Chapter 21: The Chick Fell Ill

Two messages. After a brief consideration, Zhong Di opened Su Rou’s chat. He was rather curious about how many double-yolk eggs she needed.

“How many do you have?”

That message was sent just a few minutes ago.

“How many do you need? I’ll see if I can gather enough.”

Zhong Di certainly couldn’t answer with something like, “I have as many as you want,”—that would make people wonder about the nature of his eggs.

“Can you provide eighty? But you must ensure the quality. My best friend has some influence.”

Su Rou tentatively offered a number and emphasized the importance of quality. In these times, people could conjure up anything to make a profit. She trusted Zhong Di, but some things needed to be stated upfront.

Some influence? What did that mean?

If it was only a matter of quality, Zhong Di had no worries and didn’t overthink it.

“Don’t worry about the quality. You need eighty, but that doesn’t mean I can gather that many. I’ll do my best.”

He left some room in his reply, never making promises he couldn’t keep. Exiting Su Rou’s chat, Zhong Di quickly opened another message.

“Boss Zhong, I saw your post about free-range eggs in the circle. I want to buy some. I’ll be going to Shache County in a couple of days. Send me your location, and I’ll come over myself.”

After reading the message, Zhong Di felt a sudden surge of energy—his first customer at last.

“My free-range eggs are forty yuan per kilogram. Is that acceptable to you?”

His eggs were priced at forty. Even before feeding them the Wild Sand Immortal Sprout, he planned to sell for forty, so now he wouldn’t go lower.

“Alright, that’s fine.”

While Zhong Di was still pondering, the other party replied, without a hint of hesitation.

He wanted to ask why the price was acceptable, but recalling Su Rou’s suggestion to charge as much as he could, he held back. These must be wealthy folks.

“Great, you’re welcome anytime.”

After sending the message, Zhong Di shared his phone number and location.

That’s the beauty of modern times—a location pin could guide someone from the ends of the earth, unless they had absolutely no signal. In today’s grand Huaxia, with its robust infrastructure, places without a signal could practically be ignored.

Seeing no further messages, Zhong Di put away his phone and prepared to nap. A midday rest was essential; otherwise, he’d never make it through.

Yu Sheng looked at his father, whimpered softly, then lay down for a nap himself. It had been a long time since he’d tasted anything delicious.

“Zhong Di... time to get up and work.”

Just as Zhong Di was sleeping, Uncle Zhang arrived. Checking the time, Zhong Di was shocked—it was only four o’clock. Was it really time to work the fields?

In the northwest, four o’clock was still blazing hot. Normally, Zhong Di wouldn’t go out until five-thirty or six. It wouldn’t get dark until ten-thirty, so they could work another four or five hours easily.

Uncle Zhang was certainly diligent.

After opening the door, Zhong Di washed his face with cold water to force himself awake.

“Hey... Zhong Di, your chicks seem off!”

“What’s wrong?”

Hearing there was a problem with his chicks, Zhong Di was instantly alert. They were his biggest investment so far—any issue would be a major blow.

“Look at these few chicks—they’re lethargic, not active, and there are quite a number of them. Most importantly, they’re sneezing.”

Uncle Zhang calmly analyzed the situation as he watched the chicks.

Listening to Uncle Zhang, Zhong Di examined them carefully, and indeed, it was serious.

“What should I do?”

“It’s probably a heat cold—the weather’s too hot. You should give them plenty of water, maybe add some herbal root. It’s not a severe illness, but it shouldn’t be delayed. Feed them for a few days.”

Uncle Zhang considered the options; this seemed the best solution.

“Alright, I’ll go buy some tomorrow.”

Knowing the illness wasn’t serious, Zhong Di relaxed. He planned to chop up some Wild Sand Immortal Sprout and soak it in water for the chicks in the morning—just to see if it helped with the illness.

As for herbal root, he’d definitely buy some. If the chicks recovered mysteriously, it might arouse suspicion.

The chance was slim, but it was better to be cautious.

“Okay, we’ll go and prune your trees now. At this rate, we should finish by tomorrow afternoon. You can pay us by the hour then.”

Uncle Zhang saw Zhong Di understood, so he updated him on their progress.

“No worries, Uncle Zhang. No matter when you finish, I’ll pay for two days’ work. If I’d hired someone else, who knows how long they’d drag it out.”

That sort of thing had happened often enough. Uncle Zhang and his crew worked honestly.

Normally, even if Uncle Zhang's team deliberately slowed down and finished at the end of the next day, no one would notice.

Since they were so dependable, Zhong Di couldn’t be petty—such behavior would only discourage people.

“Alright, then we won’t stand on ceremony. We’ll try to do a good job.”

With that, Uncle Zhang went off with his crew to prune the trees.

As for Zhong Di, he certainly wouldn’t go to the fields. During his time at the company, he endured because he wanted to learn frontline production experience.

Now there was no need to learn—no need to push himself. When you’re young, you trade your life for money; when you’re old, you trade money for life. That’s a poor bargain.

“Zhong Di...”

He had just stepped inside when his mother called him. Today, it seemed he wouldn’t get a proper nap.

“Mom, I’m here. Why didn’t you go to work today?”

“No, I was supposed to have the morning off, but the factory wouldn’t allow it. I only got away this afternoon. I saw someone pruning trees—did you hire them?”

His mother looked a bit anxious; he wasn’t sure why.

“Yes, pruning trees. I’m trying to spend less, tidy things up. As long as I don’t invest too much, there’s still room to make a profit.”

“Alright, you decide. Here, take this money.”

As soon as he stepped into the house, his mother stuffed a wad of cash into his hands.

“What’s this?”

Zhong Di was puzzled. Judging by the thickness, it must be twenty or thirty thousand. Wasn’t she supposed to give him all her savings?

“That egg pancake yesterday was delicious. This is my secret stash. Take it and work hard. I believe you can succeed.”

His mother spoke gently. Zhong Di understood why she was anxious.

“I understand.”

He got her meaning and took the money—his father probably didn’t even know about it.

The older generation, especially women, loved to squirrel away money bit by bit, hiding it everywhere, never taking it out unless absolutely necessary.

He hadn’t expected his own mother to be like that. Zhong Di didn’t refuse. If he didn’t have the Wild Sand Immortal Sprout, he wouldn’t accept the money, but now he was confident.

“Alright, I heard from your father that the garden needs mowing. Let me help you.”

“Mom, no need. You finally have a day off; don’t work.”

He called after her, but his mother had already headed to the fields. Zhong Di knew it was useless to persuade her to rest, so he said nothing more.