The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 305 - 294: Witnessing

Chapter 305: Chapter 294: Witnessing

Zhou SiLang had never caught birds before, and neither had Zhou Wulang or Zhou Liulang; as for egg hunting, Zhou SiLang currently had the best record in the family.

Therefore, the two of them also suggested collecting more bird eggs so that when the hens at home were hatching chicks, they could also tuck bird eggs underneath them for incubation, hoping that in twenty or thirty days time, they might have a flock of birds.

Zhou Liulang even said, "I heard from Erlu that bird meat is very tender, even better than chicken."

Manbao’s eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Of course it’s true. Erlu has eaten it and besides, birds are so small, they can’t possibly eat as much as chickens. We can raise more of them and have one each day, one each day."

Zhou SiLang gave him a knock on the head and said, "What are you dreaming about? Try raising birds at home and see if the villagers don’t scold you."

Zhou Liulang wasn’t convinced, "Why would they scold me?"

Zhou SiLang held up a finger and motioned for him to listen carefully.

Everyone quieted down, and for a moment there was only the swishing sound of cutting wheat in the field, but soon they heard cursing from a distance, "Eat, eat, eat, you’re ruining the little bit of food we have. One day I’ll clear out your nests..."

Zhou SiLang looked at them with disdain and said: "Aside from locusts, what people in the village hate most are these birds. In spring, they’re plentiful and sometimes they dig up the seeds we’ve just sown; in summer, they’re also numerous and might peck at the newly sprouted crops; in fall, they’re everywhere, and we have to fight them for the grain we’ve harvested; even in winter there’s no shortage of them, well, winter is a bit better, as they mostly eat grass seeds, but it’s still annoying. Haven’t you seen your elder sister-in-law cursing them out in the vegetable garden every few days?"

The crowd: ...How would they know?

Zhou SiLang touched his stomach, feeling a bit regretful, "We loved hunting for bird eggs the most. Their nests aren’t hard to find, with usually about a dozen eggs in each nest. But apart from the trees, they sometimes build nests in the wheat and rice fields too. When it comes time to harvest, some adults find them too much trouble and would rather smash the eggs than leave them, which is why there are more birds every year. Look at them, there are swarms, more than the people."

Manbao felt incredibly regretful, and so did Keke. Each and every one, even if just an egg, would be a valuable asset in the future.

However, the encyclopedia only collected biological specimens, eggs, and it didn’t have a category for them; even if it did include them, the encyclopedia wouldn’t award any points to it and its host.

But that might not be the case in the future.

At this moment, Keke was even more eager for the forum’s construction than Manbao.

However, the bird eggs that Zhou SiLang had brought back before were all cooked; it hadn’t detected any life in those eggs.

"Fourth Brother, you know so much, how come I don’t know any of it?" Zhou Wulang, unlike Manbao, wasn’t sentimental about birds being everywhere.

Instead, he was impressed by what his Fourth Brother had said, as it was all new information to him.

Zhou SiLang cleared his throat and said, "You’ll understand when you’re a bit older. Now, get back to work. I reckon the older brothers are almost done with their cutting."

Zhou Dalang and the other older kids had gone to another plot, working separately from them.

Old Zhou had already moved on ahead, leaving his sons behind. When he looked back and saw them still chattering, he decided to stop and rest too.

Waving his hand at his two silly sons, one silly daughter, and a bunch of silly grandchildren, Old Zhou said, "Come here, I’ll tell you how Four knew about this."

Zhou Wulang immediately ran up to him.

Zhou SiLang was a bit unhappy and called out, "Dad, that’s not fair!"

"Get back to cutting your wheat. Once you’re done, go help your wife," he said, and then to the gathered children, "Your Fourth Uncle knows this stuff not because he’s smart, but because he’s dumb. When he was five or six, he was extremely timid. He’d cry his eyes out if he saw a dog getting beaten, and the same if a cat was kicked."

"Your Uncle caught a string of birds wanting to roast and eat them, but the little guy, seeing the birds, just couldn’t stop crying. He ran straight from home to the fields to tattle to us," Old Zhou evidently enjoyed teasing Zhou SiLang about this, chuckling as he brought up the story, "He learned all these things later when everyone explained it to him."

Old Zhou curled his lip with disdain, "With his brain, it’d be strange if he could think of that."

Who would have thought that the timid child of the past would turn out so shrewd?

So throughout Zhou SiLang’s growing up, the Zhou Family always enjoyed telling this story, occasionally teasing Zhou SiLang with it and hoping he would learn from his younger self.

A softer child always tends to be more endearing than a more headstrong one, right?

However, since Zhou SiLang turned thirteen, no one brought it up anymore, not even the villagers who were well aware of the story, all due to its association with Zhou Yin.

But the recent arrival of those three had once again revealed Zhou Yin’s identity, especially to Manbao.

The child was at an age where she was most curious about her family members, often inquiring about her unseen young uncle.

Old Zhou didn’t dare say too much, fearing she’d learn something she shouldn’t, but he was also afraid to say nothing; knowing her sharp wits, she would surely find out something.

But there was a silver lining: he was quite willing to talk about the distant past that wouldn’t implicate the incident from six years ago, also to help Manbao understand more about this "young uncle" she had never met.

Upon hearing that the words weren’t originally Fourth Brother’s, Zhou Wulang was quite disappointed for a while.

Manbao had a different focus, "The young uncle could catch birds? How did he do it?"

Old Zhou scratched his head and said, "I’m not really sure about that, why don’t you ask Zhou Hu?"

In his memory, there weren’t many in the village who could catch birds, and even fewer who could do it consistently, except for his younger brother and Zhou Hu, who would often go hunting.

Old Zhou said, "Last time, you and the young master from the Bai Family came up with such a good idea for them and even sent them a sheep. If you ask, he’ll surely tell you."

"Okay, I’ll go ask." She turned to run away

Old Zhou calmly caught the back of her collar and said, "What’s the rush? Ask him when you get back at noon, now get back to work."

He then directed his little daughter, "Go with Sanya and help her and Four collect the leftover wheat in the fields."

Manbao eyed the sickle.

Old Zhou was taken aback and quickly hid the sickle behind him, saying, "You’re still young. You can’t handle knives. Wait until you’re eight, no, ten years old before you go to the fields."

Old Zhou thought about it and smiled, "Not bad, that’s a good plan. Work in the fields at ten for four years, get tanned, then spend a year recovering before discussing marriage. Spend another year recovering before getting married, and by then you’ll be fair and tender again, perfect for getting married."

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