After returning to Xu Family Village, Village Head Xu Hengchun and the others said their goodbyes and went back to their own homes. They only had two village cadres help carry the three chickens and one duck to Xu Tongdao's house.
Once they arrived, set the poultry down, and finished helping, the two cadres also took their leave.
By then, it was already close to noon.
By rights, Xu Tongdao should have invited them to stay for a meal—and he did—but after glancing at the two vegetarian dishes on his table, the two cadres both shook their heads and said there was no need to be so polite, insisting on leaving.
Seeing this, Xu Tongdao didn't press them to stay.
He'd seen what was on the table himself. It really wasn't suitable for entertaining guests.
Just one plate of stir-fried water spinach and one plate of stir-fried green peppers.
"Big Brother, you must be hungry, right? Why don't you eat first? Don't wait for Second Brother."
Ge Yuzhu, who had long since finished preparing the meal, ran over happily. Looking at the several sacks of unhusked rice and white rice in the main hall, as well as the three chickens and one duck tied on the ground, her face was beaming and her voice noticeably lighter.
That morning, when Xu Tongdao had gone out to recover the stolen items, she'd been extremely worried and kept trying to persuade him not to go.
But later, seeing the village head and others help her big brother recover those things—and especially watching sack after sack of unhusked rice and white rice being carried home—her mood changed completely.
She'd seen with her own eyes just how difficult things had been for the family lately.
If they hadn't borrowed two sacks of rice from their second aunt, their family would have already been unable to cook meals.
And today, she personally watched her big brother carry six or seven sacks of unhusked rice and a sack of white rice back home. Naturally, she was overjoyed.
That meant that at least for the next few months, the family wouldn't go hungry.
As for the three chickens and one duck, that was an even bigger pleasant surprise.
"Go help me serve the rice."
Xu Tongdao casually instructed his sister. Then he bent down to untie the grass ropes around the chickens' legs, tossing each chicken into the coop as he freed it.
He wasn't sure whether these three chickens were originally theirs.
He suspected they probably weren't.
If they really weren't, then he had to prevent them from running off.
Their chicken coop was in the corner of the main hall near the front door, against the east wall.
In rural households in those days, this setup was very common.
A wooden chicken coop, square-shaped, with a flat top that could be used as a surface to place items. Chickens and ducks were usually free-range during the day and would return home on their own at night, entering the coop by themselves.
But if the chickens or ducks weren't raised by the household from a young age, then once released, they definitely wouldn't know to come back.
So each time Xu Tongdao untied a chicken's leg, he immediately tossed it into the coop and shut the coop door to keep it from escaping.
From his experience, these three chickens would probably need to stay in the coop for many days before they could be let out.
As for laying eggs?
That likely wouldn't happen for at least a month or two.
He remembered his mother once saying that "passing-through chickens" wouldn't lay eggs for a long time.
And so-called "passing-through chickens"—
Referred to chickens that were taken from one household and brought to another.
Because chickens are very timid animals. Being caught causes severe fright, and the aftereffect of that fright is that they won't lay eggs for a long time.
After putting the three chickens into the coop, Xu Tongdao hesitated briefly when he went to untie the duck's leg.
In the end, he didn't untie it. He simply put the duck, rope and all, into the coop.
He planned to kill it and make soup that afternoon.
It would be a small celebration for having recovered so many things today.
More importantly, he felt that with only a single duck left, it would be difficult to raise in the future.
Chickens and ducks both prefer to live in groups. When there were eight ducks before, they could be let out during the day to forage on their own, and when people saw a whole group of ducks, they generally wouldn't steal them.
But if only one duck went out alone, who knew when someone might steal it and stew it at home?
In Xu Tongdao's memory, Xu Family Village had never lacked people who stole chickens and dogs.
So rather than having the duck possibly stolen and cooked by someone else later, he might as well cook it himself.
It would be just right to help his mother and family recover their strength.
…
When Xu Tongdao and his sister Ge Yuzhu were halfway through their meal, the sound of footsteps came from outside.
The siblings looked up and saw that Xu Tonglu had returned.
Xu Tonglu, who was a year younger than Xu Tongdao, wasn't any shorter than his brother. Their face shapes were different—Xu Tongdao had a long face, while Xu Tonglu had a square one.
But in terms of build, the two brothers were similarly lean.
After spending the whole morning fishing, Xu Tonglu was wearing only a pair of loose shorts and a white sleeveless undershirt. In his left hand, he carried a homemade fish spear, about five meters long. In his right hand, he held a string of fish skewered together with poplar twigs.
Mostly crucian carp.
The larger ones weighed close to half a jin, while the smaller ones were only about the size of a cigarette pack.
Barefoot, he squelched his way to the front gate, casually leaned the fish spear against the doorway, stamped the mud off his feet, and then stepped into the main hall.
When Ge Yuzhu saw the string of fish in his hand, her eyes lit up. She immediately got up and jogged over, taking the fish from him with delight.
"That's great! We'll have fish to eat tonight!"
Xu Tonglu didn't smile. He raised his eyes and glanced at Xu Tongdao, who was eating, and at Ge Yuzhu's half-finished bowl of rice on the table. His brows furrowed.
"You're eating without waiting for me to come back?"
This kid had never had a good temper since childhood.
Even toward his older brother Xu Tongdao, who was only a year older, he showed neither respect nor fear.
He'd always been arrogant.
His arrogance came from many sources.
For example, he'd never lost a fight against peers since he was young.
For example, ever since elementary school, his academic performance had always ranked first in his class.
And also—for his strong hands-on ability. Whatever toys or gadgets others could make, he could make too, and usually better than everyone else.
"If you're hungry, serve yourself! Who are you putting on that sour face for? Hurry up!"
Xu Tongdao shot him an annoyed sideways glance and didn't indulge his bad habit.
In the original timeline, after their father disappeared, Xu Tonglu grew more and more uncontrollable. He listened to no one. Their mother couldn't manage him, and neither could Xu Tongdao.
In the end, this kid went further and further down the wrong path, until he finally succeeded in ruining his life badly enough to end up in prison.
Now that he'd been given a second chance at life, Xu Tongdao wouldn't let this kid run wild again.
If necessary, he wouldn't mind using his fists to beat some sense into him. He absolutely couldn't allow him to become lawless again.
"Hmph!"
Xu Tonglu snorted coldly, shot Xu Tongdao a hostile look, and turned toward the back door, heading for the kitchen to serve himself food.
But after taking only two steps, he stopped abruptly when he noticed the several sacks of unhusked rice and white rice by the wall.
His expression turned puzzled.
"What are these things? Where did they come from?"
The rice and grain were packed in woven sacks, so he couldn't see what was inside.
Ge Yuzhu broke into a broad smile and said happily, "They're rice and white rice. Big Brother got them back this morning. And there are also three chickens and one duck!"
"Rice and white rice? Got them back from where?"
Xu Tonglu was even more confused.
Subconsciously, he walked over quickly and opened one of the sacks to take a look.
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