Chapter 49 – Stay
Yan Xi Nian returned soon with Liao Cheng.
Liao Cheng was carrying a bottle of alcohol in his arms, his face full of smiles. “Here I am, crashing your meal again!”
Xia Lu Nong brought the dishes to the table and warmly greeted him, “Brother Liao Cheng.”
“Hey there.” Liao Cheng walked over and then suddenly stopped, looking Xia Lu Nong up and down in surprise. “Xiao Nong, have you grown taller?”
Xia Lu Nong touched his head. “Have I?”
Xia Huo Qu, standing nearby, said, “Just a little, about two centimeters.”
“No wonder you looked a bit different.” Liao Cheng laughed. “You’re 23, so you’ll probably still grow a bit more.”
Xia Lu Nong glanced at Kong Zhi, who stood over 1.9 meters tall, his eyes immediately filled with hope.
Xia Huo Qu asked Liao Cheng, “What have you been busy with lately? I keep seeing you around the rice fields.”
“Oh, that!” Liao Cheng said, “Old Liu recently got a batch of carp fry. Did you hear about that?”
Xia Huo Qu hadn’t, so he asked, “Where did they come from?”
“I’m not sure, but he got a batch of them and said they can be raised in the rice paddies. Everyone’s been busy digging trenches in the fields to raise the carp.”
Xia Lu Nong’s family didn’t grow rice, but he was still interested. “The carp haven’t mutated, have they?”
With so many plants and animals mutating these days, like the family’s chickens—one had grown an extra tail and another had a double comb—it seemed inevitable for the carp to mutate as well.
“I don’t think so. The fry are only about the thickness of a finger, so even if they did mutate, it wouldn’t be anything drastic. It’s hard to catch fish in the wild these days, so raising some in the paddies is a good way to have some extra meat. It doesn’t take much effort.”
Seeing Xia Lu Nong’s interest, Liao Cheng added, “One of Old Liu’s men is really good at breeding the fry, and they’re selling them cheap this year. You can trade a pound of rice for ten fish fry, and if you run into any problems, they’ll help you out.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded. “That’s a pretty good deal.”
Liao Cheng grinned. “Yeah, it beats going out hunting. And aren’t the beastmen like Kong Zhi entitled to some farmland within the base? It’s late in the season now, but if you use the land to plant rice, you can also raise the fish.”
Xia Lu Nong had never heard about land distribution before, so he quietly glanced at Kong Zhi, who sat across from him, noticing Kong Zhi’s indifferent expression.
Feeling unsure about asking, Xia Lu Nong turned his attention to his older brother, hoping for a change in the conversation.
Catching his look, Xia Huo Qu nodded slightly before saying naturally to Liao Cheng, “Let’s talk about this later; let’s eat before the food gets cold.”
As expected, Liao Cheng shifted his attention to the dishes on the table, taking a deep breath and exclaiming, “These dishes must be Xia Lu Nong’s handiwork. They smell amazing!”
Xia Lu Nong enthusiastically replied, “If you like it, please help yourself to more.”
After dinner, Liao Cheng said his goodbyes and left, while Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu went to wash the dishes.
With only Kong Zhi and Xia Lu Nong left in the living room, Xia Lu Nong hesitated as he glanced at Kong Zhi, looking like he had something to say but held back.
Noticing his expression, Kong Zhi said, “I haven’t received any news about land distribution yet, but if I do, I’ll let you plant on it.”
“No, no, that’s not necessary,” Xia Lu Nong quickly waved his hands. “It’s your land; you should manage it.”
Kong Zhi glanced at him briefly, nodded, and said nothing more.
Yan Xi Nian, with his sharp hearing, overheard their conversation from the kitchen. When he came out, he said, “Old Liu’s information is really spot on. We are indeed discussing land distribution for new members, but nothing is finalized yet. The relationship between the base and the members is mutual—if members get land, they will also have to contribute resources. We still need to figure out the details.”
Kong Zhi nodded.
Yan Xi Nian sat on the couch, addressing Kong Zhi, “Don’t worry about it. You can settle in for now. We should have a decision within a couple of days, and it won’t affect the late-season rice planting.”
After dinner, Xia Huo Qu went to stay the night at Yan Xi Nian’s house. He’d been sleeping in the guest room there lately, so it was just Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi left at home.
The two got along well now, and there was no awkwardness when they were alone.
After Xia Lu Nong washed up, he said goodnight to Kong Zhi and went to bed. He slept soundly, but Kong Zhi couldn’t sleep that night. When he came out the next morning, dark circles under his eyes made him look exhausted.
Xia Lu Nong was surprised, looking at him in confusion for a long while but unable to figure out why this big guy, who had gone to bed so early, looked so sleep-deprived.
As Xia Lu Nong passed by him, he playfully nudged Kong Zhi with his elbow and grinned mischievously, lowering his voice, “What were you up to last night? You need to pace yourself, young man.”
Kong Zhi looked at him expressionlessly, then suddenly reached out and pinched the back of his neck.
“Ow—” Even though Xia Lu Nong had returned to human form, the back of his neck was still a sensitive spot. He shrunk his neck and tried to escape Kong Zhi’s grip, but when he couldn’t, he surrendered. “Okay, okay, I was wrong! Let me go—”
Kong Zhi stared at him with an unreadable expression for a moment, then released him.
Xia Lu Nong grumbled as he took a few steps forward, “You all keep doing this, just because you’re taller than me. Do you think you can just pinch my neck like a cat’s? Watch out, or I’ll scratch you.”
Kong Zhi reached out to lightly touch the back of Xia Lu Nong’s neck again, asking in a towering stance, “Scratch who?”
“I’ll scratch whoever dares to mess with me,” Xia Lu Nong playfully pushed his hand away, but halfway through, he grabbed Kong Zhi’s wrist and pulled him back. “We’re roasting a whole lamb this morning. I can’t move it by myself; help me out.”
The lamb had been marinated and, when uncovered, the aroma of spices filled the air. Even though it wasn’t cooked yet, the smell was already tempting.
Kong Zhi took one look, grabbed the bamboo Yan Xi Nian had chopped the previous night, skewered the lamb, and secured it with wire. Then he carried it outside and placed it on a makeshift stand, ready for Xia Lu Nong to start the fire and begin roasting.
All the meat they had for the day was in this lamb. Xia Lu Nong had a simple breakfast of two bowls of porridge before coming over to start the roasting.
Kong Zhi helped him turn the lamb from time to time, while Xia Lu Nong carefully tended the fire.
The lamb was quite fatty, and as the charcoal roasted it, fat began to drip off. Every time the fat hit the coals, small flames would flare up.
The rich aroma of roasting lamb filled the air, wafting for dozens of meters around. People passing by couldn’t help but stop and take a look.
By late morning, a young boy from Kong Zhi’s former base showed up, timidly asking him to attend a meeting.
“What meeting?” Xia Lu Nong asked.
The boy whispered, “They said it’s about land distribution.”
Kong Zhi nodded at the boy, then turned to Xia Lu Nong and said, “I’ll find out more when I go. If you can’t manage the lamb, just put out the coals. I’ll finish roasting it when I get back.”
“No need. It’s not that hard. Go ahead, and when you return, the roast should be ready to eat.”
Kong Zhi nodded and left with the boy.
Xia Lu Nong watched him walk away, then suddenly called out, “Hey, Kong Zhi, you’ll stay here, right?”
Kong Zhi turned back and met his gaze. After a moment, he nodded.
As Kong Zhi walked away, Xia Lu Nong, despite the mouthwatering scent of the roasting lamb, found his thoughts elsewhere.
Xia Huo Qu was the first to return home, finding his brother sitting absentmindedly in the yard, almost letting the lamb burn. He gently touched his brother’s cheek. “What are you thinking about? The lamb’s about to burn.”
“It’s fine, I’m watching it,” Xia Lu Nong said, quickly flipping the lamb, before asking, “Didn’t we just talk about land distribution last night? How come they’re holding a meeting today?”
Xia Huo Qu sat on a small stool across from him and replied, “It’s just about distributing some land; it’s not a difficult decision. The base has been discussing it for a while. It’s just that some people from Zhang Shi Hai’s group were hesitant and have been waiting to see how things turn out.”
Xia Lu Nong realized, “So this has been in the works for a while. No wonder Kong Zhi decided to stay.”
He asked, “What are they hesitant about? Are they unhappy with our base?”
“Not really,” Xia Huo Qu explained. “They’ve heard about the Seed Project and want to join that directly, hoping to settle down for good without having to keep moving.”
After a brief explanation, Xia Huo Qu concluded, “Kong Zhi has always wanted to stay here, so he’ll probably choose to stay this time too.”
Xia Lu Nong responded with an “Oh,” then turned the golden, fragrant lamb again, his movements noticeably lighter.
Kong Zhi returned from the meeting quickly, and the first thing he said to Xia Lu Nong was, “I’ve joined the base.”
The second thing he said was, “The base allocated four units of land for each adult and three for minors. I rented two minors’ land plots, so I now have one mu in total.”
Xia Lu Nong immediately stopped paying attention to the roasting lamb and stood up in shock, asking, “Why did you rent so much land?”
“To plant late rice, and maybe raise some fish too. Don’t you like eating fish?” Kong Zhi took over the roasting lamb calmly and said, “The lamb is ready.”
Xia Huo Qu, standing nearby, laughed. “Wait a bit, and your brother Xi Nian will be able to enjoy it soon.”
Shortly after, Yan Xi Nian returned as well, carrying a bottle of wine. As he approached, he waved the bottle and said, “I just traded for a bottle of lychee wine at Old Liu’s place—perfect for pairing with roast lamb. Let’s celebrate Kong Zhi joining our big family.”
Xia Lu Nong rubbed his temples. “Are we really starting to drink at noon?”
“A little is fine,” Yan Xi Nian said as he opened the bottle and handed it to Xia Lu Nong. “Try it. The whole bottle smells like lychee, like they bottled the essence of lychees. If you smell it carefully, you can even sense the summer breeze from Lingnan.”
Xia Lu Nong, now holding the bottle, got some wine splashed on his hand. He sniffed it and, sure enough, the aroma of lychee filled the air.
Meanwhile, Yan Xi Nian used a knife to cut a piece of golden-brown roast lamb. The lamb was wild, heavily marinated, and roasted to perfection, without a hint of gamey flavor. Instead, it had a creamy taste. The meat was fatty but not greasy, tender yet not dry, and the juices, mixed with fat, burst in the mouth, followed by a spicy chili flavor.
One bite of the roast lamb delivered layers upon layers of flavors—rich and intense.
Yan Xi Nian squinted his eyes in satisfaction and gave Xia Lu Nong a thumbs-up. “Delicious!”
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Thanks for the chapter!