Chapter 77 (continued)

Zhao Hexi watched them tugging at each other and laughed heartily.

Qing Mengzhu turned to look at Zhao Hexi: "How come you have so much free time? You even have time to watch the excitement."

Zhao Hexi looked completely innocent. "A typhoon is coming, our production department can't work during a typhoon, what else can we do besides stay idle?"

Typhoon Brenta was only a minor typhoon, but it still brought a lot of rain.

After the rain, the temperature dropped, only reaching the teens Celsius at night and not exceeding twenty-five degrees Celsius during the day.

Qing Mengzhu others now need to wear coats when they go out.

After the rain stopped, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi went to inspect their fields.

Qing Mengzhu focused on observing the condition of the pond.

The shrimp in the pond were very active, with no signs of oxygen deficiency or escape. The protective nets at the inlet and outlet were all intact, showing no signs of damage.

Qing Mengzhu a sigh of relief.

Zhao Hexi looked at the pond. "The lotus leaves seem to be starting to wither."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's normal. It's almost October; it's a common physiological phenomenon."

Zhao Hexi: "So, is it about time to dig for lotus roots?"

Qing Mengzhu: "We should dig them up in November or December. It's not suitable now; the lotus roots underneath can still grow longer."

Zhao Hexi was already drooling. "The lotus seeds are growing so well this year, the lotus roots look delicious. I'll make lotus root soup, dry-fried lotus root slices, or even spicy pickled lotus root—oh, I can't take it, my mouth is watering."

Qing Mengzhu: "If you want to eat it, you can dig it up now."

Zhao Hexi: "Hey, then I'll dig up two!"

Ignoring the cold, Zhao Hexi grabbed the grass by the pond and slowly slid into the pond, bending down to feel for the lotus roots at the bottom.

Qing Mengzhu, seeing his face almost touching the water's surface, asked, "Did you touch it? How are the lotus roots growing at the bottom?"

Zhao Hexi: "They're quite big, but hard to retrieve; they're all stuck together, impossible to pull out."

Qing Mengzhu: "Just break it in half and bring it up."

Zhao Hexi straightened up to rest for a moment, then bent down again. "It's a bit of a waste to break it off directly. Wait a minute, I've found it."

After touching it for a while, Zhao Hexi, panting, pulled up a lotus root longer than his arm and showed it to Qing Mengzhu.

Qing Mengzhu looked at the lotus root, which was not even as thick as his upper arm, and its segments were short. He said, "It seems it really needs to grow longer."

Zhao Hexi: "I also feel that it still has a lot of room to grow. It's quite tender now; when you break it, the lotus root juice comes out."

Qing Mengzhu: "It really is, both crisp and tender."

Zhao Hexi climbed onto the embankment, Qing Mengzhu pulled him up, feeling his hands were icy cold. "Is the water down there very cold?"

"The water's cold, but the mud's even colder." Zhao Hexi washed his hands and feet in the pond water. "Autumn is truly coming."

Qing Mengzhu: "I arrived a long time ago; it's almost Mid-Autumn Festival."

Zhao Hexi: "The weather was really hot before, but after this drop in temperature, it probably won't get hot again."

Qing Mengzhu: "I think so too. Yesterday, Ming Chunxi and I changed the straw mat and put on a cotton quilt instead."

As they talked, the two carried the lotus roots and slowly walked towards Qing Mengzhu's house.

Upon reaching the front of the courtyard, Qing Mengzhu saw otters and red foxes lying under the gate.

It's probably been raining for the past couple of days, and their burrows have been flooded, so they're taking shelter here.

Qing Mengzhu are used to it; they'll come over whenever it rains heavily.

Upon seeing Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi, the otter made a "whimpering" sound from its nose as a greeting.

The red fox suddenly sat up from its lying position, glanced at Qing Mengzhu, then picked up two dark-colored things from the side and placed them at Qing Mengzhu's feet.

Qing Mengzhu looked at the red fox, then at the two dark balls at her feet. "Give it to me?"

Red Fox: "Waaah."

Zhao Hexi peeked over. "Huh, what's this?"

Qing Mengzhu picked up the dark ball and wiped the dirt off it with her fingers. "It looks like... a lily?"

Zhao Hexi: "What lilies?"

Qing Mengzhu: "The lilies we ate were the same lilies we used to make lily and lotus seed porridge."

Zhao Hexi understood immediately. "Really? Little Fox can tell the difference between lesbians? Did she steal it from someone's house?"

Qing Mengzhu met the red fox's bright eyes, holding the lily. "It doesn't seem like it; artificially cultivated lilies aren't this small."

Zhao Hexi: "So that's what it dug up for you in the wild? That's amazing! How could it tell if lilies were edible? And it even knew to dig them up and bring them to you?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I don't know, maybe it's experience?"

Zhao Hexi couldn't resist patting the red fox's head. "It's too smart!!"

The red fox didn't want him to touch her and turned her head away, whimpering.

Qing Mengzhu said to the red fox, "Thank you, I'll accept the lily."

Red Fox: "Waaah!"

After whimpering, the red fox lay back down in its original spot, flanking the otter on either side, like two guardian deities.

Qing Mengzhu opened the door and walked into the courtyard with Zhao Hexi. After putting down the lilies, she went to the cupboard to get dried meat for the red fox and the otter as a return gift.

He specially prepared three portions of dried meat, two portions of red fox meat, and one portion of otter meat.

The red fox is intelligent and sensitive, and it values fairness. If it gives something but receives the same amount of jerky as an otter, it will protest.

Qing Mengzhu gave the red fox two portions of dried meat, and it was indeed very satisfied. It didn't whimper and obediently ate the dried meat at the door.

The carefree otters had no objections whatsoever; they held the jerky in their two front paws, their mouths moving as they ate with great relish.

After Qing Mengzhu finished feeding the two little ones, she went back into the yard and found that Zhao Hexi had already washed and taken out two lilies.

The two lilies were small, but their scales were tightly wrapped, making them look plump, and they had a special medicinal fragrance.

Zhao Hexi: "These two lilies are of good quality, look."

Qing Mengzhu took it and looked at it. "It's better than what we buy at the market."

Zhao Hexi rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Are there many wild lilies on the mountain? Can we go dig them up? I remember wild lilies aren't protected plants, right?"

Qing Mengzhu: "There are different kinds. This kind of wild lily in our mountains isn't a protected plant, but I'm not sure how many wild lilies there are in the mountains. I haven't dug them up for many years."

Zhao Hexi: "Shall we go dig? It's been a long time since I've been up the mountain. Now that it's raining, the mushrooms should have sprouted by now, right?"

They had seen many mushrooms while clearing bushes on the mountain, but since it hadn't rained, the mushrooms were dry and not juicy at all, so they weren't really interested in picking them.

Qing Mengzhu: "Why are you so addicted to mushroom picking?"

Zhao Hexi said seriously, "You don't understand. Mushroom picking is like fishing. Everyone is prepared to have no luck, so every time there's a small harvest, it's a pleasant surprise and a great experience."

Qing Mengzhu smiled at him, "Didn't you insist that you were a tech enthusiast? How come you've become a luck enthusiast now?"

Zhao Hexi: "When it comes to fishing, if you don't catch any fish, even the best angler is helpless. Are you going or not? Tell me quickly, stop dawdling."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's go, it's raining and we don't have much to do. If we don't have time today, we can go tomorrow. Ming Chunxi on vacation, we'll go together then."

Zhao Hexi: "Could you talk to Little Fox and ask it to lead us to dig for wild lilies?"

Qing Mengzhu looked at Zhao Hexi in surprise. "Should we have Red Fox lead the way?"

Zhao Hexi stroked his chin. "I don't know about others, but I always feel that you can communicate with them and should be able to call them."

Qing Mengzhu hadn't expected him to think that way, "Where did you get that conclusion?"

Zhao Hexi: "Maybe you figured it out from when you asked the Little Otter for fish?"

As he spoke, Zhao Hexi chuckled twice, "The Little Otter catches river delicacies for us, Little Fox leads us to find mountain delicacies. Life is truly wonderful."

Qing Mengzhu: "Don't get too excited, there might only be two wild lilies on the mountain."