Specialty products return home
This was the fastest Meng Yan had ever driven a mechanical kite, driven purely by reverence for food, or more precisely, by another form of recognition of Yue Lang's culinary skills.
Only after flying out of his sect did she calm down. So many seafood items were delivered to her junior brothers and sisters, which should have a good ending, although this "good" ending did not belong to them.
Yue Lang's skill was superb, and it didn't take him long to draw the talisman, giving Meng Yan a chance to catch a glimpse of the setting sun's afterglow and land on the ground, following the lingering echoes it left in his own valley.
Thinking he had been quiet, Meng Yan couldn't resist pushing open the door when he saw the brightly lit courtyard of the government office.
"Junior Sister Yan—"
A cacophony of screams and howls erupted. To avoid embarrassment, she almost immediately hid inside the gate and slammed it shut behind her.
We miss you, Junior Sister Yan!
"You've been away for so long, life must have been tough. Are you even able to eat every day?"
"When the mechanical sparrow flew back with a creaking sound, my senior sister and I were so excited that we broke two wooden boards. You finally remembered us from the remote mountain village!"
Admittedly, the residents of the government compound are the least mobile in the entire valley. Previously, it was because even if they took their skills out, they would easily starve to death. Now, they are constantly rushing to finish their work and have no time to wander around.
But it's only been a month since we last met, is it really necessary to cry so bitterly?
The youngest, Meng Yan, couldn't understand these older adults, so she could only offer a few perfunctory words of comfort to each of them. Since they couldn't open their eyes to see, she didn't have to bother with proper gestures. She simply patted their shoulders and wiped away their tears, considering that enough to console them.
“While you were away, we worked hard. The furnace was built, the birds were raised, and the test flight is almost over…”
Meng Yan nodded in satisfaction, but upon hearing the words behind her, she blankly called out, "Have you all finished?"
"No, not yet." The senior brother sobbed, stammering, "We haven't... we haven't tried flying with people yet."
"We tried it." The senior sister calmly interrupted him. "This morning, several kids from other groups volunteered to test drive it. I told them they weren't old enough, but they said they'd accompany us if we wanted. They signed a contract promising not to mess around, and they obediently went for a ride in the sky. This batch of mechanical kites is now ready for official use."
While they were out fishing, their senior brothers and sisters had already made all the arrangements for the next few months. Meng Yan was overjoyed and decided to share the good news he had just brought back with them to make it a double celebration.
"Government network?"
"And the kind used for fishing at sea?"
Meng Yan nodded repeatedly, took out a thick stack of reservation slips, placed them on the cracked table with seven or eight cracks, flattened them, and pointed them out one by one.
The senior brothers and sisters looked at each other, their expressions unusually consistent. Amid the shoving, Senior Brother Hao spoke up on their behalf: "Junior Sister Yan, is it possible that none of us have ever been to the seaside? We can only guess what the ordinary fishing nets used by the people there look like, let alone make a fully functional mechanical fishing net?"
Behind him, everyone nodded vigorously, as if trying to conjure up the shape of a fishing net out of thin air.
"No problem, I've drawn up the blueprints. I'll teach everyone how to weave fishing nets in a couple of days. There are more important things to do right now." Meng Yan remembered something, patted his head, and walked towards the door.
"What's the matter that's so urgent? Do you need help?"
She left in a hurry, and everyone was worried. They gathered in the courtyard at night to welcome her back. Working was something to think about tomorrow. After a quick discussion, they rushed out to chase after her.
The mechanical kite, which was usually kept on his person, was now alone, separated from its master. Several withered leaves were resting on its wings, indicating that it had been staying there ever since Meng Yan returned.
"Perfect timing." Hearing the footsteps, Meng Yan was overjoyed.
Seeing this strange sight, the senior brother couldn't help but worry: "Is there a problem with the mechanical kite's parts? Why wasn't it put away?"
"We've put some things in the cabin to take up space, so the mechanisms can't be put together." Meng Yan waved to signal everyone to come quickly.
The dark brown wooden planks looked as if they had been soaked in water, their color turning a deep black. But looking at the whole bird, only the cabin had been rained on; the outside was so dry that you could peel off a layer of skin.
"It's such a rare occurrence of localized rain, and you've managed to run into it, junior sister!"
Meng Yan brushed away his senior brother's hand that was fiddling with the mechanical kite, and pointed to the lively net bag in the cabin, "Are you bored? Perfect timing, I've got some work to do."
A huge crowd of people, as if performing some kind of mysterious ritual, surged from the small courtyard of the government office to the foot of the mountain, and then, talking and arguing, rushed to the kitchen, giving the junior apprentice who was still washing pots and pans quite a fright.
"There are too many senior brothers and sisters!" The junior brother's brows furrowed so deeply that his eyes almost cried.
"If there's not enough room, a few of us will step out." The senior brother patted his chest and called for the others to retreat towards the door.
"It's not because there are too many people."
The junior apprentice was on the verge of tears. He opened the net to show them, and by the dim candlelight that could go out at any moment, he could see several layers of fish piled up in the shallow water at the bottom of the pitch-black net, not to mention the shrimp and crabs in the bamboo basket next to it.
Several pleading eyes pierced through the wall and landed on Meng Yan. As if sensing something, she looked through the window crack into the kitchen and happened to meet a pair of eyes.
"How about... we keep it for now?" she asked, blinking.
The room suddenly became lively, with conversations drifting out the window and carried by the wind into Meng Yan's ears.
Do you know how to raise fish?
"I've never raised one. What about you?"
"I almost raised the chickens to the point of foaming at the mouth before I was sent here to work on the organization..."
The group, sharing a similar plight, chatted for a while, then suddenly remembered Meng Yan, who had spent a month experiencing life by the sea. Since she had learned to weave fishing nets, then…
In the quiet courtyard, apart from the silent moonlight, there was not a single shadow to be found.
The group of people in the office seemed to be deep in thought, shouting things like "Let's get to work!" and "Let's strive!" before disappearing into the night like flowing water, leaving behind the bewildered kitchen staff and the occasional visitor from the sea.
.
Early in the morning, people gathered in layers around the breakfast area. Meng Yan glanced at them from a distance, thinking that as long as he ate, it was fine and he didn't care about who came first. So he bypassed the crowd and wandered aimlessly through the valley.
The lush, verdant valley that was teeming with life a few months ago is now barren and red, shrouded in a light mist that obscures the view and makes one yearn to wander through the woods.
Stepping on the fallen leaves, the sound of them crunching filled the air. At the end of the path, a gently flowing stream separated them, where two large geese sat idly, preening their feathers amidst their reddish-yellow plumage, drifting leisurely on the shimmering blue water.
No, it's not grooming. Judging from the posture, it's holding something in its mouth. When did they actually start raising fish in the stream in the valley?
Intending to compare the differences between river fish and sea fish, Meng Yan walked towards the stream. Upon seeing this, the goose ran away, its two feet creating ripples on the water's surface.
She assumed the two creatures had good memories and were still afraid of the previous grudge, so she made a face at them, squatted down by the stream, and leaned over to look.
The fish farm is quite advanced; they even use nets to trap them, afraid they'll grow legs and escape. The nets are quite sophisticated, almost identical to those used by fishermen at the coast. The only difference is the holes at the edges—not like external hooks, not like natural wear and tear, but more like…
Meng Yan looked up at Da Bai and Er Bai, two white figures with their butts sticking out and not turning their heads. How could it be their handiwork?
Looking into the cave from the perfect location, the fish's tail swayed powerfully, its body was robust and multicolored, clearly shimmering, yet its scales were not glistening. The last time I saw a fish like this was at the seaside.
She raised an eyebrow, about to pull out the fishing net for a closer look, when she suddenly heard the goose cry out in a pitiful voice. As her junior sister, she should help her senior brother escape danger, so she let go of the net and ran quickly towards the two simpletons.
Having suffered and felt pain, the two of them knew to seek peace. They stayed where they were, not daring to move, looking at Meng Yan pitifully, occasionally shouting to urge him on. Anyone who didn't know better would think they had been bullied.
"Don't float in the water, come to the shore." Meng Yan realized what he had done after making the gesture, so he straightened his mouth, rolled his eyes at the sky, squatted down, and gently waved to them.
The senior brother was clever, and the one who asked for help was even more humane. He quickly turned his head and turned around, pushing the water with his four feet, and rushed towards her.
I pulled Big White out of the water and spun it around in front of me. Finally, as expected, I caught a crab under its tail. Little White's crab was stuck in its wing, its claws clamping down on its long hair. No wonder it was squealing louder than cursing.
"Little Yan, you just got back and you're already messing around with your senior brother?" As always, Li the kidnapper was elusive, catching her red-handed every time.
Putting aside the fresh white senior brother in her hand, Meng Yan held up two crabs and showed them to him to prove her innocence.
"Did you bring this little thing back?" Li the cripple asked curiously, stroking his beard until it bristled.
Meng Yan turned around and pointed to the net in the stream: "Aren't they our own?"
"No way, it wasn't here after dinner last night."
“Those must be the ones I sent to the kitchen.” Meng Yan understood, pulled the fishing net out of the water, looked at the fish that were all too familiar, and then pushed them back into the stream. “I joked with my junior brother that if we couldn’t finish them, we should keep them alive, and he really listened to my advice.”
"Oh!" Li the Cripple sighed, his hand smoothly sliding to the tip of his beard. "I was wondering why everyone was here today, thinking about having breakfast. Turns out they're all here to see something new."
"Aren't you going to take a look?"
"What am I, an old geezer, arguing with these youngsters for?" He flicked his sleeve, stood sideways on the bank of the stream, and indeed had a bit of an otherworldly air about him. The reclusive immortal turned his head and said, "Little Yan, you are young, go and find out for your master."
Meng Yan: "..." Fine.
.
After much effort, Meng Yan carried the unusually ugly seafood to the front of Guai Zi Li's house. Resisting the urge to borrow a silver needle to test the poison, she knocked on the door, laid out the goods on the table, and turned to leave.
Li the cripple met her outside the house. Seeing that her hands were empty, he said, "Won't you eat something before you leave?"
"No, I've eaten this dozens of times in a row. I'd rather have a steamed bun to freshen up the flavor."
Having finally gotten his wish and started eating the steamed bun, Meng Yan couldn't taste it and was distracted, staring at the fish in his senior sister's bowl.
The fish was fresh, but it had bones; the shrimp and crab were tender, but they had shells. If Yue Lang were here, she wouldn't even need to look at them; the plate would be piled high with food.
I won't eat, I won't look at anything, and I won't think about anything anymore.
"What are you thinking about, Junior Sister Yan? You look so worried."
Her senior brother sat down on the ground next to Meng Yan, holding a bowl. The aroma from the bowl wafted up and stimulated her mind, causing her to sigh repeatedly in her heart.
"I'm thinking about how to teach you lot of landlubbers to weave fishing nets."
"Then you'll have to worry for a while longer."
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