Group Owner, Hold Steady

"Okay, we'll hang them here.

"Let them get some sun.

"I'll set up a small barrier. Remember to replenish its Spirit Power every week, or Sparrow here will peck it all up.

"I'll come back in a few days to remove the astringency. Once they're coated in frost, they'll be ready to eat, and they'll be sweet. Mm, really sweet by then. Soft, too, and if they turn out well, the centers will be runny. As long as the weather doesn't suddenly change over the next few days. Rain would ruin them."

Ning Qing looked up at the few small clusters of persimmons in the tree.

Not far away, two Sparrows stood side by side atop the wall, just like the two of them. Their bright black eyes watched them and the persimmons.

What were those two little creatures thinking?

Waiting for us to leave so they can eat the persimmons?

Or wondering why we picked them before they were ripe, only to hang them back up?

Could their tiny brains even think that far?

Or were they thinking nothing at all?

Ning Qing couldn't tell yet.

She had only just begun cultivating the Stillheart Way. Once she cultivated the Other-Mind Way, she would be able to make a rough guess at what small animals like these were thinking.

"Time to cook, time to cook...

"Rice, firewood, oil, and salt..."

Chen Shu muttered to himself as he strolled into the kitchen, perfectly at ease even without an answer.

Ning Qing had already bought a full set of kitchenware.

Hot-and-sour cabbage, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and two bowls of rice. It was a simple dinner, the ordinary yet extraordinary taste of home. The dishes happened to be just what she liked: tangy, appetizing, and perfect with rice.

Ning Qing watched him