Bai Shuo discovered that having the chicks help out was incredibly convenient. He didn’t even need to explain what he was planning to do, as long as there was enough pan-fried meat on offer, the chicks would follow whatever instructions he gave.
Besides wheat, Bai Shuo also taught the chicks to recognize scallions, though scallions weren’t something to harvest all at once, they were a long-term seasoning, so Bai Shuo just had the chicks memorize the locations and remember them for when he went to check himself. He’d only found one small clump on his own, nowhere near enough, and covering this whole area alone would take him far too long, besides, his hide shoes didn’t fit quite right, and he tired quickly after walking any distance, so a group of chicks working together was simply more efficient than he could ever be alone.
It happened to be wheat’s ripening season, and before long, the chicks had all gathered a little something, one way or another.
Bai Shuo only had them pick the stalks that had turned golden yellow, leaving the green ones for a few more days, so what they brought back was all fully ripe, adding up to roughly ten jin altogether.
In his past life, wheat had been split into winter wheat and spring wheat. Winter wheat was planted in autumn, endured a full winter, and was harvested the following year in late spring or early summer. Spring wheat was planted in spring and harvested in autumn. The two methods weren’t used in the same regions, and the seeds themselves differed slightly too.
But the plants of the God-Blessed Continent were rather special, since the seasons here differed from those of his past life, many plants had changed their properties accordingly, nearly every plant here could grow and reproduce during the growth season. So this wheat could be planted right now, too.
Unlike winter wheat, which needed to survive an entire winter, the wheat planted now would have a much shorter growing period, with roughly five months left in the growth season, planting one crop of wheat would leave plenty of time to spare. Bai Shuo took a group of chicks and spread the wheat out to dry on the clearing in front of the tribe, the harvested heads needed to dry out before they could be threshed properly.
The Feather Clan had no concept of a midday meal, so they could use this big clearing however they liked. To keep anyone from accidentally stepping on it, Bai Shuo ringed the area with a border of stones.
The chicks loved this task, they’d even stopped picking Redtop fruit, running around instead in search of ripe wheat. Of course, part of why they’d stopped picking Redtop fruit was that all the ripe ones nearby had already been stripped bare, which was exactly why Bai Shuo had managed to trade for so much of it that morning, whatever the chicks had saved up had all been the sourer, less-ripe kind.
While the other chicks searched for the second round, Bai Shuo went to check on Bai Le and the cluck-bird eggs.
Bai Le desperately wanted to go outside, but his brother had entrusted him with an important task, so he could only curl up here and brood the eggs, terrified of crushing any of them if he moved, he sat frozen in place, only daring to swivel his head back and forth.
What Bai Shuo walked in on was exactly that scene, a plump little fluffball bobbing its head side to side, chirping now and then, its tone swinging between cheerful and gloomy. One moment sulking over not being able to go out and play, the next lost in thoughts of the delicious food waiting for him that evening.
While Bai Le wasn’t paying attention, Bai Shuo crept up quietly from behind, slowly bent down, and scooped the little fat bird up into his arms with both hands.
“Chirp!” Bai Le cried out in alarm.
Right after, sensing the achingly familiar presence holding him, Bai Le looked up and, spotting Bai Shuo, immediately started reporting on his own good behavior: “Chirp chirp chirp!” He’d been ever so good the whole time!
“Good boy.” Bai Shuo praised his little brother, then turned his attention to the clutch of cluck-bird eggs. A whole morning had passed, and yet not a single one had cracked, a bit strange.
Eggs from the same clutch that started incubating together usually wouldn’t hatch too far apart in timing. One had cracked open that morning, if nothing was wrong, the rest should be hatching one after another by now. Right now, though, forget hatching, there wasn’t even the faintest crack in any of them. Bai Shuo worried the interrupted incubation might have caused the hatch to fail after all, and decided to check them over again.
He set the little fluffy bird aside, rubbing its head. “Go play for a bit.” His little brother liked to be outside playing, he must be dying of boredom cooped up in here by now, and besides, brooding eggs wasn’t about maintaining one constant temperature the whole time anyway, the eggs needed to be aired out periodically to adjust the temperature.
Bai Le had been stuck in the cave all morning and had wanted to go out for ages, now, with his brother’s blessing, he took off like a shot. “Chirp chirp chirp—” Here I come!
Outside the cave, a few other chicks who’d just recently turned human were practicing walking. One of them, hearing the all-too-familiar sound, lost his footing and hit the ground with a “flump”, the little tot vanished on the spot, leaving only a lumpy pile of animal hide. A moment later, a fuzzy little chick wriggled its way out of the hide, glanced around, picked a direction, and made a dash for it, only to slam straight into a fluffball bigger than itself two steps in, and flop flat on the ground, the picture of having nothing left to live for (Nothing left in life worth loving (utterly done with life) (shēng wú kě liàn, 生無可戀) – internet slang, deployed here for comic, overdramatic despair).
Inside the cave, Bai Shuo began examining the eggs. Whether or not this first batch of cluck-birds could hatch successfully would decide whether his farming venture got off to a smooth start, and Bai Shuo cared about it deeply.
The moment Bai Le stepped outside, the little cluck-bird that had been hiding in the corner scurried right up to Bai Shuo’s leg, chirping and rubbing against him.
Looking at how much this little cluck-bird had already changed in just half a day, Bai Shuo figured it probably had decent odds of surviving, it looked far bigger and healthier than the baby chicks he remembered from his past life.
Encouraged by how sturdy the little cluck-bird looked, Bai Shuo began checking the eggs, the cluck-bird was the very first creature he’d tried to farm, and it absolutely could not go wrong.
He picked up one egg and held it to his ear, listening for any sound inside.
“Crack—”
An achingly familiar noise reached his ear.
“Crack—”
“Crack—”
As if some switch had flipped, or some signal had gone out, the little cluck-birds inside their shells all began pecking at once, nearly in perfect unison.
Bai Shuo froze, stunned speechless by the sight, and was only snapped back to his senses by the sound of the little cluck-bird at his feet. He hurried to set the egg in his hands back down on the dry grass.
Just like that morning, these little cluck-birds pecked at their shells with astonishing speed, in the blink of an eye, cracks had spread across shell after shell, and some of the chicks inside couldn’t help crying out already, their calls muffled by the shell and much fainter than the one already at Bai Shuo’s feet.
Before long, one little cluck-bird kicked open the shell over its head and poked its own head out.
Then a second, a third…
Within less time than it takes to finish a meal, more than a dozen little cluck-birds had successfully hatched, leaving only two eggs still without any sign of movement.
Just as Bai Shuo stood there, staring wide-eyed at a whole crowd of little cluck-birds, Bai Le’s voice came drifting in from outside.
“Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp—” Brother, I’m back—
Having played outside for a while, Bai Le had decided it was time to get back to his morning’s work, and came cheering his way back into the cave. The moment he stepped in and spotted a whole flock of little cluck-birds, his eyes lit right up.
“Cheep cheep cheep—”
The little cluck-birds shrank into a huddle in fright, scrambling desperately to hide behind Bai Shuo.
Bai Shuo watched Bai Le come trotting in, then looked down at the flock of little cluck-birds looking ready to vanish on the spot, and something clicked into place.
Little cluck-birds, including the ones still inside their shells, were all afraid of the Feather Clan, whether adult or chick, without exception. Today should have been the right time for these little cluck-birds to hatch, but with Bai Le around all morning, the little cluck-birds had been too frightened to emerge, and had only dared to burst out of their shells the moment Bai Le stepped out to go play.
As for himself, probably his own feather form was so small it carried none of the Feather Clan’s usual sense of menace, which was why the little cluck-birds mistakenly believed the area was safe.
Looking at the last two eggs, Bai Shuo picked them up and held them to his ear, sure enough, no sound came from either, which meant, in all likelihood, the incubation had failed.
Setting those two aside, Bai Shuo decided to move the little cluck-birds out of the cave right away. He scooped up two himself and told Bai Le to shift into human form: “Quick, turn human and put your hide on, then come help me carry them all outside.” With this many little cluck-birds around, if the cave got dirtied it would be a real problem, this was, after all, the cave where the tribe stored its food.
“Chirp—” Bai Le agreed, shifted into human form, threw on the hide garment lying nearby, and ran over to help.
The little cluck-birds were terrified, but their reaction was a bit different from before, that morning, the first little cluck-bird had been scared of Bai Le and stayed curled in the corner without moving, now, the whole flock scrambled to hide behind Bai Shuo, desperately trying to escape Bai Le’s line of sight.
Bai Le trailed after Bai Shuo, and the little cluck-birds circled right around to get in front of Bai Shuo instead.
So now it was one chick and a whole flock of little cluck-birds playing a game of ring-around-Bai Shuo, cat-and-mouse style.
Bai Shuo: “……”
Bai Shuo couldn’t stand to watch this anymore. He simply handed the two he was holding over to Bai Le. “You carry these two.”
“Cheep—” The little cluck-birds let out a mournful shriek.
Startled by the sound, Bai Shuo took one look at how hard the little cluck-bird was struggling and gave up on the idea of getting Bai Le to help at all. “Never mind, I’ll carry them out myself. Le, you stay here and keep watch, don’t let them run off.” Getting Bai Le to carry little cluck-birds was clearly too much to ask, better to just make a few extra trips himself.
Bai Le nodded, watching the huddled-up little cluck-birds, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. “Brother, are we eating grilled little cluck-bird today?”
Bai Shuo: “……” No wonder the little cluck-birds were so terrified, anyone would be, freshly hatched and already marked for the pot.
To keep his little brother from scaring the little cluck-birds the moment he wasn’t looking, Bai Shuo explained, “These are meant to be raised until they’re grown, we’ll eat them once they’ve grown up.”
Bai Le looked at the little cluck-birds now, then pictured them fully grown, and concluded that his brother really was the smartest person around, once they’d grown up, there’d be so much more meat to eat! Right now there was only enough for one meal, but raised to full size, there’d be enough for many, many meals!
Basking in his little brother’s admiring gaze, Bai Shuo carried two little cluck-birds out, after a few steps, he felt something was off and looked down.
“Cheep cheep cheep—” A whole flock of little cluck-birds was crowded around his feet, affectionately rubbing against his hide shoes.
Bai Shuo tried taking a couple more steps forward, then stopped.
The little cluck-birds followed along a stretch, then stopped too.
Bai Shuo kept walking.
The little cluck-birds trailed right along at his heels.
Well, that settled it, no need for help of any kind. Bai Shuo looked at the two he was still holding and decided to just set them down on the ground too.
And with that, without any driving or grabbing required, Bai Shuo successfully led over a dozen little cluck-birds right out of the cave.
Remembering the cluck-bird eggs still belonged to the tribe’s collective property, and that even though he’d already claimed them for himself, he’d promised to trade for them tonight, Bai Shuo went to let Cailin know first, since this had all happened much sooner than planned.
“Auntie Cailin, the little cluck-birds have hatched, I’m going to take them out now, and I’ll bring the meat over later.” Bai Shuo knew Cailin had only refused earlier because she thought the eggs wouldn’t hatch at all, now that they had, there was no need to worry about that anymore.
Cailin, busy working with a few elders, turned at the sound of his voice, and seeing a whole flock of little cluck-birds trailing at Bai Shuo’s heels, was too stunned to speak for a moment, managing only to mumble out an instinctive agreement.
With her go-ahead, Bai Shuo left with the little cluck-birds.
Bai Shuo had never raised cluck-birds before, and it seemed no one else in the tribe had either, all he could do was figure things out by trial and error, borrowing whatever he remembered from raising chickens. Freshly hatched chicks didn’t need feeding right away, and even water had to wait a while before offering.
Except this business of taking a step and having them follow a step didn’t feel great, he kept worrying he’d accidentally step on one. By the time they’d reached their usual cooking spot, Bai Shuo had Bai Le help carry over a pile of stones and build a ring around himself, then stepped out over the stones once it was done, leaving the little cluck-birds penned in inside.
With his little tail of followers finally gone, Bai Shuo could get on with other things at last. He first brought five pieces of meat over to Cailin, then came back to flip the drying wheat heads once, and started preparing pan-fried meat for the chicks.
Chicks only had this one job of gathering branches, and half of every day was free time, usually spent playing while foraging for ripe fruit on the side, but today they’d been out combing the area for the plants Bai Shuo wanted, which had left them more tired than usual, with barely any energy left to go back out by evening. Even Feather Clan chicks were still chicks, after all, their stamina wasn’t anywhere near that of an adult Feather Clan member who could search for food day and night without rest.
It wasn’t quite mealtime yet, and the clearing was empty except for the fire lit at Bai Shuo’s own spot, the chicks, seeing what he was doing, already knew exactly what he was about to do and hurried over to crowd around.
“Bai Shuo, are you making pan-fried meat?”
“When can we eat?”
Bai Shuo used chopsticks to pick up a chunk of hardened fat, spread it over the slab, replied that it would be ready any moment, then asked in turn, “Did you pick the leaf-greens?” Leaf-greens were the most abundant food in the tribe, growing in the very spots where chicks usually played, just like Redtop fruit, the gathering party never bothered picking those either, and whenever the chicks got hungry with nothing else on hand, that’s what they’d snack on.
Pan-fried meat wrapped in leaf-greens tasted best, but their family had eaten through most of theirs the night before, and finished off the rest that morning, leaving only meat right now, so he told the chicks to go pick some.
“We picked some!” the chicks proudly presented what they’d gathered, having tasted pan-fried meat that morning. The moment they heard Bai Shuo mention leaf-greens, they understood a meal was coming soon, and were more than eager to help.
Bai Shuo nodded, then scanned the group, looking for someone reliable to wash the greens.
Although nearly every chick went to the river regularly, Bai Shuo still felt a bit uneasy about it, he always had the sense that letting chicks go down to the riverbank unsupervised on their own was a genuinely dangerous thing to do.
Looking around, he decided his brother was the most reliable choice, except his brother wasn’t around right now. Bai Shuo asked the chick standing closest to him, “Caihong, do you know where my brother went?”
“He went to look for Redtop fruit,” Caihong answered.
Bai Shuo loved all kinds of fruit, and right now Redtop fruit was the only kind in season, Bai Su went out looking for some every single day. The nearby ones had all been picked clean these past couple of days, so now he had to go farther out, he and a few other chicks not currently present were the ones out searching for it.
With his brother likely to be gone a good while, Bai Shuo scanned the crowd once more, was just about to send Caihong and a couple of chicks to go wash the greens, when he suddenly spotted Wu Yan carrying a bundle of hide over, and his eyes lit right up. “Wu Yan, could you come give me a hand?” Probably because Wu Yan had saved him once, his level of trust in Wu Yan right now was nearly on par with his own brother.
Hearing Bai Shuo call out to him, Wu Yan quickened his pace, and spotting the flock of little cluck-birds behind him, guessed he was meant to deal with them, and asked, “Kill them all?” With that, he set the bundle of hide down, ready to get to work, this chick was especially weak, surely he wouldn’t dare do it himself.
“Huh?” Bai Shuo blinked, taken aback.
The little cluck-birds huddled together, chirping desperately at Bai Shuo for help.
Hearing the sound and looking at Wu Yan, whose eyes were fixed right on the little cluck-birds, Bai Shuo hurried to explain, “No, no, not these, these are the ones I’m raising.” So everyone really did assume he’d only hatched them to eat? All right, fine, eating them was the end goal, but definitely not right now, what good was a one-jin little cluck-bird, anyway? Raised up, that would be all meat later.
Before Bai Shuo had even finished explaining, and before Wu Yan could say anything, a chorus of wistful chatter broke out among the surrounding chicks.
“Bai Shuo, aren’t we eating little cluck-bird today?”
“Grilled baby cluck-bird is amazing, so fragrant.”
“Yeah, better than the grown-up cluck-birds even.”
Bai Shuo: “???”
Everyone hush! Give the little cluck-birds a chance to grow up, please!