Chapter 40

Although adding tea seed cake was tiring, the results were quite good.

The next morning, when Qing Mengzhu went to check again, she saw many fish and shrimp floating belly up on the surface of the pond.

After selling his vegetables and chili peppers, he used a fine net to scoop up the fish and shrimp, put them in a compost bin, and planned to take them home to compost.

Saponins are toxic to fish and shrimp, but harmless to plants, making them safe for composting.

If we don't retrieve them, and then we herd the ducks over, they might get sick if they eat too much of the poisoned fish and shrimp.

Qing Mengzhu began clearing the pond, and the otters, unable to catch any fish, looked somewhat lost.

It swam around in the pond for a while, and finally realized that there really wasn't a single fish left in the pond. It had no choice but to climb out and whine softly to Qing Mengzhu.

When Qing Mengzhu looked over, it jumped into the pond and swam around again, then came back up, seemingly protesting that there were no fish in the pond.

Seeing its aggrieved look, Qing Mengzhu felt a little embarrassed. "Why don't you go catch some fish in the river? There should be plenty of fish there."

Otter Qing Mengzhu: "Waaah!"

Qing Mengzhu: "Oh, sweetie."

There are no good fish left in the pond, and even though there are some in the river, the otters are still feeling aggrieved.

The fish in the river are bigger and fatter, but they don't taste as good as the fish in the pond. It's gotten used to eating pond fish, and now its palate has become picky.

Seeing its listless appearance, Qing Mengzhu felt a little apologetic.

Therefore, he specially exchanged the previous batch of jerky and took it to the backyard to feed the otters and red foxes, intending to comfort them.

Every time Qing Mengzhu feeds the otters and red foxes, the two dogs come over, and today was no exception.

So, the four little ones circled around Qing Mengzhu.

Qing Mengzhu fed one person after another, and the small bag of jerky in her hand was gone in just a couple of rounds of feeding.

The otter was no longer afraid of Qing Mengzhu and grabbed his pants with its front paws, whimpering.

The two dogs were wagging their tails enthusiastically. "Woof woof!"

The more wary red fox dared not approach Qing Mengzhu's feet, but instead looked up at him expectantly from a distance, its eyes glistening with tears. "Eek."

Faced with the expectant gazes of four pairs of eyes, Qing Mengzhu shrugged, indicating that there was no more jerky. "No more, we'll eat some tomorrow."

The otter persisted, grabbing his pants and trying to rummage through his pockets.

The Dharma Protector and Guard, no longer considerate, began to whimper and bark, wanting to continue begging for food.

Qing Mengzhu suspected that these guys were surrounding him and not letting him leave because they sensed he felt a little guilty today and would be more accommodating.

He was surrounded and tried to break through several times, but failed. He had no choice but to take out his phone and decide to buy two more packs of dried meat.

Oh well, I might as well buy a few more packs while the jerky is still buy-one-get-one-free; the price might not be available again in the future.

So Qing Mengzhu bought two more portions of dried meat, getting a total of four packets.

He only took one packet, opened it, and gave it to the four little ones, then stopped feeding them.

We can't afford to feed them anymore.

The four little ones, having eaten their fill, licked their lips and circled around Qing Mengzhu with lingering relish.

They were exceptionally well-behaved at this time, even the red foxes.

Qing Mengzhu came over as she was told, and gave her a massage as she was told. The Dharma Protector even lay down and turned over, offering his soft belly.

The Guard and otters followed suit, also rolling over on their bellies to act cute.

The red fox wouldn't let Qing Mengzhu touch its belly, but it offered its soft, large tail, which felt quite nice to touch.

Qing Mengzhu petted the fluffy cat for a while before going home to wash her hands and cook.

After finishing his meal, it was still early, not time for bed yet. He sat on a recliner in the yard, gazing at the starry sky and enjoying the cool air, while casually taking out his phone to play on it.

After browsing through various apps and finding nothing interesting, and with no one contacting him, he finally opened the Interstellar Mall.

He recently discovered that the discount section is quite a good place to shop, with a large number of items discounted by 30%, 50%, or even 30%, and some even have buy-one-get-one-free offers.

Although he couldn't afford most of the items, just looking at them made him feel happy.

While browsing, Qing Mengzhu suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and went back to the product page she had already scrolled past, sitting up straight to look at the product details.

This is a product called "Spirit Pearl Dregs".

Product Description: This product originates from a cultivation world.

Cultivators recycle depleted natural spirit stones and process them into Spirit Pearl. Spirit Pearl can store and release spiritual energy, making them a type of acquired spirit stone.

However, the lifespan of Spirit Pearl is relatively short; it will shatter after releasing spiritual energy multiple times.

These shattered Spirit Pearl still retain some spiritual energy, but they are of little use to people in the cultivation world, so they are processed into Spirit Pearl Soil.

According to the introduction, this Spirit Pearl Dregs is mainly Water Spirit Pearl Dregs, which can be used to make potting soil, replacing fine sand for planting aquatic spirit plants such as daffodils and water lilies that contain Spiritual Power, with particularly good results.

These artificially created Spirit Pearl Dregs are unbalanced in the five elements and cannot be used as a substitute for normal Water Spirit Stone, nor can they be used on non-aquatic organisms.

This product seems tailor-made for Qing Mengzhu; I wonder if it was a targeted push from the Interstellar Mall.

After reading the introduction, he immediately checked the purchase permissions—because the spiritual energy contained in the Spirit Pearl Dregs was very low, it was also possible to purchase it in his plane.

The price is relatively high, 999 Star Coins per bag, and each bag only contains 100g, enough to fill just one small sachet.

Qing Mengzhu checked his account balance; he only had a little over two thousand Star Coins.

If he buys just two bags, his savings will be depleted, and he'll go back to abject poverty from a comfortable life.

He stared at the Interstellar Mall, considering it carefully.

The discounted items change every day. In fact, not only are the discounted items different, but the items sold in the Interstellar Mall also vary.

For example, he had seen the eggs of the Savage Marsh Shrimp before, but when he searched for it again later, the product was no longer available in the online store.

This Spirit Pearl Dregs is probably the same; if you don't buy it, it might be taken off the shelves at any time.

Even if it's not taken off the shelves and the price is restored to normal, 3000 Star Coins for 100g is still quite upsetting.

Even if he bought it, he wasn't sure what positive impact 100g of Spirit Pearl Dregs would have on his pond. 100g of Spirit Pearl Dregs was far too little for a pond of several hundred square meters.

It's quite disheartening to spend so many Star Coins only to get a useless item.

Qing Mengzhu sat hesitantly on the recliner. The two dogs were already asleep. They hadn't been very active today, so they weren't snoring, only breathing softly. The sound of breathing mixed with the hum of the oxygenator and the rustling of leaves in the evening breeze, making the yard very quiet.

He created this tranquil courtyard himself, and with a little effort, he should be able to make it even better.

With that thought in mind, Qing Mengzhu tapped her finger lightly, completing the purchase; the quantity was still "2".

He could earn those two thousand Star Coins before, and he can earn them again in the future.

He can afford it.

Author's Note:

See you this afternoon!

Chapter 40

Qing Mengzhu retrieved the two bags of Spirit Pearl Dregs he had purchased from his personal center.

Despite being labeled as bags, Interstellar Mall used leaf-like outer packaging paper, simply packing two bags into each bag before shipping.

Qing Mengzhu held the bag in her hand; it wasn't even as big as an egg, and it didn't seem like a good deal at all.

Upon opening the outer packaging, you'll find stardust-like sand inside, shimmering with a silvery luster, and it feels heavy in your hand.

Qing Mengzhu carefully held a small handful of Spirit Pearl Dregs, feeling as if she had grasped gold.

The Spirit Pearl Dregs didn't look like anything ordinary, Qing Mengzhu didn't hesitate for long. She went back to her room, found two brocade bags, poured the Spirit Pearl Dregs into each bag, and then took them to the pond and quietly placed them in the center of the two long ponds.

To make it easier to find later, he deliberately buried the brocade bag in the mud.

That way, the brocade bag won't drift away with the water, and it will be easier for him to take it out later.

When Qing Mengzhu buried the Spirit Pearl Dregs, it was completely dark, and no one saw his actions.