Chapter 60: The Cat Stallholder
The process of collecting the third colony of bees went very smoothly for Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan.
By morning, they had gathered all the bees and began heading down the mountain.
The beehives sat inside their back baskets. The bees buzzed as they flew inside, crawling back and forth with little “clack, clack” sounds that were rather frightening to hear.
Ying Kongtu glanced back. “So lively. If they were ordinary bees, they would at least be listless by now.”
Wen Zhongshan was carrying the tent, cookware, seeds, and other supplies. “Do you want to switch baskets?”
“No, no need.” Ying Kongtu said cheerfully, “I’m not afraid of bees.”
A smile appeared in Wen Zhongshan’s eyes. “You’re only afraid of snakes.”
The mountain god’s fear of snakes mainly came from the psychological shadow left behind from when he had still been human.
After he became a mountain god, he no longer allowed snakes to appear before him.
Ying Kongtu said, “It’s fine. As long as I can’t see them, I’ll pretend they don’t exist.”
After spending so many days in the mountains, the two of them were finally able to descend, and both were in very good spirits.
When they found the car they had parked at the foot of the mountain, Wen Zhongshan asked, “Can the bees go in the trunk?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem.” Ying Kongtu walked over and took a look. “It’s connected to the front cabin. We just need to open the windows.”
After simply packing their things, the two set off on the return journey.
Although they had been calling Xing Chang over the past few days, phone calls were still different from meeting in person.
Both of them missed Xian Niao and the others.
Because of this, Wen Zhongshan even deliberately drove onto the highway, wanting to get home faster.
“Do you want to stop at a service area for something to eat?” Wen Zhongshan asked.
They had eaten mountain delicacies in the mountains these past few days, and Ying Kongtu truly did miss human food a little.
He said, “Go ahead. The beef offal at this service area seems pretty good. Let’s buy some.”
But before they reached the service area, a roadside light board displayed: “Vehicles transporting bees, please stay on the main road.”
“Hm? Why is there even a sign like that?” Ying Kongtu was seeing this kind of sign for the first time. “We count as a vehicle transporting bees too, right? Does that mean we’re not allowed into the service area?”
“Probably.”
Ying Kongtu looked at the words on the sign and could not help laughing. “There must have been an accident before, right?”
Spring had arrived. Their local rapeseed flowers were in full bloom, and beekeepers from all over the country were coming one after another.
Looking at that line of words, Ying Kongtu could already imagine bees flying out halfway along the road.
Wen Zhongshan also glanced at it, a smile on his face. “Probably. Behind every absurd slogan, there’s usually an absurd accident.”
“Then there’s no helping it. Let’s go straight home. We’ll have a big meal after we get back.”
Wen Zhongshan drove both fast and steadily. The car soon entered Changchuan County.
The instant they entered Changchuan territory, the mountain god and his land resonated with each other. A faint white glow even rose from Ying Kongtu’s body.
A heartfelt ease welled up from deep within him.
Ying Kongtu gently closed his eyes and pressed a hand over his chest.
He would always love his territory.
Ying Kongtu had originally wanted to go home first.
Because he had seen the sign on the road and guessed the little accident behind it, Ying Kongtu simply had Wen Zhongshan drive up the mountain directly.
They would settle the bees first before going home.
That way, the bees would not sting Dart and the others.
Dart and Jingwei were only ordinary little animals. If they appeared in the bees’ territory, accidents could easily happen.
Especially since these bees were not ordinary bees. Their venom was much stronger than that of normal bees. If one of them stung someone, something could easily go wrong.
Wen Zhongshan had no objection.
This time, they had only found three colonies of bees.
Ying Kongtu placed the beehives separately on Wuchuan Mountain, Baogu Mountain, and Bibai Mountain. These three mountains were relatively close to the plains outside.
The bees had just arrived. If they could not find enough pollen and nectar on the mountains, they could fly down and try the foot of the mountains.
Right now, the rapeseed flowers were blooming splendidly. There would definitely be enough food below.
When placing the hives, Ying Kongtu carefully opened each beehive and invited the queen bee inside out, then registered each one under his divine protection.
Bees were extremely loyal. As long as the queen bee was registered, it was equivalent to registering the three colonies of bees. Basically, nothing would go wrong.
After Ying Kongtu settled the hives, he deliberately opened the exits so the bees could freely come and go.
Wen Zhongshan watched the bees crawl out in rows, then spread their wings and fly away. “They seem to be flying in quite a hurry.”
“They’ve been shut in for more than a day. They’re probably anxious to go to the bathroom.” Ying Kongtu pointed at the beehive entrance. “It’s fine. The queen bee is bigger than ordinary bees. She can’t get out, and the other bees won’t leave without her.”
Wen Zhongshan’s attention was on another point. “Bees go to the bathroom?”
“Yes. They have to go too. They’re very clean. Aside from a small number of bees that can’t come out and have no choice but to relieve themselves inside the hive, the others will try to go outside.”
“How magical.”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “There’s nothing magical about it. They’re living creatures too.”
Ying Kongtu pulled Wen Zhongshan along. “Come on. Let’s go home first. Tiaozhu and the others must be waiting for us.”
When the two returned home, the whole family of furry ones was indeed there.
Xing Chang was there too.
Xing Chang was sitting on a little stool. Xian Niao and Jingwei were leaning against him, and whenever he turned his head, he could bury his face in the heads of the two wolves.
Dart was on his lap, sprawled out with its paws spread, sleeping soundly.
Tiaozhu was still perched high on top of the courtyard wall, curled into a ball and sleeping.
The Ural owl, whose feathers had grown back a little, was standing curiously on Xing Chang’s shoulder and looking at everyone.
“We’re back.” Ying Kongtu walked in and knocked on the door.
All the furry ones were instantly startled awake. Even Tiaozhu nimbly jumped down from the wall.
“Meow-aooo—”
“Awooo—”
All the furry ones cried out. Even the Ural owl opened its mouth amid the noise.
“Meow.” Dart sounded very resentful, circling them and meowing loudly. “Meow-aooo.”
Jingwei excitedly came over and pounced on them, placing its paws on Ying Kongtu’s waist. Its drooping big tail swayed slightly beyond its control.
Xian Niao did the same, pressing close to Wen Zhongshan and bumping his waist with its head.
Tiaozhu walked over and reservedly rubbed around them, leaving its scent on them.
The Ural owl reacted relatively slowly. It was the last to hop down, running around the outer edge on its long legs.
“Jingwei!” Ying Kongtu rubbed Jingwei, also very happy, then rubbed the other furry ones one by one. “Xian Niao! Tiaozhu! Dart! And you too, little Ural owl! I missed you all too!”
Finally, Ying Kongtu picked Dart up and supported it in the crook of his arm. “How have these past few days been?”
Xian Niao softly said, “Awooo.”
Xing Chang walked over. “Why were you gone so long this time? Did things go smoothly on the road?”
“Smoothly. The bees were just hard to find. We only found three colonies. They’ve all been settled on the mountain now, so we wouldn’t bring them home and risk them stinging you.”
Xing Chang said, “Are they the unusual kind of bees?”
“Yes, that kind of bee!” Ying Kongtu smiled at him. “You worked hard these past few days.”
Xing Chang shook his head. “Not hard at all. I got paid to pet furry ones. I was very happy. You two had the harder time.”
Xing Chang chatted with them for a while, then soon wanted to go home so he would not disturb their reunion.
Ying Kongtu firmly kept him there and made him eat before leaving.
They had truly been exhausted these past few days, and there were no good ingredients at home. Wen Zhongshan ordered a full banquet to be delivered, and they ate a feast at home.
After dinner, they spent some time properly holding the furry ones before finally going to bathe.
They had bathed every day in the mountains too.
But the stream water had been cold, and they had only washed briefly. Only after returning home could they take a proper, relaxing bath.
“Sleep here today. Don’t bother going back and forth.” Ying Kongtu yawned as he said to Wen Zhongshan.
Recently, Ying Kongtu had been staying at Wen Zhongshan’s house.
So he had changed his own guest room into Xian Niao and the others’ room.
Xian Niao and Tiaozhu mainly stayed in the shrine. Jingwei had now grown into a half-free-range little wolf and did not sleep at home that often either. The room was mostly Dart’s.
Ying Kongtu had placed all kinds of blankets and toys there for them, making it convenient for them to play inside. It was also convenient to turn on the air conditioner.
Sometimes Xian Niao and the others would come back for an afternoon nap, and staying in that room was just right.
Today, Ying Kongtu invited Wen Zhongshan to stay over, which meant the two could only sleep in the same bed.
When they had been outside, they had already grown used to sleeping in a double sleeping bag. Now, sleeping in the same bed did not feel uncomfortable either.
Ying Kongtu specially changed to fresh bedding, then took out another pillow.
His little 1.8-meter bed instantly turned into a double bed.
Looking at the two pillows placed side by side, Ying Kongtu felt somewhat emotional.
After Wen Zhongshan came out from his bath, he reached out and touched Ying Kongtu’s half-long hair. “What are you thinking about?”
“Sleeping in a bed is still more comfortable.” Ying Kongtu smiled.
“Mm.” Wen Zhongshan pressed him down to sit at the edge of the bed. “I’ll dry your hair.”
Wen Zhongshan wore a buzz cut, the kind that tested one’s head shape and facial features severely, yet it still looked very handsome on him.
Ying Kongtu had half-long hair, and it would only grow longer and longer.
Even though he had bathed first, his hair dried later than Wen Zhongshan’s. It still needed to be blown dry.
Wen Zhongshan first used a towel to dry the water in his hair as much as possible, then went to squeeze out some hair oil and gently applied it for him. Only then did he turn on the hair dryer and slowly dry his hair.
After this whole process, Ying Kongtu narrowed his eyes comfortably, just like Xian Niao after being petted into contentment.
It was not easy to come home and sleep in a bed, so the two of them both slept in late that day.
When they woke the next day, the little ones at home had already gone up the mountain once and returned.
Ying Kongtu lay in bed, hearing the movement outside, but still stretched out his arm and hugged Wen Zhongshan’s shoulder. “Let’s sleep a little longer.”
Wen Zhongshan laughed softly. “If we don’t get up, they’ll come scratch at the door.”
Ying Kongtu said lazily, “I don’t care. Whoever comes to scratch the door will have their canned food deducted.”
They clearly heard a little one stand outside the door. As soon as he said this, that little one walked away again.
Ying Kongtu laughed softly. “Guess who came just now?”
“Tiaozhu,” Wen Zhongshan said. “Dart isn’t that sensible. It wouldn’t stop scratching the door just because of our threat.”
Only after Ying Kongtu had lazed in bed enough did he go wash up, then open the bedroom door to look at the little ones at home.
The little ones were not in the living room. They had all run outside to sunbathe.
Outside their bedroom door, however, there was a floor full of wild vegetables.
“There are already wild vegetables on the mountain?” Ying Kongtu was surprised.
It was only early March. Logically speaking, the wild vegetables on the mountain should not have sprouted yet. At most, there should be some small bracken shoots.
Ying Kongtu flipped through the wild vegetables. “Shepherd’s purse, bracken, Chinese toon shoots. Hm? There are even aralia buds. Where did you find aralia buds? No, how did you pick them? Didn’t you get pricked?”
The furry ones were sunbathing outside and did not answer him.
Since the wild vegetables had already been brought back, today’s lunch would be a wild vegetable feast.
Ying Kongtu gathered the wild vegetables and carried them to the kitchen. He blanched them first, then soaked them in the sweet, cold well water.
When cooking lunch, Ying Kongtu still felt amazed. “We stayed in the mountains for so long and barely found any wild vegetables. I didn’t expect them to find some.”
“The place we went had a higher elevation and lower temperature. Wuchuan Mountain is closer to the outside, sunnier and warmer. It’s normal for there to be wild vegetables. Besides, now there’s the nourishment of the mountain god’s divine power.”
“That’s true.”
Ying Kongtu specially cut some cured pork to stir-fry with the aralia buds, and also chopped down some cured ribs to stew with radish.
The radishes were also from the little vegetable garden.
The weather was already very warm now. Most of the radishes had started becoming pithy. If they did not eat them these few days, the next time they wanted to eat seasonal radishes would have to be autumn.
Commercialized radishes sold in supermarkets were available all year round, but when the season was wrong, they did not have that clear, sweet, mellow flavor. Instead, they easily carried a trace of bitterness.
“Time to eat.” Ying Kongtu set the meal in the courtyard.
After Wen Zhongshan finished putting food down for Tiaozhu and the others, he also washed his hands and came over to eat.
Sunlight poured down. They sat in the courtyard eating, warm and cozy. Even the wind blowing over was only a gentle spring breeze.
Ying Kongtu looked at the distant mountains, and his mood became even better. “When I went up the mountain to pick vegetables just now, I stopped by to check on the bees. They’ve already adapted very well.”
“Do we still need to manage them?”
“We need to build them a shed to keep out the rain. After that, we don’t need to manage them much. If we don’t disturb them, they’ll actually live better.”
“I wonder how the Ai fish on the mountain are doing. Shall we go up the mountain this afternoon and take a look?”
“Sure. I want to see too.” After Ying Kongtu finished speaking, he took another bite of food. “The wild vegetables right now are really delicious. So tender and watery.”
Ying Kongtu liked all kinds of wild vegetables very much. They had a flavor completely different from cultivated vegetables.
Especially the first batch of spring wild vegetables. Eating them was like having all of spring melt on the tip of one’s tongue.
It was wonderful.
The furry ones at home knew his preference very well. So every day when they patrolled the mountains, they brought him wild vegetables.
Even the two wild wolves, who counted as unofficial wolf members of the furry patrol team, quickly mastered the skill of digging wild vegetables and occasionally brought some to Ying Kongtu.
Ying Kongtu did indeed enjoy eating wild vegetables, but even he could not stand gnawing on them every day.
When Tiaozhu and the others brought down wild vegetables once again, Ying Kongtu gently pushed their furry chests. “Enough. You don’t need to bring any for now. You already patrol the mountain every day and still have to look for wild vegetables. It’s really too hard on you.”
“Awooo!” Jingwei grinned and burrowed into Ying Kongtu’s arms, its eyes bright and sparkling, meaning that it was not hard at all.
Ying Kongtu could not help touching its back. “Let’s pause for now and let the wild vegetables grow a little.”
Jingwei especially liked bringing wild vegetables to Ying Kongtu.
Perhaps because it had once brought Ying Kongtu a tufted deer, only for it to be taken away by the Forestry Bureau in the end, while Ying Kongtu did not properly eat that rare prey.
Now, when it brought wild vegetables down every day, Ying Kongtu would eat them.
Even if he could not finish them right away, he would soak them in water and eat them slowly, or dry them, pickle them, and make them into side dishes. He never let its goodwill go to waste.
Ying Kongtu had also noticed Jingwei’s little thoughts, but they truly could not finish them all.
Jingwei was extremely persistent about bringing back wild vegetables and could not be persuaded otherwise.
After several times, Ying Kongtu had no choice but to seek Jingwei’s opinion. “We already have enough wild vegetables at home. How about giving some to Xing Chang? He looked after you all for a while earlier, and we haven’t properly thanked him yet.”
Jingwei tilted its head and reacted for a while. After it understood what he meant, it agreed. “Awooo!”
Ying Kongtu said, “Then I’ll send some.”
Wild vegetables had to be gifted while fresh. Ying Kongtu immediately sent Xing Chang a message, telling him to drop by after work if it was convenient and take some wild vegetables home to eat.
Xing Chang himself loved wild vegetables, especially the first batch of spring wild vegetables.
After work, he rushed over excitedly. When he accepted the big bag of wild vegetables Ying Kongtu handed over, he was shocked. “Why are there so many?”
Ying Kongtu said, “Jingwei and the others brought them down. If you eat them, soak them properly, wash them, then blanch them.”
Xing Chang did not mind that Jingwei and the others had brought them down.
After all, wild vegetables grew in the mountains every day and had been crawled over, gnawed on, and touched by countless insects, birds, and beasts. Being carried by a wolf was nothing.
Xing Chang looked at them carefully. “Such tender wild vegetables. Jingwei and the others must have picked only the best ones.”
“Yes.” Ying Kongtu said, “The wild vegetables on the mountain are growing well this year too.”
Ying Kongtu had specially checked while patrolling the mountains these past two days.
He guessed that the mountain wild vegetables grew so well not only because they were nourished by divine power, but also because they were nourished by the lake mud.
When they had planted woad earlier, they had mixed lake mud with fertilizer and given the woad plenty of base fertilizer.
Now the woad grew all over the mountains, and the other wild plants were naturally nourished by the fertilizer too. That was why they had grown so plump, tender, and watery this year.
Xing Chang loved this big bag of wild vegetables and could hardly put it down. He said, “These vegetables are really good. You could set up a stall and sell them. If you set up a stall, they’d definitely be very popular.”
Ying Kongtu waved his hand. “Forget it. I don’t have time.”
Mainly, this year, their planting work had already begun to get on track. They were very busy now, unlike last year, when they still had time to sell wild vegetables.
Xing Chang said, “If you don’t have time, you can let Dart and the others sell vegetables.”
Ying Kongtu: “???”
Xing Chang said enthusiastically, “Really. I’ve seen lots of videos of puppies selling vegetables.”
Xing Chang pulled out his phone and opened a short-video app to show Ying Kongtu.
Ying Kongtu glanced at it and indeed saw an Alaskan Malamute sitting behind a vegetable stall.
It did not need to do anything. It simply sat behind the vegetable stall, grinning at the people coming and going on the road.
The people buying vegetables could not help squatting down to support its business, choosing their own vegetables and scanning the code to pay by themselves.
Xing Chang said, “Look, it’s very simple. You just need to divide the vegetables into portions and set up a stall. The Samoyed behind this one also sells vegetables very successfully.”
Xing Chang swiped his phone and showed Ying Kongtu the next short video.
The Samoyed barked twice. When Jingwei and the others heard the sound, they all crowded over and stretched their heads out to watch.
Even the Ural owl, playing the role of a free-range chicken, ran over with little “thud, thud, thud” steps and stretched its neck to look.
Xing Chang thoughtfully lowered his phone for the furry ones to watch the video. “See? It really doesn’t take much effort.”
Ying Kongtu held his forehead.
Xing Chang was still swiping the screen. “There are also videos of cats selling vegetables. The traffic is pretty good too.”
Dart curiously pressed its paw on his wrist and leaned over to look.
Ying Kongtu said, “Tiaozhu is a golden cat. Xian Niao and Jingwei are wolves. If they went to sell vegetables, people would recognize them very quickly. I don’t want to cause trouble for the Special Management Bureau.”
Xing Chang scratched Dart’s chin. “Then Dart can do it.”
Xing Chang had only gotten excited and mentioned it casually.
But Tiaozhu and the others truly seemed a little interested.
They turned their heads in unison and looked at Ying Kongtu.
Ying Kongtu did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Dart, aren’t you the one who can’t sit still the most? If you go sell vegetables, won’t you get impatient halfway through and abandon the stall?”
Xing Chang was very optimistic. “It’s fine even if it runs off. The local folk customs here are pretty honest. You can just treat it as unmanned sales.”
There were indeed quite a lot of wild vegetables on the mountain, and the furry ones were very interested.
Ying Kongtu thought for a moment and felt that if the wild vegetables kept growing in the mountains until they became old, it would indeed be wasteful. They could try it.
If it did not work, then forget it. It did not cost much anyway.
So Ying Kongtu pulled Wen Zhongshan up the mountain to look for wild vegetables, intending to try selling some.
Tiaozhu and the others patrolled the mountains every day. They were almost more familiar with the mountain’s produce than Ying Kongtu.
Seeing that he really wanted to sell wild vegetables, this furry patrol team excitedly led the way in front, taking them to look for all kinds of tender wild vegetables.
In just one morning, the two returned fully loaded.
After returning home, the two sat in the courtyard and briefly sorted through the wild vegetables. After weighing them, they tied them bundle by bundle.
Wild vegetables were sold in bundles like this. Depending on their rarity and taste, they were divided into five yuan per bundle or ten yuan per bundle.
When people bought them on their own, it would also be convenient to pay.
There were two peak times at the county vegetable market: morning and evening.
They could only make it for the evening session.
Ying Kongtu used to often sell various mountain goods outside the vegetable market. Now that he had brought Dart along to set up a stall, he could be considered quite experienced.
He set up the stall, placed bundles of wild vegetables neatly on it, and also put out a money box, price tags, QR code, and speaker.
Finally, he left Dart to watch the stall.
When passersby saw this big orange tabby staying there as the stallholder, they could not help laughing.
At first, Dart also sat very seriously behind the vegetable stall to sell vegetables, occasionally calling “mimi, mimi” at people to attract customers.
Slowly, it could not sit still anymore and simply lay down, occasionally giving people a “mi” or two to draw them in.
When customers wanted to touch it, it generously let them do so. It even spread its legs and allowed them to rub its belly.
Perhaps being rubbed was too comfortable, or perhaps watching the stall was simply too boring.
Dart narrowed its eyes, its tail swaying back and forth, and gradually fell asleep.
After Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan finished their work on the mountain and came down, they saw Dart sleeping sprawled out on the stall, its belly exposed to the cold wind. The wind blew through its long fur, making it tremble slightly.
Who knew who could no longer bear to watch and had taken a towel to cover its belly button so it would not catch cold.
The goods on the stall had almost sold out.
Now, all the different wild vegetables added together only amounted to a few bundles.
Ying Kongtu rubbed his head. Asking a cat to watch a stall was indeed unreliable.
This stall could only be counted as self-service shopping.
Wen Zhongshan roughly glanced at the money box. “The money shouldn’t be off by much.”
Ying Kongtu also looked at the money in the box, then checked the payments received today. “It roughly matches.”
Wen Zhongshan crouched down and stroked the cat. “Maybe because no one would bully a cat?”
Their stall had a speaker. Whoever took vegetables could be seen by nearby people, and whether payment had been made could also be heard.
This made the vast majority of people very consciously pay.
However, if one really calculated it, the main reason was still the honest local customs.
Ying Kongtu prepared to close the stall, feeling deeply moved.
Only when granaries are full do people know propriety. That Changchuan County could become what it was now would have been unimaginable in the past.
Author’s Note:
Dart and Jingwei had no sense of their own limits and went to fight wild boars, returning with swollen noses and bruised faces.
That night, Tiaozhu yowled furiously and dragged Xian Niao out to fight the wild boars.
They bit a whole ground’s worth of wild boars to death. Early the next morning, after receiving a phone call, Ying Kongtu dragged Wen Zhongshan along to meet up with the Forestry Bureau staff and went up the mountain to collect the pigs for harmless disposal.
By the time they came down, Ying Kongtu felt as though his body was about to fall apart, and his eyelids were about to close.
For the first time, Wen Zhongshan put on a stern face and deducted three days of snacks from all four furry ones at home.
