Chapter 147

It will only become active once the incubation process officially begins.

Xie Juanhan had done many jobs, but he had never raised poultry before, and he was not familiar with incubating eggs.

For this reason, he went to the Ailan Village to consult with Orfrey.

The Orfrey family kept chickens and geese.

All the villagers in Ailan Village raise livestock and poultry.

They have extensive experience in breeding.

Xie Juanhan asked for advice earnestly and took several pages of notes.

While the Tuonai'er Demon Bird was laying its eggs, he and Telingewei diligently followed the instructions in their notes to provide it with extra nutrition.

Their own rice, dried pumpkin, and dried Star Berry; berries gathered from outside, insects caught, and game hunted—

Even Harper and the others would deliberately search for food that the Tuonai'er Demon Bird could eat when they went out to play.

Under their careful care, the Tuonai'er Demon Bird maintained a pace of laying one egg every three days, laying more than ten eggs in one go.

Every egg carries the vitality of life.

Xie Juanhan speculated that the Tuonai'er Demon Bird might have previously mated with a male bird and stored the corresponding sperm, which is why all the eggs it laid were fertilized.

Unlike poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese, it may not have been domesticated, and it stops laying eggs after laying its fertilized egg.

Xie Juanhan observed it for several days and even examined the Tuonai'er Demon Bird.

It showed absolutely no intention of laying any more eggs.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei then made a nest with hay, fluff, and down feathers, put all fourteen eggs inside, and then carried the Toner Tuonai'er Demon Bird inside so that it could start incubating the eggs.

To their surprise, the Tuonai'er Demon Bird had no habit of incubating its eggs.

Even if you force the Tuonai'er Demon Bird and its eggs to be placed together in the same nest, it will not incubate the eggs.

After a while, the irritable Tuonai'er Demon Bird even stomped on the two eggs, causing them to crack.

Xie Juanhan saw this, and the expression on his face almost cracked.

The number of bird eggs decreased by two from fourteen, becoming twelve.

Xie Juanhan picked out the cracked egg and made steamed egg custard for dinner.

The Tuonai'er Demon Bird truly lives up to its reputation as a delicious Demon Bird; even its eggs made into steamed egg custard are incredibly tasty.

It's fragrant, rich, tender, and smooth, especially with the butter inside and the fish soy sauce poured on top, the aroma just bursts forth.

When they ate it, they gently scooped up a spoonful, and the delicate steamed egg custard trembled and swayed on the spoon.

With one bite, the unique smooth texture and rich flavor of the steamed egg custard filled my mouth, and after swallowing, the energy from the Level 3 Demon Bird made me feel incredibly satisfied.

Harper and the others had no objection to letting the Tuonai'er Demon Bird lay its eggs.

Even after eating the pumpkin and growing new fur, Habu's eyes sparkled when he looked at the Tuonai'er Demon Bird.

Xie Juanhan collapsed in distress.

The egg has already begun to hatch; stopping now would only render all previous efforts futile.

He and Telingewei had to move all the bird eggs to the bed, where they would incubate them themselves.

Xie Juanhan, covered by a blanket, snuggled close to Telingewei.

On either side of their bed, six large, warm bird eggs were neatly arranged.

Xie Juanhan remained motionless, and said in a low voice, "I knew long ago that I was attracted to the same sex, and I never even considered having a child. I never imagined there would be a day when I'd be hatching an egg."

Telingewei: "The Elf replied that it would hatch in a little over a month, so let's be patient for a month."

"More than a month is such a long time." Xie Juanhan carefully arched his back as he turned over to avoid pressing on his testicles, sighing with melancholy, "No, I have to entrust this important task to someone else."

Telingewei turned over, lying face to face with Xie Juanhan: "Who do you want to entrust this to?"

Xie Juanhan thought about it seriously for a long time, but he really couldn't find anyone to entrust with the task.

Finally, Xie Juanhan asked hesitantly, "Shall we entrust them to the village's geese?"

He saw it when he went to the Orfrey' house to ask for advice that day; the Orfrey kept several large geese.

Geese are believed to have the habit of brooding.

At worst, they can feed the geese some good food and bribe them to incubate the eggs for them.

Xie Juanhan rested his forehead on Telingewei's shoulder and sighed, "Who would have thought that the two of us dragons stayed home during the winter, literally incubating our eggs?"

We still have to entrust the bird eggs to someone else.

Otherwise, I really couldn't live with this bed full of bird eggs.

==========Author's Note:=========

See you tonight!

Thanks to the quirky little girl (*2), Nanzhi, and should I change my name? Mine!

Chapter 147 [VIP]

That day, Xie Juanhan braved the wind and snow to borrow three geese from Ailan Village.

These three geese are all local female geese, and they have a strong brooding instinct.

Most importantly, they are quite large; three geese are just enough to incubate twelve Tuonai'er Demon Bird's eggs.

To keep the geese warm, Xie Juanhan carefully placed their nest in his study, providing them with clean water delivered by the giant and vegetables grown in his own farmland.

The geese have a much stronger brooding instinct than the Tuonai'er Demon Bird; they incubate their eggs in the nest every day, almost never leaving it.

However, they have almost no Magic Power.

As they incubated the eggs, the eggs of the Tuonai'er Demon Bird grew weaker day by day.

"Why are Tuonai'er Demon Bird so hard to hatch?" Xie Juanhan squatted in front of the goose's nest and gently poked the Demon Bird.

Telingewei frowned. "Perhaps because it's a level three Demon Bird."

Xie Juanhan channeled a bit of Dragon Power into the goose egg, then turned to look at Telingewei: "Have you had any experience raising Demon Bird before?"

Telingewei shook his head, indicating absolutely not.

After Xie Juanhan infused each of the Tuonai'er Demon Bird with Magic Power, he assessed the situation and said, "We still need to think of another way; the development of these two eggs is a bit slow."

Xie Juanhan reached out and pointed at two of the Demon Bird.

Telingewei could also sense that the life force of those two Demon Bird was weaker than that of the other Demon Bird.

The two dragons squatted there, looking worried.

Harper and the others gathered around, squatted down on the side like fluffy creatures, and looked worried too.

A round, fleshy lump bulges out where their eyebrows are, and it's quite noticeable.

Xie Juanhan turned to look at them.

It was cold, so Moli and Nibote moved back home from the farmland and lived in the study.

Their nest is right next to us, and all the furry creatures are there now.

Speaking of which--

Harper and the geese got used to the geese incubating their eggs, and the geese got used to them.

The two sides coexist peacefully and quite harmoniously.

Xie Juanhan looked at the furry creatures sitting upright beside him.

Most of the time, the Nibote and her chicks stay peacefully in their nests with their paws tucked in, though occasionally the hen will squat.

Since a hen can sit and incubate an egg... that seems like a perfectly normal thing, right?

Xie Juanhan glanced at the little ones, then finally fixed his gaze on Nibote.

He reached out and scratched Nibote's chin.

Nibote made a "gurgling" sound in his throat, squinted his eyes, and raised his chin to make Xie Juanhan more smoothly.

"I need to discuss something with you." Xie Juanhan shifted two steps to the side from his squatting position.

When Xie Juanhan softens his tone and speaks gently to discuss matters, things don't always go so well.

Harper and the others perked up their ears alertly and stared at him with their eyes.

Xie Juanhan patted Nibote's back twice and coaxed, "Don't you guys find winter a bit boring?"

The furry creatures looked at each other, but didn't say a word.

Xie Juanhan reached out and patted Moli on the other side twice. "Want to play a game?"

"Hmm," Xie Juanhan's hand moved to Habu's back and gently stroked it twice, "Let's play a game and see which little guy is the most careful and patient."

The furry creatures remained silent, even Moli.

Xie Juanhan didn't need them to speak to him. After thinking for a moment, he said with a smile, "The competition needs a reward."

Telingewei asked, "What's the reward?"

Xie Juanhan: "How about rewarding everyone with something they like, like gold coins?"

The furry creatures' ears perked up, and their eyes were fixed on Xie Juanhan's face.

Xie Juanhan gestured. "First place gets ten gold coins, second place gets six, and third place gets four?"

Haxi immediately placed a paw on Xie Juanhan's knee, asking what game it was, and impatiently inquired about the competition, "Chirp?"

Xie Juanhan: "An egg-hatching competition."

The furry creatures tilted their heads and looked at him.

Xie Juanhan tapped Harper's head, leaving a dent in its soft fur. "Want to play? I'll give each of you a Demon Bird, and we'll see whose hatched Demon Bird grows the best."

Moli: "Awoo--"

Xie Juanhan: "How could you not move while carrying the Demon Bird? I'll sew you a big bag filled with thick down feathers. You can just carry the bag on your back; it's not difficult."

The little ones hesitated.

Xie Juanhan said, "How about this: one spot for first place and one for second place, with third place as a safety net. As long as it hatches, everyone except the first and second place winners will be considered third place, and everyone will receive four gold coins. What do you think?"

Habi and the other little guys' eyes lit up, and Nibote also came over.

Xie Juanhan patted Telingewei on the back. "Don't rush, let's sew a bag for you to try first."

The two dragons quickly transformed an old cloth bag into a new one.

--A small cloth bag with wide shoulder straps, a closure, a belt, and filled with down feathers.

Xie Juanhan took out a Demon Bird, put it into a small cloth bag, carefully sealed it, and had Harper carry it on his back.

Harper initially thought the little bag would be uncomfortable, but once she actually carried it, the Demon Bird inside wasn't heavy, and it felt warm through the downy feathers; it actually felt quite nice.

Its big, round eyes looked at Xie Juanhan: "Chirp!"