"You mean, the wisteria tree in my garden has become a spirit?"
While peeling the potatoes, Xu Milu turned to Little Stone and asked, "Has it ever killed anyone?"
Little Stone sat cross-legged on the stone bench in an extremely difficult posture, and scratched his face upon hearing this:
"That wisteria flower demon has never harmed anyone's life. It just often bewitches people who want to buy houses, plays with them for a while, and then lets them go. That's why this house has been vacant for many years. I used to just turn a blind eye to it. If it had harmed anyone, I would have dug up its root of evil and cut it down to burn as firewood long ago!"
As they spoke, the wisteria branches clinging to the roof moved swiftly without wind, the leaves rustling, and even the clusters of flowers trembled as if begging for mercy.
"It's really become sentient!"
Xu Milu sighed, but wasn't particularly afraid.
Just across the street is Huasheng Temple, where a living Buddha is preaching. There are day and night patrols of gods on the street, the City God Temple is always filled with incense, and even the local earth god temples are everywhere. This little monster that hasn't taken human form yet will die if you dig it up by the root. Its deterrent power is not even as great as a big goose.
"This wisteria flower demon has at least three hundred years of cultivation and has occupied this house for who knows how many years. Fang Gui sold the house to you because he thought you were an outsider who would be easy to fool, but he didn't expect... hehehe."
Little Stone jumped down, walked to the wisteria tree with his hands behind his back, and said, "Although it won't harm you, wisteria is domineering by nature. The other trees in the garden don't live long. If you want to plant other fruit trees, you'll have to move this wisteria to another place first."
Xu Milu looked around and indeed saw no tall trees. Only this wisteria vine was climbing, occupying a large area of the central hall and the back hall. Its branches and vines were all thick and intertwined, truly making it a "forest of its own".
Xu Milu, holding up a potato, said in a serious tone:
"Since it hasn't caused any harm, why move it? Now that I've bought this house, it's practically mine, so let's keep it. If the saplings don't survive in the future, then we can talk about transplanting them. It was originally a spirit that came to life in this house. If I move it, how am I any different from a robber?"
"I didn't realize you were such a kind-hearted person?"
Little Stone blinked, his expression somewhat mocking, as if he saw through everything.
Xu Milu grinned:
"The entire wisteria plant can be used medicinally. The flowers can be used to extract aromatic oil, and the leaves and bark can clear heat and detoxify, as well as treat ascites and abdominal distension, and also dispel wind and unblock meridians. Wisteria can also repel insects... I am the landlord now, so it's not unreasonable for me to sell it to pay the rent, is it?"
As she read each word, the wisteria branch trembled, and the wisteria blossoms on the branch fell down with a "rustling" sound, much like tears of fear.
"It's okay, it's okay, I was just kidding. We definitely can't just pull them up haphazardly, it's all about sustainable development!"
Xu Milu reached out and patted one of the thicker wisteria branches. The trunk felt slightly warm to the touch, like human skin.
Xu Milu: "..."
That's a bit creepy.
Little Stone touched his face:
"Chang'an has a strong dragon aura, and it can absorb the earth's energy every day. In addition, this wisteria flower spirit listens to the monks of Huasheng Temple preaching day and night, which has given it some intelligence. It should be able to take human form in another three to five hundred years—"
Xu Milu fell silent, then pointed to the wisteria branches around her:
"Are these its legs or arms? I even picked some leaves to repel mosquitoes a few days ago."
Little Stone listened intently, then scratched his face, laughing so hard he rolled around on the ground.
"You just touched its arm, and a few days ago you pulled out this little demon's hair. No wonder this wisteria is afraid of you. Right now it's underground, crying to the passing local deity that you're a queen who likes to pull people's hair!"
Xu Milu clenched her fists, and the wisteria, like a child caught doing something naughty, abruptly pulled back its branches. She grabbed a shovel and began—
Dig a hole.
Dig a hole, fill it with soil, and plant the orange and peach trees that Xu Milu was going to plant. It even diligently held up a gourd ladle to water the newly planted saplings.
Finally, it shook off a pile of wisteria blossoms and carefully pushed them in front of Xu Milu, as if afraid that Xu Milu would get angry and move it to a new home in a fit of rage.
What were clearly just a few vines, Xu Milu managed to perceive as an overwhelming degree of flattery.
It turns out that a qualified plant not only needs to learn to contribute its own parts, but also needs to learn to take care of other plants.
It's so curly, it's really curly.
...
...
Peel fresh potatoes, steam them until thoroughly cooked, then mash them into a smooth puree. Use a spoon to shape the puree into a volcano-like form, make a small opening at the top, and scoop out the puree to create a hollow shape for later use.
Boil water in a pot, make a cross-shaped cut on the top of a raw tomato, blanch it in the boiling water, then soak it in cold water. Peel off the thin skin to reveal the bright red and lovely fresh flesh.
Xu Milu tilted the knife slightly to one side and quickly chopped the tomatoes into cubes. She heated oil in a pan until it was about 70% hot, then poured in the chopped tomatoes and stir-fried them. Adding some salt would make the tomatoes softer.
Under the stimulation of high temperature and salt, the tomato juice quickly seeps out, turning into a sticky paste, and the sweet and sour aroma comes out of the pot, refreshing and appetizing.
"These two things are quite novel."
Little Stone squatted down beside him: "If Shennong were here, he would probably have a detailed discussion with you about the origin of this thing!"
"I'm afraid even Shennong himself has never seen these ingredients before."
Xu Milu joked that once the tomato sauce had thickened, she sprinkled in some Flame Glazed Leaf Sugar Powder for simple seasoning, and then poured the tomato sauce down the top of the "potato volcano".
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