Chapter 117: A Book Called "Midnight Ghost Stories"
"Yay, yay!" Little Mushroom picked up a chick and ran, drooling.
Hmph, whoever picks it up owns it. When it grows up, I'll kill it and eat it.
"Kong Chu, your little dinosaur is running with a little Chicken bird in its mouth."
The little dinosaur didn't hold back either, picking up the chick with its mouth and escaping, meat♪ meat, meat♪ meat.
There was a commotion, as these chicks might be small, but they were not easy to catch. Because they were small and agile, they kept wriggling everywhere. Some even ran into other people's houses, and the people resting at home didn't react for a while as they watched the little yellow chicks sneak in.
And each student had two chicks in their hands, with nowhere to put them. When catching them, they couldn't use too much force, afraid of accidentally killing the tender chicks.
Each student inexplicably ended up with two chicks, feeling puzzled. Were they just here to watch the excitement? Zhuang Yu had someone bring some baskets to put the chicks in, freeing up their hands.
Little Mushroom and the little dinosaur were also caught and the chicks were rescued from them.
Little Mushroom's nostrils were raised high, but Little Mushroom didn't care. Little Mushroom just wanted to help them raise them. These tiny chickens were not even worth Little Mushroom's attention.
Hmph, it had almost escaped just now, all because these students had cornered it in the alley. Its eyes kept looking at the baskets of little yellow chicks, not knowing what it was paying attention to.
Piles of little yellow chicks were put into baskets, looking quite cute. Some lively ones even flapped their wings, wanting to jump out.
Zhuang Yu had the students take the chicks outside the city and hand them over to the people of the Wanyang Tribe, who happened to be going to the sand outside the city to practice calligraphy, conveniently.
The Wanyang Tribe was responsible for raising Chickens and had experience in raising them.
The students carried the baskets and walked outside. Wherever they passed, heads turned.
People who saw them were also extremely surprised. "Why are there so many Chicken bird chicks?"
A group of "carrot heads" joyfully replied with smiles on their faces, "They were hatched in the hatchery today, so many, a big fluffy batch."
They were indeed happy because since they could hatch little Chickens, did it mean that their beast eggs could also hatch?
Even though those who heard the answer knew the reason, they still marveled at it. They had never seen so many chicks at once before.
And some people thought more deeply. Had the hatchery of Lord Shao been successful? Didn't that mean they could hatch more little Chickens in the future?
Chicken birds were really versatile. Now, in addition to the "carrot heads" in their family being able to eat Chicken bird eggs every day, they could also get some occasionally. Using the methods taught by Zhuang Yu, whether boiled or steamed in a bowl, the taste was simply amazing.
Moreover, Lord Shao said that the eggs of Chicken birds were particularly nutritious. Eating one a day was good for the body. Wasn't that a good thing?
Unfortunately, their auntie birds were still a bit few, so they couldn't eat them every day. But now, they could hatch little Chickens themselves, and there were so many of them at once. Unlike before, when the mother hen hatched them, they could only hatch one or two at a time.
In other words, in the future, they might be able to eat Chicken bird eggs every day.
This was a good thing, and their faces couldn't help but brighten up. Nowadays, the days in Crimson City were much more comfortable compared to before.
The changes in Crimson City were the most profound to them.
They moved into new houses, which were beautiful and clean, completely different from their old adobe houses. Lord Shao even let them plant a jelly fruit tree in the flower bed in front of the house and planted a bunch of flowers underneath, which looked extremely beautiful.
Moreover, the jelly fruit tree had started to bloom and bear fruit now. They could pick the jelly fruits on the tree and eat them by themselves. The fruits planted by the moat outside the city were for everyone, and they also hung a beehive under the eaves in front of the house. They had already stored a jar of honey themselves, and they could eat a big spoonful of it when they had nothing to do. The kids were living very moist lives; this was life.
Just now, they were still a bit uncomfortable because their new house was so clean, yet they were dirty. They were afraid of getting the house dirty and were cautious every day.
This was unavoidable. Their leather pants had been worn for decades, no matter how they washed them, they still looked dirty. Maybe they were clean after washing, but compared to their new house, their leather pants always looked dirty.
They had moved into a new house, but they felt incongruous with the beautiful house. Especially the ceramic tile floor on the first floor, it could reflect their shadows. Looking at their reflections, they felt like they were defiling such a good house.
However, this mentality didn't last long because the Tribe started issuing new pants, made of silk, new and clean. Every day, some women and elderly people in the Tribe went to use the silk spun by the silkworms they raised and wove them with strange machines.
They used to trade goods for food, as food was the top priority. Who cared if the pants were new or not, or if they were well-dressed? But now it was different.
Feeling the new pants, the feeling was really comfortable, and they were thinner and more elastic than leather pants, and they felt cool. Wearing them would definitely be much more comfortable and cooler.
Hard work always pays off.
Not only that, shortly after they put on the new pants, the Tribe began issuing something called soap and shampoo.
Since using soap and shampoo, they felt like they had changed completely. The dirt that couldn't be washed off before was now gone, and they seemed to have lost a few pounds. When they looked at themselves in the large mirror at the entrance of their small town, they couldn't even recognize themselves. Each town had a large mirror at its entrance, and now people lined up to go there every day.
Wearing new pants, washed clean, and living in a new house, they seemed to blend in perfectly, all very clean and beautiful, without any sense of discord. They were the people who lived here, born and bred, and this beautiful place was their home.
Then walking around the small town, looking at the completely different living environment around them, and chatting with neighbors who were all smiling, they had never felt life was so wonderful.
Like Crimson City, they had also changed, becoming better than before.
The changes in Crimson City were thorough, from the environment, people, life, and all aspects.
No one probably ever expected such a huge change to happen in such a short time.
Nowadays, they could hatch eggs in the hatchery by themselves again. Thinking that they would be able to raise many Chicken birds soon and have eggs every day, they couldn't help but feel happy.
In Crimson City, regardless of age or gender, everyone's spirits were high.
Zhuang Yu instructed the students to take the chicks out to the Wanyang Tribe and asked them to bring back more eggs when they returned.
Just in time to hatch another large batch of chicks.
Their chickens were free-range, with roosters and hens together, so there was no need to worry about fertilization issues.
When a group of students went out carrying baskets, the people outside didn't even blink, as it was their first time seeing so many fluffy little Chicken birds.
Hong stayed behind to continue teaching, while the other students went to the Wanyang Tribe to deliver chicks and bring back eggs.
After putting a large batch of eggs into the hatchery, the little "carrot heads" from the Golden Centipede Tribe were originally going to continue staying in the hatchery to hatch their eggs, but they were dragged outside by a group of students.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go listen to Fengwen read a book, 'Midnight Ghost Stories.'"
Last time in the library, they were prepared to read this book, but Jin and Yin brothers brought other books for Fengwen to read. Hong was not convinced and argued with the Jin and Yin brothers. In the end, they argued too fiercely and were all kicked out by the old man in the library, without reading any books.
After communicating privately with the Jin and Yin brothers for the past few days, Hong gained the upper hand and let Fengwen read "Midnight Ghost Stories" first. Today happened to be the agreed time for them to listen to the book together.
The little "carrot heads" from the Golden Centipede Tribe also wanted to listen to the book, but they also wanted to stay to hatch eggs. They were half-coaxed and half-dragged away.
Before leaving, they repeatedly begged the uncle in charge of the hatchery. Once their eggs showed signs of hatching, they must be notified immediately. Only then did they reluctantly head towards the library, taking a few steps back before turning around to leave.
In the library, the students sat in rows waiting. They didn't know many words, and there was only one dictionary, which couldn't satisfy so many people's inquiries, so they had to let Fengwen read to them.
Hong also lined up in the front. He taught the hungry young ones outside for a while today, then hurried back to listen to the book. He glanced at this book a few times. Although he couldn't recognize many characters, instinctively, he felt it was particularly interesting.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the impatient students began to urge, "Let's start, let's start. If someone misses it, they'll regret it."
"Haha, we'll tell them later. Let them envy us."
Fengwen blushed, flipping open the book "Midnight Ghost Stories" in his hand. The title was incomprehensible, but it should be like "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", where the title didn't matter as long as the story was good.
Fengwen was now quite experienced. He could now read with some emotion, rather than just reading monotonously like before. His voice began to have some ups and downs.
Fengwen opened the book and began to read.
The classmates who were whispering before now held their breath, making them excellent listeners.
Although they didn't speak, their faces were as happy as if they were in the sunshine. They loved listening to stories the most now. They were readers now.
But not long after, the smiles on their faces became stiff, and their hearts began to pound, and they swallowed saliva continuously.
Wow, what kind of fairy tale is this? It's so scary.
But strangely, why did they want to know what would happen next so badly?
The entire library, except for Fengwen's slightly trembling voice, was filled with the sound of swallowing saliva.
No one knew how many people were swallowing nervously, feeling the library suddenly becoming chilly?
Quietness, not the silence of the grave, but the kind where you could hear people talking, yet still feel anxious.
No one knew how many people leaned towards the students beside them.
What to do? Why did they feel so scared that their hearts were about to jump out, but still wanted to listen?
Fengwen also swallowed saliva while reading. Wow, what kind of story was this? It's too scary. It's scarier than watching someone hang themselves.
His eyes couldn't help but glance at Hong, who was holding Ant and trembling like a dog.
"Midnight Ghost Stories" consisted of many small stories.
After Fengwen finished reading one, he stopped. He really didn't have the courage to read the next one.
The whole library fell silent, with not a single sound.
No one knew how long it had been, but a classmate chuckled awkwardly, "Haha, it's just a story, what's there to be afraid of."
"Yeah, yeah, it's just a story. You guys are scared, but you're all big guys. You're too timid."
As if to cover up something, everyone began to laugh, "Yeah, we're not scared at all."
At this moment, a gust of wind blew in from the window of the library.
All the voices stopped abruptly.
Then, "Ah ah ah... I'm so scared."
"Wow, I'm going to wet myself from fear."
"I don't want to stay here, I'm so scared."
Everyone rushed out of the library like a swarm of bees, running out with pale faces, occasionally looking back as if there was something invisible chasing them.
After leaving the library, it was almost dark outside, but it was spacious, and they didn't feel as scared anymore.
Everyone was still trembling, "I'll never listen to 'Midnight Ghost Stories' again, even if I die."
"Yeah, yeah, it scared me so much my heart almost jumped out."
"In fact, 'Midnight Ghost Stories' should be read at night to feel it." Someone said.
Then he received a bunch of fierce glares.
Read it at night? Impossible, they wouldn't listen.
Everyone was resolute.