Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

In the pond north of the village, Wang Guizhi and Yang Xiuhua, the mother of Niu Dan and Niu Er, were washing clothes on a bluestone slab.

"Wenfeng's mom, Niu Da and Niu Er have something to do with Wenfeng now. As their mother, I'm happy to see how sensible my children are."

"Niu Da and Niu Er have been sensible since they were little, but Wen Feng has suddenly become sensible recently."

"Wenfeng's mom, that's not how it works. Wenfeng has always been sensible!"

"You're so good at talking. In the blink of an eye, the children have all grown up. They're not big, so we don't look old. It's just like crops. When the new crop comes out, the old one gets pushed down."

"That's right. Niu Da and Niu Er were just little kids back then, and now they've grown up so much. Last time, those two brothers brought me back a roasted chicken leg. It smelled so good! They said Wen Feng bought it from the county town."

"It smells so good! Shouyi and I each ate a chicken leg. How come they make it taste so good? We can't make it like that with our stove at home!"

Wang Guizhi and Yang Xiuhua each brought a large basin of clothes. They soaked the clothes thoroughly, applied soap, folded them neatly, and then pounded them with a stick.

"By the way, Wenfeng's mom, I heard that people in the county now use laundry detergent to wash clothes instead of using a washing stick."

"The supply and marketing cooperative had it. Wenfeng bought me a bag for eight cents. It weighed a pound. I used it once. That stuff was expensive and burned my hands."

"Yes, it's definitely not as cheap as pig pancreas."

After Yang Xiuhua finished washing an old garment, she noticed a spiderweb-like hole in the collar of the shirt while rinsing it in the water. The collar had been torn due to friction and the repeated beating during washing. She seemed thoughtful and said:

"Wenfeng's mom, how much did that laundry detergent cost again?"

"Eight cents a bag."

"I feel like Wenfeng is more analytical than the two of us mothers when it comes to finances!"

Wang Guizhi, intrigued by Yang Xiuhua's sudden remark, asked:

"He's better at calculating the accounts than the two of us?"

"Yes, using pig pancreas is indeed cheaper now, but without a mallet, the clothes won't get clean. Clothes can't withstand constant beating. If we use laundry detergent, we don't need to hammer them, and we save money on the clothes, right?"

Wang Guizhi thought to herself, "That makes some sense."

......

A sneeze!

Chen Wenfeng sneezed loudly.

"Brother Feng, is someone insulting you? You've sneezed several times already."

After Zhou Zhiming finished shoveling the last shovelful of chicken droppings, he said...

"It's also possible that someone is thinking of me or talking about me."

Chen Wenfeng replied with considerable confidence.

Chen Wenfeng and Zhou Zhiming spent the morning cleaning up chicken droppings on Jiming Mountain. Feeling smelly, they decided to take a bath in the river.

It's already June, the weather is getting hotter, and the wheat is starting to fill out. I estimate the wheat will be ready for harvest in about half a month.

The two walked and talked.

"The old mare at Aunt Zhang's house across the street gave birth. After the piglets are weaned, I plan to buy a few and raise them on the mountain so we can eat meat at the end of the year."

"Brother Feng, call me when you're casting the pig, I want to see it."

"Sure, let's call Niu Da and Niu Er and go see it together."

In his previous life, Chen Wenfeng had only witnessed pig castration once. The process was both cruel and stress-relieving, with a sense of violent aesthetics.

These days, raising pigs mainly involves feeding them swill, which is the dirty water from washing dishes and pots, plus chopped rotten vegetable leaves.

Those with better conditions will add some sweet potato or corn to the swill so that the plants will grow faster.

Diligent families would go out every day to cut grass for their pigs, but if the family was poor and the owner was lazy, the pigs wouldn't even have grass to eat.

Pigs raised in this condition may not fatten up for two and a half years. Even if they are slaughtered, the meat will not taste good; it will be fishy, ​​tough, and impossible to cook thoroughly.

Therefore, Chen Wenfeng plans to raise them on the mountain, feed them well, and raise them until the Spring Festival, which will be about half a year later, when the meat will be at its best.

As Chen Wenfeng was thinking, a toad jumped onto his feet from the roadside bushes. He kicked it casually, and the toad landed in mid-air, croaking as it jumped far away.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhiming said:

"Brother Feng, about that prophecy you mentioned last time, I asked my grandma. She said that Pang Tong from the Three Kingdoms period was nicknamed Phoenix Chick. Once, when he was helping Liu Bei fight, he arrived at a place called Falling Phoenix Slope, where he was killed by a hail of arrows from the enemy army."

"Did your grandma also tell you not to eat toad legs anymore?"

"She didn't mention that. She did mention that Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were equally famous, and Zhuge Liang was known as the Crouching Dragon. At that time, it was popular to say that if you could get either the Crouching Dragon or the Young Phoenix, you could get the world. Unfortunately, Liu Bei got both of them, but he still didn't get the world."

"Liu Bei's strength was originally weak, so it was already quite remarkable that he was able to divide the world into three."

"Yes, that's what my grandma said too!"

Zhou Zhiming's big eyes blinked a few times, and he suddenly said:

"Brother Feng, I have a suggestion. You see, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong are called the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix. Let's call ourselves the Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix Duo from now on!"

Chen Wenfeng felt a thousand alpacas running through his mind at Zhou Zhiming's suggestion.

If it weren't for Shen Teng's movie, "Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix" would be such an awesome title.

He glanced at the earnest Zhou Zhiming and replied:

"After we take a bath, let's catch a few more fish, and then call up Niu Da and Niu Er for dinner to grill some fish together."

"No problem, but what about our group?"

Chen Wenfeng, unwilling to dampen Zhou Zhiming's spirits, reluctantly replied:

"good!"

Chen Wenfeng and Zhou Zhiming quickly arrived at the pond, where Wang Guizhi and Yang Xiuhua had already finished washing their clothes and gone home.

They chose a clean spot upstream, but before they could even get into the water, they suddenly heard a commotion.

The two looked up at the same time and saw a duck flying over the water.

It wasn't a wild duck; it was just an ordinary white duck.

The duck was paddling wildly across the water like a madman, as frantic as a lost dog.

Somewhat unusually, the duck's rear end had a round, white thing sticking out.

A group of children playing in the water were laughing and throwing stones at the duck.

It turns out that ducks often lay their eggs in the grass by the shore. This duck was also planning to lay its eggs in the grass, but it was always chased away by the group of naughty children with stones.

After several attempts, feeling both uncomfortable from holding it in and unable to find a safe and quiet place, he became so frightened that he went crazy in the water.

"Stop fooling around!"

Chen Wenfeng shouted.

Seeing that Chen and Zhou were much older than them, the group of children dared not play any more pranks.

Zhou Zhiming also felt sorry for the duck and shouted to the group of children:

"You bunch of brats, get home! Do your parents know you're playing by the water?"

Because people often drown in rivers and ponds, young children usually sneak out to play.

Upon hearing Zhou Zhiming's words, they all scattered like birds and beasts.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted:

"Little Bean, don't go over there!"

Immediately afterwards, I heard the sound of something falling into the water.

"Ah, help!"

"Help......"