My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 69 The Mill
Wang Susu said it was the magpie that did it, and Chen Ling was initially a little skeptical.

He also grew up in the countryside, and his impression of magpies has always been that they are auspicious birds, symbols of good luck and fortune.

I often hear the village elders saying things like, "When magpies chatter, good luck is coming."

It is said that if a magpie calls in someone's house in the morning, it means that good things will happen that day. If a magpie builds a nest in someone's house, it means that the family is blessed.

So much so that magpie patterns were all over washbasins, thermos flasks, and bedding. Even the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on Qixi Festival is called the Magpie Bridge Meeting.

Therefore, Chen Ling has always held this view, and it has basically become a fixed impression.

Little did I know that these guys were no good; they really were the ones who stole the eggs from my house.

Around 10 a.m., a man came to the village to collect chicken feathers, duck feathers, and turtle shells, calling out as he went from street to street.

The young couple, Chen Ling and his wife, collected all the chicken feathers, duck feathers, and snakeskins they had accumulated at home and took them out to sell.

Just then, two magpies landed in the yard. If Chen Ling hadn't had exceptional hearing and noticed the unusual noises inside the chicken coop, he wouldn't have discovered them.

The two magpies landed in the chicken coop, spotted an egg in the nest, pecked a small hole in it, ate a small portion of the yolk that had spilled out, then picked it up and flew to the treetop.

The movements were very practiced; it was clear he was a repeat offender.

Meanwhile, the two old hens in the yard were preoccupied with leading a flock of chicks, ducklings, and a few quails to peck at food by the flower bed, completely oblivious to the theft of their eggs.

"Ah Ling, look! It was the magpie who did it!"

At this moment, Wang Susu also noticed the eggs in the beaks of the two magpies and pointed them out to Chen Ling.

Chen Ling had witnessed the entire crime and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Unexpectedly, this bird of good fortune in folklore is not a good bird at all, but a thief bird.

The young couple were looking up when they saw two empty eggshells fall from the tree with two "thuds" and "thuds," landing not far from their feet and shattering into pieces.

Perhaps they had enjoyed the eggs, for the two magpies proudly wagged their tails and began to chatter on the branch.

Its calls were cheerful and loud.

What used to sound like a joyous occasion now irritated Chen Ling.

He picked up a clod of dirt from the base of the wall and threw it, but he missed and the two egg thieves flew away.

"Let's cover the chicken coop with wire mesh, otherwise the eggs at home won't stand the strain."

Wang Susu picked up the eggshells from the ground and said with some heartache.

"Yes, these thieving birds can fly and are very slippery. They land in the yard when people aren't looking, so it's not easy to keep them away."

Chen Ling was quite helpless, so he had to find the wire mesh and cover the chicken coop again.

No sooner had the chicken coop been covered than two magpies flew back, landing on the Chinese toon tree and chattering loudly. They kept hopping between the branches, as if they were taunting the tree, looking extremely arrogant.

Seeing this, Chen Ling couldn't resist picking up two more pebbles and throwing them over. The pebbles immediately flew up and hid far away.

But after a while, it flew back, this time with a group of companions. They all landed on the Chinese toon tree outside the courtyard, chirping wildly and putting on a grand chorus for Chen Ling.

"I'm so convinced!"

Chen Ling felt a wave of helplessness. He frowned, turned around, and went into the house, ignoring the situation.

Shout, shout as loud as you want.

Anyway, the chicken coop is covered with wire mesh, so these thieving birds have no chance of getting into the coop to steal eggs.

Sure enough, after Chen Ling ignored them, the magpies, though still lingering around the yard, couldn't get into the chicken coop or steal any eggs, and gradually dispersed.

……

It was noon soon.

For lunch, Chen Ling and her husband made flatbread.

This job is different from cooking. Chen Ling has no idea how to do it, especially kneading dough, which he does terribly. Wang Susu can only make it while he watches and learns.

Generally speaking, men have stronger hands than women. If they know how to knead dough, the noodles they make are usually more chewy and delicious than those made by women. However, in rural areas, most men are either clumsy or lack the patience.

After the fragrant flatbread was cooked, Chen Ling set up a pot and made an egg drop soup. The couple ate the egg drop soup with the flatbread with great satisfaction. After dinner, Chen Ling brought out a recliner, intending to read a book in the yard and take a nap when he got tired.

However, things didn't go as planned. After he went inside and brought out the recliner, he was surrounded by little quails and rabbits, who followed him everywhere he went.

Especially the little rabbit, who was seen by Chen Ling the moment she opened her eyes. After being raised, it left the nest in just a few days. It was well-behaved and never ran away, but it was very clingy.

They kept rubbing against his feet and even crawling into his trouser legs, making it impossible for him to take a nap. He had no choice but to cover them with a flat basket before he could comfortably pick up his book and read quickly on the recliner. Soon, he felt sleepy.

"Uncle Fugui, is Uncle Fugui here?"

I was drifting off to sleep when someone called from outside the door.

Chen Ling opened his eyes and saw a man covered in white ash, shouting into the gate through the fence.

He quickly got up and went to open the door.

"It's Yingqiang, come in and sit down."

Chen Ling opened the door and recognized who it was: Chen Guoping's second son, Chen Yuqiang's older brother, Chen Yingqiang.

He was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a dignified appearance, but his hair was a little bald. He ran a small mill near the village committee.

This is also the only mill in Chenwangzhuang today.

People from nearby villages come to grind flour on weekdays, and business isn't bad.

"No, I'm covered in white powder, so I won't go inside."

Chen Yingqiang waved his hand.

Then, a little embarrassed, he said, "Uncle Fugui, my father said he has quite a few ducks at home. Could I exchange a few?"

Chen Ling then noticed a bag of flour on one side of the door, presumably to be used to exchange for ducks.

He laughed and said, "What are you talking about exchanging? How many do you want? I'll go catch some for you."

We do have quite a few ducklings at home. All forty duck eggs we found by the Nansha River have hatched.

Actually, ducks are fine when they're young; it's okay to raise a lot of them. They're bright yellow, fluffy, and adorable.

But it won't work when they grow up. So many ducks poop everywhere in the yard, there's no place to even step inside.

These past two days, Chen Ling had been thinking that when Liu Nier came to visit next time, he would have the boy bring back a few kittens. But before Liu Nier even arrived, Chen Yingqiang showed up instead.

"I estimate, I estimate there are about ten..."

Chen Yingqiang felt quite embarrassed after he finished speaking, since the number was rather large.

He then explained, "Caiyun broke her leg during the Chinese New Year and can't do any heavy work, so she wants to raise chickens and ducks at home."

"It's just that the mill needs people around all the time, and I don't have time to do these things."

"Uncle Fugui, if you don't think it's possible, could you bring me some ducklings next time you go to the county town? I'll give you the money first."

Chen Ling waved his hand dismissively: "What do you mean 'okay'? I already have forty ducklings and more than twenty chicks at home. A few days ago, a little kid even brought over some quails and rabbits. My yard is almost overflowing..."

"You've come to the right place wanting ducklings. I'll go catch some for you right now."

Then, with nimble hands and feet, he grabbed fifteen ducklings, put them in a basket, and placed it in front of Chen Yingqiang.

"Yingqiang, count them, are fifteen enough?"

"That's enough, Uncle Fugui, that's enough."

Chen Yingqiang nodded repeatedly, then glanced at the ducklings in the bamboo basket and thought to himself that these ducklings were growing quite fast and were already half-grown. He figured that his bag of flour would definitely not be enough to replace them.

So in addition to the white flour, he also slipped five yuan to Chen Ling.

Chen Ling didn't refuse. Their relationship was so-so, and they weren't related by blood, so he would just settle things however he wanted.

However, after all that commotion, Chen Ling was no longer sleepy. He carried the bag of flour into the backyard, gave five yuan to Wang Susu, and then went out with a bamboo basket and a net.

He's been eating too blandly these past few days, so he's going to the reservoir to catch some crayfish to satisfy his craving.

(End of this chapter)