Chapter 120
There's a little surprise in the first paragraph's commentary! See you tomorrow!
Chapter 120 [VIP]
Evening was approaching, and the last rays of sunlight had not yet faded.
On the field, two long figures walked slowly and steadily.
Beside them, Demon Wolf, Griffin, and their Companion Beast ran around quickly, occasionally turning back to urge them to hurry up.
Xie Juanhan: "Why the rush? The Golden Vine Pumpkin isn't going anywhere."
"Chirp!"
"Want some? Then you can just take a couple of bites of the fresh ones."
Harper and the others had already gnawed on it; the pumpkin leaves were rough on the throat, and the pumpkin vines were stuck in their teeth—it wasn't tasty.
"Chirp, chirp," they urged the two dragons on.
Xie Juanhan and Telingewei placed their baskets on the edge of the field and walked into the pumpkin patch to select the crispest and freshest Golden Vine Pumpkins.
The pumpkin vines, with their pale golden hue, reflected the light in the setting sun.
They picked pumpkin vines, like picking up beams of light in a verdant field.
The vines of the Golden Vine Pumpkin are not yet woody and are very tender. Xie Juanhan only need to select vines of suitable thickness, gently twist them with their hands, and with a "pop," the tender and heavy pumpkin vine stems fall into their hands.
A fresh, slightly sweet aroma wafts from the broken ends of the pumpkin vine.
As they harvested more and more pumpkin vines, the fresh fragrance of the farmland grew stronger.
It attracted a lot of Demon Bird and Demonic Beast to come and watch.
Xie Juanhan was picking pumpkin vines when he suddenly stopped and turned to look to the side.
The Goblin hiding behind the weeds on the edge of the field realized he had discovered them and sheepishly peeked out.
"Squeak."
The Goblin stood uneasily in a line on the edge of the field, indicating that they had absolutely no intention of stealing.
They just smelled the fragrance and came over to take a look.
Xie Juanhan said softly, "I know, can't you trust your character?"
The Goblin squeaked happily.
Xie Juanhan gave them a handful of pumpkin vines. "Try these newly planted pumpkin vines."
The Goblin hurriedly waved their tiny, matchstick-like hands, squeaking!
Xie Juanhan: "It's alright, I'll take you."
The Goblin put their tiny hands behind their backs, resolutely refusing to open them. "Squeak!"
They only made a small, whispered request, "Squeak squeak squeak?"
The question is whether the leftovers from this batch of Golden Vine Pumpkin can be given to them.
Xie Juanhan respected their opinion. "Of course, you can come and pick it up tonight."
While cooking, Xie Juanhan and Telingewei peeled off the outer skin of the pumpkin vines, discarding the tender leaves and tendrils at the top as well.
To leave some leftovers for the Goblin, the two dragons specifically kept only the tenderest part of the pumpkin vine from the middle section.
The carefully selected pumpkin vines were cut into small sections by Xie Juanhan, put into a pot, and stir-fried in a large pot, releasing an enticing aroma.
The furry creatures absolutely adore this vegetable.
They ate while excitedly howling in the corridor.
Xie Juanhan pricked up his ears and listened for a moment.
They were arguing about which vegetables and berries were the best to eat.
Finally, they all agreed that pumpkin vines were the best-tasting vegetable, and Star Berry were the most delicious fruit.
Xie Juanhan had always liked pumpkin vines. Hearing them howling like that, and seeing the remaining half bundle of pumpkin vines in the kitchen, he suddenly had an idea and decided to try making some more variety, like sour pumpkin vines.
Telingewei: "Pickled?"
Xie Juanhan: "Yes, marinate it in vinegar overnight, and it'll be ready to eat tomorrow."
When Xie Juanhan was still in his hometown, almost every household used this simple pickling method.
It mainly involves pickling tender and easy-to-pickle vegetables such as water spinach stems and bok choy.
Xie Juanhan and Telingewei quickly blanched the pumpkin vines, which had their outer skins removed, and then cooled them. They then soaked the pumpkin vines in vinegar, salt, spices, and other seasonings to marinate them.
The Golden Vine Pumpkin they picked were already golden in color, and after marinating them overnight, their color deepened.
An irresistible tangy aroma emanated from every inch of the pumpkin vine, Xie Juanhan was captivated by this familiar scent.
He got up early in the morning and quickly stir-fried a plate of tangy and fragrant Golden Vine Pumpkin with Spicy Clam powder, scallions, minced garlic, and minced meat over high heat.
He also specially prepared bone broth and cooked a pot of rice noodles to accompany the sour side dishes.
--Local version of sour pumpkin vine and minced meat rice noodles!
Harper was very curious about the food Xie Juanhan had made and kept pacing back and forth in the corridor.
After tasting it, they truly understood what it meant to be a dish that goes perfectly with rice.
The Golden Vine Pumpkin is so delicious!
This food is like some kind of magical creature, driving the slippery, delicious rice noodles into their mouths.
Before they could even chew a few times, the rice noodles jumped into their throats.
The Companion Beast looked at Xie Juanhan with admiration. "Chirp!"
Xie Juanhan was also very satisfied with the otherworldly version of the sour pumpkin vine rice noodles. "I knew this would be delicious, right?"
The little ones responded loudly, their mouths agape, revealing their throats. "Ouch!"
Harper and the others all loved this Golden Vine Pumpkin.
They certainly didn't hold back in their loud pronouncements.
The magical creatures in the forest can generally understand what they are saying.
Soon, the Water Demon came curiously to inquire about the pumpkin.
After paying with gold coins, they tasted the Golden Pumpkin vine.
After taking only two bites, the Water Demon quickly began exchanging hand gestures to discuss their plan.
Soon, they wrote notes requesting to exchange the vines of the Golden Vine Pumpkin.
Xie Juanhan: "That won't do. We need to keep these pumpkin vines to grow pumpkins, so we can have some occasionally as a treat. Cutting the vines for a long time is too wasteful for us."
The Water Demon looked disappointed.
Xie Juanhan: "If you're willing to exchange gold coins, I wouldn't mind giving you one or two Golden Vine Pumpkin in return."
The Water Demon were initially tempted, but quickly gestured to refuse.
They wrote on the note:
- We can't grow it.
The aquatic plants I planted before were not grown well and eventually withered and died.
Magical creatures are indeed not very good at farming.
Xie Juanhan said with a troubled expression, "Then there's nothing I can do."
The leader of the Water Demon thought for a moment, then wrote:
- Could you trade us some regular pumpkin vines?
- They are the descendants of those Golden Vine Pumpkin.
-The pumpkin vines also look to be of very good quality.
Xie Juanhan read through the words one by one, "We've already given those pumpkin vines to the Peryton. You can talk to them and see if they'd be willing to spare some?"
The Water Demon immediately wrote: No problem, we'll go talk to them right away!
The Water Demon seem to have a good relationship with Peryton.
Before long, the Water Demon's lakeside restaurant added a new dish this year: buttered pumpkin vines.
Xie Juanhan and Telingewei took Harper and the others to sample the food.
The buttered pumpkin vines were quite delicious, offering a different flavor altogether.
The various scallops and meats stewed by the Water Demon, as well as the various baked pastries, were quite delicious.
They occasionally go out for a meal as a change of pace, Xie Juanhan and the others are quite satisfied.
Summer is relatively short in the Magic Forest.
It's only been hot for a little over a month, but the weather is already getting a bit cool in the mornings and evenings.
As soon as the weather gets cooler, Xie Juanhan.
It's not that he's afraid of the cold; in fact, he feels more comfortable in cold weather, and when he's comfortable, he becomes drowsy.
Telingewei wasn't the type of dragon who woke up particularly early, Xie Juanhan in bed, he would go to sleep too.
Therefore, Harper and the others are always the first to get up and run around inside and outside the house every day.
Telingewei bribed them with gold coins, forbidding them from hopping around at home early in the morning.
Every morning, they run outside to play.
The same thing happened that day; Harper and the others ran out.
They don't like to use the main gate; they especially love to jump over the fence.
The thorns on the fence grew more and more luxuriantly, and their thorns grew longer and longer, which became their unique challenge.
"Whew!" Haxi landed perfectly, turning his head to look at his friends behind him.
Harper pushed off the ground with its hind paws, leaped high into the air, flew over the fence, and landed lightly on the ground with a "Chirp."
Not to be outdone, the other little ones all jumped over from the other side of the fence.
After finishing his jump, Habu's first sight was a large leaf placed at the courtyard gate. "Chirp?"
The other Companion Beast followed its gaze and discovered a large leaf, resembling a flower bud, placed at the entrance of the courtyard.
They tiptoed over to look, cautiously sniffing the lingering scent nearby, then sniffing the large leaves.
A pool of clear spring water was held in the center of the large leaf.
It smells very sweet.
Habu licked the water with the tip of his tongue, smacked his lips, and looked surprised.
"Chirp." Habu flicked its tail, indicating that the water wasn't poisonous.
The other Companion Beast had long wanted to taste the water. Hearing its chirping, they didn't hesitate to stick their heads out and drink the water as well.
While a large leaf can hold a lot of water, Harper and her companions have eight Companion Beasts.
They licked and licked, and soon they had licked all the water out of the large leaves.
Haxi even flicked a large leaf onto his head, running around with this hat made of a large leaf on his head.
The other little guys wanted to snatch it, and soon they were chasing after it.
The Companion Beast ran to the vicinity of the farmland to play with their big friends in the Demon Wolf den and Griffin den.
When the sun rose, Xie Juanhan and Telingewei also got up, and the furry animals in the house strolled back for breakfast.
The large leaves by the door had long since disappeared without a trace, and the leaf fragments they had been playing with were torn to shreds in their frolicking.
Xie Juanhan and Telingewei had no idea that a creature had placed a large leaf filled with spring water at the courtyard gate before they even got up.