Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Partridges of Early Spring
The ground in the village was uneven, and though the cart had shock absorbers, it was still very uncomfortable to sit in.
The cart’s wheels rolled over the bumpy surface, jolting Yue Qingqing so much that she saw stars.
Yue Qingqing quickly reached out to her dad, and Yue Jiandong, smiling, picked her up and held her close to his chest.
“Wanting daddy to hold you, are you?”
Yue Qingqing leaned against Yue Jiandong, feeling both warm and steady, much more comfortable than sitting in the cart.
Thus, she ingratiatingly nuzzled the neck of this human vehicle, her fuzzy hat brushing against him, making Yue Jiandong unable to resist laughing.
Yue Jianxi picked up the cart, looking enviously at the father and daughter ahead.
The villagers all said daughters were worthless and sons were valuable.
His own rascal son, only slightly younger than Qingqing, did nothing but eat and sleep, facing him solely with his buttocks each time he came home.
How could his son be as affectionate as a daughter? Even Xingxing often hugged his neck, calling him daddy.
Yue Qingqing, blissfully unaware that Yue Xiaohu was being unjustly criticized, was finally out on a “long trip,” feeling her eyes couldn’t take in enough of the sights.
Daye Village still preserved relatively primitive scenery; a few towering trees sporadically lined the main road of the village, probably older than Yue Jiandong.
With the arrival of spring, the bare branches were bursting into green, sprouting tender green shoots.
Underneath the trees, a few elderly people who didn’t need to tend to fields occasionally sat, extending their hands in greeting as they saw the Yue brothers pass by.
Upon hearing that the two were headed to the fishpond, they displayed a strange expression.
After the brothers walked past, they quietly discussed with the people next to them.
“Going to fuss with the fishpond, as if it’s as valuable as tilling the fields, they’re just bustling about senselessly.”
“All this poor hassle, they’ll regret it.”
“This is just bad fate, it’s decided by heaven, there’s no helping it.”
Yue Qingqing, with exceptionally keen senses, overheard these words, frowning slightly.
Though Yue Jiandong and Yue Jianxi couldn’t hear the gossip, they could guess its general content from those people’s expressions.
Their smiles gradually faded.
Just then, Yue Qingqing suddenly patted her dad on the chest with one small hand while pointing somewhere not far away with the other, making noises.
Quickening their pace, they discovered a wild chicken lying near their own fishpond.
“Wow, it’s still alive,” Yue Jianxi stepped forward and picked up the wild chicken by its legs.
The wild chicken in his hands weakly flapped its wings, resigning itself to closing its eyes.
Spring was the perfect time for wild chickens to forage, as they could dig beneath the soil, now soft from thawing, to find freshly sprouted seeds and plump insects.
This wild chicken was unfortunate, its sharp beak stuck in the cracked mud at the edge of the pond.
The soil here was harder, and when its beak got stuck, it froze; despite struggling, it was ultimately picked up easily by the Yue brothers.
Yue Jiandong was overjoyed, “We haven’t eaten meat in a while, perfect for an extra dish tonight.”
Ever since they had signed the contract for the fishpond, the Yue family had returned to tightening their belts; although Lin Chunju tried various ways to enrich their meals, they still lacked meat.
“Lucky Qingqing reminded us in time, had anyone else seen it, it definitely would have been picked up,” Yue Jianxi felt the weight in his hand, continuously swallowing saliva.
After a discussion, the two decided that Yue Jianxi would first take the wild chicken home, then return to continue working.
Along the way, many people saw this scene, and those who had just been speaking ill of the Yue family’s luck were stunned.
Spring’s wild chicken meat is tender and rich, and those with pregnant women at home all hoped to somehow catch one for soup, which was very nourishing.
Wild chickens were cunningly elusive, flying away at the slightest rustle.
Even setting traps with broad beans often failed to catch them, frequently resulting in wasted food and effort.
The Yue family casually picking one up , their luck was simply too good!