1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 48 Clothes make the man, and gold plating makes the Buddha.

When the poultry farm delivered the second batch of 1000 chicks to the Qiao family, it once again attracted a crowd of villagers from Qiaojiawan.

"It's amazing that all 1000 chicks that were delivered last week survived in this cold weather."

"It's different when there's a mother hen protecting you. Look at those chicks, they're all so energetic and healthy."

"If we keep raising them like this, once these chicks grow up and start laying eggs, the income will be absolutely staggering."

"Yes, that's so enviable!"

"..."

The villagers who were watching were talking excitedly, and their envy was palpable.

In the crowd, Qiao Erhe asked, "Second Uncle, Third Uncle, when do you plan to build your chicken coop? If you need any help, just let us know and we brothers will come and help together."

Uncle Qiao said, "We're not in a hurry. Anyway, there's no point in building the chicken coop now. Rather than building it and leaving it there to be exposed to the wind and rain, it's better to wait until the weather gets warmer next year before building it. Besides, building a chicken coop is easy; it can be done in a day."

Uncle Qiao replied, "That's the same idea of ​​our family. If we need your help building the chicken coop next year, we will definitely let you know."

Qiao Erhe hummed in agreement and continued, "So how do you plan to fence off the chicken farm?"

Qiao Erdie took a puff of his pipe and said, "It would be too expensive to enclose such a large area with wood or bricks. We don't have the means, so we can only learn from you and use the method of digging trenches. All you need is some strength."

Uncle Qiao nodded and said, "That's what we're planning too. In fact, it's not just us; most of the villagers think the same way. After all, it really saves money. Many families have already started digging their trenches."

Qiao Erhe said, "That's good. Second Uncle and Third Uncle, just let me know when you start digging your trench. I'm strong now and can dig trenches very quickly. With my help, the trenches will be dug in no time."

Uncle Qiao patted his nephew on the shoulder and praised, "You're really something, kid. Your reputation for strength has spread throughout the whole brigade."

Qiao Erdie interjected, "Erhe, Sihai said that you carried 350 or 360 catties of eggs all the way from home to the commune without stopping to rest, and you didn't even break a sweat. Is that really true?"

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "That's true. It's mainly because the weather is cold now. If it were summer, my clothes would probably be soaked with sweat by now."

Uncle Qiao sighed, "There are quite a few people who can carry 350 or 360 pounds of things, but they have to rest after carrying them for a while. As for you, you can carry them all the way to the commune without stopping, and you don't even break a sweat. There is absolutely no one in the entire Cenhe area who can do that."

Uncle Qiao asked, "Erhe, tell me honestly, how heavy can you carry?"

Qiao Erhe smiled upon hearing this. Since his rebirth, his body had been constantly tempered and cleansed by the spiritual spring water, reaching a level that was unimaginable to outsiders. Even though he hadn't tried it yet, he was confident that carrying a weight of over a thousand kilograms from his home to the commune should be no problem.

However, he should keep this to himself; he certainly won't publicize it.

Therefore, upon hearing his third father's question, Qiao Erhe replied somewhat conservatively, "Third father, I should be fine carrying about four hundred catties of things."

Upon hearing this, even though Qiao Erdie and Qiao Sandie were already mentally prepared, they couldn't help but gasp.

Choosing 350-360 jin (125-180 kg) versus 400 jin (200 kg) – the difference may seem small (only 40-50 kg), but the difference is immeasurable. Just look at weightlifting competitions; once a certain weight is reached, adding another 10-20 jin can stop everyone, creating an insurmountable barrier. As we spoke, the new batch of 1000 chicks was also counted.

After Qiao Erhe settled the bill, the villagers, having nothing more to see, dispersed one by one.

Then, Qiao Erhe set about getting diluted spiritual spring water for the listless chicks to drink. This was the biggest guarantee for the chicks' survival, so he couldn't be careless.

After feeding the newly arrived chicks with diluted spiritual spring water, Qiao Sihai came over to greet them, saying, "Second Brother, I'll head to the commune to sell eggs now!"

Qiao Erhe nodded and said, "Go ahead. If you can't sell them all by noon, don't skimp on yourself. You can buy two guokui for lunch."

"Understood, Second Brother."

Qiao Sihai carried the eggs and walked happily toward the commune.

……

Over the next few days, the Qiao siblings were busy. Qiao Dajiang was busy tending to the family's wheat fields, Qiao Sanduo was busy feeding the pigs and chickens, as well as doing laundry and cooking, and Qiao Sihai carried eggs to the commune to sell every day.

As for Qiao Erhe, he was also busy. He rode his second uncle's bicycle out every day, mainly to buy corn, the main feed for raising chickens.

Although the national grain output was not high at that time, and many farmers in some areas were still starving, Cenhe area, as a famous land of fish and rice, had a relatively sufficient amount of grain compared with other regions.

Therefore, as long as you have money, you can still buy the corn needed to raise chickens.

The family now has 3000 laying hens, and another 3000 chicks will be delivered later. The amount of feed consumed every day is not small, so Qiao Erhe naturally needs to prepare in advance. In the past few days, he has invested most of the income from selling eggs into buying corn.

Before I knew it, I had accumulated 5000 eggs at home. Tomorrow I'm going to Shashi to sell them.

Previously, no matter where he went, Qiao Erhe never paid much attention to his clothes, mainly because he didn't have the means. He only had a few clothes, so there was no point in paying attention to his appearance.

But he's going to Shashi tomorrow to meet Su Jinxiu, and he even has to go to her workplace to find her. If possible, he'd like to wear something decent.

After all, as the saying goes, clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha. Wearing decent clothes, even if it doesn't make people treat you differently, at least you won't be seen as a poor relative coming to freeload, and you can leave a good impression on your colleagues.

In his past life, besides drinking, Qiao Erhe's biggest hobby was watching short dramas. What he couldn't stand the most was the kind of protagonist who was obviously awesome but insisted on dressing very shabbily, and then being ridiculed and insulted for a long time because of his clothes before finally being slapped in the face.

If this kind of thing only happened once, that would be one thing, but it happens again and again.

Qiao Erhe really couldn't understand: was there any satisfaction in showing off and getting slapped in the face like this?
He felt suffocated just watching. He was being insulted for no reason, and even if he was proven wrong in the end, so what? Could the other person take back the insults they had said?
Qiao Erhe would never be like those stupid protagonists who insist on eating and dressing well as long as conditions allow.

I need to buy clothes; I must wear new clothes to see Su Jinxiu at her workplace tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)