Chapter 94: Successfully Grown
Shuangzhong’s poop was truly foul, but the salvia seeds inside had recovered quite a bit of vitality.
Ying Kongtu estimated that even if he were not the one planting them, and they were instead handed to another person with special abilities, they would probably still be able to grow successfully.
However, it was still best for them to do it personally.
The salvia seeds were too small and too fragile.
Ying Kongtu specially opened up a plot in the vegetable garden on the mountain. Together with Wen Zhongshan, he carefully ground the soil in the plot into powder, then carefully sifted it through a sieve before preparing to plant the salvia.
Wen Zhongshan said, “Actually, if you want to manage them more precisely, couldn’t you plant them in flowerpots? It would also be convenient to move them into sunlight or shade, and transplanting them later would be easier too.”
“That won’t work. Fragile seeds are best planted directly in the ground. Especially fragile seeds like salvia that have been processed by us again and again. If they’re planted in pots, they won’t be able to absorb the strength of the earth, and they’ll be almost impossible to keep alive.”
“How magical.”
Ying Kongtu nodded. “The strength of the earth is extremely important. Aside from tangible tiny factors like temperature, humidity, soil microorganisms, and so on, there are also some mysterious and subtle things that allow living beings in the soil to grow healthily. As for what all those mysterious things are, even I haven’t figured them out.”
The land was that magical. As a mountain god, Ying Kongtu also had many things to learn.
After crushing the soil in the vegetable garden until it was as fine as delicate chocolate powder, Ying Kongtu carefully placed the twenty-six salvia seeds gently onto the soil, then scattered a thin layer of fine earth over them.
He watered the salvia seeds, then used divine power to help them break through their seed coats. Wen Zhongshan paid attention to his condition the whole time, guarding him by his side.
“We’ll have to stay here the whole day today. We need to use divine power to escort and protect them.”
As Ying Kongtu spoke, he pulled Wen Zhongshan to sit down in another empty spot.
“Rest for a while. There’s nothing much to do for now.”
Ying Kongtu used divine power to reject all birds, beasts, and insects.
These salvia seeds would slowly grow in the soil without having to worry about being carried away by other birds, beasts, or insects.
Sunlight poured down, shining on the nearby trees.
The sunlight filtered through the shade of the trees became gentle yet dazzling, no longer carrying the violence of summer sun.
Ying Kongtu sat on the soil, resting his head on Wen Zhongshan’s shoulder, drowsy.
He had used too much divine power. His whole body had the feeling of being hollowed out, and now he was terribly sleepy.
Wen Zhongshan held his shoulder. “Sleep. I’ll watch.”
Ying Kongtu pressed his forehead against him. “Then you watch them. When the salvia seeds show sprouting points, wake me.”
“All right. I’ll wake you when the first salvia seed starts showing a sprouting point.”
Hearing this, Ying Kongtu relaxed and lay down on the earth, pillowing his head on Wen Zhongshan’s thigh as he fell asleep.
For a mountain god, a bed made of soil was one of the most suitable beds.
Not to mention, his lover was beside him.
Ying Kongtu pillowed himself on Wen Zhongshan’s thigh and soon fell asleep.
Wen Zhongshan gently used his palm to shield Ying Kongtu’s eyes, preventing the sunlight from flashing into them.
“Kongtu, wake up.”
After sleeping for who knew how long, Ying Kongtu heard Wen Zhongshan calling him.
He sat up somewhat dazedly. “Have they sprouted?”
“They have.” Wen Zhongshan pointed them out to him. “Two seeds sprouted at the same time.”
Ying Kongtu looked carefully. Sure enough, under the thin soil, the salvia seeds had revealed white sprouting points.
He let out a huge breath of relief. “They really have. Their vitality is a little weak, but there’s no problem. At the very least, this kind of salvia won’t go extinct.”
“Yes.”
Wen Zhongshan and Ying Kongtu looked at each other. Wen Zhongshan reached out a hand, indicating for Ying Kongtu to clap it. “Celebrating our successful rescue of a special medicinal herb.”
Ying Kongtu smiled and clapped his hand. “It’s finally alive. I’m exhausted.”
They guarded the small vegetable garden for an entire day. Among the twenty-six salvia seeds, a total of twenty-two successfully showed sprouting points.
As for the remaining four seeds, due to various reasons, they failed to sprout successfully and eventually suffocated beneath the seed coat.
Ying Kongtu carefully looked them over. “There’s no way around it. In the end, they were still stored for too long.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “Having this many seeds sprout is already our victory.”
Ying Kongtu stretched lazily. “Let’s celebrate. Hotpot again today?”
“What kind of hotpot?”
“Fish soup hotpot?” Ying Kongtu thought for a moment. “We promised to let Tiaozhu and the others eat fish before. Let’s go up the mountain and catch an Ai fish. Tonight, we’ll eat that.”
Wen Zhongshan had no objections. “Let’s go.”
The salvia seeds had finally sprouted, and Ying Kongtu’s mood almost seemed ready to soar. Even climbing the mountain did not feel tiring anymore.
He pulled Wen Zhongshan up the mountain, seeing all kinds of wild ingredients along the way.
For example, wild garlic, ground ear mushrooms, and all kinds of mushrooms.
They did not stand on ceremony and collected them all into the back basket.
After all, they were eating hotpot. All kinds of ingredients could be added.
When they passed by a mountain stream, Ying Kongtu discovered that the tiny shrimps inside had also grown plump.
The summer shrimps were translucent and fleshy, swimming back and forth among the water plants. They looked extremely beautiful.
The most wonderful thing was that they were not the common greenish-blue color, but instead carried a faint peach-blossom pink. They looked delicious at a glance.
Ying Kongtu did not hold back and caught some. Nearby, he picked two wild taro leaves, simply added a little water, and wrapped the shrimps up.
When they reached Ai Lake, their pondweed had also grown above the water surface. Now, a large patch could be seen on the water.
The pondweed looked plump and tender. At one glance, it looked delicious.
Ying Kongtu likewise picked some tender pondweed leaves.
Since they had come all the way there, they also walked around the lakeside and gathered a large pile of plump lake mussels.
The flesh of lake mussels was a little tough, but for little mountain gods with good teeth like Tiaozhu and Xian Niao, eating ingredients with a bit of chewiness was also quite interesting.
By the time they came down from the mountain, both the back basket and their hands were filled with all kinds of ingredients.
Ying Kongtu said, “I originally thought we’d buy some more vegetables after going down the mountain. Now it seems the ingredients on our mountain can completely supply us. There’s no need to buy more.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “After some time, when the chickens grow up, there’ll be even less need to buy anything.”
Wen Zhongshan thought for a moment, then asked, “When will the chickens start laying eggs? We’ll have to ask Tiaozhu and the others to pay attention then. The chickens can’t be eaten for now, but having eggs would also be very good.”
Ying Kongtu showed an expectant expression. “Still early. Hens have to be raised for half a year before they lay eggs, but the taste will definitely be very good.”
The two slowly descended the mountain.
Perhaps because they had gone back a little late today, Tiaozhu and Xian Niao brought the furry ones directly to the foot of the mountain to welcome them.
“Awoo!” Jingwei was the most enthusiastic. It trotted over and skillfully took the wild vegetables from Ying Kongtu’s hand in its mouth.
Xian Niao also walked over and took the wild vegetables from Wen Zhongshan’s hand.
Since the two of them had something to carry, Tiaozhu, Dart, and Shuangzhong also wanted to carry something.
This place was already very close to home, and the wild vegetables in Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan’s hands were not heavy.
Tiaozhu snatched the Ai fish from Wen Zhongshan’s hand and carried it toward home.
Dart and Shuangzhong raised their heads and looked at Ying Kongtu, their furry faces full of expectation.
Ying Kongtu originally did not have any suitable wild vegetables for them to carry. Seeing this, he had no choice but to give each of them a little milk-cap mushroom to carry.
Milk-cap mushrooms could be eaten raw, so even if they accidentally swallowed them, it would be fine.
When they carried them home later, he could conveniently wash them and let them eat the mushrooms as snacks.
They had not eaten hotpot for quite some time. Ying Kongtu set aside the fish head, tail, and bones, placed them in a pot, fried them until both sides were golden, then added well water and simmered a pot of fish soup.
After pondweed appeared in Ai Lake, the water quality had been purified to a certain extent.
In addition, Ying Kongtu’s divine power was stronger than before. Although Ai Lake was not currently under Ying Kongtu’s name, it was still his territory in the end and could receive a certain amount of nourishment.
Now, Ai Lake’s environment was very good, and the Ai fish raised inside were even fresher and sweeter.
Ying Kongtu had originally wanted to add some scallions and ginger to remove any fishiness, but after checking the quality of the Ai fish meat, he discovered there was no need.
Ai fish of this quality could simply be boiled in clear water. Adding scallions and ginger would instead ruin its flavor.
The Ai fish hotpot was indeed delicious, and the other ingredients were also extremely fresh.
Everyone ate to great satisfaction.
Wen Zhongshan said, “The quality of the ingredients on the mountain is getting better and better. Once we buy as many of the other mountains as possible, will the quality of the ingredients improve even further?”
“It should.” Ying Kongtu said, “But buying the other mountains may not be easy. There are only two mountains still in private hands now, An Mountain and Longtoumei. I’ve asked around. Neither family has any intention of selling.”
“For two mountains that large, it’s impossible for them to have no thoughts at all. Let’s keep an eye on it and wait for an opportunity?”
“That’s what I was thinking too. Now we just wait for the opportunity.”
Although Ying Kongtu still did not have many mountains in hand, the plants on the mountains were growing very well.
Under the protection of his divine power, all twenty-two salvia plants successfully grew.
Within a few days, these salvia plants sprouted tender green leaves.
Shuangzhong was the first to discover that the salvia had grown tender leaves while patrolling the mountain.
It no longer cared about patrolling and flew straight down from the mountain, crying “kiki” from far away to report the good news.
When Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan heard it, they were cooking in the kitchen.
Immediately, the two no longer cared about cooking. They quickly stir-fried a few times, added a little water into the pot, and ran outside to look.
“Kiki—” The moment Shuangzhong saw their figures, its eyes shone brightly, and it cried in a high-pitched voice. “Ki!”
“Is there good news about the salvia on the mountain?” Ying Kongtu asked.
“Kiki!” Shuangzhong excitedly flew down, landed on Ying Kongtu’s shoulder, and rubbed against his face. “Ki.”
Ying Kongtu immediately said to Wen Zhongshan, “Let’s go up and take a look.”
They no longer had the heart to make breakfast. After simply extinguishing the fire, they hurried up the mountain.
Tiaozhu and the others, who were patrolling the neighboring mountain, also heard the movement and rushed over.
The whole family gathered in the vegetable garden, staring brightly at the newly grown tender leaves of the salvia.
The salvia seedlings trembled slightly, swaying in the August morning breeze. They looked a little weak.
Ying Kongtu gently touched one with the pad of his finger. “We did our best.”
Wen Zhongshan placed a hand on his shoulder. “We did our best, and in the end, we succeeded.”
Tiaozhu said, “Meow-ao!”
Ying Kongtu said, “The seedlings are a little weak, but at least their excellent genes have been passed down. Once they produce new seeds, we can plant another two batches with the new seeds, and the plants will become stronger and stronger.”
Ying Kongtu straightened up. “Let’s go. From now on, we just need to cultivate them well.”
The little fellows stared at the seedlings and made all kinds of sounds to express agreement.
Ying Kongtu announced, “Let’s eat hotpot again today to celebrate.”
This time, the little fellows’ happiness became even more sincere:
“Meow-ao!”
“Awoo!”
“Kiki!”
Ying Kongtu was just about to take the little fellows home when he suddenly remembered something. He took out his phone, aimed it at the salvia seedlings, took a photo, and sent it to Old Doctor Zhai.
Below the picture, he attached a few words:
Fortunately, the mission was fulfilled.
After this salvia was grown, it would definitely be able to help many people and improve the quality of life for many patients.
Ying Kongtu put his phone back into his pocket, and a rare joy also filled his heart.
Author’s Note:
All the furry ones in Ying Kongtu’s family have mastered the technique of doing bad things.
Usually, when they play wildly in the courtyard, they run around with loud pattering sounds.
If they have done something bad, not a single sound can be heard.
As long as Ying Kongtu sees which little fellow has become sneaky like a cat, he knows exactly which one has done something bad.
He catches them every time.
