Under Chen Yang's cajoling, Shen Xue finished her porridge, efficiently grabbed her sickle and straw hat, and headed to the village's threshing ground.
It was currently the autumn harvest season. The village collective had not yet disbanded. Only Xiaogang Village was secretly rumored to be preparing to press fingerprints for "great contract packing," while Shenjiaba Village, where Chen Yang and Shen Xue were, was still a large collective, and the implementation of the household contract responsibility system was still a long way off.
Villagers worked according to the number of people to earn work points. At the end of the year, after the production brigade handed over the planned grain, they would uniformly distribute that year's rations according to the work points earned.
In the past, Chen Yang had been very irresponsible. Relying on Shen Xue's competence, he would often work for a few days and then slack off for days. Consequently, his family's situation was naturally not good.
If it weren't for Shen Xue's parents' frequent assistance, they might not have even been able to raise their little infant. Therefore, when it came to work, Shen Xue always went earlier than others and returned later than others.
The purpose of this was to curry favor with the village party secretary when distributing food, so that they could get a little more to eat.
After seeing Shen Xue off, Chen Yang fed the little infant, peeled the cooked mountain eggs for the little one, and the child's mouth was full of delicious mountain eggs.
"Daddy, it's so fragrant, so delicious."
"If it's delicious, Daddy will cook it for you every day, little glutton."
He pinched the little infant's nose, then scooped a few mouthfuls of the thin wild vegetable porridge in the pot, and then continued to light the stove and boil water.
While Shen Xue was at work, he quickly prepared the chicken and began to stew it. The little infant was not idle either. Although she was only a tiny thing, she had already taken her short legs and was helping Chen Yang carry small branches from the woodpile one by one to fuel the fire.
"Yanyan is so good. Daddy will stew chicken soup for you later. It's very fragrant."
He kissed the little dumpling on the cheek and then took the mountain chicken to the family's well to kill it.
He naturally had to shield the little infant from this scene. Children might get scared if they saw it.
The mountain chicken that was shot was already on its last legs. Chen Yang took a porcelain bowl, put a pinch of salt in it, plucked the feathers from its windpipe, and with a decisive movement, cut its windpipe with a kitchen knife.
In a short while, he collected a full bowl of chicken blood. Then, he threw the mountain chicken into a basin, poured boiling water over it, and prepared to pluck the feathers.
With the hot water, the mountain chicken's feathers came off easily.
The little infant watched with wide eyes. Seeing the mountain chicken gradually transform into the appearance of chicken skin in Chen Yang's hands, the child happily clapped her hands for Chen Yang.
"Daddy, you're so amazing."
"Yanyan will have meat to eat!"
Hearing his daughter's giggles and her adoring gaze, Chen Yang felt a surge of strength.
How could he have been so irresponsible before? Such a cute daughter, such a virtuous wife, how could he not have cherished them at all!
"Yanyan, don't touch the boiling water. It's hot. Wait for Daddy to make you delicious food."
Chen Yang placed the plucked feathers on the ground to dry. These mountain chicken feathers were colorful and beautiful, some reaching dozens of centimeters long.
Seeing that there were no toys at home, Chen Yang thought about making a shuttlecock for the little infant with these mountain chicken feathers later.
After all, even in the early twenty-first century, shuttlecocks were a coveted toy for many children.
In this era, a shuttlecock made from the more colorful mountain chicken feathers would surely be loved by the little infant.
After drying the mountain chicken feathers, Chen Yang simply singed off the fine down on the skin over the still-burning wood stove. This made the entire chicken skin golden yellow.
Even Chen Yang, who had tasted countless delicacies, couldn't help but swallow his saliva at the sight.
From yesterday to today, he had only drunk two bowls of thin porridge. He swiftly chopped up the mountain chicken, took a small portion, and put it in the pot with washed shiitake mushrooms to stew over a low heat.
As for the other chicken offal, Chen Yang planned to stir-fry it with the chicken blood for lunch to accompany the rice. The remaining half of the chicken meat would be saved for making soup for Shen Xue in the evening.
During the busy farming season, the production brigade provided one meal a day. This was one of the few benefits during the busy farming period. Although it couldn't satisfy all the members, it was generally better than drinking a few mouthfuls of wild vegetable porridge at home.
The chicken and mushrooms, stewed over the firewood, slowly emitted an intoxicating aroma. The little infant sat by the stove, almost drooling.
Chen Yang, meanwhile, collected the dried mountain chicken feathers that had been left in the yard and prepared to tie them into shuttlecocks with small stones and nylon string.
"Daddy, what are you doing?"
Seeing Chen Yang tying the chicken feathers into the shape of a shuttlecock, then wrapping small stones with nylon string and singeing them over the fire, the little one was confused.
She had never played with a shuttlecock before and had no idea what it was.
"Daddy is making a shuttlecock for Yanyan. Shuttlecocks are so much fun. Daddy will teach Yanyan how to play later."
Chen Yang chose the smaller feathers first because the little infant was only over two years old. Although larger feathers would make a more beautiful shuttlecock, she wouldn't be able to kick it.
In a short while, with Chen Yang's meticulous craftsmanship, a shuttlecock full of colorful mountain chicken feathers was created.
He demonstrated by kicking it a few times. The little infant immediately hugged the shuttlecock and started kicking it on the ground with great joy, oblivious to the rich aroma of the chicken soup nearby.
This was the little one's first toy. Before, Chen Yang would read books nearby while she lay on the ground counting ants. Now that she had a shuttlecock, how could she not love it?
Watching his daughter play with such delight, Chen Yang felt a sense of satisfaction.
While adding firewood to the stewing chicken soup stove, he continued to tie shuttlecocks with the remaining mountain chicken feathers. Soon, the morning passed. He had tied a total of twelve shuttlecocks with the feathers from this one mountain chicken, excluding the one for his daughter.
His daughter liked them, and he was sure the children in the workers' and cadres' courtyards in the county town would also like them.
Nowadays, people's clothes were mostly in shades of blue and grey. At most, a grass-green military uniform was considered incredibly fashionable. These colorful mountain chicken feather shuttlecocks, how could children not like them when they saw them?
Looking at the twelve shuttlecocks placed on the stool, Chen Yang was already planning his wealth-generating strategy.
Soon, that era of spring winds blowing across the land would arrive, with private and state-owned economies running in parallel, followed by "ten-thousand-yuan households," "hundred-thousand-yuan households"...
In his past life, he, Chen Yang, had been able to seize the tide and become one of the top wealthy merchants in Shenzhen. In this life, for his wife and daughter, he would strive even harder to seize opportunities and give them the best life.
"Yanyan, the chicken soup is ready."
"I won't play anymore. Mommy will be back soon. Let Mommy take Yanyan to play shuttlecock. Let's drink chicken soup and eat meat now, okay?"
Watching the little infant play until noon without getting tired, Chen Yang couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Such a small shuttlecock had made her so happy. Sudan Novel Network
"So fragrant."
"Wow, it's so delicious."
Chen Yang served a bowl of chicken soup, blew on it, and fed it to the little infant. The child's eyes instantly narrowed into two crescent moons, looking incredibly cute.
"Here, eat some meat."
He picked a piece of chicken and fed it to the little one. The child's cheeks instantly puffed up, her mouth too full to eat.
"Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you. It's all yours."
Chen Yang quickly patted her back, worried she might choke. This was the first time the little one had eaten meat since birth.