"I'm sorry, I really didn't expect this to be the case." Although Wu Xiao was shocked by the facts before him, he could only accept this incredible answer. Although he could see ghosts when he was young, he had almost no contact with them since he grew up. He thought he had lost this ability, but he didn't realize that he had actually been in contact with ghosts all along, just unaware of it...
Wu Xiao looked at Lu Qingjiu and said seriously, "I am willing to provide you with generous compensation for firing you. If you are willing, I would like to invite you back to the company again..." His tone and eyes were very sincere, and it was obvious that he was sincerely apologizing to Lu Qingjiu.
Lu Qingjiu refused, and he said calmly, "You don't have to feel guilty. In fact, even if this hadn't happened, I would have resigned on my own."
"Why?" Wu Xiao asked doubtfully, "You... aren't trying to comfort me, are you?"
"Of course not." Lu Qingjiu smiled, "It's not like a child who has been bullied and needs to go to the parents. If I really don't want to leave, I will definitely ask you for an explanation for the dismissal." The misunderstanding could have been resolved when the explanation was given, and naturally there would be no need to continue until now.
Wu Xiao thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. When he informed Lu Qingjiu that she had to either resign or be fired, Lu Qingjiu had calmly accepted the situation without even arguing. At the time, Wu Xiao had thought he was guilty, but now, thinking about it, there might be something else going on. The reason for firing Lu Qingjiu wasn't necessarily because of her gossip, but rather because Wu Xiao had overheard her describing in detail a project plan that was about to be finalized at their company in the restroom. After hearing this, Wu Xiao had already made up his mind to fire Lu Qingjiu.
Seeing the complicated expression on Wu Xiao's face, Lu Qingjiu naturally guessed what his boss was thinking. He patted Wu Xiao on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You really don't have to feel too guilty. I chose to resign."
"Then why do you want to resign?" Wu Xiao was still unwilling to let it go.
"Something happened at home." Lu Qingjiu's answer was perfunctory, and it was obvious that he did not intend to explain the reason in detail to Wu Xiao.
Wu Xiao was about to ask again, but the old tree who was ignored in the toilet shouted: "Jiu'er, Jiu'er, you are finally back. I missed you so much. No one talked to me after you left. I was so bored." He still used Lu Qingjiu's voice, but the tone was very different, more like that of an innocent teenager.
It is said that the old tree has lived here for nearly two hundred years, and its roots have spread to many places. Although two hundred years is enough for humans to change the world, it is just a blink of an eye for them. It is not unreasonable for the old tree to call itself a child.
But Lu Qingjiu was already used to calling him Lao Shu.
"Well, I'm leaving now. I might not come back often in the future." Lu Qingjiu said to Lao Shu, "You have to take care of yourself."
The old tree was silent for a moment: "Where have you been?"
"I'm going back to my hometown." Lu Qingjiu said, "Wait, I'll come over to see you later."
The old tree said, "Okay, you must come."
Wu Xiao listened to the conversation between the man and the tree with envy in his eyes. He asked, "Does he talk every day?"
"Yes." Lu Qingjiu said, "We talk every day."
Lao Shu has very few tribesmen, and even fewer spiritual beings that can communicate with him. Ever since he discovered that Lu Qingjiu could hear him speak, Lao Shu began to mutter in the toilet every day. When Lu Qingjiu went in to use the toilet, he would occasionally chat with him when no one was around.
"I've heard it three or four times in just six months," Wu Xiao said, "and one of them was talking about me..."
Lu Qingjiu asked, "What did you say?"
Wu Xiao coughed dryly and changed the subject: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Is there any way for me to hear him speak more often?"
Lu Qingjiu thought about it and didn't respond. He really didn't have any solution, but he could go back and ask Bai Yuehu, maybe there really was a solution. In fact, Wu Xiao was a good person and quite loyal. Apart from his bad temper and his tendency to target him, he didn't have any major black spots. After he left, Lao Shu was really lonely, so it would be nice to have someone to keep him company and talk.
"Mr. Wu, that's all for today." Lu Qingjiu said, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
Wu Xiao said, "Okay, if there's anything I can help you with, just tell me." Although Lu Qingjiu said he didn't care about being fired, Wu Xiao still felt a sense of guilt.
Lu Qingjiu nodded, turned and left.
After leaving the company, he did not rush to drive home, but went to the park near the company - where the old tree was. He still had some things he wanted to talk to the old tree about, but Wu Xiao was present, so he didn't dare to speak.
It was already eleven o'clock in the evening. The streets began to become empty, and the wind also became cooler, blowing on people's faces, which was inexplicably comfortable. Lu Qingjiu walked into the park. Before entering, he saw a lush and dense tree. Because it was midsummer, the leaves on the treetop covered the sky, almost covering most of the square. Lu Qingjiu smiled, walked to the tree, sat on the flower bed, reached out and gently touched the rough trunk: "I'm back."
The trunk of the old tree shook as if it was scratched, and large flakes of leaves fell from the sky, scattering like a heavy rain.
Lao Shu asked, "Is everything going well at the old house?"
"It went smoothly." Lu Qingjiu said, "The old house is pretty good, but I just don't have any clue what I want to know."
Lao Shu said: "That may just be a guess."
Lu Qingjiu said, "Even if it's just a guess, I have to try." He leaned against the tree trunk and murmured softly, "Anyway, I'm the only one left now."
From the accidental death of his parents to the passing of his grandmother due to illness, Lu Qingjiu's connection with the world has become increasingly weak. He was busy working part-time during college, and after entering the workforce, he had to focus all his energy on work. Although he had a good relationship with his colleagues, some things were difficult to talk about. At this time, Lu Qingjiu met Lao Shu, a talkative tree spirit who loved to talk but couldn't find anyone to talk to.
The man and the tree gradually became familiar with each other. Later, whenever Lu Qingjiu had something on his mind, he would habitually tell the old tree. The old tree also told him a lot of things, both what he wanted to know and what he didn't want to know.
The tree tribe is different from humans. They are born with inherited memories and know many private things and methods.
Six months ago, Lao Shu awakened a new ability, the ability to tell fortunes based on a person's birth date. He had originally intended to ask Lu Qingjiu for his fortune, but Lu Qingjiu declined, as he had no interest in learning about his future through divination. Instead, he gave Lao Shu his parents' birth dates and asked him to tell his fortune.
After the hexagram came out, Lao Shu was a little puzzled after interpreting it. He said, "It's strange. Your parents' horoscopes were both very good, and their fate was a match made in heaven...but why did it end like this?"
Lu Qingjiu said: “Shouldn’t it be like this?”
"...It's really strange that such a sudden disaster happened." The old tree said, "Alas, it may be that I didn't calculate it correctly. Don't take it seriously..."
Lu Qingjiu remained silent after hearing this, but soon resigned from the company and planned to return home.
Lao Shu knew that Lu Qingjiu took his words to heart, but he didn't know how to persuade Lu Qingjiu. Seeing that Lu Qingjiu was determined to leave, he could only wish Lu Qingjiu a safe journey.
But now it seems that Lu Qingjiu's return to the old house is not a bad thing. At least Lao Shu feels that he has become more vigorous and energetic, which is much better than the feeling he gave when he was working in the unit.
"I met a lot of people in the old house." Lu Qingjiu said to Lao Shu with a smile, "I also met a very beautiful vixen."
The old tree said, "A fox spirit? Is that true? I've never seen a fox spirit before."
Lu Qingjiu said, "Of course it's true." He then told Lao Shu many interesting stories about the old house. Lao Shu listened with great interest and said enviously, "I envy you guys for being able to travel around. I also want to go see other places."
"Will you be able to transform in the future?" Lu Qingjiu asked.
"I don't know," the old tree said, "but even if it transforms, it will be a thousand years later..." His tone dropped, "By then, I don't know what the human world will be like."
Lu Qingjiu touched his rough skin: "It's okay, time will pass quickly."
The two chatted about many things. Lao Shu also told Lu Qingjiu some interesting gossip that had happened in the company since he left. For example, A and B had an office romance that they were afraid to make public, but it turned out that they were both cheating on each other and had other lovers. They ended up having a big fight at the company and both quit. Another example was Wu Xiao's hemorrhoids, which had improved a bit recently, but flared up again after he went out drinking last week, and he almost ended up in the hospital due to acute blood loss...
Seeing that Lao Shu was talking endlessly, Lu Qingjiu had to stop him quickly. With Lao Shu's talkativeness, he could talk about these trivial matters for a whole night.
"I'll be back tomorrow morning." Lu Qingjiu was still worried about the two people at home who couldn't cook. "I'll go back and ask if there's any way to make Wu Xiao hear you."
The old tree said, "Are you just leaving?" He shook his leaves.
Lu Qingjiu said: "Let's go."
"Are you coming back?" asked Lao Shu again.
Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, "Of course I will come back. At least come back to see you once a year." His parents' graves are still in this city, so of course he has to come back.
"Okay." A leaf slowly fell on Lu Qingjiu's head, and the old tree said gently, "I'll wait for you to come back."
Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “Yeah.”
After chatting with Lao Shu for so long, Lu Qingjiu was in a good mood and drove the pickup truck back to Zhu Miaomiao's house. Zhu Miaomiao sent him many text messages to inquire about the situation. He was afraid that Lu Qingjiu and Wu Xiao would fight. After all, judging from their size, Lu Qingjiu might not be able to gain the upper hand if a fight really broke out.
Lu Qingjiu was afraid that she would worry, so she called her back and said that she and Wu Xiao had already made things clear and had no intention of fighting.
But Zhu Miaomiao was still worried, so she turned on the lights at home and waited for Lu Qingjiu to come back.
When Lu Qingjiu got home, he saw Zhu Miaomiao slumped on the sofa. When he heard him come in, he said dazedly, "Qingjiu, you're back?"
Lu Qingjiu said: "Why don't you go to bed?"
Zhu Miaomiao said, "I'm afraid you'll get beaten."
Lu Qingjiu laughed: "I already said he wouldn't beat me..."
Zhu Miaomiao said, "Of course not. You don't know how much he hates you. Brother Yun and I even suspect that if you walk alone on the street, he will secretly put you in a sack."
Lu Qingjiu couldn't help laughing and said, "It's okay. The misunderstanding between him and me has been resolved." Wu Xiao must have thought that he was spreading the news of his anal discomfort everywhere, so he naturally hated him to the core.
Seeing that Lu Qingjiu was indeed fine, Zhu Miaomiao didn't dwell on this topic anymore. She said, "You're going back tomorrow?"
"Yes." Lu Qingjiu said, "I'll go back tomorrow."
"Why don't you stay for a few more days?" Zhu Miaomiao said, "Boss Zhang just found out you're back today, and he said he wanted to treat you to a meal."
Lu Qingjiu said: "No, there is something going on at home and I can't leave you for too long."
"Okay." Zhu Miaomiao said, "I have to go to work tomorrow, so I won't see you off."
Lu Qingjiu nodded.
After sweeping the graves and meeting old friends, it was time to go home. Lu Qingjiu hadn't contacted Yin Xun in the past two days, and he didn't know what the situation was like at home. The next morning, he drove his pickup truck with a trunk full of local specialties and hit the road again.
It was still a journey of more than ten hours. Lu Qingjiu, who set out at six in the morning, arrived home at nearly ten in the evening. The pickup truck stopped at the door. Lu Qingjiu got out of the car with a lot of bags, opened the door and entered the yard. He was startled by the two dogs lying in the yard.
Bai Yuehu was still lying on his rocking chair, which would have been fine. Yin Xun found a mat and lay down next to Bai Yuehu. Lu Qingjiu couldn't see clearly in the darkness and almost thought it was a corpse. The corpse jumped up when it heard the sound of the door opening and rushed towards Lu Qingjiu, shouting, "Qingjiu, you're back! If you don't come back, I'm going to die here!!"
Lu Qingjiu asked, "What's wrong?"
Yin Xun cried, "Bai Yuehu is simply not a human. He secretly ate up everything the night you left."
Lu Qingjiu: "...Aren't there instant noodles?"
Yin Xun said: "Even the instant noodles were eaten together!!!"
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Bai Yuehu listened to Yin Xun's complaint and said coldly, "I'm leaving you here."
Yin Xun pretended to cry in sadness.
Lu Qingjiu was annoyed by the two people's quarrel and said, "Alright, alright, I brought you a lot of food. Take some and fill your stomachs. I'll go to the kitchen and make you two a bowl of noodles."
Yin Xun cheered happily.
Lu Qingjiu put his things down and went into the kitchen wearing an apron. He was shocked by the terrible scene inside. He saw that everything he had made had been eaten up, even a bottle of hot sauce. The refrigerator was empty, not even a hair was left.
The sleeping little fox was also woken up. It chirped and came to Lu Qingjiu's feet, rubbing its soft head against Lu Qingjiu's ankles. Lu Qingjiu bent down and touched its head: "Be good, I'll cook some minced meat for you later."
Lu Qingjiu simply ordered two bowls of egg noodles and handed them to Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu. The two of them ate them all without leaving any soup.
After finishing his meal, Yin Xun dragged his mat home contentedly, and Bai Yuehu also climbed up from the chair. According to Yin Xun, ever since he finished eating Lu Qingjiu's food, he had been stuck to the rocking chair and couldn't be torn off - of course, Yin Xun didn't dare to actually tear it off.
"Are you full?" Lu Qingjiu wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Yeah." Bai Yuehu responded, "It's late, let's go to bed."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Okay."
Bai Yuehu said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “It’s not hard at all.”
Their eyes met, and they both understood each other's expressions. Lu Qingjiu curled his eyes and said, "Good night."
Bai Yuehu said gently, "Good night."
After a good sleep, the next day arrived. The chirping little fox replaced the alarm clock and woke Lu Qingjiu from the bed. Lu Qingjiu knew that they hadn't eaten well for several days, so she got up early and cooked some pickled cabbage noodles to make up for it.
The noodles are kneaded and cut into chunks, then served in a sauerkraut-based broth. The broth also includes fresh, homemade pork coated in sweet potato starch, resulting in a smooth and tender meat that pairs well with the refreshing sauerkraut. The kneaded noodles are also incredibly chewy, making a bowl a perfect comfort food, especially on a hot summer day.
After making the noodles, Lu Qingjiu made minced meat for the little fox. The three of them and the fox sat at home and started to eat breakfast. Bai Yue Fox finished eating first, and then went to the fields. The hotter the weather, the harder it was to take care of the crops. If you were not careful, the crops would be sunburned to death.
Lu Qingjiu called Chao Qianyu to come and take away the extra grapes. The grapes were ripe and would fall to the ground soon. The three of them couldn't finish them, so it would be a waste to just watch them rot.
Knowing that they had been hungry for a few days, Lu Qingjiu prepared a big meal full of meat for lunch, including stir-fried pork, braised beef, cold chicken, and boiled pork slices. In short, all kinds of meat were included.
Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu were very satisfied after eating. Yin Xun said that the blood volume that had been lost due to hunger in the past few days was finally replenished.
Bai Yuehu didn't say anything, but his expression showed that he was satisfied.
During the nap, Lu Qingjiu told Bai Yuehu about the old tree and asked him if there was any way to let Wu Xiao hear the old tree talking.
After listening to this, Bai Yuehu thought for a moment and said, "Yes, there is."
"Really?" Lu Qingjiu asked in surprise.
"Well," White Moon Fox said, "Just let the tree feed that person some of its essence."
Lu Qingjiu: "...What?" He thought he had heard wrongly.
"It's called tree spirit in short." Seeing Lu Qingjiu's bewildered expression, Bai Yuehu patiently explained it in detail again, "It's a white liquid hidden inside the core of a tree. After consuming this liquid, Wu Xiao will be able to hear the tree tribe speak."
Lu Qingjiu: "..." After listening to Bai Yuehu's explanation, Lu Qingjiu felt guilty for his violent thoughts, "But the old tree can't be moved, what should I do?"
Bai Yuehu said, "Just have Wu Xiao go to the old tree and tell it about this matter, and then take a bite of the trunk."
Although Wu Xiao could not hear the old tree talking, the old tree could hear Wu Xiao talking. If the old tree wanted Wu Xiao to hear it talking, it would secrete its essence. Wu Xiao would then be recognized by the tree clan and could communicate with them from then on.
Lu Qingjiu didn't expect this method to be so simple. He just didn't know why Lao Shu didn't mention it himself. Was he embarrassed? He didn't think much about it. After getting the answer, he called Wu Xiao to tell him about this method.
After hearing this, Wu Xiao decided to go to the park to look for the old tree after get off work. From his tone, he seemed to be eager to try.
Lu Qingjiu originally thought that the matter was over, but at noon the next day, he received a call from Wu Xiao. Wu Xiao's voice was a little hoarse, and his tone was almost like crying blood. He yelled on the other end of the phone: "Lu Qingjiu, you're going too far!"
Lu Qingjiu asked inexplicably: "Ah?"
Wu Xiao said, "You...I fired you, but I apologized and am willing to compensate you. Why are you trying to mess with me like this?"
Lu Qingjiu asked, "How did I mess with you?" He looked confused, then thought of the method he had asked Wu Xiao to try yesterday, "What happened to you? It's not serious, right?"
Perhaps because his voice sounded too innocent, Wu Xiao's tone also tinged with suspicion: "You really don't know? Then where did you get that method from?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "...the witch in my village told me." After he mentioned the witch, he glanced at Bai Yuehu, who was clinging to the rocking chair and was happy alone.
"Witch?" Wu Xiao asked, "Didn't the witch say anything else?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "Other things? What other things? The witch just said that if you do this, you can hear the tree tribe talking, and she didn't mention anything else. What happened?" He felt that something big seemed to have happened over there, otherwise Wu Xiao would not have spoken to him in that tone.
After listening to Lu Qingjiu's explanation, Wu Xiao fell silent.
Lu Qingjiu fed him several times before he heard a faint sigh from the other end. Then Wu Xiao squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "It's okay."
Lu Qingjiu: “…” Mr. Wu, it doesn’t look like everything is fine.
Wu Xiao hesitated, "I... forget it."
Lu Qingjiu: "...Then, can you hear the tree talking now?"
After he asked this question, he heard the sound of grinding teeth from the other end of the phone. He said, "Yes, I can hear it."
Lu Qingjiu: "Hmm..." Since you can hear it, why are you so angry? Did something unexpected happen during this period? Lu Qingjiu wanted to ask this, but in the end he cleverly held back because Wu Xiao was in a bad mood at the moment. He cursed softly a few times and hung up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Qingjiu glanced at his phone screen, thought for a moment, and then walked towards the sleeping Bai Yuehu.
"Moon Fox." Lu Qingjiu called him.
Bai Yuehu opened his eyes and looked at Lu Qingjiu.
"That method you mentioned that allows people to hear the words of the tree tribe, does it have any side effects?" Lu Qingjiu blinked and asked the question that he should have asked yesterday.
Bai Yuehu said slowly: "Sequelae?"
Lu Qingjiu nodded.
"I guess so." White Moon Fox said lightly, "If the Tree Tribe agrees, the two of them will become partners."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Seeing Lu Qingjiu so surprised that his jaw was about to drop, Bai Yuehu raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"
Lu Qingjiu finally understood the pain in Wu Xiao's tone. He was immediately at a loss for words: "Why didn't you tell me then..."
Bai Yuehu said calmly, "Because this is not a sequelae."
That’s right, it’s a marriage, how can it be considered a sequelae? Lu Qingjiu couldn’t help but applaud his vixen’s logic. Should he call Wu Xiao again to congratulate him on his centenarian bride?
The author has something to say: Bai Yuehu: How do you know that he married a 100-year-old bride and not a groom...
Lu Qingjiu: …………Mr. Wu, I’m sorry.
Wu Xiao cried bitterly: I have fucking hemorrhoids ah ah ah
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