Lin Yi was completely dumbfounded after hearing this. In her understanding, chickens laid eggs as easily as playing. Before she traveled through time, her country had the world's highest egg production. How could A Yuan tell her that eggs were insufficient here? Even making instant noodles could trigger an egg shortage—it was too absurd. She couldn't help complaining, "Why didn't you say so from the start?"
A Yuan nervously clutched the hem of his clothes, sweat beading on his forehead. He bowed and said, "It is this servant's oversight. A few days ago, when the mansion was conducting its routine procurement, I reported to the steward that we needed a large quantity of eggs. But yesterday, Xiao Li, who was in charge of purchasing, returned and handed me far fewer eggs than expected. Upon further inquiry, I learned that chickens do not lay eggs often."
So even he had not known before. Lin Yi's anger dissipated considerably. She softened her tone. "Then take me to see how many were collected."
A Yuan nodded hastily and led her to a half-full rice vat in the corner of the kitchen. Lin Yi was puzzled, but then she saw him reach in and push aside the top layer of rice grains, revealing a dense arrangement of eggs underneath.
"Madam, please look," A Yuan pointed at the eggs. "All the eggs collected yesterday are here. I have inspected and stored them one by one—a total of one hundred and fifty-two. And this is after Xiao Li specially traveled to every accessible village around the Imperial City to gather this number."
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