Chapter 171: Chapter 171

Early the next morning, several women came to visit.

Just as they were having breakfast, the women walked in and saw the table with rice porridge, white steamed buns, and a plate of mixed vegetables.

They couldn’t help but drool.

"Aunties, did you come over so early for something?" Lin Xue asked.

Since this is the countryside, there’s no need to knock on someone’s door; you can just enter. So, they didn’t realize someone had come in.

There were four women in total, all from the village, around thirty, the same age as Wang Cuihua. Lin Xue called them aunties.

"Dayu, did you all come for the chicks?" Wang Cuihua also spoke up.

This one named Dayu got along well with Wang Cuihua, among the four, she was the one with whom Dayu could converse.

"Exactly! We came to ask, is there still that chick Xiao Xue mentioned a few days ago? We slaughtered our big chickens last year for the New Year, and we want to raise three more, but can’t hatch them, so we came over!" said the woman named Dayu with a smile.

"Yes, there are! They haven’t been taken yet, just hatched not long ago, worried they might not survive if taken, so they’re kept at my place!" Wang Cuihua replied.

Lin Xue noticed the women kept glancing at the table. She knew that having rice porridge with white steamed buns in the morning was indeed alluring.

So, she generously offered, "Aunties, have you had breakfast? Would you like to join us?"

Hearing her question, they couldn’t resist and all said they came to check about the chicks and didn’t have time to eat.

Lin Xue then went out to heat up a few more buns.

There were just four people eating that morning, Zhang Yuan and Li Jianshe had gone to Pingyang Town, not eating at home, so she heated fewer buns. This might not be enough for them.

By the time she brought the buns back, they were already eating with stuffed cheeks.

Bai Xianglan and Wang Cuihua offered their buns.

Lin Xue put the buns on the table, noticing none of them reached out to take one, she curiously looked at them.

"Xiao Xue, put the buns away; we just want to taste, not eat all your precious food!" Dayu said.

"Yes! Eating such delicious white buns today feels like celebrating New Year again! Good things, just a taste is good, can’t think about eating till full! Keep them for lunch!" another woman chimed in with some bun still in her mouth.

There were four buns left on the table. Lin Xue heated eight buns that morning, planning for two each, because Dong Sihan had a big appetite, could eat two big buns in one go, so when everyone took one, four were left, given to the four women, each took one but wouldn’t eat more, Lin Xue said nothing more.

In this era, people hid food; never seen forcing others to eat, so she left the buns on the table.

"Cuihua, you should eat! We’ll talk after you finish!" Dayu spoke again, seeming reluctant to swallow the bun.

"It’s alright, I’ll first help you catch the chickens, so you can settle them soon! No rush to eat!" Wang Cuihua said as she took the chicks from the kang to the north kang.

The weather’s still cold now, chicks can’t be put on the ground, only on the south kang.

Lin Xue had talked about this many times because of the children and the elderly; chicks have a smell and bacteria, but no choice, conditions at home meant if not on the kang, chicks would freeze.

"You can come over and pick yourselves!" Wang Cuihua waved them over.

The women quickly started choosing, soon, each holding three chicks in their arms like treasures.

"Cuihua, how do you sell these chicks? How much for one?" Dayu asked.

Seeing her asking, another woman’s face shifted.

She thought they were free, eagerly came over; her family still had two chickens, so she said, "Sister Cuihua, I just realized, our family has two big chickens, every household can only raise three, slipped my mind; I’ll just take one, returning these two!"

Wang Cuihua, hearing this, took the two chicks, "Right, need to send three to my mom’s, also share with Sun Hong’s family, second brother’s family, and third aunt’s, won’t have many left; some hatched but died, quite difficult to care for! Be careful with yours too!" Dıscover more novels at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝕟𝕖𝕥

"Sure, my mother-in-law knows chickens well!" Dayu assured.

"Mine too!" another chimed in.

"Sister Cuihua, how much for those chickens?" a woman who hadn’t spoken asked.

"Oh, no need for money! We’re neighbors, and I just hatched once; family needs chickens too, hatched extra! You take them and raise them, just don’t charge!" Wang Cuihua laughed.

This was also agreed upon with Lin Xue. The few chicks were meant for sharing with villagers, charging money would make them ungrateful; when Zhao Hongmei caused trouble, they said the hatched ones would be shared, now charging would be wrong, so simply won’t hatch again, these are gifts!

Hearing Wang Cuihua say no charge, the woman who returned two was uneasy, now dared not speak. She made an excuse about having two big chickens, but now they’re free, how shameless to ask again, feeling regretful.

"Sister, is this okay? You worked hard hatching these, and eggs cost money!" the last woman said.

"You raise them well, don’t let them die, then my effort is worth it! Enough talk, quickly settle them!" Wang Cuihua waved them off.

Dayu humorously glanced at the woman who returned two, then smiled at Wang Cuihua, saying, "We sure gained from this! Thank you, Cuihua!"

This made the woman wish she’d bitten her tongue, why rush and not wait for her to finish speaking before returning; now no good.

"It’s nothing! Just a few, you came early, got the benefit; those later won’t have any!" Wang Cuihua understood, she said.

Meaning, what good coming early did? Calculations they made ended up fooling themselves.

These small matters, Lin Xue ate on the south kang, not saying much.

Sending away these chicks was best, the smell at home.

Now she felt assured; since the eggs hatched, the chicken farm would manage too, surely could hatch, calculating days, another ten or so days, chicks would hatch.

She had a bun and a bowl of porridge, then said she would take her mom, Wang Cuihua, to grandma’s to deliver things.

"Okay, mom will prepare these days, then we’ll go!" Wang Cuihua was happy to hear about visiting her family.

Lin Xue took out milk powder for her younger siblings, in case they didn’t return, they could have powdered milk.

Now grandma is home helping with the kids, Wang Cuihua got more freedom.