Lord: Start with a copy of Water Margin

Chapter 72 Rural Affairs - Stepping on Eggs

Today, Zhao Zhen only performed stick techniques with Du Qian once, and then stopped. After breakfast, Zhao Zhen called Du Qian, Liu Tang and Ding Chou to ride horses to Kushu Village.

Zhao Zhen and the other two rode horses raised on the farm, and Ding Chou rode a mule assigned to Kushu Village. Seeing this mule, Zhao Zhen remembered something that needed to be dealt with. Now that the territory has expanded a lot, it is inconvenient to walk around. Most mules are draft horses used for farming, but there are few mules that can be ridden, and there is no war horse that can go to the battlefield.

I asked to find a taller horse, regardless of quality, but I haven't seen one so far. Now there are nearly 40,000 strings of money in the warehouse of my farm. I can go back to the main world to search for a batch of war horses. As the saying goes: swords are given to heroes, rouge is given to beauties, and fierce horses are matched with generals.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the chicken farm. At this time, the chickens were wandering in the woods next to the chicken farm, and two farmers were watching over them. In the stream next to it, 50 geese were playing and eating water plants.

Seeing Zhao Zhen and his men from afar, they hurried over to greet them.

Ding Chou said, "Zhu San, where is the snow mulberry that the owner of the manor raised?"

Zhu San said, "Village head, today the snow mulberry did not come to the woods, but stayed in the chicken farm, occupying more than a dozen hens and not letting them out. I fed these hens some millet, and judging from their appearance, they seem to be sitting on eggs."

Zhao Zhen said, "Don't hens sit on eggs in March and April?"

Ding Chou saw that Zhu San didn't know how to answer, and said, "Owner, hens sit on eggs one to three times a year, usually in March and April. At this time, the weather is getting hotter, the hens stop laying eggs, and their feathers become fluffy. They sit on eggs for more than 20 days, and these half-grown chicks are newly hatched this year.

Li You once explained that these chickens occasionally sit on eggs at other times. In order to make these chickens lay more eggs, they need to wake up to sit on eggs at this time. There are many ways to do this, and the best one is to tie one of the chicken's legs with a rope, and then hang it up, so that one leg is on the ground and it cannot lie on the nest, so that the chicken wakes up to sit on eggs."

Zhao Zhen nodded, and the four of them entered the chicken farm together.

This chicken farm is just seven or eight doorless sheds that are one person tall, surrounded by a circle of half-person-high low walls with branches inserted on them as fences. After entering the fence gate, the yard was very clean, the chicken manure was swept away, and the shed was covered with straw.

Ding Chou walked up to Zhao Zhen, pointed to a place and whispered to Zhao Zhen: "Master, look, they are about to step on the eggs."

Zhao Zhen looked in the direction Ding Chou pointed, and saw a hen in a half-squatting position, with its wings propped up to the left and right. Xuelihong stepped on the hen's back nimbly, stretched out its head and bit the feathers on the hen's head with its mouth, and flapped its wings to the left and right. Before Zhao Zhen could blink twice, Xuelihong had jumped off the hen.

This was also the first time Zhao Zhen saw stepping on eggs. He turned to look at Ding Chou and asked, "Is it done?" Ding Chou was holding back his laughter and nodded.

Zhao Zhen couldn't help but be a little surprised, thinking: This Xuelihong is also a quick shooter, and it was done in the blink of an eye.

Xuelihong turned around, glanced at everyone, and walked towards Zhao Zhen with her head held high. When she arrived in front of Zhao Zhen, she stopped and tilted her head, glanced at Zhao Zhen, and flapped her wings. She passed Zhao Zhen and suddenly accelerated to run towards another squatting hen.

She looked aggressive, as if saying: "Learn from me."

Zhao Zhen looked at these hens, with bright feathers, plump and well-proportioned bodies, slender and powerful claws, and towering red crowns. Maybe in the eyes of Xuelihong, this idiot, they are all rare beautiful chickens.

Zhao Zhen used his keen observation to take a look at Xuelihong, and indeed there was a state of estrus.

Ding Chou said to Zhao Zhen at this time: "Master, do you want to let these hens wake up to brood? These few lay eggs the most diligently."

Before Zhao Zhen could speak, Xuelihong, who had finished her work, rushed to Ding Chou and opened her mouth to bite Ding Chou's feet. Ding Chou held his left foot and cried out, which made Zhao Zhen and the other two laugh.

Zhao Zhen said, "Let it sit there, and watch out for the chickens when they hatch, and see if there is any difference."

As the two were talking, Xuelihong actually left the hens behind, ran a few steps, flew out of the chicken farm wall, and went to the woods.

Liu Tang and Du Qian said, "What a beautiful chicken."

Zhao Zhen listened and said, "I bought it because it looks good. It just doesn't have the aura of a cockfighting cock, and it has a beautiful appearance."

As they talked, they walked out. It was almost noon, and Ding Chou said, "Master, it's time for dinner, and the weather is hot. Why don't we go to the village to have a meal and cool down."

Zhao Zhen nodded, "It's true that I haven't been to Kushu Mountain for a long time. Let's go up the mountain today to take a look."

After that, everyone followed Ding Chou to Kushu Village. The original scene of the mountain full of dead trees and yellow grass had long disappeared. The view was lush and green, with green grass and vines, bushes and flowers blooming all over the mountains, spreading their fragrance, and bursts of birds and insects chirping from time to time.

It was midsummer, and walking on the mountain road, everyone couldn't help but breathe.

After entering Kushu Village, Ding Chou led everyone to the village office, where Bao Xu was waiting. Everyone greeted each other and drank tea before sitting down.

After eating and drinking, Zhao Zhen and others rested under the shade of the trees in the village office. Everyone opened their clothes, lay on the chairs, and talked about the deeds of heroes in the rivers and lakes.

Everyone laughed from time to time. Zhao Zhen remembered Du Qian's origin and couldn't help asking: "Brother Du Qian, I heard that this Mr. Chai is also a hero in the rivers and lakes. I wonder what his place is like?"

Du Qian said: "Brothers and Wang Lun only make a living in Dongzhuang, a village owned by Chaidaguan. They have also gone to Xizhuang, where most Chaidaguan people and their families live. But they have never been to other Zhuangzi. This Dongzhuang The gate is built to face the wide harbor, and behind it is a sparse forest of locust trees. There are three or five guesthouses for guests, and the fields are full of cattle and sheep, and there are flocks of geese and ducks in the wheat field. It's exactly this: the family has enough food to feed their chickens and dogs, but the family has no servants and no children to spare.

This Xizhuang has to be crossed through a bridge. There is a flat road behind the bridge. The willow trees planted outside the village are also a hundred years old and surround the village courtyard. It is surrounded by a large river, with big weeping poplar trees on both sides. There is a whitewashed wall in the shade, which is more dangerous than other manor houses. "

Zhao Zhen said: "What a great place in Zhuangzi. The time in my place is still short, and it is not as good as many others. Is there any good man in the village?"

Du Qian said: "Most of them are ordinary villagers, and there are also some heroes who have defected to the village. They all live not long ago. The only one I have seen is General Shi Yong, who is very powerful. The other people are not very outstanding, only the villagers A teacher, because Chai Daguan often talked with him about martial arts and competed with each other with guns and sticks, so the villagers called him 'teacher'."

Zhao Zhen said: "I just hate that the fog blocked me and I never had a chance to visit him."

Bao Xu and Liu Tang listened and said: "The owner of the village is very famous in the world now, and he is as good as Chai Daguan."