Leisurely Life: I Have Ten Thousand Acres of Grassland-Chapter 52 - 50: Tabby Cat and Little Border Collie, Chief Steward of the Imperial Household and Sword-bearing Guard
Jiang Feng called his parents to ask about Wangwang’s situation.
Jiang Shan replied, "Yes, that’s true. Wangwang is in heat, so we found a Golden Retriever for breeding. Forgot to mention it last time."
"Anyway, you have few dogs, so take care of the litter well."
Hearing Jiang Shan’s response, Jiang Feng felt relieved.
He hung up the phone and said to his online followers:
"Mystery solved, Wangwang was indeed pregnant back at my place, bred with another Golden Retriever."
"This fellow got so fat, I wouldn’t have noticed it was pregnant if it hadn’t walked in front of me today."
"Can’t wait for it to give birth to a litter of Little Golden Retrievers."
"My Big Orange cat is also pregnant with Cat Boss’s kids, still nurturing the pregnancy, probably due in a month."
"These guys know humans will take care of them, they don’t tend to the kids much after birth. I’ll truly become the farm’s babysitter."
Jiang Feng’s expression showed a hint of joy when he said this.
Simply because new kittens and puppies were on the way.
With the gentle sun at 5 PM, the cattle and sheep returned to their pens.
On regular sunny days, they’re let into more open pens, surrounded by iron railings, ventilated on all sides, and with a roof above to dissipate odors.
When the weather’s bad, the sheep are herded into the concrete-walled pens, a bit cramped, but much warmer.
The ranch was as quiet as usual.
However, today there were some new changes.
Jiang Feng routinely inspected the ranch.
At this moment, he heard a chirping sound of little chicks.
So, he went to the chicken coop at the back of the ranch to check it out.
As soon as he got there, Jiang Feng saw the Tabby Cat standing outside the chicken coop’s fence, craning its neck, staring intently at the little yellow chicks.
The drone captured a close-up of the Tabby Cat.
Viewers, seeing the Tabby Cat’s posture, left comments:
[Farm owner, Tabby Cat wants to eat chicken!]
[The desire for slaughter is rising!]
[This guy eats mice in one bite! Eating little chicks should be a piece of cake!]
Jiang Feng appeared calm.
"Don’t worry, Cat Boss won’t eat little chicks; it even protects them, like it used to at home."
"Sometimes a Weasel would come to steal chickens, and Cat Boss would protect the chicks."
"Weasels and cats belong to the eight carnivorous animal lines; Weasels belong to the weasel family, Tabby Cats to the cat family. If it’s the kind of domesticated cat that’s not aggressive, a weasel can even eat a cat."
"But in the face of a ferocious farm cat, weasels wouldn’t dare mess around."
"Especially Cat Boss, it’s great at fighting, and when it hears a Weasel at night, it’ll go fight it."
"At night, the dogs are the visible bodyguards, and the cats are the hidden bodyguards."
"It’s a bit like the Captain of the Imperial Guards and the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household."
Jiang Feng’s analogy was quite vivid.
[The farm owner’s analogy is spot on!]
[Isn’t it like Yan Xiaoyi and Eunuch Hong in ’Joy of Life’!]
[Hahaha, so the cat is the Chief Steward!]
[At night when the Weasel comes to steal, the Tabby Cat blocks it, sneering: ’Kid, you don’t come and go on this ranch as you please!’]
[Showdown at the ranch’s peak! Ximen Chuimiao vs. Ye Gudiao!]
[Do Weasels eat chickens? I thought I read somewhere they don’t?]
[Weasels do eat chickens. Not only that, but they’re also fond of slaughter, biting the chickens to death!]
The live room viewers were engaged in heated discussions.
At this point, a viewer with the ID [Science Popularizer Xiao Liang] sent a comment:
[Weasels generally don’t eat chickens unless they’re hungry with no food or feel wronged by humans, then they do.]
[Weasels are very vengeful, and if a household drives them out, they might come back at night for revenge, killing the chicks.]
The audience chuckled at having a science pop moment from the streamer.
[Thanks for the info!]
[The farm owner’s stream is full of talent!] 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Jiang Feng opened the chicken coop door and walked inside.
Right now, the chicks had just hatched and remained in the nests, not venturing out.
The first-month chicks are the most vulnerable, with the hens constantly ensuring they stay warm.
Jiang Feng squatted by the nest, peering inside.
The hen sat in an egg-hatching pose.
Jiang Feng reached in, supporting the hen’s body, as it looked at him with no movement.
Then, the viewers watched as Jiang Feng lifted the hen like a platter.
Underneath, some bald-looking yellow chicks chirped, alongside unhatched eggs.
Jiang Feng counted the chicks.
"One, two, three, four..."
"Seven chicks have hatched."
"There are still eight eggs unhatched."
After counting, Jiang Feng placed the hen back.
The hen shifted its position, readjusting to keep the eggs warm.
"We’ll wait another day. If by tomorrow afternoon the eggs haven’t hatched, we’ll have to help manually."
"A lot of chicks are born, and in hatcheries, typically only the hens are kept for laying; roosters are otherwise discarded, sold, or in some factories, cruelly ground into feed."
"Here, the chickens are for me, so I won’t do that. I’ll keep as many as possible."
Saying this, Jiang Feng tidied up the coop a bit.
In another nest, another hen seemed close to hatching its eggs.
"Newly hatched chicks are fragile, and those that can’t crack the shell rarely survive."
"But it doesn’t hurt to try; maybe it’ll grow."
Jiang Feng tidied the coop.
His live stream showed the real life of a farm, not aimed at the camera, just occasionally sharing farm knowledge.
"Traders visit with trucks carrying chickens to sell."
"Typically, a chick is less than one yuan."
"If you buy a lot, fifty chicks can cost thirty yuan."
"Chickens aren’t that valuable."
"Sometimes goslings are pricier, male geese are 3 yuan each, females 5 yuan, whether they thrive is up to you."
Jiang Feng’s words caught viewers off guard.
[A chick for less than a yuan?]
[This happens, at school they sold them for fifty cents each; they’d die by evening, couldn’t keep them alive.]
[You’re talking about before, they’re more expensive now. It’s 5 yuan for three in elementary schools near me.]
[Those sellers make money from students, knowing they’re hard to raise.]
[Little roosters have no use, sell them while they’re cute to earn a bit.]
[Farm prices seem cheap!]
[Am I the only one noticing ’trucks carrying chickens to sell’?]
After checking the chicks, Jiang Feng exited the coop, with the Tabby Cat still watching nearby.
Jiang Feng remembered the Tabby Cat used to play well with a few chicks when it was young, but they grew quickly, later ending up in the pot with mushrooms and spices.
Since then, the Tabby Cat remained friendly with chicks.
It enjoyed cuddling with the yellow chicks during naps, often sleeping in the coop.
"Cat Boss, come back in a few days when the chicks can’t catch cold,"
Jiang Feng said to it.
Cat Boss meowed softly as if responding earnestly.
The next day, life at the ranch resumed as usual.
After tending the cattle and sheep, Jiang Feng’s first stop was the chicken coop to check on things.
Many long-time viewers remembered the unhatched chicks.
Jiang Feng lifted the hen and saw one more yellow chick, though many eggs remained still.
He then brought over a washbasin and placed the eggs inside one by one.
The hen watched, unmoved, seemingly saying, "Just take them all; I’ve been at it for half a month, and my butt’s numb!"
The Tabby Cat, beside him, focused on the eggs, its little head moving with Jiang Feng’s hands, watching each egg he picked up.
"Cat Boss, let’s go hatch some eggs."
Jiang Feng placed all the eggs in the basin, lifting it to leave.
Excitedly, the Tabby Cat meowed, scurrying along.
Viewers were equally intrigued.
[Artificial incubation? How’s it done?]
[Watch the farm owner incubate eggs!]
[Can’t wait, hope some chicks survive!]
[Feels exciting, like opening a mystery box!]
[A real-life mystery box!]
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