Chapter 118

Qing Mengzhu refused. "I cannot persuade them; I cannot hurt the feelings of the Dharma Protector and the Guard."

Zhao Hexi spat at him. "You just enjoy being surrounded by dogs!"

The weather is so nice today, and the two dogs are having a great time playing in the pond.

The otter and the red fox peeked out from the withered grass on the bank. Finally, the otter couldn't resist and emerged from the grass, jumping into the pond with a "plop." It quickly swam behind Qing Mengzhu and followed her to pick up shrimp.

The red fox watched longingly, neither daring to show itself in the crowd nor to jump into the water, and could only hide in the withered grass and watch them interact.

Qing Mengzhu glanced back at the red fox, then waved it away, signaling it not to come.

With otters around, the process of the little guys picking shrimp is even smoother. Often, a shrimp is barely dizzy before it even floats to the surface and is already snatched away by the little guys.

Qing Mengzhu reached out and caught a still-living shrimp. Startled, she quickly shouted, "Hey, don't catch them randomly! These shrimp are needed to reproduce!"

Otter: "Eek?"

Qing Mengzhu threw the live shrimp back into the water. "Don't catch the shrimp, pick up the ones that are stunned or dead."

The little guys couldn't fully understand human speech, Qing Mengzhu demonstrated a few times. Every time they brought a moving shrimp over, he would throw it back into the water.

After a few tries, the little guys finally understood that not all shrimp could be caught.

After getting used to each other, the little ones cooperated even better.

Zhao Hexi said sourly from behind Qing Mengzhu, "You look like you're hunting. Every time you catch your prey, the Dharma Protector are like retrievers, bringing it to you."

Qing Mengzhu: "If that's the case, then they really are specialists in their own fields."

Zhao Hexi: "Right? It's a pity they're only willing to play like this with you."

Qing Mengzhu patted the Guard's neck, refusing to take the shrimp from its mouth. "Good Guard, take the shrimp to your other daddy."

As Qing Mengzhu spoke, she pointed in the direction where Ming Chunxi was. The Guard quickly understood and happily swam towards Ming Chunxi.

When the otter arrived, Qing Mengzhu pointed at Zhao Hexi.

So, Ming Chunxi and Zhao Hexi also received shrimp from the little ones.

Zhao Hexi had no objections now. He stroked the otter's smooth forehead, his face full of smiles. "The Little Otter is so good!"

The otter tilted its head back and whimpered, "Eek!"

Most of the onlookers on the shore had already dispersed, leaving only a few acquaintances such as Qing Pingdun and Tan Wenlei.

Qing Pingdun watched with envy and said, "Brother Mengzhu, why don't you come up and let us play? We can help dig lotus roots too."

Qing Mengzhu glanced back and said with a smile, "Alright then, wait a moment, I'll change your waterproof pants."

The high-pressure water gun is quite heavy, and it's tiring to hold it for a long time.

Qing Mengzhu was delighted to have someone to switch roles with, so she went upstairs to rest for a bit.

Soon, Zhao Hexi and Ming Chunxi also came up and took turns with the young men on the shore.

Of course, Tan Wenlei, an uncle of the same generation, was not to be outdone and helped dig for a while, fully experiencing the convenience of high-tech lotus root digging.

When he came ashore, he reminisced several times about the image of himself standing in cold water, struggling to dig lotus roots from the mud when he was young, saying that things have changed so much now.

Qing Pingdun in the pond echoed his sentiments.

Technology changes lives and also changes production methods.

Everyone was very motivated and dug the lotus roots very carefully. The dug lotus roots were piled up on one side, looking very neat, which gave people a great sense of accomplishment.

Qing Mengzhu mentally counted the number of lotus root sprouts and was very satisfied with this batch of lotus roots.

They spent most of the day digging and had almost completely harvested the lotus roots from the two ponds.

Qing Mengzhu was surprised by the large number of volunteers who came to help today. She quickly distributed the lotus roots to everyone, telling them to take them home and try them.

On behalf of his brothers, Qing Pingdun politely declined, saying, "Really, there's no need. Many of our families grow lotus roots, so we don't lack them. Brother Mengzhu, you can take them back and sell them."

Qing Mengzhu: "The lotus roots from my family are different. You'll know once you take them home and try them."

A Xiao Nian behind Qing Pingdun spoke the truth, "We don't usually cook, and nobody would eat the food we take home."

Unable to refuse Qing Pingdun's earnest invitation, he said, "How about we try some raw lotus root?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Then let's go to the river to wash some food and have a rest."

The river is flowing water, originating from the nearby mountains.

Before we had running water, many families in the village drank river water.

People have become accustomed to using river water as drinking water, and they have no psychological barriers to washing food in the river.

Soon their lotus roots were washed, and everyone sat by the river. Some of them were particular about peeling off the outer skin with their teeth, while others just took a big bite and ate them like that.

After digging for lotus roots for so long, although it was a lot of fun, everyone was a bit tired.

With each bite, the lotus root is sweet and refreshing. The juice bursts out with every bite, leaving no residue. It's crisp, tender, and sweet, with a unique fragrance—absolutely delicious.

No one expected that this lotus root was completely different from ordinary lotus roots. From its texture and taste to its aroma, it completely surpassed ordinary lotus roots, leaving everyone astonished.

Some people even looked down at the lotus root in their hands, wondering if they had picked up the wrong one.

Qing Mengzhu was busy feeding lotus roots to the two dogs and the otter, but the red fox hiding in the grass also wanted to eat, so it couldn't be left out.

Therefore, he didn't eat right away. He turned around and was somewhat surprised to see the young men's eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Qing Mengzhu looked at Ming Chunxi had just finished peeling a lotus root with a knife. "How does it taste?"

Ming Chunxi handed the lotus root to Qing Mengzhu: "I haven't tried it yet."

Zhao Hexi, who was standing nearby, wasn't one to fuss over things. He simply cracked open the lotus root with his teeth and took a bite. When Qing Mengzhu asked, he nodded vigorously, "It's delicious!"

Qing Pingdun, standing nearby, asked in surprise, "Brother Mengzhu, why does your lotus root taste like this? It's completely different from ordinary lotus root!"

Qing Mengzhu: "Is it due to the variety, water source, and planting method? You've forgotten, university professors and experts from the Lotus Research Institute even came to inspect my lotus roots."

When Ji Qinglin and his group came to visit, it sparked a discussion in the village.

Qing Pingdun remembered and asked regretfully, "Can we take back what we said before?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Hmm?"

A Xiao Nian behind Qing Pingdun said shyly, "We really love how delicious it is. Can we take some lotus root home for our families to try?"

Author's Note:

Bonus chapter for 65,000 units of nutrient solution! See you at noon!

Chapter 118

After eating the lotus root, Qing Pingdun and the others helped load it onto a truck and transport it back to Qing Mengzhu's house.

Qing Mengzhu's family had a very good lotus root yield. When they loaded the trucks, they filled two large trucks and transported them back to the yard, almost filling the entire yard.

It was still early, Qing Mengzhu and the others sat in the courtyard to further process the lotus roots.

The mature lotus roots can be harvested, stored, and eaten slowly. However, the lotus sprouts attached to the roots should be carefully removed and used as seed for next year's lotus roots, to be replanted in the pond.

This method is somewhat similar to growing potatoes, but also somewhat different.

Qing Mengzhu and the others used sterilized knives to cut off the lotus root sections with sprouts.

A lotus sprout should have at least one root node; if the root node is not strong enough, then it should have two.

These lotus root nodes will provide nutrients for the growth of lotus shoots until they develop new roots and can absorb nutrients from the environment.

There were quite a few lotus sprouts attached to the lotus roots. They quickly picked them out one by one, cut off the sprouts, and put them in a basket for later processing.

The sun hadn't set yet, and its rays slanted into the yard, where all the small animals were sleeping, lying in the sun.

Their fur was almost dry, and the sun warmed it, making them smell like freshly baked bread.