After about ten minutes, Han Qiwu grabbed his things and pedaled off toward the farm.
Seeing the figure of their owner disappearing into the distance, Xiao Dian, perched on a tree branch, instantly relaxed. It slumped against the nearby tree trunk, stretching a leg while raising a wing to speak to the at chicken next to it: "Pleasure working with you! Just rember these next few days—don’t ss up, or both of us will end up like Big Bear, doing other kinds of work!"
"Don’t worry, the owner’s never seen fly. I’ll gradually show him over these next few days," the at chicken said coolly, effortlessly flying from the branch directly to the phoenix tree’s ventilation hole, diving inside to seek a massage from the little hen.
Xiao Dian glanced enviously at the at chicken’s retreating figure, sighing internally: "Why is it that despite being cooler than it, I still don’t have a little bird girlfriend?"
It’s definitely the owner’s fault!
He doesn’t have a girlfriend, so he’s not helping find one either!
Ugh!
————
Upon arriving at the farm, Han Qiwu parked his bike and imdiately felt sothing latch onto his leg.
Looking down, he saw Xiao Shu hugging his thigh, trying to climb up while clutching a skewer of red oil-coated chicken at in his hand.
"Brother, eat so at!"
"Oh, Xiao Shu is so sweet." Han Qiwu replied warmly. He opened his mouth to accept the chicken skewer, then picked Xiao Shu up and carried him into the house.
"You’re here, huh? Have you eaten yet? Wanna join us?" Yang Yangyang asked enthusiastically. "Xiao Shu stayed up too late last night and couldn’t wake up this morning—he only just got around to eating now."
"Dad, stop talking! If you keep going, Brother will think I’m a bad kid!" Xiao Shu protested with an annoyed expression. "Rest days are for sleeping in! Mom told so!"
"But you can’t stay up too late," Han Qiwu coaxed Xiao Shu with a couple of kind words, glancing at the chicken skewers and rice noodles on the table. Without hesitation, he sat down and joined the al.
The chicken skewers were made by Xiao Shu’s grandmother, using free-range chickens from their own farm and aged wooden skews from their own collection.
The na "chicken skewers" cos from the preparation process—the chicken slices are cut with a knife aided by a mallet, ensuring each slice is separated but intact, evenly thick, fully seasoned, and packed with spicy flavor.
After finishing the al, Han Qiwu explained the reason for his visit and opened an illustrated manual to take a look.
[Currently owned animal buildings: Chicken Coop, Cow Barn, Duck Shed]
[Available for purchase: Chickens, Cows, Ducks]
[Chicken breeds: Omitted]
[Cow breeds: Omitted]
[Spot-Billed Duck]
[Price: 3,000 gold]
[Required space: 1]
[Daily feed requirent: One portion of duck feed]
[Animal products: Spot-Billed Duck Eggs]
[Muscovy Duck]
[Price: 3,500 gold]
[Required space: 1]
[Daily feed requirent: One portion of duck feed]
[Animal products: Muscovy Duck Eggs, Muscovy Duck Feathers]
[Gaoyou Duck]
[Price: 4,000 gold]
[Required space: 1]
[Daily feed requirent: One portion of duck feed]
[Animal products: Gaoyou Duck Eggs, Duck Feathers, Duck at]
[Call Duck]
[Price: 7,000 gold]
[Required space: 1]
[Daily feed requirent: Two portions of duck feed]
[Animal products: Call Duck Eggs]
Just like cows, there were four types of ducks to choose from.
Han Qiwu examined them one by one, quickly analyzing to himself: "The Spot-Billed Duck only produces eggs, while the Muscovy Duck gives you extra feathers. The Gaoyou Duck adds duck at, so the price seems to go up with added products. But why is this last one, the Call Duck, so expensive? It eats more but only produces eggs?"
Curious, he directly asked Yang Yangyang.
Upon hearing the question, Yang Yangyang chuckled and explained, "The Call Duck is different from the others. It’s an ornantal duck—white, plump, and super cute. Plus, if you take good care of it, its eggs can be very valuable."
"Can you show what it looks like?" Han Qiwu was intrigued and prepared to go have a look.
"Of course! I’ll show you the other ducks as well." Yang Yangyang stood up and replied.
"I wanna go too! I wanna go too!" Xiao Shu imdiately bounced up and clung to Han Qiwu’s leg, refusing to let go upon hearing the plan.
"Alright, let’s all go together." Han Qiwu picked up Xiao Shu, accepted the mask Yang Yangyang handed him, and put it on before following him into the duck shed.
"This one here is the Muscovy Duck, also called the Mallard. Its most distinctive feature is the patch of erald-green fuzz on its cheeks, making it easy to recognize," Yang Yangyang said, pointing at a Muscovy Duck on the ground.
"What about the one next to it?" Han Qiwu asked curiously.
Yang Yangyang continued, "That’s the Gaoyou Duck. It’s a dual-purpose duck for both at and eggs. The famous Gaoyou salted duck egg is made from its eggs; they’re delicious."
"This is the Spot-Billed Duck. Its defining characteristic is the spots on its bill. Its eggs taste great, the egg production is high, and its cost-performance ratio is excellent."
After introducing these three, Yang Yangyang led Han Qiwu to a clean area of the duck shed and pointed to a cage housing a few Call Ducks, saying, "These are Call Ducks, also known as dwarf ducks. They stay small no matter how much they grow."
Han Qiwu glanced over. The Call Ducks had soft yellow bills, and their snow-white feathers made them look like the tiny ducklings straight out of a children’s storybook—absolutely adorable.
"Looks like Call Duck eggs must sell for a pretty high price," Han Qiwu thought to himself. After considering, he said to Yang Yangyang, "Alright, I’ll take one Call Duck, two Gaoyou Ducks, one Spot-Billed Duck, and one Muscovy Duck to try raising them back ho."
The five ducks would perfectly fill up the Hongyan Tower.
Yang Yangyang nodded happily, "Alright, you and Xiao Shu wait outside. I’ll get them packed up for you to take ho."
"Sure," Han Qiwu agreed. He stepped outside and handed over the paynt.
Before long, Yang Yangyang ca out carrying two cages.
One cage held a pristine white Call Duckling, while the other contained the other four dusky-colored ducklings.
"Looks are everything," Han Qiwu sighed, taking the two cages in hand.
After handing over the cages, Yang Yangyang pulled out a big bag and handed it to Han Qiwu. "This here is duck feed I’ve mixed for you—it’ll last them about three to four days. Consider it a gift."
"Thanks, Brother Yang." Han Qiwu smiled, bade him farewell, and pedaled ho with the five ducklings.
Before entering the house, Han Qiwu discreetly checked on the at chicken’s training progress.
Tsk tsk.
Caught slacking off, as expected.
Neither Xiao Dian nor the at chicken was anywhere on the tree trunk.
"Ahem."
Han Qiwu pushed open the door and walked in casually, acting as though he hadn’t noticed anything, heading straight for the Hongyan Tower.
"We’re dood, dood!" Xiao Dian, who was previously flying in the air, suddenly darted toward the phoenix tree and called out to the at chicken inside the ventilation hole.
The two of them were in this together—if one went down, the other wouldn’t escape unscathed!
But as Xiao Dian peeked inside, it realized sothing.
The at chicken had sohow already made its way to the phoenix tree’s entrance and was currently doing leg stretches, diligently flapping its wings while practicing.
Xiao Dian: "?????"
When did you get over here??
Why didn’t you call ??
Passing by the phoenix tree, Han Qiwu noticed the scene as well. He approached, smiling, and patted the at chicken on the head. "at chicken, why’re you training all by yourself? Isn’t Xiao Dian teaching you?"
Upon hearing this, the at chicken quickly shook its head and gestured with its wings to indicate that it had been taught for a long ti earlier. Now, Xiao Dian was resting while it continued training on its own.
"Oh, that’s pretty impressive! Show how you fly." Han Qiwu grabbed the at chicken’s wings and placed it on the osmanthus tree, standing off to the side to observe.
The at chicken gritted its beak, fluttered a few tis in place, then leapt off the branch with a determined wingbeat. It managed to glide a few ters before landing slightly unsteadily.
Xiao Dian watched the whole performance and secretly nodded in approval.
Brilliant acting!
"You’ve learned well! You’re gliding already; flying must be just within reach. Keep it up!" Han Qiwu, slightly impressed, encouraged the at chicken before heading toward the Hongyan Tower.
As he arrived at the Hongyan Tower’s entrance, a nagging feeling struck Han Qiwu—the at chicken seed to be learning at an unusually fast pace.
Could it be that Xiao Dian is just that good at teaching?
Looks like Xiao Dian’s got a lot of untapped potential. Better assign it more tasks in the future.
anwhile, Xiao Dian, who had just been breathing a sigh of relief for having escaped unscathed, suddenly sneezed.
"Achoo!"
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