C23 Hatching the Eggs

After returning home, he retrieved his sprayer and added two drops of Spirit Liquid. He then filled the rest of the sprayer with water, stirring it to ensure an even mixture, before slinging it over his shoulder and heading out to his fields.

While others relied on herbicides and growth enhancers for their crops, he was experimenting with this diluted Spirit Liquid, uncertain of its effectiveness. After tending to his entire farm and using a total of six drops of Spirit Liquid, he saw no immediate changes in the crops and decided to return home.

First, he took out the smaller piece of hsiuyen jade, intending to carve it into a finished piece that he could carry with him for purification and nurturing. The jade, the size of an egg and as smooth as a pebble, left him pondering what design to engrave. After some thought, he settled on a Rich Peaceful Painting.

Nowadays, few people carry jade pendants featuring the Rich Peaceful Painting, yet such designs were highly prized by ancient merchants. Many jade pendants unearthed from ancient tombs bear this auspicious pattern. Drawing from his memories, Buhui began to carve meticulously. In less than half an hour, the Rich Peaceful Painting emerged, as if ready to leap from the stone.

Hsiuyen jade is one of the earliest types of jade discovered, ideal for crafting into various artisanal items. Top-quality hsiuyen jade has captivated people around the world. Regrettably, after years of extensive mining, this jade has become scarce on the mainland, with high-quality pieces being particularly rare.

Once Buhui completed the Rich Peaceful Painting, he drilled a hole through it and threaded it with a red cord, tying it around his waist. He had yet to decide on a design for the larger piece of hsiuyen jade, so he set it aside for later.

Stepping outside, he noticed the dozen Chicken Monsters he had recently acquired were now constantly in motion. He had only created male chickens so far, never a hen. He wondered if the flavor of the hen would differ from that of the chicken.

Reflecting on this, Yun Buhui decided to continue boiling a pot of water, then took two hens and started plucking their feathers. This time, however, he didn't discard the feathers. Given the unique quality of these birds, their feathers were quite distinct from those of ordinary chickens. Yun Buhui intended to craft some chicken feather dusters with them, though he was unsure about their potential effectiveness.

As he was opening up the first hen, to his surprise, an egg rolled out from its belly. It wasn't an unfertilized egg but a perfectly normal one, suggesting that the hen had been about to lay just as it met its unfortunate fate at his hands. The sight of the egg caused his eyelids to flutter uncontrollably. He wondered if it might hatch into a chick. The thought brought a surge of subtle joy and a whisper of anticipation to his heart.

Yun Buhui then swiftly proceeded to open the rest of the hens to see if they too contained eggs. However, it turned out that this was not a common occurrence. Out of the seven or eight hens, he ended up with only three eggs. But given the larger size of the Chicken Monsters, these eggs were also significantly larger, even surpassing the size of goose eggs.

He retrieved the special water bag his mother used for incubating eggs, filled it with warm water at a temperature between thirty-six and thirty-eight degrees Celsius, and secured it with a wooden frame. He then placed the eggs on top of the water bag and covered them with a new blanket. Yet, the sight of the large water bag being used to incubate just three eggs seemed somewhat disproportionate.

After some thought, Yun Buhui went over to Tiehzhu's house and purchased additional eggs. Tiehzhu's parents handed them over without accepting any payment; in their eyes, eggs were not something to be traded for money. Returning home, Yun Buhui added over fifty of Tiehzhu's eggs to the water bag, and only then did he feel that his setup was complete.

With his household tasks finished, Yun Buhui grabbed his axe, rope, nails, and other items, and headed straight to Taste Word Mountain to mend the fence. The villagers, curious about his activities, quickly approached him with questions. Through their conversation, they learned that Taste Word Mountain had already been claimed by Yun Jie.

From that moment on, Yun Buhui's days were filled with non-stop activity. He had to turn the incubating eggs in his home three times daily, ensuring that the water temperature stayed above 35 degrees but never exceeded 39 degrees. Additionally, he had to tend to the hungry mouths in the pigsty each day.

Seeking a shortcut, Buhui decided to herd the old sow and her piglets to Taste Word Mountain, allowing them to frolic in the wilderness. Once his chores were done, he would trek up the mountain to round them up and guide them home. Despite the daily grind, he found a deep sense of satisfaction in the work.

Before he knew it, three days flew by. During that time, Buhui had erected fences in many areas at the base of the mountain. As the sun began to dip in the west, he prepared to bring the pigs back home. Suddenly, he remembered the land by his house. Since applying the Spirit Liquid, he hadn't checked on it even once. After a short walk down from Taste Word Mountain, he reached his plot and strode over with purpose.

Upon setting down some items and washing his hands in the nearby river, Buhui stood at the edge of his property, his mouth agape in astonishment. In just three short days, the corn had shot up significantly in height. What was once pale and scrawny now stood lush and robust.

What truly astounded him was the sight of not one, but two ears of corn on each stalk. The original ear measured roughly twenty centimeters, comparable to those from other farms. Yet, the new ear, sprouted in just three days, was already no less than ten centimeters long.

Witnessing this, Buhui's lips twitched uncontrollably, uncertain whether to be pleased or concerned. He had intended to apply the Spirit Liquid again in a few days, but now he thought it best to hold off. If his corn was simply thicker and the ears larger, it wouldn't be an issue. But with two ears per stalk, he could still plausibly claim it was the result of his own grafting. However, if a third ear were to appear, he would be at a loss for an explanation.

Today marked the third day since the chicks began to hatch. Yun Buhui kept a small notebook beside the incubation water bag, meticulously documenting the entire process. As a child, he often watched his mother use this method to hatch eggs, but this was his first attempt at it, and he was uncertain about the outcome.

After three days, the impurities in the hsiuyen jade had significantly diminished, and it now appeared to have reached Grade Two quality. Yun Buhui noticed, however, that purifying the hsiuyen jade was a slower process compared to the Yellow Jade. Nonetheless, he was patient, confident that with a few more days, the hsiuyen jade would transform into Level One Jade, which would undoubtedly be of considerable value.

Amidst this orderly progress, Yun Buhui's phone rang unexpectedly. The caller was Suqiu, which puzzled him. Did she need his help with something?

"Ms. Su, what a surprise to hear from you. Is there something I can do for you?" Yun Buhui asked cheerfully.

"What do you mean? Can't a sister check in on her brother without a reason? Must there always be a problem for me to call you?" she retorted.

Yun Buhui quickly apologized, "Alright, alright, my mistake. Ms. Su, have you tried the chicken I brought you last time? How was it? The flavor was good, wasn't it?"

Yun Buhui was adept at steering the conversation in a new direction.

"Buhui, I actually wanted to talk to you about that chicken. What breed was it? Do you have any more? I'm willing to pay a premium for it. Mr. Buhui, you may not realize, but that chicken is extraordinary. I have an uncle who's in his seventies. He developed a cartilage disease a few years ago, which left him unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair. But just a few days ago, after stewing the chicken you gave me, I brought some of the soup to my uncle. To our amazement, after drinking it, he told me he felt a surge of strength in his legs!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Buhui was taken aback. He was already aware that Chicken Monsters had the ability to fortify one's physique, but he never anticipated that they would have such a remarkable effect on Bone Wounds, a notoriously challenging ailment to treat.

"Ms. Su, haven't I mentioned this to you before? You shouldn't give this chicken to anyone else; just keep it for yourself. Eating this chicken can strengthen the body and is quite beneficial to one's health. However, I must admit, I'm not entirely sure about the extent of its benefits for someone with Bone Wounds. Moreover, I don't have many of these chickens on hand. I'm not planning to sell them; I intend to reserve them for my parents' consumption."

Yun Buhui had made these remarks because he genuinely planned to purchase a motorcycle in the next couple of days and regularly deliver chicken soup to his parents to nourish them. The thought of selling the chickens had never crossed his mind. He only had a handful of these chickens, barely a dozen in total. Furthermore, he believed that even though the chickens might be pricey, they wouldn't fetch an exorbitant price. The idea of selling a single chicken for thousands or tens of thousands was, quite frankly, far-fetched.