CHAPTER 213: CHAPTER 112: FARMING MATTERS

After giving Sun Chuyao the "Life and Death Pills" he wanted, Lin Wanwan suddenly said, "I heard my senior brother sent me a group of Western ducklings a few days ago?"

Sun Chuyao was puzzled: "Ah?"

Lin Wanwan tilted her head and glanced at him, and he instantly understood and said, "Ah, yes, yes, I was just about to report to you, mistress."

"No need to report, I already saw them in the courtyard." Lin Wanwan stood up, and took Sun Chuyao and Kun Lun through the back door of the main hall to the courtyard.

Indeed, on the green stone slab floor, there was a cage full of chirping ducklings.

Lin Wanwan pointed with her hand and said, "You two carry the duck cage to the pen behind the school and place these Western ducklings properly. From now on, these ducklings will be fed by the children."

"Yes, mistress."

The people busy at the forefront, like Yun Shang, saw the two carrying a cage of ducklings through the main hall, and were a bit surprised but didn’t think much of it. After all, they had been away for nearly a month, and it was normal for the house to acquire some new livestock.

The ducklings were covered in deep brown fluff, had black beaks, and were gentle and not easily stressed. Even when following Lin Wanwan through time, they showed no abnormal reactions and remained full of vitality.

This was Lin Wanwan’s second time bringing living creatures from modern times back to the Great Tang. The first time she brought back a Chinese pastoral dog, which seemed ordinary when she bought it, yet proved to be intelligent when given away. Lin Wanwan had intended to make a veiled jab at He Miao, but ended up being appreciated by him—a difficult outcome indeed.

Behind the school kitchen, a row of brick houses had been set up, currently housing a few sheep and the clan’s donkey, with several empty pens remaining. While Sun Chuyao and Kun Lun were busy settling the ducklings here, the students on duty to feed the animals were curiously peering over.

Lin Wanwan casually instructed them that the ducklings would now also be their responsibility to feed. During the afternoon labor class, some students would herd sheep, while others took the ducks to the seaside.

"Teacher Lin, why do these ducks look different from the ones at our home?" one of the students on duty, Gou Sheng, asked curiously.

Lin Wanwan replied with a smile: "Indeed, they’re different. These ducks, you see, were hatched from eggs that my teacher’s senior brother brought back from thousands of miles away in the Western Regions. They are excellent at laying eggs, capable of producing over two hundred eggs a year. The eggs are much larger than normal duck eggs. They lay the best in the first year of feeding; by the second year, production drops significantly, and that’s when we’ll slaughter them for you to eat."

"Oh, oh, that’s wonderful!" The children, hearing that the grown ducks could be slaughtered for their meat, cheered happily. Their gazes at the ducklings turned keen, as if they were already seeing glossy roasted ducks.

The few sheep they’ve been raising for several months are now plump and strong, ready to be slaughtered for meat, something everyone is looking forward to.

Because when they first brought back the lambs, Teacher Lin said they would be responsible for grazing and raising them until they became meals. Now they anticipate it every day!

Teacher Lin went to Qiantang, and the school meals were arranged by Sun Chuyao, which were undoubtedly better than their own household meals. But compared to when Teacher Lin was there, often enjoying chicken, duck, fish, and meat, it’s quite different.

Moreover, since the school year started after the Lantern Festival, the cooking had been taken over by several clan members’ wives instead of Hua Nong. Their cooking consisted mostly of steaming or boiling, quite inferior to Hua Nong’s skills last year.

Every day they eagerly waited for Teacher Lin to return home.

When Teacher Lin was present, not only did they have better meals, but they also earned extra rewards of pastries and fruits for clean clothing and excellence in reading, among various other reasons!

Of course, even if the school lunches had no snacks or meats, students wouldn’t be picky. They were content as long as they had something to eat.

After all, during their break at home, apart from seafood, fish dried in salt, and pickles, they had nothing else to eat, totally incomparable to school life.

The food at school, despite being less delicious than last year, wasn’t normally found at their homes.

Most of the winter vegetables grown at their homes were picked by adults to sell in town to city dwellers, leaving them lucky to have pickles.

And at school, not only were there fresh vegetables, but also white rice, enough to fill their bellies!

Today, upon Teacher Lin’s return, their lunch was even more upgraded, as everyone received a bowl of braised beef and potato noodles with several pieces of beef. They savored every last drop of broth, extremely satisfied!

The potatoes were something everyone tried for the first time, during harvest, the entire clan helped in the fields, producing a significant yield. Clan Leader Grandpa said every household should plant potatoes this year.

After finishing a music class in the afternoon, it was time for labor class. Those on duty were tasked with cleaning the school and herding sheep and ducks, while other students helped the clan with tasks within their ability, like cleaning village roads, and gathering pig and sheep grass—all enthusiastically engaged.

Little Qingyu was walking down the village road, proudly leading a pony with his left hand, accompanied by a baby elephant on his right, followed by a proud Rongrong carrying a water bottle and soybean snacks. A group of children surrounded them, even happier than they were in Qiantang!

The young children in the small class didn’t have to participate in labor class, and went home after music class. However, they preferred staying to play together, especially following little Qingyu.

Because from time to time, little Qingyu would share some delicious snacks with them, making it hard to leave—a child with snacks is like a king.

Lin Wanwan was free in the afternoon, sitting in the study while reading the first subject’s book. Not long after, Hong Yan called out from outside: "Mistress, Clan Leader Lin is here."

Lin Wanwan hid the book under her cushion and got up, lifted the curtain, and walked into the main hall, saying with a smile, "Clan Leader Uncle, please sit. Let me brew you some tea, I’ve learned how to brew tea now."

Clan Leader Lin waved his hand: "No need to trouble yourself. I just had tea at home this noon, don’t bother, it’s wasteful. I came to tell you the happenings in the clan over the past month."

Lin Wanwan invited Clan Leader Lin to sit on the mat and was about to speak when Lin Mengbo walked in.

Clan Leader Lin asked, "Mengbo, where have you been? I went to your house looking for you, but you weren’t there."

Lin Mengbo raised the net of dried shrimps in his hand and replied, "I sun-dried some shrimps at the entrance of the ancestral hall a few days ago, and brought them to Wanwan."

Lin Wanwan smiled: "I love shrimp, I missed it in Qiantang. Thank you, cousin."

After exchanging pleasantries, the three sat down and got to the main topic.

There were mainly three things to discuss:

The first was about the astonishingly high yield of the newly planted potatoes. Everyone was thrilled, and they’re planning to plant more this year, needing Lin Wanwan’s guidance on breeding.

The second was that the business of delivering steamed buns to the restaurant in Xiaoxi Town fell through because their head chef created sourdough. Although their steamed buns weren’t as large as the ones at Lin Family Manor, they weren’t too different.

The third involved the matter of spring plowing. With it being late February, it’s an opportune time to plant ramie and jute. The people of Dafeng Village couldn’t wait to plant cotton together, and have already started planting the ramie, while Lu Family Manor largely agreed to plant cotton together.