Chapter 15: An Egg

Su Chong and Su Hua were attracted to the shout and had already run over.

Su Sanlang came back to his senses and immediately walked over as well. Before he walked in, he heard Su Chong, Su Hua, and Su Sanmei’s surprised voices.

“The hen laid an egg—”

Su Chong, Su Hua, and Su Sanmei were all surrounding the straw nest in the chicken coop. The only rooster and hen in the house had already quietly moved to the side and were clucking uneasily.

Su Sanlang was just as surprised. “The hen laid an egg?”

Su Sanmei picked up the egg with both hands and carefully handed it to Su Sanlang. Su Sanmei said happily, “Father, can you cook it for Mother?”

Su Sanlang took the egg and nodded. “Yes, I’ll make egg soup later. Let’s drink it together.”

When the rooster and hen arrived, Su Sanlang could tell that the hen would not lay eggs for the time being. It was still very thin.

He hadn’t expected an egg in just a few days.

He looked at the two chickens and realized that the hen seemed to have gained weight.

Thinking of Su Sanmei’s diligence, Su Sanlang couldn’t help but stroke Su Sanmei’s hair. “Sanmei, you’ve worked hard. This is your credit. When your mother is out of confinement, the first egg the hen lays, I’ll cook it for you.”

Su Sanmei smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

She couldn’t remember the smell of eggs, but they smelled good. They had to be delicious.

Su Chong and Su Hua still didn’t understand what the confinement period meant. They only remembered that Su Sanlang had said that they could have some egg soup that night. The two of them were practicing foolishly, as if wondering how to drink more of that.

As his two foolish sons inhaled the air, Su Sanlang rubbed their heads helplessly.

After cleaning up the well, Su Sanlang went to clean up the few acres of wasteland at the back of the house. He dug up the weeds and the ground, while Su Chong, Su Hua, and Su Sanmei followed him to clear out the grass.

The family was happy. The afternoon was overcast and the weather had changed.

He worked until evening and dug out an acre of land. He cleared out a large pile of weed poles and left them exposed to the sun. When the time came, he would burn them and scatter the ashes on the land. If he did this repeatedly, the land would become more nutritious.

This piece of land had been abandoned for many years. In the past, his family had other lands and it took time to care for them, so Old Master Su did not work on this land.

Now that this land was the source of his family’s food, Su Sanlang worked hard on it.

When they cooked that night, Su Sanlang cracked the eggs into egg soup. There was a little more soup so that all three children could have a small bowl.

He brought the rest to Madam Zhao, who was a little surprised. “Sanlang, where did the egg come from?”

The hen that was distributed to the family should not be able to lay eggs.

Su said with a smile, “You fell asleep at noon and didn’t know it. These eggs were laid by the hen at home today. Over the past few days, Sanmei had dug up a lot of insects to feed the chickens every day, so they are fattening up and are laying eggs again. Drink up. It’s delicious.”

It was only an egg, but the fragrance was really strong.

Madam Zhao looked at Su Sanlang and said, “Sanlang, drink a few mouthfuls first.”

Su Sanlang quickly said, “Why should I drink this? You’re the one who really needs it.”

If not for the fact that it was not allowed now, he would have killed the chickens and fed them to Madam Zhao.

Madam Zhao looked at Su Sanlang with determination in her eyes. “If you don’t drink it, then I won’t drink it.”

Seeing how stubborn Madam Zhao was, Su Sanlang had no choice but to take two sips. There was no oil and the soup was very light, but it was really delicious. The egg made it very fragrant.

Su Sanlang couldn’t help thinking that this was probably the best egg he’d ever tasted.

Su Sanlang took two sips and refused to drink anymore. Madam Zhao held the bowl and sipped.

Su Xiaolu, who was awake, moved her mouth silently.

The eggs smelled really good, but they also had a familiar scent. Thinking about how Su Sanmei washed diapers every day and caught insects to feed the chickens, Su Xiaolu understood why.

She drank spiritual spring water to absorb spiritual energy, so her feces were very nutritious.

Su Sanmei splashed the dirty water every day on the grass, so that patch of grass should be nutritious. The grass would fatten the insects, and the insects would be eaten by the chickens. Then, the chickens would lay eggs and the eggs would nourish the people.

Everything in the world was such a cycle.

Their chickens would definitely be delicious in the future. She really wanted to grow up quickly.

Madam Zhao was stuffed, and so was Su Xiaolu.

It was a cloudy day on the sixteenth of August. It looked as if it was going to rain. Su Sanlang got up early to make breakfast and got ready to go out and chop wood.

This time, he brought along Su Chong and Su Hua, leaving Su Sanmei to watch the house and take care of Madam Zhao.

Since Su Sanmei was at home and Madam Zhao did not call for her, she went to catch bugs to feed the chickens. Every time she caught a bug, she was very happy.

The rooster and hen could recognize her. When they saw her with something in her hand, they ran over happily.

After she was done, Su Sanmei went into the house to take a nap with Madam Zhao.

She slept beside Su Xiaolu and smiled at her. “Mother, Simei is so cute and obedient.”

Hearing the praises, Su Xiaolu was in a very good mood and smiled at Su Sanmei.

Su Sanmei was thin, her face was yellow, and her hair was dry and frizzy. From this, it was obvious that her life was not easy. She could eat her fill after being separated from the family, but she was barely fed enough to survive in the past.

Su Xiaolu could not help but pray that she could bring good luck to her family and make everyone healthy.

“Simei, I love you so much.”

Seeing Su Xiaolu’s smile, Su Sanmei couldn’t help but kiss her.

Su Xiaolu liked her genuine affection too.

Kiss, kiss.

Su Sanmei leaned against Su Xiaolu and soon fell asleep.

Madam Zhao looked at her two daughters with gentleness in her eyes. She had eaten and slept well these few days, and her health had improved day by day.

With her two daughters by her side, she soon fell asleep too.

At noon, Su Sanlang returned with the two children carrying firewood. They drank some water and went back to work.

It started to rain on their second trip back.

When they reached the back room, Su Sanlang said with a smile, “This rain comes at the perfect time. It’s cool and comfortable.”

Madam Zhao smiled and said, “You’ve been working hard for so many days. It’s raining, so you should take this opportunity to rest.”

Su Sanlang sat down on the bed and teased Su Xiaolu. He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and made silly noises. He said to Madam Zhao, “Yes, I haven’t used up the bamboo I cut. I’ll cut them open and tidy them up later. I’ll use them to make some things like dust pans for our family.”

Madam Zhao’s heart ached. “Thank you for your hard work.”

Su Sanlang smiled. “It’s not hard. It’s just a matter of moving my hands.”

Madam Zhao looked at Su Sanlang. Their eyes met. Some things that did not need to be said. They understood everything in their hearts.

Su Sanlang patted Madam Zhao’s shoulder gently and said, “Our lives will get better and better. The chestnuts are almost dry. When we have enough firewood at home in a few days, I’ll go to town to take a look.”