"Brother Xiaobei, you're amazing. Can you make me a net too?"
Chen Xiaobei laughed and scolded, "Seeing me fish, you want a fishing net; seeing me catch pheasants, you want to learn from me. Do one thing well first, then talk about the next."
While laughing and scolding Chen Xiaobei, she gathered the rice from the ground.
She then used a rope to string up the five pheasants. "Let's go, change location, and catch a few more before heading back."
After reselecting the spot, Chen Xiaobei walked twenty to thirtyzhang ahead with the pheasants. Finding a secluded place, he tied the five pheasants to a tree. When pheasants are hung upside down, they are startled for a short period and flap their wings, but they quickly become quiet, even quieter than when sleeping at night, not letting out a single sound.
Watching the pheasants calm down, Chen Xiaowen looked at him with admiration. "Brother, you're too amazing. Just hanging them up like this makes them shut up obediently."
Chen Xiaobei followed suit, scattering rice and setting up the net again, then hid in the trees.
This time, they waited longer, but more pheasants came, a flock of over ten. Su Dan Novels Online
It seemed this flock of pheasants was smarter. One pheasant went in to test, pecked at some rice, and quickly ran out.
Seeing no abnormality, it went back to peck a few more times before running out.
After several cautious attempts, seeing that there were indeed no abnormalities, two more pheasants flew down from the trees.
Three pheasants entered under the net. They didn't eat immediately but circled the rice, strutting around. After a circle, two circles, and then seven or eight circles, they pecked a few times, and then the three pheasants unhurriedly walked out.
Chen Xiaobei secretly marveled that pheasants were indeed different from pheasants; some were clumsy, and some were smart. This flock was clearly smarter than the previous five.
The three pheasants walked out, and seeing no abnormality, they flew directly to the treetops.
Then, another pheasant descended. It entered the net, pecked a couple of times, and came out, then returned to eat a couple more times, repeating the previous scenario.
Still no abnormality, and this time four or five more pheasants came down from the trees and entered the net.
These pheasants pecked a few times inside the net, then looked around.
After eating more than ten pecks and being certain there was no abnormality, the pheasants in the trees swooped down together, with over a dozen pheasants entering under the net.
Opportunity knocks but once. The moment they entered, Chen Xiaobei immediately pulled the rope.
A dozen pheasants, and all were captured again.
Chen Xiaobei and Chen Xiaowen spent a lot of effort to tie up this flock of pheasants.
In just over an hour, they caught seventeen pheasants. The efficiency was excellent.
Chen Xiaobei dismantled the net. He reassembled it, took out a stick, and threaded all the pheasants onto it. He and Chen Xiaowen carried them, walking down the mountain happily. As they walked, Chen Xiaobei said to Chen Xiaowen, "Two of these pheasants belong to you. But don't eat their meat; you must keep them to lay eggs."
"At worst, you can sell them for some silver in the county town."
The village guards saw Chen Xiaobei catch so many pheasants in such a short time, and they were all envious.
Cui Hongyu was even more surprised. He clearly couldn't fathom what magic this man possessed, how he could achieve whatever he set his mind to.
But then came the sweet problem of having too much of a good thing. The yard was packed full, and there was no way to fit more pheasants.
Chen Xiaobei, however, appeared very calm.
He grabbed a chopping knife and headed for the woods west of the village.
Chen Xiaobei intended to build a cage to keep the pheasants.
Keeping them tied up took up too much space, and letting them roam freely wouldn't work; they'd all escape in half a day, so caging them was the safest option.
Chen Xiaobei selected branches about as thick as a finger, cutting each piece to about a foot long.
This way, he could build a square cage and ensure the pheasants had enough space to move.
By the time Chen Xiaobei finished cutting branches and returned, it was already dark.
A tempting aroma wafted from the yard. It was, as expected, fish stew again.
Since they had the fishing net, they no longer had to worry about eating fish.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei return, Chen Qiaoer was very excited and tugged his arm, saying, "Brother, brother, sister-in-law is cooking fish tonight."
Xiaobei put down the branches and lifted Chen Qiaoer, holding her high above his head. "Do you want to eat it?"
Chen Qiaoer giggled, "I want to eat, I want to eat, Qiaoer definitely wants to eat."
Cui Hongyu saw this and quickly called out, "Qiaoer, come down quickly. Your brother has worked hard all day, let him rest."
Chen Xiaobei glanced at Cui Hongyu. That gaze, filled with tenderness, made Cui Hongyu blush and lower her head.
Yes, it was a spontaneous expression of emotion just now. This man had already become an indispensable part of her life.
Chen Xiaobei gently put Chen Qiaoer down. "Alright Qiaoer, go play by yourself."
But Qiaoer held Chen Xiaobei's hand. "Brother, brother, look at the big fish they sent today."
Following Chen Qiaoer to the fish tank, she saw that indeed, there were several fish in the tank, each over a foot long.
The largest one was even close to two feet.
Good heavens, wasn't this almost a king of fish?
"Husband, they started sending fish home today. I gave them two copper coins for the big ones, and one for the smaller ones. Oh, and they put some small fish in the ponds, and I gave each of them an extra coin."
Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but smile. His investment was finally showing returns.
However, a large fish nearly two feet long couldn't realistically be transported to the county town using the large water bags.
What should he do tomorrow when selling fish?
Suddenly, Chen Xiaobei had a flash of inspiration. That's right, he could fix this water tank onto the carriage, add water, and cover it. It would hold any number of fish, wouldn't it be more convenient than water bags?
Yes, that's what he'd do.
After dinner, Chen Xiaobei, using the lamplight, skillfully tied the chicken coop together.
Watching the branches, under Chen Xiaobei's agile hands, gradually transform into a square cage.
Chen Qiaoer clapped her hands in delight from the side. "Brother is amazing, brother is really capable."
Chen Xiaobei, stealing a moment of leisure, lightly tapped Chen Qiaoer's nose. "You'll have eggs to eat from now on."
Then he glanced at Cui Hongyu, who was embroidering in the distance. "Of course, your sister-in-law will have some to eat too."
Suddenly receiving a dose of public affection, this display of happiness was unexpected.
Cui Hongyu's face instantly turned red again.
Seeing this scene, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help himself. She had been married for so long, but he hadn't yet experienced the joy of their wedding night.
Thinking of this, he remembered Carpenter Zhang. That old Zhang, had promised to make him a bed, why wasn't it ready yet? He had to go ask about it tomorrow.
Seeing him lost in thought, Cui Hongyu clearly understood his feelings and lightly coughed. "Husband, is it done? Can we put those pheasants in now?"
Chen Xiaobei then turned back and quickly finished the work at hand.
He had caught seventeen pheasants in total. He gave two to Chen Xiaowen, leaving fifteen. With the two already in the yard, it was still seventeen.