Chapter 177: Chapter 173: Chicken Kid_1


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    By noon, most of the chicks were exchanged by people for eggs.


    Old Lady Tang exchanged ten, Wen Shu’s Nanny also got ten, the Zhou Family and Yanru each received fifteen, and the other vigers sessively exchanged more than forty, leaving only a dozen chicks at home now.


    These dozen or so chicks are being raised by a hen, foraging in the yard.


    The other two hens were miserable, unwilling to abandon thete-hatching eggs, their chicks were stolen one by one by their mistress, leaving only a few weak chicks that had just hatched with their feathers still wet.


    Chunniang wanted to take these chicks too, let one hen raise them and allow the other two hens to recover more quickly and startying eggs sooner.


    However, one Reed Chicken was particrly stubborn. Once her chicks were taken away by the mistress, she would chase after them frantically, snatch one or two back from the hen who was raising the chicks, then take the two chicks somewhere else to forage.


    After several urrences, Chunniang decided to let her be.


    A few dayster, the hens were able to take their chicks out of the yard.


    Fearing that their own chicks would get mixed up with others’, Chunniang made a red mark on the heads of their chicks with sappanwood.


    Every morning, after feeding the hens and chicks with small yellow rice, the hens would cluck and bring their chicks out.


    The Reed Chicken also brought out her two little chicks.


    Perhaps because the Reed Chicken was raising fewer chicks, she often went far out, sometimes even to the wastnd over there.


    The wastnd was near a pond and there was a wild bamboo forest in the distance. With the thriving nts and dense bushes in the wastnd, the hens with chicks could not only find insects there but also hide from the hawks and falcons in the sky.


    However, there are also many ground predators, such as weasels, foxes, jackals, etc., that would sneak out to hunt.


    Fortunately, people are often washing rice and vegetables, doingundry, and carrying water near the pond, preventing these animals from approaching during the day.


    However, the two chicks of the Reed Chicken disappeared after a short while, probably either snatched by eagles or caught by other wild animals.


    Recently, one or two eagles have been gliding past the sky above the vige, causing widespread panic among the chickens.


    Not only the chickens were frightened, but the vigers were also uneasy, quickly bringing their children back home and hiding thembs and piglets.


    Because these eagles arerge enough to easily snatch a four or five-year-old child or a half-sizedmb.


    Whenever they see an eagle diving down, the vigers would beat their copper basins or gongs, waving their arms and shouting loudly to scare them away temporarily.


    However, the eagles would soon return, circling above the Jiang family’s yard a few times.


    Chunniang had no choice but to drive the hens and chicks into the house until the eagles flew away before letting them out.


    She didn’t pay much attention to the Reed Chicken, leading to the disappearance of Reed Chicken’s chicks.


    However, the Reed Chicken did not despair after losing her chicks, instead, it repeatedly attempted to snatch chicks from other hens.


    But the chicks have recognized their mother and were not willing to follow it.


    Therefore, Yingbao often saw the Reed Chicken going to the pond alone, unsure whether she was foraging or looking for her lost children.


    After spending three days in the county town, Jiang Sang returned joyously with a new carriage, immediately showing his wife and daughter the title deed of a house.


    It is a courtyard with five rooms, not far from the county school, and cost more than 300 taels of silver.


    With the cost of the carriage being a hundred taels, Jiang Sang spent over four hundred taels in all, including the hundred taels of silver given by his daughter.


    Chunniang had almost spent all her silver, leaving only more than ten coins of copper left.


    She didn’t feel a bit reluctant and was instead very delighted. Finally, they have a house in the county town, and it’s a five-roomed house made of green bricks and tiles.


    The house is good, and the yard is quiterge too. There should be no problem growing some vegetables or flowers as normal. Wait for a while and I’ll go there again to hire several bricyers to refurbish it and buy some furniture. After the autumn harvest, we can send Xiaojie and Yuanbao to study in town,” he said.


    Jiang Sang said to his little daughter, “You and your mother will go to the county town together, and we will be a family based in the county town from now on.”


    After eight or ten years, the young girl would be a proper inhabitant of the town, and by then, she could find a good inw family in the county town.


    Yingbao shook her head: “I won’t go to the county town. It’s enough if Ah Ma goes with Big Brother.”


    In her previous life, she lived in the county town for several years, but aside from therger poption, there was nothing interesting about the ce.


    Besides, water was a serious problem in the county town. If a house had no well, they either had to carry water from the river for their use or purchase it.


    If they bought water, even a full load barelysted a family of three to five people a day. For typical tasks likeundry, rinsing rice, and washing veggies, they would have to go to a nearby pond.


    Therge water pond in the county town was in the same league as a dirty drain, and the color of the water was green. While it was bearable in winter, by the time summer rolled around, the entire pool would exude a faint stink.


    Even if they lived near a flowing river, people would perform their washing directly using the moving water. However, there was no guarantee that there was not someone upstream who was in the process of dumping their chamber pots or cleaning their toilets.


    Therefore, she didn’t want to go to the county town.


    Chunniang asked, “Why don’t you want to go, Baobao?”


    “I need to learn medicine from my master,” exined Yingbao.


    Not only did she have to study medicine, but she also had to practice martial arts. Furthermore, she couldn’t afford to neglect earning money by cultivating golden ears. If she moved to the county town, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.


    Chunniangughed, “That’s right, our Baobao has to study medicine. We — her parents — have been so silly that we forgot all about it.”


    In just a few days, the fact that the Jiang Family purchased a property in the county town spread throughout the vige.


    This couldn’t be helped. One of Lizheng’s duties was to register the vigers’ assets. Land and property records were particrly important to keep track of.


    Right after Jiang Sang formalized the ownership document in the government office, a notification from the County Government arrived at Sun Licheng’s ce another two dayster, asking him to re-register Jiang Sang’s wealth.


    With all this back and forth, now, who wouldn’t know about it?


    “Aiyo, has your family really purchased a property in the county town?” As soon as Wang Eng’s aunt saw Chunniang, she started questioning her.


    Withdrawing her sleeve subtly, Chunniang smiled and replied, “It’s not a grand property, but just a two-room house.”


    “Well, even a two-room house is a property,” Wang Eng’s auntughed mysteriously and asked in a low voice, “So, are you nning to move to the county town? Are Erni and Yingbao also going with you?”


    “How could we? We have all our farnd here, there’s no way we could move to the county town.”


    Eager to leave, Chunniang said hurriedly, “Erniang, I have stuff to do. I can’t chat longer.” With that, she quickly walked away.


    Wang Eng’s aunt was persistence. She wanted to follow Chunniang to ask more, but was stopped by her son, “Mother, the pancake is getting burnt, you better go take a look.”


    “Oh my!” Wang Eng’s aunt pped her thigh and rushed to lift off the pot cover. Upon checking, she found the pancake to be perfectly okay and not burnt at all.


    “You rotten boy! How dare you trick me!” Wang Eng’s aunt was annoyed to discover she’d been duped as she flipped the pancake.


    She turned around to find her son standing near the stove looking at her, she red at him, “What are you looking at?”


    Wang Eng: “I’m hungry. I’m waiting for the pancake to be done.”


    “Eat, eat! All you know is eating!” Wang Eng’s aunt swayed a spat in front of her son’s face, annoyed. “Erni will soon go to the county town, let’s see what you will do then!””


    “What will I do then?” Wang Erng’s eyes were glued to the pancake in the pot.


    Wang Eng’s aunt gives her son an exasperated look, “Haven’t I told you arrangements could be made, the more you y around with Erni and Huzi, the likelier our two families could be inws.”


    Only then did Wang Eng react, pulling a face, “Mother, how old is Erni? What on earth can we do together?”


    He was fifteen, and Erni was just ten. Whatmon interests could he possibly have with a little girl?