Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 660 - 339: Entering the Dog Days_2

However, this year, Lian Manman’s family no longer lacked the small change from selling chicken and duck eggs. Before they had chickens and ducks, they had to buy eggs to eat.

"Alright," Lian Manman nodded, "Mother, from now on, let each person in our family have at least one chicken egg every day. As for the duck eggs, let’s pickle all of them. Pickled duck eggs are delicious."

"Now that the chickens and ducks have started laying eggs, there’s no need for one every day. They lay eggs every other day, and with the six of us, plus Mr. Loo, we really have enough eggs to eat every day," Lady Zhang said with a laugh.

To ensure that the chickens and ducks lay plenty of eggs, the food they ate had to be nutritious. There was no need to worry about the ducks; they spent most of their days in the river and their diet was very nutritious. But the range of the hens was limited, so finding nutritious feed was something that had to be done deliberately.

After school, Wu Lang and Xiao Qi would make a detour through the fields on their way home, each digging up a basket of wild greens or cutting a basket of fresh grass to feed the chickens, ducks, pigs, and calves. If Lian Manman was free, she would also go down to the fields to dig for wild greens.

After eating a poached egg with millet porridge and pickles and two small rolls made of Sanhe flour, Lian Manman looked outside and estimated that the dew on the fields had dried. She then picked up a basket and a vegetable knife, planning to go down to the fields to dig for wild greens. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Manman, wait for me, I’ll finish up here and go with you," Lian Zhizhi called out to Lian Manman.

"Sister, don’t come today," Lian Manman waved her hand and said, "I’ll dig up enough greens for a basket that will be sufficient for us. Don’t you still have all that needlework to do? You better stay at home and work on that."

Lian Zhizhi was skilled at needlework, and now that Lady Zhang was busy with the shop every day, most of the needlework at home was left to Lian Zhizhi.

"Alright then, Manman, don’t go to the fields alone, find someone to accompany you," Lian Zhizhi said.

"I’ll find Yeye," Lian Manman said, as she came out of the house to look for Lian Yeye.

"Yeye, want to go dig for vegetables in the fields?" Lian Manman asked Lian Yeye.

At the Upper Room, as per the old rules, households took turns tending to domestic chores. Today, it was Lian Yeye’s turn to go out and dig for wild greens.

"Yes," Lian Yeye answered, also picking up a basket, and came out to join Lian Manman.

The weather was still cool, the dew on the fields had just disappeared, and the sun wasn’t yet scorching. It was common for children from tenant farmer families to take advantage of this time to go down to the fields to dig for wild greens. Those who tended to the crops also chose this time to do so. By midday, when the sun became too fierce, everyone would stop their work and head home.

It was the start of the hottest part of summer, and the scenes in the fields were different from those in spring. The sorghum had grown as tall as a person, the peanuts were flowering, and the grass at the edge of the fields was growing luxuriantly, with wildflowers of red, yellow, and various other colors blooming in spots or in clumps.

Lian Manman didn’t rush into the fields to dig for wild vegetables. She plucked a foxtail grass and walked slowly along the edge, watching as the grasshoppers were startled into jumping or flying away. Spotting where a plump grasshopper landed, she approached softly, then swiftly bent down and caught it with her hand.

Then, Lian Manman pinched the grasshopper’s body and threaded the soft shell at the back of its neck with the stem of the foxtail grass. With her keen eyes, light footsteps, and quick hands, she soon had a whole line of grasshoppers skewered on the foxtail grass. She tied a knot at one end of the stem to prevent the grasshoppers from escaping and tossed the string of grasshoppers into her basket. She then plucked another foxtail grass and continued to catch grasshoppers.

For hens, grasshoppers are akin to high-protein and high-nutrient feed, the best there is to encourage laying. Once the hottest period of summer began, the grasshopper population in the grass nests burgeoned, and Lian Manman caught the wingless green grasshoppers, which were particularly plump. They could jump well but, lacking wings, couldn’t fly, making them rather easy to catch.

On the other hand, those grey-bodied grasshoppers with a pair of hard, grey wings on their backs, hiding beautiful, semi-transparent, brightly colored gauzy wings – either fiery red or emerald green – could fly quickly and far in one leap, and were not so easy to catch.

After catching three strings of grasshoppers, Lian Manman and Lian Yeye went to the fields to dig up wild vegetables. When they’d nearly filled their basket, they ran into Er Ya, Chun Ni, Chun Yan, and several others.

The young girls greeted each other and then left the field together.

"It’s still early, why don’t we rest for a while before going home?" Er Ya suggested.

Since the sun wasn’t scorching and a gentle breeze was blowing, carrying the mixed scents of green grass and flowers, Lian Manman felt no rush to head home. The girls sat at the edge of the field, chatting and giggling.

"Manman, Yeye, how come you two are here picking wild veggies? Isn’t your uncle going to be an official?" one of the girls asked, eyeing Lian Manman and Lian Yeye.

Lian Manman and Lian Yeye exchanged glances.

"What does being an official have to do with it, I don’t understand. Do officials not eat or work? Besides, if anyone is going to be an official, it’s my uncle, not us," Lian Manman replied.

"Manman, even if your uncle isn’t an official, now that your family has money, do you still need to work in the fields?" another girl asked loudly.

The children of tenant farmers tended to be straightforward and outspoken.

"You earn money by working," Lian Manman laughed.

"Manman, my mom says I’m lazy and always tells me to learn from you. She says, look at Manman, her family may have money, but she still does all kinds of chores," another girl chuckled.

"What money does my family have? We have a lot of expenses. My brothers are studying," Lian Manman said briefly, not going into detail. She knew that in the eyes of the villagers, her family was now considered wealthy.

"Studying costs money," another girl nodded in agreement.

"Manman, is your aunt’s marriage settled yet?" Er Ya leaned in close to Lian Manman and asked in a hushed tone.

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Here’s one update, I’ll try my best to post another Chapter tonight. Please show your support with likes. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)