Zhang Chuyang's mind seemed to be unable to change. Even as he left, the look he gave Lu Qingjiu was very subtle. Lu Qingjiu also gave up defending herself and let him go.
After breakfast, Lu Qingjiu drove a small truck to take Zhang Chuyang and Zhu Miaomiao to the town. The three of them said goodbye reluctantly - to be more precise, it was Zhang Chuyang and Zhu Miaomiao who said goodbye to Lu Qingjiu reluctantly.
"Mr. Lu, if anyone else has this kind of trouble, can I still come to you?" Zhang Chuyang, with his long hair tied back, looked like a wandering artist. He held Lu Qingjiu's hand tightly, unwilling to let go. "Is that okay, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Qingjiu's hands turned red from being grabbed, and he said helplessly, "Sure."
Zhang Chuyang then reluctantly let go.
Zhu Miaomiao also tried to persuade Lu Qingjiu, but she wanted Lu Qingjiu to return to her original company. Lu Qingjiu knew that she meant well and was worried about him, so she listened with a smile, but she didn't show any intention of changing her mind.
Seeing this, Zhu Miaomiao knew that she couldn't persuade Lu Qingjiu, so she could only sigh and say, "Okay, you're welcome to come back anytime."
"Thank you." Lu Qingjiu was very grateful for Zhu Miaomiao's care for her in the company over the years.
After watching the two of them get on the train, Lu Qingjiu turned around and left the station.
After leaving the station, he did not rush back, but went to the town first to buy some daily necessities and food for the family. With Bai Yuehu, a big appetite like her, at home, meat was indispensable for every meal. For convenience, Lu Qingjiu always bought dozens of kilograms to freeze.
After he finished shopping, a text message popped up on his phone: an extra two hundred thousand yuan had been added to his bank account. Lu Qingjiu counted the amount twice, making sure he hadn't misread it. Then he called Zhu Miaomiao and asked what was going on. Did Zhang Chuyang call the wrong number?
"No, I couldn't stop him. He insisted on giving you 200,000." Zhu Miaomiao's tone was also quite helpless. She didn't know why Zhang Chuyang's attitude towards Lu Qingjiu changed so much after one night.
Lu Qingjiu said: "Give him the phone number."
As soon as Zhu Miaomiao handed the phone to Zhang Chuyang, he heard a voice from the other end: "Mr. Lu, this is what you deserve!"
Lu Qingjiu: "Wait..."
Zhang Chuyang said quickly: "I have never seen such a magical thing. I slept for one night and actually grew a thick head of hair. My God, this is incredible. This little money can only express less than one ten-thousandth of my gratitude! Please accept this money!" After the words fell, the phone was hung up, leaving Lu Qingjiu with her mouth open and unable to make a sound for a long time.
Yes, for a middle-aged man who was already bald in his thirties, the one who could give him such black and shiny hair was simply his reborn parent. Coupled with the mysterious atmosphere that night, Lu Qingjiu had become the master that Zhang Chuyang could not afford to offend.
The master Lu Qingjiu completely gave up debating with Zhang Chuyang, picked up dozens of kilograms of pork and threw them onto the truck, then drove the truck home to cook.
It had been raining for the past few days, and the mountain roads were particularly slippery, but the small truck was not affected at all. It was still running at the same speed as usual, and except for being a little slower, it was very stable, so Lu Qingjiu didn't have to worry about it at all.
After arriving at the door of his house, Lu Qingjiu parked it as usual, touched its headlights and praised it.
Lu Qingjiu carried the meat into the yard, but he did not see the White Moon Fox that usually lay in the yard, nor was there any sign of Yin Xun.
"Bai Yuehu? Yin Xun? Where did they go?" Lu Qingjiu looked around the entire yard but didn't see them. Since both of them were not there, they must have gone out to do something. Lu Qingjiu stopped looking for them and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
The spare ribs I bought today are fresh and delicious, and Lu Qingjiu plans to have them for lunch. He'll make some sweet and sour spare ribs, a dry pot of spare ribs, and a winter melon and spare rib soup. Bai Yuehu isn't picky about food at all; he'll eat almost anything. His only preference is meat over vegetables.
Lu Qingjiu chopped the ribs into small pieces and drained the blood. As he was chopping the ingredients for the dry pot, Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu returned. Each of them was dragging a large bag, which had left a long trail of water on the ground, likely due to the moisture inside. The bag also occasionally wiggled, clearly containing a living creature.
Lu Qingjiu was holding a spatula and preparing to cook when he saw the bag. His eyes widened immediately. He imagined the horrific scenes of ten thousand murders and whispered, "Yin Xun, what's in the bag?"
"Fish." Yin Xun's answer made Lu Qingjiu breathe a sigh of relief. He noticed Lu Qingjiu's look and immediately burst into laughter. "What did you think it was? Was it the body of a passing tourist who unfortunately drowned?"
Lu Qingjiu: “…” This possibility cannot be denied.
Yin Xun reached out and untied the bag, revealing its contents. It was indeed a giant black fish, though it looked a little strange. Its body was covered in pale markings, but its lips were red. Overall, it resembled a carp, but the details were somewhat different. There were two wounds on its back, from which red blood oozed. However, the fish didn't seem weakened by the wounds. Instead, it was very lively, jumping around in the bag non-stop.
"What kind of fish is this?" Lu Qingjiu was stunned when he saw the appearance of the fish, "Why haven't I seen it before?" It is said to be a carp, but some of its features do not match those of a carp. Could it be a mutated ornamental carp?
"Carp." Bai Yuehu, who was standing behind Yin Xun, answered Lu Qingjiu's question.
Is it really carp? However, there are indeed a lot of carp-like ornamental fish. Lu Qingjiu said: "Then... shall we eat it tomorrow?"
"We'll eat it tonight," White Moon Fox said. "The fish is injured and can't be kept alive."
Lu Qingjiu said, "That's fine... Then you can help me kill the fish, and I'll prepare the ribs first. As for the fish... let's make pickled fish, okay?"
Bai Yuehu nodded in satisfaction.
This fish is big, and the meat is probably not very tender, and it might even be a bit fishy, so it's perfect for making pickled fish. Lu Qingjiu was preparing the ribs while Bai Yuehu was killing the fish nearby, and by the way, filleting the fish according to Lu Qingjiu's instructions.
Bai Yuehu's knife skills were excellent. After cleaning the fish's internal organs, he split it open from the belly, then cut it neatly into fillets along the grain. Lu Qingjiu watched from the side and found that the fish meat was much more tender than he had imagined, and it seemed that there were no other small bones except for a spine.
As soon as Lu Qingjiu saw the structure of the fish, he knew that Bai Yuehu had definitely lied. This fish could definitely not be a carp, as carp have a lot of bones on their bodies. Yin Xun happened to be in the vegetable garden at this time, so he asked without any hesitation: "This is not a carp, right? What kind of fish is it?"
Bai Yuehu blinked at Lu Qingjiu and uttered two words: "Wen Yu."
Lu Qingjiu: “…” Never heard of it.
"It's not poisonous and tastes good." Bai Yuehu said, "It goes well with sauerkraut." As he spoke, he observed Lu Qingjiu's expression, as if he was worried that Lu Qingjiu would dislike this fish that he had never heard of.
Lu Qingjiu thought, forget it, who cares if he's heard of it before, as long as it's edible, and the fish meat does look really good, if he had known earlier, he wouldn't have used it to make pickled fish, and would have just steamed it...
The two reached a certain consensus in silence. Bai Yuehu happily filleted the fish, and then watched Lu Qingjiu cook a large pot of pickled fish.
Lu Qingjiu made the pickled cabbage himself. It hadn't been there long, so the sourness wasn't quite there, so he added a little more. The fish rolled in the pickled cabbage, and the rich aroma filled the kitchen.
Lu Qingjiu was cooking in the kitchen, while Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu stood outside, ready to come in and serve the food at any time.
"Alright." Pour the fish from the pot into the stainless steel basin she had bought specially, and Lu Qingjiu announced the start of the meal like a kindergarten teacher, "Let's eat."
Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun entered the kitchen and started serving food, while Lu Qingjiu untied her apron, took a breath, drank a glass of water, and then sat down at the table.
Because of the unexpected fish, Lu Qingjiu only made dry pot spareribs and put the rest in the refrigerator, planning to eat them that evening. Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun didn't move, waiting for Lu Qingjiu to pick up his chopsticks first. This was the unspoken rule in their family. Because Lu Qingjiu always worked the hardest on the cooking, they would wait until he started eating before they began. Lu Qingjiu had told them about this several times, but since they didn't take it seriously, he just let it go.
Lu Qingjiu picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. Then, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes, and he said, "This fish is really delicious." The fish meat was extremely tender, with a strange aftertaste of sweetness. After being cooked in sauerkraut, it blended with the sour taste of the sauerkraut and became very appetizing.
"Hmm." Yin Xun nodded heavily, unable to stop using his chopsticks.
The most pleasant thing about this fish is that it has no bones at all. Every piece of meat is very plump and tender, and you can even say that there is no fishy smell at all. Even Lu Qingjiu, who has little interest in fish, can't stop eating with his chopsticks.
The fish was warmly welcomed by everyone, but Bai Yuehu did not miss the dry pot spareribs next to it. He obviously accepted all kinds of meat.
While Lu Qingjiu was cooking, she'd initially wondered if two fish would be too much, but seeing how Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu were acting, she knew it wasn't too much at all. The basin she'd been using for washing faces was completely empty, and Yin Xun collapsed first, rubbing her chubby belly and declaring she was about to give birth, asking Lu Qingjiu to take care of him.
Lu Qingjiu said, "Your belly was enlarged by the fish, so why should I be held responsible?"
Yin Xun: “…”
The fighting power of Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun has never been on the same level. Even though Yin Xun's belly was big, he was still fighting. After the fish meat entered his mouth, it was like entering a bottomless pit. He didn't feel full at all. Lu Qingjiu looked at his abdomen and felt no change.
So Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun sat next to each other, watching Bai Yuehu eat up all the pickled fish including the soup in one breath. There were only some onions and other side dishes left from the dry pot spareribs next to him. After he finished eating, he stood up consciously and prepared to wash the dishes.
Lu Qingjiu asked, “Yuehu, are you full?”
Bai Yuehu said, "Almost."
Lu Qingjiu: "..." Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that Bai Yuehu never said that he was full while eating. Even when he asked him, he would just say: Almost there.
"Almost done" actually means not full, right? Lu Qingjiu wondered if he would ever see Bai Yuehu eat his fill...
After dinner, everyone went back home to find their own mother.
Lu Qingjiu took a shower and sat in front of his computer to play games for a while. As he was playing, he suddenly remembered something and opened the search bar and typed in the word "patterned ray". Then he saw the record of this fish in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas": it is a multi-patterned ray, shaped like a carp, with a fish body and bird wings, with gray stripes and a white head, a red beak, and often roams the Western Sea. Its sound is like a phoenix, and its taste is sour and sweet. Eating it will make you crazy, but seeing it will bring you great harvests.
The general meaning is that this bird looks similar to a carp, makes a call similar to a phoenix, tastes sweet and sour, and eating it can cure madness.
Lu Qingjiu fell silent after reading this paragraph of text, then recalled the taste of the pickled fish tonight, and felt that this "Classic of Mountains and Seas" was quite reliable.
Speaking of Shan Hai Jing, Lu Qingjiu vaguely remembered that it seemed to record many interesting creatures. He thought for a moment and simply bought a copy online, planning to find time to read it.
He ate too much at night and soon felt tired. Ever since arriving in Shuifu Village, Lu Qingjiu couldn't figure out how to spell insomnia. He fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow every day.
Tonight was no exception. Lu Qingjiu lay down on the bed and draped a small blanket over his stomach. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and he would be able to spread out the mat in a couple of days. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep amid the chirping of insects.
However, in the middle of the night, Lu Qingjiu, who was originally still sleeping soundly, heard a shrill cry. He woke up from his dream in a daze. His first reaction was: Hasn't Zhang Chuyang grown hair? Why is he screaming again?!
But after waking up and listening carefully, he found that the voice was not Zhang Chuyang's at all, but a very unfamiliar voice.
"Who is it? Who's outside?!" Lu Qingjiu rushed into the yard in her pajamas.
The moon in the sky was obscured by thick clouds, and Lu Qingjiu could only barely make out two people lying in his yard. The gate to the yard was wide open, as if someone had broken into it from outside. Startled, Lu Qingjiu immediately realized that a thief had broken into his house. He grabbed a stick that had been left by the wall to build a grape trellis and shouted, "Who's there?"
However, the two men lay motionless in the yard. Lu Qingjiu did not dare to go over to them. He turned and went to the corridor next to him and turned on the lights in the yard.
The light bulb shone, illuminating the entire yard. Only then did Lu Qingjiu see clearly what was happening in the yard.
He saw two young men lying on the ground in his yard, their faces covered in blood, and they were moaning faintly. Not far away from them were two blood-stained daggers, which must have been carried with them.
Although Lu Qingjiu didn't know what had happened, his first reaction was to call the police. After asking about the situation on the phone, the police said they would come immediately and asked Lu Qingjiu to check on the two people first and help them call an ambulance in advance if necessary.
Lu Qingjiu said hello. After he finished the call, he grabbed the wooden stick and carefully walked over to the two men. He found that their bodies were covered with dense small holes, as if they had been pecked by something. The two men were already in so much pain that they were unconscious and fell to the ground groaning.
Lu Qingjiu glanced around the yard and found some bloodstains on the ground. He followed the bloodstains and finally stopped at the door of his chicken coop.
Because the chicks are usually very obedient, when it rains or gets dark, they will run into the chicken coop on their own without anyone having to chase them away. Therefore, the door of the chicken coop in the yard is never locked, and it is left open for the chicks to move around on their own.
Lu Qingjiu opened the chicken coop and saw blood everywhere. But that wasn't the point. The point was that almost every chicken was covered in blood. At first, Lu Qingjiu thought they were injured, but after checking them one by one, he found that each chicken was energetic and not injured at all. So, the blood on them was from the wounds of the two thieves? Lu Qingjiu figured it out and slowly turned to look at the two people who were still lying there screaming in pain.
Bai Yuehu was woken up at some point and leaned lazily against the door frame, looking at the scene in the yard.
Lu Qingjiu said, "Good evening."
"Good evening." Bai Yuehu replied softly.
Lu Qingjiu knew that he must know what happened, so he slowly walked to Bai Yuehu and pointed at the two people lying on the ground and said, "I have called the police. Are these two people's lives in danger?"
Bai Yuehu shook his head.
Lu Qingjiu said: "They can't be..."
He hesitated for only half of his words when Bai Yuehu nodded seriously: "It's just as you think."
Lu Qingjiu: “…” What the hell, was he really pecked by a chicken?!
"So those aren't chickens at all?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "What are they?"
Bai Yuehu said, "Something edible."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Yes, in the eyes of the White Moon Fox, the world is probably divided into two kinds of things: those that can be eaten, and those that cannot be eaten...
Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment and asked, “Is it delicious?”
Bai Yuehu said, "It's delicious." When he said the word "delicious", his eyes curved slightly, and he was obviously in a good mood. I don't know if it was because he remembered the taste of the chicken.
Since the people in the yard were not in danger of death, Lu Qingjiu was too lazy to call an ambulance for them. He took a wet towel, walked to the chicken coop, and began to wipe the blood off the chickens. He casually asked Bai Yuehu, "They won't peck me, right?"
"No." White Moon Fox said, "They recognize their master."
Lu Qingjiu asked, "Are you conscious?"
Bai Yuehu answered decisively: "No."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Bai Yuehu said: "Really not, they are good for nothing except being delicious."
Lu Qingjiu was a little amused, but the chicken was indeed well behaved in his hands, with no intention of pecking him. He wiped it while asking, "Can I beat these chickens?"
Bai Yuehu said: "Hmm..."
Lu Qingjiu turned around and glanced at him: "What do you mean?"
Bai Yuehu said, "I'm calculating the fighting strength of you and Jizi." He was silent for a while before saying, "Ten to one."
Lu Qingjiu was surprised and asked, "I can beat ten of them?"
White Moon Fox: "You can beat one of ten."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Seeing that Lu Qingjiu’s expression was not right, Bai Yuehu added: “It’s okay, I’ll kill it when it’s time to eat.”
"That was really hard work for you," said Mr. Lu, who was watching the whole process. "I was really hurt." But looking at the two thieves in the yard who were in great pain but not seriously injured, he decided not to challenge his own chickens.
At about four in the morning, the police came and saw two thieves who were about to faint from the pain and Lu Qingjiu who was dozing off in the yard.
"Hey, Lu Qingjiu." The policeman who came was an acquaintance, the same Hu Shu who had investigated the female corpse in Lu Qingjiu's backyard last time. He asked, "Why are you here again?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "I also want to know why I am so unlucky. These two people broke the lock of my courtyard door and wanted to come in and steal things."
"Then what happened to their injuries?" Hu Shu asked.
"How would I know?" Lu Qingjiu said, "They had already fallen to the ground when I came out. If you don't believe me, ask them."
The two men were already in so much pain that they were completely unconscious and couldn't answer the police's questions. However, after looking at their appearance, Hu Shu discovered that they were actually fugitives from the city. They had committed murder and robbery a week ago and were currently being sought by the entire city. They had unexpectedly run into Lu Qingjiu's house. Thinking about it carefully, it was possible that Lu Qingjiu had attracted the attention of these two people when he bought meat in town today.
"Okay, I'll take him away first." Hu Shu said, "Remember to come to the police station to make a statement."
"Why do I have to take a statement again? I don't know anything." Lu Qingjiu was helpless.
"That's hard to say." Hu Shu said, "They have so many wounds on their bodies. You are the only one in the yard. If it wasn't you who did it, could it be your chickens?" He casually pointed to the chicken coop next to the yard.
Lu Qingjiu: "..." Damn, it really was his chicken that did it. But he couldn't say it, and no one would believe him even if he did, so he could only cast a resentful look at Hu Shu.
Hu Shu shuddered at Lu Qingjiu's gaze and said, "Don't glare at me like that. Although I know you may be innocent, we still have to follow the procedure."
"Okay." Lu Qingjiu compromised.
"By the way." Hu Shu asked quietly before leaving with the two of them, "Is there any more trouble with the well behind your house?"
Lu Qingjiu said: "Um... no... right?"
Hu Shu: "Why are you so hesitant?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "Maybe what happened tonight was caused by something in that well."
Hu Shu shuddered and asked, "Is this true?"
Lu Qingjiu blinked his eyes, neither saying it was true nor denying it was false. He felt that Hu Shu seemed to want to say something, but was very hesitant, as if he was worried.
There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Hu Shu finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you good at these things?"
Lu Qingjiu asked, "What's the matter?"
Hu Shu said: "It's about ghosts and gods."
Lu Qingjiu said: "I'm not good at it. This is my first time seeing it too."
Hu Shu looked doubtful and asked, "Really?"
Lu Qingjiu nodded seriously.
Seeing that Lu Qingjiu had no intention of relenting, Hu Shu opened his mouth, but said nothing and turned away. Lu Qingjiu looked at his back, feeling that he seemed to have a lot to say, but for some reason, he couldn't. But this had nothing to do with him. Lu Qingjiu glanced at his chicken coop and sighed. The blood on his chicks hadn't been wiped clean yet. He should get a towel and wipe it off, otherwise the whole yard would probably be filled with the smell of blood tomorrow.
The author has something to say: Lu Qingjiu: I can't even beat my own chicken, am I the weakest fighter in the house...
Bai Yuehu said: It’s okay, although you have the lowest combat power, you are the most delicious.
Lu Qingjiu: ??? Is this comforting me or scolding me?
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