Chirp-Chirp Plant Supply Station - Chapter 1

The street was bustling with people.

Stalls of all kinds lined both sides of the road, selling a diverse array of goods. The cries of vendors rose and fell in a constant wave.

At one of these stalls, a little chick sat perched on a pile of dry grass, its small, light-gray, bead-like eyes darting around.

He had been reincarnated.

It had been three days since he became this little chick.

The stall owner was a pet vendor who sold cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, squirrels, and other household pets. On designated market days, he would bring a variety of small animals to sell.

This was the first time Lin Xichuan had been brought out since his reincarnation three days ago. His eyes were filled with curiosity.

He had already sensed that this world was not the peaceful place he knew. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but for example, many of the items for sale at the market stalls looked tattered and worn.

Half-eaten chocolate, expired medicine, ragged clothes…

What kind of strange place have I crossed over to? he wondered.

As the thought lingered in his mind, Lin Xichuan felt a wave of hunger.

Having been reincarnated as a little chick only about 20 days old, his instinct was to cry for milk when hungry a primal urge of all young animals.

Passersby on the street saw a small, “ugly-cute” bird covered in pin feathers. Its wings flapped rapidly as its beady eyes stared expectantly at the pet vendor, letting out urgent, rhythmic “cheep-cheep-chirps” to demand food.

A short distance away, a six-year-old boy stopped in his tracks, his dark eyes fixed on the little chick.

Accompanying him was an old woman with half-white hair. Their clothes were simple but clean and tidy.

The old woman followed the young boy’s gaze.

The pet vendor’s stall was filled with various small animals—cats, dogs, and rabbits of different sizes and numbers in cages.

The little chick, still very young, was placed on a pile of straw on the stall’s tabletop. It was brimming with energy, its tiny wings blurring as it performed its milk-begging dance. Despite its small size, it had remarkable lung capacity, chirping incessantly for milk.

A customer was currently at the stall, eyeing a small kitten in a cage.

As the two bargained, the little chick continued to chirp without pause.

The customer glanced down at the bird and said, “This little thing is cute, but it’s too noisy.”

The pet vendor immediately replied, “It’s just young right now. It’ll quiet down once it grows up.”

The customer remarked, “Oh, a friend of mine raised a little parrot…”

Pet Vendor: “…”

Customer: “It’s fully grown now, and it’s a nightmare. It starts squawking before dawn and doesn’t stop until nightfall. And if I don’t turn off the lights as soon as it gets dark, it just keeps chirping and chirping incessantly.”

Pet Vendor: “…”

Customer: “My friend’s had it for five years, and he hasn’t slept in late once.”

Pet Vendor: “…Impressive.”

The customer nodded in deep agreement.

As if the little chick knew the customer was complaining about its noise, it seemed displeased. Its Doudouyan glared at the customer, and its already loud chirps grew even louder, an endless stream of “cheep cheep.”

The pet vendor sighed. He reached out and gently tapped the little bird’s head with his index finger. He was so close to getting pecked that he barely managed to withdraw his hand in time.

The little creature, having missed its chance to bite, practically breathed fire from its Doudouyan and chirped even louder.

“You little brat,” the pet vendor said. “All you do is eat, poop, sleep, and eat again. And you’ve got a terrible temper to boot.” As he spoke, he asked the customer to wait a moment while he poured some grain-based milk powder into a bowl and stirred it in with hot water.

During this process, the little chick stumbled forward from the hay pile toward the food bowl. It didn’t need the pet vendor to feed it with a parrot spoon at all; with its voracious appetite, it started drinking the bird milk powder on its own, its entire little body trembling naturally as it sucked.

The pet vendor thought the little chick was cute and reached out to pet its head, but almost got pecked by it.

The pet vendor said, “You little ungrateful brat.” As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the customer in front of him and continued the previous topic, negotiating the price. “50 Points, or one Level 1 Core. I can’t go any lower.”

The little chick’s sucking paused for a moment before it flapped its tiny wings and continued drinking.

Unlike his past life, the common currencies of this world were “Points” and “Crystal Cores.”

Points were easy to guess, they were a common currency. But he had no idea what Crystal Cores were.

While the little chick was drinking, the customer hesitated. She liked the little kitten too much, so she spent 50 Points to pick up a cow cat from the cage.

After completing the transaction with the pet vendor, her gaze turned to the little chick on the table that was feeding itself. She said, “So cute. If this kind of little pet wasn’t so noisy and didn’t poop everywhere, I would have taken it too.”

The little chick’s beady eyes fixed on the customer, and it let out a flurry of chirps.

No one understood what it was saying, but they all got the feeling that this temperamental little thing was probably cursing at the customer.

The customer left, cradling the calico cat in her arms.

The pet vendor took a handkerchief, dipped it in water, and gently wiped the milk residue from the little chick’s sharp beak. “You little brat,” he muttered. “Such a temper, and you just won’t stop chirping. With a personality like yours, how am I ever going to sell you?”

The next moment, the pet vendor let out a sharp cry. The little chick had finally pecked him.

The pet vendor was so furious he almost laughed. This little thing, which ate his food, drank his water, and cost him money—now dared to peck him?

Just then, an old woman and a little cub approached the stall and asked about the little chick.

The pet vendor paused, first sizing up the old woman’s clothes and then glancing at the little cub beside her. “…20 Points,” he said. After a brief pause, he added, “This bird is still very young. The chances of a creature this small surviving are quite low. You’ll have to take meticulous care of it.”

As the two spoke, the little chick turned its head and looked at the old woman with curiosity.

“Compared to this little one,” the pet vendor continued, “you might want to take a look at some other animals.”

The old woman hesitated.

The little cub beside her spoke up, “Grandma, I like it! It’s so chubby and round, like a Baby Chicken. It’s so cute~”

The little chick blinked its eyes and looked at the little cub with curiosity.

The old woman looked at the little chick, then at the other pets.

The pet vendor and the old woman chatted for a while.

The old woman sighed and said, “My grandson hasn’t been doing very well these past few years.”

The pet vendor looked at the little cub.

Following the vendor’s gaze, the old woman smiled and said, “This is my great-grandson. He’s a good boy, never given me a moment’s worry.”

The little cub flashed the old woman a sweet smile and asked, “Great-grandmother, am I better than Uncle?”

“Of course you are,” the old woman replied.

The conversation circled back to her grandson. Her back seemed to stoop even further as she sighed, “Even though he was always quiet and withdrawn, now…” She shook her head. “Everyone says cute pets can heal people. I want to get one for him to raise. Maybe it will help him change.”

The more fragile and youthful a voice sounds, the more it can evoke a sense of responsibility in others.

The old woman said, “I hope the pet I bring home will be clingy enough.” She continued, “Actually, my first choice would be a puppy—they’re so lively and affectionate. But my grandson, who’s now a shut-in, might not be able to handle a puppy’s enthusiasm. He’d just end up neglecting the little thing.”

The vendor nodded in understanding.

The old woman went on, “With these old bones of mine, I can’t go out and walk a dog for him every day either.”

Cats were also a good choice for home companions, but compared to dogs, they weren’t as clingy. Some kittens were even aloof, and once brought home, they’d maintain a distant, formal relationship with their owners.

The vendor suggested, “A little parrot might be a good fit.”

The old woman’s gaze fell once more on the little bird perched on the pile of straw.

The vendor explained, “Hand-raised parrots are generally clingy, but it’s still a matter of chance. Once their wings harden, they might enter a rebellious phase.”

The little cub shook the old woman’s hand, his eyes fixed on the little chick. “Great-grandmother, I think the bird is best. I like the bird. It looks so well-behaved and cute.”

Next to the pet stall was a rattan-woven goods stall. Hearing the little cub’s words, the vendor of the rattan stall said, “Little friend, when you say this chicken looks ‘obedient,’ do you mean its crow is exceptionally loud?”

As if it had understood the rattan vendor was badmouthing it, the little chick’s Doudouyan turned toward him. Its tiny wings flapped, and it let out a series of indignant, chirping squawks.

The vendor couldn’t understand the words, but he vaguely felt that the little bird was cursing him very foully.

The vendor’s mouth twitched. He reached out to pet the little bird’s head, only to be pecked by it. His mouth twitched again as he said, “This little bird’s temper is really…” He coughed dryly, swallowing the word “bad” before it could escape his lips. “…really, really lively.”

The little cub shook the old woman’s hand again and said, “Great-grandmother, since the little bird is so lively, it’s perfect to be Uncle’s companion.”

The old woman burst out laughing. “A’ruo, that’s not how you use the word ‘companion.'”

The little cub smiled. “I know, Great-grandmother. A pet companion is still a companion. The little bird is so fragile; Uncle will definitely cherish it when he sees it.” Every cell in his body radiated his affection for the little chick.

The little chick blinked its beady eyes and looked at the little cub. He guessed that the cub’s family must be somewhat complicated, and a large one at that.

Lin Xichuan inwardly assessed that this might not be a very good family.

The more people there were, the more potential dangers there were for a little chick. But as a little chick about to be sold, he had no choice.

Yet, he wasn’t panicked.

This lack of panic stemmed partly from his knowledge of his current identity: he was a bird only about 20 days old.

Small creatures like birds grew incredibly fast. Generally, they would be fully feathered around 40 days old and could start learning to fly. He would then possess a pair of wings to soar through the skies. If he wasn’t satisfied with this family, he could find another one to adopt him.

Besides the pair of wings that would allow him to soar through the skies, Lin Xichuan also had a system.

A system still in its exploratory phase, named the “Debt-Farming System.”

At present, he was still too small, and without a stable environment, his knowledge of the Farming System came almost entirely from the system itself. He found the system to be quite talkative, so he named it Chatterbox.

Lin Xichuan asked Chatterbox in his mind.

Chatterbox, can you sense this family’s situation?

Chatterbox replied immediately.

[ Host, I can. ]

Chatterbox’s voice sounded very much like an AI assistant.

How many people are in their family?

[ Oh, Host, although I can, I first need a device that can connect to the internet. But because you don’t have any internet-connected devices, I have no way to check. ]

Lin Xichuan: “…”

While Lin Xichuan was communicating with the system in his mind, the old man and the vendor had already started discussing the price of the little chick.

[ Host, they have a keen eye. They think you’re a chicken with the potential to become a Chicken Overlord. It looks like they’ll probably take you away. ]

The little chick’s Doudouyan eyes instantly turned fierce, and he chirped “cheep cheep cheep,” cursing the system in both bird and human languages.

Chatterbox, how many times do I have to tell you? I’m a bird! I’m the Bird Overlord! Not a chicken!

[Alright, Host. I’m sorry, Host. I’ve upset you.]

While the bird and the System were arguing, the old woman and the pet vendor had already agreed on the price.

20 Points.

Yes, a little chick was only worth 20 Points.

What cost more than the chick were the accompanying products.

200g of bird milk powder, which could sustain a little chick through its entire fledgling period, was priced at 40 Points.

A square birdcage was 80 Points.

A perch was 5 Points.

A bird nest was 6 Points.

Bird seed—the staple food that little chicks start eating when their crops shrink as they grow—cost 55 Points per catty. Based on a bird’s appetite, it could last for over two months.

Buying a little chick only cost 20 Points, but the accompanying supplies cost 186 Points.

Under the little cub’s eager gaze, the old woman gently placed the little chick into the cotton nest. She looked at the little cub and said, “Let’s go, A’ruo.”

The little cub’s heart and mind were completely occupied by the little chick the old woman was holding.

When the old woman asked the little cub if he wanted to hold the little chick, he hesitated for a few seconds before shaking his head. “Great-grandmother, no, I’m afraid I won’t hold it steadily,” he said. “It’s too small. When it grows a little bigger, I can hold it then.” As he spoke, happy little bubbles seemed to float around him.

Lin Xichuan thought to himself that this little boy was remarkably well-behaved compared to the spoiled brats he’d encountered.

The old woman smiled and patted the little cub’s head. Then, she looked at the little chick and said, “Baby Chicken, they say fluffy little animals can heal the heart. I’m entrusting my precious grandson to you, okay?”

Lin Xichuan was unhappy, chirping and squawking in protest. I’m a bird! A bird! I’m a bird, not a chicken! Even though he was clearly a bird, a whole bunch of people—including the System—kept calling him a chicken.

He couldn’t understand what was wrong with these people.

The little cub said, “Grandmother, the little birdy is so lively.”

“Yes, he is,” the old woman replied.

Amidst Lin Xichuan’s dissatisfied background noise, the old woman and the young boy went about buying daily necessities in the market.

The old woman carefully placed the little chick into a cotton nest inside the birdcage, then added things like chick formula and birdseed before carrying the now slightly heavier cage through the market with the little cub to buy daily necessities.

Vegetables in the market were relatively expensive, with prices generally exceeding 10 Points per catty. Staples were even more so, typically costing over 40 Points per catty.

Meat, on the other hand, was cheaper.

Meat was further categorized as contaminated meat, with prices varying based on the level of contamination.

Then there was the nutritional fluid.

Lin Xichuan’s spirits lifted.

The nutritional fluid he had only seen in sci-fi novels, the kind that could replace actual food, had actually appeared in reality.

But on second thought, it wasn’t that hard to believe. After all, he had transmigrated from a human into a little bird and was bound to a debt-farming system. How could this be a normal world?

Still, judging by everyone’s clothing, even though nutritional fluid existed, the level of technology didn’t seem to have advanced dramatically.

At the very least, looking at the pedestrians on the street, everyone was using conventional-style smartphones.

The old woman bought some meat and nutritional fluid with the little cub and left the market.

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