Chapter 63: Buying a New Mountain
Ying Kongtu was not very interested in the affairs of Yue Chengji’s family.
After their rice seeds were scattered into the terraced fields, they grew extremely well.
In only a few short days, a layer of deep green tender shoots had already emerged.
Some birds coveted the rice seedlings and flew over from far away.
Unfortunately, Ying Kongtu had used divine power to repel birds and beasts, so even when the birds flew down, they had no way of approaching the terraced fields.
They could only circle nearby, entering another kind of “ghost hitting the wall.”
The birds’ tiny heads could not understand why they kept running into a ghost wall, so they could only blink their little black-bean eyes and fly around nearby.
After trying several times and still failing to eat anything, they went elsewhere to look for food.
When the old birds flew away, new birds would fly over again.
The cycle repeated itself. The area around Ying Kongtu’s terraced fields became especially lively. There were many birds, and with them came other wild birds and beasts that fed on birds.
Listening to the birdsong, Ying Kongtu went over and carefully took a look, even taking photos of the birds.
Thanks to the attraction of this rice field, he was gaining a clearer and clearer understanding of the wild birds living in the nearby mountains.
Wen Zhongshan also came over to look. “There’s a Temminck’s tragopan today too?”
“Yes. It just flew over.” Ying Kongtu showed Wen Zhongshan the photo he had taken. “The light is a little dim right now, but that actually makes its feathers look especially beautiful.”
“It does.” Wen Zhongshan nodded in agreement. “It’s really beautiful.”
They had come to the terraced fields today not only to check on the rice seedlings, but also to pull weeds.
The Ba-snake fertilizer was extremely potent. The rice seedlings were growing well, and the weeds were growing well too.
Weeds had strong vitality. They were even growing a little better than the rice seedlings. If they were not removed in time, they would become the dominant plants in the field and compete with the seedlings for fertilizer, water, and sunlight. In the end, the rice seedlings would grow less well instead.
After pulling the weeds, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan spread them out on the ridges to dry in the sun.
Once these weeds were dried to death, they could be thrown back into the field to compost, becoming decent fertilizer.
Fertilizer did not come easily, and Ying Kongtu did not want to waste it.
After Wen Zhongshan finished spreading out the grass, he turned and discovered that after Ying Kongtu had spread the grass open to dry, he was still standing on the ridge with his eyes closed, facing the field.
Wen Zhongshan could not help asking, “What’s wrong?”
“Shh, listen.” Ying Kongtu held Wen Zhongshan’s hand, closed his eyes, and smiled. “I can faintly hear the sound of the rice seedlings jointing.”
Wen Zhongshan listened carefully and said, “I can’t hear it, but our rice seedlings really are growing very well.”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “Let’s go.”
They walked down from the ridge, planning to go home for breakfast.
On the way, Ying Kongtu dug up some wild garlic to take back.
They had been eating wild garlic since last winter, and from the looks of it, they could still eat it for another two or three months. Once the temperature rose, it would become shriveled and coarse, not as tasty anymore. Ying Kongtu liked to dig some up from time to time and stir-fry it with cured pork.
Wild garlic was already fragrant on ordinary days. After working hard and going back to stir-fry a plate of it, they ate while ravenous, and the flavor was simply unparalleled.
As Ying Kongtu ate the wild garlic, he said, “The wild garlic right now is really delicious. When we sell wild vegetables on Friday, why don’t we dig some wild garlic to sell too?”
“Sure. There should be more spring bamboo shoots now too, right? We can sell spring shoots.”
“Yes, and the mountain water bamboo shoots too. Those are also delicious.”
As they chatted, the furry ones lying nearby pricked up their ears and listened carefully.
Whenever they heard key words, the furry ones’ ears would twitch.
With one look, Ying Kongtu knew what they cared about.
In spring, there were more wild vegetables in the mountains, and there were also more people setting up stalls outside the market to sell wild vegetables.
However, the stall with the best business would always be Ying Kongtu’s family’s stall.
On Friday afternoon, before they even arrived at the market, their regular customers had already lined up at the old spot.
When the customers saw them arrive, they even helped pull out the waterproof cloth and move the wild vegetables.
“Tiaozhu’s outfit today is so cute. It looks so well-behaved.”
“Aiyo, Jingwei, look at that big tail of yours.”
“The wild garlic today is really nice. This stuff is delicious. I’m buying a bundle later.”
With so many people gathered around the stall, even people who did not know the situation came over and lined up.
Ying Kongtu glanced at the line and estimated that today’s wild vegetables would sell out very quickly too.
Many of the customers who came to buy their family’s wild vegetables were regular customers. When they ran into new customers who did not know the situation, they even introduced the vegetables to them.
“What is this?”
“Purple-flowered bittercress. It’s delicious for wonton filling or for making salted greens. Brother, you don’t look like a local?”
“I used to do business outside and only came back recently. I haven’t eaten wild vegetables in years. This bracken is so good.”
“Exactly. Their bracken isn’t very bitter. I’ll take a bundle too.”
“Bracken is at its tenderest right now. If you don’t eat a few meals of it now, it’ll get old after a while.”
Ying Kongtu heard Mandarin without any local accent and looked at the speaking customer a little longer.
With one look, he found that it was indeed an unfamiliar customer.
That customer was in poor health. His complexion was waxy yellow, his appearance was haggard, and when he lifted his eyes, the whites of his eyes were also yellow. However, his gaze was still sharp.
Ying Kongtu spent every day with Wen Zhongshan, and occasionally he could see Wen Zhongshan’s very “sharp” side. He was already used to this kind of gaze.
He looked a little longer because this customer looked somewhat like Yue Chengji.
Thinking of the gossip Xing Chang had mentioned, Ying Kongtu guessed that this person was Yue Chengji’s seriously ill second brother. He had not expected that this man had really returned.
Yue Chengmao also met Ying Kongtu’s gaze, and surprise instantly appeared on his face.
He had fought his way around outside for many years and had dealt with elites from all kinds of countries.
He had not expected that after returning to his hometown, he would instead see a young man with such outstanding appearance and bearing.
And when he looked, there were two of them.
Yue Chengmao instantly felt that he had underestimated the heroes under heaven. His hometown had quite a few talented people.
Ying Kongtu recognized him, but did not say anything. He only smiled at him.
Yue Chengmao followed the flow of people, selected his vegetables, paid, and also smiled at Ying Kongtu.
After selling out the vegetables, Ying Kongtu, as usual, took Tiaozhu and the others to buy milk tea.
The milk tea from this chain shop was quite good, using relatively healthy ingredients. Tiaozhu and the others drank it once a week, and it did not cause any problems.
Ying Kongtu parked the farm tricycle on the road outside the milk tea shop and called to Tiaozhu and the others, “Wait, help us bring one too. I want pearl milk tea.”
As he spoke, Ying Kongtu lightly nudged Wen Zhongshan.
Wen Zhongshan said, “I want mango pomelo sago.”
Xian Niao let out an “awoo,” indicating that it understood.
The furry ones soon came out, each carrying milk tea in their mouths.
Xian Niao carried three cups. In addition to its own woof-woof milk tea, it also had Ying Kongtu’s and Wen Zhongshan’s milk teas.
“So good.” Ying Kongtu rubbed Xian Niao’s neck. “Thank you, Xian Niao.”
Xian Niao said, “Awooo.”
Ying Kongtu looked at Tiaozhu and the others. “Tiaozhu, you’re drinking fruit tea again?”
Tiaozhu was devoted to fruit tea. Every time they came, it always ordered pet fruit tea.
Tiaozhu lazily raised the tip of its tail as an answer.
After they returned home, Ying Kongtu caught the Ural owl from Wen Zhongshan’s shoulder and held it in his hand to examine it carefully.
The Ural owl’s skin disease was basically healed now, and new feathers had grown in.
It now lay in Ying Kongtu’s hand, its eyes rolling around, looking very clever.
Ying Kongtu lightly touched its beak. “What are you thinking about?”
Wen Zhongshan leaned over. “Probably thinking about how it can stay for a little longer.”
“That won’t do.” Ying Kongtu stroked its chest. “Next Monday, I’ll send it back to the Forestry Bureau and let the Forestry Bureau staff release it, all right?”
Wen Zhongshan said, “I think that’s fine.”
This Ural owl had probably been brought over from deeper in the mountains by the two wild wolves. They did not know exactly which mountain it had come from. In any case, it was not one of Ying Kongtu’s mountains.
When it was released, they also had to do their best to release it back into the place where it had originally lived.
Ying Kongtu touched it reluctantly, but letting it live freely outside was more important.
The Forestry Bureau had only arranged people on duty over the weekend, so Ying Kongtu specifically chose Monday, a workday, to send the owl over.
The other side accepted the owl very readily and said that they would release it on the mountain Ying Kongtu suggested.
The Forestry Bureau staff moved quickly. That very afternoon, they took the owl to release it.
The owl moved quickly too. The next morning, it flew back to Ying Kongtu’s mountain and ran into the two of them while they were out inspecting the rice field.
“Woo-wa—” The Ural owl spread its wings, circled above them, and called over their heads.
“You’re really something, finding us even like this.” Ying Kongtu lifted his head and said with sincere admiration.
“Woo-wa!” The owl called proudly again.
Having grown used to following Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan, this Ural owl still instinctively followed them.
Ying Kongtu used a little divine power and forbade it from following them into the county.
It flew back and forth several times. In the end, it flew into the mountain forest and settled down on Ying Kongtu’s mountain.
That worked too.
Watching its figure, Ying Kongtu thought that the mountain was currently lacking raptors. It was good for it to move here.
The Ural owl settled down in the mountains. During the non-breeding season, it would not live in a fixed nest.
It flew back and forth through the mountains, hunting, resting, and playing. Wherever it flew, it would perch there.
Watching its free figure, Ying Kongtu also felt that this was pretty good.
After the owl returned to the forest, when their whole family went to sell wild vegetables on Friday, regular customers asked about it.
Ying Kongtu said it had recovered from illness and been released back into the wild.
Everyone understood very well.
However, Yue Chengmao, who was lining up in the crowd, later asked around about it.
Ying Kongtu’s mountains had medicinal herbs, and not long ago, he had sold daqingye from his isatis plants.
Aside from treating birds, he also seemed to have given Xing Chang medicine and cured Xing Chang’s cough.
No matter how one looked at it, he should know some medicine. The only question was how good his medical skill was.
After Yue Chengmao finished asking around, he visited Ying Kongtu’s house that afternoon.
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan did not interact much with people in the county, so they were rather surprised to see Yue Chengmao come to visit.
Yue Chengmao introduced himself directly, then stated his request: he hoped Ying Kongtu could help take a look at his illness.
Ying Kongtu had not expected this to be his purpose and said gently, “Boss Yue, you’ve misunderstood. I don’t know medicine.”
“You’re too modest. I saw that you plant medicinal herbs and also know how to process medicinal herbs. You should know medicine, shouldn’t you?”
Ying Kongtu shook his head. “I’ve just read some medical books and herb books and know a few folk remedies. I’m far from being a doctor. I don’t dare treat people.”
Disappointment was hard to hide on Yue Chengmao’s face. “Is that so?”
Ying Kongtu poured him tea.
He waved his hand. “Thank you, but I have a bit of insomnia, so I can’t drink tea.”
Ying Kongtu moved the teapot away and did not drink tea himself either. “Boss Yue, roughly what problem do you have now? Can you tell me?”
Yue Chengmao’s complexion was very poor.
Looking at him, Ying Kongtu felt compassion and asked one more question.
Yue Chengmao hesitated for a moment, then said, “I have fibromyalgia syndrome. There’s no specific medicine for it now. I’m drinking traditional Chinese medicine.”
Ying Kongtu had never heard of this illness before. He thought for a moment. “What formula are you using? Can I take a look?”
Yue Chengmao pulled up the prescription on his phone.
Ying Kongtu looked at it. Most of the herbs were for relieving pain, clearing the channels, nourishing qi and blood, and regulating sleep.
He roughly understood what kind of illness this was.
Ying Kongtu returned the phone to him. “Boss Yue, you’ll have to take good care of yourself with this illness.”
Yue Chengmao said, “Yes. I moved back to the county because the water and soil here are better. My mood is calmer here, which helps with recuperation.”
Ying Kongtu nodded and said, “I think this prescription of yours is quite well written. We don’t know how to treat illness, but if you need medicinal herbs, we can dig some for you. The quality of the herbs on our mountain is pretty good.”
Yue Chengmao was pleasantly surprised. “What medicinal herbs are on the mountain?”
“From the herbs in your prescription, I can harvest duhuo, polygala, gentiana macrophylla, and spatholobus stem for you. These four herbs are harvested in spring and autumn. Their medicinal properties are still quite good right now.”
“Thank you so much!” Yue Chengmao said gratefully. “These days, it’s hard to find good medicinal herbs too.”
“We’re all from the same hometown. Don’t be polite.”
Ying Kongtu did not take this matter too seriously.
There were already many medicinal herbs on his mountains, and what Yue Chengmao wanted was not any especially precious herb. He treated it as casually lending a small hand.
The four herbs needed follow-up processing at the same time. Spatholobus stem had to be dried in the sun. Duhuo had to be dried until half-dry, piled until it softened again, then dried in the sun. Gentiana macrophylla also had to be sun-dried. As for polygala, the woody core had to be removed, then it had to be cut into sections and dried.
These were all good medicinal herbs. Even if they were not rare varieties, Ying Kongtu did not want to waste them, so he simply processed them all together.
In any case, processing them was not troublesome.
After the medicinal herbs were ready, Ying Kongtu specially reminded Yue Chengmao, “A prescription values balance. Since you’ve changed the medicinal herbs, it’s best to find the doctor who wrote the prescription and ask them to adjust it again to balance the amount of each herb.”
“All right, all right.” Yue Chengmao took the medicinal herbs and insisted on stuffing a red envelope into Ying Kongtu’s hand as payment for the herbs. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re too polite. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“That’s not true. To you, it may just be a small favor you casually helped with, but to me, being able to switch to better medicinal herbs and live a little more comfortably is practically lifesaving.”
With the illness Yue Chengmao suffered from, he could not sleep every day, and his whole body hurt. If the pain could ease even a little, he would indeed feel much more comfortable.
He no longer even hoped to be cured. Being able to live somewhat normally would be enough.
After changing to new medicinal herbs, Yue Chengmao did not want to wait even one more day. He immediately went to find the doctor who had always treated him.
The doctor who wrote Yue Chengmao’s prescriptions was an old physician.
The old physician saw patients at home and would not make house calls even for money, unless the patient truly could not move. Only then would he go out.
It happened to be the change of seasons in spring. Aside from obtaining new medicinal herbs, Yue Chengmao also wanted to ask the old physician to take his pulse and see whether the dosage and prescription needed to be adjusted.
Yue Chengmao had handed his company over to his son. The person accompanying him to the consultation was his younger brother, Yue Chengji.
The two brothers took the high-speed rail, then transferred to a car in the city. After several twists and turns, they finally arrived at the old physician’s house.
“You’re here? How have you been recently? Let me take a look.” The old physician gestured for Yue Chengmao to sit.
Yue Chengmao said with a faint smile, “I moved back to my hometown. I feel a little better than before.”
The old physician took his pulse. “You are a little better. You’re sleeping more easily at night, right? You probably don’t need to get up in the night anymore.”
“Yes. I can sleep around four or five hours a day,” Yue Chengmao said.
The old physician soon finished taking his pulse and began thinking over how to adjust the prescription.
Yue Chengmao quickly took out the medicinal herbs he had bought from Ying Kongtu. “Last time I told you that my hometown had very good medicinal herbs. I brought them here now. Please take a look.”
“Yo, they really are good. This gentiana macrophylla was freshly dug, right? The medicinal qi is thick and pure, and the color is beautiful too. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen medicinal herbs with such authentic brownish-yellow coloring.”
The old physician only glanced at it once before becoming very interested. He put on his reading glasses again and carefully examined it.
“This duhuo is also very good. What a strong fragrance.”
The old physician placed the duhuo beneath his nose and smelled it, then looked at the spatholobus stem and polygala. He was very surprised to find that the medicinal effects of these two were also excellent.
Yue Chengmao said, “They’re all wild herbs from the mountains.”
“There are also wild herbs on other mountains, but the quality of wild medicinal herbs is not as stable as cultivated herbs. For them to have this effect, that really is excellent. Every root is a top-quality product.” The old physician lifted his head and looked at Yue Chengmao. “The person must have selected them with great care for you.”
Yue Chengmao smiled. “Yes. He’s a very kind-hearted young man.”
The old physician patted him lightly. “That’s why people say that if you live long enough, you’ll come across a turning point. Look, haven’t you gotten good medicine now? This medicine is good. I’ll reduce the dosage a little for you. Also, this gentiana macrophylla from your region is on the warmer side, so that needs to be adjusted too…”
The old physician muttered to himself and quickly adjusted the prescription, then handed it to Yue Chengmao.
After thanking the old physician, Yue Chengmao picked up the new medicine and paired it with the herbs he had brought, then returned to Changchuan County with his younger brother.
After switching to these new medicinal herbs, Yue Chengmao could not help having fresh expectations for them.
Although he had sought medical treatment for many years and was long used to changing medicines and being disappointed, he still could not help holding onto a faint, tiny fantasy.
That night, as usual, he drank his medicine early and lay down in bed.
With this illness, he could not stay up late. Staying up late would consume qi and blood and was bad for his condition.
Even though he could not sleep, he still went to bed very early every day.
Today was different from usual. Usually, he would lie in bed with his eyes closed, resting his mind, waiting little by little for time to pass and drowsiness to come.
Today, not long after he lay down, he felt a wave of sleepiness, then drifted off in a daze.
This period of sleep did not last long, only a little over twenty minutes. Soon, he woke again.
But the fact that he could fall asleep at all already made him pleasantly surprised.
Yue Chengmao slept on and off. When he woke the next morning, he looked at the sleep time recorded on his sports watch and discovered that he had actually slept for over six hours.
Perhaps because he had slept well, or perhaps because the medicine had worked.
When he got up, his body did not hurt as much either. There was only a little pain, similar to the soreness after exercise.
For someone who had been in pain for so long, this was completely acceptable.
“Second Brother, your complexion looks pretty good today,” Yue Chengji said when Yue Chengmao went downstairs for breakfast and he glanced at him.
“It’s all right.” Yue Chengmao smiled. “Noodles this morning?”
“Yes, wood ear and shredded pork noodles.” Yue Chengji got a bowl for his older brother. “Speaking of which, these wood ears were bought from Boss Ying’s family last autumn.”
Yue Chengmao asked, “The quality of their mountain goods seems to be pretty good?”
“Yes. When their family sold wood ears last year, some people even came all the way from the provincial capital to buy them,” Yue Chengji said.
Ying Kongtu had practically become a local legend.
His mountains, his animals, the mountain goods he sold… every matter was eye-catching. It was just that people did not talk about these things in front of him.
Yue Chengmao had already been curious about Ying Kongtu’s family. The longer he stayed in the county, the more news he heard.
Before long, Yue Chengmao bought the mountain from his family.
Yue Chengji was somewhat puzzled, but under his second brother’s persuasion, he still sold the mountain.
In their generation of the family, only the two brothers remained. Yue Chengji insisted that the ancestral property also had a share for his older brother, and in the end, he only accepted half the money.
After the two brothers reached an agreement, Yue Chengmao visited Ying Kongtu’s house again that day.
Ying Kongtu was busy applying for the Forestry Bureau’s “Forest Quality Precision Improvement Project Subsidy.”
Among the six mountains under his name, over seven hundred mu of young and middle-aged forest had been measured as eligible for application.
This year’s subsidy was four hundred yuan per mu. If the application succeeded, once the review was approved, he would be able to receive sixty percent of the contract amount this year. Even if calculated by seven hundred mu, he would receive one hundred sixty-eight thousand.
Not to mention, if the inspection was accepted, he would receive twenty percent in each of the next two years, which would add up to more than one hundred thousand more.
Ying Kongtu was already planting trees and reforesting. Applying for a subsidy along the way was not troublesome.
Pei Lejiu had also specifically told him that the quality of his family’s forest was very good, and there should be no major issue in getting the application approved.
Therefore, these past few days, they had been busy with this matter.
Seeing Yue Chengmao come to visit, Ying Kongtu observed his expression. “Boss Yue, your complexion has been pretty good lately. Do you need more medicinal herbs? You’ll have to wait a few days. We’re quite busy recently.”
“It’s all thanks to you. The medicinal herbs aren’t urgent. I haven’t even finished drinking the ones you gave me last time.” Yue Chengmao sat down and said, “I came today mainly to talk about Qianchongcui Mountain. Kongtu, do you still want to buy that mountain?”
Ying Kongtu was a little surprised.
He had sold medicinal herbs to Yue Chengmao partly with the thought of building a good relationship to make buying the mountain easier later.
He just had not expected Yue Chengmao to bring up the matter so quickly.
Ying Kongtu nodded. “I do want to buy it, but I don’t have much money on hand right now. As for the price, we temporarily can’t accept such a high price either.”
Yue Chengmao said, “I’ve already discussed it with my younger brother. If you want the mountain, you can give twenty yuan per mu.”
Even though Ying Kongtu had always wanted to negotiate a relatively affordable price with Yue Chengji, he had not expected Yue Chengmao to give such a low price.
Ying Kongtu looked at him and only said after several seconds, “That’s a little low. The market price should be around thirty yuan.”
Yue Chengmao said, “If I were selling it to someone else, I really would have to think about this price. You’re different, Kongtu. Your medicinal herbs are so good. If the mountain is sold to you, perhaps you can grow even better medicinal herbs and help even more people.”
Yue Chengmao smiled. “Just consider it me doing good and accumulating virtue.”
Ying Kongtu said seriously, “Even if we buy the mountain, we may not necessarily use it to grow medicinal herbs.”
“That’s fine. Whatever you grow will be good. The trees you plant are also very good. Everyone says that in the whole county, the best tree planting is done by you. If the trees are planted well, we benefit too. Now the water in the county’s moat is clear and bright.”
Yue Chengmao spoke very lightly, but Ying Kongtu shook his head and still did not accept his kindness. “Thank you, but there really is no need. If your family is willing to sell Qianchongcui Mountain to me at market price, I’ll already be very satisfied.”
“Why don’t you think about it again?”
“Thank you so much for your kindness, and you should think about it again too,” Ying Kongtu said. “If you’re willing to sell, I can offer thirty yuan per mu per year, but it may take some time. I need to raise the funds.”
Yue Chengmao immediately said, “For such a large amount of money, paying in installments is actually possible. Generally, it can be paid over three years or five years.”
Ying Kongtu was surprised. “There’s such a thing? We’ll go back and look it up, and you should go back and think about it too.”
Yue Chengmao stood up. “I’ll wait for you.”
Ying Kongtu had wanted to buy Qianchongcui Mountain for a long time. Now that the price was suitable, he discussed it with Wen Zhongshan and decided to take it down as soon as possible.
He did not accept Yue Chengmao’s kindness. In the end, he still took Qianchongcui Mountain at a price of thirty yuan per mu per year.
However, he negotiated a payment plan over three years.
Yue Chengmao had no objections and happily signed the contract with them.
Yue Chengji had also not expected that after negotiating for so long, the final situation would be like this.
However, since Ying Kongtu and the others could help his second brother, he felt quite grateful in his heart.
Yue Chengmao had bought the mountain from his younger brother, but had not transferred ownership.
Qianchongcui Mountain was still under Yue Chengji’s name. On the day of the transfer, he had to personally go over.
Both sides signed the contract, cleared the first payment, and completed the transfer at the service window.
After the transfer was complete, the mountain belonged to Ying Kongtu.
Yue Chengji felt very emotional. After shaking hands with Ying Kongtu, he wanted to say something, but in the end, he could not get it out.
In the end, he only said, “The kiwifruit orchard on the mountain will be handed over to you from now on. If there are any problems, or if you need me to introduce customers to buy the fruit, just come to me.”
Ying Kongtu nodded solemnly. “Thank you. We will treat Qianchongcui Mountain well.”
Ying Kongtu and the others left the service hall. Just as they reached the outside, spring rain began to fall.
At first, the spring rain fell only in the area where they stood. Slowly, it spread to the entire county town, then expanded across all of Changchuan County.
The spring rain pattered down, and the water vapor was pleasant.
Washed by the spring rain, the mountain forests looked especially beautiful.
Mist gradually rose as well, making the mountain forests hazy with rain and fog.
As for the mountain forests belonging to Ying Kongtu, the mist carried a faint trace of spiritual energy.
At that moment, many households in the county pushed open their doors and windows, feeling this especially fresh spring breeze and spring rain.
What a fine spring rain.
Author’s Note:
Ying Kongtu always worried that Tiaozhu would give Dart and Jingwei its leftovers and go hungry.
Until one day, he discovered Tiaozhu’s main mountain-patrol routine.
—First thing after going up the mountain, eat a mouthful of tender grass to whet the appetite.
—Passing by the stream, catch two shrimp to eat.
—Passing through the woods, casually catch some insects and taste a few.
—Upon seeing mountain mice, mountain mice are the Cat Mountain God’s rice. Gnaw, gnaw.
—Discovering wild fruit, drag some along the way. Pick the sweet ones to drag.
After a hard day’s work, Tiaozhu returns home and lies on the courtyard wall, letting the wind blow as it digests.
As for the meal Ying Kongtu serves, that is merely an after-dinner dessert. Meow-aooo.
