Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 610 - 314: Swallow and Calabash (Part 2)_1

First update, seeking pinks.

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Under the eaves of the West Wing Room where Lian Manman’s family lived, directly above where Lady Zhang and Lian Zhizhi sat on the kang bed inside the house, there was a swallow’s nest larger than the spread hands of an adult.

This swallow’s nest had reportedly been around for some years now, and in it at present were a brood of freshly hatched baby swallows, while their parents had both gone out to find food for their little ones.

These days, every morning, Lian Manman woke to the crowing of the rooster and the twittering and chirping of these swallows.

But now, the baby swallows in the nest were all chirping in unison, and the sound was not of their usual joy or hunger but of fright, for slithering along the eaves was a greyish-black "rope", winding its way slowly toward the swallow’s nest.

"Mother, there’s a long worm!" Lian Manman stepped back and shouted loudly into the house, "Mother, the long worm is going to eat our swallows."

The folks of Thirty Mile Camp referred to snakes as "long worms". The term was quite vivid and evocative, and Lian Manman felt this was more impactful than simply calling them snakes.

"What?" Hearing Lian Manman’s shouts, Lady Zhang paused for a second, then hurriedly got down from the kang, not even properly putting on her shoes, and grabbed a long stick as she came out of the house.

Swallows were considered beneficial birds, and to the tenant farmers of Thirty Mile Camp, they were also a symbol of good fortune, representing peace and prosperity at home. If a household didn’t have a single swallow’s nest under its eaves, it meant the family was in such dire straits that even the swallows stayed far away.

Wu Lang, along with Xiao Qi, often went about robbing bird nests, but they would never raid swallows’ nests. The other children in the village did the same.

Some families adored swallows so much that they let them build nests inside their homes, and even when they had to put up mosquito screens in the summer, they would leave an entryway for the swallows.

However, not many households could attract swallows to nest inside. This required the family’s home to be very spacious and have a small number of people. The one family Lian Manman knew of had only an elderly couple living with two young girls around the age of ten. The family of four were clean and quiet, never creating any fuss.

Once swallows built a nest in a home, they generally wouldn’t move unless major changes occurred. They would leave in winter and return in spring, living alongside the household year after year.

Lady Zhang had come to see the swallows under their eaves as part of her own "family". Hence, it was natural for Lian Manman to blurt out "our swallows". But in reality, the swallows were free creatures, not really theirs.

Coming outside, Lady Zhang followed the direction Lian Manman was pointing and also saw the "long worm" that had slithered to the edge of the nest, ready to strike.

Lian Manman had raised the alarm quite fiercely, but truth be told, she was somewhat afraid of the "long worm" and hid giggling behind Lady Zhang.

Lady Zhang herself felt a bit uneasy inside. Thirty Mile Camp was known for its good soil and water, with virtually no venomous snakes around. But even if the "long worm" was harmless and didn’t bite, just the sight of it was enough to make one’s skin crawl. Yet, with the young swallows in need of protection and her daughter startled behind her, Lady Zhang mustered courage.

She stretched out her arm and carefully wrapped the "long worm" around the stick.

The baby swallows in the nest, perhaps sensing the danger had passed, chirped less desperately than before, as the two adult swallows flew back with a gliding motion from a distance. After fluttering their wings, they elegantly landed on the nest under the eaves. Tilting their heads into the nest, they were met with several eager beaks vying to gulp down the insects the parents had brought.

After feeding the baby swallows, the parent birds turned their heads and chirped at Lady Zhang and Lian Manman. They didn’t immediately fly away to find more food; it seemed they were observing how Lady Zhang deal with the "long worm" that threatened their children. The chirping sounded almost like urging, asking Lady Zhang to quickly eliminate the danger to their offspring.

The "long worm" Lady Zhang had removed was coiled around the stick, not making any aggressive movements.

This "long worm" was not a venomous snake. Around Thirty Mile Camp, people frequently encountered roughly three types of snakes.

One kind was this greyish-black one, unattractive in appearance, blending into the environment of the soil lumps, greyish-black wooden rafters, and roof tiles, making it hard for people to spot. Another type was the greenish grass snake, the Cauliflower Snake. Both of these kinds of snakes were mild-mannered, feeding mainly on mice. This one today must have taken advantage of the parent swallows’ absence to snack on a couple of tender young swallows but had the misfortune of being foiled by Lady Zhang and Lian Manman’s combined efforts.