There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

"It's perfectly fine, wounds are a man's badge of honor!"

But the wounds from fighting with a hen are a disgrace!

I added a sentence in my mind.

Popli looked at my wound, suddenly smiled, and then added another cut to it.

"Mr. Marcus, could you please help me catch the other two runaway hens as well?"

"...willing to serve."

I silently touched my injured area and decided that I would never come to this road again.

Fortunately, Poppy was just joking with me. She walked to the roadside, grabbed a handful of grass seeds, and made a soft "clucking" sound, which lured the two chickens that were wandering around nearby back, and she grabbed them.

I couldn't help but exclaim, "How are you so skilled?!"

Poppy walked ahead, carrying three chickens. Her lace-trimmed skirt swayed gently like June waves, and her little leather shoes made a clattering sound on the stone pavement.

"Mr. Marcus, why do you ask that?"

Popli tilted her head and asked me, looking quite puzzled.

"I grew up on a chicken farm, so it's only natural that I know these things."

I looked up at the tall sign of the chicken farm in front of me. Last year, there was a huge picture of a chick and the words "Chicken and Lilia" written on it.

Is this your home?

That's when I understood why the girl had rushed out of this gate and bumped right into me.

So it was you, boy, who let the Imperial Army... no, it was you, little girl, who let the chickens escape!

"Hehe, Mr. Marcus, thank you for your help. Please come in and have a seat at my house~"

Without saying a word, Popli pushed me to the gate of the chicken farm and gestured for me to go in quickly.

Once inside, I found that the area was much larger than it appeared from the outside.

To the left of the entrance is a row of low chicken coops, divided into many compartments of varying sizes by wooden planks, so that each hen can identify its own spot. Outside each coop is a feed trough and a water trough for convenient feeding at regular intervals.

A little further out, there was a large, neatly manicured flat area, enclosed by a fence. Many hens were wandering aimlessly around with their chicks. The fluffy chicks lined up in a long row, clumsily following behind their mothers, chirping and occasionally pecking at the ground like their mothers, looking incredibly innocent.

Poppy put the three hens back in the coop, and immediately a line of little furballs followed, imitating their way of walking.

"I accidentally let them out when I was checking their health. What a mistake!"

Poppy playfully stuck out her tongue and invited me to her home.

Let me introduce you to him.

“This chicken farm is owned by our family. This is the chicken coop, and this is where we live.”

Popli walked ahead of us with a serious expression and introduced us.

"That's the hay storage area and a shelter for the chicks during typhoons."

She pointed to a rather spacious building with a blue roof.

“My mother, Lilia, is the owner of this farm, but she is in poor health, so I have been helping to take care of the chicks since I was very young.”

"I also have an older brother named Rick, and he's a jerk!"

When her brother was mentioned, Popuri looked unhappy. It seems she still has a deeper affection for her mother and harbors some resentment towards her brother.

"Mom, I brought our new neighbor over!"

As soon as Poppy returned to the house, she called out to her mother.

But before her mother, Lilia, appeared, a young man wearing round glasses came down from upstairs.

The young man heard the noise, came out, and saw me following behind Popuri. He immediately showed a suspicious look and said in an unfriendly tone.

"Publi, why did you bring a stranger into your home? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Popli was taken aback by what she heard, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

“Marcus is a new neighbor, not a stranger! Rick, you're bullying me!”

Rick did not back down because of his sister's behavior, but instead responded sharply.

"No matter what, you should have told me first. If I wasn't home today..."

At this point, I couldn't stand by and watch any longer. As a champion of justice, I had to step forward and restore the Han Dynasty!

"Brother-in-law, listen to me, this is what happened..."

“Shut up! Who’s your brother-in-law!” Rick paused for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses and retorted decisively.

I continued to patiently persuade her: "I know you're a siscon, but your sister will grow up eventually. You can't keep her in a greenhouse forever and never let her interact with you..."

Rick's round glasses almost fell off as he spoke in exasperation.

"I'm not a sister-complex person! You're slandering me..."

I immediately interrupted him, saying firmly, "Brother-in-law, you don't need to say anything more! I understand your desire to protect your sister, but your lack of honesty is putting me in a difficult position..."

After I snapped at Rick, he was suddenly labeled as a brother-in-law with a sister complex, and for a moment he didn't dare to reply, so he turned and walked outside.

I took two steps up and continued babbling on.

"Brother-in-law, you can rest assured and leave Popuri to me. I'll take care of everything from now on..."

Rick frantically scratched his head, exclaiming, "Stop talking!" He then slammed the door and ran out of the house.

Just then, after hearing Rick's argument with us, a pale-faced lady came out of the house and asked with a smile.

"Publi, do we have guests at home?"

I stared at this lady for a long time before finally managing to utter a single sentence.

"Madam, your hairstyle is dangerous!"

Chapter 25 The Chicken Farm Girl's Prayer

"So you're the new rancher Thomas was talking about?"

Mrs. Lilia, sitting at the other end of the table, asked me in surprise, as if she had finally met a legendary figure.

Looking at the entire table of food in front of me, I was filled with emotion.

The main dish was a pot of fried rice with eggs, and the side dishes were scrambled eggs and vegetable and meat egg rolls. Each person was given a bottle of mayonnaise to mix with their rice.

Moreover, it is said that the dessert is egg pudding and a soft-boiled egg.

"........."

It seems that daily necessities in town are really not easy to obtain. The chicken farm must be working itself to the bone from eating so many eggs every day.

Lost in thought, I didn't realize Mrs. Lilia was talking to me until a moment later when I belatedly asked her a question.

"Madam, were you speaking to me just now?"

Mrs. Lilia, however, did not seem to mind and continued to smile faintly.

"It's nothing. I just didn't expect you to come back to town and inherit this ranch, Marcus."

"Haha, it's just a coincidence."

To explain how I got here, I inevitably have to go back to how I was airdropped, which is actually a bit embarrassing to talk about...

"I heard you were airdropped here, Marcus?"

"...I'm sorry for causing everyone trouble."

Mrs. Lilia covered her mouth and laughed, seemingly amused by my reaction, before sighing.

“It’s great to have such an energetic young man like you. My husband has always been too serious, and I’m always worried that he won’t be able to find a girlfriend.”

Speaking of Rick, I quickly asked, "Madam, Rick just ran out. Are you sure he's alright?"

“It’s alright,” Mrs. Lilia said. “Rick has always been a very sensible child and never causes trouble for others. It’s just that my health has been poor, which has made him constantly strive to be more mature, to the point that he doesn’t seem like a young man anymore.”

"Mom, what are you saying?" Poppy, who had been focused on eating, suddenly looked up. In the blink of an eye, most of the food in front of her had been eaten. "Are you implying that I'm not being considerate enough?"

Mrs. Lilia covered her mouth and chuckled softly again.

"Yes, yes, yes. You are all the most sensible children."

"It's just that my mother isn't a good enough mother."

Mrs. Lilia's tone suddenly became heavy.

But then her attention immediately shifted to another topic.

"By the way, Marcus, what did you mean when you said my hairstyle was dangerous?"

I chuckled awkwardly and said, "Madam, please don't take it to heart. I was just saying it casually. It was just a little joke from my hometown."

Mrs. Lilia's hair was the same pink as Popli's, but she tied her long curly hair into a bun and placed it on her shoulder. She looked to be no more than thirty years old, not at all like a mother with adult children.

"Publi, why don't you take Marcus for a walk around the chicken farm later? Mom is a little tired."

Mrs. Lilia's spirits seemed to quickly wane, but she still mustered her strength and gave Poppy instructions with a smile.

…………

"Hey, Marcus, don't you have anything you want to ask?"

Poppy's little leather shoes continued to tap crisply on the floor, her dress fluttered slightly in the wind, her loose pink hair was only held in place by a headband, and a faint fragrance wafted from beside me.

When I turned my head, her rose-colored eyes were staring at me brightly.

"Boss Dart told me that everyone has their own secrets, and it's best not to pry into them."

I answered seriously, but as I spoke, I started to laugh at myself, so I had to say...

"Then, Miss Poppy, is there anything you can reveal about yourself?"

Popli gave a mischievous smile, cleared her throat, and spoke like a celebrity giving an interview.

"For information about me, please interview my agent. I just come from an ordinary family. Next question~"

She chuckled softly twice, but her tone suddenly took on a touch of sadness.

"Actually, what I envy most are ordinary families."