Chapter 69 : Mom, look, my brothers have built a nest for the chicks and ducklings!

Song Shiwei was a little tempted. “How about this? I’ll take it and give it a try tomorrow.”

She could also go to Qing City across the river and buy some things for the kids!  

Otherwise, it would be such a waste.  

When Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin heard that she had agreed, they were thrilled.  

“Mom, can I go with you tomorrow?”  

“And me too! Me too!”  

Song Shiwei smiled and glanced at them. “Let’s discuss it with your dad when we get back! No need to rush!”  

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin had no choice but to hold back their excitement. They had never been to Qing City before and were eager to see the outside world.  

Besides, after what had happened today, the two brothers were a little worried about letting Song Shiwei go alone.  

After all, she was so beautiful what if she encountered bad people again?  

Sun Meimei and the others laughed and joked, “It’s a good idea to let the two kids go along, they’re very smart!”  

After all, today’s incident was truly thanks to these two children.  

On the way back, they walked quickly, not daring to stop. By the time they returned to the family compound, it was already past one in the afternoon.  

Zhou Wei and Xinxin had been waiting eagerly for a long time.  

As soon as they saw everyone coming back, they rushed over excitedly.  

“Mom! Brother! You’re finally back!”  

Zhou Wei had sharp ears, and the moment he heard the faint “chirp chirp” sounds, he immediately started circling around Zhou Cheng excitedly.  

“Mom! Did you buy chicks? Did you??”  

Xinxin was also full of anticipation. She blinked her big eyes and looked at Song Shiwei expectantly.  

Zhou Cheng grinned and took the basket off his back.  

“You two little rascals, all you think about is the chicks! Of course Mom wouldn’t forget! I bought them! I bought them! They’re right here!”  

Zhou Wei and Xinxin immediately lifted the lid of the basket and peeked inside.  

Inside were several fluffy little chicks and ducklings with soft yellow feathers.  

The ducklings were bigger than the chicks, making them easy to distinguish.  

Zhou Wei and Xinxin immediately clapped their hands and jumped with joy.  

“Wow! There are so many!!”  

“Yeah! This is great! Now we can raise chickens and ducklings at home too!”  

Song Shiwei let them play as they pleased. She needed to hurry and prepare lunch. Not only had Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin been running around with her all morning, but Zhou Wei and Xinxin must be starving as well.  

Since it was already quite late, she couldn’t make anything too complicated, so she decided to cook some handmade egg noodles.  

Luckily, she had bought a basket of chicken and duck eggs. Although she had used a few when hunting with Falcon, there were still plenty left.  

Zhou Tingyue still had a little white flour left from a previous purchase, but not much. So, she had bought more at the market, along with rice and cornmeal.  

After putting everything in place, she took a large basin, scooped in two handfuls of flour, cracked four eggs into it, and added a spoonful of salt.  

This way, the noodles would be nice and chewy.  

She stirred until the mixture became crumbly, then kneaded it into a slightly firm dough. She covered it with an upside-down bowl to prevent moisture loss and let it rest for 20 minutes.

During this time, she fried a savory tomato and egg dish, then added water, soy sauce, salt, and thirteen spices, letting it simmer until it boiled. By the time it was ready, the dough would be well-rested and ready to cook.

When the time was almost up, Song Shiwei took out the dough. Since it had been proofed for a while, it was easy to knead into a smooth and elastic texture.

She then flattened it, sprinkled some flour on top, and used a rolling pin to roll it out into the thinnest possible sheet (adding a little flour as she rolled to prevent sticking).

Next, she folded the dough over itself several times, cut it into evenly thick noodles, lifted them up, and shook them apart. The noodles were now ready.

Just at the right time, the soup in the pot began to boil.

She quickly dropped the freshly made noodles into the pot.

Once they were cooked, she drizzled a bit of oil on top.

A delicious aroma filled the air instantly.

With the meal ready, she quickly went outside to call the children in for lunch.

However, when she arrived, she saw the children lying on the ground at the east end of the vegetable garden, their little butts sticking up as they focused intently on something.

She took a closer look and immediately smiled.

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin were truly resourceful! They had gathered a bunch of branches from somewhere and built a makeshift enclosure for the chicks and ducklings.

The chicks and ducklings were placed safely inside.

Meanwhile, Zhou Wei and Xinxin had even found some wilted vegetable leaves to feed them!

As soon as Xinxin saw Song Shiwei approaching, she ran over excitedly. “Mom, look! Big brother and second brother built a little house for the chicks and ducklings!”

Song Shiwei carefully inspected their handiwork. The enclosure actually looked quite decent, the branches were firmly stuck into the soil, placed closely together with only small gaps between them, ensuring that the chicks and ducklings couldn’t escape.

At about two-thirds of the height, they had used the remaining thin iron wire from the grill net that Zhou Tingyue had used last time, wrapping it around the structure for reinforcement. It actually looked quite sturdy.

While it might not last forever, it was certainly good enough for now at least until the chicks grew bigger.

Seeing the children’s expectant gazes, she smiled and clapped her hands. “Not bad! You all did an amazing job! In such a short time, you built a perfect little home for the chicks and ducklings. That’s fantastic!”

Xinxin and Zhou Wei immediately pointed at their older brothers and laughed. “It was big brother and second brother! We knew they were amazing!”

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin were smiling too, but when they met Song Shiwei’s approving gaze, they suddenly felt a little shy.

Zhou Lin chuckled and scratched his head.  

“Well… I just built it casually. Compared to Dad, I still have a long way to go…”

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

With lunch ready, Song Shiwei didn’t want to delay any longer fresh noodles wouldn’t taste as good if left sitting for too long.

After lunch, it was already close to three in the afternoon. Song Shiwei asked the children to take a nap, then picked up a bucket, preparing to go out and catch some seafood.

Since she planned to try selling in Qing City across the river tomorrow, she naturally wanted to gather as much seafood as possible.

Who knew? Maybe she’d come across something really good today.

Zhou Lin and Zhou Cheng quickly got up to follow her.

“Mom, my brother and I will go with you!”  

Song Shiwei glanced at Zhou Wei and Xinxin, who were already fast asleep, and made a “shh” gesture to them.

She motioned for them to follow quietly and gently closed the door behind her.