Meng Yan's Transformation

"Dad, didn't you say I made too few candied haws? There are five of us, each eating one string, so there are only eleven strings left. How can I give them to Grandma Liu?"

While Zhan Yingying was speaking, she watched Zhan Zixun finish one string of candied haws and then pick up another.

Zhan Mengyan also stared at the candied haws eagerly, swallowing her saliva.

"Eat it, eat as much as you can. It's Chinese New Year soon, right? After you finish eating, we'll make some more."

As Zhan Yu spoke, he opened the oil-paper package, and black candied dates and hawthorns rolled out.

"Wow! That's great! Dad, where did you get those black candied dates and hawthorns?"

Zhan Yingying showed a look of surprise when she spoke.

"These fell from the sky. Just as I left the house, it started raining candied dates and hawthorns. I picked up these much. If it's not enough, I'll go pick up some more."

As Zhan Yu spoke, he looked at Zhan Yingying seriously.

"How can a child believe such a nonsense joke like yours? If you bought it yourself, then you bought it yourself. Why is it so difficult to admit it?"

While Yunqing was speaking, she put the black candied dates and hawthorns into a basin, preparing to wash and select them.

"The ones that look good and are round and plump are used to make candied haws, while the ones that are deformed or broken can be saved as snacks."

While Yunqing was speaking, Zhan Mengyan also joined in and chose with Yunqing.

After Zhan Yingying boiled the syrup again, a new batch of candied haws was made.

It was already dusk while we were waiting for the candied haws to cool down.

"It's getting late today. Zhan Yingying, you can go and return the gift to Grandma Liu tomorrow morning."

While Yunqing was talking, Zhan Yingying and she were cleaning up the dishes after dinner for the family.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, the big rooster had fallen into a deep sleep.

The chickens in the chicken coop were all sleeping soundly. A hen was still muttering in her dream: "The new rooster is so handsome. Why did the owner put it in a cage by itself? Why doesn't the owner let it into the chicken coop? Is it cold in the coop?"

Three furtive weasels emerged from their burrow. The leader, a shifty looking one with a pointed nose, sniffed everywhere as his slender body swooshed towards the chicken coop. The weasel's nose rested against the fence door. From the coop wafted the warm, pungent scent of feathers, mixed with the sweet aroma of corn feed. The muscles in its hind legs were tense like a drawn bow, and the rustling sound of its tail sweeping through the dead leaves was blown away by the night wind.

The leading weasel was in front of the fence door of the chicken coop, scratching left and right with its little claws, and actually found a small rotten gap in the fence. It shrank its body, and its flat body was like a liquid golden light, drilling into the small gap in the rotten wood of the fence. The other two followed closely behind and drilled into the chicken coop. They didn't even rub off a single piece of sawdust when they drilled in through the rotten wood.

As the sleeping hen opened its eyes, its sharp canine teeth had already clamped firmly into its throat. Its scream became a muffled grunt, and the weasel's front paws simultaneously pressed down on its flapping wings, the entire movement more effortless than a dewdrop falling from a leaf.

The chicken coop suddenly shook violently. Three well-trained weasels lined up, baring their teeth and dragging their prey towards the cave entrance. The egret chicken hooked its claws on the feeding trough. At this moment, the crisp sound of a small wooden stick breaking caused the big rooster in the cage to crow wildly, and the sound instantly tore through the night.

Zhan Yu was awakened by the sound. He turned on the light, picked up the flashlight and rushed out of the house.

The weasels' pupils shrank into two thin lines. They let go of the prey in their mouths and turned to jump onto the elm tree.