Outside, the sky was already bright. Han Cheng rubbed his head with a bitter smile, waking from his dreams.
Last night, he had been tormented by dreams and hardly slept at all, and now he felt dazed.
What would happen if he ended up with two little ones like that?
After lying there in a daze for a while, Han Cheng sniffed and started to get up. After washing up, he continued to the chicken coop to check on the chicks.
When he arrived, he found that the rooster incubating the eggs had already left the nest, leading a group of fluffy little balls around the coop searching for food.
These newborn chicks, filled with the curiosity of their first moments, ran around the rooster, chirping with their tender voices.
A couple of greedy chicks were focused on foraging on the ground.
After some effort, one chick found a piece of cut grass and picked it up, but before it could eat, another one rushed over and snatched it away.
Grabbing the other end of the grass, the two began a tug-of-war reminiscent of a bridge noodle fight.
Tilting their heads, they rubbed their beaks on the ground several times and then looked up to find that the rooster had already taken away the rest of the chicks.
The two satisfied little ones immediately panicked. Forgetting everything else, they called out anxiously, flapping their fluffy wings, and quickly ran after the rooster.
They calmed down once they reached the rooster, happily running around again.
Watching the two chicks rush towards the big rooster made Han Cheng’s heart race, as the dream from last night still haunted him.
After lying there watching for a while, he finally counted the little fluffy balls and realized something was off.
Wasn’t there supposed to be fifteen? Why was one missing?
Han Cheng hurried to check the nest.
Inside the nest were bloodied eggshells left behind after the chicks hatched.
He lifted one corner of the net and poked around with a stick, and indeed, he found one unbroken egg inside.
Quickly, Han Cheng found a net bag and pulled out the egg.
He held it close to his ear and could faintly hear the weak chirping of a chick and occasional pecking sounds against the eggshell.
Seeing this, Han Cheng quickly covered the egg with his hands and returned to the room.
Once back inside, he placed the egg under Bai Xue's armpit to keep it warm, as she had become drowsy due to her pregnancy.
This was an unfortunate little chick, which had developed much later than the others.
Chicks take a certain amount of time to hatch. If most of the chicks are out and too much time passes, the mother will leave with the already-hatched chicks.
If she doesn’t leave, the earlier hatched chicks might not be able to withstand the hunger.
At the same time, it was a lucky little fellow, as Han Cheng arrived when the mother rooster hadn’t been out of the nest for too long.
If it had taken any longer, it would have faced the fate of freezing to death in this weather.
Han Cheng’s actions awakened Bai Xue. Just as she was about to turn over, Han Cheng, quick of hand and eye, held her steady.
If she turned over, it would be like eating a raw egg.
Upon understanding what Han Cheng had placed under her armpit, Bai Xue became somewhat confused but quickly perked up, only to become dazed again.
Aren’t chicks supposed to be hatched from eggs? When did humans start hatching chicks, too?
Bai Xue blinked and asked Han Cheng.
Humans can hatch chicks, but if you place a large vat of hot water underneath, put a sieve on top, and place the eggs in the sieve covered with a quilt, you can still hatch chicks as long as the temperature is well controlled.
The same goes for the kang (a traditional heated bed).
After all, the hen fertilizes the egg when it is laid; it only needs the right temperature to hatch.
With Han Cheng's definitive answer, Bai Xue was no longer sleepy. Such a novel idea had captured her full attention.
Lying there, she nestled the egg under her armpit, listening to the occasional faint chirps of the chick and feeling the pecking against the eggshell. Her face was filled with joy and wonder. She even forgot to eat breakfast.
Seeing Bai Xue so delighted, Han Cheng chatted with her for a while before heading out again.
He wanted to find some good food to feed the newly hatched chicks.
The hard eggshell was continuously pecked at by the chick until it finally gave way. Around ten o'clock in the morning, there was a small crack in the shell.
The crack gradually widened, revealing the chick's pointed beak.
Bai Xue watched with wide eyes, unblinking, her expression serious yet filled with joy.
The eggshell finally broke open by noon, and a fluffy little chick emerged.
The chick was mostly gray, with a bit of orange on its beak and claws. It looked like a cute little ball of fluff.
After being born, the chick glanced around and called out a few times before naturally snuggling up next to Bai Xue, lying quietly and obediently.
Having never seen another of its kind, the chick took Bai Xue as its mother upon first sight of her.
When Han Cheng came over and saw the little chick, he smiled; after all, a grown chicken would yield much more meat than an egg.
He pinched some millet and placed it in Bai Xue's palm. Bai Xue leaned slightly to the side, opened her hand, and presented it to the chick.
The fluffy chick momentarily looked at it and lowered its head, using its orange beak to start pecking at the millet.
The chick was newly hatched, so its strength was minimal; its tiny beak tickled Bai Xue Mei’s palm, making her giggle with delight.
The little chick seemed to consider this place its home. After eating some millet and drinking a few sips of water, it began to scurry around on the kang, pecking at various things.
Bright sunlight streamed through the gaps in the window, casting a narrow beam of light onto the kang.
In that beam, tiny dust particles floated around, looking quite amusing.
Such things quickly captured the attention of the newly born chick.
It waddled under the beam, tilted its head for a moment, and then began to jump up with its thin little legs, flapping its tiny wings and stretching its neck to peck at the light beam.
When it landed, it stumbled and fell to the ground, rolling like a little fluff ball.
Its clumsy yet endearing appearance made Han Cheng unable to suppress his laughter.
After a while, Han Cheng planned to take the little chick away and send it to the newly appointed rooster mother so she could lead it.
However, he completely abandoned the idea when he met Bai Xue’s reluctant and pitiful gaze.