After the outing that day, Lu Qingjiu originally thought that the dragon would find him and tell him something, but for a long time afterwards, he heard no news from him. Only occasionally did Bai Yuehu mention to him that the dragon had fled Shuifu Village and there was no trace of him around.
Lu Qingjiu thought a lot about the word "go" written on his palm, but no matter how many guesses he made, no one could give him a satisfactory answer.
In the height of spring, the trees in the yard are full of leaves again. The emerald green vines meander along the trellises, covering half of the sky in the yard, blocking the sunlight and casting black shadows, which provide a place to cool down in the hot summer in advance.
Yin Xun's birthday was a month later than Lu Qingjiu's, in mid-April. They say peach blossoms and flowing water make mandarin fish plump, and April is the perfect time for peach blossoms and mandarin fish to flourish. To celebrate Yin Xun's birthday, Lu Qingjiu went to town early to buy a plump mandarin fish, along with some unusual and complex dishes, intending to give Yin Xun a grand birthday.
He definitely had to make a cake, and this time Lu Qingjiu planned to make a durian mille-feuille. Before he came here, Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu had hardly ever eaten tropical fruits. Lu Qingjiu casually asked if they liked durian, and Yin Xun seriously said that he didn't eat durian for two main reasons.
"Which two?" Lu Qingjiu asked.
"One reason is that durian is expensive," Yin Xun said sadly, "and the other is that I'm poor."
Lu Qingjiu: “…” What kind of life does his poor son live?
Lu Qingjiu bought a whole durian and took it home. He didn't throw away the durian skin as he planned to use it to stew chicken. The peeled durian exuded a rich and unique aroma. He casually fed a piece to Bai Yuehu who was standing nearby and watching.
Bai Yuehu held the durian in his mouth and frowned slightly. Yin Xun also ate a small piece. His expression was similar to Bai Yuehu's. They both looked quite serious, and it was unclear whether they liked it or not.
Lu Qingjiu asked, "Do you like it?" After all, some people can't get used to eating durian. Those who like it love it very much, while those who don't like it don't even want to touch it.
"How much is one pound?" Yin Xun asked in a low voice.
Lu Qingjiu: “This one is over 500.”
Yin Xun's expression changed immediately: "I like it! Let me try it again!" This is not a bad smell at all, it is the aroma of RMB.
Lu Qingjiu looked helpless and said that if she didn't like it, don't force it. He could make a thousand-layer cake with a different flavor. Mango is actually not bad...
But after hearing the price of durian, Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu said seriously that they had never eaten such delicious fruit, which made Lu Qingjiu laugh and cry.
The ten chickens we bought last year have now become twelve, probably because so many have been eaten. Lu Qingjiu is planning the menu and feels a bit tired of stewed chicken, so he'll just make white-cut chicken. He also has Yin Xun's favorite sweet and sour spareribs and pickled fish, so he can make as many as he can. With the White Moon Fox at home, there's no need to worry about the extra dishes not being eaten.
Lu Qingjiu was about to call Bai Yuehu to ask him to pick some fresh vegetables from the field, but he heard the sound of a car engine coming from the door, as if someone had parked the car in front of their house.
Sure enough, a moment later, there was a knock on the door in the courtyard. Lu Qingjiu went to open the door, but saw Jiufeng, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, standing at the door and looking at him with a smile.
"Sake, long time no see." Jiufeng greeted Lu Qingjiu eagerly. The necklace in the shape of eight human heads was still hanging around her neck. As soon as she finished greeting, the eight heads rushed to greet Lu Qingjiu.
"Long time no see." Lu Qingjiu noticed that there was a tall man standing behind Jiufeng, wearing a black mask with only a pair of eyes exposed. "What's going on?"
"Is Bai Yuehu at home?" Jiu Feng asked.
"He's gone to the fields," Lu Qingjiu said. "He'll probably be back in a while." He had a good impression of Jiufeng, so he paused and asked, "Do you want to go in and wait for him?"
"Okay." Jiu Feng nodded happily, then turned and pointed at the man standing behind him, "This is Shaohao, he also came to talk to Bai Yuehu about something."
As soon as Lu Qingjiu heard the name Shaohao, she understood. There was such a god in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. His full name was Baidi Shaohao. Legend has it that when he was born, five phoenixes flew in the sky. He could control hundreds of birds. The places where he lived, whether it was grass, trees, stones, birds or beasts, were all covered with beautiful patterns. He was a very romantic god.
"You must be Lu Qingjiu." Shaohao's voice was very gentle, and he seemed to be a good-tempered person. He walked to Jiufeng and stretched out his hand to Lu Qingjiu: "I've heard a lot about you."
Lu Qingjiu was already used to being "heard" about, so he stretched out his hand and shook hands with Shaohao, then invited the two of them into the yard.
There was something cooking in the pot and they had to be present, so Lu Qingjiu asked Yin Xun to get some snacks for the two of them and then went back to the kitchen.
"Why are they coming to our house?" Yin Xun has always been wary of strangers.
"I don't know." Lu Qingjiu said, "It seems he is here to look for Bai Yuehu."
Yin Xun said "oh" and handed the snacks to the two people.
Some of these snacks were bought in town, and some were made by Lu Qingjiu himself. They all tasted very good. Jiufeng swallowed her saliva when she saw the snacks. She didn't hesitate and started eating. While eating, she said to Shaohao, "Try it quickly, it's delicious."
Shaohao hesitated slightly upon hearing this, but seeing how happily Jiufeng was eating, he reached out and took off the mask. After the mask was removed, Yin Xun discovered that the lower half of the man's face was embroidered with black patterns, almost covering half of his face. These patterns were very exquisite, but just embroidered on the face, inexplicably gave the man in front of him a somewhat eerie temperament.
Yin Xun didn't dare to look any further. He put the snacks down and turned away.
Shaohao looked at his back and asked, "Is he the mountain god?"
"Yeah." Jiu Feng crunched the dried sweet potatoes that Lu Qingjiu had dried, and said with satisfaction, "It smells good, right? It smells like meat Ganoderma lucidum... It would be nice if I could eat it." It was a pity that the White Moon Fox was watching.
Shaohao smiled and said, "If you eat him, the White Moon Fox can also have an extra meal." Jiufeng ate Yin Xun, and the White Moon Fox probably wouldn't let Jiufeng go.
Jiufeng blinked: "Isn't this something you haven't eaten yet?"
Shaohao took a bite of dried sweet potato and ignored Jiufeng.
When Bai Yuehu returned from the fields, he brought a large pile of vegetables. He wore a straw hat and rubber boots, looking like a farmer's son. When he entered the yard and saw the two guests sitting there, he didn't greet them, but went into the kitchen first and handed the dishes in his hand to Lu Qingjiu.
"Your friend is here to see you." Lu Qingjiu said.
"Yeah." Bai Yuehu's attitude was very cold.
"They came to see you for something, right? I'll take care of the kitchen, you go and keep them company." Lu Qingjiu said.
Bai Yuehu nodded and turned to leave.
It's just that Bai Yuehu's expression was a little off, and Lu Qingjiu felt a little strange. He became more careful and walked to a position close to the window when washing vegetables. The window faced the yard, and standing inside, he could vaguely hear the voices of several people talking in the yard.
"Moon Fox, long time no see." Shaohao said.
Bai Yuehu sat down directly opposite Shaohao: "What's wrong?"
Shaohao said, "There's something going on here, do you want to take it?"
Bai Yuehu: "No."
Shaohao seemed a little surprised to hear Bai Yuehu's decisive refusal. He said, "The price is quite high. Are you really not going to accept it?"
"No." Bai Yuehu said, "You don't need to come to me anymore."
Shaohao: "...Really not going?" He sat up straight and looked at Bai Yuehu with an incredulous look, "This is not like you."
Bai Yuehu raised his chin slightly, his expression slightly proud: "No need."
Jiu Feng whispered beside him, "I told you that he's doing well now, but you can't invite him, and you still don't believe me."
She ate two more sweet potato fries, tears streaming down her face. "No one is like me, I don't have enough food to eat. I have no idea where I'll end up."
Shaohao glanced toward the kitchen with an odd expression. Lu Qingjiu quickly shrank to the side, still feeling like she'd been seen. This conversation between them was strange. Why was Shaohao looking for Bai Yuehu? It sounded like he was trying to seduce his own child into working outside the home. The more Lu Qingjiu thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss. She pricked up her ears, afraid she'd missed something.
"Don't look for me anymore." Bai Yuehu said, "I don't want to do this anymore."
Shaohao said, "Your living standard has skyrocketed. How about this? I'll give you an extra 500 yuan..."
White Moon Fox: "Five hundred?"
Shaohao: "That's enough for you to have a whole meal of dumplings."
Lu Qingjiu, who was eavesdropping from behind, felt extremely complicated. What five hundred yuan? What did Shaohao want to do with Bai Yuehu? He just gave Bai Yuehu five hundred yuan. Could he hire his vixen for five hundred yuan? Forget five hundred, don't even think about five thousand.
But Bai Yuehu's train of thought was obviously different from Lu Qingjiu's. Lu Qingjiu actually sensed hesitation from his silence. Lu Qingjiu couldn't believe that his little farming expert was actually bewitched by 500 yuan!
"Are we going?" Shaohao asked again while chewing nuts.
Bai Yuehu said, "Let me think about it."
Lu Qingjiu couldn't stand it any longer. He put down the dishes in his hand and walked out of the kitchen angrily. He gave a fake smile to the three people chatting in the yard: "What are you talking about?"
"He asked me to do something." Bai Yuehu was very frank.
"What to do?" Lu Qingjiu really couldn't think of anything that could be done by hiring Bai Yuehu for just 500 yuan.
Shaohao saw Lu Qingjiu's protective look and laughed: "Don't worry, I just asked him to help me eat something."
"What to eat?" Lu Qingjiu looked suspicious, like a parent who saw his child being abducted.
"A group of animals called ghost plover have arrived in my territory," Shaohao said. "They've been hunting the birds I raise. There are so many of them, and it's difficult to clean them up, so I'd like the White Moon Fox to help."
Lu Qingjiu asked, "How much are you giving?"
Shaohao said: "I usually give you one thousand at a time, and this time I'll add five hundred more." So it's fifteen hundred in total.
Lu Qingjiu said, "One thousand five hundred? Is this Youyue delicious?" He was asking Baiyuehu.
Bai Yuehu shook his head: "It tastes terrible."
Lu Qingjiu: "How does it compare to the body of Yu Shiqi's concubine?"
Bai Yuehu thought for a moment and said, "It's a little better." He paused and added, "At least the meat is soft."
Lu Qingjiu showed a loving look towards Bai Yuehu. What kind of life did his vixen live...
Shaohao had obviously seen through the fact that Lu Qingjiu was the owner of the White Moon Fox, and he spread his hands helplessly: "Okay, I know you won't let him take it, but at least let me have lunch."
Lu Qingjiu said, "Okay, today is Yin Xun's birthday, you and Jiufeng should stay for dinner."
Upon hearing this, Jiufeng happily started to quarrel with her other eight heads again, and only quietly calmed down unwillingly after she had annoyed Baiyue Fox.
Shaohao ate some snacks, then stopped and put on his mask again.
Yin Xun curiously asked if he had tattooed these patterns himself. Shaohao shook his head and said, "No, I was born with them. Some people were scared when they saw them, so I covered them up."
Unlike Bai Yuehu and Jiu Feng, who were completely isolated from the public, Shaohao seemed to live in human society. Lu Qingjiu also noticed that the car he drove to the door was a Porsche supercar. The car parked at their door was completely out of tune with the simple style of their home.
However, this made Lu Qingjiu curious. Why can some mythical creatures integrate into human society, but others cannot? After he asked his question, Shaohao smiled and said, "Because those creatures in mythology live with humans, or they are humans themselves."
Lu Qingjiu said, "So if you're not a mythical creature that's close to humans, you can't integrate into human society?"
Shaohao: "Hmm... that's not the case." He used the White Moon Fox as an example, "For example, if the White Moon Fox wanted to work in human society, the effort it would put in wouldn't be enough to cover what it would earn back."
Lu Qingjiu said: "That's because he hasn't found the right way to work..." Just based on Bai Yuehu's beautiful face, it's more than enough for her to be a vase star. Even if she doesn't act, she should still be very popular if she takes some hard photos.
"There's nothing we can do." Shaohao spread his hands. "He doesn't have an ID card, a household registration booklet, or any education..." Seeing Bai Yuehu's increasingly gloomy expression, Shaohao quickly added, "Of course, these things aren't very important."
Bai Yuehu didn't say anything, picked up a dried sweet potato, and bit it in half with a snap.
Shaohao laughed awkwardly twice and felt a little cold on his neck. He was really a little bit dizzy. It was only because Bai Yuehu didn't dare to lose her temper while Lu Qingjiu was present that he acted like a spoiled child.
The more Lu Qingjiu listened, the sadder he felt. His fox spirit had endured so much injustice over the years. In the past, he couldn't even afford vegetable seeds, and when he passed by a bun shop, he could only swallow his saliva and endure it. Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a fatherly love in his heart. He wanted to hold Bai Yuehu in his arms, touch his head, and tell him that he had his father's help.
Although Shaohao failed to invite the White Moon Fox, he at least got to have lunch and seemed quite satisfied.
After Lu Qingjiu asked Bai Yuehu to reject Shaohao's invitation, he went into the kitchen with peace of mind and cooked the remaining dishes.
Yin Xun hadn't celebrated his birthday in a long time, and when the cake was served, tears of excitement welled up in his eyes. Lu Qingjiu put the cardboard crown he had made in advance on Yin Xun's head, lit candles on the cake, and sang a birthday song for him together.
Yin Xun was sobbing there, thanking Lu Qingjiu for giving him the chance to start a new life.
Lu Qingjiu: “…” Forget it, don’t bother with the child.
The cake was a durian mille-feuille. Lu Qingjiu had made it last night and had kept it in the refrigerator. He took it out and cut it into pieces, waiting for Yin Xun to blow out the candles before distributing them to everyone. The mille-feuille was a success and looked pretty good. The cream was filled with durian sauce, which was rich in flavor.
After eating the cake as an appetizer, the main course was served. There was chicken, duck, fish and meat. Lu Qingjiu cooked all the dishes that Yin Xun liked to eat.
Shaohao tasted the dish made by Lu Qingjiu and showed a look of surprise: "Good cooking skills."
Lu Qingjiu was a little embarrassed: "It's all the aroma of the vegetables grown by the White Moon Fox, and this is the meat of Conglong. It will be very fragrant if you just stir-fry it."
Shaohao laughed and said, "You are too modest."
Lu Qingjiu didn't say anything else. Anyway, he really felt that his cooking skills were very ordinary. The main reason was that he didn't have anything else to do, so all his energy was focused on eating. Coupled with the special ingredients, it was normal that the taste was better than ordinary food.
Jiufeng and Baiyuehu didn't say a word the entire time, and the meal between them was like a war.
Shaohao's appetite was similar to that of a human, and he put down his chopsticks almost at the same time as Lu Qingjiu. Lu Qingjiu was a little surprised: "You don't want to eat anymore?"
"I'm full." Shaohao wiped his mouth. "If you have time, come to my bird garden and play."
Lu Qingjiu responded: "Okay."
After eating and drinking to their heart's content, Yin Xun rubbed her belly, indicating she couldn't eat any more, and collapsed on her chair like a pancake. Shaohao sat beside her, watching Yin Xun. Lu Qingjiu noticed that Shaohao seemed to be very interested in Yin Xun from the moment they entered the room. Yin Xun, being such a fool, was completely unaware of this.
"Is he special?" Lu Qingjiu asked.
Shaohao realized that Lu Qingjiu was asking him and laughed: "No, I just think his fragrance is very tempting."
Yin Xun, who was almost falling asleep, woke up immediately after hearing this. He was not so narcissistic as to think that Shaohao had any other intentions towards him. As a human-shaped snack, he clearly realized the cruel reality of being at the bottom of the food chain. Shaohao's praise for his tempting aroma was basically equivalent to praising him for being delicious.
Lu Qingjiu asked, "Have you ever eaten meat Ganoderma lucidum?"
Shaohao said, "I've eaten it." He licked his lips, "It tastes good." He smiled at Yin Xun. Although the smile was gentle, it made Yin Xun's eyes widen nervously.
Lu Qingjiu said, "He is my friend, so don't worry about him. Let's eat something else."
Shaohao said, "Okay."
The topic ended here. Shaohao, who was full, and Jiufeng, who was still reluctant to leave, stood up and said goodbye. Lu Qingjiu watched them walk to the door, get in the sports car, and disappear into the village before turning around and returning home.
Seeing Shaohao leave, Yin Xun said that this man was a beast in human form, actually openly discussing whether the person was delicious in front of him...
Lu Qingjiu found it a little funny, but he didn't laugh because he was afraid that Yin Xun would be angry. He reached out and patted his silly son's shoulder.
After eating, Bai Yuehu went to lie down in the yard again. Lu Qingjiu remembered something, went to the room to get his coat, and then called Yin Xun to the yard.
"I've decided to give you some pocket money." Lu Qingjiu pulled his wallet from his coat, thinking that his vixen and the little mountain god were already so old, they must have some pocket money. Otherwise, what if Shaohao suddenly showed up and swindled them out of 500 yuan? He usually did all the shopping himself and hadn't noticed this for a while, so Shaohao had given Lu Qingjiu a heads-up.
"Money, why do you have to give us money?" Yin Xun looked at Lu Qingjiu blankly, obviously not understanding why Lu Qingjiu suddenly brought up this matter.
Lu Qingjiu said, "You can save the money to buy snacks or anything else you want. Our family is well off now, so we definitely won't be able to finish all the food, so buy whatever you want and don't be stingy." They can live like this, and they really have to thank the ghost girl in the backyard. She has really sacrificed so much for this family...
Yin Xun wanted to say something, but seeing Lu Qingjiu's firm attitude, he did not insist on his opinion.
Bai Yuehu originally wanted to refuse, but seeing Lu Qingjiu's solemn expression, she didn't say anything.
Lu Qingjiu said, "Two thousand pocket money a month. If it's not enough, ask me again. Don't go out and take random jobs. You must tell me before you take jobs like Shaohao." He warned earnestly, "Don't be fooled by five hundred yuan."
Bai Yuehu seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
Lu Qingjiu ignored him and took out a stack of money from his wallet. He counted out two thousand yuan and stuffed a stack into each of their hands.
Yin Xun looked at so many red RMB, his palms trembling slightly, and said, "This is too much..." He had never seen so much money before. Usually, Lu Qingjiu paid the bill, and the purchase of vegetables did not exceed 100 yuan. When buying large items, he just scanned the QR code on his mobile phone.
Bai Yuehu looked solemn: "Yes, too many."
Lu Qingjiu sighed, "Take it!" He couldn't bear to see his two foxes being wronged. Shaohao spent 1500 white moon foxes and had to chew mud. He couldn't accept it at all. His fox spirit was so cute and furry, how could he let him do such rough work again!
Although Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu were both uncomfortable with the huge sum of money, they finally accepted it at Lu Qingjiu's insistence. Yin Xun said he wanted to deposit it into his bank card, while Bai Yuehu, who didn't have an ID card, found an old jar in the utility room, cleaned it, carefully counted the money, and then carefully put it in.
Lu Qingjiu said, "By the way, Yuehu, even if you don't have an ID card, you should be able to make money in other ways." In his impression, dragons are representatives of wealth, so how could someone as poor as Bai Yuehu not even be able to afford buns.
Bai Yuehu said: "I can't make money directly from humans."
Lu Qingjiu: "Why?"
White Moon Fox: "I'll be hungry."
Lu Qingjiu was a little confused.
"The more I earn, the hungrier I get." Bai Yuehu explained slowly, "It's better to do nothing." Before Lu Qingjiu came, he was hungry almost every day and night. The food cooked by humans contains human energy, which is a good way to fill the stomach, but he has no money and cannot buy it, so he can only eat mythical creatures such as the manta ray to fill his stomach.
Lu Qingjiu said, “Then you won’t be hungry if I give you money, right?”
Bai Yuehu shook his head.
Lu Qingjiu finally felt relieved. He looked at Bai Yuehu with pity, wondering how these two people survived without him. He must treat them well and give them the warmest fatherly love... bah, it's friendship.
The author has something to say: Bai Yuehu: Although durian is smelly, it tastes good when you think about the price.
Yin Xun: Yes, yes, yes.
Lu Qingjiu: ...???
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