Chapter 47 Senior Brother, I Was Wrong. After returning home...
When Liu Yiyi got home, Lin Jing hadn't returned yet, so she started tidying up the house and trying to make new kinds of pastries.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Jing finally returned.
Before anyone even stepped inside, a cheerful, loud voice filled the yard.
"Sister Yiyi, I'm back~"
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Jing led the skinny mule into the yard and held up the oil paper in her hand to Liu Yiyi in the kitchen.
He shouted, "Come quick, look what I bought for you!"
Liu Yiyi came out with a big smile on her face, and could smell the familiar fragrance from afar.
Lin Jing spread out the oil paper, revealing the cooled sugar-oil sesame cakes inside.
That was Liu Yiyi's favorite kind of fried dough.
"How did you know I like to eat this?" Liu Yiyi asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Oh, I saw you staring at that stall several times when you passed by last time, so I was wondering if you liked it."
Lin Jing said this, but her expression was somewhat unnatural. She got up and tied the mule to a corner.
Lin Jing's family didn't raise poultry, so there was no pen. The mule's spot was simply enclosed with a few sticks to prevent it from making a mess while grazing.
Liu Yiyi lowered her head, a smile playing on her lips, and thanked Lin Jing as she watched her retreating figure, saying, "Thank you!"
Lin Jingyang waved her hand, indicating that it was just something she did.
"Didn't you say you were going to sell this mule?"
Liu Yiyi then remembered this. Before Lin Jing left in the morning, she specifically took the mule away, saying that she wanted to sell it because the mule ate too much. There wasn't much grain at home, and she felt that raising this thing would neither plow the fields nor make much money, so she thought of taking it away to sell.
"I get angry every time you bring this up..."
Lin Jing tied the rope, clapped her hands, walked over, and plopped down on the stone table in front of Liu Yiyi, then recounted the whole story in one go.
In short, Lin Jing sold the mule to someone for five taels of silver, but just as the money was about to be handed over to him, the mule suddenly broke off and ran away, heading in the direction of Linjia Village.
Lin Jing chased for a long time before finally catching up. She wanted to pull it back, but the mule seemed to have taken root and she couldn't pull it out no matter what.
And so, Lin Jing had no choice but to slink home.
Afterwards, he glared at the mule who was wolfing down grass and spat out, "Eat, eat, eat! All you do is eat! Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself to death? May you be reincarnated as a starving ghost!"
The mule, who was enjoying its meal, felt something watching it from above. As soon as it raised its head, it was met with a barrage of curses from its owner.
However, the mule obviously didn't understand. It tilted its head back and swayed towards Lin Jing, its big eyes wide open, as if asking: Are you calling me?
Everyone was busy all afternoon, and Lin Qing'an also had a comfortable nap. A Meng and Bai Fu woke up soon after.
Lin Qing'an wanted to go see if there was anything he could help with in the field, but then he thought that he wouldn't be able to help anyway, since everything that needed watering had already been watered, and Chen Yuetao had also gone to the field at some point. So Lin Qing'an came up with a solution.
"Slow down, especially you, Baifu." Lin Qing'an tied a small bag of spiritual spring water to Baifu's back, while A Meng had already run the second time.
Baifu carried it on his back, and Ameng lifted it with his claws. The spiritual spring water was used in a reasonable yet bizarre way in the newly planted potato and sweet potato fields.
Lin Qing'an knew that with the help of the spiritual spring water, even if the crops weren't grown well, they wouldn't be too bad.
On the last trip, Baifu was so tired that he kept panting with his tongue out, and drool kept flowing out of his mouth.
Lin Qingan pressed it down, "You need to rest! Look how tired you are."
Baifu: Brother, why don't you take a look at me?
Lin Qingan also realized what was happening, and slapped it hard on the butt, warning, "If you don't behave, I'll tell you that Boss Meng won't talk to you anymore, and he won't help you if other dogs bully you in the future!"
"Woof woof woof~" Baifu barked a few times, intending to show off, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized it made sense and obediently lay down on the ground to admit defeat.
Lin Qing'an smiled smugly, "You little brat~ I can't handle you!"
Just as A-Meng was about to grab the bucket and take off, he looked at Lin Qing'an leisurely and said, "I don't know if it will be exhausted, but if it flies two more times, I'm very likely to be tortured into a dog by you."
"Hahaha~" Lin Qingan's mind instantly conjured up images of Ah Meng with an eagle's head and a dog's body, and he teased him with a wicked smile.
"Isn't this perfect? You two are inseparable all day long, even sleeping on each other's stomachs. If it could transform you into a different species, it would be a perfect match for the eagle."
As soon as Lin Qing'an finished speaking, A Meng took off suddenly, its wings flapping past his head. When he looked up, he saw A Meng tilting the bucket that was hooked on its claws.
Wow!
Fortunately, Lin Qing'an dodged in time, and the water that should have drenched him completely instead poured down his right arm.
The icy chill instantly seeped into my skin through my clothes, and I was completely awake.
Ah Meng pretended to be deep and quiet, and lectured him.
"Your brother Nian spoils you, but I don't. I'm your senior brother, your elder. Can't you tell the difference between a king and a queen?" After saying that, they flapped their wings, raised their heads, and flew away proudly.
Lin Qingan realized he had said the wrong thing; the joke had indeed been a bit too forward. He quickly apologized to A Meng's departing figure.
"I'm sorry, senior brother, I was wrong."
But Ah Meng didn't even turn his head.
"It's over," Lin Qing'an thought to himself.
However, they usually joke around casually, but recently Meng has not only been less active, he also runs into the bag from time to time and stays there all day.
Seeing Lin Qing'an deep in thought, Baifu, the only spectator, was a little worried and was about to go over to see what was going on when Lin Qing'an suddenly turned around and stared at him.
Baifu, who had just extended one paw, was startled. Looking at Lin Qing'an's rolling eyes, it cautiously shrank back.
It doesn't seem like a good feeling.
Lin Qingan leaned closer to Bai Fu and asked, "Do you know what's wrong with your eldest son?"
Bai Fu: ...
Lin Qingan: Has something happened to it?
Bai Fu: ...
Silence is Cambridge tonight.
Lin Qing'an decided to ask Bai Fu himself after several attempts, as Bai Fu remained aloof.
Baifu: Is it aloofness? Interesting.
As it was getting dark, Chen Gengnian and Chen Yuetao returned carrying hoes, thus completing the first half of the potato project.
Lin Qing'an and the others didn't provide dinner, but gave them a few extra coins. It wasn't that they were stingy; it was because Chen Yuetao had gone to the fields and he didn't want to cook. So he simply prepared a meal for the family. If there were too many people to eat, he would have to use the pre-made dishes, and he was afraid something might happen. So he had no choice but to come up with this plan.
However, this is common; most villagers do not receive dinner, nor do they receive any extra money.
More than a big meal, they need their wages. With money, they can buy things for their children, and the family can eat together. That's what makes them feel at ease.
After a long day, everyone ate heartily, except for Ah Meng, who seemed a little listless.
Lin Qingan felt something was off. Could it be that his words had really angered it?
They planned to apologize to A-Meng after finishing their meal, but before they had finished eating, A-Meng went into their respective treasure bags.
Chen Gengnian sensed something was amiss and, seeing Lin Qing'an's worried expression, also became concerned.
"Go check on Meng, he seems unhappy." The two lay on the bed, and Chen Gengnian gently patted Lin Qingan's back as he spoke.
Lin Qingan sighed deeply and shook his head, saying, "It's no use. I went to see it just now, but it didn't say anything. My apologies and attempts to coax it were all useless. It just closed its eyes and meditated."
Lin Qing'an felt very sad. A Meng was his senior brother and his only connection from his past life. Seeing him like that made him feel really bad.
As she thought about it, Lin Qing'an's eyes reddened with guilt.
Sensing his sadness, Chen Gengnian hugged him tightly to comfort him: "It's okay, it's okay. I'll talk to it when it comes out tomorrow."
"No need, Brother Nian." Lin Qing'an couldn't help but sob, "We have to deal with the bear in our pocket. The temperature is starting to rise, and it will be exposed if we try to sell it."
Before Chen Gengnian could speak, Lin Qingan said in a deep voice, "The potatoes have been planted. Let's go up the mountain tomorrow, at least to make a cover."
"No way!" Chen Gengnian refused outright, afraid that his wife would think he was yelling at him, and quickly lowered his voice and said, "You don't need to go this time. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains, and it's hot. Plus, Meng isn't in a good mood. You can stay home and try to comfort him."
Lin Qingan tried to persuade Chen Gengnian for a while, but Chen Gengnian still wouldn't let him go, so Lin Qingan had no choice but to give in.
Remembering the reminder Ah Meng had given him, he acknowledged Chen Gengnian's abilities. After considering that he wouldn't be able to do much even if he went, he agreed.
The next day, before dawn, Chen Gengnian took some weapons and dry rations and went out.
Chen Yuetao heard the commotion and then saw Chen Gengnian's back.
Chen Gengnian walked from the dim light of dawn until it was fully light, but before he had reached the depths of the mountains and forests, he stopped to drink water and rest.
The water in the kettle is from a sacred spring; it's refreshing and sweet, making one feel relaxed and comfortable.
Seeing the spiritual spring water reminded Chen Gengnian of Lin Qing'an. Just as he was sweetly reminiscing about Lin Qing'an, a voice instantly pulled him back to his senses, and he listened intently.
It was the sound of a dry branch being broken, and then there was no more sound.
There are many animals in the mountains, so it's not surprising that there are all kinds of sounds, but there was only one.
It seems more like a human act than an animal act.
In these mountains, nothing is frightening except for the sudden appearance of a person.
Chen Gengnian immediately became alert, subtly placing his hand on the dagger at his waist, and slowly rose to hide behind a nearby stone wall, peering toward the source of the sound.
That area was completely blocked by a vine that had multiplied and spread like wildfire; the only way to see what was happening on the other side was to go through the vine.
creak—
Another sound rang out, but this time it wasn't the sound of a branch breaking; it sounded more like the sound of treading on leaves.
Just as he was holding his breath and preparing for battle, a loud and unpleasant thud sounded.
Suddenly, a pheasant flew out, with a snake with horizontal stripes wrapped around its claws.
Seeing this, Chen Gengnian finally breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out to be just a false alarm.
The pheasant struggled and flapped its wings on the ground, but before Chen Gengnian could come to its rescue, it went completely still, while the snake continued to coil around it.
Chen Gengnian lowered his guard, picked up the long pole he had used to climb the mountain, and used it to pry the snake away. The snake did not resist and quickly turned and slithered away.
Chen Gengnian didn't pay much attention to the minor incident. Since the pheasant was poisoned by snake venom, he couldn't keep it and set off again.
The little incident from before did not happen again; the journey was very quiet, and no prey was encountered.
When he arrived at the thatched hut, he was surprised to see smoke rising from inside.
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