Chapter Fifty-Six: Addiction

"Not your kid? No wonder! I was just wondering why the kid said his mother hatched little chicks, yet you folks were still looking to buy some."

The old man grinned without a trace of awkwardness.

Instead, he urged Chen Ling, "You should hurry up and have a child yourself. Otherwise, with the family planning policies getting stricter by the year, and word going around this year that they might tear down houses and impound cattle for violations, what's going to happen in the future?"

"Who knows which bastard in the township came up with such a vicious trick, scaring people so much that they don't dare have kids..."

Chen Ling's expression froze slightly, then he put on a polite, self-deprecating smile. "You old folks talk like that, but those slogans are just bark. People still have to have kids when the time comes. Things look pretty intimidating, but out here in these poor mountains, it's not actually that serious..."

Hearing this, Wang Susu covered her mouth from the side and giggled non-stop.

The old man nodded. "That's true. Even if the fines are heavy, the worst you can do is run off to live deep in the mountains and forests. Who could possibly stop you..."

With that, he finished selecting twenty chicks for Chen Ling.

"Take a look here, young man. Are these chicks to your liking?"

Chen Ling glanced over and nodded. "They're fine, they look quite spirited..."

"Little Six, you three help your Auntie Susu herd the chicks back home."

"Will do!"

Chen Ling pulled out his money and handed it to the old man.

"Hey, chick-seller, how are you pricing these chicks?"

Just as the old man took the money into his hands, Old Mrs. Wang called out from the doorway, carrying a bucket.

Seeing this, Chen Ling clicked his tongue. "You came at the right time today. We've had a bit of a weasel problem around here lately, and several families' chickens have been ruined. Your business won't be bad today."

"Oh? Weasels causing trouble? I was thinking I'd have to go through quite a few more villages, but it looks like I won't need to after all."

Surprised and delighted, the old man beamed from ear to ear.

He thought to himself that coming to Chenjiachuang Village was the right move. A village plagued by weasels meant he was about to make a fortune.

He hurriedly shouldered his baskets and walked toward Old Mrs. Wang. "Here I am! One laying hen for thirteen chicks, or if you're buying outright, twenty cents a piece..."

...

Stepping into the courtyard, Chen Ling saw a flock of chicks scurrying around and chirping loudly, foraging for food while getting used to their unfamiliar surroundings.

After a while, the chicks wandered over to the edge of the chicken coop and swarmed around the stone trough.

This feed had been specially prepared by Chen Ling for the mother hen, and the chicks tucked into it with great enthusiasm.

Even when Little Six offered them chafer beetles she had caught, they completely ignored her.

"Uncle Fugui, since the chicks aren't eating them right now, I'll just leave the beetles here."

Little Six set a glass bottle full of chafers down beside the coop, and Little Sen followed suit, placing his down right next to it.

...

Then the three little kids turned and dashed eagerly toward the gate.

"Hey, heading off already? It's almost noon, you three should stay for lunch! I'll make something good!"

Chen Ling hurriedly called out to stop them.

Wang Susu, having just finished hanging up the bedding to dry on the wire rope in the courtyard, also chimed in, urging the little ones to stay.

"No thanks, my second sister and brother-in-law are here today, and Mom told me to be back by eleven so we can help them work in the fields this afternoon."

Little Six wiped her nose with her sleeve. "Uncle Fugui, I'll come find you to play again next Sunday."

With those words, she bolted out of the courtyard like a spirited little pony.

"Heh, this kid..."

Chen Ling chuckled. Seeing that the chicks had eaten and drunk their fill in the courtyard, he scooped them all up and placed them into a bamboo basket inside the house.

Weasels struck without warning, and he couldn't afford to let these little chicks fall victim to them again.

However, after eating lunch and waiting all the way until three or four in the afternoon, there was still no sign of any weasels.

Chen Ling guessed that perhaps the chickens they had eaten earlier had filled them to bursting, or perhaps because people and dogs were home during the day, the predators hadn't dared to approach.

Since no weasels showed up, Chen Ling spent the time cleaning up the backyard and tidying away some unused items in the vegetable cellar.

Truth be told, the backyard was even larger and more spacious than the front yard, but the buildings were terribly outdated, and the perimeter wall was still made of mud bricks built back in the fifties and sixties, topped with briars and broken glass shards.

Ever since Chen Ling's father passed away, nobody had lived in the backyard; it had been used solely for storing various odds and ends and surplus grain.

"Once the flood season passes, I'll tear it down and rebuild. It would be best to connect it with the front yard and make one massive compound. By then, there'll be plenty of space no matter what I want to raise."

After making his plans and feeding the ox, Chen Ling turned and walked back to the front yard.

...

At night, the moonlight was bright and clear.

Chen Ling and his young wife took a hot bath and prepared to turn in for the night.

Suddenly, all the dogs in the surrounding neighborhood went wild, barking frantically and creating a massive commotion in the night air.

Heiwawa and Xiaojin joined in the chorus, barking endlessly inside the courtyard.

"The weasels are coming!"

Chen Ling hurriedly got dressed and told Wang Susu, "Susu, stay inside the house and don't come out, and don't turn on the light either, or we'll scare them off."

Wang Susu gave a soft assent. "Do you need a flashlight?"

"No need, I can see in the dark."

Chen Ling pushed open the door and stepped outside. Nourished daily by the mystical spring water and garden vegetables, his night vision was now barely different from daylight; he had no use for a flashlight whatsoever.

"You two quiet down, stop barking."

Chen Ling gave a low reprimand. The two little dogs instantly silenced themselves and obediently trotted over to lie down beside him.

Patting their heads, Chen Ling whispered, "Don't run off or bark blindly, just stay here and wait with me. Tonight, if those weasels dare to step foot in here, they aren't leaving alive."

Time ticked away second by second, and the barking in the village gradually subsided.

Chen Ling squatted under the eaves, keeping his eyes peeled for any movement across the courtyard, waiting for the weasels to show up.

Yet, after waiting for the better part of an hour, to the point where Chen Ling was starting to doze off, there was still no sign of them.

*Chirp, chirp, chirp...*

High in the night sky, a few bats flitted past from time to time.

Just then, a faint, unusual sound came from somewhere unknown. The two little dogs instantly pricked up their ears, their sharp eyes locked onto a single direction as low, rumbling growls rose in their throats.

This was their warning signal.

"Are they here?"

Chen Ling instantly snapped to attention, holding the two little dogs down to keep them from acting rashly.

He scanned his surroundings, but still found nothing.

Nothing?

Chen Ling turned to look at Heiwawa and Xiaojin, only to find that they were staring in two entirely different directions.

One was fixed on the eastern wall, while the other stared intently at the main gate, ears perked, eyes unblinking, while emitting deep, rumbling growls from deep in their throats.

Following their line of sight, Chen Ling saw a yellow shadow slowly creep into his field of vision atop the wall, its head darting left and right as it cautiously scouted the surroundings.

Simultaneously, another weasel appeared at the gateway, its body remarkably agile as it vaulted over the picket fence and darted swiftly along the base of the wall toward the chicken coop.

"Damn it, they've even learned to launch a two-pronged attack on dual fronts..."

Chen Ling cursed softly under his breath, his eyes locked onto the two weasels.

These little creatures were noticeably chunkier than before. Clearly, having tasted the benefits of raiding his chickens earlier, they had grown fixated and returned for more.

Chen Ling didn't realize just how irresistible chickens raised on mystical garden vegetables were in the eyes of these pests.

Coming by day and returning by night—they were truly hooked.