Chapter 23 Peach Blossoms and Peaches

"Night Breeze, come help me, move this cabinet over here first!"

"good."

After rinsing and washing for most of the day, the old furniture was finally cleaned.

Looking at the row of old furniture in the yard, neatly arranged and spotlessly clean, Su Yun felt a great sense of accomplishment and was overjoyed.

She said happily, "These pieces of furniture are really antique. This little coffee table is perfect for placing under the eaves, and it's very convenient to put a water glass or something on it."

As she spoke, Su Yun laboriously moved the small tea table under the eaves again.

"This recliner is quite cool, perfect for summer. Right now, you can add a small pillow and a small blanket, and it'll be very comfortable to sleep in. It's so practical! Night Breeze, you're amazing, where did you find such a great recliner?"

"This jar doesn't look very impressive at first glance, but after washing it, the color is actually quite nice, a nice earthy yellow, perfect for flower arranging..."

"And this little cabinet, we can use it to store dried goods! Night Breeze, can you move it over here for me... Hey? Where did everyone go?"

Just as Su Yun was enthusiastically planning how to arrange the furniture she had bought, she discovered that Ye Feng had secretly slipped away again and was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did that guy go again? Why didn't he say anything?" Su Yun was in a good mood and didn't dwell on it. She just muttered a few words and continued fiddling with her bottles and jars. She'd settle the score later...

So Su Yun turned around and fiddled with those things again. After tidying up the yard, the sun gradually set, and the night breeze returned with light steps.

Su Yun heard the door open and was about to shout a few words with his hands on his hips when he heard it. How did it run away so quietly?

She had just turned around when she saw the night wind, and the words she was about to say were swallowed back down, turning into: "Wow, where did these peach blossoms come from?"

She turned around and saw Ye Feng holding a large bunch of peach blossoms in full bloom. Among the pink and white blossoms, the cat-eared boy grinned at her and said, "I picked them for you!"

Su Yun stared wide-eyed. Under a warm orange glow, a large bunch of pink and white peach blossoms in the arms of a handsome young man were in full bloom, their petals overlapping and delicately beautiful. Although the peach blossoms were beautiful, they couldn't compare to the captivating charm of the young man. His handsome face and clear, bright golden eyes reflected the abundant peach blossoms, possessing a breathtaking beauty that instantly struck Su Yun's heart.

The phrase "lust at first sight" suddenly popped into Su Yun's mind.

The scene before her eyes instantly captivated her. No, she couldn't look anymore; she wouldn't be able to resist.

Su Yun hurriedly lowered her head, her heart pounding like a drum, and she didn't dare to look the other person in the eye.

I'm afraid if I look at it again, I'll be tempted to commit a crime.

Bullying a kitten that doesn't understand anything.

No, no... Su Yun, you must hold back, you're not that kind of person.

Su Yun pinched her palm hard, forcing herself to calm down.

Ah, don't panic, don't panic at all. The other person is just a little kitten. He doesn't even understand what love is. It's all just fluff, all just fluff.

Su Yun silently chanted "Floating Clouds" in her mind, while the little voice in her head shook its head vigorously, trying to get the handsome young man who was holding flowers for her out of her mind.

Then, calmly controlling her mouth which was about to split open in a wide grin, she accepted the peach blossom with feigned composure and said, "Where did this flower come from? It's so beautiful!"

Night Breeze was even happier to see Su Yun accept the peach blossoms. Her ears perked up slightly, and she gave a pure smile. Pointing in another direction from the village, she replied excitedly, "They were found over there. There are many of them."

"Really? What's it like?" Su Yun was even happier to hear this answer than when she saw the handsome guy. Her first thought was, "There's a peach orchard over there? A pear orchard? So we'll have peaches and pears to eat in the future?"

"Yes, it's a very large area," Night Breeze described.

"Is it a big piece?" Su Yun's eyes lit up even more. Compared to handsome men, delicious food really excited her. She was like someone who had seen a little mountain dog made of meat bones, and she was just short of barking.

Looking into Su Yun's expectant eyes, Ye Feng nodded: "It's a huge area, almost covering the entire hillside."

"Can you take me to see it?" Su Yun's eyes sparkled, as if she could already see the garden full of peaches and pears.

Ye Feng was about to agree immediately, but seeing her still swollen feet and remembering the wet patches on the road, he shook his head and said, "You need to rest well, it's quite far over there."

"Alright." Although Su Yun was a little disappointed, she wouldn't run away from Taoyuan and Liyuan. Oh well, she'd go when her foot felt better.

Seeing the slight regret on her face, Ye Feng's ears twitched. Then, he took out a handful of small, bright green fruits from his pocket and handed them to Su Yun. She looked closely and exclaimed, "Plums!"

A handful of plums, glistening with dew, lay in Ye Feng's large palm, seemingly found by some unknown source. Su Yun picked one up, gently rubbed it clean on the corner of his clothes, and put it in his mouth. He took a small bite, and ah, it was so sour that his teeth felt like they were about to burst.

Looking up at Ye Feng, she saw the other person staring at her innocently, his ears slightly tilted forward, anticipating her opinion. He probably hadn't tasted it himself and didn't know that plums were so sour.

"How was it? Was it delicious? I found it in the back." Night Breeze asked expectantly.

Su Yun wanted to answer truthfully, but her eyes darted around. Looking at the other person's innocent expression, an evil thought rose in her mind. She tried hard to control her facial expression and the fruit that she wanted to spit out. She pretended to eat it with relish and said, "It's so sweet! You should try it too."

Seeing her satisfied expression, Ye Feng picked up one of the plums and put it whole into his mouth. He took a small bite, and sure enough, his handsome face immediately scrunched up, twisting like a crumpled dough.

"So sour..." Ye Feng spat out the plum with a bitter face. He always liked sweets, and the sourness of this plum was so strong that it almost killed him.

The fluffy ears drooped instantly, and Ye Feng looked at her with a hint of grievance on his face, his golden eyes gazing at her with a pitiful expression, accusingly saying, "You lied to me..."

Oh no, this is so cute!

Su Yun was instantly charmed. How could she possibly deceive such an adorable kitten? So she quickly swallowed the sour plum, took another bite, and insisted, "How could that be? I think it's quite delicious. Is it because the one you took isn't very tasty?"

Ye Feng carefully observed Su Yun's expression, only to see her continuing to happily munch on the plum, looking as if it were delicious and wonderful.

But recalling that pungent smell that hit him right in the head, Ye Feng was still skeptical: "Really?"

"Really? I love this flavor." Su Yun continued her performance with great effort, a forced smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Ye Feng glanced at the expression on her face. Her face was clearly about to split open, but she was still forcing a smile. Humph, what a jerk!

He didn't expose her, but simply threw all the plums he had picked at her and turned back to his room to arrange flowers.

As soon as the night breeze turned around, Su Yun hurriedly dragged her "half-crippled" leg to the small tea table and drank more than half a cup of water. This plum was really sour, and even after drinking more than half a cup of water, her teeth still felt sour.

Looking at the remaining full pot, Su Yun hesitated whether to just throw it away.

It's so sour, but I guess I can give it a try.

As if suddenly remembering something, Su Yun's eyes lit up, and she carried the small bowl of plums into the kitchen.

These plums are so sour, perfect for making pickled plums. The washed plums are lush and green, plump and firm. Su Yun picked one up and smashed it on the cutting board, then casually tossed it into a porcelain bowl prepared nearby.

Su Yun grabbed a handful of salt from a large bowl full of freshly pounded green plums, stirred the plums evenly, and left them to marinate for an hour. This would allow the plums to release their juices and remove the bitterness.

An hour later, the bitter liquid from the pickling process is poured out, and then crushed rock sugar is added. A few chilies are picked up, crushed, and thrown in, and then everything is mixed together. Finally, it is all packed into a glass jar.

Finally, add a spoonful of honey, cover the lid, and shake vigorously.

Hehe, looking at the big jar of crystal clear and green pickled plums, Su Yun's mouth was already watering. Pickled plums are so sweet and sour, they're so tempting.

After marinating for several hours, Su Yun thought the plums should be flavorful enough. She happily opened the lid, popped one into her mouth, and "crunch—" she bit into it. It was sour, sweet, and slightly spicy, very refreshing and appetizing.

Su Yun munched on a few pieces, finding it very satisfying.

After trying it out in the afternoon, Ye Feng didn't even glance at the jar of plums, and instead buried his head in his rice.

Su Yun picked up a plum and pretended to put it in Ye Feng's bowl. "Here? Try one? This plum is delicious."

The night breeze silently moved the bowl away, sullenly refusing, "No. It's not tasty."

"I'm not lying to you this time, they really are delicious." Su Yun, still not giving up, continued to promote the plums.

Ye Feng looked at the plum offered to him, then remembered its teeth-grinding sourness. His face scrunched up, and he quickly shook his head, refusing, "I'm full. I don't want any more." Without waiting for Su Yun's reply, he abruptly stood up, quickly shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of soup, and slipped away…

Su Yun watched his panicked escape and laughed heartlessly.

With the arrival of the rainy season, the seedlings planted in the backyard have all grown taller.

The corn kernels that Su Yun planted have mostly sprouted and are growing very well. Each stalk is as tall as a palm and is green like a small flag waving in the wind.

There was also a nursery for cultivating chili peppers. Since it was difficult to separate the chili pepper seeds into individual holes, Su Yun simply fenced off a plot of land and scattered all the seeds in at once. Now, they have all sprouted and are growing together in a bustling manner, like a green meadow.

Su Yun felt the humidity in the air and looked at the clouds piling up in the distance. It would probably rain from time to time in the next few days, so it was almost time to plant.

So that day, early in the morning, she and Ye Feng arrived at the field she had previously chosen.

This place is quite close to the water, and we planned it well in advance. Corn and peppers can be planted here, and it will be very convenient to connect a water pipe for watering or fetching water when necessary.

Because her foot injury hadn't healed, she basically dug the fields at night.

Su Yun dug a pit at the edge of the vegetable garden and piled the weeds that Ye Feng had dug up into the pit to compost.

There's no readily available fertilizer, and we don't raise chickens or ducks, so we can only collect grass and leaves and slowly compost them ourselves.

Fertilizer is still needed during the growth of corn; otherwise, both yield and quality will be compromised.

Farming is not an easy task. First, you have to remove the weeds and turn over the soil before you can dig small holes to prepare to plant the seedlings.

Su Yun handed over one tree, and Ye Feng planted one tree. When they had planted most of them, a light drizzle began to fall.

The fine raindrops fall on the ends of your hair like dust, leaving no trace, but over time they condense into tiny water droplets, slowly wetting your hair.

As the raindrops gradually dampened Su Yun's smooth forehead, Ye Feng said, "Su Yun, you should go back now. It's raining."

Su Yun waved her hand, "It's alright, it's just a light drizzle, it won't get anyone wet. Let's hurry up and finish."

"But your injury hasn't healed yet."

"It's alright. Light rain is best, as it increases the survival rate."

Ye Feng frowned, bent down, and tried to forcibly carry Su Yun back.

Seeing this, Su Yun quickly hid to the side: "Hey, hey, no, no, I have a good idea so we won't get wet in the rain."

"What method?"

Su Yun chuckled, "You'll understand in a moment."

After saying that, she picked a few broad, thick leaves from the roadside, tied them together with straw rope, and made herself a small straw hat. Although it was a bit rough, it was enough to keep out some light rain.

So she proudly raised her head, showing off her new hat, "How about it, isn't it good? This way I won't get wet."

Although it's a "green hat".

But Ye Feng didn't mock her at all. Instead, he looked at her bright green hat with envy and said, "It looks very nice."

"Haha, what's so interesting about a green hat? Do you want one? I'll make one for you too," Su Yun said mischievously.

"Yes, I want one too."

Finally, seeing the longing look in Ye Feng's eyes, Su Yun picked a few more broad green leaves and made a large "green hat" again, which he solemnly placed on Ye Feng's head.

"Hehe, it's quite cute." Su Yun admired the other person's crooked, cheap little straw hat, with a few small white flowers from the roadside stuck among the green leaves, which made the other person look even more silly.

Needless to say, I must look like a fool right now.

Su Yun couldn't help but chuckle to herself; the two of them were foolishly wearing green hats.

The night breeze seemed to laugh along happily.

Su Yun couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you laughing at?"

Night Wind pointed to the top of her head, then to itself, "Just like yours, that's good."

Looking at the boy's happy smile and listening to his simple reasons for being happy, Su Yun felt a warmth in her heart. Oh no, she'd been charmed again.

The two of them planted corn and chili peppers, and then cut off some sweet potato vines and planted them in the fields near the Washing River.

Sweet potatoes don't need to be grown from seeds. You can just cut the thick vines into individual sections and plant them. They're also very easy to grow. In less than a month, the land will be covered with new sweet potato vines.

According to Su Yun's plan, sweet potatoes were to be used as a staple food in the future, so she planted as many as possible.

However, sweet potatoes alone are not enough. Su Yun also plans to find more crops and plant them in the spring to increase the chances of successful planting.

Spring is the season for planting, so it's time to do another thorough search of the village's supplies.