As expected of twin sisters, they even have the same idea! They both want to eat fresh meat. However, the younger sister, Liu Ruoling, saw a pheasant and wanted chicken. The older sister, Liu Ruoxi, saw a rabbit and wanted rabbit meat.
In fact, the two sisters knew that if they didn't slaughter the animals now, it would be a waste to wait until they became thin. Ultimately, it was all because of insufficient food reserves. Although they had stored up a considerable amount of hay, it still wasn't enough to meet the needs of the many animals in the camp. The goats, in particular, ate a full basket of hay at each meal, and three baskets a day.
As their hay reserves dwindled day by day, the four men had no choice but to turn their cleavers to the rooster and the rabbit. After all, the goats could help them with the work in the spring, while the rooster and rabbit served no purpose other than consuming the grain. So, who else should they kill if not them?
Of course, if the hay reserves are still far from sufficient to last until spring, then even if they are reluctant, they will have no choice but to slaughter the goats. After all, the four of them have been craving mutton hotpot for a long time.
As Liu Ruoxi pondered this, he filled a whole basket with hay and hurriedly went to feed the goats. Then, he quickly returned to the house to discuss with Li Ling and Wang Lun about slaughtering a few rabbits.
When Liu Ruoxi brought up the idea, Liu Ruoling immediately chimed in, expressing her desire to slaughter a rooster. Li Ling, upon hearing this, also secretly longed to do the same, but hesitated, unable to make a decision. So, she turned to Wang Lun for his opinion.
After a moment of contemplation, Wang Lun asked, "How many salted fish are left in the shelter next door?" Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi were puzzled, but Liu Ruoling had already stood up and was about to go check how many salted fish were left.
Liu Ruoxi quickly pulled Liu Ruoling aside and said, "It can probably fit three or four more baskets."
Hearing this, Wang Lun knew perfectly well how many of these people were still incompetent, but he still wanted to ask. This was both a sign of respect for Liu Ruoxi and the other two, and a way for him to identify and address his own shortcomings.
Wang Lun looked up at the beams on the roof, then at the shelves beside him, his fingers seemingly calculating something. Suddenly, he smiled slightly and said, "I have an idea. What do you think?"
Liu Ruoxi and Liu Ruoling exchanged a glance, then looked curiously at Wang Lun. Wang Lun pointed to the beam and explained, "We can remove all the salted fish from the shelter and hang them on the beam with ropes. This saves space and makes storage easier. The remaining salted fish can be stored in a basket; that should be enough. Even if it doesn't fit, there won't be too many left, and we can just put them on the shelf. Besides, we can eat these salted fish soon, so we don't have to worry about storage."
Liu Ruoxi and Liu Ruoling both thought it was a good idea and nodded in agreement. Then, Wang Lun continued, "We can use the vacated shelter to raise chickens. Letting the pheasants live there will not only improve their living environment, but we can also sometimes make a fire in there to keep warm, and the pheasants might even lay eggs!"
Hearing this, Liu Ruoling's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "That's right, then we can eat fresh eggs!"
Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling laughed happily, indicating their agreement.
Of course, the "pheasants" Wang Lun referred to were actually just a few hens. He was quite sensible; given the current conditions, he couldn't possibly keep all the roosters alive for the winter. Therefore, he decided to kill all the roosters, leaving the hens to reproduce. The same applied to the rabbits. Wang Lun believed it was impossible to raise so many rabbits at present, so he had to kill some to ensure the survival of the remaining ones.
However, since two of the four are currently ill, and Wang Lun and Li Ling are not in good health, they are unable to carry out these plans immediately. Therefore, they have to postpone the plan until tomorrow or the day after, when Wang Lun and Li Ling have recovered some strength.
Li Ling, Liu Ruoxi, and Liu Ruoling all agreed with Wang Lun's suggestion. Although implementing the plan a day earlier or later wouldn't make a significant difference, they all understood it was the most reasonable arrangement at the moment. After all, in such harsh conditions, a day wouldn't have a major impact on the pheasants and rabbits. Moreover, this arrangement would allow everyone sufficient time to prepare and ensure the plan's smooth execution.
Wang Lun continued to ask Liu Ruoxi, "How much fodder is left?" Liu Ruoxi replied, "About half."
Hearing this, Wang Lun breathed a sigh of relief. He estimated that after killing the pheasants and rabbits, there should be enough food for the goats, hens, and female rabbits to get through the winter. If all else failed, he could kill a few female rabbits or feed a small number to the goats, as long as they didn't starve.
Li Ling and the other two agreed with Wang Lun's opinion, but Liu Ruoxi added one point. Liu Ruoxi said, "Since we're going to kill someone, let's kill a chicken first today, so you two can have a good nourishing meal."
Wang Lun and Li Ling had no objections to this, and Liu Ruoling certainly did. So Liu Ruoling said, "Sister, let's go catch some chickens." With that, she got up, preparing to pull Liu Ruoxi towards the chicken coop.
Liu Ruoxi grabbed Liu Ruoling's hand and said with a grin, "What's the rush? We just finished breakfast. Are you hungry again already?"
Liu Ruoling shook her head mischievously, blinked her bright eyes, and pouted, saying, "It's because I'm bored! I finally have a chance to catch chickens, can't I even have some fun?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Lun, Li Ling, and Liu Ruoxi all fell silent. Wang Lun and Li Ling, being older and more experienced, were better able to endure loneliness. They were already accustomed to this simple lifestyle and were relatively comfortable with it.
Liu Ruoxi, on the other hand, was a quiet person. Despite her young age, her nature allowed her to endure the tranquility. However, Liu Ruoling, her peer, was different. She was at an age where she loved to play and was naturally active. Coupled with the cold season, they were confined to the campsite. Furthermore, recent events had made her extremely bored and unable to bear it.
Therefore, Liu Ruoling is now almost unable to hold back her emotions.
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