My humble days in ancient times

Early spring, like a shy girl, lightly lifts the curtain of winter and quietly comes to the world.

A gentle breeze, with a hint of coolness yet containing the warmth of new life, caresses the earth softly, awakening the sleeping creatures.

In the fields, tender green grass sprouts cautiously poked their heads out from the withered grass, looking curiously at this new world.

The willow trees by the river have also sprouted tender green buds, and their slender branches sway gently in the breeze, as graceful as green ribbons.

The peach and apricot trees not far away have pink buds on their branches, some of which are already eager to bloom.

The water in the pond ripples under the blowing of the spring breeze. In the clear water, fish swim happily, sometimes shuttling among the water plants.

The wasteland began to get busy.

Some villagers bent down, their heads bowed, carefully searching the ground for stones. Once they found one, they quickly picked it up and placed it in a nearby basket. Once a basket was full, they worked together to carry the stones to a cart and carefully loaded it. Then, the strong men gritted their teeth and laboriously pushed the cart filled with stones away, trip after trip, their clothes soaked with sweat.

Some villagers took shovels and started to deal with the soil in high places. They shoveled the soil hard, making the originally uneven ground gradually flat.

Other villagers went to other places to dig soil, carrying it on a shoulder pole or in a cart, dumping baskets and carts of soil into low-lying areas.

Everyone's footsteps are hurried, and the tools in their hands are not stopping. The wasteland is full of busy scenes, as if playing a passionate labor melody.

Aunt Zhang was busy taking care of Li Hehua at home, so the responsibility of cooking this time fell on Mrs. Li and Aunt Li.

Old Li still came here three times a day, without missing a single day. Occasionally, when he felt like it, he would have a meal here.

Mrs. Hu continued to boil water.

Everything seemed to be the same as before, and was still proceeding in such an orderly manner.

Xu Qinghe sent Jiang Jingchen and his team to purchase chickens and ducks. They worked tirelessly, first going to the county town, then to the town, and even to nearby county towns and towns. After a lot of trouble, they finally bought everything.

There are 30,000 chickens in total, including 1,000 hens.

There are five thousand ducks in total.

There are also a thousand geese.

Xu Qinghe asked in confusion: "Why buy geese?"

Xu Ruyi was wondering in her heart: How should I say it?

First of all, the goose is a brave and fearless poultry and is not afraid of snakes at all.

With their tall, sturdy bodies and powerful wings, geese show no fear when facing snakes. Their strong beaks and powerful paws are powerful weapons against snakes. When a snake attempts to provoke them, the goose will rush forward without hesitation, fiercely attacking with its sharp beak. The goose's aggressive presence can intimidate even snakes, often leaving them unable to withstand the goose's onslaught.

Furthermore, geese are extremely alert. Once they detect a snake, they quickly engage in combat, unflinching. Their resounding cries seem to declare their power and inviolability to the snake. Perhaps in the eyes of the goose, the snake is merely a minor threat, not enough to frighten it.

Secondly, raising geese also provides delicious and nutritious goose eggs, satisfying the family's palate and adding a unique flavor to the table. Their snow-white, soft, and lustrous feathers can be collected and made into cozy down products, providing warmth during cold winters. Geese are also expected to become loyal guardians of the family. They are alert and perceptive, honking loudly at the approach of strangers, acting as a guardhouse.

Modern people raise geese probably to develop the breeding industry, increase family income and improve living conditions by selling goose eggs, goose meat and goose down.

But Xu Ruyi didn't think too much about it, nor did he raise such a large number of geese. He only raised a thousand.

Xu Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "Occasionally, I can eat goose meat and eggs. The most important thing is that they are alert and sharp. They will scream immediately when someone approaches. They are not afraid of snakes. If they find a snake, they will rush up and attack it immediately. Also, geese can guard the house and are more effective than dogs."

Xu Qinghe was stunned.

"Are geese really that powerful? More powerful than humans, and not even afraid of snakes?"

Xu Ruyi nodded solemnly.

Xu Qinghe's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he excitedly decided to release some of the thousand geese near the chicken coop.

Xu Ruyi began recruiting people and found Yuan Dongming, a man in the county town who knew how to raise chickens and ducks. Yuan Dongming was nearly fifty years old, and his family had once raised chickens and ducks, albeit on a small scale. But they were constantly robbed, resulting in heavy losses. Finally, heartbroken, they gave up.

Xu Ruyi agreed with him on a salary of one tael of silver a month, with four days off each month. He was delighted to hear this; he could earn money, get food and lodging, and his family wasn't far away, so he could go back during his vacations. It was a great idea.

He also recruited Aunt Li and Mrs. Jiang to come over during the day to help feed the chickens and cook, and to assist Yuan Dongming.

Then Big Bear and Little Bear come over to look after the place at night.

Aunt Li and Mrs. Jiang earned 600 wen a month and took turns taking four days off a month.

Xiong Da and Xiong Er each get 800 wen per month. They can eat and live here.

After the chicken farm business came to an end, Ruyi and Xu Qinghe started to busy themselves with opening a shop.

Xu Qinghe asked Jiang Jingchen and the other six to go to the provincial capital and the nearby county town to find two shops each.

Jiang Jingchen and the other six people also started to get busy.

Aunt Li went to the chicken coop, and Xu Xiaohua and Du Xiaoyue came over to help Li.

Big Bear and Little Bear are quite capable. They work in the wasteland during the day and look after the chicken coop at night.

Zhang San smiled and said, "Isn't this tiring?"

Xiong Da immediately said, "Young man, don't be afraid of getting tired. We have plenty of energy!"

Xiong Dayou turned to Xiong Er and said, "The chicken coop is still safe now. Once the chickens grow up, I'm afraid we'll have to be extremely careful. We can't be careless at all!"

Xiong Er nodded in agreement.

On this day, Xu Baolin's son celebrated his one-month-old birthday, and everyone ran over to drink enthusiastically.

At the dinner table, Big Bear, Little Bear and Zhou Qiang were chatting animatedly about everything under the sun, from family matters to unusual events. They could talk about anything with great interest.

Finally, Zhou Qiang said, "Okay, you two, now it's time to show Ruyi the chicken coop."

Xiong Da smiled, his eyes almost narrowed into slits: "Are you jealous? It's too late. But, there will be opportunities in the future."

Zhou Qiang immediately asked: "What other opportunities are there?"

"Taoyuan, think about it, when the peaches on the trees are ripe, shouldn't you find someone to check on them? After all, the area is so large." Big Bear said vividly.

Zhou Qiang picked up his glass and took a drink, then said, "Yes, I planted it last year, and it will almost bear fruit next year."

Hearing this, Wang Erdan started to have some thoughts in his mind again, his eyes rolling around, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

Later, when working on the wasteland, Wang Erdan was always absent-minded and often stared blankly at the peach orchard.

Zhang San came over and jokingly said, "What are you looking at? Is there a beautiful woman over there?"

Wang Erdan shook his head and said mysteriously, "There's gold there."

When Zhang San heard this, his eyes widened and he asked anxiously, "What gold?"

The shout was so loud that it attracted the villagers who were working hard around. They all heard the word "gold" clearly.

Wang Youcai walked over with a frown and said, "What are you doing? Instead of working properly, you're yelling!"