Chapter 283: A Surprising Step
“Do you think I should take this little duckling home or leave it here? When I found it, it was just this tiny thing crying alone in the reeds. I didn’t see any nest nearby. Now it’s probably tired from calling for so long—after I put it in the grass nest inside my basket, it stopped chirping and squatted down to sleep.”
Chen Ye Chu looked at the duckling in her hands, full of hesitation. On one hand, she worried that if she left it here, it might not survive. On the other, she wondered if she could even raise it properly if she brought it back.
“Yechu, this little duck will grow into a wild duck. That’s what we came for today anyway—wild ducks! Why not take it home and raise it? It’s so cute now, and once it grows up, we’ll have duck meat to eat,” Liu Yao suggested, rubbing the tuft of fluff on the duckling’s head.
Ning Xiyue thought for a moment and said, “Wild ducks aren’t easy to raise at home. Ducklings born and raised in the wild are already adapted to that environment. Honestly, taking it back and trying to domesticate it suddenly is tricky. But if you really want to try, you can take it. In two months, it’ll be big enough for duck meat anyway. But since it’ll learn to fly, you’ll need to clip its wings.”
That was exactly when having her small space showed its value—no need to worry about anything. Any duck she found, she could raise in there. There were flowers, grass, and even a pond where ducks could live well and catch fish to eat.
Ning Xiyue let her mind wander into that space, where she saw a small nest of ducklings wobbling toward the pond’s edge, while some grown wild ducks played happily in the water. The sight filled her with satisfaction.
In truth, during her solo search earlier, she hadn’t found any eggs—but she had found a whole wild duck family in a nest. She had thrown her straw-woven net over them with lightning speed and, quick as a flash, scooped up the entire nest and family, placing them all into her space.
Once the ducklings grew, they’d lay eggs—so she’d have both duck eggs and duck meat. With chickens and ducks, her little world would be complete.
Coming back to the present, Ning Xiyue focused on Chen Ye Chu again.
After hearing her, the hesitation disappeared from Chen Ye Chu’s eyes. She gently placed the duckling back into the straw nest in her basket.
Smiling, she said, “Alright, I’ll take it home. No matter how big it is in two months, I’m stir-frying it.”
Poor duckling—barely asleep and already someone was eyeing it for its meat, destined for a dry-fry dish.
Ning Xiyue glanced at the duckling in her basket and quietly swallowed.
Once her ducklings grew up, she planned to dry-fry the big ones herself—crispy duck pieces, spicy duck pot… delicious.
Ning Qingyuan checked the time, sat down, and said, “Let’s rest a bit, then continue. We’ll check the traps and look around other spots.”
Yu Zhiyu nodded and looked toward the endless stretch of reeds. “This reed marsh goes on forever. How about we move in teams this time? It’s safer if we can look out for one another.”
It was indeed risky for a few girls to walk alone—if anything happened, no one would be around to help.
“I was thinking the same. Let’s split into two teams. You all decide how,” Ning Qingyuan said, giving the girls the choice.
The three girls exchanged looks and discussed for a moment before deciding: the three of them would search for duck eggs, while the two men would go check traps and catch ducks. They agreed to meet back here every hour.
Their current spot was the highest and least dense part of the marsh—easy to find their way back.
“Are you three sure you’ll be okay?” Ning Qingyuan asked worriedly, especially looking at his sister Ning Xiyue. Three girls walking around alone did seem dangerous.
“It’s settled,” Ning Xiyue said confidently. “I have medicine with me—there’s no danger. The smell keeps away poisonous insects, snakes, and ants.”
She pulled out a small tin from her pocket. “Here, let’s apply some more. Cover all exposed skin.”
She opened the lid, scooped some ointment into her hand, and rubbed it in, passing the tin around.
“Alright then, take care,” Yu Zhiyu said, applying the ointment and reminding them to be cautious.
After everyone applied the repellent, drank some water, and rested, they began their next mission.
The two men repeated their warnings and left with their tools toward the traps they had set earlier.
Once the men were gone, Ning Xiyue stood, patted the grass off her pants, shouldered her basket, and used a stick as a walking aid.
“Let’s mainly look for duck eggs. If we spot a wild duck, we can try catching it, but if not, no need to force it.”
The reed marsh clearly showed signs of previous visitors—some leaves flipped over, reeds bent aside. It was obvious others had walked through.
Finding duck eggs or ducks now would depend entirely on luck and sharp eyes.
The three girls walked side by side, choosing areas without visible paths. Chen Ye Chu walked second, using her stick to part the reeds as she went.
“Dig a little at the base of the reeds,” she said. “Last time I found eggs there. Some wild ducks are smart—they cover their nests with grass and leaves, so it’s hard to see.”
Listening, Liu Yao used her stick to dig around the roots of a thick patch of reeds. Then she pushed the stalks aside with her foot—
Crack!
“I—I stepped on something,” Liu Yao gasped, freezing in place. She didn’t dare move her foot and looked at the others for help.
“Don’t panic. We’ll check,” Ning Xiyue said, walking toward her.
“I’ll take a look first,” Chen Ye Chu said, closer to Liu Yao. She used her stick to clear the reeds beside Liu Yao’s foot and saw something white. Relieved, she looked up and smiled. “Congratulations—you stepped on a duck egg.”
“As long as it’s just a duck egg,” Liu Yao sighed in relief.
Ning Xiyue walked over and, seeing the yolk leaking from the cracked egg, also felt relieved. From Liu Yao’s expression earlier, she’d thought it was something bad.
“Hah, no wonder it went crunch! Turns out it was a duck egg. I’ve got great luck,” Liu Yao laughed, carefully lifting her foot away and circling to the side for a better view.
The three of them used their sticks to pull away the covering reeds, revealing a nest full of eggs underneath.
Liu Yao’s eyes widened in delight. “Wow, that’s a lot of eggs! Let me count—oh my, twenty-one! Plus the one I broke, that’s twenty-two!”
“You’ve got some good luck,” Chen Ye Chu said with a thumbs up. “If you hadn’t stepped on one at the edge, we might not have found the whole nest.”
“Looks like eggs from several ducks,” Ning Xiyue said, picking one up and holding it to the light to check.
Some had white shells, others bluish-green, and even the white ones came in two shades—pure white and creamy white. The mud stains suggested they’d been here for a while, not freshly laid.
“Yes, yes, let’s see which ones are still good. Hopefully more are fine than spoiled,” Liu Yao said, clasping her hands together as if making a wish.
They checked one egg after another. In the end, half were good and half spoiled—eleven good ones.
“I’m satisfied! One more good than bad,” Liu Yao said, clapping happily as she packed the eleven good eggs into her basket.
The remaining ten were left in the nest, in hopes they might still hatch ducklings.
After restoring the reeds to their original position, the three continued onward. Liu Yao said excitedly, “Let’s remember this spot. Maybe the ducks will come back to lay more next time.”
“Hopefully,” Chen Ye Chu smiled, tapping ahead with her stick.
“Be careful where you step,” Ning Xiyue reminded. “Always test the ground first. Don’t go into spots with too much water.”
The deeper they went, the wetter the ground became. She worried about stepping into soft mud—it could be dangerously deep. Without testing with a stick first, one wrong step could get someone stuck.
Thanks to her warning, both Chen Ye Chu and Liu Yao moved cautiously, always checking with their sticks before stepping and sticking to solid ground.
Then Chen Ye Chu suddenly crouched and exclaimed excitedly, “Hey! There are so many little snails here! Let’s collect some and fry them later!”
