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Chu Qingzhi informed Tang Jinghong, “The parrot I brought back is already mature, about as smart as a five-year-old child. It understands a lot.”

“Why did you suddenly bring back a parrot?” he asked.

Chu Qingzhi explained, “Remember you asked me to train an animal for gathering military intelligence? This type of parrot can be trained for that purpose. I went to the forest this afternoon and collected many ownerless parrot eggs to hatch. This mature parrot I brought back will serve as their guardian and ‘nursemaid.¹ It’s my first time raising parrots, so I’m inexperienced.”

Hearing the term “nursemaid,” the parrot corrected, “I’m not a nursemaid;

I’m a nurse… dad.”

Chu Qingzhi laughed again at the parrot’s comment, finding it amusing, “Alright, alright, as long as you help me raise the little parrots, you can even be the grandfather.”

The parrot was pleased, “Okay, okay…”

Tang Jinghong was amused, “This parrot is indeed smart.”

Suddenly, the parrot stepped on Chu Qingzhi’s finger, anxiously declaring, “Qingzhi is mine, mine…”

Tang Jinghong graciously conceded, “Okay, okay, she’s yours…”

Satisfied, the parrot proudly lifted its chin, having not understood where the man’s voice was coming from but not letting it deter its sense of victory.

Then, Chu Qingzhi and Tang Jinghong chatted about Bai Tingyan. Chu Qingzhi was not surprised. It was too normal to do this for the sake of benefits.

They also discussed the arrangement for disabled soldiers. Chu Qingzhi shared her ideas with Tang Jinghong, who fully supported her.

The coolness of early autumn was palpable in the morning air.

Upon opening her eyes, Chu Qingzhi found herself eye-to-eye with the parrot, which immediately said upon seeing her awake, “The sun’s shining on your butt, the sun’s shining on your butt…”

Chu Qingzhi tapped the parrot’s head with her finger, infusing it with some spiritual energy, “Seeing how cute you are, shall I give you a name?”

The parrot blinked excitedly, “Yes, yes…”

After some thought, Chu Qingzhi decided, “Since you always repeat what you say and are so endearing, how about we call you Shuang’er?”

The parrot blinked several times, then joyfully repeated, “Shuang’er, Shuang’er…”

Chu Qingzhi smiled as she got out of bed, cleaned herself with a cleansing spell, changed clothes, and said, “Let’s go downstairs to wash up and have breakfast…”

The parrot, perched on Chu Qingzhi’s shoulder, chirped eagerly, “Eat breakfast, eat breakfast…”

What would it eat on its first day in a new home?

Birds love grains. Chu Qingzhi prepared a small plate with a mix of rice, corn, and wheat for the parrot, “Do you like it?”

“Like it, like it…” The parrot was ecstatic. Having an owner made a difference, allowing it to enjoy three delicious foods at once.

Chu Qingzhi patted the parrot’s head, “Eat up. After eating, watch over the eggs. If anything goes wrong, you’re responsible.”

The parrot assured, “Won’t happen, won’t happen…”

The Chu family found the parrot adorable and gathered around to watch it. The parrot, Shuang’er, quickly became the center of attention in the household.

After breakfast, Chu Qingzhi left to perform surgeries on the remaining wounded soldiers.

The elders in the family set off to prepare the betrothal gifts.

They had stayed up all night drafting the list of gifts. Ge Lihua, finding no issues with their plans, saw that today’s farm work was set aside as everyone focused on preparing for the wedding, aiming to bring the new bride home as soon as possible.

Chu Xuhua, along with Li Zhangjie, was busy collaborating with Li Tingzhao to undermine the Lin family, also leaving right after breakfast.

Shen Ruyue went to the workshop area to arrange the day’s tasks.

Reluctantly, Chu Xujin headed to the county office for his duties, wishing Ge Lihua could accompany him. However, she had classes to teach and could not join him.

Chu Qingning spent her morning preparing medicines, her afternoon teaching children, and her evening studying medical texts, her day fully booked.

Chu Qingshuang was busy making jars for medicinal creams, soybean paste, beer, and wine for Chu Qingning and Chu Qingyan, overwhelmed with work.

Chu Qingyan’s afternoons were spent either practicing makeup or preparing creams, also quite busy.

However, with the help of Chu Hongxiu, preparing creams had become much easier.

After their examination, Chu Xuyuan and Chu Xuyao continued their studies without rest, both determined to pass the next year’s exam and earn the title of scholar.

Hong Yujun spent her afternoons teaching and her mornings brewing rice wine and grape wine in the winery, also keeping busy.

The parrot, too, was busy, contentedly eating its mix of grains before returning to its nest under the eaves to stand guard.

At Li Qingyin’s home.

Li Qingyin rose before dawn to feed the ducks, tending to over three thousand of them with the help of some villagers.

She never dreamed that raising ducks would make her the wealthiest person in the village.

From being ridiculed for her husband’s alleged infidelity to now being respected by everyone, all it took was three thousand ducks.

After feeding, it was time to collect duck eggs. With so many ducks, they could collect between one thousand and two thousand eggs daily, supplying them to the workshops.

With some time left before school, Xu Songnian, Xu Wenlin, and Tian Xiaoqiu came to help collect the eggs.

Tian Xiaoqiu marveled, “Songnian, your duck eggs are so large.”

Xu Songnian said, “Actually, it wasn’t that big to begin with. One time, after Fifth Cousin came to visit our duck shed, she said that we could collect some pig bones and turn them into powder for the ducks to eat. I didn’t expect that after the ducks ate the bone powder, not only would they lay eggs, but the eggs would also be so big.”

Tian Xiaoqiu nodded. “I see.”

Xu Wenlin added, “Our duck eggs are not only large but also more flavorful than others. I’ve tasted them myself.”

This reminded Tian Xiaoqiu of the delicious smell of rice dumplings, which she had never eaten but had smelled while delivering goods, “No wonder the rice dumplings made with your eggs smells so good.”

Xu Wenlin said, “Cousin’s rice dumpling comes in many varieties, but they’re all delicious.”

Tian Xiaoqiu swallowed her saliva, envious, “Have you eaten rice dumpling?”

“Yes, we’ve tasted every kind, and they’re all delicious.” Xu Wenlin, whose birthday was approaching, planned to ask her mother to buy some rice dumplings.

Tian Xiaoqiu, though envious, didn’t show it and focused on collecting eggs.

After collecting the eggs, Li Qingyin went home to prepare breakfast. After eating, she and the three children loaded salted duck eggs onto a mule cart and headed to Chu Qingzhi’s home.

There was an accident today. On the way, they were stopped by Auntie Tian and the three men.

Seeing them, Tian Xiaoqiu was so frightened that her body went limp.