My 1995 Small Farm.

"What? The chicks have hatched?"

"Really? So fast?"

Chen Ling went out to greet them in surprise.

He counted the days; it had only been about half a month. Logically speaking, in this day and age, it would take at least twenty days to hatch chicks on a warm kang (heated brick bed).

"Really, two have already crawled out. I was worried the rest might not be safe, so I rushed over to call you!"

The lynx rushed into the kitchen, sweat beading on its forehead, panting heavily, and said:
"The remaining eggs are rattling and shaking inside their shells; the chicks must be pecking at them!"

Lynxes are the most patient animals when it comes to incubating eggs and helping kittens and puppies give birth.

But Chen Ling's chicks were to be given to the Academy of Agricultural Sciences in the provincial capital in the first batch.

He dared not be careless with that guy.

The chicks have hatched; we need to hurry and find Chen Ling.

"Oh! The chicks have hatched! Ah Ling, this is a big deal! Once you finish your work in the spring, last year's royalties will be coming in!"

Wang Susu also stood up in surprise.

Ultimately, the task assigned to the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences was delegated by the National Animal Husbandry Magazine.

To make things convenient for Chen Ling.

Otherwise, he has too many trivial matters to attend to, and it wouldn't be convenient for him to take the chickens and ducks to Beiji.

I don't know when it will be over.

"Let's go! Let's take a look!"

Chen Ling quickly scooped the rice noodles out of the pot and turned off the heat at the bottom.

Ignoring the oil all over his hands, he hastily wiped them on his apron and ran out.

"Wait for us, we're coming too!"

Zhong Xiaoyun and Xiang Hongxia perked up and quickly followed.

Needless to say, Rui Rui had already climbed onto Heiwa's back and ridden the big black dog far away.

……

The makeshift chicken shed on the edge of the forest farm has now become the focus of attention.

The warm smell of the earthen bed mingled with a faint scent of hay.

In the dim light, a dozen large bamboo trays were neatly arranged on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

At this moment, quite a few eggs were indeed gently shaking.

"Listen! Listen to this sound!"

Lynx lowered his voice and pointed to the bamboo tray closest to him.

Sure enough, a subtle yet clear "tap tap tap... crack crack..." sound, like pebbles gently tapping on an eggshell, one tap after another, crisp and clear.

Chen Ling moved closer and squatted down beside the bamboo tray.

The warmth of the heated kang bed made the green and pink eggs no longer inanimate objects.

Several fine cracks were clearly visible on the surface of one of the eggshells.

The cracks are spreading and deepening at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Hey, the one in front of me is fast!"

Chen Ling's eyes lit up, and he waved to his wife, "Susu, come and see!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several eggs next to him started making a "crackling" sound.

The eggshell trembled slightly, as if the little creature inside was using all its strength to pry open the cage that confined it with its tender yellow beak.

In some cracks, you can even see tiny, damp, fuzzy little things on top, with light yellow or light brown downy hairs clinging to the shell, pitiful yet stubborn.

"father!"

Rui Rui pouted, her chubby cheeks puffed up like buns, and she pounced on Chen Ling's back, smelling hot and sweaty. She stood on tiptoe and peered intently into the bamboo tray.

"RuiRui wants to see chicks! Why aren't you calling RuiRui!"

"Haha, you little rascal, your dad only has eyes for your mom. From now on, you can sleep with your aunt and stay at your aunt's house. Little Raindrop will play with you."

Zhong Xiaoyun couldn't help but laugh at his anxious look.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Xiang Hongxia helped hold Lele and said, "Rui Rui won't care about them after he gets married..."

While feeling sweet inside, Wang Susu was also a little embarrassed by her son's sudden precociousness.

However, everyone's attention was quickly drawn to the slightly shaking eggs.

"Click!"

A particularly crisp cracking sound rang out!
The large pink-shelled egg in front of Chen Ling suddenly had a small hole pushed open at the top of its shell!
A wet, sticky little head struggled to peek out!

Its tiny beak was slightly open, emitting an extremely faint "cheep cheep" sound.

The little guy's eyes were not yet open, his body was covered in sticky downy fur clinging to his pink skin, and his little head was still supported by half a piece of eggshell, making him look both funny and cute.

"Wow! It's out! It's really out!"

Wang Susu gasped in surprise and leaned forward, hugging her youngest son.

Rui Rui was extremely anxious, his chubby little hands gripping the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed): "Daddy! Pick up Rui Rui! Pick up Rui Rui to see!"

Chen Ling smiled and lifted his son up, making him stand by the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

The little guy immediately held his breath, his big, dark grape-like eyes fixed on the newly hatched chick.

The little chick struggled, slowly pulling its body out of the eggshell.

Its wet little body was exposed to the air, shivering slightly, looking so fragile.

It shook its tiny body, wiping off the slime, and its tender yellow downy fur gradually fluffed up, revealing the pink flesh underneath.

Her thin, matchstick-like calves trembled precariously, as if she couldn't stand steadily.

"Chirp chirp... chirp chirp..."

Its call was weak yet clear, carrying a sense of bewilderment at its first arrival in the world and an instinctive cry.

"The chicks aren't pretty!"

Rui Rui frowned and muttered under his breath, "Silly boy, everyone's like this when they first come out!"

Chen Ling chuckled and patted her son's bottom. "It'll look good once the fur dries! Look how hard it's trying!"

As if to confirm his words, the sounds of "thump-thump-thump" and "click-click" came one after another from the bamboo tray next to him.

Several eggs are moving!
Some cracks are even larger, and in some you can even see the chicks inside struggling to kick the inner wall of the eggshell with their tiny claws.

"Rui Rui, look at this here, Uncle!"

The lynx pointed to another bamboo tray.

At the top of a brown eggshell, where the chick's beak has pecked open, a piece of the eggshell has been pushed up from the inside.

The chick was trying hard to push against the shell with its head and shoulders, but it got stuck halfway through, for some reason, the shell was too hard.

Little kids like Rui Rui have the fastest hands.

He reached out to pry open the eggshell.

"Don't rush, don't rush, let it come on its own. Only when it comes out on its own will the body be strong."

Chen Ling quickly stopped Rui Rui, who wanted to lend a helping hand.

Chicks raised with special care are often weak.

Rui Rui's hand was stopped, but her eyes couldn't bear to look away.

At this moment, the first chick that Wang Susu was watching had already fluffed up its downy feathers quite a bit, looking like a fluffy little yellow ball.

It stood up shakily, turning its little head as if trying to adapt to this unfamiliar world.

It took a few unsteady steps on its short legs and stumbled around inside the bamboo tray. With a "plop," it lost its footing and fell on its little bottom.

"whee……"

Rui Rui was amused and clapped his hands, laughing, "Silly little chick, you fell on your bottom."

I don't know who he learned this phrase from, but he pronounces it quite fluently.

The little chick was not discouraged. It flapped its little wings and struggled to stand up again, continuing to explore its new territory.

More and more eggshells were pecked open, and wet, furry little creatures stumbled to their feet and huddled together.

A series of soft chirping sounds suddenly filled the warm kang (heated brick bed), and a faint, slightly fishy smell of chicken filled the air.

"Hey, this one's different, it's a little black and white one!"

Zhong Xiaoyun pointed to one of the chicks that had just hatched; the chick's downy feathers were dark in color and had black spots.

"Fugui, you're really good at picking eggs. You look quite robust!"

Zhao Dahai's wife, Xiang Hongxia, couldn't help but praise him as well.

Chen Ling looked at the increasing number of small fluff balls in the bamboo tray and felt very happy.

I thought to myself, with the lynx around, I can take out all sorts of eggs, like duck eggs, goose eggs, wild chicken eggs, and bird eggs, and hatch them too.

"The heated brick bed is a bit small, otherwise, ducklings and goslings could have been hatched all at once."

He picked up a chick that had just hatched and whose downy feathers were not yet completely dry, and gently held it in his palm.

Rui Rui cautiously stretched out her chubby little finger, wanting to touch the soft down on the chick's head, but afraid of startling it.

"Daddy, are the chicks cold?"

"It's not cold, it's warm on the kang (heated brick bed). It'll be warm again once the fur dries."

"Can it eat rice noodles?"

Rui Rui still misses that crunchy treat.

"Haha, not now, she's too small. We need to feed her broken rice cereal."

The lynx couldn't resist picking up a chick that had just settled down. The little guy curiously pecked his finger in his rough palm. It didn't hurt, just tickled.

"The heated kang is a bit small, but since you're not building the dog kennel anymore, there's definitely no room for a heated kang for the time being!"

Before the Lunar New Year, the two of them discussed building a dog farm with Yu Qi'an.

Later, Chen Ling had a different opinion, feeling that things were too chaotic in the forest farm.

We can put it on the mountain later.

We fenced off a piece of hilly land, a hill that's neither too high nor too low, and we just let the dogs roam around every day.

It's better than staying in the forest farm.

Chen Ling shook his head: "That's alright, we can just go to the village to get it. There are so many heated brick beds in the villagers' homes, and they're just sitting idle now."

"That makes sense."

"It'll just take a while, and the place is too far to handle. We'll talk about it later."

In the end, even the lynx found it too troublesome.

It's better to do it here, back and forth, and it's also convenient to be near the forest farm construction site.

The adults started talking about other things.

Rui Rui sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with a grin, watching the newly hatched chicks, looking this way and that, her little face flushed with excitement.

The initial dislike for its "ugliness" has long since vanished.

"Hehe, chicks, lots of chicks!"

The bamboo tray gradually became lively.

The newly hatched chicks' down feathers are slowly dried by the heat of the heated kang (a traditional heated bed), becoming fluffy and soft.

The yellow ones looked like little fluff balls, the black ones looked like little lumps of coal, and there were also some with brown spots. They huddled together, chattering and making soft "chirp" sounds, exploring this new world in their bewilderment.

The shed was filled with chirping sounds, full of life.

Erhei had also wandered in at some point, squatting by the door, its bright black eyes quietly watching the lively scene on the kang (heated brick bed), its tail tip gently brushing the ground.

It was curiously sniffing the unfamiliar scent in the air, a mixture of the smell of eggs and the scent of chicks, and it made a low "gurgling" sound in its throat.

It's as if it's asking: What are these little fluff balls all over the ground?

Rui Rui's eyes darted around, and he secretly tried to grab a chick and stuff it into his pocket, but Wang Susu quickly slapped his hand away.

"Behave yourself! Don't scare the chicks!" (End of Chapter)