Chapter 28

"This really works well." Xie Juanhan worked the pedals for a while, churning with interest. "Looks like machines don't have to be automatic. Some manual ones save quite a bit of effort too."

Telingewei nodded and suggested, "Shall we let Harper and the others churn it?"

Xie Juanhan glanced at the little ones waiting happily nearby for their ice cream. "Let them do the work?"

Telingewei said, "If they want ice cream, they should contribute something. This pedal-powered churn is easy enough to use, and they can work it too."

"Sure," Xie Juanhan said. "Let them try."

Telingewei stepped aside and gestured to the little ones. "You can pedal."

The little ones were quite eager. They rushed over and split into two groups, one on each side. Their little paws worked the pedals at a furious pace, making them clack, clack.

Telingewei indicated that Xie Juanhan could leave them to it.

Xie Juanhan took some herbal tea from a jar and brewed it for Telingewei.

They had just eaten double-skin milk and found it a little rich, so some herbal tea would cut through it.

The little ones weren't very patient.

At first, their paws worked the pedals at lightning speed.

After a while, some of them began to slack off.

The pedals were pressed only now and then, making a creaking sound.

Telingewei glanced at the little ones and suggested to Xie Juanhan, "Shall we have our tea next door?"

Xie Juanhan quickly gathered the tea things. "Sure."

The little ones were panting like puppies. When they saw the two of them leaving, they gave them reproachful looks.

Xie Juanhan didn't dare meet their eyes. He released enough cold air toward the metal churn, then lowered his head and hurried away after Telingewei.

He had already realized that Telingewei was teaching the little ones a lesson.

He had better not interfere.

Both dragons had extremely keen hearing, so naturally they could hear the little ones panting next door.

They could also hear them slacking off, pressing the pedals with their paws only now and then.

Telingewei said, "Let them do the work a few times, and they won't be so eager for ice cream anymore."

"An open scheme," Xie Juanhan said.

Telingewei looked puzzled.

Xie Juanhan sat up straight and explained what an "open scheme" meant.

"Your culture is fascinating," Telingewei said.

"The culture here is fascinating too." Xie Juanhan gestured toward the books on his shelf. "Once I finish the books I have on hand, I'm going back to Teme Port to buy some new ones."

Xie Juanhan was learning this world's language and writing, and could already understand some children's books.

Children's books covered all sorts of subjects and introduced a great deal of basic knowledge. He rather liked them.

They drank tea and chatted in the sitting room.

Next door, the little ones churned the ice cream, panting from exhaustion.

They finally finished churning the ice cream.

There was only enough for one small serving each.

Scooped into balls and served on golden plates, it was licked up in a few mouthfuls.

After eating their ice cream, the little ones sprawled across their chairs, their furry faces somehow looking a little wistful.

Xie Juanhan figured they probably wouldn't want ice cream again for quite some time.

There was plenty of rain in summer, and the plants grew exceptionally well.

These past few days, Xie Juanhan had been busy tending his rice field and caring for his Alf Mushrooms, leaving him little time to make ice cream anyway.

He had sown Alf Mushroom spores on the silt.

These mushrooms were magical creatures somewhere between animals and fungi, and they grew extremely slowly.

After all this time, the rice seedlings were nearly knee-high, but the Alf Mushrooms had only emerged to the size of a fingernail.

He estimated that they would need several more months to grow big enough to transform the silt.

Fortunately, like chicks and ducks, they were edible themselves, so raising them wasn't a loss.

Xie Juanhan was making his rounds when it began to rain before he had finished.

His Dragon Power blocked the fine rain, which fell around him as though outlining him in a hazy white glow.

The rain wasn't heavy, and he wasn't getting wet, so he took his time walking back through the forest.

Before he reached the cottage, he saw a little bird perched under the eaves.

It was a domesticated magical messenger bird.

The bird held a letter in its beak. When it saw him, it fluttered its wings. "Chirp, chirp."

Xie Juanhan walked over and held out his hand. "A letter for me?"

The bird chirped again. "Chirp, chirp."

Xie Juanhan opened his palm, and the bird dropped the letter into it.

The letter was only three fingers wide and one finger long.

The opening had been sewn shut with fine stitches, and a fresh little flower was pinned to it.

Xie Juanhan carefully removed the flower and gently opened the delicate letter from the Weaving Fairies.

He turned the envelope upside down, and a few seeds fell out before the letter did.

They were lemon seeds.

Some time ago, he had bought limes in Teme Port and planned to plant one or two lemon trees in his garden.

There had been seeds inside the limes, but they hadn't matured.

He had no choice but to buy seeds separately.

Unfortunately, he had searched all the produce markets, big and small, in Star Market and Teme Port without finding any suitable lemon seeds.

When the Weaving Fairies heard about it, they said they could get seeds from other fairies and could ask for some for Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan had waited for some time, but hadn't expected a bird to bring him a letter with the seeds on a drizzly day like this.

Xie Juanhan tipped the lemon seeds into his palm and examined them closely.

The seeds looked larger than ordinary lemon seeds. Their pale yellow coats were full of vitality.

At a glance, they were excellent seeds that had only recently been extracted.

Xie Juanhan marveled at them, surprised that the Weaving Fairies had found seeds of such quality for him.

Even if he searched the markets himself, he would have a hard time finding better lemon seeds.

It was clear how much effort the Weaving Fairies had put into this.

Touched, Xie Juanhan softened his voice and said to the bird, "Wait a moment. I'll write a reply."

The bird tilted its head.

Xie Juanhan looked at the curtain of rain outside. "The rain should have stopped by the time I finish the letter. You can head back then."

Xie Juanhan fetched a dish of beans and bread crumbs and poured a small bowl of fresh water for the bird. "Thank you for delivering the letter."

The bird chirped proudly, "Chirp, chirp!"

Before long, Xie Juanhan finished his reply and gave it to the bird, and the rain stopped just in time.

The bird chirped twice at Xie Juanhan. "Chirp, chirp!"

Then it took the envelope in its beak and darted into the gray sky.

Xie Juanhan watched it fly away, then put the dish and water bowl away.

From that day on, little messenger birds came to visit Xie Juanhan from time to time.

Sometimes there was one, and sometimes a whole flock.

Even though the Companion Beasts came over every day and sometimes frightened the birds or even tried to catch them, the birds kept coming.

The little birds were by no means weak in a fight.

They fought the Companion Beasts in flocks, and both sides won and lost in turn.

One evening, Telingewei brought Xie Juanhan some fresh fish and immediately saw the Companion Beasts and the little birds fighting in a tangle in the garden.

Telingewei stood at the door and asked, "Won't they damage the garden fighting like that?"

"Not at all." Xie Juanhan poked his head out of the kitchen. "They know what they're doing. Look, they're fighting, but they're avoiding all the plants and flowers."

Telingewei watched for quite a while and found that it was true. Both the birds and the Companion Beasts paid particular attention to the plants beneath their claws.

If they were about to land on one, they would twist aside and do their best to avoid it.

Seeing that the little ones were fighting so hard their fur and feathers were nearly falling out, Xie Juanhan called for a truce. "Stop fighting. How about something to eat?"

Hearing him call, the little ones immediately let one another go and all rushed toward Xie Juanhan.

"Squeak, squeak!"

"Chirp, chirp!"

Xie Juanhan set out a dish for the birds and put little cakes and bread crumbs on it.

He also set out plates for the Companion Beasts, but each one got a little cake of its own.

The little ones buried their heads in their food, having completely forgotten their grudges.

It all looked very harmonious.

Telingewei watched the scene before him and said, "Don't you think..."

Seeing him hesitate to speak for once, Xie Juanhan asked, "Think what?"

Before Xie Juanhan had finished speaking, several more birds flew down at an angle from the sky, and voices came from their backs. "Lord Silver Dragon! Good evening!"

Xie Juanhan had no time to press the question. He leaned out the window to look at the approaching guests. "Luli?"

It was the Weaving Fairies.

The Weaving Fairies had made tiny bridles from vines and cloth, fitted them on the birds, and flown over on their backs.

The Weaving Fairies riding the birds turned their heads and saw the little birds pecking at the cakes and bread crumbs. "Oh, the messenger birds really are here."

"Yes. Did you need them for something?" Xie Juanhan greeted them with a smile. "I just baked some cakes. Come in and have some?"

The Weaving Fairies nodded and gathered their courage. "There is something, but we came to see you, not them. We have a request."

==========Author's note:==========

I'm late! Eighty-eight little red envelopes will be drawn from the comments on this chapter.

Thanks to Asuka for a grenade and three land mines; thanks to Quantang0zhiliangcha, Shiluo, Nanzhi, Gulingjingguaixiaoyatou, Xingchen, 76891318, Quantang0zhiliangcha, and Y for the land mines.

Chapter 28: Chapter 28 [VIP]

Xie Juanhan knew the Weaving Fairies well and had received a great deal of help from them.

The Weaving Fairies looked deeply embarrassed and seemed to be in a difficult position.

Was what the fairies wanted to ask troublesome?

Xie Juanhan was a little puzzled, but he didn't mind doing something for his fairy friends.