Some villagers were endearingly simple-minded.
The most laughable was Wang Laohan, who actually grabbed a broom and started sweeping the cloth rabbit directly.
Shen Nanchu nearly spat out her tea.
What a character.
Wang Laohan, relying on brute force, managed to sweep off one of the cloth rabbit’s ears, turning his face pale with fright.
Holding up the rabbit with its severed ear, he protested loudly, "This rabbit’s too fragile! It’s not my fault—it’s the rabbit’s!"
The villagers burst into laughter, while Shen Nanchu struggled to keep a straight face.
Wang Jianguo rolled his eyes at him.
"Rabbit fur and ears are delicate. If you handle them like that, a real rabbit would’ve gotten sick from your sweeping!"
Soon, the second round concluded.
"The third round tests patience and attention to detail!" Shen Nanchu pointed at the red slip of paper on the wall.
"These questions cover basic rabbit care—what they can’t eat, how to treat diarrhea, and so on. Answering 80% correctly means passing the final round."
Su Jianzhou, drawing from the previous rounds and Shen Nanchu’s hints, quickly grasped the pattern and wrote swiftly, even nailing details like "how much water a rabbit needs daily."
Aunt Liu, though barely literate, had raised chickens and ducks. After pondering the questions, she managed to answer most correctly.
Her experience showed: "Animals are all similar. If they have diarrhea, cut back on rich feed and give more dry straw."
Other villagers drew from their own life experiences to answer.
Except for Li Mei and Fang Jie. The two stared blankly at the paper, stumped even by basics like "Do rabbits need water?"
Li Mei chewed her pencil and scribbled nonsense: Rabbits don’t drink water; carrots are enough.
Fang Jie was worse—under "What can’t rabbits eat?" she wrote "meat," drawing muffled giggles from nearby test-takers.
Eventually, both gave up and answered randomly.
Shen Nanchu must’ve designed these questions on purpose.
[Dislike points +5]
[Dislike points +10]
The results were clear after three rounds.
Su Jianzhou aced it, while Aunt Liu, Sister-in-law Zhang, and fifty others passed.
Li Mei and Fang Jie, unsurprisingly, failed.
Shen Nanchu was definitely settling scores.
[Dislike points +15]
[Dislike points +20]
Wang Jianguo held the list and remarked to Zheng Tongwei, "Nanchu’s method works like a sieve—shaking out the skilled hands!"
Zheng Tongwei nodded. "Scientific screening really picks the right people."
As the rejected villagers began dispersing, Li Mei suddenly jumped onto a stone roller, hands on hips, and shouted:
"Shen Nanchu, you’re unfair! Why does Su Jianzhou pass and not us? You’ve got it in for us!"
Fang Jie joined in: "Yeah! This test was rigged against us! Who knows if you didn’t already pick favorites?"
A few other failed villagers, including Wang Erzhu (who’d mixed straw into fodder that morning), rallied around them, demanding a retest and calling the rules unreasonable.
Wang Jianguo stomped his foot, his pipe clattering to the ground.
"What nonsense is this? The rules were clear—no excuses!"
Zheng Tongwei subtly stepped closer to Shen Nanchu, silently shielding her—their partnership meant he couldn’t let her be mobbed.
Shen Nanchu smirked and stepped forward, her presence instantly quieting the crowd.
Arms crossed, she coldly eyed Li Mei and Fang Jie.
"Li Mei, in Round 1, you tossed muddy carrots into the basket after I said they’d upset the rabbits. In Round 2, you yanked the cloth rabbit’s fur with a stiff brush after I said to comb gently. Now you can’t even answer if rabbits drink water—and you accuse me of bias?"
She walked to the rabbit pen, pointing at the newly arrived breeding rabbits, their white fur glowing in the sunset.
"Rabbit fur is finer than silk, their temperaments fussier than cats. If you can’t even handle fake rabbits, real ones would lose weight and shed within days. Who’ll pay for the village’s losses then?"
Li Mei flushed crimson but jutted her chin. "How do you know we’d fail? Maybe we’d do better than anyone—we just had a bad day!"
"Fine."
Shen Nanchu raised a brow, lifting a snowy-white breeding rabbit from its cage. It nuzzled her arm docilely.
"This rabbit weighs three pounds two ounces now—I’ll show you on the scale. Take it for a week. If it doesn’t lose an ounce, if its fur stays glossy, I’ll personally ask the village chief to give you the spots."
Her gaze sharpened.
"But if it loses weight, or its fur dulls, you pay market price—ten yuan per ounce. Not a penny less. Dare to try?"
Li Mei and Fang Jie fell silent.
They eyed the wary rabbit, then Shen Nanchu, their defiance deflating.
Villagers murmured:
"Fair deal! If you can’t raise it, own up!"
"Shameless to make a scene over your own incompetence."
"Fellow educated youth, yet this is their level—no self-reflection, just complaints."
Wang Erzhu tried to speak up, but Aunt Liu shut him down: "You mixed straw into fodder this morning—still think the rules are unfair?"
Wang Jianguo spoke.
"Shen Nanchu’s proposal is reasonable. I’ll witness it. The village scale is ready—we’ll weigh and inspect the rabbit publicly in a week. If they succeed, we’ll add two spots."
His words offered an out while backing Shen Nanchu.
Li Mei bit her lip, glanced at Fang Jie and the rabbit now grooming itself in Shen Nanchu’s arms, then dragged Fang Jie away.
The crowd dispersed, Wang Erzhu muttering but not daring to demand a retest.
Wang Jianguo sighed in relief, picking up his pipe and patting Shen Nanchu’s shoulder.
"Kid, you’ve got a way with words! Calmed the storm better than this old man ever could!"
Shen Nanchu returned the rabbit and dusted off her hands.
"It’s not me—it’s the truth. Rabbit-raising leaves no room for shortcuts. Forcing unskilled hands into it would only hurt the village."
Zheng Tongwei gazed at the sunset-gilded pens and said suddenly, "Tomorrow, I’ll check rabbit-raising manuals at the county library and share with everyone."
Shen Nanchu glanced at him, a faint smile curling her lips. "Perfect. I’ve got notes to cross-check anyway."
She knew selecting caretakers was just the start. Breeding, disease prevention, shearing—countless challenges lay ahead.
But as long as they held to "patience, science, and cleanliness," Wang Family Village’s rabbit venture would take root in this fertile land.
