Dinner was ready quickly, and Li Tongtong's eyes lit up when she ate the delicious noodles.
"Aunt Qiao An, I haven't had any food that isn't bitter in a long time."
Bi Qiaoan tasted it carefully and felt that it still had a slightly bitter taste. She smiled and said, "My family harvested wheat early, and there should be some old grain mixed in."
Then she looked up at Shen Yanming, wanting to confirm with him.
Shen Yanming nodded. "It's half from last year, so the tomato sauce flavor is stronger, which masks the bitterness."
"You two are really good at managing money. This way, meals won't be so hard to swallow. My mom always uses extra bitter flour when she cooks, insisting on saving the good stuff for us to eat during holidays," Li Tongtong said with a smile.
"This is good too. It's better than eating bitter rice and noodles during holidays."
The three of them quickly finished their dinner and then played with An'an and Nuannuan. The two children had been awake for so long during the day that they fell asleep before nine o'clock.
Seeing that the two little cuties had fallen asleep, Li Tongtong felt a little bored and said to Shen Yanming, "Uncle Shen, I want to go home."
"Aren't you going to play a little longer?"
"No, both kids are asleep, and it's no fun sitting here alone. Let me go home; I can read a book and take a bath there."
"Okay, I'll take you back. But make sure to lock the door properly and be careful."
"I know, you're just as nagging as my parents. I wonder if An'an and Nuannuan can handle it now that they're all grown up," Li Tongtong said with a smile.
Shen Yanming smiled and shook his head. "Whether they can handle it or not, I'm still their father. Alright, let's go!"
Li Tongtong waved her hand, "Aunt Qiao An, I'm going home. Thank you for your hospitality today, I'm very happy."
Bi Qiaoan came out to see the two off, saying, "Yeah, come over and visit sometime."
After watching the two go downstairs, Bi Qiaoan closed the door, went to the bedroom, and entered the space with the two children.
After a long day, she was a little tired. Soaking in the bathtub, she felt drowsy.
After finally getting myself ready, I felt I had to do something. But looking at the time, I realized I was already out of the room.
Shen Yanming had been back for a while. He tidied up the house and was about to enter his spatial dimension when his wife came out.
"Have you delivered the person?"
"Yes, I made sure to lock the door before coming back."
Bi Qiaoan nodded and said nothing more. There were too many secrets in the house; it wasn't appropriate to invite others over.
"Is there anything else you need to do? If not, let's go inside."
Shen Yanming shook his head and carried his wife into the space.
"Darling, you came all the way out to pick me up today, is there something you're planning?" Shen Yanming asked with a smile, without letting go of Bi Qiaoan.
"Hmm, it's been a long time since I've been in this space. Those crops on the mountain must have already grown several times over. I'd like to go take a look and pick some fruit while I'm at it." Not being able to harvest with my consciousness is such a hassle.
"We should go up and take a look. I wonder if any small animals have damaged that piece of land."
The couple acted immediately, carrying bamboo baskets, some seeds, and a small cart up the mountain. Although the cart couldn't be used to go down the mountain, it saved them a lot of effort on the way.
The two reached the top of the mountain in no time, and found it quite lively once they got there.
Chirping and twittering, various birds flew to and fro, along with rabbits and pheasants, as if in a race. Squirrels, in particular, hopped from branch to branch in large groups.
"Is this... going to be an animal convention?" Bi Qiaoan joked, but Shen Yanming had a bad feeling. "Could it be that they were attracted by the fruits and vegetables in the field?"
In fact, he was right. Since he hadn't been here for several months, the place had become a playground for animals.
One by one, huge watermelons were smashed open, and a group of small animals swarmed in, not wasting a single drop. The same went for the grapes and strawberries; if they couldn't pick a whole bunch, they'd just pluck a single grape, since they could eat it anyway.
As Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan approached, the lively scene instantly fell silent. All the small animals looked at the couple warily, as if worried that they would snatch them away.
The couple smiled bitterly to themselves. What were they going to do? They clearly couldn't win! They weren't unaware of the wild boar, tiger, and leopard hiding behind the big tree; they wondered how they managed to coexist peacefully.
Logically, any normal person seeing this scene would run for their life. But the couple had a strange intuition that, as the owners of the space, they wouldn't be attacked by these large, ferocious beasts. Otherwise, wouldn't they lose face?
Shen Yanming tentatively said, "I planted these."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the animals hid the fruit they were holding behind their backs.
Shen Yanming felt that since the other party could understand, there should still be room for negotiation, so he said, "I can give you half, or even two-thirds, of the output, but I need to take the remaining small portion with me."
The animals exchanged glances, all somewhat hesitant.
Shen Yanming then added another strong measure, "I know you like to eat fruit, but the varieties are limited. If the deal goes through, I can help you grow some other varieties of fruit."
"Squeak squeak squeak, chirp chirp chirp, chatter chatter chatter, quack quack..."
After a commotion, the lead tiger nodded and made way for them.
Shen Yanming breathed a sigh of relief and went inside to take a look. He found that although the place was lively, it had not been damaged.
All the animals only pick ripe fruit to eat, protecting the seedlings and trees very well. Moreover, they eat all the fruit they pick, showing no sign of waste. In fact, they do a better job than humans.
Bi Qiaoan exclaimed, "They're so smart! Is this what it means to be intelligent?"
Shen Yanming remained silent, still on guard, fearing a surprise attack from these jackals and tigers.
Nothing happened. The two walked to a place where no animals had ventured. The little squirrel stood in front of Shen Yanming and squeaked loudly. Then it patted its chest and proudly raised its little head.
Neither of them knew what it was trying to say, but they still guessed and asked, "You mean, you're the one who saved this place?"
The little squirrel nodded, "Yes, yes, that's why we gave up most of the orchard."
Shen Yanming smiled and patted its tail. "Thank you for your hard work. I'll bring you something delicious next time."
The little squirrel was delighted, hopped around a few times, and then scurried away.
Bi Qiaoan found it amusing and lowered her voice to ask, "Honey, why are they all gathered here? Aren't there any good fruits on the mountain?"
"They probably all have some medicinal value, so we can't just eat them randomly. These fruits of ours are only good-looking and delicious, they don't have any other use, so we can eat them to our hearts' content, right?" Shen Yanming said with a straight face, spouting nonsense.
Bi Qiaoan curled her lips into a smile, "I believed your nonsense!"
But a magpie eavesdropping in the distance nodded, "Yes, yes, that's it."
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