Time flew by, and a few days passed.
During these days, aside from eating and sleeping, Wang An spent all his time training the four eagles.
The reason Wang An could focus so intently on training the eagles, without having to tend to the livestock or handle miscellaneous household chores, was that on the second day of his training, Widow Zhao—that is, Zhao Cuiyun—visited his home again.
Because Mu Xueqing had previously discussed the matter of Zhao Cuiyun coming to work at the house with Wang An, and because the couple had later spoken to Wang Dazhu and his wife about it and received the old couple's consent, Mu Xueqing kept Zhao Cuiyun on.
The main reason Wang Dazhu and his wife agreed was that there were simply too many scattered chores around the house.
Mu Xueqing couldn't do much work because she was pregnant, and Wang An spent every day tinkering with this or messing around with that. As for Wang Yi, although he could work, he was a student after all, and school was starting soon.
This left the old couple not only tending to the crops but also caring for the livestock and managing the vegetable garden, leaving them truly stretched thin.
Thus, after a bit of coaxing from Wang An, the old couple muddled through and agreed.
Zhao Cuiyun's salary, as Wang An had stated, was 15 yuan a month, with one meal provided at noon.
As for Shen Wei, it was different; she received 30 yuan a month and could eat as much as she liked.
After all, since the time Wang An started building his house, Shen Wei had been helping out at the Wang residence, and the meals for Shen Wei and her daughter, Xiao Lai, were basically handled at the Wangs'. In other words, the Wang family had long since grown accustomed to the presence of the mother and daughter.
Actually, Wang An's original idea was to give Shen Wei 25 yuan a month, but when he mentioned this to Wang Dazhu and his wife, Liu Guilan insisted on 30 yuan.
Although Wang An was a bit puzzled, he nodded and agreed after a moment's pause.
Five yuan was a significant sum to others in this era, but to Wang An, it was truly negligible.
Moreover, Shen Wei really worked hard; not only did she help with the chores, but she also frequently helped Wang An resolve his physiological needs. Giving her an extra five yuan was, one could say, perfectly reasonable.
Later, while Mu Xueqing was in the restroom, Liu Guilan hinted to Wang An
"Shen Wei is following you without any official status; shouldn't you give her some security?"
To be honest, when Liu Guilan said this, Wang An was completely stunned. It was obvious that Liu Guilan viewed Shen Wei as Wang An's second wife.
Just as Wang An was organizing his words to offer a defense, Wang Dazhu gave him a sharp glare and said
"How did our Wang family produce such a scoundrel like you?"
After Wang Dazhu spoke, Liu Guilan also gave Wang An an annoyed look.
It was clear that Wang Dazhu and his wife were very repulsed by their son's behavior of "keeping the red flag flying at home while the colorful flags flutter outside."
However, as the old saying goes, "Once a son is grown, he is no longer under his mother's control." So, while Wang Dazhu and his wife knew about their son's philandering and disliked it, they were helpless; they could do nothing more than scold him a few times or give him a few hits.
Perhaps all parents in the world are the same; regardless of who ended up with a son like this, they would be equally helpless.
With the old couple both wearing sour expressions, Wang An sheepishly stopped talking.
And so, Shen Wei and Zhao Cuiyun, the two widows, became the first employees of the Wang household.
It must be said that most people of this era were very honest; once they took your money, they worked without a hint of laziness.
Of course, this was also because it was very difficult to find paid work in this era; once someone managed to find a job that paid, they naturally cherished it exceptionally.
Consequently, since Zhao Cuiyun started working, the courtyard of the Wang house became much cleaner and tidier than before.
With Shen Wei and Zhao Cuiyun handling the chores, Wang Dazhu and his wife immediately became half as busy.
Truthfully, this was what Wang An wanted to see most.
Free from the constraints of household trifles, Wang An could finally devote himself entirely to training the four eagles.
Perhaps it was because of the Spirit Awakening Powder, or perhaps because the training methods on the silk cloth were incredibly powerful.
In short, the four eagles made tremendous progress over these few days.
Not only had they all learned to fly, but more importantly, they had begun attempting to hunt.
Speaking of eagle hunting, it is likely like a cat knowing how to catch mice from birth—an instinct embedded in an eagle's bones.
Because when he forced the four eagles to learn to fly in the first few days, Wang An had put in a considerable amount of effort.
He started by training them on the roof, and in the following days, he took them to the nearby rocky mountains for training.
After several days of uninterrupted training, the four eagles finally fully mastered the skill they were born to have: free flight.
But when Wang An wanted to teach them to hunt according to the methods on the silk cloth, it required almost no effort at all.
The most outstanding performers were Da Cang and Xiao Cang.
Wang An only had to chase a flock of "Silly Half-Jin" [small game/birds] for a short while before Da Cang and Xiao Cang flew out simultaneously, each returning with a still-fluttering Silly Half-Jin in their talons.
At that moment, Wang An was exceptionally happy.
However, Da Jin and Xiao Jin, in whom Wang An had placed high hopes, were somewhat slow to react. It wasn't until Wang An fed strips of meat to Da Cang and Xiao Cang that Da Jin and Xiao Jin realized what they were supposed to do.
To Wang An's amusement and frustration, the first prey Da Jin caught was a mountain rat, and the first prey Xiao Jin caught was a big-eyed thief [insect/small creature].
To reward the four of them and to stimulate their predatory nature, Wang An followed the methods on the silk cloth and brutally tore the mountain rat and the big-eyed thief apart, feeding the bloody strips of meat to them.
It must be said that the eagle-rearing method on the silk cloth was actually quite heartless, or rather, cruel.
From the first day of raising an eagle, for a full two years or more, the owner must absolutely prevent the eagle from learning to feed itself.
Even after two years, one should try to avoid letting the eagle learn to feed itself.
To put it simply, not only must the owner feed the eagle when it is hungry, but even if the eagle catches prey, it will not know how to eat it and must rely on the owner to feed it.
The reason for doing this was primarily to control the eagle, preventing it from becoming fully independent, thereby avoiding the possibility of the eagle flying away and never returning.
One must realize that the normal lifespan of an eagle is over 60 years. How heartless and cruel was this method of control? One dared not think too deeply about it.
(End of Chapter)