Chapter 22 (continued)

It had been raining for the past few days, so he didn't need to water the vegetables, which saved him quite a bit of work.

Since Ming Chunxi was coming, Qing Mengzhu made a special trip to the pond to collect the fish and shrimp from the traps. He also stopped by Qing Changhong's house to buy two chickens and went to the supermarket at the village entrance for pork ribs and beef.

By the time he came home laden with bags, Ming Chunxi's car was already parked outside his house.

Qing Mengzhu was surprised. "How did you get here so fast?"

Ming Chunxi said, "There wasn't any traffic today. The drive took less time than I expected."

Qing Mengzhu said, "That was still fast. Come on in."

Qing Mengzhu took out his key and unlocked the door. Ming Chunxi got out of the car and helped him carry some of the things.

The two walked into the courtyard. Qing Mengzhu put the things down and shook out his slightly sore arms. "I should get another key made next time. Then you guys can come straight in when you get here."

Ming Chunxi asked, "There isn't a spare key now?"

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment. "I think there might be. I'll go inside and look."

Ming Chunxi nodded. "Check first. If there isn't one, get another made."

At that, Qing Mengzhu went inside to look for the spare key.

The spare key was in a drawer. There was one left.

Qing Mengzhu had already decided to get two more spare keys made, so he took the remaining one outside with him.

As soon as he stepped out, Qing Mengzhu saw Ming Chunxi walking into the courtyard with several cardboard boxes in his arms.

Judging by the words and pictures on the boxes, they contained cameras.

Qing Mengzhu was surprised. "What's this?"

Ming Chunxi said, "Didn't you want to install cameras? I bought them on my way here. Is that a key in your hand? Give it to me."

Qing Mengzhu hadn't actually decided whether to give him the key yet. Hearing that, he could only hand it over and take two of the boxes from him. "Does installing cameras mean working on the wiring too? I don't really know how to do that."

Ming Chunxi said, "I do."

Qing Mengzhu's eyes widened.

Ming Chunxi seemed amused by his expression, a faint smile appearing on his face. "When I was managing a lab overseas, sometimes I couldn't book a worker, or they took too long to come. I gradually learned how to do it myself."

Qing Mengzhu sighed. "That wasn't easy for you guys either."

Ming Chunxi said, "It was all right. It wasn't too difficult. Do you have any requirements for the camera installation?"

Qing Mengzhu said, "No, I'm not very familiar with this."

Ming Chunxi put the cameras down and rolled up his sleeves. "I'll take a look at how to install them first, then tell you my plan?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded quickly.

Ming Chunxi made two rounds of the inside and outside of Qing Mengzhu's house, making notes on his laptop as he went.

A little over ten minutes later, he found Qing Mengzhu and explained his installation plan to him.

Qing Mengzhu thought it was exceptionally thorough and had no objections at all.

Ming Chunxi was incredibly efficient. Half an hour later, he began installing the cameras.

Two hours later, Ming Chunxi had installed all five cameras, covering the front courtyard, backyard, roof, and both sides of the house to form a comprehensive surveillance network.

"Done," Ming Chunxi said. "I'll configure them after we eat to prevent hackers from breaking in."

Qing Mengzhu nodded repeatedly. "Thanks for the hard work."

Qing Mengzhu made three quick dishes and soon brought them out.

The two ate in the courtyard and chatted about what had happened recently.

Qing Mengzhu talked about the vegetables he sold to Di Caiyong and how Old Master Qing Guozhi had looked after him.

Ming Chunxi, for his part, talked about some things at his company and the field he was currently researching.

Each was unfamiliar with the other's life, but both found it interesting to hear about.

Even after the meal, Qing Mengzhu still felt he hadn't had enough. When he checked the time while washing the dishes, he realized they had spent nearly an hour eating.

Ming Chunxi was staying the night at the house, in the same guest room as last time.

Although no one had been there in the meantime, Qing Mengzhu had washed and sun-dried the bedding, and had also put on a new four-piece bedding set this time.

The room still had the familiar scent of sunshine and detergent that Ming Chunxi remembered.

A relaxing scent.

With another person whose presence was hard to miss in the house, Qing Mengzhu thought he would have trouble sleeping. But as soon as he climbed into bed, a wave of drowsiness swept over him, and he fell asleep almost immediately.

When a burst of birdsong woke him, he looked toward the window and saw that it was already light.

He fished out his phone and checked. It was 5:50, the time he usually got up.

He got up and washed quietly, put on a light jacket, and opened his bedroom door, intending to go out and pick some vegetables.

Although it was the Dragon Boat Festival, he still had vegetables to sell.

During the festival, Di Caiyong's restaurant was probably even busier than usual, so there certainly couldn't be any shortage of vegetables.

Fortunately, this was all work Qing Mengzhu was used to doing every day. He walked briskly to the vegetable fields and looked around. Many people were already out in the fields picking vegetables.

Fresh vegetables filled crates of various colors, stacked neatly on the ridges between the fields or by the roadside.

As Qing Mengzhu passed Tan Wenlei's vegetable plot, he saw that Tan Wenlei was also wearing waterproof pants and picking vegetables.

Qing Mengzhu greeted him. "Good morning, Uncle Wenlei."

Tan Wenlei looked up. "Morning. Mengzhu, do you have a guest at home?"

Qing Mengzhu asked, "How did you know?"

Tan Wenlei said, "I saw a car parked outside your house yesterday. Is it that same friend?"

Qing Mengzhu shook his head. "My brother."

Tan Wenlei understood at once. "The child of the woman your dad married later? That's nice. It's good to have someone to spend the festival with."

Qing Mengzhu said, "Yeah. Auntie and the others are coming back today too, right?"

Tan Wenlei's voice grew a little louder. "They are! They came back yesterday. We're going up the mountain to gather bamboo leaves to wrap zongzi later."

Caught up in his happiness, Qing Mengzhu smiled too. "You must be having a feast at your house today."

The two chatted for a few more moments, then each went into his field to pick vegetables.

Listening to the sounds around him, Qing Mengzhu felt his spirits rise.

After so many years, being able to spend a festival with someone again was indeed something worth celebrating.

Before they had finished picking their vegetables, Di Caiyong drove over in his small truck. He carried several gift bags and gave two each to Qing Mengzhu and Tan Wenlei, saying they contained alkaline-water zongzi and meat zongzi made at his restaurant.

Everyone happily exchanged greetings, handed over the vegetables and payment, and went home.

Qing Mengzhu picked a basket of vegetables and lotus leaves, then went to the village entrance to buy fresh meat and vegetables. He planned to make beef congee, steamed pork ribs with lotus leaves, and other dishes for breakfast when he got home.

When Qing Mengzhu returned home, Ming Chunxi was already awake, working on his laptop in the living room.

The light from the computer fell on his face and reflected off his non-prescription glasses, making him look exceptionally handsome.

Qing Mengzhu glanced at him a couple of times. Not wanting to disturb him, he turned to leave.

"Wait." Ming Chunxi looked up and called him back. "Come take a look at the surveillance footage."

Qing Mengzhu was surprised. "Did the cameras catch something?"

Ming Chunxi nodded. "They did. It might be a little unexpected."

Qing Mengzhu walked over. "So soon?"

For a moment, Qing Mengzhu really couldn't imagine how it could be beyond his expectations. He walked over, stood behind Ming Chunxi, and bent slightly to look at the computer screen.

Ming Chunxi brought up the surveillance footage and adjusted the playback position.

The dot-matrix infrared camera had clearly captured what happened outside the backyard shortly after four in the morning.

The cameras had actually caught an otter and a... fox?

In the video, a fox sneaked up to the fence, lowered its head, and dug hard at the soil beneath it with both front paws.

Just as it was digging away, a large, sleek-furred otter climbed onto the top of the fence, let out a squeak, and dropped down on the fox below like a mountain.

The fox was stunned by the otter's impact. It froze for a moment, then lunged at the large otter and bit it repeatedly. "Yip!"

Not to be outdone, the large otter bit the fox back and scratched at it with its paws.

The two creatures fought, yowling as fur flew and drifted everywhere like dandelion fluff.