Chapter 220: Chapter 171: A Muddy-Legs’ Livestream Is Number One?

Li Xiang and his granny chatted while making breakfast. Before long, Luo Feifei and her mother were also up, so Li Xiang invited them over to eat.

After what happened last night, Luo Feifei was feeling rather shy. She had been quite bold in the dark, but now in the bright light of day, she didn’t quite dare to meet Li Xiang’s gaze.

But she was an actress, after all, with first-rate skills. She quickly composed herself and acted as if nothing was wrong.

"Thank you, thank you! In that case, we’ll take you up on that free breakfast!" Luo Feifei’s mother said as she led Luo Feifei inside. "Wow, what a spread."

"I made it specially for you," Li Xiang said.

Luo Feifei shot him a quick, fleeting, and affectionate glance, mostly because she was afraid her mother would notice.

Her mother didn’t allow her to date at her age, especially since she was in a crucial phase of her career. A relationship would definitely affect her acting prospects.

"This congee smells amazing, and the side dishes are great too," Luo Feifei praised as she ate.

The congee was especially good. It contained a faint trace of Spiritual Medicine, making it quite nourishing.

The reason it was faint was that Li Xiang had already used up most of the palatable Spiritual Medicine. Now that he was raising so many Spirit Pets, he had to add a little to the congee and rice he cooked daily, so his supply was depleting quickly.

’I’ll have to find some time to go scour the Primeval Forest again,’ he mused. ’Otherwise, when winter comes and the animals are hibernating, it’ll be even harder to find anything.’

Li Xiang cut open a salted duck egg and placed it in front of Luo Feifei and her mother. "Come on, try our homegrown duck eggs. We cured them ourselves."

The red yolk was glistening with oil—all-natural, with no tricks or additives.

They all ate together, chatting and laughing. The atmosphere was incredibly warm. Granny Li Xiang had worried that a big celebrity might look down on a rural breakfast, but to her surprise, the mother and daughter seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

In truth, for Luo Feifei and her mother, it was a nice change of pace to occasionally try an authentic, rural breakfast.

After breakfast, Granny Li Xiang started clearing the dishes. Luo Feifei’s mother offered to help, but Granny Li Xiang naturally declined. "How could I let a guest do this?"

"It’s no trouble, let me help you. It’s still early, and the film crew hasn’t started work yet," Luo Feifei’s mother insisted, so Granny Li Xiang had no choice but to let her help.

Li Xiang ladled the leftover congee into a large bucket, added a few side dishes, and picked it up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Luo Feifei asked curiously.

Li Xiang tossed his head. "To feed the kitties and the dogs."

"Oh, I want to go too!" How could Luo Feifei pass up something so fun? "Mom, I’m going to go see how he feeds the cats," she said with a giggle and ran after him.

Luo Feifei’s mother smiled and shook her head. Her daughter had loved pets since she was little, especially kittens, but because Mrs. Luo was allergic to cat fur, they never had one.

Li Xiang originally had six cats—one large and five small. Later, he picked out seven more pretty kittens from different vendors at the market, so now he had thirteen in total.

He had a full six cat bowls alone.

Li Xiang portioned the congee into the cat bowls, then brought out some dried fish. Luo Feifei quickly said, "Let me, let me!"

So Li Xiang let her take over.

"MEOW MEOW MEOW, come and get your little dried fish~" Luo Feifei cooed to the kittens as she placed the dried fish in their bowls.

"So cute!" Li Xiang couldn’t help but exclaim.

"They really are adorable!" Luo Feifei said, petting one of the little cats—Xiaosanhua. "I think this one is the prettiest."

Li Xiang said, "I was talking about you being cute!"

"Huh?" Luo Feifei looked over and met Li Xiang’s gaze. She felt a bit shy, but more than that, she felt joy. Her eyes sparkled. "Brother, last night I wanted to say..."

"Don’t say it. Time to get to work!" Li Xiang picked up the bucket and walked off.

"Hmph~" Luo Feifei twisted her neck, shrugged, and got up to follow him. With her strong dance foundation from childhood and broad training, the movement—inspired by Uyghur dance—was playful and lively.

’You won’t let me say it, but I’m going to say it anyway,’ she thought as she chased after him. Unfortunately, she lost her chance. Her mother came out, saying the film crew had called. It was time to start work.

"Okay." Luo Feifei gave a reluctant glance at Li Xiang, who was now feeding the dogs, and headed to the front door with her mother.

She thought to herself, ’Big nephew, your Little Aunt will come find you again tonight.’

Li Xiang filled the dog bowl with congee and side dishes. Nowadays, he didn’t even have to wash the bowl; under the Little Fox’s supervision, Er Huang would scrub it clean before and after every meal. The food Li Xiang gave them was just the leftovers from breakfast—the same congee and dishes.

Worried they wouldn’t have enough to eat, he went back to the kitchen and grabbed two large pieces of meat for them.

After feeding the cats and dogs, Li Xiang busied himself in the vegetable garden for a while before heading to the shop.

Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui were already at work with the other young women. Lei Jiaming was also on time, patrolling the scenic area in his security guard uniform.

Because the film crew was shooting recently, the area was bustling not only with crew members and extras but also with many onlookers and star-chasers who had traveled from afar. Many people had also come specifically to see the giant panda and the Little Red Fox. As a result, business at their several shops was booming. Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui were completely swamped. As for Li Xiang, he was the classic hands-off boss—he took one lap around the shop and slipped back home.

He didn’t have to go to the film set today because his character, Yin Zhiping, had very few scenes, and the remaining ones weren’t scheduled to be filmed for a few more days.

When Li Xiang returned, the Little Fox and the dogs had already gone out the back door and up the rear mountain to "go into business."

The cats, meanwhile, were playing and patrolling in the vegetable garden, preventing little mice from stealing vegetables and occasionally helping to "weed" the garden.

Just then, the white cat, Xiaobai, spotted a newly sprouted goosegrass shoot, pounced on it, played with it for a moment, and then, CRUNCH CRUNCH, chewed it up.

The grass that cats like to eat, known as cat grass, helps with digestion and expelling hairballs. Goosegrass is one such type. Others include wheatgrass, plantain, crabgrass, and green bristlegrass.

In the countryside, there was no need to buy cat grass; the kittens would automatically find the types they liked. The same went for the dogs.

Some kittens would also take an interest in vegetables like cucumbers. If they came across one growing low enough to reach, they’d take a few bites. Li Xiang spoiled them so much he would never shoo them away. On the contrary, if he saw it happening, he’d pull out his phone, film the adorable scene, and post it online. ’Mmm, engagement. It’s all about that sweet, sweet engagement!’

Compared to getting more online traffic, what was the cost of a cucumber or two? He could certainly afford that.

The ducklings and goslings had grown quite a bit. As the weather grew warmer, they would go out together to play and catch small fish and shrimp in the stream where Li Xiang used to fetch water. He didn’t bother managing them; they would naturally come back on their own at dusk.

The two goslings with Extraordinary potential, frequently fed Spiritual Medicine by Li Xiang, had grown much larger than their peers. As half-grown geese with traces of Spiritual Power in their bodies, even weasels and snakes didn’t dare to mess with them.

Besides the goose’s fighting prowess, its droppings were another reason for fear. The pungent odor of goose feces likely caused weasels and snakes intense discomfort and unease, making them keep their distance.

Another theory is that goose droppings contain a sulfur-like substance. If a weasel or snake were to accidentally come into contact with it, the weasel’s paws would rot, and the snake’s skin would decay or be forced to shed.

Su Dongpo described this in his *Qiu Chi Notes*: "Geese can guard against thieves and also repel snakes; their dung kills snakes. When the people of Shu raise geese in their gardens and ponds, snakes stay far away."

That’s why geese are also a primary means of home protection in the countryside.

「Around 10:30 a.m.」

Jiang Jianguo brought the rice seeds over for Li Xiang. It wasn’t a large amount, only about ten kilograms.

Because Li Xiang was farming a small plot, he was using the wet-nursery method for seedlings. One mu of land requires about four kilograms of seeds, so ten kilograms was enough for two and a half mu.

"Uncle Jiang, is your tractor free in the next few days? I need to till my paddy field," Li Xiang said.

"When do you need it?" Jiang Jianguo asked. It was currently the planting season for mid-season rice, so his tractor was in high demand with other families renting it.

"This afternoon or tomorrow."

"Then this afternoon it is! Come over and get it when you’re ready to use it!" Jiang Jianguo said.

"Alright, thanks a lot."

Li Xiang found a large vat, poured the rice seeds in, filled it with water, and covered it with a lid.

This was the "seed soaking" step in rice cultivation. During this period, the seeds needed to be stirred and the water changed daily. Germination is most effective when the seeds have absorbed water equal to 30-40% of their weight.

When he went to borrow the tractor that afternoon, he didn’t go empty-handed. He brought two cartons of cigarettes. Jiang Jianguo wasn’t home, and Aunt Jiang refused to take them, so Li Xiang just tossed them onto the living room table and took off with the tractor.

"This kid... he’s only farming such a small plot, and he brings such expensive cigarettes," Aunt Jiang said, feeling helpless.

When Li Xiang worked, he naturally had to livestream it. He set up his phone by the edge of the field and put on his tactical camera helmet. Since the three girls were too busy to get away, he had no choice but to switch to solo mode again.

In Sichuan Province, mid-season rice is usually sown from mid-April to late May and harvested around mid-to-late September. Li Xiang wasn’t too late.

Last year, his granny had only planted late-season rice on about seventy or eighty percent of a mu. This year, with Li Xiang home and plenty of fields lying fallow, he planned to plant two seasons.

The timing for mid-season and late-season rice overlaps, so the two crops couldn’t be planted in the same paddy field.

It was a shame, really. Many of the fields in Li Family Village were now uncultivated. Because they were in a mountainous area, the plots were scattered here and there, making it impossible to achieve economies of scale, so no professional agricultural cooperatives were interested in renting them.

If you were to plant two seasons in the same paddy field, you’d have to plant early-season rice first, then immediately rush to plant the late-season crop right after the first harvest. This process was called the "double rush." Threshing the first harvest and transplanting the second would happen in a frantic, overlapping sequence.

This work took place in the height of summer and was both scorching hot and grueling. The Chinese character for "rush," *qiǎng*, alone was enough to convey the frantic pace and intense labor involved.

With mechanization, it might be a bit better now. But in the past, it was all manual labor. Under a blazing sun so hot it felt like it could melt gold, people toiled in the paddy fields from dawn till dusk. Meals were eaten right at the edge of the fields, with one person sent back to cook and bring the food. Only those who have experienced it can truly understand that kind of hardship.

Some people who read the poem line "Hoeing the millet at high noon" wonder why farmers would work specifically at noon. Couldn’t they work in the morning or evening? Were they just looking for hardship? What they don’t realize is that farmers worked from morning till night with no break at noon. Besides, the midday sun helped kill the weeds that were turned up.

The people left in Li Family Village now were mostly the elderly and children, who no longer had the stamina for the "double rush." That’s why almost everyone planted only one season, and which season they chose was up to them.

Li Xiang didn’t plant early-season rice because it didn’t taste good.

The mid-season rice he chose this time was a superior long-grain indica variety. He had bought some in town to try before and found the texture to be excellent, so after asking around, he selected seeds of this type.

As for the late-season crop, he planned to plant japonica rice. Sichuan Province had many excellent japonica varieties, known for their large, plump grains, soft and sticky texture, and delicate, fragrant flavor.

During a break from filming, Luo Feifei checked her phone and saw that Li Xiang was live. She secretly logged into her "Top Aunt" account and, SWISH SWISH SWISH, sent a flurry of gifts, pushing the livestream’s popularity even higher.

Still not quite satisfied, she switched to her main Luo Feifei account and unleashed another barrage. Now she was both number one and number two on the leaderboard.

The moment her main account appeared, the livestream’s popularity exploded, and the platform started promoting it heavily.

The viewer count, originally around a hundred thousand, shot past a million after her boost, claiming the top spot across the entire platform.

Someone who stumbled into the stream by accident was completely baffled. "What the hell? Who is this guy? He’s just tilling a paddy field, why are so many people watching? And the gifts keep coming? Is it this easy to make money now?"

Then the person took a closer look. Holy crap! The top gifter was "Little Celestial Immortal" Luo Feifei! They were utterly stunned.

Luo Feifei was gift-bombing a country bumpkin like this?

The user immediately voiced their doubts in the chat. Someone shot back at them, "What country bumpkin? That’s Brother Xiang, a top-ten rural life blogger in the country."

Another person explained, "You obviously don’t follow entertainment news. Go look up who our goddess Feifei is being shipped with lately."

The person went to search online and had to admit they were behind the times. They’d missed just a few days of news and already such huge drama had unfolded.

The most handsome Yin Zhiping in history was driving a tractor to plow a field! And Little Dragon Girl was his top gifter!

What in the world was going on?