Chapter 29: Black Chicken Soup. Lately, Song Qingshu wakes up every morning to wash…

Lately, before washing up, he tears off the previous page of his calendar and brings it to He Feng in the kitchen, leaving it for the pot to boil.

Xiaohua seemed to know he wasn't feeling well. She used to cling to his trouser leg, but now she nestles at his feet, meowing softly. When Song Qingshu rubs her head, she tilts her head back and purrs in comfort.

While he cooks, Song Qingshu likes to sit next to him and talk, and He Feng listens and even responds.

But after taking medicine for several days, Song Qingshu hasn't gotten any better. He doesn't look as healthy as the Song Qingshu he'd raised a few days ago.

He Feng, worried about his stomach, boils his medicine for him every day after meals.

But he still hasn't gotten better.

"Will you sleep again soon, little one?"

School starts tomorrow, and He Feng is worried about him being like this. But since Song Qingshu wants to go, he doesn't really stop him, just saying, "Don't get angry with the child."

They were just little brats. If they really got naughty, even their fathers couldn't control them, let alone a handsome teacher like Song Qingshu.

Song Qingshu shook his head. He'd slept too much the past two days and was growing increasingly tired. "I want to look at the textbook again."

"Okay." He Feng washed his hands and lifted the lid of the small pot. Inside was a blanched black

-bone chicken. It wasn't big, but it was quite plump, with a layer of fat floating in the pot. He Feng scooped out the fat-soaked broth and poured it into a steel basin to soak the steamed buns for Xiaohua and Xiaohei.

Song Qingshu, having recovered somewhat, had regained some of his appetite over the past two days. The aroma made him feel hungry.

He blinked and peered into the pot. The steam was so thick that he could barely make out what was inside. He could vaguely make out a pitch-black mass.

"It's black-bone chicken. Stew it in soup. It's good for your health," He Feng explained, noticing him staring blankly into the pot.

He had actually considered shooting a couple of pigeons with his slingshot, but he had been too busy these days, so he gave up.

"I asked He Lishu to bring it this morning. His wife's pregnant again, and yesterday she said she was going to town to buy a hen, so I asked him to bring it over."

Song Qingshu woke up a little later than He Feng, not realizing anyone had come that morning, so he nodded.

"Are you hungry?" He Feng asked.

In the large pot was the salty pancakes He Feng had steamed early that morning, with oil, chopped vegetables and green onions, and a little minced meat for flavor.

He figured the soup would take some time to simmer, so he'd have something to fill his stomach if he got hungry.

As Song Qingshu nodded, He Feng lifted the lid of the large pot, scooped out a white flour pancake with a spatula, and handed it to Song Qingshu in a bowl.

"Eat it! Try it and see if it's delicious."

He Feng had always loved salty pancakes, eating four in one sitting with rice soup or porridge.

Song Qingshu picked them up with chopsticks and ate them while He Feng piled more firewood under the pot. "Let's have breakfast first. This soup's going to take a while to simmer."

With that, the two of them returned to the main room.

"Baby, I'll go ask Wang Dehui later. Can you stay home alone?"

Song Qingshu agreed and sat at the dining table to eat salty biscuits. The crumbs that fell were licked off by Xiaohua. When Xiaohua didn't lick them off, Xiaohua would squat down and look up at him.

Song Qingshu would tease it and use the biscuits in his hand to divert its attention.

He Feng ate quickly. After cleaning up and seeing him playing with Xiaohua, he rode his bike away with peace of mind.

It happened that Wang Dehui was also eating. It must be that his grandson didn't eat well and was almost beaten.

Seeing He Feng coming, his daughter grabbed his grandson's collar and went into the inner room, asking him if he wanted to eat or he would be beaten if he didn't.

The child started crying and howling before the clothes hanger even landed on him.

"Have you eaten?" asked the old man.

He Feng found a stool and sat next to him. "I just ate. I came to ask you about your medicine."

Wang Dehui naturally knew why he came and pointed to the side with chopsticks. "There's a newspaper with the prescription written on it."

"You have to go to the Chinese herbal medicine market in the city to get this medicine. How's it been these past two days?"

He Feng took the newspaper and took a look. There were words written on it with a pen, and some of the words were blurred and soaked through the paper.

The old man was definitely not asking about him. He Feng couldn't understand those strange names of the medicines. "It's okay, but why do you look so listless? It's as if you didn't drink the medicine at all."

"Well, there are two Chinese herbs with conflicting properties, and they restrain each other, so it manifests itself in your body."

He lowered his head and slurped the porridge. He Feng was a little anxious. "What should we do? Can't we change the medicine?"

"I can't change it. I don't have the ability." Wang Dehui was not being sarcastic, but the medicine was used to the extreme. With his ability, he didn't dare to prescribe such a prescription casually.

He also understood He Feng's feelings, "Don't worry, the medicine won't cause any serious harm to your body, it will just make you a little weaker."

"At least, your heart won't feel so bad."

He Feng knew after he said that, even if the medicine had flaws, he had to take it.

If he took a bus to the city to get the medicine, he could ask if there was an old Chinese medicine doctor who could improve the prescription.

He Feng thought about the black chicken soup he was still stewing at home, so he said hello to Wang Dehui and left.

He didn't rush home, because today was the market day, so he bought some wolfberries, red dates and raisins from the dried fruit stall.

Since you can't eat candy while taking medicine, this kind of dried fruit should be edible, and it can also be used for cooking. He Feng also saw dried black fungus and bought some.

Just as he was leaving the shop, he saw the village chief approaching, a look of concern on his face. "Hey, He Feng, how's Song Zhiqing?"

"Better," He Feng said, clutching his belongings as he sat on his bicycle. "Have you seen He Ping these past couple of days?"

The village chief sighed, his voice helpless. "No, I just came to the street to tell him about this He Ping, he's really embarrassing his parents."

"It's okay, you didn't tell your fourth brother and his wife, did you?" He Ping's parents were of the same generation as He Feng, but they weren't from the same family. One was honest and respectable, the other a paranoid. His fourth wife,

Tian Xiaozhen, was a well-known paranoid person in the village, claiming to be able to see ghosts. He Feng didn't believe in such things and never spoke to her, only calling out to her when they saw her.

Mainly because Tian Xiaozhen wasn't in good health, and He Feng didn't want He Ping to affect her, so he kept it a secret from the village chief.

"I didn't tell anyone, I wasn't sure if it would get out." After all, the village wasn't very large, and if something went wrong, they'd disappear in a flash.

He Feng nodded, "Okay, I'm stewing chicken soup at home, I'll go first."

Song Qingshu at home has been wearing thicker clothes than usual these two days, and it was windy today. He Feng said that the autumn this year was cold earlier than in previous years, and he was worried that Song Qingshu would be cold in winter.

Song Qingshu said sweetly that it wasn't so cold with his brother around.

He Feng rode his bicycle directly into the yard. Song Qingshu, who was sitting at the small table in the main room reading a book, turned around and saw He Feng holding something in his hand, "What did you buy, brother?"

He Feng walked over and raised the bag in his hand, like a parent who bought something and showed it to his child at home, "Raisins, I tried it, it's very sweet." "

From now on, baby, grab a handful and eat it after taking the medicine, it will make your mouth sweet."

Song Qingshu looked at the heavy bag of raisins and agreed with his eyes curved.

"We don't have any longans. Let's go to town and buy some later to keep for later. Red dates can be used to make porridge or eaten on a regular basis to replenish blood."

He Feng picked up some red dates and raisins and placed them on the small table. Song Qingshu would always wipe the table clean before reading, for fear that some oil would get on the books.

He put the things in the drawer of the wooden cabinet and said, "Put it here. If you want to eat it, just grab it yourself."

"Tie the bag tightly after you take it, otherwise it will go bad easily."

"Okay."

After giving the instructions, he walked over, picked up a red date and put it in his mouth. He showed a subtle disdain for a moment. It was a little too sweet.

On the slightly yellowed paper were the words written by Song Qingshu with the pencil given by Teacher Zhu. They were regular script, and they looked straight and neat.

At least He Feng could make out what the words were. It was much better looking than Wang Dehui's handwriting.

He Feng silently compared them, not forgetting to compliment them, "The handwriting is beautiful, too."

"Look, the chicken soup should be almost done. I'll serve it out later. Drink it when it's no longer hot."

He Feng walked outside. The ducks in the yard quacked. He thought it was Xiao Hei chasing the ducks again, but Xiao Hei was lying by the bathroom door, licking Xiao Hua's fur.

Xiao Hua was asleep, her head bobbing under his broad tongue, but she didn't seem to wake.

He Feng, intrigued, didn't bother them and went to the duck pen to see what was wrong.

The wind suddenly picked up, and the sky was about to overcast. He Feng didn't let the ducks out, but as soon as he entered the pen, they were startled and fled.

He Feng saw two round white objects on the bed of hay. They had laid eggs.

He walked over and picked them up. One was still warm to the touch, covered with tiny white feathers. He returned with the two eggs, washed them in a basin of water, and brought them back into the house.

"Baby? Feel it." He handed the warm egg to Song Qingshu.

Song Qingshu put down the pencil in his hand, reached out to touch it, not knowing why. It was hot!

His dark eyes lit up instantly. He had never touched a warm duck egg before!

He Feng knew he was right when he saw it. The children in the city had never seen this before and must have found it novel.

Unfortunately, this temperature could not last too long. Song Qingshu still held the not-so-big duck egg carefully and asked curiously: "Brother, can this hatch ducklings?"

He Feng shook his head, "We only have female ducks at home, no drakes, so we can't hatch them."

"We need a drake." Song Qingshu was a little disappointed.

"What about our chickens?" He ignited new hope.

There was indeed a rooster at home; He Feng had bought it by mistake and hadn't killed it for food. "It can be hatched. Next time you hear the hens clucking, go look in the henhouse."

"But don't take it. Leave it for the chickens to hatch."

Actually, He Feng had never tried hatching chicken or duck eggs himself. Every year, there were chickens and ducklings sold on the street, and no one had ever thought of hatching them themselves.

But Song Qingshu was curious, so he decided to give it a try; it wouldn't take much effort.

"Hmm!" Song Qingshu returned the duck egg to He Feng, which had grown cold. "Where's the henhouse?"

He Feng pointed outside. "In the straw stack in the front yard, the chickens dug a nest in it. It's deep, and Xiao Hei can't reach it. He has to reach in and feel around."

"Don't let Xiao Hei reach it. It really eats raw eggs."

Song Qingshu had never seen Xiao Hei eat raw eggs. He only knew that every time He Feng finished cracking eggs, the one who got most excited wasn't Xiao Hei, but the chickens at home, who would peck at the eggs.

This reminded Song Qingshu of the amusing comments he'd seen online when watching short videos.

He Feng cleared out an egg tray and reserved it for duck eggs. "Once you have saved fifty or sixty, you can pickle duck eggs. If you don't want to eat steamed buns in the morning, you can eat them directly with porridge."

The eggs laid by the ducks raised at home are not big, but the yolks are large, which is the most suitable for pickling salted duck eggs. They are golden yellow and oily, not too salty, and perfect for porridge.

"Okay."

After several trips back and forth, the black chicken soup was finally ready.

He Feng put some wolfberries and red dates in the pot. Light oil was floating on the clear chicken soup, and it was obvious that it was very fresh.

He poured out a large bowl, put a ceramic spoon in it, and carried it to the small table. "Son, I'll put it here for you to drink later."

"So much?"

It wasn't too long after dinner. Song Qingshu felt a little headache looking at the large bowl. He was also worried that He Feng didn't prepare any for him and was only thinking about him drinking it.

"Well, if you can't drink it, just put it aside."

"Do you want to eat the chicken now?"

"No, can I make something else?" Secretary Song Qingshu thought that the chicken in the stew had no taste and was easy to get stuck in the teeth, so he didn't want to eat it.

He Feng thought about the black chicken in the pot, which had quite a lot of meat, and instantly had an idea, "Then save it for lunch to make scallion chicken. I'll go remove the bones."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Hei, who had smelled the smell, ran into the house without knowing when, followed by Xiao Hua. He started sticking out his tongue when he saw the bowl on the table.

He Feng was a little helpless, thinking of the oily chicken soup on the stove, "Come here, you are such a greedy dog."

Song Qingshu blew on the spoon, took a sip of the hot and fragrant chicken soup, and smiled as he watched He Feng soak the steamed buns for Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua.