"Chirp chirp chirp..."
"Chirp, chirp, chirp."
…
When Ji Huai put the dried black mulberries into the cage, a male and a female purple chirping bird were pecking at them, and five young birds next to them were chirping non-stop.
"Why don't they feed the birds?" Tang Xiuer held her belly, walked to the side and stared again.
The cage Ji Huai made was big enough, so he moved the nest back and put it in the cage to get them used to it. It turned out that he was overthinking it.
These two big birds are very accustomed to it. Every time they eat, they peck a few pebbles before eating. The male purple chirps are okay. After eating some, they will feed the young birds. But if Ji Huai reaches in, he will be irritable and want to peck them.
Where is the female purple chirp? She was completely indifferent and would only look at her baby when she had eaten and drank enough. She also didn't realize that she was locked in a cage and didn't enjoy much when she lay down in the nest.
"I only care about myself." Ji Huai grabbed another handful of dried black mulberry fruits, held them with chopsticks, and put them in to feed the birds.
After eating the fruit, the chirping of the young birds became smaller and smaller.
When he was about to feed the young bird again, the female bird who walked to the nest stretched her head forward, pecked away the dried fruit, lowered her head and ate it herself.
Ji Huai: "..."
Based on his observations over the next few days, these two birds were really careless about their young. That's fine. At least it's better to sell the baby bird to a rich official family who has someone to take care of it than to follow these two idiots.
They should be anxious about being caught, but they enjoy eating and drinking three meals a day more than anyone else. Ji Huai, on the other hand, had to find black mulberry fruits and dry them to keep.
He didn't plan to sell the two adult purple chirps, and the baby birds were too small to sell. He will keep it for now, and occasionally he will go back to the village and take Xiao Huangzi into the mountains to pick black mulberry fruits.
He also brought back the seeds and planted several trees in the yard.
I haven't been back to the village for a long time. I heard from Xiao Huangzi that Brother Ji and Brother Ji are having a lot of trouble now. Brother Ji has already given birth to two daughters and wants a son. Sister Ji has just become pregnant. It is said that Sister Ji did something. Something unlucky caused her to have a miscarriage. Brother Ji went to the field to hoe, and accidentally hit his own toe, which caused bleeding.
The two families had another big quarrel and started talking about conflicting issues. They tried their best to get each other to leave. Sister-in-law Ji was so anxious that she scolded the second brother Ji for not having a boy in his family. The second brother Ji had a fight with her. Slapped several times.
Recently, there has been a buzz in the village that the two families are being treated as a joke.
And Ji Huai, who bought a house in the town, naturally became the envy of everyone. When Xiao Huangzi said it, his eyes were full of pride, "Everyone praises Third Brother for your greatness. I also want to learn from you!"
"Pick the fruit carefully. I'll give you fifty coppers per pound." Ji Huai said to him.
"So many?" Xiao Huangzi took a breath.
"Yes." Ji Huai nodded affirmatively and told him, "You can bring them to pick them. I'll pay you fifty cents per pound. I'll give you as much as I want."
"But can you finish eating like this?" Xiao Huangzi was surprised by the high price and had doubts.
"The dried fruits can be stored for a long time." Ji Huai replied.
Xiao Huangzi didn't ask any more questions and agreed happily: "Okay."
After he returned, he didn't find many friends to go with him. Of course, this kind of good thing can only be told to the people with whom he has the best relationship. He only found another boy with whom he had the best relationship.
The other party and his grandmother depended on each other, and her grandmother was sick all year round and was very poor. A pound of black mulberries can be exchanged for fifty copper coins, which is a great temptation.
Ji Huai told them the location of the black mulberry trees on Xiaohuangzi Mountain. Within a few days, the two of them stripped the black mulberry trees clean. They got a lot of money, and they were very happy.
And what about Ji Huai
He dried fruits in the yard and picked basket after basket. The fruity smell was so strong that the eyes of the two adult purple chirps in the cage widened. Even Xiong Zijiu, who has a slightly grumpy temper, has been relatively quiet recently.
As long as you feed them black mulberries, they will become docile and they will probably not want to leave.
As Tang Xiuer's belly is getting bigger and bigger, Ji Huai spends more time at home taking care of her. The couple spends their free time in the yard basking in the sun.
In the past, she could still embroider purses, but because of her big belly, she couldn't sit still and had to get up and move around after embroidering for a while. She looked at Ji Huai who was weaving bamboo baskets and felt quite guilty, so after walking around for a while, she would sit back and force herself to embroider the purse.
She had just been embroidering for a while when the child in her belly started to make trouble and kept kicking her. Her back was sore and her legs were numb, and she would beat her back from time to time.
Ji Huai saw it and said, "Stop embroidering, go back and rest."
"It needs to be embroidered. I'm about to give birth, and there will definitely be a lot of money to spend by then. The more you embroider, the more money you can sell." She took back her hand and continued to embroider.
"That's what I have to worry about. I won't have to worry about you. It's your turn to make money. Go inside and rest." Ji Huai insisted.
Although Tang Xiuer did not stop the movements in her hands, the corners of her mouth could not stop rising, "Then I have to share some of the burden for you. You can't just take it for free."
She was already happy that he could say that.
In the past, at Ji's house, when Ji's mother was around, the two of them had no chance to be alone together. Later, they stayed in the same room and there were three families living in the yard, and they didn't have much contact.
After moving to the town, there were only two of them in the yard, and the freedom was much easier. It was just the two of them, and they got along better and better.
"It's a lot of effort to carry the child, so why are you freeloading?" Ji Huai took the knife and began to peel the bamboo strips, whispering his plan, "I went to the midwife two days ago and agreed with her to come at the right time to give birth. After you have the child, ask Aunt Niu to take care of you during the confinement period. As for the money, of course you have to prepare it, otherwise where can you borrow it when the time comes?"
He pointed at the bird on the tree and said, "I've asked about it. This bird is considered rare. When the baby bird gets older, I will sell it and it should get a good price."
"Sell it? I'm afraid it's inappropriate?" Tang Xiuer hesitated and was a little reluctant to give up.
"Zijiu doesn't protect its young birds, and it doesn't take care of them now. Maybe they will fight with each other when they grow up. The cages are so small, they must be raised separately, which is time-consuming and laborious. It is better to sell them. There are dedicated people in the mansion to take care of them. , if you can be raised as an offering, your life will be better." Ji Huai said this.
Tang Xiuer recalled this period of time and realized that the two adult purple chirps did not take care of the young birds, and she actually felt that he was right.
"Stop embroidering and take a rest." He said again.
She was finally urged to go to sleep in the house. Before going to bed, she could still hear the faint chirping of birds and the sound of him pulling the bamboo sticks, which made her feel at ease.
When she woke up, Ji Huai bought her half a catty of cake, which was still hot.
The remaining warmth of the setting sun shone into the courtyard. It was originally a bit sad, but at this moment she only saw tenderness, and even the breeze that blew by had a hint of softness.
As the young bird slowly grew feathers, although there were not many, it could already be seen that it was a young bird of purple chirp. Ji Huai went to Cheng Mansion without waiting much.
Heizi came out of the back door and met him.
When we met this time, the other person was haggard than last time, with injuries on his face. He was wearing clothes from the Cheng family. He was listless, but he managed to keep his energy up and faced him, "What do you want from me? Tell me, I can do it." It will definitely be done.”
The other party saved his brother's life, a favor he never forgot.
Ji Huai: "I found the young purple chirping bird."
"What?" Heizi's eyes widened suddenly, and he suddenly became energetic. He looked around, for fear of being overheard, he quickly pulled Ji Huai aside and lowered his voice, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, five." He replied.
Kuroko took a breath, still not able to believe it.
"How much can it be sold for?" Ji Huai asked again. He did not intend to sell the two adult purple chirps, because they could still lay eggs, and if sold to the Cheng Mansion, they would receive the best treatment.
He couldn't devote all his energy to raising so many birds. Sooner or later, the dried black mulberries would be finished. This fruit is produced once a year, and there are not as many fruits in previous years as this year.
"If it's true, even a baby bird should have at least this number." Heizi held out a finger.
"Ten taels?" Ji Huai frowned.
"What ten taels? Now you can't even buy a purple chirp for one hundred and fifty taels. Even if it's a baby bird, it only costs one hundred taels! Mr. Cheng is ready to find someone to search for it in the mountains. If there is one, everyone has to snatch it. Go ahead and buy it!" Heizi said anxiously.
Don't rich families just want face
Something that no one else has is even more rare and priceless.
Ji Huai: "If I can sell one for one hundred taels, I will give you ten taels for each. However, except Mr. Cheng, I don't want anyone else to know that I found the baby bird. This matter must be kept secret."
"That's definitely no problem. Mr. Cheng will definitely buy all five of them." Heizi was so happy that when he heard that one of them would be given to him for ten taels, his eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "Mr. Cheng is a good person. To save face, concealing your identity will make you look more mysterious. Plus, he is the only one with Zijiu, not to mention how impressive he is."
"Okay, after everything is done, I will definitely give you what I promised you." Ji Huai nodded.
"Then... can I go and have a look?" Heizi still couldn't believe it and was embarrassed to explain, "I didn't say what you caught was wrong. It's just that Mr. Cheng has a bad temper. If something goes wrong then, everyone will have a hard time. .”
Ji Huai was understanding, but he didn't take him back. He just agreed on a place and brought a young purple chirping bird over.
Heizi leaned over to take a look, his eyes widening instantly.
Lilac feathers, colorful tail, red pointed beak, and claws... Although he had never seen it before, this bird was so beautiful that he knew it must be a purple chirp at a glance.
"Master Cheng, I'm going to lobby. First, let me tell you that you have one. After he sees and buys it, he will reveal that there are four others. He will definitely buy it." Heizi said with absolute certainty.
"Okay." Ji Huai nodded seeing his excitement.
Mr. Cheng likes birds, and most of the servants in the mansion have to take care of them. From the last time they went to the mountains together, he knew that the other party's position in the mansion was not stable.
I have another injury on my face today, so I guess my life will not be very good in the future. Such a person wants to stand up too much, and since he saved his brother that day, he will most likely seek benefits for himself and him in front of Mr. Cheng.
"Then I'll go back home first. When Mr. Cheng comes back, I'll talk to him and then let you know." Heizi said.
Ji Huai agreed, but did not reveal his address. Instead, he set a time and place to meet.
After separating from Heizi, Ji Huai did not go home directly, but went to visit a few more houses. The house he originally bought was still too small. With this money, he had to buy a bigger house. At that time, the servants and maids will also have to buy a few.