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Chapter 212: Chapter 205: Transfer
Shen Yunfang thought about raising the chicks on the hillside since she had to go up the mountain to feed the pigs every day anyway. It wouldn’t delay anything to bring the chickens along.
However, she thought that it was already the end of September, and in just over a month it would get cold. If the chicks were raised on the mountain without a greenhouse to keep them warm, they would only lay eggs for the next month or so. After that, they wouldn’t lay again until next spring.
By next spring, she would have just given birth. If circumstances allowed, she planned to join the military with her husband, as it was not ideal to live separately having married and with a child. If she really did leave, she would have to deal with these chickens then.
Thinking it over, she wondered what was the difference between slaughtering the chickens now or later. She could collect eggs for another month, but would need to feed them for an extra half a year.
Shen Yunfang shook her head; it didn’t seem worth it.
After contemplating for two or three days, Shen Yunfang finally made up her mind. The chicks had to be slaughtered, but she should let them lay for the next month, or it would be a huge loss for her. When the snow fell on the mountain and it was time to slaughter the pigs, she would handle the chickens then.
All said and done, she just couldn’t bear to do it.
After making the decision, Shen Yunfang immediately took action, moving the young hens to the hillside. She had to build a nest for them—it wouldn’t do to let them roam freely in such a wide space. So, first, she used tree branches to surround a small area with a fence in the radish field on the mountain, planning to create a simple shelter for the hens.
Shen Yunfang’s space contained many straight tree branches, as well as plenty of cornstalks; with materials at hand, and her strong arms, she quickly finished building the fence.
When she returned home, she went to catch the chickens. There were a total of one hundred and eighteen chickens in her home, with eighty-six hens and thirty-two roosters.
Shen Yunfang directly grabbed seventy young hens, mainly those raised from last year, and made up the numbers with the ones newly raised this year. The rest were the earliest batch of chickens she had raised. She also caught five roosters. The remaining forty-three chickens, which were old, weak, sick, or disabled, stayed home.
She didn’t touch the ducks and geese, since everyone in the village would notice if suddenly a few went missing.
It took her three trips to move all seventy-five chickens to the hillside.
It wasn’t that the chickens were too heavy to carry, but rather she was worried about crushing them. Otherwise, with Shen Yunfang’s current strength, she could have moved them all in one go.
After scattering the chickens inside the fence and seeing them chasing and frolicking with each other, some pecking at the radish tops incessantly, showing a carefree demeanor, Shen Yunfang sighed, hoping she was overthinking it and that nobody would have their eyes on her chickens.
Entering October, the production team began harvesting rice, a task Shen Yunfang couldn’t participate in. She went straight to her uncle, saying, "Uncle, look at me—I can’t bend over," and she patted her belly for emphasis.
Harvesting rice in October was a major event for the production team, of utmost importance. Generally, everyone capable of working in the fields was required to participate in the harvest to avoid any surprises that could affect the yield.
Last year, Shen Yunfang was the girl who herded the sheep. During the harvest, she helped with some light work on the side, which was unremarkable. But this year, she was a married woman, and it didn’t look good for her to be skirting the edges.
Only, Shen Yunfang’s situation was special, as she still had a baby in her belly.
Uncle Shen, looking at her belly tied with the small pot, frowned and waved his hand impatiently, "Alright, just stay at home and behave," he said, then walked away with his hands behind his back. Out of sight, out of mind. Normally, she was a bit foolish, but when it came to work, she was capable of shirking.
"Hehe, thank you, Uncle." Shen Yunfang knew her Uncle was a man with a stern face and a soft heart.
But her joy didn’t last long, for Gaijiatun unexpectedly had three unwelcome visitors.
The commune had dispatched a workgroup to supervise the autumn harvest in Gaijiatun.
This was something unprecedented; Gaijiatun was so remote and so poor, the workgroup had never graced them with a visit before.
Uncle Shen took the arrival of the workgroup very seriously, delegating the command of the harvest to the accountant while he busied himself serving the workgroup members.
It wasn’t because he only knew how to curry favor and avoid real work, but because he understood that the workgroup’s visit boded no good. If any of the members gave a negative report upon their return, it was very likely that the quota of grain to be turned over by the village would be increased. If that happened, there wouldn’t be enough food for the people in the village. Although such a thing had never happened in Gaijiatun, it had occurred in other villages, so in a sense, Uncle Shen was sacrificing himself for the whole of Gaijiatun.
The workgroup wasn’t there just to inspect and leave; they were to remain until the end of the harvest season, which created a problem of where they would stay and what they would eat.
Eventually, the leadership of Gaijiatun decided that the workgroup would stay at the production brigade, in the same house that Shen Yunxiu had once lived in. As for food, they would eat at Uncle Shen’s home, offsetting the cost with Food Coupons provided by the workgroup, and for vegetables, whatever anyone in the village had to spare could be contributed.
Shen Yunfang heeded Uncle Shen’s call and brought over ten eggs that very night, which was considered quite generous in the village.
That day, as Shen Yunfang came down from the mountain, she saw a man wandering outside her courtyard. She looked carefully; she didn’t recognize him, but this time of day, any strange man here was likely a member of the workgroup that had been in the village for several days.
After considering for a moment, Shen Yunfang continued towards her house and ended up face to face with the man across the way.
"This young...," the stranger began to speak as he saw Shen Yunfang coming his way, assuming she was the lady of the house and about to call her "young lady," but upon noticing her belly, he changed his address, "Young sister-in-law, this is your home, isn’t it?"
"Yes, it is. Are you a leader from the workgroup?" Shen Yunfang asked with a smile. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"Hehe, no leader, just call me Old Zhou or Comrade Zhou," Old Zhou said with a chuckle as he made small talk with her.
"So, it’s Comrade Zhou. What are you doing here? My house is the last one here, and it’s just the mountain beyond that," Shen Yunfang said, obviously not comfortable calling him Old Zhou.
"Yes, I was just strolling around the village and somehow found myself here, and then I saw how neatly your yard was kept, with this circle of sorghum stalks, I thought this must be the home of someone who knows how to live well," Old Zhou complimented her.
"Hehe, it’s nothing special. My father fixed up the yard before he was martyred on the battlefield. Ever since, my mother has been reminded of him by these things around her, so she’s been taking special care of it," Shen Yunfang pointedly mentioned her status as the descendant of a martyr.
She always felt that this man had come for her, definitely not for the stroll he claimed he was on.
"Ah, a martyr’s relative; I am terribly sorry for my oversight," Old Zhou’s expression immediately turned solemn.
Shen Yunfang smirked, What are you apologizing to a country person like me for? What good does understanding do me?
