RIIDMDR chapter 34

 

Because of the birth of the rabbits, raising the pigs was delayed. It was already afternoon when they finally realized what was happening. Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu had been idle in the bamboo hut all day, but Nan Xu hadn’t given them any tasks. Feeling uneasy, Zhuang Wu asked Nan Xu if they wanted to plant anything, as the land had already been reclaimed.

Nan Xu was pleased with his enthusiasm but still shook his head. “It’s going to rain this afternoon. Let’s wait until tomorrow afternoon to clear up and plant!”

Zhuang Wu looked at the sky and realized that it had been sunny most of the day and probably wouldn’t rain again.

However, Nan Xu didn’t want to plant anything yet, so Zhuang Wu agreed. Since he was there, Nan Xu brought up the matter of raising pigs.

Zhuang Wu’s mouth dropped slightly when he heard this. “Boss, you want to raise wild boars?”

He himself was a wild boar demon. Because of his connection to his original form, he knew wild boars’ temperaments best. They were ferocious and untamable. Raising wild boars sounded a bit unrealistic to the boss!

Nan Xu also felt that wild boars were difficult to domesticate. However, many places in the mall were hidden, and there was a limited variety of items for sale. Domesticated piglets weren’t available yet, so he could only consider wild boars.

Nan Xu nodded. “Yes, it should be a little difficult at first. Perhaps after a while, it will become easier. But there’s no rush. If you can’t finish your work over there, don’t start raising them.”

It’s still too early for the sweet potato harvest, and the rice will take more than a month. The organic pig feed hasn’t grown yet either. Although we have enough food now and can buy ready-made food at the mall, money is still tight. If we can’t raise the pigs properly, it’s better not to do it at all.

Nan Xu thought that Zhuang Wu would use his platform to dismiss the matter, but he immediately patted his chest and said, “We can raise pigs! We have some free time after planting. I’ll go back and tell my brother where the boss wants to keep them, and we’ll build a pigpen within the next two days.”

Nan Xu was stunned. So proactive!

“Don’t force yourself,” Nan Xu advised.

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Wu was even more excited. “Not even slightly. Did you catch the wild boar cub from the Dong family? Do you want me and my big brother to go up the mountain and catch it?”

Nan Xu: “Can you catch it?”

It wasn’t that he looked down on the two brothers; it was because Tingchuan had mentioned the dangers of Zhuyu Mountain to him one evening.

Nan Xu was apprehensive. Fortunately, the system said that Zhuyu Mountain was his and that, aside from wild beasts, insects, snakes, and thorn bushes, nothing else in the mountains would threaten him. But that wouldn’t be so certain for Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu.

Sure enough, upon hearing Nan Xu’s question, Zhuang Wu, who had been so high-spirited just moments before, deflated like a pricked balloon. He instantly collapsed. “Catch… I guess we can’t catch them…”

He didn’t want to show off; he’d been wandering around these mountains so many times that his courage had almost disappeared.

Nan Xu smiled and soothed him: “You two brothers should build a pigpen when you have time. Choose a spot near the chicken coop so that feeding and caring for them is convenient.”

Zhuang Wu accepted the task and returned to the bamboo hut to discuss raising pigs with his eldest brother.

After hearing his brother’s story, Zhuang Si nodded in agreement. “It’s no big deal. We ended up here by chance, and it’s only been two years. If we build good relations with the boss, maybe we can get some seeds for spiritual fruit. Then, when we return to our mountain, we can make more money growing spiritual fruit than cabbage.”

Zhuang Wu looked longingly. After a moment, he remembered something and said, “Oh, by the way, the boss said it would rain this afternoon, but I think it’s going to clear up.”

Zhuang Si looked out the window at the sky. The dark clouds had mostly dispersed, and it certainly didn’t look like rain was coming. However, he didn’t express any objections. The boss said he didn’t have to work in the fields today, which was something he was happy to hear.

“That recliner the fox demon sleeps on every day looks nice. Let’s make two!” Zhuang Si said.

He had never seen a demon achieve high cultivation without diligent practice. The wild boar demons constantly sold cabbages on the road and had no chance to cultivate, so they weren’t very powerful. But the fox demon, who just lies on that chair every day, has achieved such a high level of cultivation. Perhaps it absorbed the spiritual energy of the bamboo from the mountains.

Zhuang Wu had no idea what his eldest brother was thinking, but he also found the chair’s design unique. Seeing the fox demon lie on it comfortably every day made him eager to try it out. Unfortunately, he never had the chance. The fox demon guarded the chair so closely that it wouldn’t let anyone touch it except its owner.

The two brothers hit it off immediately. The location near the water made it easy to cut bamboo. They quickly hauled back three or four stalks and set to work in the open space in front of the house.

–

Tingchuan left after lunch without saying where he was going. Relying on his experience, Nanxu assumed he was just strolling around and didn’t pay much attention.

In the afternoon, the reward announcement from the system was surprisingly late.

[Main Mission 2-2 Rewards Already Issued. Reward List: Mountain Road Sign, 2 Blind Boxes.]

Nanxu wasn’t sure if the sign was made of wood like those found at scenic spots. Since he had experience with billboards, he clicked on the word “sign” and saw a line of small text as expected.

[The elusive signpost points the way for lost travelers. Don’t be afraid; the inn is just ahead.” ]

Nan Xu: …

Nan Xu felt that 006 was a genius. This copy didn’t look like it was written by a good person. Just how elusive was this sign?

The first blind box contained a blue-and-white porcelain teapot set reminiscent of Song dynasty porcelain. The porcelain was as white as jade and as bright as a mirror. Pale blue patterns outlined the teapot, giving it the appearance of a sky full of blue clouds after rain. This teapot set isn’t sold in the mall, but similarly exquisite ones cost 50,000 to 60,000 silver coins. It was one of those sets that Nan Xu couldn’t even bear to look at.

He admired it for a long time, carefully moving it around, but he couldn’t find a suitable place to store it. He felt that none of his furniture was worthy of such a valuable item and was almost going gray with anxiety.

Finally, he carried it back to his room and placed it on a nightstand made from a tree stump at the foot of his bed. He prepared to put all his efforts into creating a sturdy display case.

As for making tea, what a joke! This tea set cost at least fifty or sixty thousand silver coins. He’d have to be crazy to use it to make tea. Wouldn’t ceramic cups fired in his small earthen kiln be better?

After putting the most valuable item in the store away, Nan Xu went to look at the second blind box. The moment he opened it, he was stunned.

The wooden box contained a set of mahjong tiles. He had been trudging through the mountains every day, trying to make a living. He had almost forgotten that such a pastime existed in the human world.

As it happened, several Flying Bird Tribe demons had already finished wandering and were now bored, picking grasshoppers in the courtyard. Nan Xu had casually taught them how to play mahjong that afternoon. He brought the table into the main room, invited the demons in, explained the rules, and played two rounds with them before giving up his seat.

With Nan Xu’s guidance, the demons quickly caught on and slowly discovered the joy of mahjong, enjoying themselves in the main room. However, Nan Xu had been obsessed with food and money since childhood. He understood the game, but he wasn’t interested in it. Therefore, he wasn’t interested in watching the cards from the back.

Furthermore, the newbies playing together were just a bunch of noobs fighting each other with no technical skills.

Still, this mahjong game reminded Nan Xu that, no matter how beautiful Zhuyu Mountain was, guests needed entertainment beyond the scenery.

Recalling the hotels he’d seen in the human world, he remembered that they often offered not only restaurants, but also teahouses, gyms, karaoke rooms, and other amenities. There weren’t many dance halls in the mountains these days, and demons didn’t need to exercise, so Nanxu started with something simple: a chess and card room.

The ready-made Go and chess sets sold in the mall were too expensive at 999 silver coins per set, so Nanxu decided to make his own.

At the mall, he bought a small bucket of black, white, and red paint for 180 silver coins. He then went to the stream and brought back a basket of gravel to sort and polish.

As dusk fell, dark clouds gathered in the sky, threatening rain at any moment. Tingchuan, who had left, showed no sign of returning.

Nan Xu lost interest in polishing the gravel. He glanced toward the courtyard gate for the umpteenth time but still saw no sign of him. Suddenly, Guan’er, the dog at his feet, perked up his ears and ran toward the gate, his tail wagging.

Nan Xu knew Tingchuan had returned. He stood up and looked outside. The gate had been pushed open, and Tingchuan strolled in slowly, holding a tree as if it were a walking stick.

Nan Xu was certain he wasn’t mistaken. It was a rather large tree, at least four or five meters tall. Moreover, the tree looked familiar.

The tree was laden with loquats[mfn]The loquat tree is a small evergreen tree with big, dark green leaves that look shiny on top and fuzzy underneath. In spring, it grows white flowers that turn into clusters of yellow-orange fruits.[/mfn]. If memory served him correctly, it was the same tree he had seen while exploring the surrounding mountains and forests. When he first saw it, the tree hadn’t borne fruit yet, and he’d thought about it for a while. Later, with so much else on his mind, he’d forgotten about it.

Nan Xu hadn’t expected their reunion to unfold this way.

“What are you doing?” Nan Xu asked hesitantly as he walked toward Tingchuan.

Tingchuan stopped, held the tree in his hands, and stood it up to show Nan Xu. With a hint of pride, he said, “Every time you see a fruit-bearing tree like this, you’re mesmerized. I saw this one while walking in the mountains today and brought it back for you. Not a single fruit has fallen from the tree.”

Nan Xu looked at the loquat tree, listening to Tingchuan’s somewhat boastful words, and felt like laughing.

The tree was full of fruit, and, as Tingchuan said, not a single fruit had fallen when he brought it back. But how could he have carried it back when the tree was still bearing fruit? Had his habit of bringing things home really influenced Tingchuan?

What a sin! He had led a celestial fox demon to this point.

Without waiting for Nanxu’s response, Tingchuan added, “I saw some birds eating them in the mountains. They’re not poisonous.”

Nanxu came back to his senses and agreed, “Yes, they’re not. This is a loquat tree. The fruit is sweet and sour with delicate, juicy flesh. Now’s the perfect time to eat them. Let’s find a place to plant it!”

He was worried that if the tree was brought back with fruit, it would become upset and die.

Nan Xu had originally planned to plant the tree outside, as usual, but there was an empty spot in the yard that would be perfect for cooling down during the hot weather. He had previously wanted to find an osmanthus tree, but he couldn’t find a suitable one, so the spot was left vacant. This loquat tree was just the right size, and planting it in the yard symbolizes prosperity for the family.