The group stood outside the duck pen, hesitating to go in. Chen Xi was fine. He came to collect eggs every day, so the ducks were already familiar with him. But the two unfamiliar men stood outside the duck pen, with Big White, the goose still wandering by the river. Its voice arrived before it did, and it could be seen paddling quickly toward the shore. The two men snapped back to attention, instantly shuddering. Fortunately, at that moment, the all-powerful Qiaoqiao was there— "Uncles, why aren’t you going in?" He held up his phone, "I told the kids I won’t film your faces as much as possible. They’ve never seen a Chinese Merganser before, and they’re definitely eager to see now!" The livestream had evidently been running for a few minutes. At this moment, Chen Xi glanced at it, there were 179 viewers, and the comments were coming fast— [What’s a Chinese Merganser? I only know the Spotted Duck my mom stews] [So many cows, so many sheep, so many ducks! Are they for sale?] [Ahhh! I want one! I want one! As long as it’s alive, I don’t care which!] [If there’s no title, it must be Teacher Qiaoqiao’s little class] [Subscribe for special updates and stay tuned for the latest livestream news— but doesn’t the streamer plan to sell something during the stream?] [Never thought I’d see the day I beg the streamer to turn traffic into sales, but he ignores me] [What’s this? Chinese Merganser? Damn, is it Guoyi again?!] [Streamer, did your family ask someone about the feng shui at your place?] The comments were lively and bustling, yet Qiaoqiao was directed by Chen Xi to go in: "There are too many people, several ducks are incubating eggs now. If we go in, they won’t be happy—Qiaoqiao, can you go in and have a look?" Qiaoqiao had wanted to take some close-up shots, but he looked at the two uncles watching the ducks: "Is it enough just to have a look?" A young guy immediately said, "It’d be best if you can take some photos and videos of the ducks, observe their condition up close, and count how many eggs they’re incubating..." Qiaoqiao furrowed his brow and asked curiously, "Can’t you come into my livestream and watch? I don’t have another phone to take extra photos and videos." Such a good point, but you can’t just report to the boss using screenshots from the livestream, right? So the young guy quickly took out a camera from work and adjusted the fixed parameters: "Here, Qiaoqiao, use this to shoot freely and take lots of photos!" Chen Xi asked, "The flash isn’t on, right? It must be turned off; otherwise, it will affect the ducks." "No, no!" The young man had this bit of common sense: "We’ve dealt with many protected animals, and the flash is always off." This was Qiaoqiao’s first time using a camera, which felt heavy. He took it and hung it around his neck, then went right into the duck pen. Though called a duck pen, it was actually a specially built house for management and disinfection purposes. The egg-laying areas needed regular disinfection, and the thick straw spread around was dried by Chen Xi a few days ago. The air carried a scent of sun-drenched straw fermenting with the smell of ducks. However, thanks to good ventilation, it wasn’t too unpleasant. The comments were bustling: [Wow, the ducks have their own room!] [Is the streamer hiring? I’d be happy to live in this duck pen as long as meals are covered] [Wow, there are quite a few duck eggs!] [Salted duck eggs, salted duck eggs, salted duck eggs, repeated for 10,000 years! Drop the link!] [Careful, careful! There are two eggs hidden in that straw pile over there; don’t step on them] Everyone continued their chatter as Qiaoqiao walked around the room, showcasing it to everyone: "These are the ducks’ rooms—there are lots of eggs today again!" "Sister Yan Ran was right, the ducks rest in the winter and breed in the spring, so the number of duck eggs will gradually increase..." "And in a bit, there’ll be more fluffy little ducklings." [So, are the ducks for sale?] [Old duck soup, tender roast duck... I’m drooling already] [Can’t imagine how much these ducks will sell for if they hit the market—sell them to me!] [Just hate that the streamer’s farm isn’t big enough] [Forget it, urging is one thing, but actually expanding a family farm makes quality control hard to maintain] Qiaoqiao walked around, patting several egg-incubating ducks gently, chatting a bit. The ducks didn’t resist, but clearly it was tiring to incubate eggs all day, so Qiaoqiao promised to add extra meals... Chen Xi laughed from the door: "Qiaoqiao, don’t add more. The ducks incubating eggs are already eating quite well during this period." But it was so good that... Just as this thought crossed his mind, Qiaoqiao curiously said "Eh, why is this one a bit different?" Before him was a Spotted Duck, just as obediently sitting there incubating eggs as the others, but its body looked inexplicably lower. Also, something felt off. He furrowed his brow, studying it carefully, and casually patted the duck’s plump, round, and full chest; its smooth, glossy feathers felt quite nice to the touch. So he patted it twice more. The comments started yelling: [Being single for too long, even the duck seems pretty to you] [Saying the duck looks pretty after being single for a while doesn’t sound wrong...] [Hey, are you looking at seriously cute ducks?] [Wow! The duck seems plump, looks like it would feel nice to touch] [As a country kid, let me tell you, duck breasts feel warm and smooth, like velvet, and are comfortable] [Coach, I want to keep this one!] [If I keep a domestic duck, will it lay salted duck eggs for me?] ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩 [You’d get your dream faster with some salted roast duck] [Don’t go off-topic, Teacher Qiaoqiao mentioned something feels different, what’s different?] [Yeah, what’s different?] Everyone was pondering when Chen Xi at the door couldn’t help but laugh: "Qiaoqiao, try feeling under its body, is there an egg?" Qiaoqiao responded blankly, and under everyone’s gaze, he slipped his hand into the gap beneath the duck’s chest— He widened his eyes and turned his head: "Why is there nothing?!" [??? Let me feel, what’s not there?] [Yeah, what’s not there?] [Why, what’s missing?] [I guess... maybe there’s no egg?] [That’s not all that unusual, sometimes hens will adopt an egg-incubating posture even if there’s no egg.] [Yeah, the hens from my childhood home would sit like that when they felt like incubating, mostly to signal that they’re ready to incubate.] The next moment, Chen Xi at the door raised his hand, uttering the universal summoning command: "Cluck cluck cluck..." As soon as this posture was set, the duck instantly stretched its long neck! And at the sound of his call, the duck with the empty underside promptly jumped up, its two flat feet stepped on the straw-covered ground, teetering and swaying!