Pastoral Daily Life

It was a quarter of an hour later that Lu Lingxi came home from the next door.

Wang Shuxiu sat on the sofa and glared at him. Lu Lingxi’s knees felt weak and he snuggled up to Wang Shuxiu’s side. He didn’t know how to be coquettish, he just hugged Wang Shuxiu’s arm affectionately and called out in a soft voice, “Mom.”

Every time he did this, Wang Shuxiu was helpless. She reached out and bitterly poked Lu Lingxi’s forehead with her finger, saying sternly, “Eat.”

Lu Lingxi followed Wang Shuxiu like a little tail. The mother and son sat next to each other. Xiao Feng looked at them with amusement and gave each of them a portion of pork ribs, saying in a conciliatory manner, “Come on, try my cooking.”

“Thank you, Dad.” Lu Lingxi said obediently.

Xiao Feng smiled, “If Xiao Xi likes it, I’ll continue to cook tomorrow.”

The father and son deviated from the previous incident in a couple of sentences. Wang Shuxiu knew what was going on, gave them a glance, lowered her head and started eating. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

After they ate, it was almost nine o’clock in the evening and Wang Shuxiu went back to her room early to rest. Lu Ling also went to his room as if nothing had happened. But he kept sitting at the door listening to the movement outside. Dahei was quietly lying beside Lu Lingxi, his ears perked up.

Lu Lingxi guessed Dahei’s thoughts, smiled and stroked Dahei’s head, whispering, “Dahei, are you listening to Mom falling asleep too?”

Dahei gave a low bark in a suppressed voice.

Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed and didn’t say anything more as he stroked Dahei. However, Dahei’s hearing was much more sensitive than his. Had Dahei been there last time, Mom wouldn’t have been able to catch Big Brother Yan and him together. After waiting for a while and hearing no movement outside, Lu Lingxi guessed that Wang Shuxiu should be asleep. Originally Yan Yue said he would come to him, but Lu Lingxi thought it would be more convenient for him to go to Yan Yue. It was fine if Wang Shuxiu caught him outside, but if Yan Yue was caught in the house by Wang Shuxiu, the consequences would be serious.

“I’m coming.” Lu Lingxi sent a text message to Yan Yue first, and then talked to Dahei quietly.

Dahei immediately ran ahead, his four paws stepping onto the ground silently.

As soon as Lu Lingxi went out, he saw Yan Yue standing outside waiting for him just like last time. His eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve up.

Inside the room, Xiao Feng keenly heard the commotion outside and smiled silently. He carefully tucked in the corners of the blanket of the sleeping Wang Shuxiu, thinking that it was better for Xiaohua not to know anything.

Have a good night’s sleep.

The next day Lu Lingxi returned to his room early. Xiao Feng pretended not to know that he had been out all night. When he saw Lu LIngxi, he just asked if he had slept as usual. Lu Lingxi felt so guilty that he almost buried his head in his bowl when he ate.

Xiao Feng laughed in his heart and shook his head without saying anything.

The very next day after Xiao Feng returned, Ye Kang also came to Fengcheng. Just like Xiao Hong’s reaction when he first entered the city, Ye Kang was also surprised by the changes in Fengcheng. Past the highway toll booth, it was like there were two seasons inside and outside of Fengcheng City. On one side it was still as dark as in winter, while on the other side it was already spring.

Ye Kang was so surprised that when he saw Yan Yue, he asked if Yan Yue knew what was going on. Ye Kang remembered that the climate in Fengcheng was similar to that in Zhongjing, so he didn’t think there was such a big difference between the two cities. Besides, the change in Fengcheng was limited to the city, and outside it still felt similar to the weather in Zhongjing, which was really strange.

Since it was related to the white panel, Yan Yue couldn’t say anything to Ye Kang. He just said vaguely, “Fengcheng is by the sea, and the weather is warm this year, so it’s probably affected by it.”

Ye Kang gave him a blank look, “You believe what the experts say, right?”

Yan Yue laughed as he heard it.

Ye Kang parked his car at the entrance of Tiny Garden and greeted Lu Lingxi who came out. Yan Yue followed closely by his side. His first concern was that Lu Lingxi wasn’t wearing a coat, just a thin sweater when he walked out.

“Be careful of catching a cold.” Yan Yue stepped forward and pushed Lu Lingxi back.

Lu Lingxi smiled at Ye Kang in embarrassment and meekly called out, “Brother Ye.”

Ye Kang nodded with a smile and followed the two into Tiny Garden. The atmosphere of Tiny Garden was as good as ever, and Ye Kang took a deep breath, intoxicated. The last time he had left Fengcheng, what he missed most was the air inside Tiny Garden. Although it was said that the smog in Zhongjing should be less in winter, the moderately polluted air all year round still left Ye Kang with a feeling of breathlessness from time to time. “It’s still such a good environment here, Xiao Xi.” Ye Kang sighed from the bottom of his heart.

Basically this was a sentiment that everyone who came to Tiny Garden would have, and Lu Lingxi was used to it.

Ye Kang thought of something, “The air outside is also good. It’s actually rare to see the blue sky.”

He wasn’t being sarcastic. Fengcheng was heavily polluted. If Zhongjing was moderately polluted all year round, Fengcheng was heavily polluted all year round. In a year of 365 days, there could be 300 days without seeing the blue sky. Every time China selected the city with the worst environment, Fengcheng was basically at the top of the list. When Ye Kang compared his visit to Fengcheng last year, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat emotional.

When he finished speaking, Lu Lingxi nodded and said seriously, “You can see blue skies these days, it has been particularly blue for more than a week.”

The three of them chatted on the topic. Ye Kang didn’t know about the plant evolution and only thought that the improvement in Fengcheng’s air was an effect of the new environmental protection policy; although he wasn’t optimistic about Fengcheng’s long-term future. For Fengcheng, a heavy industrial city, the main pillars of the economy were coal and steel. And it so happened that these two industries were the two most polluting to the environment. Although the new mayor of Fengcheng was mainly concerned about environmental protection, it was not possible for him to leave economic development unattended. He had planted trees everywhere in Fengcheng and shut down a number of small steel factories with incomplete formalities, but this was only treating the symptoms but not the root of the problem for the entire environment of Fengcheng. No matter how many trees were planted, as long as Fengcheng didn’t adjust its industrial structure, it would not be possible to avoid pollution completely. Besides, the mayor’s term of office was five years. Who knows if the next mayor would focus on the economy or on environmental protection after this one was gone?

When Ye Kang spoke about it bluntly, Yan Yue frowned slightly and subconsciously looked at Lu Lingxi. Although Xiao Xi didn’t say it, in his heart he was very concerned about the improvement of the environment. Yan Yue didn’t want Ye Kang’s words to discourage Lu Lingxi. Besides, Ye Kang didn’t yet know that plants could evolve. If the evolution of plants outpaced the rate of pollution in Fengcheng, even if Fengcheng couldn’t manage to avoid pollution completely, it could still absorb all the pollution and try to maintain the status quo of blue skies and clear water.

s

Lu Lingxi, unaware of Yan Yue’s worries, thought for a moment and said, “It would be nice if there were plants that could replace steel or other materials. This wouldn’t affect the economy, but would protect the environment, and there would be no need to worry about pollution.” As he said that seriously, Yan Yue thought about the existence of the white panel and raised his hand to rub Lu Lingxi’s hair, saying softly, “We might really be able to find a plant like that if we try our best.”

Lu Lingxi glanced at Yan Yue and nodded vigorously.

Ye Kang found Lu Lingxi’s idea interesting, but when he looked at the two men’s expressions, his heart fluttered. Yan Yue’s attitude didn’t look like he was coaxing Lu Lingxi, making a casual remark, but rather there was a vague sense of certainty and seriousness. Ye Kang looked at the two men’s faces, his expression somewhat thoughtful.

They chatted for a long time and in the afternoon, Lu Lingxi accompanied Ye Kang to the pet shop across the street. Yan Yue had already talked to Ye Kang about adopting the husky, and Ye Kang had agreed. As soon as the three of them entered the shop, the silvery grey husky rushed towards Lu Lingxi like an arrow. Lu Lingxi took a step back and caught it, stroking the husky’s furry head with a smile and gesturing to Ye Kang, “Look, Brother Ye, it’s very obedient.”

Just as Lu Lingxi finished speaking, Dong Zhi’s girlfriend rushed out from the back angrily, carrying a pair of jeans, and furiously said to the husky, “Stinky Erha (Husky), these are the new jeans I bought!”

As soon as the husky saw her, it immediately laid down on the ground belly up and pretended to be dead.

Knowing that Ye Kang was the one who was going to adopt the husky, Dong Zhi was afraid that he would have a bad impression of the husky, so he hurried up and asked, “What’s wrong? Erha has always been quite well behaved.”

“Where’s he well behaved!” Dong Zhi’s girlfriend said angrily. She didn’t know Ye Kang, but she was familiar with Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue, so she didn’t treat them as outsiders. Furiously, she turned the jeans in her hand to reveal the back and demonstrated that the two pockets at the back of the jeans were scratched to pieces, with strips of denim flapping in the wind. She was irate, “I just put a bar of chocolate in my pocket and the stinky Erha saw it. I’ve told him he can’t eat chocolate, but he still found it and scratched the jeans.”

The husky on the ground also seemed to know that Dong Zhi’s girlfriend was talking about him, and raised both front paws to cover his eyes, looking as if he had no face to see people.

Lu Lingxi: “……”

He had just praised the husky for being obedient.

Ye Kang looked at the husky’s appearance and laughed. Unexpectedly he liked this husky, although he could tell from these jeans that this husky wasn’t as obedient as Lu Lingxi had described. But it might be the old saying about love at first sight; he took an instant liking to this husky. “What’s his name?” Ye Kang asked.

Dong Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry for a moment and replied, “His previous owner was too lazy and called him Erha. There’s no formal name.”

Ye Kang thought that when Dong Zhi’s girlfriend was saying “Erha”, she meant the dog breed, but he didn’t think it was really the dog’s name. He thought Erha was pretty good and turned to Lu Lingxi to ask what he thought. Lu Lingxi’s way of naming was always simple: Dahei, Xiaohei, Xiaohui and so on. He stared at the husky and suggested a few names for Ye Kang to choose from, such as Xiaoyin (Little Silver), Xiaohui (Little Grey) and Erha, or else Xiaoqi (Little Wonder) would be fine.

Ye Kang & Yan Yue: “……”

“Alright, let’s go with Erha and don’t bother changing his name.” Ye Kang made the final decision.

By now Dong Zhi’s girlfriend finally understood that Ye Kang was the new owner of Erha. She looked at the jeans in her hand and somewhat regretfully thought that she should have saved face for Erha. As soon as she put her jeans away, Erha, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, immediately got up and continued to circle around Lu Lingxi.

Ye Kang smiled, squatting on the ground and stroking Erha’s head. Erha squinted his eyes at him and suddenly pounced on him and enthusiastically licked Ye Kang’s face.

Dong Zhi looked happy; although Erha usually acted silly and cheap, and had been lively and playful since he was sent to the pet shop by his original owner as if he wasn’t affected by the abandonment at all, but in fact Erha understood everything in his heart, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic towards Ye Kang and tried so hard to please him. The good thing was that Ye Kang was a friend introduced by Xiao Xi, so Dong Zhi felt relieved to leave Erha in his hands and didn’t have to worry that Erha would have to adapt to another home after he had just adapted to one.

s

Seeing that Ye Kang and Erha were having fun, Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue went back to Tiny Garden. The afternoon passed, and before 6 o’clock, Ye Kang walked back across the road to the shop alone.

“Huh, where’s Erha?” Lu Lingxi who was talking to Yan Yue turned his head to look and couldn’t help but wonder a little when he didn’t see Erha.

Ye Kang said, “Erha couldn’t bear to leave the pet shop, so I let him stay one more day and will come back tomorrow to take him away.” What he didn’t elaborate on was that just as he was about to take Erha away, the ever coquettish Erha suddenly became downcast and looked at Dong Zhi with a look of reluctance.

Dong Zhi smiled nervously and whispered to Ye Kang, “Don’t look down at them, they don’t talk but they understand everything in their hearts. They know who has been good to them, and they know how to repay the kindness.”

Dong Zhi was talking about the pets kept in the shop, and Ye Kang immediately thought of Dahei when he heard it, nodding with emotion. That was why Ye Kang deliberately let Erha stay at the pet shop for one more day to say goodbye to Dong Zhi and the others.

As soon as the time passed 6 o’clock, the three packed up and left Tiny Garden together. Yan Yue suggested going to the small restaurant for dinner, a sort of meet-and-greet for Ye Kang. Lu Lingxi also wanted to go and see if Bai Yuan was accustomed to the restaurant, so he nodded in agreement. Ye Kang was curious about the restaurant and agreed too.

When the three of them arrived at the restaurant, they saw from afar that the entrance was full of people waiting for a table. It was still early spring, but these people, freezing and with red noses, had been waiting outside for who knows how long. By then the residents in the vicinity of the restaurant had all chosen to pack up and go home, otherwise there would be even more people queuing up at the restaurant than there were now.

Because of Wang Shuxiu’s pregnancy, both the expansion and the plan to open a new restaurant were halted, which directly led to the restaurant being too small and the need to wait in line for a long time no matter what time of day you came to eat. Luckily, Lu Lingxi had already spoken to Yi Hang in advance, so they didn’t need to wait with other customers downstairs and could just eat upstairs.

Ye Kang was a little surprised by the scene in front of him. He had already returned to Zhongjing when the small restaurant opened and he hadn’t eaten here. However, he had heard Yan Yue mention a few times that the ingredients in the small restaurant were purely natural and unpolluted and very fresh, so it was no wonder that it attracted so many people.

“Shall we go straight in?” Ye Kang glanced at the people lining up around him, feeling deep in his heart that if he said aloud they were not queuing, someone would immediately rush out and give him a lecture.

Lu Lingxi was amused by Ye Kang’s expression and nodded with a smile, whispering, “It’s fine, the regulars all know me.”

When the restaurant first opened, Lu Lingxi used to come over after work to help out. At that time, all the residents in the neighbourhood knew Lu Lingxi. Later on, more and more customers came to the restaurant, and accordingly, more and more people knew Lu Lingxi, and they all knew that he was the lady boss’s son, and was also considered the little boss of the place.

After Lu Lingxi said that, Ye Kang exaggeratedly made a relieved expression, and Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi both laughed when they looked at him. Facing the eager gaze of a group of people, the three entered the small restaurant, and Dahei was left in the car outside. There were more and more guests in the small restaurant, and Lu Lingxi also had to consciously stop bringing Dahei in. Although he knew that Dahei was very healthy, had no germs and was clean, it was inevitable that some guests would mind this, and he could only wrong Dahei.

Dahei obediently stayed in the car without making a fuss. Ye Kang felt somewhat glad, “Fortunately I didn’t bring Erha along, otherwise it would’ve been a headache.”

Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

The three of them went straight upstairs, and Yi Hang found some time to come over and say hello. Lu Lingxi stopped him and asked how Bai Yuan was faring.

“Don’t worry, Lao Si can’t stand bullying.” Yi Hang patted his chest and assured, “He’s doing well here, it’s not like he has to cut radishes every day. Occasionally the master chef is busy and he can even stir-fry a dish. It’s much better than what he used to study from a gold medal chef.”

When Yi Hang said this, Lu Lingxi also felt relieved. Now that there were many people outside, he couldn’t afford to keep Yi Hang, so he hurriedly said a few words and watched Yi Hang rush off. While the two of them were talking, Yan Yue had already invited Ye Kang to sit down, pouring him a cup of tea.

What Yan Yue was holding was a bamboo tea set, and there were quite a few bamboo crafts upstairs. These were all bought by Wang Shuxiu and Zhou Xiaoman while shopping in the past few days. They looked elegant and interesting.

Lu Lingxi sent Yi Hang away and sat down next to Yan Yue, who had a small bamboo building model in his hand. Lu Lingxi found it interesting, so he took it and played with it.

Yan Yue looked at him dotingly, “You like it?”

Lu Lingxi nodded, fondled the bamboo building and asked curiously, “Are there really a lot of bamboo buildings like this in Kunnan? Won’t they collapse if people live there?”

Yan Yue chuckled, “How can that be? Bamboo is flexible and tough, it has low density (ratio of mass to volume) and is several times stronger than steel…”

He stopped suddenly when he said this and looked at Lu Lingxi thoughtfully.

The author has something to say: If you are interested, you can search for articles about bamboo. Now the use of bamboo is really beyond imagination. There is a kind of bamboo called Gangzhu, which has a tensile strength (maximum stress the material can stand) of 2833 kilograms per square metre and enjoys the reputation of “plant steel”. People really use bamboo instead of steel bars in bamboo reinforced cement for buildings. There are many other uses, and it is a treasure all over. Of course this story will be a little exaggerated O(∩_∩)O~

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