Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 76 - 74 Earthworm

“Sister-in-law, how about I give you a box to take back? You just follow the instructions I gave you – they’re great for feeding chickens. Haven’t you noticed how often and large the eggs from my chickens are?” Shen Yunfang didn’t hold back from sharing with Dashuan’s wife. It didn’t affect her own interests, and it was good to have more people making money.

Dashuan’s wife didn’t speak. Seeing Yunfang busy with so many things, she was also tempted. However, she felt a bit embarrassed to just take a whole box of earthworms from Yunfang for free.

Shen Yunfang could see that Dashuan’s wife wanted the worms but was too bashful to say so. So she continued, “Ah, I really can’t bear to part with the earthworms, but why don’t you take that box with only the eggs? You can raise them at home, and soon you’ll have your own earthworms.”

She spoke as if she was being stingy, which made Dashuan’s wife burst into laughter, “Oh, thank you, you’re so generous.”

“I suppose I am.”

The two of them chatted and laughed away, one washing, the other chopping.

“Sister-in-law, I heard your old hen has gone broody – are you planning on raising the chicks yourself? If not, don’t sell them to anyone else. Once they hatch, sell them to me,” Shen Yunfang suggested.

Actually, there were chicks for sale at the market. Shen Yunfang had the money to buy them directly, but when she thought about it, an egg only cost five cents, while a chick cost twenty. After comparing the two, it seemed expensive. Since she could hatch chicks at home, she might as well save the money.

“Don’t you have a broody hen at home too? With the ones you already have, plus the new ones about to hatch, don’t you think that’s enough for you to raise?” Dashuan’s wife glanced at Shen Yunfang before looking down and continuing to wash the earthworms. Though they had been soaked properly, they were truly disgusting to handle.

Not so long ago, Shen Yunfang moved all her chickens from the front yard to the back. The next day, she discovered a hen had gone broody, so she thought it over, “Since the hen’s broody anyway, it must be fate,” and proceeded to tuck a few more eggs under the broody hen, making it thirty in total. After all, if you’re going to hatch a batch, you might as well make it a full count.

“Hehe, whether you herd one sheep or two, it’s all herding. Whether you raise one chicken or a flock, it’s all raising. Besides, you’ve seen the chickens I raise, right? Honestly, what do you think?” Shen Yunfang was quite confident in her chicken-raising skills, believing she could call herself an expert in the field. She was sure her chickens were the best in the entire village.

“Well, that’s true. Who would have thought a young girl like you, who isn’t good at much else, would be such an expert at raising chickens?” Dashuan’s wife had to admit it; raising chickens seemed effortless to Shen Yunfang.

Others would struggle raising just ten chickens, but Shen Yingxue made it look easy with over thirty. They grew well, large and robust, their feathers shiny and slick. It looked like by autumn, each chicken would weigh over three pounds.

And if she sold them to the commune’s meat station, she could get more than a yuan per chicken. If she raised a few more, that would be a tidy sum.

“That’s right, I may not be as good as you at farming and such, but when it comes to raising chickens and pigs, I’m second to none,” Shen Yunfang boasted, beginning to taunt. In those times, someone who couldn’t shoulder loads or carry heavy weights were looked down upon. As her second aunt put it, it was lucky her mother had found her a match in advance, or else someone like her would struggle even to find a suitor.

Shen Yingxue wanted to disagree, but she also understood that, exaggerated as they might be, her second aunt’s words were not entirely wrong. At that time, no family wanted a delicate daughter-in-law; they aimed to bring in an extra laborer to earn more work points and ensure a full belly. Someone like Shen Yunfang could manage farm work, but she’d never score full marks—five would be good, and she probably couldn’t even support herself in the end.

Dashuan’s wife snorted and then got down to business, “Seeing how well you raise them, I’m tempted too. This time, when my old hen went broody, I stuffed her nest with twenty eggs. No matter how many hatch, I’ll raise them all, just like you said. Keep the hens for laying eggs next year, and sell the roosters before new year’s—keeping a couple to nourish Xiaojuan.”

Xiaojuan had always been frail since she was young, prone to severe dizziness. They consulted an old traditional doctor who couldn’t point to anything specific and just advised her to eat well. Lately, with Shen Yunfang providing goat milk, Xiaojuan’s spells of dizziness had lessened a great deal, and even her hair had grown thicker and fuller.

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Only then did Dashuan and his wife realize that their previous approach might have been wrong. Before, they used to save by skimping on food and clothing, spending the money on herbal decoctions for their daughter. But it did little to help her health, and their financial situation only worsened. Yunfang was right; nothing beats good nutrition. These past few months, listening to Yunfang’s advice, they’d bought fewer medicines for Xiaojuan and instead used the savings to buy her good food. Plus, with the daily goat milk, the child’s health had notably improved.

“Aye, you got it. What good is anything if it doesn’t end up in your own mouth? Who knows whose it will be otherwise.”

“You rascal, always thinking differently, clever as a fox,” Dashuan’s wife laughed and scolded her. “Right, it’s getting warm now, and the corn in the fields is about to tassel. It’ll need plenty of water at this stage, and you won’t be able to handle this task. I’ll ask Brother Dashuan to water your crops for you.”

“No need, I can manage on my own,” Shen Yunfang firmly rejected the offer. She might not be able to carry water herself, but she could manage with her space as cover.

“What’s the matter, afraid we’ll charge you?” Dashuan’s wife teased jokingly.

Ever since the spring planting ended, Dashuan and his wife had been helping Shen Yunfang with some work but insisted on not taking any money for it.

“It’s precisely because it’s free that I can’t let you help. I’m afraid in the end, you’ll cart away my food supply. Then I’d really be at a loss,” Shen Yunfang said with a wry smile, which made Dashuan’s wife laugh.

Jokes aside, Dashuan’s wife had already made up her mind that she and her husband would definitely help Yunfang with the work. They owed her that much; if it weren’t for Yunfang, Xiaojuan’s health wouldn’t have improved.