Chapter 72.1
translator: baumkuchen
After a few rounds of mahjong, it was just about time for lunch . Shaohao said that he had already booked a private booth, and invited the several people there to come with him .
Lu Qingjiu was very interested in the food that Shaohao and his kind would usually eat, so he didn’t refuse . However, Shaohao led them straight out of the bird park, returning to the human world, then invited them onto his car and drove them to a very stylish restaurant in the city .
Sitting in the car, Lu Qingjiu was struck dumb . “You’re not eating at home?”
Shaohao said, “I can’t cook . I rarely use the kitchen at home . ”
Lu Qingjiu was a little shocked . “Then you eat out everyday?” Even though the food outside was delicious, you’d get sick of it, eating it every day .
Shaohao said, “It’s not every day, just most of the time . If I think it’s too troublesome, I’ll eat with the birds . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “Then what do the birds eat?”
Shaohao smiled, “They eat everything . ” As he spoke, he shot a meaningful look at Yin Xun, making Yin Xun, sitting next to him, involuntarily shrink his neck, wanting to reduce his presence . Shaohao looked away, continuing, “Such as ripe fruits, or some small mammals . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “Eaten raw?”
Shaohao nodded .
On the inside, Lu Qingjiu sighed that this White Emperor was too hardcore .
When the few of them reached the restaurant, Shaohao parked the car, then led them inside . He was clearly a frequent customer of this place . Even the service stuff at the entrance would fawningly call him Mister Bai .
This place was called the ten thousand birds pavilion . Lu Qingjiu had never been here before, but he’d heard that it was a members-only restaurant . Even if ordinary people wanted to eat here, they wouldn’t be able to, they had to be introduced by a member . Given Shaohao’s identity, Lu Qingjiu suspected that the owner of this restaurant was Shaohao himself .
The food had been ordered in advance . After the group sat down, they began serving . However, just as Shaohao sat down, his expression became a little off . Lu Qingjiu was just about to ask what was wrong when he saw him stand up, and say hurriedly, “I’m going to the toilet . ” Then, he turned and left, actually cutting quite the sorry figure as he left .
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“What did you do just now?” Lu Qingjiu asked .
Yin Xun said, “No…… nothing . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “Then why does he have diarrhea?”
Yin Xun pretended to be calm . “Maybe because his body is weak?”
Lu Qingjiu would be an idiot to believe him . He observed his best friend’s expression, and determined that he was hiding something . “Tell me honestly, just now, when you and Shaohao went for a walk around the place, did you cook something for him to eat?” He had a very deep impression of Yin Xun’s cooking . After eating it, you’d have diarrhea for a day, there was nothing ambiguous about it . Fortunately, this place’s restrooms had proper toilet bowls, otherwise by the end of it you’d feel like you’d be better off just amputating your legs .
“No,” Yin Xun said, “What would I cook for him for?”
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Lu Qingjiu, “Really?”
Yin Xun, “Really . ” He fixed his gaze on the sumptuous dishes in front of him, and swallowed .
Seeing Yin Xun answer so firmly, Lu Qingjiu didn’t continue to ask him anything else . He clearly wouldn’t be able to think of the truth, that Yin Xun indeed hadn’t made anything for Shaohao to eat, he’d just fearfully chopped off a piece of himself for the other to try . Of course, with such a big piece, the effect would naturally be especially good . Shaohao might have to live in the toilet for the next few days .
Shaohao’s living in the toilet, however, didn’t affect their desire for delicious food . It had to be said, these dishes indeed had a taste that lived up to their high price . All the dishes were made with exquisite workmanship . Unlike with home-made dishes, each step of making these dishes was done using the best method found from careful refinement . Just take the “Steamed Chinese Cabbage in Supreme Soup” in front of him as an example, the soup was clear, the taste delicious, and the cabbage fresh and sweet . From a taste you could tell if this was some ordinary product . Even though Lu Qingjiu had some idea of how to make this dish, he’d never tried it before as it was far too cumbersome . For this tiny bowl of clear soup stock, he’d need to go through at least XX steps of complicated processing and boiling to be able to make it .
Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun ate very happily, completely forgetting about their host who had treated them to this meal . Lu Qingjiu actually still had a hint of a conscience left, after he was about done eating, he made a trip to the toilet and considerately asked Shaohao if he needed any more toilet paper .
Shaohao squeezed out a “no need thank you” from between gritted teeth .
“Did you eat something wrong?” Lu Qingjiu, seeing how terrible his situation was, couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity . “Do you need me to help you buy some medicine?”
“No need,” Shaohao said, “Ordinary medicines won’t have any effect on me . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “Oh…… Then we’re just about done eating, see……”
Shaohao, “……I’ve already paid the bill . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “That’s great, thank you for your hospitality . ”
Shaohao, “……” He just knew it . He had even wondered, he’d been in here for so long already, why had Lu Qingjiu suddenly come over to ask after him . So it turned out that he was about done eating, and had been worried that he hadn’t yet paid . Shaohao, sitting on the toilet bowl, let out a deep sigh, planning on standing up and walking out . In the end, just as he pushed open the door, he felt his stomach twist again, and was forced to sit back down . He placed his hands on his knees in despair, as he carefully thought back to what he’d eaten that day . At the end, he inexplicably thought of the soft texture of Yin Xun’s finger…… Could it be……
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Shaohao put his face in his palms, and let out a deep sigh .
Yin Xun, sitting at the table with a round, bulging belly, suddenly sneezed . He rubbed his nose, muttering about whether he had a cold .
“Mountain gods can still catch colds?” Lu Qingjiu asked .
“Yep,” Yin Xun said, “To tell you the truth, other than that I can be eaten, I don’t think I’m different from an ordinary person in any way . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “……” Put away that proud expression of yours, is being able to be eaten anything worth being proud of?!
Even though at this time, Shaohao was still trapped in the toilet, unable to come out, he was after all the one who had treated them to such an expensive meal . The three of them summed it up for a moment, then entered the toilet together to say goodbye to Shaohao .
“Mister Bai, we’re going back now,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Please come by more often whenever you’re free . ”
Through the cubicle door, Shaohao’s voice sounded a little heavy . “Alright . ”
Yin Xun followed after Lu Qingjiu, saying in a small voice, “We welcome you to come visit . ”
Shaohao, “I’ll definitely come . ” These three words clearly sounded like he was gnashing his teeth as his said them, making it so that Yin Xun couldn’t help but shrink back his neck upon hearing them .
The three, having eaten their fill, left satisfied . Then, they took the car back to Shaohao’s mansion, and happily drove the pickup truck back home . It was just that Shaohao’s butler was a little confused, clearly not understanding why the guests had come back, but his master was nowhere to be seen .
Having seen the beautiful bird park, as well as having had a big meal, Lu Qingjiu was in a very good mood . After taking a nap, he got out of bed, planning on kneading some dough and steaming some steamed stuffed buns, steamed twisted bread rolls and other such food for dinner . But when he went to check their ingredients, Lu Qingjiu found that they’d used up all the spring onions in the house .
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At this time, Bai Yuehu was also in the courtyard taking a nap . Lu Qingjiu thought that the fields weren’t far away, and hence didn’t disturb him, planning to go to the fields himself to pick some .
Spring onions were a commonly used ingredient, being able to be used in any dish, so they used them up very quickly . Fortunately, they had quite a lot planted in their field, so when they wanted to eat them they just needed to take some scissors and cut off some, getting them incredibly fresh .
As he walked down the path, Lu Qingjiu thought about simply transplanting the spring onions into their courtyard like the leaks, making it more convenient to pick them .
Today’s weather was still very fine, very bright and sunny . This kind of weather was very comfortable for ordinary people, but wasn’t at all a good thing for farmers who depended on the weather to eat . If there was too little rain, the crops in the fields would grow slower, and they would have to carry water to the fields for irrigation every day, or else it would affect the harvest .
It had been spring for several months now, but had only rained three or four times . If not for them having Bai Yuehu, Lu Qingjiu would probably also have to worry about the crops in the field . The water they used for irrigation here had to be brought over from a far away reservoir . If the water level in the reservoir was too low, they would need to look for another water source, but in the ten li radius around Shuifu village, there was only this one little stream, he didn’t know where they could get one from . Before, Lu Qingjiu hadn’t farmed anything before, and hadn’t known about this . Only after hearing the old Li family next door sighing about this had he understood the important of the spring rain to farmers .
When Lu Qingjiu came back to his senses, he found that he’d thought for too long, he had already reached the fields, and could see a row of lovely spring onions .
These spring onions were a lot more fragrant than those you could buy in the market, especially when used to make tofu with spring onion . The tofu was also made at home, full of flavour, when cut into pieces and paired together with spring onion, and mixed in with some sesame oil and salt, it was both refreshing and delicious .
Lu Qingjiu pulled out his scissors, bent down and cut off a bunch of spring onions . He then chose a ripened pumpkin, pulled out two heads of cabbage, and picked some gorgeous red peppers, all of which he put in the bamboo basket on his back, and then began to slowly make his way home .
Every time he came to the fields, Lu Qingjiu was always shocked by Bai Yuehu’s talent at farming . This neat little patch of green seedlings, within it mixed red chili peppers, and yellow pumpkin, was both neat and beautiful . At first glance, it looked like a flower garden .
Their family’s pumpkins were a little big . Lu Qingjiu had purposely picked a small one this time . This one pumpkin could be used to make two meals . If he had time this afternoon, he could make some pumpkin pastries with bean filling to satisfy his craving .
As Lu Qingjiu walked on forwards, he noticed a black object placed in the middle of the path . On closer inspection, he found it was a black umbrella, quietly lying on the path .
Whose umbrella was this? Lu Qingjiu stopped . That umbrella was right before him, he would be able to pick it up if he just were to bend down . The umbrella looked very ordinary, like the kind you could buy in the market . Lu Qingjiu was originally going to just casually pick it up, and ask around to see who in the village had lost it, but before he could reach out his hand, he noticed a detail on the umbrella .
This umbrella was wet, still with traces of rain on its surface . It hadn’t rained for almost a week in Shuifu, who would be bringing an umbrella out with them right now? Lu Qingjiu had a bad feeling . Thinking of the Rain Master’s Concubine, he slowly retreated a step, and walked to the side to avoid this strange-seeming umbrella .