My village can't be like this

Chapter 686 Yellow Peril
The naughty kids found a total of twenty or thirty golden cicada flowers, and Zhang An spent more than ten yuan to collect them all.

Although it only adds up to a few taels, it is already a lot because this thing is really hard to find.

When he first got the money, Ermao was so happy.

But less than a minute passed and his bright smile disappeared.

Although it was indeed worth being happy about making money, he could not be happy when he thought of his miserable experience in the past few days.

After all, that was a huge sum of money of more than ten dollars, and he had never had so much money in his life.

So Ermao learned his lesson this time, thinking that he must not let the adults in his family take away his hard-earned money like last time, and he was determined not to let them know about it.

"Uncle Xiao An, can I ask you for a favor?"

So he thought about it for a moment, then hesitantly whispered to Zhang An.

"What's going on? It's like stealing someone's property. You are a rat."

Zhang An saw Ermao acting sneaky and scolded him with a smile.

"Uncle Xiao An, can you please not tell my mom and the others about us exchanging money with you? A few days ago, I caught a rhinoceros beetle and sold it for more than ten yuan, but they confiscated it all and didn't leave me a dime. If they knew about this, they would definitely ask me for it."

Ermao looked pitiful when he said this.

When the other children heard Ermao's words, they immediately looked at Zhang An eagerly.

Because their experiences were not much better than Ermao's.

Who doesn’t want to have some money in hand so they can buy their favorite snacks occasionally?

"Okay, I promise you, I won't tell your parents. But even though you earned this money, you still have to be frugal. Don't spend it lavishly. If someone finds out, you can't blame me."

Zhang An was also of the same grade as them and could understand their ideas very well, so he agreed very readily.

When they thought about not having to hand in the money, the naughty kids were obviously happier than before.

"Uncle An, will you change this tomorrow? If you do, I'll go find it tomorrow."

Then, Ermao asked Zhang An excitedly again.

It is obvious that the kid has earned too much money these days and has spent all of it on playing with him.

Although the money from selling rhinoceros beetles a few days ago was taken away by his family, at least it passed through his hands.

"You unlucky child, you have to go to school tomorrow, how are you going to find it? Stop thinking about these things all day long."

Zhang An patted Ermaohai's head in annoyance and told him the unfortunate news directly.

When Ermaohai heard that the holiday would be over tomorrow and classes would start again, he felt like an eggplant hit by frost, completely wilted.

Now, they don’t dare to say that they will skip classes and not go to school.

There are actually quite a few children who dare to skip classes these days, but that is because the adults in the family go out to work, leaving the children at home to live with the elderly.

In this situation, many elderly people are unable to control the children and can only let them do whatever they want.

For someone like Ermao, with two adults at home, they wouldn't dare to skip classes even if they had ten times the courage.

Because if the adults at home heard it, I'm afraid several bamboo sticks would be broken.

After all, today’s teachers really do visit students’ homes, and it’s no joke.

If anyone dares to skip class, the teacher will be able to find them home after class.

Parents of this era really beat their children when they see them, without any feeling of pity at all.

After all, in their eyes, children were not as precious as they were in later generations, when every family had two, three, or even four or five children, and they were not afraid of them being hurt.

However, many parents nowadays do feel sorry for their children. After all, they are also parents.

It’s just that when they beat their children, they know a lot of techniques, which allows them to hurt the children and teach them a lesson without hurting them.

Even in the past, if a child like Zhang An, the only child in the family, was disobedient, he would be beaten by Wang Fang.

"Then... I'll look for it after school."

Ermao definitely didn't dare to skip classes, but he was reluctant to spend the money.

After all, one can be exchanged for fifty cents, and if you find a few more, that would be pocket money that you couldn't get in a whole semester before.

So, he gritted his teeth and decided to give up the happy time he could have spent playing happily and continue looking for this thing to exchange for money.

"Of course you can, as long as you don't skip classes and finish your homework on time."

Since these kids are so passionate, Zhang An naturally wouldn't refuse.

In fact, he didn't want to find too many golden cicada flowers. The effect of this thing is definitely not as magical as those people said.

But it can indeed be used to nourish and replenish qi, and it is also very effective for severe teeth grinding when sleeping at night.

So it’s not a bad idea to find some more and save them, just in case you need them someday.

After dinner in the evening, Su Ying took little Siqi to the study and started teaching him to read pinyin letters.

Seeing his son's aggrieved look, Zhang An could only pretend he didn't see it.

After all, even his mother at home didn't dare to say anything about it, let alone him, a low-level person with no status in the family.

I could only comfort the little guy silently in my heart, as long as he could get through today.

Because Su Ying will go back to school tomorrow, and after a busy day, she will definitely not have the energy to give her child special lessons.

That night, it was already the middle of the night and it was pitch dark.

In the dead of night, a burst of rapid dog barking suddenly came from Zhang An's yard.

Zhang An, who was sleeping with his wife in his arms, was suddenly awakened.

He was a light sleeper and immediately recognized the voices of Xiaohu and the others, so he immediately got up and went down to take a look.

Even if it was someone else's dog barking, he would get up and check if he heard it.

After all, the dog's barking was not normal, and any normal person would know something was wrong when hearing it.

In the village, it has always been a case of you helping me and I helping you, and no one would watch an accident happen in another family.

After Su Ying gave birth, she became a little sleepier.

Although the barking of the dog did not wake her up, Zhang An's action of getting up woke her up.

"Why are the little tigers barking like that? Did something happen?"

Su Ying rubbed her eyes. Now when she heard the dog barking, she felt something was not right.

"I don't know. Maybe something ran into the yard. You continue to sleep. I'll go down and take a look."

Zhang An didn't turn on the light. He put on his clothes, said something to Su Ying, then went out and went downstairs.

When he came downstairs, the door of the house was already open.

He didn't think that someone came and opened his door in the middle of the night.

This door is a masterpiece of Carpenter Lin. Even a thief who wants to steal cattle and horses would have no chance of opening it from the outside.

It was obvious that my parents downstairs heard the dog barking and ran out to check.

When he went out, Xiaohu and the others' noises had not stopped yet. They came from the chicken coop.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the chicken coop, his father Zhang Jianguo was already there. At this moment, Zhang Jianguo was holding a half-grown chicken weighing a little over a pound.

The chick's head had drooped, and although it would twitch from time to time, it was obvious that it was dying.

There were still some blood stains on the ground, which had flowed from the chicken's neck.

The other chickens in the pen had huddled in the corner, shivering each one.

The only one standing in front of all the chickens was the big rooster in their house, with its feathers in disarray, looking as if its feathers had just been ruffled.

"Is there something running into the house?"

Zhang An walked over, looked around, and said with a frown.

"I'm afraid it's been attacked by a weasel."

Zhang Jianguo nodded, also with a serious expression.

You know, they have so many chickens and ducks at home, and if a weasel really harms them, it would be difficult to deal with.

He was also upset. He had moved here for several years and had always lived a peaceful life. How could he suddenly be hit by this plague?

When Zhang An heard the word "weasel", he suddenly felt a headache.

This is a problem because weasels are not as easy to catch as mice.

Moreover, this thing is born a bad species. Although it doesn't eat chickens very often, it will kill one if it sees one.

If we don't kill it, it will definitely come back to cause trouble often in the future.

After patrolling the circle, I didn't see any weasels, but I did find some weasel hairs.

It looks like it was left behind after a fight with the big rooster at home.

Zhang An looked at the rooster again and found that the feathers on this guy's body had not yet fallen down. He looked like he was full of anger and couldn't find a place to vent.

It’s a pity that although its fighting ability is not bad, it cannot be fully utilized when facing an extremely fast opponent like the weasel.

Not only did they fail to keep the enemy, but they also lost a member.

"It was indeed a weasel. If it weren't for the big rooster watching over it, I'm afraid more than one would have been bitten."

Zhang An turned around and waved the weasel hair he had just found towards his father.

"Then what should we do? We have so many chickens and ducks at home. We have to find a way to catch them, and we don't even know how many there are."

Zhang Jianguo had no idea what to do. If there were fewer chickens and ducks at home, he could move them and take measures to prevent and control the disease.

But there are hundreds of chickens and ducks in the chicken coop, so we have to think of other ways.

"Go to sleep first. We'll think of a way to deal with it tomorrow. It had a fight with our big rooster tonight, and was discovered by the tiger cubs. It will definitely not dare to come again."

Although the weasel holds a grudge, it doesn't mean it is stupid. So after being discovered, it will definitely not come again tonight.

"Then let Xiaohu and the others guard the chicken coop."

It's only midnight and still early for dawn. It's impossible to ask someone to keep watch, so Xiaohu and the others can only stay in the chicken coop first.

"Yeah, I'll call Gray Ball over later."

Zhang An nodded. In addition to Xiaohu and the others, he also planned to call Huiqiu over.

Although these big dogs at home are very fast, they are a little too big.

If the weasels come again, we probably won’t be able to rely on them alone and can only act as a deterrent.

Fortunately, there is an owl named Gray Ball at home.

Speaking of night shifts, Zhang An is confident that nothing can compare to the God of Night.

Zhang Jianguo felt relieved after hearing this, and then walked out of the chicken coop holding the chicken with its neck bitten through.

Just now this little guy was twitching from time to time, but now he is dead.

This chicken is too small and was killed by a weasel. It is definitely not edible.

But you don't have to throw it away just like that, you can use it to feed the gray balls and flower heads.

Under Zhang An's instructions, Xiaohu and his family members were already lying in the chicken coop to guard.

Not only are there a large number of them, but they also don't have any leashes. If the weasel comes again, Xiaohu and the others can easily drive that guy around.

Xiaohu and his friends usually guard the sheepfold, but the weasel cannot harm animals as big as sheep, so it came here to guard the sheepfold these days.

Then Zhang An walked into the yard and came to Huiqiu's nest, and found that Huiqiu and his wife were not at home.

There is no doubt that they went out to move around. After all, night is their hunting time.

Fortunately, based on Zhang An's understanding of the gray balls, although they would run away, they should not be too far away. They were probably around the house.

"Gugugu~~~Gugugu~~~"

Zhang An imitated the call of Gray Ball and called out to the outside for a while.

The next moment, there was a response from the fields in the distance, and Zhang An knew it was the gray ball as soon as he heard it.

Not only do they have good eyesight at night, they also have good hearing, after all, they have such big ears.

Friendly reminder: don't look at the ears of an owl, or you will regret it.

After a while, Gray Ball and his wife flew back from outside one after another and landed on Zhang An's shoulders.

Because the lights in the yard were on, the gray balls' eyes were a little annoyed by the light, so Zhang An quickly took them to the chicken coop.

After raising the chickens for such a long time, Huatou had long been obedient to Zhang An's orders. He immediately took his wife to stand on the wooden beam in the chicken coop.

After arranging bodyguards for the chickens and ducks at home, Zhang An went back to his room to rest with peace of mind.

"how's it going?"

After Su Ying woke up, she couldn't fall asleep yet, waiting for Zhang An to come back.

"A weasel came into the chicken coop and killed a chick. The tiger cubs found it."

Zhang An lay back on the bed and reported this to his wife.

"What should we do? Chickens and ducks are most afraid of weasels."

When Su Ying heard that her family had been struck by the Yellow Peril, she began to worry.

She didn't know this before, but after living in the village for so many years, she is no longer the person who knew nothing before.

"It's okay. I called Xiaohu and the others to the chicken coop to keep watch. I also called Huiqiu and his wife over there. If the weasel dares to come again, it will be in trouble."

Zhang An hugged Su Ying in his arms and told her not to worry.

"Can Gray Ball and the others deal with the weasel?"

Su Ying directly skipped over Xiaohu and the others and only asked about Huiqiu.

"It should be possible. Gray Ball is good at catching mice. The name of this weasel also has the word 'mouse' in it. I think it will work."

Although Zhang An had never seen an owl catch a weasel, he still had great faith in Gray Ball's abilities.

(End of this chapter)