The Dragon Boat Festival is a festival that retains its strong characteristics even in modern times. Eating zongzi (rice dumplings), dragon boat racing, and warding off the five poisonous creatures—there's a lot to do. Lu Qingjiu started preparing early, buying herbs to hang at the door, and also buying zongzi leaves and glutinous rice to wrap various flavors of zongzi.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, Zhu Miaomiao took advantage of her holiday to visit Shuifu Village. Ever since she tasted its most natural food, she couldn't forget its delicious flavors, and she frequented the area almost every day. Some colleagues at work, unaware of the situation, joked about her and Lu Qingjiu, asking if she was secretly in a relationship, asking why she was so attached to the remote village. Zhu Miaomiao reacted with disdain, saying, "You can laugh at me now, but don't beg me when I bring back the honey and hair tonic."

Upon hearing about honey and hair tonic, everyone at work instantly changed their attitude towards Zhu Miaomiao, begging her to be magnanimous and not to bother with their snarky mouths. It's no wonder they're being snobbish. Hair tonic, for one, is practically impossible to find online. And as for the honey, it's not only incredibly delicious, but also incredibly beneficial. No matter how many pimples you have, apply a layer of honey and sleep, and they'll be gone the next day. And for those with acne-free skin, applying this honey will make it smoother and softer, even reducing wrinkles.

Because of the beauty effect of this honey, it was warmly loved by the female colleagues in the company. Originally, they were supposed to work overtime on the Dragon Boat Festival, but the senior executives above Zhu Miaomiao made an exception and gave her a day off, just to get this small jar of honey so that they could take it home to please their wives.

Zhu Miaomiao also got three days off and returned to Shuifu Village with bags of snacks and fruits.

Zhu Miaomiao got on Lu Qingjiu's pickup truck and chatted with Lu Qingjiu. This time, what her colleague said to her reminded her of one thing. Lu Qingjiu was already 27 or 28 years old and still had no girlfriend. There were so few people in Shuifu Village, and she didn't know how he would solve his lifelong problem.

"It's been solved." Lu Qingjiu looked straight ahead at the road.

"Huh?" Zhu Miaomiao was stunned for three seconds before she realized what Lu Qingjiu meant. She suddenly shouted, "Solved? What do you mean by solved? Who are you dating? Why didn't you tell me?"

Lu Qingjiu was very calm: "You'll know when you go there."

Zhu Miaomiao observed Lu Qingjiu's expression suspiciously: "I remember there weren't many young girls in Shuifu Village, only old men and women. Could it be that you..."

Lu Qingjiu was a little helpless: “Not Auntie.”

Zhu Miaomiao: "Fuck, if it's not an aunt, then it must be a uncle. You are such a beast."

Lu Qingjiu: “…”

Zhu Miaomiao: "Brother, please don't be silent, I'm a little scared."

Lu Qingjiu was at a loss for words, but he didn't want to say anything more to Zhu Miaomiao, so he just let her see for herself. Zhu Miaomiao was very nervous the whole way, afraid that Lu Qingjiu would do something desperate. After all, she couldn't accept her friend having a twilight romance with a woman in her fifties...

When they got home, Yin Xun helped carry the bags that Zhu Miaomiao had brought out of the car. Zhu Miaomiao took the opportunity to ask Yin Xun, "Hey, Yin Xun, I heard that Qingjiu is in love."

Yin Xun said: "Yes."

Zhu Miaomiao: "How old is his girlfriend?"

Yin Xun was originally bent over to carry something, and when he heard this, his expression was a little strange. He said, "Why are you asking this?"

Zhu Miaomiao said, "I'm worried about Qingjiu. I'm afraid he'll find someone too old... There don't seem to be many young people in this village. Apart from you and Lu Qingjiu, I really haven't seen any other young girls."

Yin Xun thought about it, and to be honest, he really didn't know Bai Yuehu's age. But since Bai Yuehu came to the human world during the generation of Lu Qingjiu's grandmother, he should be of the same generation as her. So he didn't think much about it and said what he was thinking.

Zhu Miaomiao: “…”

Yin Xun: "...Zhu Miaomiao, why are you opening your mouth so wide?"

Zhu Miaomiao stretched out her hand with difficulty, propped up her chin, and asked in a trembling voice: "How old do you think Lu Qingjiu's boyfriend is?"

Yin Xun: "Didn't I tell you? It's from his grandmother's generation."

Zhu Miaomiao: "How old?"

Yin Xun: “…it’s bigger than Lu Qingjiu anyway.”

Zhu Miaomiao's consciousness was hazy, and an old face with wrinkles and ravines had already appeared in her mind. She managed to calm down, showing a smile that looked like tears, and said, "Okay, no matter what decision Qingjiu makes, I will... support him."

Yin Xun looked at Zhu Miaomiao in confusion. He thought Zhu Miaomiao had known about Lu Qingjiu and Bai Yuehu's love affair for a long time. After all, Zhu Miaomiao was Lu Qingjiu's good friend and had always known that there were unusual items in their home.

Zhu Miaomiao walked slowly into the yard carrying a box of pineapples. She looked around slowly before letting out a breath. She didn't see the old man sitting in the yard with a kind smile as she had imagined, which made her feel much better.

"Please sit down. I'll pour you a glass of milk." Lu Qingjiu rolled up his sleeves and prepared to cook. "I made braised pork and braised fish for lunch. Do you have anything else you want to eat?"

Zhu Miaomiao seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

"What's wrong?" Lu Qingjiu asked curiously, "Are you still being polite to me? Yuehu, can you help me get the apron I washed yesterday and hung in the backyard?"

Bai Yuehu got up and went to the backyard.

"Qingjiu, tell me honestly, is the person you're dating particularly old?" Zhu Miaomiao decided to confront Lu Qingjiu, "Is that why you don't want to tell me?"

Lu Qingjiu's first reaction was to deny it, but after thinking about it carefully, he found that... Bai Yuehu was really quite old, so he was stunned for a few seconds, not knowing what to say.

"Qingjiu, no matter how hard we try, we can't just make do like this." Zhu Miaomiao took Lu Qingjiu's silence as a tacit agreement and said in great pain, "This... three-legged frogs are hard to find, but two-legged people are everywhere. Look, although our family doesn't have much money, it's enough. We also have a house and land, so finding a wife shouldn't be difficult. Why do we have to make do like this? Oh my God, how could you do that to a woman in her fifties or sixties?"

Lu Qingjiu hurriedly said: "He is not a 50- or 60-year-old aunt!"

Zhu Miaomiao said, "Oh, yes, Yin Xun said it was from your grandmother's generation, so she must be around seventy years old."

Lu Qingjiu: “…” You should add a zero after seventy, right?

Bai Yuehu just happened to take an apron from the backyard and walked behind Lu Qingjiu. She was going to help Lu Qingjiu tie it on naturally. After hearing what Zhu Miaomiao said, her hands paused slightly, and she didn't know what she was thinking about.

"Seventy? Older than seventy?" Zhu Miaomiao understood the meaning of Lu Qingjiu's expression and immediately found it unacceptable. She thought seventy was the limit of her acceptance, but now Lu Qingjiu hesitated and didn't respond. Could it be that his lover was an old lady in her eighties? If so, she would really faint on the spot. This was no longer a question of freedom of love. It completely exceeded the ethical limits of human beings...

Lu Qingjiu said: "...Calm down first and listen to my explanation."

Zhu Miaomiao shed tears: "I won't listen, I won't listen. How can you find an old lady in her eighties or nineties? If you really don't have any girls who like you, boys are also good, right? Look at Bai Yuehu, she's so beautiful, isn't it the same even if you turn off the lights?"

Lu Qingjiu: "Puff..."

Zhu Miaomiao: "Just that her chest is a little flatter and her bottom is a little bigger, but her skin still looks very smooth."

White Moon Fox: "..."

"Really? Do you really think Baiyue Fox is good?" Lu Qingjiu couldn't help but laughed out loud.

Zhu Miaomiao didn't understand what Lu Qingjiu was laughing at, thinking he didn't take her words seriously. "No, I'm serious. Look, Bai Yuehu can farm and looks pretty good. She's really good at both housework and homemaking... She's much better than an old lady."

Lu Qingjiu asked, "Then what's the oldest age you can accept?"

Zhu Miaomiao became very alert upon hearing this. She looked at Lu Qingjiu suspiciously, thinking for a long time, and then stretched out three fingers. After stretching them out, she was afraid that her request was too harsh, so she stretched out another one weakly: "Just... it can't be more than forty."

Lu Qingjiu: “So strict?”

Zhu Miaomiao: "Fuck, she can be my mother at fifty! That's still strict, Lu Qingjiu, wake up."

Lu Qingjiu burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face. He patted Bai Yuehu's shoulder and said, "What should I do, Hu'er? You're so much older than me. You don't meet the standard."

Bai Yuehu looked at Zhu Miaomiao with a gloomy gaze, not knowing whether he should thank her for recommending him or hate her for having such a strict age requirement.

Zhu Miaomiao heard what Lu Qingjiu said, and then looked at the way the two of them exchanged glances. She also tasted something and asked in confusion: "Hey, what's going on, you two... could it be..."

"Okay, no more jokes." Lu Qingjiu stood up straight and pointed at Bai Yuehu, "I'm in love with him."

Zhu Miaomiao: “…”

Lu Qingjiu said: "He is not human. To be precise, he should be older than my grandma. As for how old he is, I don't know."

Zhu Miaomiao: “…”

Lu Qingjiu asked, "Do you have anything else to ask?"

Zhu Miaomiao looked Bai Yuehu up and down, and finally, after a long pause, uttered, "He's not a human, so you have to tell me what he is."

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment and decided to help Bai Yuehu sew on the vest that he was determined not to tear off: "Fox spirit."

"Oh, it's the fox spirit from Liao Zhai. No wonder it's so beautiful." Zhu Miaomiao suddenly had an idea. "Could Su Xi be from the same clan as him? Ah... the prototype of the White Moon Fox must also be furry."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Hmm... count? Right?" At least the ears are still furry.

Zhu Miaomiao smiled brightly, like a mother watching her older son solve a personal problem: "That's great, that's great, it's really great that there are no old ladies in their eighties."

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “Okay, ask what flavor of milk you want to drink, and I’ll get it for you.”

Zhu Miaomiao waved her hand to indicate that she was casual. She had no interest in milk. Now she wanted to know more about Bai Yuehu. After all, Bai Yuehu seemed very cold during the few times she came before, and she didn't chat much. Now that she knew Lu Qingjiu was in a relationship with him, she naturally wanted to know more.

Lu Qingjiu said hello helplessly and got up to help Zhu Miaomiao get milk.

After Zhu Miaomiao arrived, the house became much more lively. Lu Qingjiu prepared a large table of delicious dishes and served several bottles of wine. Everyone ate and chatted, the atmosphere joyful and harmonious. After dinner, Zhu Miaomiao went to visit Qin Yuan, who produced her favorite honey in the backyard. Upon learning that Qin Yuan worked a five-day weekend and two-day holiday schedule, she expressed envy for their life. She said that she was exploited by capitalism every day, and her three-day vacation was earned by their honey.

So Lu Qingjiu watched helplessly as the exploited office worker Zhu Miaomiao and those work-hating Qin Yuan hit it off at first sight and passionately exchanged contact information.

Yin Xun whispered beside him, "Why haven't I seen Zhu Miaomiao be so enthusiastic towards me?"

Lu Qingjiu said: "That's because your acne treatment method is wrong."

Yin Xun: “Huh?”

Lu Qingjiu said: “If eating the food you cook can eliminate acne without diarrhea, she will treat you the same way.”

Yin Xun was suddenly speechless, having the illusion that he had seen through the dirty deeds of this world.

The centuries-old White Moon Fox washed the dishes and, as usual, sat leisurely in the yard, basking in the sun and preparing for a nap. Lu Qingjiu leaned beside him and asked him about the dinner menu.

Seeing the heartwarming scene of the two getting along, Zhu Miaomiao wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye and said that Lu Qingjiu had finally grown up and knew what dog abuse meant.

Yin Xun asked blankly, "Dog abuse? What dog?"

Zhu Miaomiao said sympathetically, “Silly child, of course it’s for a single dog like you.”

Yin Xun: “…”

For dinner in the evening, Lu Qingjiu made rice dumplings. Since it was the Dragon Boat Festival, of course, one had to eat food that was most suitable for the festival. After dinner, Lu Qingjiu cleaned the stone mortar at home, which had not been used for a long time, and took it to the yard. Then, he put the glutinous rice that had been steamed earlier into the mortar, intending to make some glutinous rice cakes. During the Dragon Boat Festival here, people not only eat rice dumplings, but also glutinous rice cakes. The glutinous rice is pounded hard in the stone mortar with a tong until it becomes a sticky liquid, and then kneaded into small balls. The kneaded glutinous rice cakes can be steamed as they are and eaten with soybean flour, or they can be coated with a layer of egg liquid, fried on a low fire, and sprinkled with thick brown sugar. The glutinous rice cakes have a soft and sticky texture, and you can pull out long thin threads when you bite them. It is a sweet that children especially like when they were young.

However, when Lu Qingjiu was a child, glutinous rice was relatively expensive and his grandmother was not in very good health, so he could only eat it once during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Lu Qingjiu was pounding the glutinous rice into a ball. Yin Xun wanted to be the one to flip the glutinous rice, but Lu Qingjiu refused, saying what if he accidentally hit his hand.

Yin Xun said touchedly that it was okay, and that he hardly felt any pain. Lu Qingjiu said ruthlessly, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that if your hand got mixed into the glutinous rice cake, we would have diarrhea if we ate it."

Yin Xun: “…” Lu Qingjiu, you have changed.

Zhu Miaomiao was a girl, and the men in the family couldn't let her do it, so in the end, the job fell to Bai Yuehu. He reached out to flip the glutinous rice, and Lu Qingjiu came to hammer. Lu Qingjiu was quite careful at first, but it had been too long since he had used this tool, and one time he accidentally hit Bai Yuehu's hand with the cypress. His heart tightened at the time, and he saw Bai Yuehu frowning and whispering, "Not good."

Lu Qingjiu said nervously, "Are you okay? Is your hand okay? I should be gentle..." Before he finished speaking, he found that the tree in his hand was missing a piece, while Bai Yuehu's slender hands were fine, without even a red mark.

"It's broken." Bai Yuehu raised her eyes innocently, her tone a little cautious, "Is it okay?"

Lu Qingjiu: "...It's okay, let's continue."

Then, Lu Qingjiu and Bai Yuehu became more careful - they were afraid that if they hit Bai Yuehu's hand a few more times, the glutinous rice cake would not come out before the chun would be ruined.

By the time the glutinous rice cakes were almost finished, it was completely dark. Yin Xun yawned and said goodbye to them. Lu Qingjiu also went to wash up and lay down on the bed with Bai Yuehu to sleep.

The next morning, Lu Qingjiu woke up early and fried the glutinous rice cakes he had prepared the previous night in egg yolks until golden brown on both sides. He then added soybean flour and brown sugar. He also steamed a large number of zongzi, both sweet and savory. Lu Qingjiu also asked Yin Xun to make some soy milk. Once all the food was ready, everyone sat down at the table and began to eat.

Zhu Miaomiao was full of praise for the glutinous rice cake. It was different from the ones made by machines. The ones made by hand were more elastic. The rice was also of good quality. It was full of rice fragrance when chewed in the mouth. Paired with thick brown sugar and fragrant soybean flour, Zhu Miaomiao couldn't stop eating it.

Lu Qingjiu ate a meat rice dumpling. This year, he specially made it very big. The meat strips inside were as thick as fingers. The most wonderful thing was that the fat and lean meat were alternating. After heating, the fat completely turned into boiling liquid and soaked into the glutinous rice. When he took a bite, he could feel the gravy filling his entire mouth.

But glutinous rice has always been the most filling. Lu Qingjiu was full after eating two fist-sized rice dumplings. Zhu Miaomiao had eaten a lot of rice cakes, but she forced herself to eat another rice dumpling. In the end, she completely collapsed in the chair, shaking her head and groaning that she couldn't eat anymore. If she ate any more, she would eat too much and die.

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, "Take it easy, don't upset your stomach."

While eating zongzi, Yin Xun did not forget to tease Bai Yuehu, saying that the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival is to eat zongzi and row dragon boats. Since there are no dragon boats anymore, can we use dragons instead?

Bai Yuehu slowly put down his chopsticks and said gently, "Do you want to try it?"

Yin Xun: "...Brother, I was just joking."

Lu Qingjiu laughed beside him.

After dinner, everyone went about their own business. Lu Qingjiu planned to clean up the house and do a thorough cleaning. The Dragon Boat Festival is a tradition of exorcising the five poisonous insects. According to folklore, the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the season when the five poisonous insects breed. At this time, every corner of the house should be cleaned to prevent poisonous insects from breeding. From a scientific perspective, June is a time of abundant rainfall and a relatively humid climate, which indeed creates conditions suitable for mosquito breeding.

Lu Qingjiu was in charge of the front yard, Yin Xun was in charge of the house, and as for Bai Yuehu, she took Zhu Miaomiao to the fields to farm.

Lu Qingjiu was holding a broom, sweeping the dust and cobwebs in the corners of the wall. He was working with his head down when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Lu Qingjiu asked.

"Is Bai Yuehu here?" Zhu Rong's voice came from outside.

"Come in, he's not here. He just went to the fields." Lu Qingjiu said, "What's going on?"

Just as he finished speaking, he saw Zhu Rong pushing the door open. Zhu Rong was holding something in his hand, with a serious expression on his face. He exuded a strong smell of blood. Because he was wearing red clothes, no bloodstains could be seen, but Lu Qingjiu still noticed that there were some wet marks on the hem of his clothes.

"I have something to say to Bai Yuehu." Zhu Rong said, "Is he in the field?"

"Yes." Lu Qingjiu saw what Zhu Rong was holding. At first, he thought it was a piece of wood, but after a closer look, his expression froze... It turned out to be a shrunken dragon claw. Zhu Rong held it in his hand like a piece of cargo, and red blood was slowly dripping from it, dripping onto the black earth.

"What...what is this?" Lu Qingjiu had a bad feeling.

Zhu Rong glanced at Lu Qingjiu and asked, "Do you know the true form of the White Moon Fox?"

Lu Qingjiu nodded.

"Of course you should recognize what this is." Zhu Rong replied coldly.

Lu Qingjiu said, "It's a dragon claw?! Is it the imprisoned dragon?"

Zhu Rong didn't speak, but sometimes silence is also a form of answer. Lu Qingjiu thought of the last time he saw his grandfather Ao Run, a few months ago. At that time, he seemed to want to remind him of something, but was interrupted by the rushing White Moon Fox. However, he didn't expect that the next time he saw his grandfather, it would be at Zhu Rong's place, and Zhu Rong had actually broken one of his grandfather's claws.

Zhu Rong knew from Lu Qingjiu's expression that she must have known the truth. He said calmly, "Although he is your grandfather, he also abandoned your grandmother and ate your parents. Why do you have feelings for him?"

Lu Qingjiu frowned but said nothing.

"He could have refuted it, but he didn't." Zhu Rong said, "So he would have admitted it only after he had done it." He sighed slightly, "Forget it, there's no point in me telling you this." He turned around and was about to leave.

Lu Qingjiu stood behind him, his eyes fixed on the dragon claws. He had seen the White Moon Fox's claws before; they were beautiful, clean, and sharp like blades, emitting a chilling chill. But the one Zhu Rong held was covered in scars of varying sizes, with two claws even split down the middle, clearly severely damaged. Dust and rocks clung to the claws, reminding Lu Qingjiu of the White Moon Fox's untouched scales.

"Has he... been caught?" Lu Qingjiu couldn't help but ask this question before Zhu Rong left.

Zhu Rong paused and turned back to ask, "Do you want him to be caught?"

"I don't know." Lu Qingjiu replied.

"No." Zhu Rong's red eyes seemed to be burning with flames, but his voice was cold, like a whistling cold wind, chilling people's hearts. "But I would rather he be caught sooner."

Lu Qingjiu frowned.

"He'll die if he keeps running," Zhu Rong said. "He refuses to come back, and he refuses to hurt anyone, so he keeps getting hurt." He glanced at the claw in his hand, which was still dripping with blood, and laughed at himself. "This time it's just a claw, next time, maybe it'll be a dragon's head."

Lu Qingjiu was silent. For some reason, the words of the man in front of him were so vicious, but Lu Qingjiu felt that his cold expression revealed an indescribable sadness - as if he was watching a miracle fall before his eyes.

The author has something to say: Lu Qingjiu: I don’t like old ladies.

Zhu Miaomiao: That’s great.

Lu Qingjiu: It’s the old man…

Zhu Miaomiao & Bai Yuehu: ...