Su Sanlang put down his hoe and said, "Chong, Hua, we're done for the day. Let's go home and cook."
Su Chong and Su Hua's eyes immediately lit up. They looked in the direction of the house below and immediately ran down.
They had smelled the chicken stew long ago. It smelt delicious.
Su Sanlang smiled at his innocent and lively sons, and his weariness seemed to be brushed away. He too carried his hoe home.
With Su Sanmei helping with the cooking, Su Sanlang was not tired at all.
He went to check on the rabbits. The rabbit, which they suspected was about to give birth, hadn't moved yet, but it had pulled out a lot of its own fur to pad its nest.
The other rabbits were also very energetic as they ate the grass. It would definitely not be a problem to raise them for three to five days.
Su Sanlang planned to go to town to sell these rabbits after he finished flipping the soil. He also planned to buy some vegetables seeds and plant them in the fields.
The meal was cooked, and the three children could hardly wait.
Su Sanlang distributed the food one by one. After each of them received three pieces of chicken, the three of them ate slowly. As for what was left in the pot, the three children did not even look at it.
Such good behavior both comforted and pained Su Sanlang. He scooped a bowl of chicken soup and chicken for Madam Zhao and said, "Darling, quickly try it. The children are eating it very well."
The big piece of chicken in Madam Zhao's bowl was obviously drumstick meat.
Madam Zhao asked with concern, "Sanlang, have you tried it?"
Su Sanlang could not bring himself to eat it. Just as he was about to lie to Madam Zhaoo, she did not give him a chance to speak. She fed him a piece of chicken and said gently, "I guess you definitely didn't eat it. Open your mouth. I'll eat after you eat."
Madam Zhao knew very well what kind of person Su Sanlang was, so she had to feed this piece of chicken to him.
Unable to refuse, Su Sanlang could only open his mouth and take a bite.
How fragrant. Su Sanlang could not even bear to spit out the bones. Seeing that Madam Zhao also ate, he smiled and went out to eat.
The chicken was fragrant and nutritious. Madam Zhao would feel better after eating it. This way, he would be relieved.
On the 20th of August, when he woke up early, Su Sanlang went to check on the rabbits. Nothing much had happened. He closed the cage and went out to check on the traps.
Soon he was back, this time carrying two live pheasants and a hare.
He could not even contain the smile on his face. He tied up the pheasant's feet and went into the house to report the good news to Madam Zhao. "Darling, we're so lucky. I caught two more pheasants today. There was no movement from the traps yesterday, and a few traps were destroyed."
As he spoke, Su Sanlang could not help but be shocked. His traps never missed.
Madam Zhao was also surprised. "That's great."
Although she was very happy, she was also puzzled. Why did they catch something every time? As she thought about it, Madam Zhao was a little afraid.
Madam Zhao asked, "Sanlang, why is this happening every time?"
Su Sanlang scratched his head in confusion. "I don't know about that. Maybe I got lucky."
Lucky. This was so lucky, it was unbelievable.
In the past, if they could catch one or two in a year, they were considered lucky.
But now, he caught something every time he set up the traps, which meant that he did not miss a single time. His luck could not be said to be good, but it was heaven-defying.
As he thought about it, Su Sanlang felt a little depressed. He thought about how the insects in the traps were always caught by Su Sanmei. The first time, he caught them himself. That time, he didn't get anything.
Su Sanlang patted his head. "Darling, I remember now. Our Sanmei caught all the bugs that were used as bait. She caught bugs every day to feed the chickens, and our hens laid eggs. Do you think it's because those bugs are so good that the chickens eat them well and even the wild animals like them?"
Now, everything seemed to be clear.
"Speaking of which, Sanmei catches insects every day. It seems like there's an endless amount of bugs."
Su Sanlang was also a little puzzled. When he made traps, he used both insects and grass as bait. Pheasants liked insects, but rabbits might like grass that smelled of insects.
"I'll go out and take a look."
Su Sanlang had his doubts and turned to leave.
Madam Zhao also had questions in her heart, so she didn't say anything.
Su Chong and Su Hua both woke up, not knowing what had happened.
After Su Sanlang left, Su Sanmei said weakly, "Mother, can I still catch insects to feed the chickens in the future?"
Thinking that the chickens were fine after eating the insects, not to mention that it had brought such a good harvest to the family, Madam Zhao reached out and stroked Su Sanmei's hair. "Yes, this is a good thing."
When Su Sanmei heard that it was a good thing, she was relieved. She smiled happily and said, "Mom, I'll catch insects every day for the chickens. When the chicks hatch in the future, I'll give them to the chicks too."
"The grass in that area grows best, and there are a lot of bugs. I finished catching them yesterday, but there are a lot more today."
Su Sanmei thought about how she caught insects every day and couldn't help but be happy. She would catch them clean every time and there would be a lot of insects there again the next day. Their rooster and hen loved them.
Su Sanlang returned very quickly. He looked at Madam Zhao and said, "Darling, there are quite a lot of worms in that area. The earthworms are especially fat. There's nothing else. It's just earthworms and crickets. It's nothing special. Don't worry."
Madam Zhao also felt at ease. It was good that he did not find anything bad.
As for the rest, they would just take it as a gift from the heavens.
With his heart at ease, Su Sanlang felt more relaxed at work.
For the next few days, Su Sanlang led Su Chong and Su Hua to concentrate on flipping the soil.
On the 22nd of August, at noon, Su Sanmei noticed something strange when she was feeding the rabbits. The gray rabbit did not eat grass and lay motionless in its nest.
Out of curiosity, Su Sanmei poked the gray rabbit with her stick. After the gray rabbit jumped away, Su Sanmei exclaimed, "Ah—"
When Madam Zhao heard this, she thought that something had happened. She hurriedly shouted for Su Sanmei, "Sanmei, what's wrong? What happened?"
Su Sanmei replied loudly in surprise, "Mother, the gray rabbit gave birth to a bunny."
When Madam Zhao heard this, she also smiled and said, "It's noon. Go and tell your father about it and ask him to come back to take a rest."
Su Sanmei nodded happily and ran out, smiling.
Soon Su Sanlang, Su Chong, and Su Hua returned. They were also happy to know that the gray rabbit had given birth to a baby rabbit. They would not have to sell this gray rabbit and could raise it.
If there were any other male rabbits, they could keep and raise one male and one female.
The days were looking more and more promising. Even digging in the fields felt more and more exciting to Su Sanlang.
On the 29th of August, after digging for ten days, they finally dug out the four acres of land. There was a huge pile of weeds, and they had dried up after being in the sun for the past few days.
The grass and thorns that grew on the surrounding stem had also been dug clean.
Today, after burning all those weeds, Su Sanlang was in a good mood. He would pack up today and go into town tomorrow.