I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 74 Secret
Xie Fei was surprised and asked, "Are you pregnant with a baby?"

Fu Yu also found it strange, "How can you be in heat in such a cold winter?"

Xie Fei had never raised rabbits in his two lifetimes, especially taking care of a pregnant female rabbit and the baby rabbits that would soon be born.

This experience didn't come out of thin air, and she was completely helpless.

As noon approached, the snow fell even harder and Yuan San returned carrying the goods.

He looked around the room first, but didn't see anyone.

He heard voices coming from the backyard. He went to the back and saw Xie Fei and Fu Yu were busy.

They were busy, but no one knew what they were busy with. The two of them ran around like headless flies, startling the pigs and sheep in the pen, and they all screamed loudly.

Yuan San looked at them silently until Xie Fei ran past him in a panic. Then he reached out and grabbed the man's collar and gently pulled him back.

"Girl, what are you busy with?"

Xie Fei finally noticed him and burst into tears of joy, "She's pregnant!"

Yuan San: “…”

It took him a very short time to figure out what was going on. "The hare is pregnant? Is she going to give birth?"

Xie Fei felt mixed emotions, not knowing whether he was surprised or frightened.

After all, this year is exceptionally cold. If a hare gives birth to rabbits, it will be a large litter, at least seven or eight.

Can wild rabbits keep warm by the fire? What should mother rabbits feed if they don't have enough milk? When the rabbits grow up, do we need to expand the rabbit house?

She was at a loss and looked at Yuan San eagerly, hoping he would give her some advice.

Yuan San went to the rabbit cage, took out the big-bellied rabbit and pressed it.

"It's a baby."

It was cold these days, and they were only concerned with feeding the rabbits and didn't let them out, so they didn't know that the female rabbit was about to give birth.

Xie Fei asked, "Do you know how long it takes for rabbits to give birth to a litter?"

"It seems like a rabbit takes a month to be pregnant?" Yuan San wasn't quite sure, after all, he had never raised one before.

Xie Fei said: "Then I'll go ask Mother Liu?"

Yuan San said: "Okay."

If we let the three of them raise the family, it will only lead to chaos.

It was still snowing. Xie Fei missed his rabbit, so he went out in the snow holding an oil-paper umbrella.

No one in the village went out. Everyone huddled in their own nests, doing some work by the fire.

The women sewed and made shoes, while the men repaired farm tools and weaved bamboo baskets and other things.

The children are not afraid of the cold. They all lie on the doorstep, hoping to have a snowball fight as soon as the snow stops.

Whenever Xie Fei passed by, every family would greet her, and if they had baked pancakes or bought some cakes, they would share some with her.

She declined and went straight to Mother Liu's room.

Mother Liu was taking care of her little grandson, while Shui Huaiyu was sitting by the window embroidering.

They were both surprised to see Xie Fei coming.

Mother Liu felt relieved only after Xie Fei explained his purpose.

"Seeing you coming here in the snow, I thought something had happened." Mother Liu put her grandson in the cradle and carefully covered him with a patchwork quilt.

Xie Fei put down his umbrella, picked up Shui Huaiyu's new embroidery, took a look at it, and said casually, "I've never raised rabbits before, and it's so cold today, I'm afraid the mother and the little ones will freeze to death, so I came to ask you, Mother Liu, for advice."

Mother Liu said, "Please wait a moment. I will go and turn off the firewood in the stove."

"Don't worry, you go ahead." After Xie Fei finished speaking, he asked Shui Huaiyu, "Are these embroidery works going to be sent to the Pei family?" "Yes," Shui Huaiyu patted his waist and said, "The young lady sent someone to bring some silk and satin threads, asking me to embroider some patterns for the New Year."

Thanks to Xie Fei's leadership, the women in the village now have something to do this winter.

It goes without saying that Shui Huaiyu, who is a first-class embroidery worker, was busy before the end of her confinement period, fearing that the Pei family would not be willing to wait and would go find someone else.

Although Madam Zou and her companions were not very good at embroidery, they were very skilled in sewing and knitting insoles, so the women in the Pei residence also did it for them. The wages were not very high, but they could at least earn a few copper coins.

Mother Liu finished her work quickly and went to Songyueju with Xie Fei.

She first looked at the mother rabbit and judged that there might be at least ten cubs in this litter.

She also gave advice on food and warmth, and asked Xie Fei to move the female rabbit back to the woodshed at night to prevent it from freezing.

Clear an empty corner in the woodshed and leave it for the mother rabbit to raise her cubs.

Mother Liu did not just give instructions. She cleaned up while giving instructions. She cleared out the woodshed and then moved the mother rabbit with Xie Fei.

Fu Yu went to get some old clothes and made a warm nest for the female rabbit.

Mother Liu also said that when a female rabbit is pregnant, she will naturally eat more than usual.

For example, carrots and soybeans are what most female rabbits eat.

Xie Fei wrote down everything, and Mother Liu also agreed that when the rabbits were about to be born, she would come to check on them from time to time, and after the baby rabbits were born, she would also take care of them, and told Xie Fei not to worry.

Afterwards, Xie Fei sent Mother Liu out.

The two chatted as they walked, and Xie Fei also said some polite words.

"You have to take care of Lady Shui and the little brother. I shouldn't have bothered you."

Mother Liu said, "Young lady, there is no need to be so polite. You are the benefactor of our whole family. If I were to refuse such a small matter, I would be unworthy of being a human being."

Xie Fei said yes with a smile.

The wind and snow were getting stronger and stronger, and a large footprint at the gate of the courtyard was gradually covered by the wind and snow.

Xie Fei saw the footprints, glanced at Mother Liu's reaction from the corner of his eye, and deliberately stopped, standing one meter away from the footprints.

"I didn't see Chen Zhuangtou today. It's snowing so heavily. Did he go out?"

Mother Liu didn't even look at the footprints and said, "Da Lang went to the town to buy some food. I'm afraid it will snow for a few more days. It will be terrible if even the road to the village is blocked. The adults and children will starve."

Xie Fei said: "I have a lot of food stored here. If you don't have enough, come to me and get some. I will stay in the farm for a while, so I'll have to trouble you to take care of me."

"What are you talking about? We have no reason to take food from you. Just relax and stay here. No matter what happens, our family will protect you with our lives."

Xie Fei thanked her and closed the door after Mother Liu left.

The footprints have been completely covered up and no trace can be seen.

She went back inside and shook the snow off her body.

Fu Yu also came over and took off the goose feather snowflakes on her head.

"Girl, do you think Mother Liu saw the footprints? Why didn't she even ask?"

Xie Fei said with a smile, "She is pretending to be blind, so of course I won't ask."

Fu Yu was puzzled, "So did she doubt it?"

Xie Fei knocked on Fu Yu's head, "Silly girl, how could she not have doubts?"

If she hadn't had any doubts, she would have reminded Xie Fei when she saw the obvious man's footprints just now.

When you see men's footprints in a yard where only women are, wouldn't your first reaction be that a thief or gangster has come in?

But she said nothing and pretended not to see it. Obviously, she knew that Xie Fei was hiding a secret that could not be told.

(End of this chapter)