My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 543 The Chick Hatching Craze

Everyone was stunned.

They've seen people ride horses, donkeys, and oxen, but who knows, riding a goose?

This goose was actually quite well-behaved, letting the two children ride it.

This little girl's way of speaking is just so interesting.

Should we keep the baby red-crowned crane, raise it, and ride it when it grows up?

Do you even want to ride a crane and fly to the sky?

...Wouldn't that make you a god?

Looking at his sister-in-law's expectant eyes, Chen Ling said speechlessly, "You're always thinking about such unrealistic things. How can a crane carry a person to the sky?"

"Yes, that's how it's portrayed in cartoons. Haven't you seen Nezha? The cranes in that show can carry people and fly really high."

Wang Zhenzhen argued earnestly.

Chen Ling waved his hand dismissively, "Give me a break, cartoons are all fake, just for fooling you kids."

As he spoke, he took a few steps to the goose and yanked the brat who was excitedly shouting "Giddy up!" off the goose's back.

"You two are having too much fun, aren't you? You dare to ride anything, aren't you afraid of falling?"

Rui Rui didn't care about any of that. With his armpits pinched, he kicked his legs wildly, trying to continue riding the goose. Chen Ling slapped him twice on the butt before he calmed down.

"Mr. Chen, your goose is indeed much bigger than other geese. You should let your child ride it to swim in the river sometime; that would be so much fun."

After a moment of surprise, the onlookers exclaimed in amazement.

And then he started teasing Chen Ling.

"Why is this goose so well-behaved? Even when the baby rides it, it doesn't run away. Did you train it too?"

"What do you mean 'well trained'? How could I possibly train a goose?"

Chen Ling chuckled and shook his head. "This is a female goose. When she was brooding in the spring, I kept her locked up in a water tank for a few days. When I let her out, she turned out like this."

A bit silly, a bit dull, doesn't even know to dodge when grabbed, but quite docile, won't pinch anyone.

"Hehe, Brother Qi'an said it's a silly goose. All it does is eat. It eats the most and grows the fastest, but it doesn't do anything and lays the fewest eggs."

Wang Zhenzhen said with a grin, "My sister said that my brother-in-law broke it and turned it into a silly goose."

Only then did everyone understand the reason.

Everyone says that's why this goose doesn't look as arrogant as the other geese.

"Knowing that someone is stupid, you still bully them. You're not allowed to ride geese anymore."

Chen Ling patted the brat's bottom a few times and put him on the ground.

Seeing that no one was catching it, the goose honked twice, turned around, folded its wings, and slowly waddled away.

Chen Ling was used to it.

This silly goose is like this now. If you try to catch it, it won't resist at all, and it'll stay quiet and not make a sound. But as soon as it realizes you're ignoring it, it'll turn around and run away.

He's always so calm and unhurried, as if he's given up, which makes him look a bit dazed.

“Brother-in-law, if you won’t let us ride the goose, then can we let the little cranes out? Rui Rui and I just went to feed the turtles, and they were chirping so anxiously in their cage, trying to get out.”

"Alright, let them out. They've been locked up for most of the day; they deserve to run around."

"Wow, Rui Rui, let's go home and play with Xiao He."

Wang Zhenzhen cheered and ran back with Rui Rui in her arms.

Some of the onlookers couldn't resist joining in.

Two little cranes, they are not often seen.

Because Chen Ling only lets them out in the early morning and late evening when the weather is cool, so they can swim and forage in the orchard with the large flock of ducks and geese.

At other times, Chen Ling was afraid they would run away or be eaten by civets or something similar because he couldn't keep an eye on them.

So they kept it in a cage.

Outsiders who don't usually stay at the farm won't see it.

Upon hearing that Xiao He was to be released, they couldn't help but follow him.

More than half of the people left in a flash.

Only a few people remained, watching the chickens eat insects with great interest.

"Mr. Chen, how do you raise these chickens? How come they can grow so big?"

"Haha, how are you raising them? Didn't you see? They're just let loose, eating bugs all over the mountains."

"No way, you must have some secret recipe or something. You can raise chickens, ducks and geese this big. It's quite a sight to behold if you take them outside."

"What a spectacle. Chickens this size are common outside too."

"Not uncommon? We've never seen a chicken this big and in such good condition before."

The remaining people here are mostly men. They are very envious of the chickens pecking at insects in the vegetable garden, especially the roosters' impressive size and the hens' plump bodies.

"Look at these old hens, so fat and big, round and plump like gourds, with their rumps bulging out, they must weigh more than ten pounds each."

I'm sure that stewing this kind of chicken would be absolutely delicious. You don't even need to remove the innards after bleeding it; they'll still taste great even when they're full of them.

"Yes, this chicken is free-range. It's amazing that it's grown so well. It must taste absolutely delicious. If it were cooked like the roast chicken in the city, it would make people drool."

A group of grown men began to swallow hard.

"Mr. Chen, do you sell these chickens? If so, we'd like to buy two."

"We don't need two. One chicken this big is enough for us."

"Yes, yes, we only need to buy one each."

Chen Ling shook his head upon hearing this: "We don't sell chickens, ducks, or geese. My family only sells eggs, both fresh and salted eggs."

"Huh? Why aren't you selling? Is it because the price is too high and you're embarrassed to say so? It's okay, such a good chicken is worth the price."

"Yes, yes, we know your stuff is expensive, and we know it's because your stuff is good that you set the price high. Just tell us how much this chicken costs, and if it's too much, we'll add more money."

"..."

Well, he must have run into a foodie. Chen Ling didn't know what to say for a moment.

After pausing for a few seconds, they still said they wouldn't sell.

His chickens, ducks, and geese eat so much good food; they are nourished in the excellent environment of the farm.

Putting aside how delicious it is, its nutritional value is worlds apart from that of ordinary poultry...

Selling it would be a huge loss.

If you really want to sell, you can ask for an exorbitant price and it might sell.

But chickens, ducks, and geese are too expensive; people might think he's obsessed with money.

It's just a chicken, how could it be made of gold?

Therefore, we simply won't sell it.

It's always better to eat at home.

These people were unaware of the inside story and were very frustrated when Chen Ling kept saying he wouldn't sell.

My stomach is about to rebel.

The fact that I can only look at it but not eat it is truly agonizing.

The reason they were so determined to buy chickens was...

Aside from the fact that these chickens look robust and plump, with meat gourd-like shapes, they look quite appetizing.

Also, they smelled the stewed chicken from Chen Ling's house when they were playing nearby yesterday.

The aroma is simply irresistible.

At the time, I didn't know what kind of meat was being stewed; I just thought the Tujia cuisine tasted really good. I couldn't forget it, so when I went back, I asked the villagers, and they all said they couldn't make the dishes that Fugui's family made.

It wasn't until I ran into Wang Qingwen at the old river bend just now, who was leading an ox. I learned that he was Chen Ling's brother-in-law, so I asked him and found out that it was stewed chicken.

They came looking for us.

Just as I walked over here, I saw Erhei chasing away the chickens.

They followed them all the way to the vegetable garden.

Now that I could see what the chickens looked like, I immediately understood why they smelled so good.

"Such good chickens, ducks and geese, why aren't you selling them? Mr. Chen, aren't you just letting money slip by?"

"that is……"

The group of men argued for a while, and then the ducks came over, bringing two little red-crowned cranes. Together with the chickens, they quickly wiped out the insects in the vegetable garden.

They still couldn't bear to leave.

"You're such a rigid guy, only selling eggs, huh? Fine, then we'll buy eggs."

“If you won’t sell us chickens, we’ll buy eggs and hatch chicks ourselves at home.”

“Yes, this breed of chicken will definitely lay good eggs. If he won’t sell them, let’s raise them ourselves at home.”

"..."

Finally, the group turned and left angrily, declaring that they would come back tomorrow to buy eggs to take home and hatch chicks.

Chen Ling was both amused and exasperated, finding these people quite amusing.

At the time, he didn't know that the most interesting part was yet to come.

The next day, these people actually came to buy eggs.

The eggs at Chen Ling's house were expensive, but it didn't matter; each of them bought a large basket.

I only want fresh eggs laid within the last two days, because I'm worried that eggs left out for too long won't hatch in the hot weather.

It is said that he consulted the villagers.

Their inquiry was quite surprising; the villagers immediately realized what was going on.

Why are we all so stupid?

They spend all their time tending to the rich and powerful's chickens and ducks, why don't they ever think to buy some eggs to hatch?

Other people's chickens and ducks are so healthy and plump, even the hens weigh nine or ten pounds. The chicks and ducklings they hatch must be just as good.

So, with a rumble, every single household in the village went to Chen Ling's house to buy eggs.

Even though autumn is here, they're not afraid. They're still hatching chicks, full of confidence. They're saying that even if the chicks aren't strong in the fall, they'll just ask Fugui for advice and they're not afraid of not being able to raise them well.

Moreover, they not only bought them themselves, but also told all their relatives.

Good heavens, word spread like wildfire, and eventually Chen Ling's farm was packed with people every day, all buying eggs.

Besides ordinary households, there are also villagers who raise chickens and ducks.

Later, people from other towns and villages also came.

That's because Chen Ling's family has a large enough flock of chickens, and they lay enough eggs.

In addition, ordinary households don't need many eggs to hatch chicks, at most twenty or thirty eggs, which is considered a lot.

Therefore, Chen Ling's family was able to provide enough supplies.

It's just that everything gets sold out every day.

In the end, even the little lamb came to our door to ask what was going on.

He said Liu Jiancheng from the city called him, saying that he hadn't been sending salted eggs lately.

Next month's inventory is all sold out.

They waited and waited, but it still didn't arrive.

Previously, they would send over two months' worth of stock, but now they haven't sent over a single basket of new eggs.

I thought something had happened to Chen Ling.

Later, Liu Jiancheng learned about Chen Ling's situation through Little Sheep. He was stunned. After thinking for a while, he asked Little Sheep to bring him some fresh eggs, as he also planned to hatch chicks and raise them.

Later, when he found out that there were no empty rooms in the city to hatch chicks, he asked Little Sheep to hatch chicks at his father-in-law Wang Lixian's house, and then bring them to him after they hatched.

There are many people like Liu Jiancheng.

People came from all over the country, including those from the county who followed Chen Ling to raise cattle, those who mined in Kuliu County and Wangbacheng, and those from south and west of Fenglei Town.

Even Yu Bangjin and others, who were on good terms with Sun Yanhong, came to cause trouble.

Later, Chen Ling's family's fresh eggs were not enough to meet demand, because farms in nearby counties and cities also came to buy them.

This was a situation that the family never expected.

But sometimes things are just that strange.

The closer something is to you, the less you realize how good it is.

I didn't think it was a big deal.

The villagers of Chenwangzhuang are the same.

I never realized before that Chen Ling's chickens, ducks and geese were so good. I want to ask for some chicken and duck eggs to take home and hatch.

Once outsiders start, they all come in droves.

In the past, it wasn't that no one in the village didn't borrow eggs from Chen Ling's family to hatch chicks.

But they were raised for too short a time, and as soon as villagers came, they were all stewed and eaten to make money. Many of the chickens were still half-grown.

It's just big, but it hasn't actually laid any eggs yet.

Now that he sees others buying eggs from Chen Ling's family to hatch chicks, he suddenly regrets it.

I regret not keeping it and raising it for a longer period of time.

Then many of those who had raised them started to boast, saying that the chicks hatched from Chen Ling's eggs were stronger than other chicks, ate more, grew faster, and were less prone to disease, and so on.

Whether that's actually what happened or not, they themselves don't actually remember.

They talked a good game, making it sound more real than the truth, which made Chen Ling's eggs sell even better.

Many people came early in the morning to follow Chen Ling and his brother-in-law and his wife to pick up eggs, and then immediately bought them.

If you can't buy chicken eggs, you might find another way to buy duck or goose eggs if you see that the ducks or geese are growing well.

They were all snapped up.

This provided a spectacle for the tourists from other places.

The middle-aged man who initially suggested buying eggs to hatch chicks has been puffing out his chest these past few days, patting himself on the shoulder and telling everyone he meets that the idea was his first.

I feel very smart.

Like a trendsetter who has set a new standard, he is very proud and self-satisfied, and feels a great sense of accomplishment.

……

"This guy, it feels like after all this commotion, by next spring, every household in the county will be raising our chickens."

In the evening, Chen Ling squatted outside the courtyard gate, slurping down his dumpling soup, and said to Wang Susu.

Wang Susu, who was keeping accounts in a notebook, looked up at him and smiled, "Not to mention the county, many farms in the city are buying eggs to hatch chicks. Maybe in the future, the whole city will be eating our eggs."

"Haha, our salted eggs have been selling very well in the city for a long time. About half of the people have eaten them. Go to the hospital or the university and ask around. Most of them know about our salted eggs. Oh right, now it's also called Fugui Mountain Villa."

Chen Ling licked his lips, put the bowl and chopsticks on the stone by the door, stood up and rubbed his stomach a couple of times.

"Oh, it's good to eat squatting, but just right to stand up. When it's neither too hot nor too cold, it's best to have two bowls of dumpling soup. It's so comforting."

Wang Susu reached out and slapped him, "Go on, how come you know so much about hospitals and universities?"

(End of this chapter)