Chapter 153: The ducks have arrived, so many ducks quack quack quack

A few days later, Wang Yong and Wang Yuan came again. This time, both had learned their lesson and didn’t go to Old Man Wen or the Luo family. Instead, they quietly found Wen Xiuyi to share what had happened.

It turned out they had seen someone trying to steal the seedlings in the field at night again. This time the intruder had a flashlight, but when the two shone the beam into the field, the person was immediately frightened off.

“Did you see who it was clearly?” Wen Xiuyi asked.

“It looked like Er Mazi from the village. Although there was light, they were too far away to see clearly, but the figure resembled him,” Wang Yong replied.

Wen Xiuyi furrowed his brows tightly. He knew this person well—a troublemaker in the village who often dabbled in petty theft.

However, since they hadn’t caught him in the act, Wen Xiuyi couldn’t just confront someone based on two brothers’ vague impressions.

Ah, not having surveillance cameras was truly infuriating.

“No worries. Keep a close watch during this period. In two months, it will be fine,” Wen Xiuyi sighed. After much hesitation, he decided not to tell Old Man Wen and the Luo family about this incident, fearing it might upset the elders.

The pond was finally filled with water, and beside it, the duck coop had been completed. Wen Yao sent a letter to Qiu Rongrong, and within a day, two hundred ducklings were delivered to the farm.

“The lady said she’ll send another two hundred ducklings every ten days. Miss Yao Yao, do you think this is enough? If not, I can find other ways,” said a steward from Qiu Rongrong’s estate. They had been busy with these ducks and had already traveled to all the nearby towns. They even sent a letter to the master’s household, requesting a separate farm be set up specifically for raising ducks.

Honestly, with so many ducks, he was still worried it might not be enough. Nowadays, the roast duck shop’s business was even better than that of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. People from other places came just to taste the roast duck.

Wen Yao looked at the Luo family, who were all beaming with joy by the duck coop, and at the little fluffy ducks, their cheerful quacking bringing a smile to her face.

“Please thank Sister Qiu for me. Our duck coop isn’t that big; it can hold at most five to six hundred ducks. We’ll need Uncle’s help to get another four hundred ducks, and once the first batch grows up, we can hatch ducklings ourselves,” Wen Yao said.

The steward nodded. The lady had said to follow Miss Yao Yao’s instructions, so whatever she said was final.

“Then I’ll take my leave,” the steward bowed and left with the convoy that delivered the ducklings.

Only then did Wen Yao walk toward the duck coop. Seeing Second Aunt and Third Aunt rushing about, with Aunt Iron Ox helping, she lifted her foot but then quietly put it down again, standing outside the coop to call out:

“Granny, granny…”

The Luo matriarch was also troubled by the noise from the ducks. Just as Wen Yao called, she hurried out.

“My ears are about to go deaf,” she muttered as she walked.

Li Shi heard this and laughed so hard her teeth showed. “Mother, it’s not noisy, it’s money! Each grown duck sells for a hundred wen. Two hundred ducks here means twenty taels. Even after sharing with elder brother’s family, we still get four taels. Besides, Yao Yao said more ducklings will be delivered later.”

Besides ducklings, there were duck eggs too. Wen Yao said she would teach them how to make those preserved eggs and salted duck eggs, which sounded delicious and could fetch a good price.

Thinking of this, Li Shi was overjoyed—never had she been so happy. How could she dislike these golden treasures making noise?

The Luo matriarch waved her hand. “If you don’t mind the noise, carry on. My ears can’t take it. Yao Yao, let’s go.” She squeezed Wen Yao’s hand and left.

Li Shi and Cai Shi smiled, watching them leave. Aunt Iron Ox looked on enviously.

“Madam Wen is really kind. Your family has truly come through hardships,” she said. Raising so many ducks, life would only get better.

Li Shi brushed her hair back, not minding the dirty duck feathers on her hands, and smiled. “Well, you’re about the same. My mother said your ducks could be sold together with ours.”

Aunt Iron Ox quickly nodded. “Absolutely. Madam Wen gave me this chance, and I’ll work hard alongside you all.”

Indeed, Aunt Iron Ox was genuinely happy. Before, when the Wen family farmed, whether spreading fertilizer or tilling the land, her family helped out. Now, hearing from the children’s father that the crops were growing better than in previous years, how could she not be pleased?

Determined, she resolved to follow the Wen family’s lead from now on and do whatever they asked.

With this in mind, she worked even harder.

It would take some time to manage so many ducks properly. The Luo matriarch leisurely pulled Wen Yao along to inspect Wen Xiuyi’s precious “golden treasures.”

Now the seedlings in the field were nearly knee-high, some even beginning to flower. There was also a plant that looked like bamboo but wasn’t. Wen Xiuyi said that was the real treasure, but the Luo matriarch really couldn’t tell what was so special about it.

“What exactly is all this? Your father keeps checking on it, almost three times a day,” she asked Wen Yao curiously.

Wen Yao saw that the potatoes were already flowering, so she squatted and dug a little into the soil. They had been planted for just over a month—maybe small potatoes had started to grow?

The Luo matriarch saw her digging and asked, “What are you doing? What’s in the soil?”

“There’s treasure,” Wen Yao replied without looking up, continuing to dig.

The Luo matriarch pulled her up and patted the soil from her hands. “Digging with bare hands? Don’t ruin your hands. I’ll have Uncle Yong bring you a hoe to dig.”

After speaking, she looked around for the two brothers.

Wen Yao slipped away from her and squatted down again, using her hands to dig while saying, “Granny, it’s nothing. I just want to see if they’ve grown.”

No sooner had she spoken than her fingers touched something hard. She brushed away the soil and saw a plump little potato in the earth.

A smile brightened Wen Yao’s face. “Granny, it’s grown! Look, it really has.” It wasn’t small, about the size of a large knuckle.

She really wanted to eat it!

Swallowing her saliva, Wen Yao dug further and pulled out the little potato.

She cleaned off the soil, held it carefully in her palm, her eyes shining.

Luckily, they had bought an early-maturing variety for the seed potatoes, so they could see small potatoes so soon.

“What’s this? Can it be eaten? Is this it?” The Luo matriarch looked at it curiously, studying it but still couldn’t see what was special.

“Granny, wait for me. I’ll ask Uncle Yong for a small rake,” Wen Yao said, leaving the Luo matriarch behind as she ran off, as if someone were chasing her.

“Slow down!” the Luo matriarch called after her, helpless but indulgent, then returned to examining the potato in her hand.