Chapter 102 Noodles and Sparrows
I'm finally home.
Because Xiao Yu's injuries had not yet healed, she chose to stay in a courtyard.
"What if some monster rushes in while I'm asleep? I'm so weak right now and I can't even fly." Little Feather hugged her wings sadly and sobbed, begging to stay in the courtyard.
"Oh? Really?" Su Yun examined his claws and clawed feet with a suspicious look in his eyes.
If this is considered weak, then what is she?
The avian beastmen have a peculiar body structure. Their legs below the calves are very thick, just like birds, except that they are covered with thick scales and have very ferocious claws. Su Yun could imagine how they could quickly grab their prey, lift it into the air, and then mercilessly release their claws and drop the prey to its death.
However, seeing Xiao Yumo running onto the bed and rolling around, Su Yun didn't bother to say anything and went straight into the kitchen. "Whatever you want. Winter is coming soon anyway, it'll be more convenient to live together. You can pack your things and get ready to eat."
Since it was already afternoon when I got home, this meal counts as lunch.
For lunch, Su Yun ate noodles. Her eyes lit up when she saw someone selling them at the market. Noodles!
It's been such a long time since I've had this.
The last bit of money was used to buy noodles.
These noodles are made using traditional methods. According to the girl with rabbit ears who was selling them, "They're made from wheat we grow ourselves, and they're incredibly fragrant! You can rest assured they're delicious!"
Su Yun bought two jin (1 kg). These local noodles are flat and long with a slightly yellowish skin. They don't look very appealing, but they are very fragrant after being cooked.
In the pot where the noodles were cooked, the clear broth slowly turned milky white as it simmered, and the noodles looked soft and cooked through.
Su Yun quickly scooped out the noodles and put them into the prepared cooled boiled water to filter out the thick soup.
Then, pour the noodles into three large bowls, pour the prepared tomato and green bean sauce over them, place an egg on top of each noodle, drizzle with soy sauce, and sprinkle with chopped green onions.
The soy sauce was readily available in the market. Brewing soy sauce requires koji (fermentation starter), which Su Yun had never been able to make herself. Seeing the ready-made soy sauce, her eyes lit up.
I generously bought four bottles of mineral water. Without soy sauce, the dishes just don't taste right. I bought four bottles this time, so they should last until next spring.
"The chili sauce is here; feel free to add some if you like." Su Yun added some of the chili sauce she had made earlier to the noodle soup and then happily slurped up the noodles.
These noodles may not look like much, but they taste absolutely amazing. Made from pure wheat flour, they have an incredibly chewy texture and every bite is bursting with the natural aroma of wheat. They're absolutely delicious.
Add to that Su Yun's favorite chili sauce and this homemade soy sauce, and the broth is perfectly balanced, savory and delicious. The noodles, soaked in the broth, are steaming hot with a spicy kick.
None of the three spoke; the only sound in the air was slurping. Everyone was engrossed in eating their noodles, too busy to even acknowledge how delicious they were.
Finally, Su Yun finished the last sip of soup in the bowl, licked her lips, and slumped back in the chair with satisfaction.
Little Feather finished the last sip of soup and asked with lingering satisfaction, "Is there any more noodles?"
Su Yun: "That's all. I cooked just enough for three people. What's wrong? Aren't you full?"
Little Feather licked the soup off the rim of the bowl with lingering relish, "No, it's so delicious, I want to eat more even though I'm full."
Su Yun: "No, I don't have much money left. I only bought two jin (1 kg), so I need to eat it sparingly. It'll probably last for two or three more meals, and then it'll be gone."
Little Feather regretfully rummaged through the bowl: "What a pity, there's only this much."
Ye Feng looked at the half-pack of noodles left on the cupboard and showed a hint of regret. "The noodles are delicious~ I wish there were more."
Soupy dishes are popular, Su Yun laughed: "Next year when we grow our own wheat, we can make some ourselves and eat as much as we want!"
Upon hearing Su Yun's words, both of their eyes lit up.
Little Feather excitedly chimed in, "Let's go, shall we go plant wheat later?"
Night Breeze nodded in agreement, "We can go."
Su Yun was practically dying of laughter. The two foodies said, "We'll have to wait until next spring! The climate here isn't suitable for growing winter wheat. We'll have to wait until next year!"
"Okay~" Little Feather said disappointedly, picking at the bottom of the bowl.
Night Wind also sighed.
Su Yun smiled and said, "But we can pick some fruit to sell in town, and then exchange it for noodles..."
Little Feather's hope returned: "Really? I'm the best at finding fruit; I can see everything clearly just by flying up... Ah, I can't fly anymore..."
"It's okay, I can run fast. I can go and take a look around, and then I'll take you guys to pick some..." Ye Feng said enthusiastically.
"Well, the sweet potatoes in the field haven't been harvested yet, and we still need to make some cured meat for winter. The lotus roots in the pond also need to be dug up. We'll go find fruit after we're done with this busy period. Right now... there are still a lot of things to do. Night Breeze, go wash the dishes. Later, we need to teach Little Feather how to feed the chickens, quails, and rabbits. Little Feather, you can follow Night Breeze for now. He'll teach you how to do it. Once you've done that, you can rest."
Little Feather nodded vigorously, "Mmm!"
Given that the other party was injured and unable to make things convenient, Su Yun considered entrusting him with the tasks of raising chickens and ducks.
The remaining farm work was more physically demanding, so Yefeng and she took the lead, while Xiaoyu Mao assisted from the side.
Su Yun: "I'll go water the vegetables first. They've been like this for several days. If I don't water them soon, they'll wither and die."
Having just returned, everyone had a lot to do, so they all started working separately. Su Yun watered the entire vegetable garden. After not returning for a few days, Su Yun noticed that the vegetable leaves had started to have some irregular little holes.
"Could it be infested with bugs?" Su Yun exclaimed in alarm, hurriedly turning over the vegetable leaves, but found no bugs. "That doesn't make sense. Could it be mutated bugs???"
Su Yun became even more anxious, turning over several vegetable patches in succession, but still couldn't find any trace of the insects. "Oh no, are these insects that powerful? They can hide so well."
Strangely, these small holes only appeared on mustard greens, bok choy, and tender cabbage hearts; sweet potato leaves, green beans, and tomatoes were completely unaffected.
"How strange!"
Night Breeze and Little Feather cut some calamus and sweet potato vines from the riverbank, intending to feed the chickens and rabbits when they found Su Yun squatting on the ground, turning over vegetable leaves and muttering to herself.
Worried that something was wrong, Ye Feng went over and asked with concern, "What's wrong? What are you looking at?"
Su Yun pointed to a tattered mustard leaf and said sadly, "The leaf has gotten infested with bugs, they seem to be mutated, I can't catch them..."
"No way? What kind of bugs? Let me take a look!" Ye Feng quickly put down the basket on his back, squatted down and began to search for bugs. Ye Feng had put a lot of effort into this vegetable garden, and he was naturally very anxious when he heard that it was being attacked by unknown bugs.
"I don't know either. It might be a mutated form, hiding very well, and I can't find it." Su Yun searched for a long time, somewhat helplessly.
"Let me help you look, let's all look together. Little Feather, you come too~" Food is crucial for them to survive the winter.
Therefore, it cannot be ignored.
Little Feather obediently squatted down, looking puzzled: "What are you looking for?"
Su Yun pointed to the vegetable leaves, "The pest that made this hole might be a mutated one! We need to find it and get rid of it!"
Little Feather looked completely bewildered. "Huh? What kind of bug? This hole? Wasn't it pecked out by a sparrow? What does it have to do with bugs?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yunyefeng was slightly taken aback. "What? A sparrow? Isn't that eaten by insects?"
Little Feather examined the mustard green leaves. "It looks like a sparrow pecked at it. Look here, it's going straight down from the top of the leaf. It couldn't be an insect!"
Su Yun was stunned. She knew that sparrows loved to eat rice and small insects, but she had never heard of sparrows pecking at vegetable leaves!
"Little Feather, are you sure?"
Little Feather patted its chest, looking very confident. "I might not know much about other things, but when it comes to sparrows, nobody knows more than me. What other bird could it be but a sparrow? But it looks like it's definitely a sparrow. After all, you know I'm a sparrow. Insects don't behave like that. Insects like to peck along the edges. Look, this detail even has peck marks..."
It looks like Little Feather is about to enter her talkative mode.
Su Yun quickly interrupted him, "But birds don't just eat insects, right? At the very least, they eat some grains. Why are they suddenly pecking at vegetable leaves?"
"Who said that? Birds eat everything, after all, they're omnivores. Grass roots, fruits, insects, meat... Sigh, it's autumn now, there are fewer insects, the grass is turning yellow, there's nothing left to eat..."
"So the vegetable garden got targeted?" Su Yun automatically finished his sentence.
"Yeah, but they're quite picky, always choosing the tenderest vegetables to eat."
"Really?" Su Yun was very skeptical.
Little Feather: "Of course it's true! Maybe in the morning, when the sun is too hot, they all go to find shade!"
"Okay." Although Su Yun was still worried after hearing what Xiao Yu Mao said, he turned the insect over twice more and, after finding no strange insects, he had no choice but to give up.
"Let's wait until tomorrow morning to check!"
The next morning, Su Yun was awakened by a burst of cheerful birdsong. Still half asleep, she wondered, "Why are there so many birds chirping? What's Little Feather up so early? It's so noisy... Go tell him to stop chirping so loudly..." As she spoke, she rolled over and put her hand on Night Breeze.
Night Breeze, always quick-witted, reacted immediately upon hearing Su Yun's mutterings, "Aren't sparrows coming to peck at the vegetables?"
"Huh? Sparrow?" Su Yun was still half asleep and didn't quite understand.
The night breeze kissed her forehead and said gently, "Won't the sparrows come and steal your food?"
Hearing the night breeze's reminder, Su Yun was instantly wide awake and realized that something was indeed happening. "Then let's hurry out and take a look!"
Su Yun hurriedly jumped out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and ran into the yard.
Before she could run over, a flock of startled sparrows, hearing the noise, fluttered their wings and took flight.
Su Yun hurriedly went to check her vegetables, and sure enough, the tender green leaves were covered with holes of all sizes. "It really is a sparrow! Hurry up and go away—don't come and eat my vegetables!"
Su Yun waved her hands, shooing away the sparrows.
The night wind also jumped onto the wall, driving them away.
The little sparrows chirped and chirped, startled, and flapped their wings and flew away.
Then the two of them went away to wash up.
I had barely turned around for a minute when birds started landing in the vegetable garden again.
Su Yun then took the toothbrush cup and rushed off.
This back and forth is really a headache.
The little sparrows, in flocks, fly away when chased away, but once the people leave, they land back in the vegetable garden to eat.
This back and forth is infuriating, but I can't stay in the field forever.
Su Yun dropped the broom and shook the sleeping little feather awake. "Isn't there any way to get rid of them? If they keep eating like this, there won't even be any vegetable stalks left!"
Little Feather, still half asleep, asked, "A solution? What solution?"
"Just chase the birds away, so they stop pecking at the vegetable leaves!" Su Yun shook the other person. "Wake up, get up and think of a solution. Aren't you a different species? Get up and tell them."
Su Yun continued to shake the other person vigorously. Ye Feng was still guarding the vegetable garden; he couldn't stand there all morning!
Little Feather, shaken for a while, was forced to regain her senses. "No, no, no... stop shaking me! I... I'm awake! I'll think of something, I'll think of something..."
Hearing a satisfactory answer, Su Yun finally let go of the other person's shoulder.
Little Feather, still sleepy and dizzy from being shaken, thought, "But what can I do? I'm not a raptor, and I don't understand bird language. If I just call out directly, it might attract them more... especially the adorable female sparrow..."
Su Yun's eyes widened: "How can your skill be so terrible? Attracting female sparrows?"
"Yeah, I'm really popular. If I go out now, they'll probably be unable to move when they see me. I guess it's because of my scent or something."
Su Yun gave a cold laugh, revealing two sharp white teeth: "That's perfect, they're too weak to walk, let's cook them all into skewers!"
Little Feather shuddered at the woman's cold smile; this woman was truly terrifying!
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