bamboo weaving

Wang Zhiyi looked at Qiu Zimu, who was now blushing and sitting stupidly in a chair, occasionally raising his glass to drink. Wang Zhiyi took his glass and said, "Don't drink anymore. Go back and lie down for a while."

Qiu Zimu slowly turned his head and stared at Wang Zhiyi and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Just carry him back to the room. This is what Old Qiu does when he's drunk. He'll glare at you all day long." Ye Jing'an said.

"Okay, wait for me for a while." Wang Zhiyi carried the person back and ran out to get some hot water.

"Did you take the mineral water bottle to the toilet to fill it with water for him to drink?" Ye Jing'an asked.

"No, this is to warm his feet." Wang Zhiyi said.

"I was wondering why Qiu Zimu was so delicate. It turns out he spoiled her. She even used a hot water bottle to warm her feet during her nap..." Ye Jing'an muttered softly, and lay down on Liu Muze's legs again. "Brother Liu, I'm drunk and dizzy, and my feet are a little cold."

"You exchanged my wine glass with yours several times and did you think I didn't see it?" Liu Muzhe retorted.

"Hehe, Brother Liu really likes drinking that wine?" Ye Jing'an asked.

"I don't like it very much, but it's really good stuff." Liu Muze poured half a cup and handed it to Ye Jingan, "Drink some."

"No, it's too harsh on my throat." Ye Jing'an waved his hand to refuse.

"Qiu Zimu has had a few drinks, and you are more delicate than him?" Liu Muzhe said.

"Of course not. Brother Liu is no more favored than Wang Zhiyi." Ye Jing'an laughed and snuggled into Liu Muzhe's arms.

"Ahem..." Wang Zhiyi sat down as if nothing had happened.

Liu Muzhe pushed Ye Jingan away.

"You came at a really bad time!" Ye Jing'an complained in a low voice.

"What's going on with that girl?" Liu Muzhe asked.

"She's a bamboo spirit, not very powerful, but she's just as capable of transforming into a human form as I am. Given her strength, she's not capable of that," Wang Zhiyi said. "Out of curiosity, I looked up what method she used to transform, but I couldn't find anything."

"The man who hides his head and shows his tail is not ordinary. It seems that most of the secret techniques he uses are niche, or even lost." Liu Muzhe frowned and wondered if he had come into contact with this person before. Who is he?

"If we investigate slowly, he will reveal his true identity eventually. Let's wait and see tomorrow. I'll go see Zimu." Wang Zhiyi said.

"Hey, Lao Qiu is not an adult yet, don't do anything rash." Ye Jing'an said.

"I don't know how." Wang Zhiyi waved his hand.

After Ye Jingan and the others left, he started teasing Liu Muze again, pinching his face and saying, "It's starting to turn red. You must be drunk."

"It can't be compared with the wine your father has." Liu Muzhe said.

"I didn't drink it last time. After this happened, I asked my dad to make some more. How about we drink it together?" Ye Jing'an said with a smile.

"I don't want to drink with you." Liu Muzhe said.

"Wang Zhiyi's medicine is not bad either. Add it to the wine and drink it together." Ye Jing'an touched his Adam's apple with a wicked smile on his face.

"I'm telling you, what on earth are you thinking about all day? Can you be more serious and not act like a big gangster all the time?" Liu Muzhe said helplessly.

"What else can I think about? Of course I'm thinking about you. Don't you like it? I see you're enjoying the evening." Ye Jing'an said with a smile.

"Can we discuss something?" Liu Muzhe asked.

"You say." Ye Jing'an nodded.

"Can you please stop saying things like that in the future?"

"Hahahahaha, okay, I'll try not to tease you anymore in the future."

Liu Muze: "..."

"We don't have anything to do this afternoon, why don't we go somewhere else?" Ye Jing'an suggested.

"Let's go." Liu Muzhe said.

Ye Jing'an and Liu Muzhe wanted to visit other groups, so they just walked along the main road. The Qiling Mountains stretch for many kilometers, and they had been walking for more than two hours when they saw the village ahead.

It was no different from Uncle Fan's place. There were many bamboo fish baskets and winnowing baskets hanging outside the house, with some dried herbs placed inside to dry. There were several older women sitting inside the house, warming themselves by the fire and weaving baskets.

People passing by saw that the two men looked unfamiliar and their clothes did not look like those of locals, so they wanted to drive them out, saying that outsiders were not allowed to come to Qiling Mountain during the sacrificial ceremony.

Ye Jingan explained that they were relatives of Uncle Fan's family and had just returned from work. Someone here called to confirm and then let the two stay, warning them not to run around and cause trouble.

Ye Jing'an asked about the Fairy of the Bojiji, and the answers he received were similar to what Uncle Fan had said. This trip hadn't yielded much, and since they were already there, they planned to walk around the entire village and back the same way. The walk back would take another two hours, just in time for dinner, so they just used it as a way to digest the food.

Ye Jingan saw a house with bamboo weavings hanging outside it, some large, some small, all very delicately made. Curious, they went over to take a look and saw a few small bamboo baskets shaped like zongzi hanging on the door, with ventilation holes all around and an opening at the top.

Ye Jingan thought this thing was just right for holding bugs, so he thought of buying one for Qiu Zimu. A while ago, he was complaining that he couldn't hold any more bugs. Seeing a couple in the house, Ye Jingan asked, "Hello, are you selling the small bamboo baskets outside?"

"We're selling them all. Which one do you want?" asked the aunt with a smile.

Ye Jingan pointed at the bamboo dumplings on the door frame.

"These are used to hold crickets. How many do you want?" asked my aunt.

"Take them all." Ye Jing'an said.

"Okay." Aunt said with a smile.

Ye Jingan looked around carefully again and picked out two small bamboo bottles. Liu Muze asked, "Why are you buying this?"

"It's beautiful." Ye Jing'an put the bottle in Liu Muze's coat pocket, picked some green grass from the roadside and put it in the bottle, "It's so beautiful, it's a pity that there are not many flowers in this season."

Liu Muze: "..."

When Ye Jingan got home, he could smell the aroma before he even entered the house. Tonight's dinner was winter bamboo shoots and cured pork knuckles. Qiu Zimu was already sober and sitting at the table waiting for the meal. Ye Jingan waved the bamboo rice dumplings in his hand in front of Qiu Zimu: "Do you want some?"

"Yes! I've wanted to buy a bamboo worm basket for a long time, but I haven't found one." Qiu Zimu reached out to pull it.

Ye Jingan carried the bamboo rice dumplings behind him, preventing him from snatching them: "Call me brother."

"Brother!" Qiu Zimu shouted.

"You are so unprincipled that you don't even hesitate..." Liu Muzhe said with a smile.

"Hey, good brother, take it!" Ye Jing'an stared at Wang Zhiyi and smiled, "You should also call me brother."

"Don't call him, I'll buy it for you!" Wang Zhiyi said.

"Do you know where it is?" Qiu Zimu asked.

"Of course, we'll go after dinner." Wang Zhiyi said with a smile.

"Okay, I'm going to replace my big baby with a good one and put it in the jar to keep it warm." Qiu Zimu took out the three-comb cow and placed it on the table, gently stroking its tentacles.

Wang Zhiyi smiled and imitated him by smoothing his hair.

Qiu Zimu tilted his head and glared at him: "What are you doing? Don't touch my hair!"

“???” Wang Zhiyi thought Qiu Zimu was a little unreasonable. It was obviously Qiu Zimu who touched him first. Now he promised to buy him a bamboo basket, but he didn’t allow anyone to touch his head.

"Pfft..." Ye Jing'an stared at Wang Zhiyi and smiled. It turned out that people transformed from insects were really stupid.

"I'm full. Where can I buy more?" Qiu Zimu asked.

"Are you full? The bamboo rice dumplings won't run away, why are you in such a hurry?" Ye Jing'an said speechlessly.

"My eldest baby said he wanted to live in a big house, so I have to buy it quickly!" Qiu Zimu said.

"What did the three-comb cow say?" Ye Jing'an asked.

"Yes." Qiu Zimu nodded affirmatively.

Ye Jingan pointed at the three-comb cattle and glanced at Wang Zhiyi: "What did you say?"

Wang Zhiyi leaned back and shook his head where Qiu Zimu couldn't see.

"It didn't say anything. Do you know it wants to live in a big house?" Ye Jing'an sneered.

"Of course, I know about my worms." Qiu Zimu asked Wang Zhiyi, "Have you finished eating?"

"We're done eating, let's go." Wang Zhiyi said.

"It's just right that you're leaving. The pig's feet are all mine." Ye Jing'an picked up a piece of meat and gave it to Liu Muze, "We'll share it."

Ye Jingan and Liu Muzhe had just finished their meal and were sitting at the table chatting. Qiu Zimu was running towards the room with two handfuls of bamboo rice dumplings in his hands and a few bamboo baskets hanging around his neck, grinning.

"You flew over there? And you came back..." Ye Jingan said.

"There are family members doing it right behind Uncle Fan's house." Wang Zhiyi said.

"Why didn't I see it?" Ye Jing'an looked outside the house and walked around Uncle Fan's house, but he really didn't see anyone selling it around.

"They are all kept at home and not usually displayed." Wang Zhiyi said.

"Just spoil him. If Qiu gives you a little warning, he will be so arrogant." Ye Jing'an said.

"I do. He bought me several small houses." Wang Zhiyi said with a faint smile.

"Who paid the money?" Ye Jing'an asked.

"Me." Wang Zhiyi said.

"Haha, you're not worth much either." Ye Jing'an sneered.

"What else does Zimu like?" Wang Zhiyi asked.

"Bugs." Ye Jing'an has always seen him craving bugs since he was a child.

"Anything else?" Wang Zhiyi asked again.

"Sister Yuling?" Ye Jing'an asked uncertainly.

Wang Zhiyi's eyes turned colder as he stared at Ye Jingan.

"Ahem... Actually, I think Lao Qiu doesn't like Sister Yuling. He's just a simple nympho. He likes both men and women who meet his aesthetic standards. He has said before that Brother Liu is good-looking, but it was just talk. It's the same as Yuling's situation. He also told me that you are good-looking." Ye Jing'an said.

"He said he likes me." Wang Zhiyi said.

"You really took his words seriously?" Ye Jing'an laughed. "He's just afraid of Brother Liu and is deliberately avoiding suspicion."

"What do you mean? Why do you want to avoid suspicion by saying you like me?" Wang Zhiyi was puzzled.

"Uh... Qiu Zimu was afraid that Brother Liu would misunderstand that he liked me, so he said he liked you to avoid suspicion." Ye Jingan said.

"Why do you do this? Did Qiu Zimu ever like you?" Wang Zhiyi asked.

"No, I don't meet Qiu's aesthetic standards. He said I look average and I'm arrogant." Ye Jing'an said.

"He is right." Wang Zhiyi nodded in agreement.

"Don't push me!" Ye Jing'an asked Liu Muze, "Brother Liu, am I handsome? Am I good-looking?"

"Looks good, very handsome." Liu Muzhe said with a smile.

"..." Wang Zhiyi asked, "Who does he like then?"

"I like Sancomb Ox, not you." Ye Jing'an said.

Wang Zhiyi rolled his eyes and walked away, not wanting to waste time talking to him. Qiu Zimu had already laid out his various precious insects on the table in the room, letting them choose their own little houses. Most of them had chosen, but the three-comb cow was the only one that didn't move. Qiu Zimu asked, "Isn't there anything here that you like?"

The three-comb ox spread its wings and flew into the pocket on Qiu Zimu's chest, sticking its head out to look at him. Qiu Zimu smiled and said, "You don't like being locked up, do you? Then I'll put you in the bag directly from now on. Please don't fly away, okay? I love you so much, and I'll give you lots of delicious food."