Chapter 60 (continued)

Qing Mengzhu couldn't find all the hazelnut eggs, so she had to send her Guard and Dharma Protector to look for them every day.

They have a total of thirty-five female hazel grouse, and they need to find thirty-five hazel eggs every day before they're done searching for eggs.

Their house is in constant chaos every day as they search for hazelnut eggs.

When hazel grouse first start laying eggs, the eggshells are bluish-green, but now they have turned brown with reddish-brown spots.

Qing Mengzhu carefully placed the collected hazelnut eggs into a cardboard box lined with shredded straw and stored them in a cool, shady place for the time being.

Before they are officially hatched, these hazelnut eggs can remain alive for half a month. He plans to wait until he has accumulated a few hazelnut eggs before buying an incubator to hatch them all at once, so as to avoid having to hatch several batches at once, which would be too time-consuming and laborious.

Qing Mengzhu took good care of the hazel grouse, but the female hazel grouse were exhausted and looked a bit haggard.

He was a little worried that the hazel grouse might get sick, so he fed them vitamins and minerals in an attempt to boost their immunity, but it didn't seem to be very effective.

That day, when he and Ming Chunxi went to pick lotus pods, they saw geese swimming around in the clear pond water and even tilting their heads back to drink. A thought struck him.

His geese are exceptionally healthy; they've been raised for so long and none of them have ever gotten sick.

He had no experience raising geese, and his methods were rather extensive. The fact that the geese grew so well was not due to his efforts, but rather to the geese's good physique.

If you look up, you'll see that when ducks live in ponds, they are in very good health.

So it seems the water in his pond might be better? After all, it contains Spirit Pearl Dregs, so it's definitely different from ordinary water.

After considering it for a moment, Qing Mengzhu decided to scoop some pond water back to feed the hazel grouse.

Ming Chunxi was a little surprised. "Is pond water better than the spring water we're feeding our babies now?"

Qing Mengzhu hummed in agreement. "I'm not sure. Don't they dislike drinking water? Maybe the pond water has minerals or something, and they'll drink it more if I scoop it up and bring it back?"

Ming Chunxi smiled as he watched him blatantly lie, "I'll go get a bucket and fill it up to take back."

Qing Mengzhu turned to look at the bucket dozens of meters away and pulled Ming Chunxi: "It's too far, just use lotus leaves to hold it."

As she spoke, Qing Mengzhu picked a huge lotus leaf from the pond, then scooped up a leaf full of water and called to Ming Chunxi, "Quickly take off the hat on my head."

Ming Chunxi was puzzled but did as he was told, taking off the straw hat from his head and placing it in front of him. "And then?"

Qing Mengzhu placed the lotus leaf filled with water into the hat, turning it into a temporary water container. "That's good."

Ming Chunxi looked at the hat. "A genius idea."

Qing Mengzhu, slightly smug, reached out and nudged him. "That's how it is in the village; they always find all sorts of ways to use hats. Come on, let's hurry back."

When they returned home, Qing Mengzhu poured the water from the lotus leaves directly into an old pot and started boiling it.

Ming Chunxi: "Does it need to be boiled before use?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, we need to kill germs and parasites."

Ming Chunxi: "The millet we usually feed them doesn't undergo this sterilization process either."

Qing Mengzhu stared at the pot and said happily, "It's different. The millet is meant for humans, and it has undergone multiple rounds of disinfection and quarantine, so it's relatively safe and doesn't need disinfection. Alright, from now on, this pot will be used specifically for boiling water for the small animals."

After Qing Mengzhu boiled the pond water and let it cool, she took it to the hazel grouse.

When the hazel grouse saw him refill the water bowl, they strolled over, pecked at the water, and drank. They didn't seem particularly enthusiastic, but it was a little better than before.

After observing for a while, Qing Mengzhu decided to feed the hazel grouse more pond water. Since she went to the pond every day anyway, it wouldn't be a hassle to bring back some water.

That morning, Qing Mengzhu inspected the vegetable garden, thinking to herself that when she went to the pond to collect water later, she would pick more lotus pods.

It's almost the end of August now, and the lotus flowers that bloomed in July are gradually turning into lotus pods. Several lotus pods are ripening every day.

Their lotus seeds are delicious even when eaten fresh, but he doesn't intend to sell them as fresh lotus seeds. He usually waits until the lotus seeds in each pod have grown until they protrude and are fully ripe but not yet dried out before harvesting them.

Now the lotus pods are ripening more and more, and we can harvest half a boatload at a time.

Qing Mengzhu was lost in thought and didn't even realize that Feng Ningxiang and the others were almost upon him.

Feng Ningxiang and the others greeted him first, "Mengzhu?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Ah? Auntie Feng?"

Feng Ningxiang coughed lightly and looked at Qing Mengzhu expectantly. "Mengzhu, can we finish work early today and go buy vegetables? We can just pick the vegetables, but not the peppers yet."

Qing Mengzhu took out her phone and opened the calendar. "Let me see, we don't need to ship goods to Brother Zhou's catering group today, right?"

Feng Ningxiang: "No need, it will be sent tomorrow."

Qing Mengzhu saw the note said it wouldn't be sent until tomorrow, and he was about to agree when he suddenly realized, "Today is the Ghost Festival?"

Feng Ningxiang: "Yes, on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, we have to burn paper money."

Miao Lan explained, "We need to go to the market early to buy ducks, in case we can't buy any later."

Qing Mengzhu readily agreed, "Then let's finish picking the vegetables and go back. We can pick the remaining peppers tomorrow, and everyone can take some vegetables back to eat later."

Feng Ningxiang and the other two felt relieved and assured each other, "We'll pick them quickly today, it won't delay anything."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "I'll go pick them too, thank you for your hard work."

He remembered the Ghost Festival a couple of days ago, but he forgot again today because he was busy.

On the Ghost Festival, it's time to burn paper money for our ancestors.

The four of them quickly finished picking the vegetables. After checking the vegetables, Di Caiyong, who had come to buy them, skillfully settled the bill with Qing Mengzhu and then drove the small truck home.

Qing Mengzhu looked around and saw that there were hardly any people in the fields; everyone had probably gone home to prepare for the festival.

He wasn't in the mood to wander around any further; he simply rowed his boat around the two ponds, picked the lotus pods he could, and then went home.

When he got home, Ming Chunxi was already at work and not at home. The two dogs had also gone out with the geese. The house was empty, and he was all alone.

The house was unusually quiet and cool, Qing Mengzhu moved a chair to sit in the yard, took out his phone and left a message for Ming Chunxi, reminding him that today was the Ghost Festival and that Ming Lexin might be scared at night, so it would be better if he stayed home with her.

Ming Chunxi replied after a while: [No wonder I saw someone burning something by the roadside when I came back yesterday.]

Some people celebrate the Ghost Festival on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month, while others celebrate it on the 15th. Today is the 15th.

Qing Mengzhu: [I forgot too. I remembered it a couple of days ago, but I got so busy that I completely forgot about it.]

Ming Chunxi: [Are you okay being home alone?]

Qing Mengzhu typed back: [There wasn't a single person there, and only two dogs.]

Qing Mengzhu: [Don't worry, I'm living at home, so there's nothing to be afraid of.]

Qing Mengzhu chatted briefly, then put away her phone and rode her electric bike to the village supermarket to buy paper money and bags to hold it.

His family has lived in the village for generations, and his parents were buried there after they passed away, so there's a lot to prepare.

After working for most of the day, it was past 3 p. m. before Qing Mengzhu finally started writing names on the bags of paper money.

He had only been writing for a short while when he heard the sound of a car outside.

The car seemed to have stopped right in front of his house. The Dharma Protector and Guard lying lazily beside him didn't move or bark. When they met Qing Mengzhu's gaze, the two dogs just lazily wagged their tails.

Qing Mengzhu immediately understood. "Ming Chunxi is back?"

The two dogs didn't respond.

Soon, Ming Chunxi parked the car and got in.

Qing Mengzhu stood at the living room doorway. "Why are you back? You're off work so early today."

Ming Chunxi: "I specially left work two hours early to come and check on things. I'll go back to be with my mom later."