Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Qi Mo woke up sweating.

He checked the time—6 a.m. Chubby Baby and Snowball the kitty were still asleep.

After getting up, Qi Mo glanced at the thermometer.

39°C.

He chugged half a bottle of water, washed up in the bathroom, then ate a pancake and downed a bottle of milk.

Then he entered his storage space to feed the pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese, tossing in some cabbage leaves.

The grass seeds he’d sown on the land inside the space had already sprouted.

Qi Mo mixed another batch of cement.

He placed the freshly mixed cement in the storage area to keep it from freezing.

Then he began laying bricks one by one, applying cement as he went.

After building half a wall, Qi Mo heard his Chubby Baby babbling “da-da-da.”

The little one was awake.

Stepping out of the space, he wasn’t dirty—but he still washed his hands before taking Chubby Baby and Snowball downstairs.

The dining area downstairs was a bit messy. The sliding glass door, almost like a floor-to-ceiling window, hadn’t been removed yet—it would wait until the wall bricks were done.

After dinner last night, the village head had gathered a group of young people to visit each household.

He warned the villagers to close their doors early and rest, not to wander outside—the wolves had attacked a pig farm nearby.

At the pig farm, the owner had reported it early yesterday morning.

Five police officers arrived in the afternoon, armed with rifles.

They kept watch all night, but the wolves didn’t show up.

Over the course of the day, the pig farm—which originally had just over a hundred pigs—had already sold more than half.

The remaining pigs were driven to town last night with the help of the owner.

Demand there was much stronger than in the village.

Upon hearing the news, the chicken farm owner immediately prepared to sell his small flock.

The first major buyer, naturally, was Qi Mo’s household, given its proximity.

After going downstairs, Qi Mo removed Chubby Baby’s diaper and applied some diaper cream, letting the little one air out for a while. Otherwise, keeping the diaper on too long could lead to a rash.

Giving Chubby Baby his bottle, Qi Mo placed him in the playpen—it would be easier to clean if there was an accident.

Snowball had her own milk too, poured into a saucer.

Qi Mo went to the kitchen to make congee for breakfast, along with two boiled eggs. The spicy pickled carrots were quite tasty and appetizing.

Just as the rice in the pot began to boil, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.

Qi Mo opened the door and saw Chen Fang.

"Is that you, Mr. Chen? What's up?" Qi Mo asked.

Chen Fang replied, "Do you still need chickens? I can also provide some chicken feed."

"How many chickens do you have?" Qi Mo inquired.

Chen Fang answered, "There are still over a hundred fully grown chickens, more than five hundred chicks, each weighing about a pound, and some eggs."

"I just sold a batch of mature chickens, and the remaining thousand or so have been gradually sold off. But I still have a lot of chicken feed—over ten tons. I was planning to raise another batch of three thousand chicks, but now it's impossible. Nobody’s buying this anymore," Chen Fang explained.

Chen Fang knew Qi Mo had money—she was married to the richest man in Yuncheng.

"What’s your price? I don’t have much cash left," Qi Mo said.

Hearing this, Chen Fang responded, "If you buy everything, make it six—no, fifty thousand. Fifty thousand, and the entire chicken farm is yours."

He wouldn’t lose money at fifty thousand.

Now, the pig farm owner almost got taken by wolves—it was too dangerous. Nothing was more important than life.

Qi Mo said, "Deal. I’ll take it all."

"Liang Chuan, Liang Chuan, you awake? Get to work," Qi Mo called upstairs.

Huo Liangchuan, having worked late into the night, was woken up by his sister-in-law. He opened the window and asked, "What’s up, Xiao Mo?"

"I just bought the whole chicken farm. Go butcher the chickens—just keep ten egg-laying hens and two roosters," Qi Mo instructed.

He then told Chen Fang to teach his brother-in-law how to slaughter chickens later.

Chen Fang, relieved to have sold everything, went back to wait for Qi Mo to complete the handover.

A bowl of congee with broth was scooped into a large bowl, swirled a few times, then poured into a smaller bowl to cool it down.

A hard-boiled egg and some pickled chili carrots later, Huo Liangchuan quickly finished breakfast.

He brought fifty grand to the chicken farm.

Huo Liangchuan handed the money to Chen Fang and followed him to pick out ten hens and two breeding roosters.

Then, Huo Liangchuan started learning to butcher chickens—and surprisingly, he picked it up quickly.

Looking at the half-grown chickens, Chen Fang sighed and said, "The water’s been shut off. Although I still have well water, the level is dropping fast. Yesterday it was three meters deep, but now it’s four."

Slaughter the chickens, pluck the feathers, wash them clean, and soak them in strong saltwater to cure.

"After a day of curing, sun-dry them, then store them in a cool place. They’ll keep for a good while. There are also five crates of eggs—you can pickle them for salted eggs later," Chen Fang explained.

"If they don’t keep, sell them in town. Someone will definitely buy them," he added.

Huo Liangchuan nodded.

If they could bring them back to Yuncheng, they’d be consumed in a day.

But these were free-range local and Silkie chickens—much more nutritious.

Keeping a dozen or so would allow Xiao Mo to eat one every three days for nourishment. After all, Xiao Mo was pregnant with his brother’s twins—he had to stay healthy.

Qi Mo retrieved the drink bottles from the storage room.

Huo Huakang arrived at Qi Mo's house at seven, bringing his son and Qin Lan with him. The three worked together quickly to assemble the kang bed.

Qi Mo boiled water, steeped mint tea, added a little sugar, and left it to cool...

Huo Jingtan called out while looking at the slightly ajar door, "Uncle Mo, Uncle Mo, are you there?"

"It's Jingtan. I'm inside," Qi Mo replied.

Huo Jingtan closed the gate and hurried into the living room, seeing the people working on the kang bed. "Uncle Mo, why are you setting up the kang? It's so hot."

"Scorching heat now could mean bitter cold later. Better prepare early. Do you need something?" Qi Mo asked.

Huo Jingtan said, "Do you have water? I’m parched."

"Water’s on the table. Pour it yourself—it’s cooled down by now. Drink slowly," Qi Mo quickly responded.

Huo Jingtan poured a bowl of water and chugged it.

"It’s not hot anymore. This mint tea tastes great," Huo Jingtan said before immediately adding, "Xiao Mo, Chenjia Village was attacked by wolves. According to eyewitnesses, those wolves are much larger than usual. Stay in at night—close the doors early."

Qi Mo went still for a moment. "Wolves came down from the mountain? Did anyone die?"

"A family of six—only the mother and her youngest daughter survived. She described the wolves as being up to a person’s chest," Huo Jingtan said.

Qi Mo frowned. "How many were there?"

"The witness counted three, but based on my investigation of the scene, I think there are four," Huo Jingtan replied.

Qi Mo felt a wave of concern—those wolves were a real danger to him and the babies.

"Did anyone call the police?" Qi Mo asked.

Meanwhile, Snowball the kitten, playing on the baby’s playmat with her brother, pricked up her little ears, listening in on Daddy’s talk.

Nah—they were listening outright.

A pack of wolves? Kitty *told* you already, yet you still dare to hang around?

And now you’re scaring Daddy? You’re *so* dead...

Kitty is angry, and the consequences will be severe.

Once he'd shared the news, Huo Jingtan quickly left Qi Mo’s house, first heading to the village chief’s home, then to Elder Clan Leader’s.

Soon, all the villagers in Huo Family Village learned about the incident in Chenjia Village.

Chen Xia almost burst into tears.

Luckily, her family wasn’t involved.

As for Huo Liangchuan, however many chickens he slaughtered alone wouldn’t be enough in two days.

Soon, Huo Liangchuan gave up doing it himself and hired several villagers—like Huo Xiaoyu and the village chief’s wife—to help.

They kept one chicken for every ten slaughtered.

He kept twenty grown chickens—five silkie chickens, two roosters, and the rest were hens.

These are for immediate slaughter, eating, and egg production.

They kept another twenty chicks, each half a jin in weight; within a month, they could be slaughtered.

There’s chicken feed, no problem. Their water cellar is large enough—raising a few chickens is manageable.

Little sister-in-law needs to build up her strength.

Wang Miaomiao brought a bag of sprouted sweet potatoes weighing four or five jin to Qi Mo’s house.

Then she told Qi Mo she would take her daughter-in-law to help slaughter chickens.

Qi Mo didn’t mind pitching in, as long as someone was willing to do the work.

It’s just that with so many supplies, they might attract unwanted attention. But he wasn’t someone who feared easily—like the Jiang family, who could come to kidnap him at any time.

The house was ready—attackers would be met with lethal force.

By noon, the heat was unbearable. Huo Huakang took his family back to rest. After Qi Mo ate and fed Baby Yan his fill, he took him to the chicken farm.

The laborers all went home to rest once the temperature hit 45°C (113°F).

Fortunately, the chicken farm was in a bamboo grove, open and spacious, so the temperature wasn’t as high as outside.

When Huo Liangchuan saw Little sister-in-law bringing things over, he immediately said, “Xiao Mo, I’ve already heard from the villagers that people in Chen Family Village were attacked by wolves. Those wolves aren’t normal. After these chickens are slaughtered, we’ll butcher them here and take the meat home after.”

“Also, I kept twenty grown chickens and twenty chicks to continue raising here. There’s a water cellar at home, and with chicken feed, raising a few chickens won’t be an issue,” Huo Liangchuan explained.

Then, under his breath, he told Qi Mo to store away most of the chicken feed, leaving only four or five hundred jin outside.

Chen Fang had taken the money and left—the place was theirs now.

If food runs out, chicken feed’ll work—it won’t kill you.

Qi Mo stashed half the grown chickens too.

He also kept half the chicks for later—to make soup for Baby Yan.

Huo Liangchuan was bound to discover his storage ability. Qi Mo was mentally prepared for this, given how much supplies he’d bought and how much information had leaked afterward.

As for the two Huo brothers, Qi Mo trusted them instinctively—they wouldn’t harm him.

After finishing up, Qi Mo went to check the chicken farm behind. There were forty chickens in total, but it felt like there were none—you could hardly spot a single chicken.

While Qi Mo carried Chubby baby to inspect the chicken farm, Huo Liangchuan wasn’t idle either.

He grabbed kitty Snowball by the scruff of her neck and placed her on the table. Then, with utmost seriousness, he said, “Snowball, listen up—you might be tiny, but you’re a grown cat now. You need to learn to protect your owner, not sneak out late at night. Do you realize how dangerous that is?”

“Last night, Chen Family Village was attacked by wolves. What if those wolves came after your owner Xiao Mo while you were sneaking out? Would you want your little buddy Chubby baby to lose his daddy? How awful would that be for him? From now on, behave yourself—no more nighttime escapades. Got it? Otherwise, I’ll get you a collar and tie you up.” Huo Liangchuan lectured the kitten sternly.

Little Snowball flattened her ears, covering them—Not listening, not listening! It’s just a few wolves. If Baby takes action, the world’s my playground…

What mutant would dare stand in Baby’s way?

No one alive can stop Baby.

Snowball peeked guiltily at her daddy nearby—that’s right, Second Brother hasn’t been born yet.

Only Second Brother can rein her in.

Looking at the little kitty with a stubborn "Nuh-uh, not listening!" expression.

Huo Liangchuan reached out to poke the palm-sized kitten's forehead.

Then—bam!—his fingertip got chomped by the tiny furball.

He lifted his hand like a fishing rod, and there was the kitten dangling from his finger, swaying mid-air like a leaf in the breeze, all wobbly and soft as if fluttering with the wind.

Qi Mo turned around and seeing the kitten swinging from Huo Liangchuan’s finger, he gasped in shock. “Snowball, let go! What’s gotten into you? You’ll bite anything—don’t you care about getting a bellyache?”

Huo Liangchuan, I feel like Xiao Mo’s totally judging me right now.

“Xiao Mo, c’mon, my hands are clean—I just washed ’em!” Huo Liangchuan explained.

By then Qi Mo had already scooped up the chubby little kitten and reached out. Snowball released her bite and plopped right into her daddy’s waiting hand.

Huo Liangchuan even reached over to stroke the kitten’s head—so soft and fluffy, no wonder Xiao Mo kept her! The texture was amazing, so cozy and warm.

Meanwhile, several village women were led by Zhang Mei, wife of Huo Jingzhong.

When they heard Qi Mo had bought hundreds of chickens from the farm and slaughtered so many the blood filled a whole bucket, quite a few women went to help, each getting four or five chicks for their trouble.

But nobody even bothered to tell her, which made her really upset.

After all, in the past, the villagers always looked after her family, making sure she got first dibs on any good deals.

Zhang Mei gathered four or five other women and marched straight to the village chief and old clan leader, whining that Qi Mo’s slaughter spree would leave a stench that could attract wolves...

And if anything happened to the village, Qi Mo better pay up—and then get out!