Chapter 88

The Dharma Protector and his Guard couldn't find the Solomon's Seal at home, and barked at Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi several times, seemingly complaining about their stinginess.

The two listened calmly, not taking it to heart.

Anyway, puppies are forgetful; they'll forget in a couple of days.

Unexpectedly, on this day, Qing Mengzhu was resting at home after finishing her morning work when her two dogs came down from the mountain wagging their tails after patrolling for hazel grouse.

They went directly to Qing Mengzhu.

Qing Mengzhu turned her gaze away from her phone screen and looked at the two dogs.

They were soaking wet, their fur matted. Qing Mengzhu thought they had been playing somewhere and had gotten water droplets on them, so she stood up to get a towel to dry them off. "Where have you been wandering around again? Aren't you cold with your fur all wet?"

Just as Qing Mengzhu took a step, the Dharma Protector and Guard ran to his feet and spat out several dark, gooey things. "Woof woof!"

"Hmm?" Qing Mengzhu bent down to pick it up and discovered that it was the root of some unknown substance. "What is this?"

Qing Mengzhu rubbed off the soil, exposing the roots inside.

After rubbing the skin until it broke, he smelled a familiar scent—the scent of Solomon's Seal.

Qing Mengzhu was very surprised, looking at the two dogs at her feet. "Where did you find fresh Solomon's Seal?"

Two dogs. "Woof woof!"

The Dharma Protector looked extremely smug, even wagging its tail as if to say, "If you don't give us any, we'll find some ourselves."

The Guard, on the other hand, lay down rather gently to one side.

Qing Mengzhu: "That's impressive, you've even learned how to dig for wild medicinal herbs."

Dharma Protector: "Woof woof!"

Seeing their smug little expressions, Qing Mengzhu couldn't help but grab them and rub them one by one. "How are you all so amazing?!"

Author's Note:

See you tomorrow!

Chapter 88

It's truly amazing that two dogs could find Solomon's Seal.

In the evening, after Ming Chunxi returned, Qing Mengzhu specifically pulled him over to look at the Solomon's Seal plant placed in a corner of the courtyard, and said to him mysteriously, "Guess what this is?"

After examining it carefully, Ming Chunxi quickly gave the answer, "Polygonatum?"

Qing Mengzhu snapped her fingers and said, "Now guess who sent these two Solomon's Seal?"

When asking this question, Qing Mengzhu deliberately used a misleading statement. Generally, when asking who sent it, the recipient is a human.

Ming Chunxi, however, was not misled. Turning to look at the two exceptionally proud dogs, Ming Chunxi said, "Guard and Dharma Protector."

Qing Mengzhu's eyes widened. "You could even guess that?"

Ming Chunxi examined the Huangjing (Polygonatum): "If it were a gift from a human, out of courtesy, they wouldn't have sent only two."

Qing Mengzhu: "You guessed right! How about that? Amazing, isn't it? These two guys actually managed to find Solomon's Seal on the mountain."

Ming Chunxi looked at the two dogs. "Perhaps because their sense of smell is exceptionally keen, and the smell of Solomon's Seal is quite distinctive, they'll remember it after seeing it and will be able to find it quickly."

Qing Mengzhu put the two pieces of Solomon's Seal back in the corner. "I'm mainly surprised that they have such strong consciousness. Seeing that we were unwilling to give them to them, they searched for them outside on their own—their logic is truly amazing."

Ming Chunxi: "The Dharma Protector have done plenty of bad things; they should be used to outsmarting us by now."

Qing Mengzhu: "These two guys are really as cunning as foxes now."

The red fox is also very clever and has all sorts of ulterior motives.

Qing Mengzhu felt that perhaps because the dog and the fox had been together for so long, they had picked up each other's habits and were becoming more and more alike.

Ming Chunxi said, "They're both canines, so it's not surprising that they look a bit alike."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at the Dharma Protector and suddenly said, "It's better to be smart; otherwise, you'll get scammed when you go out."

The two dogs brought back Solomon's Seal, and it was clear they were in a great mood, doing everything with a smug air, and deliberately flaunting themselves in front of Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi.

Qing Mengzhu wouldn't let them into the kitchen, so they lay down at the kitchen doorway, their big eyes watching the two people inside.

Seeing this, Ming Chunxi couldn't help but laugh and said, "They're trying to take credit; we should give them a reward."

Doing bad things should be punished, while doing good things should be rewarded. Otherwise, the little ones will become disobedient over time.

Qing Mengzhu also felt that they should be rewarded. Giving them jerky was not an option, as that was their usual food. They needed a reward with a bit more weight.

Qing Mengzhu rummaged through the refrigerator. "I'll just kill a hazel grouse and make them some soup. There's nothing special in the fridge."

Ming Chunxi: "I'll go kill it, you cook."

There weren't many adult male hazel grouse left, and Qing Mengzhu was really reluctant to kill them. She specifically instructed Ming Chunxi, "Killing just one is enough; there's no need to kill any more."

Ming Chunxi: "Okay."

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and then said, "Don't pick the biggest ones; we might need them to breed next year."

Ming Chunxi: "Understood."

Ming Chunxi went up the mountain and caught a medium-sized adult male hazel pheasant. He showed it to Qing Mengzhu before he began to slaughter it.

Qing Mengzhu found the pork ribs in the refrigerator, planning to make a pork rib and hazelnut chicken soup later.

There weren't enough hazelnuts, so we added some pork ribs to make up for it, along with potatoes, carrots, corn, and tomatoes. We stewed it all together in a hot pot, making it a rich and flavorful meal for everyone to enjoy.

We're cooking a big meal today, so we'll eat a little later than usual.

The two dogs were starving, but they were clearly satisfied with their evening dog food.

They not only ate all the vegetables and drank all the soup, but they even chewed up and swallowed the bones.

After eating, they crawled into their nest in the yard, panting and wagging their tails every now and then, looking extremely content.

Looking at them, Qing Mengzhu remarked, "These two dogs are becoming more and more human-like."

Ming Chunxi: "They're naturally intelligent, and with all that dried meat they've been fed, it's no wonder they seem to understand human nature."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's true, it seems we can't do without dried meat."

Qing Mengzhu has certain requirements for food. Although the two dogs went to great lengths to bring back two pieces of Qing Mengzhu's Seal from afar, he still felt strange eating them.

Fortunately, both pieces of Polygonatum were very fresh and retained a large amount of root system, indicating good activity.

After looking through them, Qing Mengzhu decided to plant them by the fence in the backyard.

There are now asparagus junipers planted along the fence, but it wouldn't be a problem to plant a couple more Solomon's seal trees.

The fence is so long, and the asparagus fir hasn't fully grown over it yet.

In the morning, Ming Chunxi and Qing Mengzhu planted together.

The two Solomon's seal plants were planted in no time. After planting them, the two went to the tap to wash their hands.

Qing Mengzhu shook the water off her hands. "Two plants seem a bit few. I'll go online later and see if I can buy some Solomon's Seal seeds to plant."

The Polygonatum that Old Master Qing Guozhi gave them was of good quality; it tasted sweet and had a medicinal flavor, but it wasn't unpleasant.

Qing Mengzhu later bought an old coconut and cooked it with chicken. The Solomon's Seal Coconut Chicken Soup was very sweet and delicious. Even if it wasn't for nutritional purposes, it was nice to add such a dish occasionally.

Qing Mengzhu searched online.

Online sources say that Polygonatum is best planted in cool, damp places, ideally in forests or near shrubs, similar to the habits of ginseng.

Staring at those lines of text, Qing Mengzhu thought of the bamboo grove in her home.

If that's the case, planting Solomon's Seal in a bamboo forest would be a good idea?

Fortunately, his bamboo grove is planted quite extensively, and he digs bamboo shoots every day, so it's destined not to be crowded in a short time.

The Solomon's Seal is planted in the bamboo forest, so it won't be completely without sunlight.

After making up her mind, Qing Mengzhu inquired further and planned to ask someone in real life.

After asking around, Tan Wenlei quickly replied that he knew someone who cultivated Solomon's Seal.

Tan Wenlei: "The income from growing medicinal herbs is pretty good right now. Everyone wants to take them as a tonic, so they sell well, and many people are growing them. My friend mainly grows Polygonatum multiflorum, which he grows in the mountains. I asked him about it. If you want to see it, I can take you there."