1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 40 Taking Charge Alone

The next morning.

After having breakfast, the Qiao family went to the egg-laying boxes in the backyard to watch the hens eagerly crawl into them to lay their eggs.

Before long, the villagers also spontaneously came to see what was going on.

After all, the sight of thousands of laying hens lining up to lay eggs was something that rural people in this era had never seen before. Whether it was to broaden their horizons or to learn some chicken-raising experience, they should come and take a look.

Soon, the first hens to enter the laying boxes successfully laid their eggs. After these hens left the laying boxes, the hens that had been lingering around them saw this and eagerly crawled into the empty laying boxes to prepare to lay their eggs.

After about an hour of this process, a total of 1000 eggs were freshly baked, leaving the villagers dumbfounded.

"How is that possible? When a hen first starts laying eggs, it usually takes one to two days before she continues to lay eggs. Only after she gets past that initial period and enters her peak egg-laying period can she guarantee one egg a day."

Logically, since these 1000 laying hens just laid eggs yesterday, at least half of them shouldn't be laying eggs again until tomorrow. But now all 1000 hens are laying eggs! This is simply unbelievable!

"That's why they're called egg-laying hens. These hens are bred specifically for laying eggs, so it's not surprising that they have such high egg-laying efficiency."

"Could it really be due to different varieties?"

"..."

While the villagers were amazed by the egg-laying efficiency of the hens, Qiao Erhe took a bucket from his home as cover, poured some spiritual spring water into the bucket, diluted it, and then poured it into the chicken trough to restore the energy of these hard-working hens.

The laying hens, who were initially weak after laying eggs, rushed towards the water trough after Qiao Erhe poured the diluted spiritual spring water into it, scrambling to drink the water.

After drinking the water, the laying hens became energetic.

Of course, that's what they say, but in reality, the changes in the laying hens aren't particularly obvious. Unless you observe them closely, you won't be able to tell the difference. For example, the villagers who came to see them couldn't see any difference; they just thought that the laying hens raised by Qiao Erhe were quite energetic, and that was all.

Once all the laying hens have left the laying boxes, it's time for the Qiao siblings to reap their harvest.

As the villagers watched the Qiao siblings collect basket after basket of eggs, their eyes once again revealed immense envy. They all dreamed of raising laying hens on a large scale next year, so they could collect eggs like the Qiao siblings and sell them in the city every day.

Having seen this, there was nothing more to see, and the villagers dispersed, each with their own thoughts.

More than ten minutes later, the Qiao siblings packed another 33 trays of eggs, leaving the remaining 10 eggs at home for their own consumption.

With everything ready, Qiao Erhe said with a smile, "Let's go, let's head to the commune to sell eggs. There are two local dogs at home to help guard the house. Sanduo, if you want to go, you can come along and take a look."

Qiao Sanduo said happily, "Of course I want to go."

So Qiao Dajiang picked up the eggs again, and the four siblings walked together toward the commune.

Actually, two people would have been more than enough to sell this load of eggs, but Qiao Erhe still decided that the four siblings would sell the eggs together, mainly to cultivate the eldest brother and the fourth brother's sales skills.

Once they are capable of handling things on their own, Qiao Erhe can let them sell eggs, and he can then free up time to do other things.

……

Half an hour later, the Qiao siblings arrived at Cenhe Commune and found a spot on the main street with the highest foot traffic to set up their stall.

This is the time when housewives go out to buy groceries and cook.

The Qiao siblings' stall was located on the main street with the highest foot traffic, where there were quite a few people coming and going. After the Qiao siblings took the eggs out of the bamboo basket and untied the paper ropes on the egg cartons, they instantly attracted the attention of many housewives.

Soon, a middle-aged woman carrying a basket came over and asked, "Comrade, how much are your eggs?"

Having already experienced selling eggs yesterday, Qiao Sihai answered without hesitation, "Auntie, our eggs are also 5 cents each. They are all fresh eggs, and you can pick and choose as you like. Moreover, if you buy in bulk, we can give you a discount."

The middle-aged woman asked, "How much do I need to buy to get a discount?"

Qiao Sihai smiled and said, "Auntie, this tray of eggs has 30 eggs. The original price is one yuan and fifty cents. If you buy a tray of eggs, we will only charge you one yuan and forty cents."

The middle-aged woman was immediately tempted. Don't underestimate this mere ten cents discount; it could buy two eggs. At five cents a egg was the market price at that time, so a ten-cent discount was a great deal.

Thinking that her family hadn't had any meat for several days, the middle-aged woman gritted her teeth and said, "Then I'll buy a carton of eggs!"

Qiao Sihai said with a smile, "Okay, we have 33 trays of eggs here. You can pick any tray. We can only pick them one tray at a time, so we can't pick them one by one. I hope you can understand, Auntie."

The middle-aged woman took out 40 cents and handed it over, then pointed to the tray of eggs that had been untied from the paper string and said, "I want this tray."

Qiao Sihai took the money and said with a beaming smile, "Okay, Auntie, these eggs are yours. Do you want me to put them in the basket for you?"

The middle-aged woman shook her head and said, "No need, I can install it myself."

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman squatted down, put the basket aside, and then put eggs into the basket one by one until the egg tray was empty. Only then did she leave, satisfied, carrying the basket.

Throughout the entire process, Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Erhe remained silent, watching Lao Si perform.

Qiao Sanduo, who was selling eggs for the first time, stood silently by and watched Lao Si sell eggs.

Seeing that Lao Si had successfully sold a tray of eggs, Qiao Erhe patted him on the shoulder and praised him, "Good lad, well done. Starting tomorrow, you can carry the eggs to the commune to sell by yourself."

Qiao Sihai was overjoyed to receive his second brother's praise; he was practically strutting around with pride.

A middle-aged woman bought a carton of eggs, which naturally attracted a lot of attention. Customers who needed eggs came over to inquire about the price.

Because there were enough people selling eggs today, and Qiao Erhe wanted to set an example for his siblings, he started shouting, "Comrades, these are fresh eggs just laid by our hens, 5 cents each, pick and choose as you like, and you can get a 10-cent discount if you buy a carton of eggs, so don't miss out!"

People in this country love to join in the fun. Even customers who didn't originally intend to buy eggs couldn't resist coming over to join in the fun after hearing Qiao Erhe's shout.

As more people came to join in the fun, it attracted even more people.

Before they knew it, the Qiao siblings' stall was completely surrounded by customers and onlookers.

(End of this chapter)