Chapter 29 : Someone destroyed the wild duck nests one by one!

In recent years, yellow beard vegetable has become a popular wild vegetable on dining tables in the Yellow River Delta region and even in Tianjin and Beijing.  

One of Song Shiwei’s food-themed episodes featured delicious recipes for various wild vegetables.  

So when she saw this wild vegetable for the first time, it looked familiar to her.  

When she got closer and took a careful look, she remembered that this was yellow beard grass.  

It was just larger and plumper than the modern yellow beard vegetable.  

Nowadays, many people have grown tired of eating rich foods like fish and meat, and wild vegetables have become a delicacy. As a result, wild vegetables in many places have almost been completely foraged.  

This yellow beard vegetable grows in saline-alkali soil and is rich in vitamins and minerals. It can help lower blood pressure and blood sugar, making it a rare and valuable wild vegetable.  

Now is the season when it is fresh and tender, so when Song Shiwei came across it, she naturally wanted to pick more.  

When cooked, this vegetable is not only delicious but also highly nutritious!  

Zhou Cheng watched her digging up the plants and looked a little confused.  

“We’re not so poor that we have to eat wild vegetables, are we?”  

Song Shiwei was busy with her task and didn’t have time to look at him, but deep down, she wanted to take this opportunity to teach him a lesson.  

“It’s because your father earns a salary that we have enough food and clothing. But as you just heard, many villagers here don’t even have enough to eat. They have no choice but to rely on these wild vegetables to fill their stomachs. Do you know an idiom? It’s called ‘Be prepared for danger in times of peace.’”  

Zhou Cheng silently shook his head.  

Zhou Lin said directly, “I don’t know!”  

As she continued digging for wild vegetables, Song Shiwei patiently explained, “This idiom comes from Zuo Qiuming’s Zuo Zhuan, Xianggong’s Eleventh Year, during the Spring and Autumn Period. It means that even when you are in a safe environment, you should always consider potential dangers. If you anticipate risks, you can be prepared. And if you prepare in advance, you can avoid disasters!”  

Seeing Zhou Lin and Zhou Cheng deep in thought, she smiled and continued, “Don’t take your father’s salary for granted. You have to understand that being a soldier is a very dangerous profession. Every mission they undertake puts their lives at risk. It is a great sacrifice, they are willing to give up everything, including their lives, for their country and their people!”  

“What if just hypothetically one day, your father was gone? What would you do? That’s why we shouldn’t just enjoy a comfortable life now. Only by enduring hardships can we truly appreciate happiness and cherish everything we have!”  

After saying this, Song Shiwei didn’t look at them again. She didn’t expect them to grasp such deep principles overnight, but she hoped to subtly influence their outlook on life and values.  

She didn’t expect them to grow into people who were overly generous or charitable, but as long as they didn’t do anything that harmed society or others, she would be completely satisfied.  

What she didn’t expect, however, was that despite being the most rebellious, Zhou Cheng thought about her words for a moment and then squatted down to help her dig wild vegetables.  

Although Zhou Lin didn’t fully understand everything, he saw his brother helping and quickly followed suit.  

Seeing the two of them busy at work, Song Shiwei felt a deep sense of satisfaction.  

This child is teachable! He is a good kid!  

After filling a whole basket with yellow beard vegetables, Song Shiwei took the two children to the woods ahead to gather firewood.  

The two children were quite capable. Each picked up a bundle, tied them into two piles with hemp rope, and prepared to carry them on their backs.

Song Shiwei hurriedly stopped him.  

She smiled, her eyes sparkling, and asked Zhou Cheng, “Where was the place where you picked up sea duck eggs last time? Let’s go take a look first!”  

Zhou Cheng immediately understood what she was up to.  

“You can’t just pick up sea duck eggs whenever you want. It depends on luck!”  

Song Shiwei smiled, her eyebrows curving playfully. “I know, but I’m always lucky. Maybe I’ll run into them again!”  

Zhou Cheng had no choice but to let Zhou Lin watch the firewood while he led her to the spot.  

Thinking about how he had just found some eggs a few days ago, he felt there was no way she’d be lucky enough to find more so soon.  

But to his surprise, as soon as Song Shiwei pushed aside the reeds in front of them, they spotted a wild duck laying eggs, its tail sticking up!  

Zhou Cheng: “…”  

What kind of luck did she have? How could something so coincidental happen?  

Even the duck egg she picked up was still warm!  

Song Shiwei rubbed her hands excitedly and lay low, patiently waiting.  

They watched as the wild duck finished laying its egg, flapped its wings, and flew away.  

Once it was gone, Song Shiwei realized there were already several sea duck eggs in the nest!  

She counted six in total!  

That was a lot, what a great find!  

She quietly walked over and carefully placed all six eggs into her arms.  

She mentally marked the spot, knowing it was a wild duck’s nesting site. Maybe she could come back again tomorrow.  

Zhou Cheng saw her arranging some stones on the ground next to the nest.  

When she came back, he couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”  

Song Shiwei grinned proudly and explained her plan for collecting eggs.  

“This is a wild duck’s nest. I’m leaving a marker here. If I check it every day, I’ll have a steady supply of wild duck eggs, right?”  

Zhou Cheng: “…”  

That actually made sense, why hadn’t he thought of that?  

She handed him the six duck eggs and asked him to put them away before she continued searching along the reed marsh.  

And guess what? She actually found more wild duck nests!  

Each nest had duck eggs some with quite a few, even more than a dozen!  

Since she couldn’t take them all at once, she marked each nest.  

She didn’t want the wild ducks to go extinct, so the next time she came, she planned to bring a flashlight to check the eggs one by one. She would take only the unfertilized ones, leaving the fertilized ones to hatch into ducklings.  

When they returned, Zhou Lin saw that his brother and Song Shiwei were each carrying over a dozen wild duck eggs! His eyes widened in shock.  

“Oh my god, did you guys just rob the wild ducks? You wouldn’t leave unless they laid an egg?!”  

Song Shiwei burst out laughing at his reaction.  

Zhou Cheng looked at her helplessly and sighed.  

“You’re not wrong. Someone really went and raided the wild ducks’ nests one by one!”  

“Oh my god! That’s amazing…”  

Zhou Lin looked at Song Shiwei in admiration. How could this woman be so incredible? She even looted the ducks’ nests!  

But what made him even happier was the fact that they were going to have wild duck eggs to eat today!  

On the way back, Song Shiwei carried the duck eggs and a backpack full of wild vegetables, while Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin each carried a bundle of firewood. The three of them walked back to the family compound one after another.  

However, as soon as they reached the gate of the compound, they saw a crowd gathered outside.  

People were shouting something.  

The three of them felt a sense of unease and rushed forward.  

Pushing through the crowd, they saw Zhou Wei standing at the door, holding his sister tightly, crying with tears and snot all over his face.  

“Bad guy! Go away! You’re a bad guy!”