"Exactly, exactly, we don't have to catch them anymore," Manbao said, "All the insect eggs and grass seeds in the ground are eaten too, so next year we'll have even fewer pests and weeds."
Manbao felt a pang of regret, "It's a pity that chickens can't swim, otherwise we could breed them in the fields. They love eating snails so much, and if we let a flock loose down there, we wouldn't have to worry about snails eating the rice plants."
Zhou SiLang spoke up, "Ducks can swim, can't they? Just don't know if they would eat the rice plants too."
Zhou ErLang: "Where can we find small ducks to buy? Within ten miles, we could count on one hand the families that raise ducks. There are quite a few that raise geese, though. Maybe we could get a few geese to raise?"
"No way," Zhou Dalang dismissed the idea without a second thought, "Put such a big goose in the field? Will it eat snails or trample the young rice plants? It'll just ruin the crops."
