the outer perimeter had already spotted them. Leading them was none other than Eagle Eye, the Silent Whisperer youth with exceptional eyesight.
When he saw Lin Yue and his group, he was first stunned, then his face lit up with ecstatic joy. He gave Lin Yue a respectful bow from afar, as if to greet him, then turned and gestured to one of his team members. The team member immediately turned and ran towards the town, clearly to report back.
Hawkeye then led the remaining men and quickly came forward to meet them.
Just as he was about to reach Gray, he suddenly stopped without warning. His shy face was now filled with fighting spirit.
He held his iron spear horizontally, let out a low shout, and thrust the spear straight into Gray's chest.
This move was fast and ruthless, with a tricky angle, clearly showing that his strength had made a qualitative leap during this period of training.
Lin Yue and the others who were returning home were startled and instinctively wanted to step forward to stop them.
Gray simply watched the spearhead thrust towards him calmly, without even a hint of surprise on his face. He only moved a moment before the spearhead was about to touch his chest.
Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, tilting his body at an incredible angle to narrowly avoid the spear tip. At the same time, his short sword flashed out of its sheath like a ghost, not to parry, but to slash upwards along the shaft of the spear with lightning speed, aiming directly at Hawkeye's wrist holding the spear.
Hawkeye was shocked and instinctively tried to retract his spear and retreat. But Gray was faster; the blade was already pressed against Hawkeye's wrist.
The outcome is decided.
The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.
Hawkeye stared blankly at the cold blade on his wrist, his face filled with disbelief. He knew he had become stronger, but he hadn't expected Gray to become even stronger.
Gray sheathed his short sword, a rare smile spreading across his face. He stepped forward, patted Hawkeye on the shoulder heavily, and then opened his arms to give him a tight hug.
"You've become stronger too."
Hawkeye then came to his senses and a genuine, bright smile appeared on his face.
When Lin Yue and his group returned to the gate of Hope Town in a grand procession, Shi Quan, Elder Farador, Li Ge, Ella... almost all the core members who had stayed behind were already waiting there.
"Good lad, you still know to come back!" Uncle Stone Fist was the first to rush up. He first habitually punched Lin Yue in the chest, then looked Gray up and down and nodded with satisfaction, "Hmm, you look a bit stronger than before, you haven't embarrassed yourself outside."
"Mayor, Aunt Leah...everyone, welcome home!"
"The food is all ready, we're just waiting for you."
Just then, a gray lightning bolt suddenly shot out from the crowd, accompanied by a gust of wind, and rushed straight towards Lin Yue.
Before Lin Yue could react, he was knocked to the ground by a tremendous force. Immediately afterwards, a furry, warm head, smelling of dog saliva, began to frantically lick his face.
"Hey, Xiao Fen, stop, stop! You're going to lick me bald!" Lin Yue said, laughing and crying at the same time, pushing Xiao Fen's wolf head away. This guy seemed to have gotten even bigger lately, and it was really scary when he pounced on her.
Little Fern whimpered, nuzzling its head against Lin Yue's neck as if expressing endless longing. Then it stood up and circled around Lin Yue, its tail wagging like a whirlwind. It sniffed at Gray, Old Bard, Aunt Leah, and the others, confirming their familiar scents before turning its curious gaze to the new faces who were visiting Hope Town for the first time.
The newcomers, especially Aunt Leah's brother's family, were so frightened by the huge creature that they turned pale and hid behind Aunt Leah.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid,” Aunt Leah quickly reassured her. “This is our mayor’s companion, named Little Fern. It doesn’t bite… uh… as long as you don’t do anything bad.”
Amidst a lively welcome, Lin Yue was surrounded by people and walked into Hope Town.
The new members who stepped into this place for the first time were completely shocked by the scene before them.
Although Aunt Leah and Old Bud had told them countless times about how wonderful Hope Town was, when they saw the tall city walls, the clean and tidy cement roads, the garden-like Central Park, and the rows of well-arranged red brick courtyards, they still felt like they were dreaming.
They followed the group cautiously, taking each step carefully, as if afraid that if they stepped on the paving stones, they would shatter this beautiful dream.
It wasn't until they were ushered into the lobby of the No. 1 store, and until outrageously lavish dishes were served, and they tasted the first steaming, fragrant food, that the real warmth and deliciousness that dispelled all the cold and unease finally made them believe that it was all real.
Upon entering the restaurant, Lin Yue sensed something was amiss. An overwhelmingly spicy and pungent aroma, a blend of fiery chili peppers and various spices, permeated the dining area. Although it wasn't mealtime yet, the spacious restaurant had only a handful of diners. Strangely, despite the incredibly tempting smell, the diners all looked pale and sickly, as if they were consuming some kind of poison.
"Don't just stand there, sit down and eat." Aunt Lian came out from the kitchen to greet them. When she saw Aunt Leah who had come back with her, she excitedly gave her a big hug and then warmly ushered Lin Yue and the others to the largest oak table.
Soon, a series of sumptuous dishes were served up like a flowing stream.
At the very center of the table was a dish that caught Lin Yue's eye: the Hope Town version of salt-baked chicken. A whole, plump chicken was coated in a thick layer of sea salt, placed in a ceramic jar, and then buried in the embers of a brick kiln for slow baking. Upon removal from the oven, the salt crust was cracked open, revealing tender, juicy, and intensely salty chicken meat beneath the golden skin. The purest aroma of meat and salt blended perfectly, making it incredibly tempting.
The most eye-catching dish was a huge, mountain-sized bowl of bright red, oily, and irresistibly fragrant otherworldly spicy chicken. This dish was an improved version created by Aunt Lian and her team after studying Lin Yue's recipe and incorporating local ingredients. They cut fresh chicken thighs into small pieces and marinated them with snow salt, otherworldly ginger juice, and a wild fruit juice with a subtle wine aroma. Then, they quickly deep-fried the chicken pieces in boiling animal oil until golden brown and crispy, setting them aside. Next, they left a little oil in the pot and added a large amount of dried fire crystal pepper segments, seeds of the numbing tongue grass, and some newly discovered spice fruits, slowly sautéing them over low heat until all the spices' spiciness and aroma were fully released. Finally, they added the fried chicken pieces to the pot and stir-fried them with the spices over high heat, ensuring each piece of chicken was evenly coated with the enticing spicy flavor.
Lin Yue and his companions, who had been eating compressed wild vegetable pancakes and dried meat strips the whole way, were green with envy when they saw this table full of hearty dishes.
"My God, did they kill all the chickens in our farm?" Lin Yue asked indistinctly while stuffing a piece of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside spicy chicken into his mouth.
Everyone had a hearty appetite. Even the usually composed Gray was sweating profusely from eating. Old Bud, who wasn't usually very hungry, surprisingly ate a whole bowl of chicken and rice.
But Lin Yue soon noticed that Shi Quan and the others who stayed behind were just smiling politely, but they didn't touch their chopsticks.
"Uncle Stone Fist, why aren't you eating? Don't be shy!" Lin Yue called out.
"Cough cough...I've eaten, I've eaten, I'm not hungry." Shi Quan coughed dryly, his eyes darting around, as if that pot of spicy chicken was some kind of monstrous flood.
After the meal, Aunt Leah found Aunt Lian and several heads of the logistics team to start arranging accommodations for the newcomers.
“Aunt Lian, look,” Aunt Lia pointed to her brother’s family and several other new families, “The mayor said that since they just arrived, there are a few empty courtyards on the east side of our town, aren’t there? They’re a bit out of the way, but at least they can keep out the wind and rain. Why don’t you take them there and settle them in?”
She then pulled out a small wooden tag from her bosom, which was used for keeping accounts: "I applied to the mayor to give each family an advance on some basic living supplies, such as a few days' worth of food, two sets of clothes to change into, and a small iron pot. These things will come from our public warehouse first. Once they enter a suitable workshop and can earn work points, we will gradually deduct them from their work points. We can't break our rules, but we also can't let the newcomers lose heart."
"And one more thing," she concluded, "the house is only temporarily lent to them. Once they've accumulated enough work points and become official residents of Hope Town, whether they want to buy or exchange it will be done according to the town's rules."
Aunt Lian smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Sister Liya, I know what's important. I'll make sure everyone is settled in perfectly."
In the afternoon, Lin Yue and the others returned to their new homes to rest. At Lin's Restaurant, Lin Yue and Gray's room had already been cleaned spotless by the logistics team, and fresh wildflowers with dew on them had even been placed on the table.
The group, exhausted from their journey, soon fell into a deep sleep.
That evening, when Lin Yue returned to the cafeteria feeling refreshed, he found the tables still laden with various kinds of chicken. This time, it was a soup special: one dish was a chicken soup made by steaming chicken with precious calming mushrooms, resulting in a crystal-clear and exceptionally delicious broth; the other was a coconut chicken soup made by simmering chicken with a large amount of coconut-like fruit, resulting in a milky white broth filled with a rich coconut aroma.
Lin Yue didn't pay much attention, assuming it was a whole chicken feast that everyone had specially prepared to welcome them.
It wasn't until the next morning, when he saw that breakfast consisted of fried eggs, boiled eggs, tea eggs, steamed eggs, and a large bowl of egg drop soup, that he finally realized something was wrong.
In the morning, Lin Yue and Shi Quan held a meeting together.
Shi Quan and his team gave a detailed report on the recent developments in Hope Town. The output of various factories was steadily increasing, the number of merchant caravans coming and going was also increasing, and the business at No. 1 Store was booming.
Lin Yue then gave a detailed account of the situation in Blackrock City, including the branch stores, the suburban base, and the cooperation with Ryan. He also proposed a strategic plan to make Blackrock City the second major base and increase investment in resources and personnel.
Around noon that day, when a large bowl of bright red spicy chicken was served again as today's lavish lunch, Lin Yue's face finally fell.
"Can't we... eat something else?" he asked weakly.
Just then, he saw Aunt Lian carrying a bowl piled high with spicy diced chicken and calling out to a worker outside who was repairing a fence: "A-Zhuang, today's special hero meal, spicy diced chicken, come and eat!"
The worker named A-Zhuang waved his hand with a look of utter despair: "Aunt Lian, spare me. I'd rather go back and eat dried potatoes. Why don't you ask me if I'd eat stir-fried chicken with gold coins?"
Aunt Lian, hands on her hips, asked unwillingly, "What if you add gold coins to it? Would you eat it?"
Ah Zhuang shouted weakly, "I won't eat it! I'd rather die than eat it! I've been dreaming about clucking chickens all the time these past few days!"
Lin Yue finally couldn't hold back any longer and pulled Aunt Lian aside to ask her what was going on.
After a series of explanations that were both funny and exasperating, Lin Yue finally learned the truth.
It turns out that the stone-dwelling chickens raised by their livestock team have an incredibly high reproductive rate. After being kept in captivity, with no natural predators, ample feed, and a relatively comfortable environment, coupled with the hormonal boost from the springtime awakening of all things, the number of chicks hatched exploded exponentially, quickly exceeding the farm's capacity.
In order to control the number of chickens and avoid wasting food, the entire town had to start a massive "chicken-eating campaign".
From the initial roasted chicken and stewed chicken, to the later chicken meatballs and chicken patties, and now to salt-baked chicken and spicy chicken... even though Mia and the others tried every chicken recipe in the Cantonese cookbooks left by Lin Yue, they were still completely sick of eating them.
Lin Yue was both amused and exasperated, and immediately went to inspect the breeding farm.
The scene before him made him gasp in shock.
The enclosure for the clucking chickens was several times larger than before he left, almost extending into the adjacent forest. The enclosure was teeming with clucking chickens, who had pried the ground bare, leaving only bare tree trunks.
Old Mo and several other chicken keepers were sweating profusely as they collected eggs from the henhouse, which was piled up almost like a mountain.
"Mayor, you're finally back!" Old Mo looked at Lin Yue as if he'd seen a savior, his face contorted with grief. "These chickens are such prolific breeders! They're not picky eaters; they'll eat wheat bran, vegetable leaves, grass seeds—they'll eat anything you give them, and they grow so fast. At first, everyone was quite happy, thinking we'd finally have meat to eat. But then the chickens lay eggs, and the eggs hatch into more chickens… now we're almost out of control. If this keeps up, our town will be overrun by these chickens!"
Lin Yue looked at the lively and energetic chickens and felt completely overwhelmed.
"Alright, Lao Mo, I got it." He patted Lao Mo on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to use up a batch as soon as possible."
He was already starting to think about whether he could develop some new chicken products, such as chicken floss, or make chicken into more durable jerky and smoked chicken, and then sell them in Blackrock City.
Just then, a guard in a blue vest rushed over.
"Mayor! Mayor!" the guard said breathlessly, "Someone from Shop No. 1 has arrived. It's the merchant owner from the Clover Caravan. He says he needs to see you!"
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