AYLS – Chapter 133

At the end of August, the first batch of chicks hatched.

All thirty breeding eggs they had brought successfully hatched.

This hatch rate instantly made Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen gain real recognition at the chicken farm for the first time.

Even the veteran soldiers in the logistics unit who specialized in breeding came over when they heard the news. They repeatedly asked Lin Qiao, “Are you sure all thirty eggs hatched?”

Lin Qiao replied, “Of course. The organization personally counted them and even paid for them. How could I lie to the organization? Lie to everyone?”

Of course not. In those days, no one would dare lie to the organization.

“How did you manage this?”

Lin Qiao said, “We’ve said it before—this breed is truly excellent. And of course, these thirty eggs were carefully selected from the best of the best.

Under normal circumstances, the hatch rate is guaranteed at around ninety to ninety-five percent.”

Even that was already considered outstanding!

Think about poor families raising chicks themselves: ten eggs in one batch, and if five or six hatch, that’s already considered high. Then there’s the loss during raising. In the end, being able to raise one or two to adulthood was counted as a success.

Having a higher hatch rate undoubtedly increased the final survival rate.

“Is this breed easy to raise?”

Lin Qiao answered, “Very easy—easier than ordinary chickens. This is something we have proven over nearly two years of actual breeding. By the time we came here, the Construction Corps had already begun promoting this breed.”

After saying that, she added, “You won’t believe it now, but once we raise them to adulthood, you’ll see.”

The veterans all laughed. “We’ve never raised these before—who would dare believe it? But now that we’ve seen this, we’re starting to believe a little. If you need us to cooperate with anything in the future, just let us know.”

Lin Qiao was amused. “Only starting to believe? You’re all really cautious. Fine, Weizhen and I will definitely raise these chickens well and show you how good this breed is.”

“Comrade Xiao Qiao, say no more—if these chickens really are this easy to raise, then I’ll follow you wholeheartedly. However you say to raise them, that’s how we’ll do it.”

The others echoed in agreement.

They were all soldiers—men trained to obey. Besides following orders from superiors, they followed those who proved themselves capable.

Raising chickens was no exception. As long as someone had real skills, they were more than willing to listen.

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen were very satisfied with this outcome. The situation was exactly what they had expected from the beginning: earn everyone’s recognition through real results so their future work would go more smoothly.

Not only the veterans, even the logistics department leaders specially came to see.

They had contacted the Construction Corps several times before, so they knew more about this breed than the others. They had placed high hopes on it.

Now, this result once again confirmed the reliability of the rumors. It brought joy to everyone.

If the breed truly was this good, they could expand large-scale breeding in the future and increase side-income.

There was no other way—in those years, even military units had to develop their own side businesses just to cover their expenses. Supplies were scarce nationwide, and although the state already did its best to support these border units, they still needed to contribute their share of effort.

Director Hao praised Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen sincerely, saying the two of them were hardworking and skilled—role models for everyone.

If this first batch of chicks was raised well, he would submit an application to commend them.

When Lin Qiao returned, she even bragged to Gu Huayuan about it.

“Gu Huayuan, you haven’t received any commendations since you came here, have you?”

Gu Huayuan replied, “Nothing compared to you. You arrived and were entrusted with important responsibilities right away.”

Lin Qiao couldn’t hold back her grin after being praised; the smile at the corners of her mouth just wouldn’t go away.

She tried to be modest. “It’s nothing special. You’ll have your chance too. By the way, now that you don’t need to farm anymore, what can you do to earn a commendation?”

“There are plenty of opportunities. For example, running into the enemy and successfully counterattacking. Best would be capturing a prisoner.”

Lin Qiao stared at him, mouth open. “Huh? Wouldn’t that mean fighting people?”

“That doesn’t count as war. At most, it’s just a small-scale conflict.”

“That’s still way too dangerous!”

Lin Qiao had grown up in peaceful times and never paid attention to what border soldiers faced even in peacetime.

After arriving here, all she came into contact with were the Construction Corps.

It never even occurred to her that even in peaceful times, soldiers still had to fight the enemy.

“Gu Huayuan, let’s… not aim for commendations anymore. Things are fine as they are. I’ll work hard to earn commendations—then we’ll both be honored together.”

Gu Huayuan couldn’t help laughing. He didn’t reply, just reached out and rubbed her forehead lightly.

“Hey! Why are you messing with my head?”

Gu Huayuan finally couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

The news that Lin Qiao’s group had raised their first batch of chicks quickly spread. There were people raising animals here too, so no one was overly surprised. They mostly offered a few words of concern and then congratulations when they ran into her. After all, this was Xiao Qiao’s first concrete achievement since arriving—very meaningful.

Because many people were talking about it, more people in the compound heard the news.

Not to mention the Sheng family kids, who had been keeping an eye on Lin Qiao all along.

Awen and Awu immediately rushed over to find Xiao Qiao.

They asked when she would be giving them their assessment test.

Lin Qiao said, “The assessment… are you really that anxious?”

“Of course we are, Sister Xiao Qiao! School’s starting soon—we’ll have to attend classes. If we pass the assessment, we can arrange our schedule to come work.” Sheng Wen looked extremely worried. “I see… I haven’t prepared much yet. Alright then, I’ll go talk to the logistics office. There definitely won’t be any salary, but maybe we can get some grain subsidies.”

The two brothers nodded quickly.

Lin Qiao added, “When you head back, tell Lanlan and Xiaojun too. Tell them to study hard—we’ll do the assessment together later.”

“What? What do they have to do with it?” Sheng Wen and Sheng Wu looked horrified.

Lin Qiao said, “They’re taking the assessment too. Just like you, they want to ease the burden on the family.”

“…”

Both brothers were struck dumb. Sheng Wen yelled indignantly, “Even raising chickens—they want to interfere too?”

“Hey, hey! What kind of talk is that? You’re all working toward the same goal.” Lin Qiao lectured, “So you’re allowed to want to help the family, but they can’t? Lanlan came to me the other day crying. She said she felt guilty, didn’t want to freeload at home, and didn’t want you two working so hard. She’d rather take on hardships herself, so she could give you the chance to focus on studying.”

The brothers’ eyes reddened. Especially Sheng Wen, who shouted angrily, “She’s meddling in other people’s business!”

“Sheng Wen, if you keep talking like that, I’ll revoke your right to take the exam. How can you judge people like that? If you can be considerate of your family, why can’t they? You’re all good kids.”

“We’re good kids but they’re stealing our parents!” the younger one, Sheng Wu, cried out.

He was only ten, had grown up in their hometown, and longed to live with his parents. But after coming here, he had to watch his parents take care of other children too. Of course he felt awful.

Lin Qiao said, “Who stole your parents? Aren’t your parents still your parents?”

“Then why are they living in our house?”

Sheng Wu’s voice wavered with tears; Sheng Wen just pouted.

Sheng Wu broke down crying. “When I was little, I barely got to see them. Now that I’m with them, they still have to take care of others.”

Lin Qiao suddenly thought of herself—she lost her mother young, and her father was always busy with work. She rarely saw him while growing up.

She sniffed lightly and said, “Honestly… who doesn’t want to have their own family? But sometimes there’s no choice. Not everyone is as lucky as you two—having both parents alive. Whenever you want to see them, you can.”

“Lanlan, Xiaojun, and the other two little brothers living with your family… They want a home too. I’m sure they feel pressure in their hearts—that’s why they want to raise chickens. They want to help lighten the burden.”

Lin Qiao asked gently, “Tell me, would you want to kick them out of your home?”

“…”

The brothers fell silent.

The idea of throwing them out… didn’t really seem like something decent people would do.

Lin Qiao smiled in relief. “I knew it—you talk tough, but you’re soft-hearted. If you really didn’t like them, you wouldn’t secretly run around trying to find work to help the family. You’re genuinely good kids.”

The brothers didn’t know what to say anymore.

Sheng Wen, embarrassed, muttered, “Since we’re so good… shouldn’t that mean you’ll let us raise chickens?”

Lin Qiao shook her head. “Still no. Good intentions are important, but so are ability and fairness. I already promised everyone—there has to be fair competition.”

“…”

Sister Xiao Qiao was even harder to deal with than Uncle Gu!

At noon, the brothers rushed home. The other children were busy with chores; Zhang Lanlan was helping Sister-in-law Sheng cook.

She smiled when she saw the brothers return.

Sheng Wen was furious. “You’ve got the nerve to smile! You’re too much—now you’re even trying to steal our job!”

Sister-in-law Sheng looked displeased. “Awen, what’s this about? Weren’t you all getting along fine these past few days? Why are you fighting again?”

“They’re the ones starting it—they’re trying to steal our job! We already talked to Sister Xiao Qiao, but then she and Li Xiaojun came to snatch it from us!”

Only then did Sister-in-law Sheng learn that Lanlan and Li Xiaojun also wanted to work raising chickens. She was surprised. “Why would you two think of that? No, absolutely not. You need to study properly. That’s the only way you’ll have a future.”

Even if they enlisted in the future, they would still need to be educated. They couldn’t be like before anymore.

Zhang Lanlan said, “Auntie, since Awen and Awu are already thinking of helping lessen the burden at home, how could Xiaojun and I just sit around?”

Li Xiaojun added, “Auntie, this was my idea. Don’t blame Lanlan. The two of us are older. I’m older than Sheng Wen, and Lanlan is older than Sheng Wu. Naturally, if someone should work, it should be us.”

“You two are meddling too much!” Sheng Wen was still angry.

Who said they were trying to lessen the burden? What they wanted was to stand on their own feet and show their parents what they were capable of.

“Awen, don’t be mad. I understand how you feel now, but you really don’t have to do this. You and Awu don’t need to take on this family’s pressure. Besides, I actually like working. I can’t sit still at home.”

Sheng Wen: “…” He was furious, absolutely furious.

Sister-in-law Sheng was already moved to the point her heart ached and her eyes warmed.

These were her children. Born by her, raised by her.

Each one was precious. All of them were good kids.

While she and Old Sheng worked so hard to raise them, the children had always known their efforts. They were all so sensible.

Just thinking about it made her want to cry.

She wiped her eyes and smiled in relief. “All I want is for you to study. Don’t worry about the family matters. Just focus on your studies.”

“You hear that? My mom wants you to study hard!” Sheng Wen shouted.

But Li Xiaojun and Zhang Lanlan only became even more determined.

Uncle and Auntie treated them so well, even Awen and Awu were sacrificing themselves. How could they sit at home eating for free?

That would be a disgrace to their biological parents.

Zhang Lanlan began crying. “Auntie, please agree. Let me go. If my parents were still here, they would support us too. My mom always told me that comrades help each other. When there’s difficulty, you face it together. If I do nothing now, I’ll be unhappy for the rest of my life.”

Sister-in-law Sheng was soft-hearted, and instantly had no way to refuse.

She remembered the bond she had with her old comrades, all the little things from those years. They were all good people.

Sheng Wen was about to cry too. He felt embarrassed, so he pinched Sheng Wu, who burst into tears.

Sheng Wen said, “Mom, am I still your real son? If you even take her side in this, then I’ll… I’ll just sleep on the street!”

Sheng Wu cried out, “Mom is biased! Mom is biased!”

“This…” Sister-in-law Sheng suddenly felt completely torn. All of them were precious to her. And sending them out to work wasn’t exactly a good thing either.

Li Xiaojun, being older and more mature, spoke calmly, “Auntie, actually, there’s no need to rush. Sister Xiao Qiao said there will be an assessment. Only those who pass can work. It doesn’t matter what we say at home.”

Sheng Wen & Sheng Wu: “…”

Sister-in-law Sheng immediately felt enlightened and smiled. “Yes! That’s good. An assessment is good. Then you all just work hard. And your grades must not fall behind.”

Xiao Qiao was someone who always kept her word.

Since she promised the two brothers she would speak to the organization, she made a special trip to the logistics office in the afternoon to bring it up.

Director Hao said she was being ridiculous. There were already so many people here—why would she let kids work?

Lin Qiao said, “This is normal. Back in the Construction Corps, when the children were on break, they would also join the work to earn labor points.”

Director Hao replied, “Of course I know that. But our base isn’t focused on production. There’s no need for that.”

Lin Qiao hurriedly nodded. “I know our situation is different. But I was thinking… maybe we do have a reason. You know, some families have adopted martyrs’ orphans…”

Just mentioning this made Lin Qiao tremble inside. “Raising children isn’t easy. And the children themselves have pride. They’re already in their teens—no one wants to just be fed by others. I think we should give them a path, a way to work hard for themselves.”

Director Hao knew all about the courtyard’s situation. Captain Sheng’s family had two biological children and adopted four more. These four, even if no one cared about them, would survive—but how well they lived, that no one could say.

Besides the Captain’s home, other regiments also had similar circumstances. Even higher-ranking leaders had such cases.

Some families with fewer children felt no pressure, but families like Captain Sheng’s did struggle.

“Have you considered that letting these children work might bring negative rumors to the families raising them? People might say they’re using the kids to earn money.”

Lin Qiao said, “I didn’t think of that. I believe people here have good character. But you’re right — we should consider it carefully. And actually, I already have an idea that could solve this.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“I promised the children that they’d need to pass an assessment. But I also considered that once they start working, it might affect their studies. So even if they pass, they can’t work long-term — we should reassess regularly. If their grades drop, they have to leave. This way, the job becomes a reward for good academic performance. They get a legitimate chance to earn a little pocket money. And the pay… well, it’ll come out of my salary.”

How much could it cost? She’d just spend less. She would eventually go back home anyway; saving money here wasn’t meaningful to her.

She joked privately that she was setting up an early 1960s “children’s work-study fund.”

Director Hao couldn’t help laughing and crying. “So your plan is… to pay them yourself no matter what?”

Lin Qiao nodded.

“I’m just afraid you’ll say I’m… practicing capitalism, so I came to tell you first.”

Actually, it was Su Weizhen who reminded her — paying for labor out of her own pocket could easily attract criticism. Even doing it for the unit’s sake didn’t necessarily protect her from trouble.

Director Hao took a sip of tea. “Alright, I’ll discuss this matter with the others. Honestly, Commander Sheng might not support it. When the time comes, won’t people say this is special treatment for his family?”

“He’s in charge of logistics too. It’s not like we’re only looking after his household—kids from other families might also need this reward. Please persuade him well, from the perspective of collective benefit. Worst case, we can hold a vote. And we won’t only accept assessments from our own regiment; we can take kids from other regiments too. Do you think that would work?”

“You really do have a lot of ideas. Fine, I’ll talk it over with the regiment.”

Director Hao had no other choice at this point.

Hearing this, Lin Qiao was delighted. She quickly expressed her thanks before leaving the office.