Cheng Ying looked at the old woman who kept talking with a worried expression. "It’s all my fault. When I understood, I’d get a litter of hens a year, and every single one would lay eggs. These past two years, I forgot to introduce new life into Granny’s chicken coop. Can old hens still lay eggs?"

Sister Rong sighed, "What worries me is that the Old Madam knows every feather on these few chickens. Now they aren't laying, who knows what kind of fuss she’ll make later if they stop entirely."

Cheng Ying nodded. That was a problem. "I was thinking of secretly swapping the chickens for her, but it seems that won't work."

Sister Rong followed behind the Old Madam, coaxing her, "Why don't you go rest inside for a bit first? When the hen lays an egg later, I’ll collect it for you."

The Old Madam retorted, "That won't do. You don't know which chicken laid it."

Then, she gave Sister Rong a look of suspicion. The two people nearby understood that look immediately—she suspected a thief in the house; she suspected Sister Rong of stealing her eggs.

Sister Rong slapped her thigh. "Oh, my dear mother! You should have realized this sooner!" With that, she turned and went inside.

Honestly, in this house, what item was more valuable than an egg? Even if I really were a thief, I wouldn't steal that. Hmph! I won't even speak of the thief. The Old Madam had completely led me astray.

Cheng Ying walked over and looked at Sister Rong, thinking, Granny, could you perhaps be a little more reliable? "Granny, are you looking for yesterday's egg?"

The Old Madam replied, "Isn't that right? I waited all night."

Cheng Ying asked, "You didn't sleep last night?" The Old Madam stared unblinkingly at the hens while answering her granddaughter, "Just dozed off a bit."

Cheng Ying patted her chest. Luckily, she hadn't lost a night's sleep over an egg; that would be too costly. "Granny, my stomach was rumbling last night. I got up, felt around in the coop, found an egg, and asked Wuzi to boil it for me. Is that the one you’re looking for?"

The Old Madam stopped looking at the hens, turned to look at her granddaughter, and asked with a tone of suspicion, "You ate it?"

Cheng Ying confirmed, "Exactly. I ate it. I was craving something late at night."

The Old Madam looked at her granddaughter's belly. "Eat away, eat away. If you eat, my grandson will get plump."

Cheng Ying patiently corrected her, "Great-grandson."

The Old Madam’s tone was even more determined than Cheng Ying’s: "Grandson."

Cheng Ying surrendered. Fine, whether it's a great-grandson or a grandson, once he’s born, he’ll be ordered around by you anyway; there's no real difference. Why argue about this?

Cheng Ying thought about the flock of old hens in the backyard. "Granny, your grandson wants some hen soup." This was her attempt at a permanent solution.

The Old Madam was instantly unwilling, her expression immediately souring. "Child, I’m keeping those hens to lay eggs!"

Cheng Ying smacked her own belly with a smack. "Why are you so greedy?"

The Old Madam quickly shielded Yingzi. "Alright, alright. Pregnancy makes you like this. Eat it if you must." Her eyes were full of reluctance.

Cheng Ying felt a warmth in her heart. Look, the Old Madam was confused, yet she was so generous to her own granddaughter. She knew every feather on the old hens she had raised for years, but just because her granddaughter had a craving, she actually agreed.

Cheng Ying said, "Granny, I’ll get you a good one that lays eggs later, okay?"

The Old Madam replied, "No need. I still have these."

Saying that, she went into the yard to fuss over the hens, trying to single out the absolute worst one.

When it was time for lunch, Chi Wu got to drink old hen soup. "Oh, this is wonderful! Very nourishing. Wife, you drink two more bowls."

The Old Madam watched Cheng Ying drink the soup with a beaming smile. She felt that slaughtering a hen was no big deal; as long as her granddaughter liked it, that was enough.

When she wasn't confused, she served a bowl to Wuzi. "You eat too."

Wuzi served the Old Madam a bowl with ginseng specifically added. "You eat too."

Sister Rong watched the three of them and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, one egg-less hen had been dealt with. But there was still a whole coop left—what should she do? She worried.

Cheng Ying forced herself to drink two bowls of soup despite the nausea. It was hard work. Her stomach started churning right after placating the old one and the young one.

They drank hen soup for three consecutive days. Chi Wu couldn't help but ask, "Yingzi, have you been feeling nauseous lately and craving this?"

Cheng Ying felt terrible. Even the chopped green scallions in the chicken soup didn't appeal to her. "No. Hurry up and eat it all."

When Chi Wu served the Old Madam her soup, the Old Madam’s face was bitter. "I won't drink it. I can't swallow it." Then she looked at Cheng Ying with a mournful gaze. The meaning was clear: How can you still want to eat this?

Chi Wu thought, what was wrong with this mother and daughter pair? He looked at Sister Rong. "Sister Rong, maybe we can make something else another day. Eating delicious food constantly gets tiresome."

Sister Rong wore a pained expression. It had nothing to do with her, the cook. The other two were right there, so she couldn't explain the situation clearly to Chi Wu. She lowered her head and drank the soup.

Now, the hen soup in the house was becoming a chore to get rid of. The Old Madam had raised six or seven old hens. Stewing one a day would take six or seven days. When would they ever finish?

The Old Madam said, "Yes, yes, eating it constantly gets tiresome. Yingzi, are you tired of it yet?" Then she looked at Cheng Ying eagerly.

Cheng Ying felt that being soft-hearted toward the Old Madam now was being cruel to the rest of the family. Besides, when the weather got colder, the chickens really wouldn't lay eggs anymore.

Frowning, she looked at her bowl of soup. "Not tired. I want more. We have to stew another one."

The Old Madam looked at the chicken soup with a long face. "Then stew one. Oh, my grandson..."

Cheng Ying felt the Old Madam really wanted to say, My hens...

Chi Wu was bewildered as he was forced by Cheng Ying to eat many pieces of meat. Chi Wu himself was getting sick of it. He just didn't understand why these two were so obsessed with old hen meat.

When they went back to the room, Cheng Ying finally explained to Chi Wu that the old hens weren't laying anymore. The Old Madam was distressed watching them, so they might as well eat them all, and she’d buy a new flock for the Old Madam later.

Chi Wu offered a unique insight: "It’s better not to get the Old Madam live animals anymore. Given her current fragile mental state, she might not be able to handle it if something happened to them."

Cheng Ying remembered. That was a problem. The current Old Madam was hard to appease; she was even more temperamental than a child.

Chi Wu suggested, "Don't worry. I'll get the Old Madam a pet later."

Cheng Ying replied, "No need for you to worry; I’ll handle it. You don’t know the Old Madam’s preferences yet. She never cared for Cai Lai and Jin Bao in the orchard, complaining they only ate and never laid."

Chi Wu admitted he wasn't as attentive to the Old Madam as Yingzi. "Alright, I’ll listen to you."

The next day, Cheng Ying, heavily pregnant, drove the SUV out. Of course, she didn't forget to tell Sister Rong that she would be home for hen soup at noon.

This was a necessary step to eliminate the entire flock of old hens at home.

When Cheng Ying returned, she was holding a multi-colored hen. It was so beautiful, its feathers gleaming with luster.

Cheng Ying felt she had no choice. This hen had been in her dimension for over two years, and whenever Cheng Ying had free time, this hen accompanied her in the space. She always felt that, aside from being temperamental, the old hen possessed a certain spiritual awareness. It would be good company for the Old Madam.

Sister Rong’s eyes widened when she saw it. "What is that?"

Cheng Ying didn't know what this creature would be classified as now. "I found it for the Old Madam. I don't know the breed."

This explanation was safe. Even she couldn't accurately describe it, so she wouldn't contradict herself if someone else asked later.

The Old Madam was sunbathing in the yard. She hadn't been very friendly to Cheng Ying these past few days, feeling that Cheng Ying was just greedy and ruining her hens.

But when she heard this, she immediately opened her eyes. Upon seeing the creature in Cheng Ying's hands, her first question was, "Does it lay eggs?"

Cheng Ying felt that no matter how good the hen was, it didn't lay eggs. It certainly never laid any in her dimension. "It lays eggs, but this thing is precious. I heard it only lays golden eggs during the New Year."

Sister Rong turned away, chuckling to herself. Even if this thing grew a flower on its head, it wouldn't lay a golden egg.

The Old Madam came over and snatched the dazzling, colorful hen away. "Are you trying to fool a simpleton? You think I’m senile enough to believe in golden eggs? Why don't you say it’s a divine chicken?"

Cheng Ying thought, Why aren't you senile now?

She turned away with Rong Sao, her mouth drooping, and went inside.

The Old Madam truly adored this hen, carrying it around constantly. She wouldn't put it on the ground for fear of dirtying its feathers. "This is just a mobile feather duster," she commented about the multi-colored hen—a classic review.

Cheng Ying genuinely feared that one day, if the Old Madam was happy enough, she might actually turn this chicken into a feather duster.

The Old Madam was not the type to spare a life out of compassion; she was genuinely reluctant to part with it.

The only thing that dissatisfied the Old Madam was that the chicken ate too expensively; it refused leftovers and only ate pine nuts.

Every time Cheng Ying saw the Old Madam's gloomy expression while feeding the chicken, she felt the hen’s life was in danger.

It was always one moment away from being stewed. Luckily, the Old Madam was confused most of the time, always hoping that maybe this year it would actually lay a golden egg.

As for the hens in the coop, the Old Madam had completely abandoned them. The only downside was that Sister Rong had to clean up their droppings every day. Chickens poop, after all, and there was no avoiding that. Cheng Ying told Sister Rong, "This is all I can manage; you’ll have to bear with the extra trouble."

Who told the Old Madam to let the chickens sleep inside the house?

Not just Chi Wu, but everyone who saw this chicken couldn't look away. They truly had never seen anything like it. "Where did you find this?"

Cheng Ying irresponsibly replied, "I don't know. Found it in the marketplace."

Chi Wu watched his wife and said nothing. When it came to chickens or fish, no one else had ever managed to "find" anything for them besides his wife.

Because of one chicken, the house became much livelier; people kept coming just to see the hen.

The Old Madam became happy and was even willing to go out. She would walk around carrying the hen.

Cheng Ying felt lucky that the docile hen stayed put in the Old Madam's arms. As long as there were pine nuts, it definitely wouldn't run off. If it got lost, no one else could afford to feed it.

Chi Wu said, "Right, the senior students have been here for a while. How have you been feeling these past few days? Shall we treat them to a meal at a restaurant?"

Cheng Ying exclaimed, "They’ve arrived? Why didn’t you tell me? I’ll go see them. It’s so impersonal at a restaurant; those are technical talents, our backbone. We should invite them home instead!"

Chi Wu replied, "Listen to my wife. Tonight might be a bit rushed. How about tomorrow at noon?"

Cheng Ying agreed. "Fine, I'll ask Sister Rong to prepare thoroughly."

Cheng Ying started getting busy that afternoon, striving to make everyone feel completely at home. By the time they invited the guests over for lunch the next day, Cheng Ying was energetic. When Chi Wu led the group into their courtyard, Cheng Ying emerged from the kitchen, heavily pregnant, looking quite disheveled—at least in the eyes of this group of elites, Cheng Ying looked like a sister-in-law or a young brother's wife.

Truly nothing outstanding.

Cheng Ying also felt a bit embarrassed. Why had they come so soon? She hadn't even had time to change clothes to welcome them properly. To her self-driving project, these people were like the egg-laying old hens—a source of wealth. (To be continued) RO