Chapter 6

Qing Mengzhu: "I do use sunscreen."

Zhao Hexi: "I get it. You do have to take care of your appearance."

Qing Mengzhu: "It has nothing to do with my appearance. I mainly use it to avoid sunburn."

After they sat down and ordered their food, Zhao Hexi asked Qing Mengzhu how things had been going lately.

Qing Mengzhu: "I've planted the lotus. Next, I might grow some vegetables. As for cash crops, I might plant chili peppers."

His family had so many mu of land that he couldn't leave it empty all year. He had to grow something to bring in a little money. It would be even better if he could sell it through the Interstellar Mall.

Zhao Hexi: "Wouldn't that keep you busy?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's all right. I'm researching varieties to plant right now. Chili peppers in particular might be my main source of income for the next few months. I plan to grow a lot of them, so I need to pick a fairly good variety."

Author's note:

See you tomorrow!

Chapter 6

Zhao Hexi had grown up in the city and knew little about growing crops.

The two chatted for a while, and the conversation gradually moved on to other things.

As they talked, Zhao Hexi brought up Ming Chunxi and asked, "Are you and Ming Chunxi no longer in contact?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Why do you ask?"

Zhao Hexi watched his expression. Seeing nothing unusual, he said, "Ming Chunxi wants your WeChat contact and came to me to ask for it. Should I send it to him?"

Qing Mengzhu held his glass of lemon water. Two seconds passed before he said, "Go ahead."

Zhao Hexi glanced at him a couple of times, trying to judge whether he really didn't mind.

Qing Mengzhu put down his glass. "It's fine. Send it to him."

After dinner, Zhao Hexi went with Qing Mengzhu to his rented apartment.

Qing Mengzhu brought out the small appliances and furniture he was giving Zhao Hexi—an electric kettle, a rice cooker, a little cart, and the like—and helped him carry them to the car.

After putting everything in the car, Zhao Hexi went back upstairs with Qing Mengzhu and helped him clean the apartment.

The two of them worked for half the evening.

It wasn't until after ten, when Qing Mengzhu had seen Zhao Hexi off, that he had time to pull out his phone and check it.

There was a new friend request on WeChat, accompanied by a simple message: [Good evening, Mengzhu. It's Ming Chunxi.]

Seeing the familiar name again after so many years, Qing Mengzhu stared at it for several seconds before accepting the request and neatly typing "Ming Chunxi" as the contact's name.

Once the friend request was accepted, Ming Chunxi quickly sent a message: [Mengzhu, it's been a long time. How have you been?]

Sitting on a wooden chair with his head lowered, Qing Mengzhu typed slowly. He pondered for quite a while before replying: [Pretty well. What about you? Did you go back to Vine City for work?]

Ming Chunxi: [I just joined ET. I'll be in Vine City for the next few years.]

Qing Mengzhu: [That's great. Auntie must be delighted.]

Ming Chunxi: [I'm happy too. I hope I can accomplish something now that I'm back. I heard you switched careers and went into farming? Have you given it careful thought?]

Qing Mengzhu: [Yeah, I thought it over carefully for a while and decided to give it a try. My family happens to have land in the countryside, and the previous lease expired, so I decided to take it back and farm it myself.]

Qing Mengzhu: [If it really doesn't work out, I'll come back and find a job next year.]

Ming Chunxi: [I'm afraid farming will be hard work.]

Qing Mengzhu: [It's actually not too bad. Farming is mechanized now. It's different from how it was for the previous generation.]

Ming Chunxi took a little longer to reply: [It seems you've made up your mind. Congratulations. If you need help with anything at all, don't hesitate to ask me.]

Qing Mengzhu felt a warmth in his heart and sent back a thank-you sticker.

After chatting for a bit, Qing Mengzhu couldn't help asking: [Auntie has my WeChat. Why didn't you ask her to send it to you?]

The screen showed that Ming Chunxi was typing. Qing Mengzhu stared at it, waiting for his reply.

A few seconds later, Ming Chunxi's message came through: [I wanted to ask first whether you wanted to add me.]

When Qing Mengzhu saw those words, a familiar feeling struck him, and his heart ached.

After all these years, Ming Chunxi's way of doing things had hardly changed.

Ming Chunxi was still the same Ming Chunxi.

Qing Mengzhu's father had married Ming Chunxi's mother when Qing Mengzhu was in middle school. When he was in high school, the two had divorced by mutual agreement because their personalities were incompatible.

All told, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi had lived as stepbrothers for only five short years.

Back then, it had taken Qing Mengzhu more than three years to go from seeing Ming Chunxi as an enemy, to a friend, and finally to family.

They hadn't been family for long before he realized how he felt about Ming Chunxi and deliberately distanced himself. Then his father and Ming Chunxi's mother divorced, and the two of them suddenly had far less contact.

During the summer after Qing Mengzhu's first year of university, his father had unfortunately drowned while swimming outdoors with others.

His father's company had been on the rise and had borrowed quite a lot of money. When his father died, the debts did not fall to Qing Mengzhu, but the company went bankrupt and its assets were used to pay them off. Once everything was settled, all he inherited was the old house and farmland his grandparents had left behind.

To support himself, he began working while studying, and grew distant from quite a few people he had previously known.

When Qing Mengzhu's father died, Ming Chunxi's mother helped a great deal. Otherwise, their family's company and debts would not have been dealt with so smoothly.

Later, Ming Chunxi's mother, Ming Lexin, wanted to help pay for Qing Mengzhu's university education, but he politely declined.

All sorts of emotions had weighed on him then. He had only wanted to escape his old surroundings and have no further connection to his former life.

It took two or three years for him to gradually feel better and reconnect with some of his relatives and friends.

Because Ming Lexin had helped him so much, Qing Mengzhu would send her greetings during festivals and holidays, and sometimes gifts as well.

The two had remained fairly close over the past few years. If Ming Chunxi had asked Ming Lexin for his WeChat contact and she had then asked him, he would certainly have agreed.

He hadn't expected Ming Chunxi to ask a friend instead and wait for his consent before adding him.

Qing Mengzhu stared at the name on the contact and felt a jumble of emotions.

An elite graduate of a prestigious university, a person of impeccable character, with an annual salary in the millions-after all these years, the gap between him and Ming Chunxi had not narrowed. If anything, it seemed to have grown wider.

They hadn't seen each other for years, after all, and Ming Chunxi and Qing Mengzhu didn't have much to talk about. Their conversation ended after a short while.

Qing Mengzhu's thoughts had been stirred up, and he lay awake for half the night. Even so, he got up early the next morning and contacted his landlord to come inspect the apartment.

After checking out, he loaded the furniture he had sorted out into the trunk and drove back to Pingkou Village.

The lotus had already been planted, and he needed to tend it regularly. He couldn't stay away for long.

The lotus had only just been planted, so there were no visible changes yet.

Qing Mengzhu made a round of inspection and confirmed that the water level was right and there was nothing that needed tending in the lotus pond. Then he went home, shouldered a carrying basket, picked up another basket, and headed up the mountain.

He planned to earn some more Star Coins while he had the time.

Grain Rain had passed, and some of the bracken on the mountain had grown old. Wild vegetables such as dandelions and shepherd's purse had also begun to turn bitter. After gathering some, Qing Mengzhu scanned them with the Interstellar Mall and found that the prices it offered were much lower than before.

On this trip up the mountain, he mainly wanted to gather bamboo shoots and mushrooms.

Bamboo shoots kept fairly well, so it was fine to stockpile them for a few days. Mushrooms could be dried and sold, so he could likewise stockpile them for sale without worrying about failing to meet the Interstellar Mall's minimum sales requirement.

Qing Mengzhu took the mountain path from the village, and had just reached the mountain when he saw a group of young people fooling around with backpacks, bags, and catching nets.

He thought the young people were out enjoying the countryside for the weekend, so he gave them a glance and paid them no further attention.

The young people, however, brightened at the sight of him and waved enthusiastically in greeting.

"Hey, handsome, are you going up the mountain to pick mushrooms?"

"Yes."

"What kinds of mushrooms on the mountain are edible? Are there many this time of year?"

"Quite a few. Boletes, morels, almond mushrooms, termite mushrooms, chanterelles, wild shiitakes, and others are all edible."

After answering, Qing Mengzhu looked at the group of young people, who were eager to give it a try, and cautioned them, "A lot of poisonous mushrooms look very much like wild mushrooms. If you're not used to picking mushrooms, it's best not to pick them."

The young people nodded repeatedly. "Thanks, handsome."