Chapter 95 Citrus and the Gale
My hand, which had been swollen all night, finally swelled up to almost nothing by the third day.
"I told you it was fine!" Su Yun said proudly, holding up the half-eaten "pig's trotter".
Night Breeze said with a serious expression, "That's because you were lucky and didn't encounter anything powerful. If you had encountered a mutated one, your hand might have been ruined. This time, you need to wear gloves properly, and make sure your clothes and pants are tucked in!"
Night Wind handed a pair of gloves to Su Yun and instructed her to make sure all the openings in her clothes were sealed so that no small insects could get in.
"Okay~" In order not to worry the other party, and to avoid being stung by wasps again, Su Yun obediently tucked her clothes and pants in and put on her gloves. Today she was going to the orchard to pick tangerines.
All the pears have been picked.
There's a huge basket of these pears at home. Another advantage of these pears is that they have thick skin, so they last a little longer than sweet pears.
However, fully ripe pears should be kept separate from unripe ones, otherwise one can easily infect two others, and they will all become overripe and spoil before you can eat them.
"When I get back tonight, I can make some rock sugar pear soup. It's good to eat something to nourish the lungs in autumn."
Night Breeze: "Wait until your hand is better before you make it. The pears aren't going to run away."
Su Yun originally wanted to make some canned fruit syrup, but Ye Feng wouldn't let her do it at all. It wasn't until today, when she saw that her hands had mostly recovered from the swelling, that she reluctantly agreed to go pick tangerines.
"Okay, it's about time to go out! The mice will eat them all if we go play." Su Yun was worried that the flying mice in the orchard would eat all the tangerines, so she was very anxious.
Ye Feng picked up a few more commonly used herbs and carried them with him, fearing any unexpected events. Seeing Su Yun's anxious look, he comforted her, "Mice don't like to eat citrus fruits, don't worry."
Actually, those mutant rats are similar to ordinary rats. They are omnivores, eating meat, grass, and fruit. Most of the time, they prefer to eat insects, such as grasshoppers and caterpillars, and occasionally they also eat fruit and tender grass roots.
Su Yun guessed that they probably preferred to eat high-protein foods, but it was already autumn, and with fewer insects, food would be scarce, so they would definitely eat fruit. Therefore, she thought she should hurry up and collect the citrus fruits before they were all eaten.
The two of them had been to the reservoir orchard many times before.
Already familiar with the place, Su Yun first went to the riverbank and set up a few fish traps, thinking of catching some fish for dinner.
The reservoir is deep, and the fish are big and fat, so there are always unexpected catches.
Upon reaching the reservoir, the autumn colors were even more pronounced. In the distance, one could see the mountains and forests beginning to shed their deep green, revealing layers of dark yellow, golden yellow, and light yellow... like a richly colored oil painting.
A chilly mountain wind howled from the other side of the river, bringing with it the cool breath of autumn.
It was a cloudy day, with a howling wind that gave off a strange sense of desolation. But Su Yun was quite satisfied; after all, it would get hot easily once they started working, and a cool breeze would make things more comfortable.
The orchard is mostly filled with citrus trees, and as far as the eye can see, it's laden with citrus fruits, creating a rather spectacular scene. However, due to long-term neglect, the fruit yield is not abundant or particularly large.
Only the area that Su Yun and Ye Feng focused on had a slightly larger harvest, and the fruits were also slightly larger, making it a prime target for the mutated rats.
Su Yun looked at the many fruits that had been half-eaten and felt a pang of heartache and regret. "I should have come earlier."
Night Breeze pointed to the animal droppings under the fruit tree and said, "They'll grow again next year, and maybe they'll be even sweeter and bigger."
Nature is such a magical place; it always manages to find the most perfect cycle.
Su Yun recalled a documentary he had once watched about a farming couple who insisted on not interfering with the farm's production and development. As the snails multiplied, wild ducks arrived; their droppings nourished the fruit trees; the abundance of produce attracted mice; and the following year, the farm had many more owls… Su Yun remembered the farm owner's words, which were extremely philosophical and interesting: nature always provides solutions to problems; when the ecosystem becomes richer in species, it achieves perfect balance…
This place is now in perfect balance.
Perhaps before they discovered this orchard, these mutated rats had lived in perfect harmony with this citrus grove for a long time. The rats caught insects, their droppings nourished the fruit trees, and the fruit trees provided fruit and spread seeds. The two complemented each other perfectly.
“That makes sense.” Su Yun smiled. She went to the citrus tree, reached out and picked a golden citrus. The citrus peel was smooth and golden, and looked like it was glowing. Su Yun broke it open and tasted it. The flesh was very juicy, but it wasn’t sweet enough. “The fruit is good, but it’s a little lacking in sweetness.”
"Try this, it's delicious." Ye Feng handed over a fruit. He picked it from another fruit tree. The fruit there had a black mottled skin and didn't look very appealing. It looked like it was destined for the processing pile in the market.
"Is this delicious?" Su Yun took the half of the dark fruit with some skepticism. The fruit had a thick skin that was a bit sticky, and the experience wasn't very pleasant.
"Yes, it's delicious, very sweet," Ye Feng said confidently.
Su Yun was skeptical, but the moment the fruit entered her mouth, she was truly captivated by its aroma. Although it didn't look very appealing, the flesh inside was plump and juicy, as sweet as honey. The juice was so abundant that Su Yun was almost choked by the sweetness.
"Cough cough, wow, this is so sweet!" Su Yun coughed a few times, looked at the fruit in her hand, and was very surprised. "This fruit doesn't look like much, but I didn't expect it to be sweeter than my first love!"
The night breeze blinked, "What is first love?"
Hmm, a cat that's never seen the world.
Su Yun blinked, "It's you~"
"Huh? Me?" The cat looked completely bewildered.
Su Yun chuckled to herself. Very well, this naive kitten doesn't know what first love is.
That bewildered, tilted-head expression is just too cute!
Su Yun couldn't resist reaching out and ruffling the cat's head. Ye Feng obediently lowered his head and let him do it.
What's it like to have your first love with your own cat? If this were a post, I bet a lot of people would read it.
Ha ha.
Su Yun's mind was a jumble of thoughts, yet she couldn't resist wanting to hug the cat and give it a little cuddles.
Night Breeze, however, had put on his gloves and was waiting earnestly to get to work: "Hmm? Shall we begin?"
"Oh, I almost forgot about the important matter. Here it comes~" Su Yun snapped out of her reverie and quickly put on her gloves, ready to get to work.
"There are so many fruits, let me see... Let's pick the ripe ones, and we can leave some leaves with them so they can be preserved for longer."
"good!"
Citrus fruits have a relatively long shelf life. If you're lucky, they can last for ten days to half a month without any problems. The peel may become a little shriveled, but the flesh is still edible.
It can also be made into canned goods.
The canned peaches we had stocked up on were all gone, so it's a good time to replenish our stock. You can never have too much food, especially since winter is over and early spring is just around the corner. We'll be going through another period without much fruit.
Two people were busy in the orchard with shears, loading baskets of harvested fruit onto a tricycle...
The two were so busy that they didn't notice the sky was quietly changing, with a large patch of dark clouds approaching and looming over the orchard.
Almost suddenly, the western sky darkened abruptly, with large, continuous dark clouds bringing torrential rain that was steadily approaching.
A gust of wind blew by, stirring up a cloud of sand. The two looked up and saw sand and stones flying everywhere. Only then did they realize that the weather was about to change.
Su Yun covered her hat, which was about to be blown away by the wind. "Oh no! It looks like it's going to pour! Let's go take shelter in the temporary housing."
"No way!" Ye Feng rejected Su Yun's suggestion with a serious expression. "The wind is too strong. What if it turns into a raging storm? We need to find a sturdy house, not a temporary shelter."
"Hmm!" Su Yun looked at the sky suddenly darkening and the wind getting stronger and stronger, and felt that Ye Feng's words made sense, so he immediately agreed to his suggestion.
So the two of them acted quickly, loading the fruit onto their tricycle and speeding away. They didn't even bother to retrieve the fish trap.
The two rode the electric tricycle at full speed towards the nearby village. The wind grew stronger and stronger, whipping the wide brims of the straw hats around and hitting Su Yun's face repeatedly. Just as Su Yun was about to untie the drawstring to put the hat away, she lost her grip, and a gust of wind swept the hat away...
"Oh, my hat..." Su Yun watched as the hat flew further and further away, gradually disappearing into the dim sky.
"Take care of yourself...this wind is unusual..."
Night Wind was pedaling hard when it heard Su Yun's exclamation. It tried to shout back, but the wind made its deep, anxious voice sound long and unclear.
Unusual strong winds are frequent at the beginning, and often when the wind first starts to blow, the night wind will alertly hide away.
There have been far fewer cases in recent years, so he has become somewhat complacent.
It was completely dark by now, and the wind was getting stronger. We needed to find somewhere to hide quickly; nothing else mattered.
The night wind twisted the accelerator like a madman, and the heavy tricycle sped wildly along the dilapidated road.
There is only one winding road between the reservoir and the village, and electric tricycles speed along the dilapidated road with a clattering sound.
Su Yun squinted, trying to see through the swirling sand. In the endless green wilderness, a small road led to a dilapidated tricycle speeding along. Behind them were approaching dark clouds, while ahead lay a shimmering blue sky.
The two are clearly distinct.
There's an unreal, eerie feeling to it.
Suddenly, a flash of silver light appeared. Su Yun turned his head to look and saw a huge purple lightning bolt piercing through the thick clouds and striking down heavily. Amidst the flashes of lightning, the imagery was blurred.
Su Yun had a vague feeling of being a desperate madman at the end of his rope.
Nature is the greatest painter, and also the most ruthless.
Dark clouds, interspersed with lightning, painted unparalleled light and shadow within the clouds. Su Yun couldn't help but admire it, and was also awestruck by its power.
The most beautiful things are often the most dangerous.
Along the way, many trees had been blown down, and the sky was filled with flying sand and stones, with many things being blown into the air...
Plastic bags, cardboard, metal sheets... and an airplane... wait, no, how come there's an airplane?
It looks like a bird?
Su Yun squinted, trying to make out the unidentified flying object in the sky. It was a large bird that looked like an airplane, with very large and wide wings. It was currently struggling against the strong wind, its body swaying precariously, looking as if it could be swept away by the wind at any moment...
Watching the bird struggle, Su Yun fell silent. She wondered if the bird was out of its mind. With such a strong wind blowing, it was still trying to fly higher. Wasn't it courting death?
As Su Yun was thinking, a sudden gust of wind blew the car to one side for a moment. She was so frightened that she quickly closed her eyes, grabbed the edge of the car, and hid in the truck bed, not daring to look around anymore.
Feeling the wind suddenly intensify, Su Yun's heart jumped into her throat. Would the car crash?
Fortunately, Ye Feng was skilled enough to grit his teeth and rush into the village at the last moment. With the shelter of the wall, the wind finally subsided, and the two of them successfully found a sturdy courtyard to take shelter from the storm.
But the bird wasn't so lucky. Before Su Yun entered the village, he looked back and saw the large bird being swept up by a sudden gust of wind, then falling headfirst like a swan, finally disappearing into the horizon, its whereabouts unknown...
Author's Note:
Thank you so much, you lovely people!
A thousand kisses~
I will do my best!
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