Chapter 138

The two finished talking about rabbits, and Shuiqing asked, “How are Auntie and the others?”

Half a month ago, Dazhu and the others were able to walk on their own, so they couldn’t send food to Fan Zhaodi.

Stopping Fan Zhaodi’s food also meant that Xinghui couldn’t gather firsthand information.

Fan Jin occasionally went to check on them.

“Mom and sister-in-law have severely hoarse voices and speak with difficulty. I don’t know if they will recover and to what extent,” Fan Jin reported truthfully.

Shuiqing realized the aftereffects were more severe than she expected.

She wondered if Aunt Ding’s herbal remedies played a role.

After all, because of a rumor, Sun Jinhua who cursed at her doorstep and Fan’s mother, who often mocked her family in the village, now struggled to speak, let alone curse or mock others.

As for Dazhu, who used to chase her daughter and curse her as a toad, the four of them were too weak to throw stones and mud at others’ daughters.

Instead of resentment, Shuiqing felt some admiration!

Women are naturally strong, and Ding is not only good-natured but also strong in protecting her daughter, capable of defending herself against those who wronged them!

For their own relief.

And Aunt Ding’s grievances have a principal, the Fan family has been targeted and only harms people.

This time Fan Zhaodi was not poisoned, but Shuiqing felt that Aunt Ding would find a pretext to give them different medicines and still harm them in one way or another.

Thinking of Fan Zhaodi, she asked: “How is Zhaodi?

Since Dazhu and the other four can walk down, isn’t she much more relaxed?”

Taking care of four people less, the burden is much lighter.

Even though the four are not thoughtful, they don’t help Zhaodi with her work, but as long as they don’t take care of her, they are easier.

Fan Jin’s elegant and polite face flashed with a hint of annoyance and quickly disappeared, just sighing, “Dazhu and others are really unreasonable.”

“What happened?” Shuiqing raised her eyebrows.

Fan Jin’s temper has always been good, rarely angry. This time, Dazhu and others seemed indeed excessive!

“They can already walk on their own, but instead of helping Zhaodi, they still order her around and are unusually picky.” Fan Jin pursed his lips and sighed, “Before, you felt sorry for Zhaodi and gave her some good food to raise her, but now she’s getting thin again.”

Shuiqing was stunned for a moment, lost in thought for a moment, then looked at Fan Jin’s dark eyes and asked bluntly, “Are you planning to bring Zhaodi over to live with us?”

The family had previously raised Baizi Qian and now Ling Ran, conditions were better now, and having more sensible and capable children wasn’t a problem.

The only concern was the constant bickering between Sun Jinhua and Fan’s mother.

However, this was a problem in the past and was no longer an issue; Fan’s mother and Sun Jinhua could no longer argue, let alone curse ~

Aunt Ding inadvertently helped them!

For Fan Zhaodi, this might be the opportunity to change her life.

Contrary to Shuiqing’s expectations, Fan Jin shook his head.

He pondered for a while and said affirmatively, “It’s not the right time yet.”

Shuiqing didn’t inquire further.

Indeed, now is not the best time; let’s wait.

But who knows when the best time will come for Fan Zhaodi….

·

In the following days, Shuiqing was exceptionally busy.

She had to explain rabbit breeding to the villagers and remind them of what to pay attention to.

Of course, this wasn’t her own experience.

It was from books she bought from the mall: New Techniques in Rabbit Breeding – Rabbit Feed Formulation Manual, Complete Guide to Rabbit Farming Techniques, Postpartum Care for Rabbits, and Care for Rabbit Cubs.

The villagers had never read books before and used to rely on their own feelings to raise livestock. Now, with no experience in raising rabbits, they believed deeply in Shuiqing’s expertise and followed her instructions firmly and diligently.

It was more effective than posting notices!

Therefore, within a few days, under Shuiqing’s leadership, the entire Shanshui Village achieved scientific, standardized, and efficient rabbit breeding.

In early April, Mrs. Li, who had returned rabbits to her home, gave birth to the first litter!

And they had a dozen babies in one litter!

This caused a sensation throughout Shanshui Village, becoming the biggest event of the season.

April was a busy time for spring farming, yet even after a day of hard work, villagers would still visit Auntie Li’s house in the evening to confirm the news.

Every time, Auntie Li would greet them with a cheerful smile and repeat, “It’s better to exchange for rabbits. According to Shuiqing’s advice on the pregnancy period, I estimated that when we exchanged them back, the mother rabbit was already pregnant.”

“Shuiqing is really something. We’ve made a profit!”

“Before this, her mother-in-law even wanted to exchange for young rabbits to raise herself. Isn’t this like picking sesame seeds and losing watermelons?”

“If Auntie Li had exchanged for adult rabbits directly, the young ones would probably have grown up by now!” sighed another.

“Exactly,” agreed others.

With the first success, others followed suit. Within days, another household’s rabbits also gave birth. Though not as many as Auntie Li’s, they had eight!

The household was overjoyed and, like Auntie Li, couldn’t stop thanking Shuiqing and her family.

One success led to another, and the news of more litters kept coming, even overshadowing the exhaustion of spring farming.

In April, another piece of good news arrived for the villagers and for Shuiqing.

“Matsutake mushrooms?” Shuiqing looked surprised at the young boy in front of her.

He was Sun Jinhua’s grandson from Mrs. Xu, named Goudan, though the whole village called him “Goudan, Goudan.”

Goudan nodded vigorously. “Bamboo mushrooms won’t be ready until June, but matsutake mushrooms usually come out by late March. We’ve been going up the mountain these days to check, and although they’re a bit late this year, we just spotted a batch. So, I came to ask Auntie if you’re still collecting them?”

“Collect!” Shuiqing replied without hesitation.

Right now, there’s no news of government requisitions from outside. We can trade with as much food as we can get!

What’s more, with such a bountiful harvest for the villagers, it would be very useful to have a good number of people to help.

Goudan grinned when he heard that. “There’s not much yet, Auntie, but we’ll go pick them right now and bring you the freshest ones!”

Shuiqing meant it when she said she wanted them fresh, the fresher the better!

The villagers were still recovering from the joy of the rabbits giving birth when they heard they could trade matsutake mushrooms for rice again.

Immediately, every household began to reassign tasks.

The work in the fields couldn’t be neglected. The men were responsible for plowing and planting, while the women and children with less strength went to pick matsutake mushrooms.

This year’s matsutake mushrooms were late, and they usually disappeared by May or June.

With just over a month, they couldn’t afford to delay.

Meanwhile, on Fan Jin’s side, he had started transporting rice back on his own.

But on the very first day of rice transportation, he brought back some bad news!