Zhuang Mingcheng stepped forward and tried to pet the little snow leopard.
"Meow~"
Little Flower bared her teeth and called out to Zhuang Mingcheng.
Zhuang Mingcheng was very frustrated and could only look helplessly at Lu Fangfang.
And this is supposed to be his daughter? He's a complete traitor.
"Alright, alright, this is your dad. From now on, we're family."
Lu Fangfang smiled and rubbed its head, then waved to Zhuang Mingcheng.
She suppressed a laugh and said, "Go ahead and touch it."
Xiao Hua glanced at the man, then nestled in Lu Fangfang's arms and stopped baring her teeth.
Seeing this, Zhuang Mingcheng reached out and touched the little snow leopard's head.
"Meow~"
Xiao Hua nudged Zhuang Mingcheng, looking somewhat disgusted.
Lu Fangfang watched, and couldn't stop laughing.
"Fangfang, where did you find this little snow leopard?"
Zhuang Mingcheng wasn't afraid that Xiaohua would dislike him, so he touched Xiaohua all over.
He had lived in Northwest China for five or six years and had only ever seen snow leopards from a distance. This was the first time he had ever touched one, and he found it incredibly rare.
"Meow~"
Xiaohua was annoyed by being touched and disliked Zhuang Mingcheng even more.
"I picked this up on the snow mountain. There were two of them at the time, but one of them froze to death, so I picked up Xiaohua."
Lu Fangfang sighed and recounted the process of finding the snow leopard in detail.
She fed this little guy bit by bit, just like she would her own child. The big snow leopard from back then never appeared again, so it must have met with bad luck.
"Snow-capped mountains?"
Zhuang Mingcheng froze, a sudden emptiness settling over him.
He was still thinking of coming back to take his lover to climb the snow mountain, but he didn't expect that his lover had already gone.
After a long pause, he asked helplessly, "Why...why are you climbing the snow mountain?"
"I dug for caterpillar fungus. Old Xu taught me. The state-run pharmacy in the county buys caterpillar fungus for about 10 or 20 yuan a pound. I earned over 200 yuan by digging for caterpillar fungus. It's a way of supporting national development."
Zhuang Mingcheng: "..."
He frowned, moved his hand away from Xiao Hua, and touched Lu Fangfang's stomach.
Clearing wasteland for farming, climbing snow-capped mountains to dig for caterpillar fungus...
Zhuang Mingcheng was dumbfounded. He really suspected that his lover was made of iron, otherwise how could she have done so much in two months?
"Hey, why are you touching my stomach?"
Lu Fangfang was a little helpless. She had gotten used to being touched and no longer blushed.
She took a picture of her lover's hand, then stood up while holding the little flower.
"I was just worried you'd overwork yourself, Fangfang. I told you to stay home and rest, but you've been doing so much, you've really given me a lot of trouble."
Zhuang Mingcheng looked at his lover with doting affection.
"Alright, I'm not a child, I won't tire myself out. Hurry up and bring everything in from the gate inside."
Lu Fangfang couldn't stand his gaze.
She picked up Xiaohua and turned to go inside.
This troublesome little guy has even learned to starve himself; I hope he doesn't starve himself.
She opened the cupboard, took out a bag of dried meat, and fed it to the little guy little by little.
Little Flower was really hungry, and she lowered her head and wolfed down her food.
Lu Fangfang felt heartbroken looking at the little one. She stroked the little one's head and instructed, "Xiao Hua, don't do this again. Eat when you're hungry, and never let yourself go hungry."
At this moment, Zhuang Mingcheng walked in carrying a sack and a photo frame.
"By the way, Fangfang, who is Old Xu? This guy is really something, he even taught you to dig for caterpillar fungus in the snowy mountains. That's so tiring and bad for your health."
Old Xu...
Digging for caterpillar fungus in the snow-capped mountains...
Zhuang Mingcheng suddenly thought of something.
Holding the framed "certificate of merit," he turned to look at Lu Fangfang and asked casually, "Is Old Xu a man or a woman?"
"It was a man, an old rightist who had been sent down to the countryside. He was a really nice guy. I went to the sixth team to haul clay, and thanks to him, he helped me push several carts."
As she spoke, Lu Fangfang sensed something was amiss.
She turned around and saw that Zhuang Mingcheng's face had fallen, and he looked like he was about to cry.
Lu Fangfang: "..."
"What are you doing? Let me tell you, don't be petty. Old Xu and I are just friends."
Old Xu really helped her a lot; even her stubborn little donkey is being taken care of by him.
She's really committed to this friend.
Zhuang Mingcheng was extremely frustrated. He looked at his lover and questioned, "I'm not petty, Fangfang. Who was it that told me to take her to the snow mountain?"
Forehead……
Lu Fangfang opened her mouth, feeling quite touched.
This man still remembers what he said back then.
She put the dried meat into the pot of small flowers and quickly stood up and went over.
"Mingcheng, can you take me to the snow mountain again sometime? Let's climb it together."
Lu Fangfang turned her head to look outside. It was almost June, and most of the surrounding snow-capped mountains had melted.
I'll have to wait until next year to climb the snow-capped mountain.
Zhuang Mingcheng looked dejected and very depressed.
But you can't blame anyone else for this; it's his own fault for going to Xinjiang.
"By the way, what are you going to do with the clay?"
"Make adobe bricks."
"What's the point of making adobe bricks?"
"Building a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), erecting a shed, constructing a toilet—which of these doesn't require adobe bricks?"
Lu Fangfang looked at Zhuang Mingcheng as if he were a fool.
That's like asking him what the point of clearing land to grow vegetables is.
"Build a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed)? Construct a shed? Build a toilet?"
Zhuang Mingcheng disregarded the snow mountain matter and turned to walk quickly into the inner room.
On the north side of the room, where he used to put a double wooden bed, there is now a large, earthen-yellow heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed).
The heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) is very large, connecting the east and west walls. It's big enough to comfortably sleep two people, let alone two more.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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