My Demon Friends-Chapter 526 - 505: There are Guests Coming
A few more plots of land had been cultivated. The winter wheat was still short, but the peas and lettuce were already growing well. The rapeseed was also doing alright, and various other crops looked lush and green.
Many more ornamental plants had been added. Previously, Zheng Zhilan had only planted flowers in front of the yard and along the paths, but now they filled all visible areas around the entrance. Zhou Li could only recognize a few common types. Unfortunately, most plants were not flowering or were even dried up during this time of year. If he were to return in spring or summer, it would certainly be a beautiful sight.
Many more fruit trees had been added, mostly bare now, but they too would look beautiful with blossoms in the spring.
There was also a newly built sheepfold in the distance.
Zhou Li withdrew his gaze and said softly, "This place has become even prettier..."
"Thanks to you," said Zheng Zhilan.
"What does it have to do with me? It’s all your hard work," Zhou Li couldn’t help but smile. He thought that for them, personally transforming their home into an idyllic retreat tailored to their own desires must be a very interesting and fulfilling endeavor, much like those estate-building or casual farming games. So he asked, "Was that whole process a lot of fun?"
"It was quite enjoyable," Zheng Zhilan replied honestly. "Especially when planting trees and flowers, we would discuss what to plant and where it would look nice. Xing Hui and Lord Ji Bai loved figuring those things out the most."
"No wonder it looks so artistic..." Zhou Li struggled for the right words. "In any case, it definitely has a sense of design."
"Just a casual effort," Ji Bai said humbly.
"Then all we could do was the manual labor," Xiao Yuan chuckled good-naturedly.
"They contributed a lot," Xing Hui remarked.
"Actually, to be precise, *he* did most of the work," Lao Hui said, upright and honest, firmly refusing any credit that wasn’t his. "Most of the time, I just sat by and watched."
"You all get along so well," Zhou Li smiled again.
"Someone else is coming," Xing Hui suddenly turned his head towards the distance, in the direction of another path up and down the mountain. "The last time we had guests here was two months ago, wasn’t it?"
"Two months ago?" Zhou Li asked, puzzled.
"They seem like people from the government," Xing Hui declared.
"They were from the government, poverty alleviation workers, persuading me to move down the mountain," Zheng Zhilan explained softly. "They’ve been here before, many times, and each time they brought me oil and rice."
"They really go to a lot of trouble."
"I felt quite embarrassed, so I gave them two jars of the Autumn Pear Paste I’d made."
"How do you make Autumn Pear Paste?"
"I didn’t use autumn pears because I couldn’t find any. I used ordinary pears bought from down the mountain. You just grind them up..."
Zheng Zhilan’s explanation had just begun when the landline phone inside suddenly rang. She glanced at Zhou Li, hesitated momentarily, and said, "It’s likely one of my uncles or aunts. They called before, saying they would visit me since they didn’t come for New Year’s visits last year."
As she spoke, she turned and walked inside.
With a soft POOF! Huai Xu appeared beside Zhou Li. He had just run off to bother Qinghe and now, yawning, he said, "Three people. A family of three."
Zhou Li nodded.
Then Huai Xu immediately disappeared again.
Shortly after, Zheng Zhilan came out and told them, "It’s my youngest paternal uncle and his wife, and my little cousin. They’re coming to see me and are almost here."
"Then we’ll take our leave for now," Xing Hui replied.
"Oh, then we’ll head back too," Xiao Yuan added.
"I’ll come play with you guys later," Zhou Li said.
"We await your esteemed presence!" Xing Hui bowed slightly.
"Great! Lao Hui and I will treat you to pine nuts and walnuts!" Xiao Yuan said happily.
"Good."
The four demons departed one after another.
Zhou Li and Zheng Zhilan stood at the doorway, and Zheng Zhilan continued explaining softly, "You grind them up, filter the mixture, and then just keep simmering it. Normally, people add some medicinal herbs and other things, but I think it tastes worse with them. I just added honey. Once it’s made, you can store it in the refrigerator for a very long time."
"It sounds very simple."
"It is simple, just time-consuming. There used to be an old lady in the village who loved making it; I heard her husband loved to eat it." Zheng Zhilan turned her head to look at the spot not far off that had been buried by a mudslide.
"Constant simmering... Does it take a long time?"
"It takes at least five or six hours to simmer the liquid down into a paste," Zheng Zhilan said. "I still have a few jars. I’ll let you try some later."
"That long? Do you still make it?"
"No, I don’t make it anymore. Besides, I’m out of pears."
"I see..."
Zhou Li couldn’t help but feel quite regretful about this. He was silent for a moment before asking about Zheng Zhilan’s relatives, "Did your relatives visit you every year before?"
"They might come during the New Year. Sometimes they would come and stay for a day or two, sometimes they would take me to their homes to stay for a day or two, and other times, if I went to the city, I would visit them if it was on my way," Zheng Zhilan said calmly. "But those who lived out of town wouldn’t."
"That sounds quite nice."
"They are all very good people."
"I see..."
Zhou Li had already seen two figures walking along the small path, one of them a man carrying a child on his back.
Zheng Zhilan had mentioned before that her uncles had been prepared to take her down the mountain to live with them, and this certainly wasn’t just them being polite. Perhaps her uncles weren’t motivated solely by affection for her; it might also have been due to being constrained by morality and conscience, or perhaps a decision they made through gritted teeth. But regardless, they did have that intention. The current Miss Zheng wasn’t a burden to them. And Miss Zheng was, without a doubt, a very charming girl. As her relatives, Zhou Li couldn’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t like her.
The figures drew closer.
Zhou Li heard the woman quietly telling the boy to get down and walk on his own, so the two figures became three.
Miss Zheng took a couple of steps forward, by way of greeting.
"Youngest Uncle, Youngest Aunt, Zi Hao."
"Lanlan, long time no see! Zi Hao, quickly, call her Sister Lanlan," the woman called out. Then she noticed Zhou Li, her eyes lighting up. "Oh my, and who is this young man?"
"Sister Lanlan~~"
"Um... he’s my friend, visiting me during the holiday," Zheng Zhilan paused, then added, "There are two others as well."
"Hello, Uncle and Aunt. Just call me Xiao Zhou, that’s fine."
"A friend? Friends are good!"
Miss Zheng’s uncle and aunt exchanged a glance. Then the uncle said, "Having friends is a good thing. I’ve long wanted to tell you that you should make more friends. Otherwise, finding a husband in the future won’t be easy. But I was also worried that with your eyesight, you might be deceived and get hurt... Oh dear, it seems we’ve come at a bad time, disturbing you young people’s enjoyment."
He was reminding Miss Zheng to be careful, implying Zhou Li might be a swindler. After all, considering Miss Zheng’s visual impairment and her isolated life deep in the mountains, the sudden appearance of several friends was indeed rather unusual.
Zheng Zhilan nodded, acknowledging his concern.
Zhou Li stood quietly to the side.
Just then, Brother Nan also came out after her shower, wiping her hair with a towel, still orbited by Tuanzi like a satellite.
The little boy, whose gaze had been lingering on the dogs—wanting to pet them but afraid of being bitten—immediately let out a "WOW!" upon seeing Tuanzi. Lord Dumpling was much cuter than the big dogs and didn’t look aggressive at all. So, the boy immediately had the urge to grab Tuanzi, but his mother held him back.
"Kitty! Little cat!"
"Don’t just touch it..."
The uncle and aunt relaxed their guard somewhat.
After all, Zhou Li and Brother Nan both looked young, Brother Nan was a girl, and they were both quite attractive. All things considered, the probability that they harbored ill intentions toward their niece was actually very low.
Then they saw Huai Xu...
Their wariness vanished completely.
