CHAPTER 304: CHAPTER 301: KANG BEIER DUCKS LAID EGGS

On the first day, Lin Wanwan spent an hour learning the konghou under Heng Wu’s guidance, then ran back to the modern villa to practice alone.

When she’s in the zone, nothing can stop her, exploiting the time bug between two worlds, she practiced the konghou for more than ten hours, showing more enthusiasm than when she was studying medicine.

But in Heng Wu’s eyes, Lin Wanwan was considered extraordinarily gifted, having learned just once yet progressed rapidly, which made Heng Wu even more dedicated in guiding her.

Such an opportunity to learn with one-on-one guidance from a renowned teacher was impossible in the modern era, but in the Great Tang, Lin Wanwan could learn whenever she wanted!

While learning, Lin Wanwan silently decided to thoroughly master the konghou, and when given the chance in the modern world, she would ensure this wonderful instrument would never be lost to time!

That morning, while classes were ongoing in the academy, Lin Wanwan sat in the cloister copying scriptures, practicing the konghou amidst the birds and flowers.

She was practicing a konghou made by a renowned pre-Sui craftsman that was once bought with Heng Wu by her side giving guidance, and Xiao Yixun in white snow, cradling her head, watching her practice.

Just then, Kun Lun, who was guarding the hanging flower gate, suddenly stood up (after a recent renovation, a guest house and a hanging flower gate were added between the academy and her own courtyard), Lin Wanwan looked up, and it was the Village Chief’s daughter-in-law from the academy’s cafeteria, Mrs. Qian, who had arrived.

Upon seeing Xiao Yixun, all in white, Mrs. Qian took a step back; although she had seen this oddly pale daughter of the Xiao Family several times before, each encounter still made her scalp tingle.

She always felt that the other’s lightly tinted eyes were like a ghostly presence in the dark night, ready to devour at any moment.

Now needing to speak, Mrs. Qian suppressed her fear and said, "Wanwan, today the ducks in the academy’s duck coop laid eggs again. Look, as many as 50 eggs! Each duck laid an egg!"

As she spoke, Mrs. Qian became increasingly excited, stepping forward to offer the bamboo basket full of duck eggs in front of Lin Wanwan for her to see.

The Kakiji Kang Beier ducks usually start laying at about four months, and just a few days ago began laying regularly. Alternating days, it got Mrs. Qian terribly excited.

It’s known that in the Great Tang, ordinary ducks laying an egg every three days is considered good, but all these extra eggs translate into money!

They didn’t know this was just the beginning, from the second month of laying, daily egg-laying wasn’t impossible.

Ordinary ducks lay roughly 180 eggs at most in the first year, but Kang Beier ducks have a minimum of 260 and a maximum of 300 eggs for the first year—a testament to the power of technology.

Through artificial breeding, these ducks indeed excel, much like the hybrid rice, with astonishing yield, and not like the eye-catching all-white broilers which mature in a month and a half, perfect for discreet development.

In around fifteen square meters of duck coop at the academy’s backyard, fifty Kang Beier ducks were housed, enjoying a much roomier environment compared to modern farms where six to seven ducks are usually reared per square meter.

This batch in the Great Tang was driven to pasture near the sea each day, their rich ocean diet allowed them to feast on seafood and shellfish daily, producing eggs that looked significantly superior to ordinary ones and tasted exceedingly delicious.

Currently, the eggs laid by the academy’s ducks were mostly fed to the kids—over a hundred of them—and still weren’t enough for meals.

Seeing the speed at which these ducks laid eggs, the first to be tempted were the five-member mess room team responsible for cleaning the duck coop and collecting eggs daily.

Today Mrs. Qian came over not just to show Lin Wanwan the freshly collected eggs, but also to inquire about hatching the duck eggs.

All the ducks at the academy were female, and only Lin Wanwan’s courtyard housed male ducks.

Mrs. Qian came with apprehension; as someone not adept at speaking, she was pushed out by the other four. Yet, deep down, she really wanted to keep a few of these ducks, she couldn’t miss out on such excellent ducks!

Chickens, ducks, and geese were the most beloved meats in the Lin Family Manor, with every household keeping them. It wasn’t necessary to feed them too scrupulously, occasional feeding sufficed, as most of the time they were left to forage seafood along the beach and mountain foothills.

Despite the low cost of raising them, the Lin Family Manor hadn’t developed poultry farming at a larger scale, primarily because large quantities of poultry tended to die off in clusters.

Yet every household kept four or five poultry, selling or exchanging their eggs at the market for money or grain.

With such prolific egg-laying ducks emerging, how could one not be tempted!

It’s known that few in the Lin Family Manor indulge in eating eggs, with abundant seafood at hand that’s not considered rare, whereas meat and eggs are genuinely prized and treasured.

Lin Wanwan understood Mrs. Qian’s intent and seeing her face flushed yet unable to express her wish, she directly said, "Sister-in-law, I’m currently hatching ducklings at home, if you’re interested in getting any, come to me to buy them, a duckling for three wen."

Mrs. Qian hearing this brightened up and exclaimed, "Ah, Wanwan, then... then I’ll go ask my husband, I’ll... I’ll go cook first."

Saying this, she hastily made a courtesy and left to share this great news with others.

Xiao Yixun watched Mrs. Qian’s figure floating with joyfully lightness as she left, puzzled, "Is the duck laying eggs really worth being this happy about?"

She genuinely didn’t understand.

Lin Wanwan continued practicing the konghou and laughed, "You, why not eat minced meat."

Xiao Yixun silently pondered for a while, suddenly said, "Poor people are truly happy; a duck laying an egg can make them rejoice half a day."

For her, few things could truly make her joyful, living a life avoiding sunlight filled her with disdain.

Lin Wanwan casually replied to Xiao Yixun’s remark, "Sometimes, happiness is really simple. Hey, Heng Wu, did I play this note too heavily?"

Having stayed quietly on the side, upon Lin Wanwan asking her, Heng Wu stepped forward to advise, "It’s good, but it could be lighter, for this section is the little tail note."

"Oh, can you play it for me to hear again? I always feel like I’m playing it wrong."

Of course, Heng Wu had no objections, sitting at another slightly ordinary phoenix-headed konghou bought from town, casually plucking the strings, the melody swirling at her fingertips seemed to probe into one’s hidden depths, leading one into complete immersion.

The otherworldly sounds were far above the notes Lin Wanwan had just practiced; an expert is indeed different, standing out immediately.

Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but marvel at how the same hands could produce such varied notes!

What she lacks isn’t a good konghou but Heng Wu’s pair of transformative hands!

Yet, Lin Wanwan wasn’t discouraged, she would continue practicing, she was currently very enthusiastic.

Xiao Yixun, the quirky runaway girl, remained expressionless while Heng Wu played the konghou. Yet when Lin Wanwan practiced, she occasionally turned up a mysterious smile, as if captivated.