Chapter 80.1

Zhuzi and Fantuan took turns feeding Hua Hua her earthworms every other day. Hua Hua is also quite hardworking. Her feathers have grown back little by little, making her more and more beautiful. Moreover, she lays an egg every day. In the blink of an eye, she has already laid more than a dozen eggs.

In the past few days, Hua Hua has been feeling a bit lazy. After she finishes laying eggs, she always stays in her nest and refuses to get up. Her temperament has become quite irritable, and she pecks at anyone who moves her even slightly with a fierce look in her eyes.

The cubs thought Hua Hua was going to get sick again, so they were very worried.

Su Xiaoxiao remembered that when the mother hen in Sujiacun wanted to incubate her chicks, it looked like they were in this state. However, brooding usually happens more frequently in the spring or when the weather is warmer in the summer. The autumn in the small town is not cold. Didn’t Aunt Zhang’s hen just brood a nest not long ago? So Su Xiaoxiao was not sure if it was related to the local climate.

“Comrade Fantuan, Comrade Zhuzi! Comrade Su Xiaoxiao is going to assign a task to you!”

Upon hearing that there was a task, the two cubs immediately left Hua Hua and stood in front of Su Xiaoxiao. They gave their mother or aunt a solemn salute. “Comrade Fantuan/Comrade Zhuzi! Please give instructions, Comrade Su Xiaoxiao!”

Su Xiaoxiao patted their heads and said, “Go to Dun Dun’s house and ask Grandma Zhang for advice. See if she knows why the mother hen is being lazy and aggressive. If it’s because she wants to brood, then ask what to pay attention to when incubating chicks. Can you remember that?”

The two cubs nodded and said, “We can!” and were about to run outside.

Su Xiaoxiao stopped them and went inside the house to get a string of candied haws. She plucked one and handed it to Xiao Doubao before giving another to Fantuan, saying, “Take these with you. Each of you can have one, and share the rest with Dun Dun, Ya Ya, and Grandma Zhang.”

Fantuan and Zhuzi both like Tanghulu very much. They had only tasted them once before, but they couldn’t forget the taste. Although Su Xiaoxiao didn’t allow them to have more, they wouldn’t ask for more either. Now, their mouths were watering, and each of them took one and happily walked outside while eating.

In the 1970s, there were restrictions on raising chickens, especially in rural areas. A family could only raise a few. If they were to raise too many chickens, it would be troublesome since other people would surely report them.
In the military area, it was slightly better. Families with many children could raise a couple of hens for eggs or personal consumption, and generally, people wouldn’t be so envious. But raising too many was still not allowed.

Of course, most families don’t raise a lot; after all, raising chickens also requires a lot of food.

Han Cheng planned to apply for permission to raise a few more chickens. Now that they had raised enough until Su Xiaoxiao’s childbirth and the postpartum period, it was an unwritten rule in the military area. When someone’s wife gave birth, they could raise a few more chickens to gather some red eggs, and they were allowed to slaughter a couple of chickens during the confinement period.

Su Xiaoxiao was just about to return to the house when Xiao Zhuzi pulled out Xiao Fantuan, who was sniffling and trying not to cry. It had not been two minutes since they went out. Su Xiaoxiao thought they were being bullied and pulled Xiao Fantuan aside to ask him what was going on.

“Why did you come back so quickly? What happened?” Su Xiaoxiao asked.
Xiao Zhuzi handed the candied haw that Fantuan was holding to Su Xiaoxiao and said, “Aunt Su, we didn’t even make it far. When Fantuan was biting the candied haw, a tooth fell onto it, and he cried and wanted it back.”

Xiao Zhuzi grinned as he comforted Fantuan. “Losing teeth is normal; you see, all the teeth I lost grew back, right?”

Fantuan burst into tears and said, “I don’t want it, it looks so ugly, and I’ll speak with a lisp, wuwuwuwu…”

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time as she pulled the beauty-conscious little cub closer to comfort him.

This five-year-old little cub seemed to have acquired some unique sense of aesthetics from somewhere. Everything had to be beautiful. Before going to school, he insisted on wearing neat clothes. He asked Han Cheng to cover his books neatly, and his school bag had to be clean and organized. He refused to make friends with kids who had bad handwriting or play with untidy children. He seemed to have completely forgotten his days of being a little dirty monkey during his time with Zhou Cuihua, and she couldn’t fathom how he had managed to transition.

“Fantuan, you’re not ugly at all. It’s completely normal to lose teeth when you’re five or six years old. Look at Zhuzi and the other kids in your class; they all went through this too. Don’t worry; your tooth will grow back soon. Open your mouth and let Mommy see if it’s bleeding.”

Xiao Fantuan shook his head and refused to open his mouth. 

Zhuzi said, “Aunt Su, I have seen it, and it’s not bleeding.”

Su Xiaoxiao asked Xiao Fantuan to rinse his mouth.

By the time Fantuan returned, Su Xiaoxiao had already taken the little tooth that had fallen on the tanghulu and wrapped it in a small piece of cloth. “Your grandma said that if the front tooth falls out, you should throw it on the roof, but if the upper tooth falls out, you should put it under the bed. Mommy will place your tooth under the bed, and soon a new tooth will grow in its place. So, Fantuan, you don’t need to be afraid or worried, okay?”

Xiao Fantuan nodded but still refused to speak.

Xiao Doubao walked over and tugged at his brother’s clothes. He wanted to see his mouth, but Fantuan dodged him.

Su Xiaoxiao asked him again, “Do you still want to eat your tanghulu?”

Xiao Fantuan pursed his lips and shook his head. He would never eat tanghulu again. It made his teeth fall out.

“Then I’ll give it to Huahua to eat.” It’s only at this time that Su Xiaoxiao feels that no matter how smart Little Fantuan is, he is still a little child over five years old. But with his recovery ability, he should be fine in a couple of days.

Fantuan was in a bad mood and didn’t want to go out again. Xiao Zhuzi tried to persuade him, but he didn’t want to listen at all, so he said, “Aunt Su, I’ll go ask Grandma Zhang myself.”

“Can you go alone?” Su Xiaoxiao asked.

Xiao Zhuzi nodded. “Yes, I can.”

When Xiao Zhuzi was very young, he was always running around, doing this and that alone, so Su Xiaoxiao trusted him.

As a result, just as Xiao Zhuzi stepped out the door, Xiao Fantuan covered his mouth and chased after him. “Wait for me!”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said to Xiao Doubao, “Xiao Doubao when you become as big as your eldest brother, you will also have your baby teeth replaced. We’re not afraid, okay?”

Xiao Doubao blinked his big eyes and nodded, “Not afraid!”

Su Xiaoxiao bent down, kissed the little cub, and started preparing dinner.