My Demon Friends-Chapter 531 - 510 Morning

Main Hall.

Auntie sat on a high bench, fussing over Zheng Zihao's collar. As she tidied it, she grumbled that his uncle couldn't even dress the boy properly, having stuffed the collar inside his clothes.

Zhou Li sat down opposite her, behaving very well.

Auntie stopped her grumbling and looked up at him with a smile. "Where are you studying?"

"Chunming."

"Oh, Chunming... Which school?"

"Caiyun University."

"That's a good university!"

"It's alright."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"I have a younger brother."

"Your brother is studying..."

"He's a year below me, also a freshman."

"Where does he study?"

"Tsinghua University."

"Whoa, that's incredible!"

"Yes, he's more capable than I am."

"You're very capable too, very capable..."

"I'm not really."

Although Zhou Li had always been somewhat reclusive, he'd experienced many such conversations. Old Zhou's business acquaintances loved to ask him these kinds of questions, which he found intensely annoying. It seemed that elders all over the country enjoyed posing these sorts of questions to young people they didn't know.

"Are the three of you from the same university?"

Zhou Li's ears twitched. He heard Brother Nan's characteristic footsteps approaching from behind but maintained a calm expression and a gentle tone as he continued, "We went to the same high school too."

"That's great! Are you on break now?"

A hand reached out from behind Zhou Li and rested on his neck. It felt as if it were seeking warmth, yet the hand itself was very warm, even warmer than his neck.

Zheng Zihao, who had been leaning on Auntie's legs, saw this and immediately ran over. He went behind Zhou Li and, copying how Zhou Li and Miss Zheng addressed Brother Nan, called out, "Brother Nan!" He seemed to have already forgotten last night's incident.

Zhou Li said, his expression unchanging, "Our break started a few days ago. We returned to Yan City overnight."

"That's quite early then."

"Yes."

Then Brother Nan's voice came from behind him. "The weather's really nice today. The sun came out early this morning."

Auntie nodded in response. "The weather has been great these past few days. It's rare to see the sun in the city, but lately, it has shone every day, though only for a few hours around noon and in the afternoon. It's different on the mountain, though. This winter, we've had sun eight out of ten days, from dawn till dusk."

"Plenty of sunshine makes the fruit sweet," Brother Nan commented with a laugh that was pleasant to hear. "Little Zheng has planted a lot of fruit trees recently."

"Exactly! When the fruit ripens next year, I'll bring Zheng Zihao here again to pick some," Auntie also chuckled.

"That's lovely," Brother Nan continued with a smile. "Homegrown fruit is all-natural and safe. Plus, fruit grown on this mountain might even be sweeter than what you buy elsewhere. It's also a chance to come and see Little Zheng."

"Absolutely!" Auntie's thoughts were perfectly captured by Brother Nan's words. "You all should come more often too! Whenever there's ripe fruit, just come. Don't worry about it; pick a big bag, pick three big bags to take back! Zheng Zhilan is here by herself, she can't eat it all anyway. Better it rots in our bellies than on the ground!"

"I like that saying: 'Better it rots in our bellies than on the ground!'"

"Isn't that right?"

The two chatted back and forth animatedly. During this time, Brother Nan's hand remained on Zhou Li's neck, forcing him to sit still, not daring to move.

Unlike Auntie's earlier interrogation of Zhou Li, the current topics were undoubtedly much more interesting, and Auntie's demeanor was completely different. Guided by Brother Nan, their conversation shifted through several other subjects. All were very down-to-earth and transitioned seamlessly. Zhou Li didn't even understand some of them, like the single-child subsidy or ancestral homestead land, but Auntie was clearly very interested.

They chatted so enthusiastically, with such effortless communication, that Zhou Li almost believed Brother Nan had forgotten about the earlier incident.

"Mommy~~ I'm hungry."

"Hungry, are you? I'll go check if the noodles are ready."

Auntie nodded at Brother Nan with a smile and went inside.

Zhou Li also stood up promptly, intending to silently follow her. But after just two steps, Brother Nan grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, pulled him back, and forcibly pushed him back down onto the bench.

Then, the hand on his neck began to tighten its grip.

"Where are you going?"

"I was going to check if the noodles are ready yet."

"You're hungry too?"

"Zheng Zihao is hungry." Zhou Li glanced upward, stealing a peek at Brother Nan's expression. After a brief silence, he said, "Brother Nan, you're amazing. Thank you for stepping in earlier."

"Huh?"

"Before you came out, I was dying of embarrassment. I didn't know what to say," Zhou Li admitted honestly, giving Brother Nan a puzzled look. "How can you chat so easily with everyone? And how do you always know what topics will interest them?"

"Well, well, your own skills at changing the subject aren't too shabby either!" Brother Nan said with a grin.

"..."

Zhou Li felt the pressure on his neck and fell silent again. Then, he placed his own hand on the back of Brother Nan's. Brother Nan's hand wasn't as warm as before, so Zhou Li said, "It's gotten cold. Why do your hands get cold so easily? You should tuck them into your jacket sleeves."

"I'm going to strangle you!"

"?"

How did that backfire?

Zhou Li furrowed his brow, utterly puzzled.

Fortunately, just then, Uncle emerged from inside carrying a large basin of noodles. Only then did Brother Nan release Zhou Li's neck, though not without giving him a threatening look.

Zhou Li turned his head away and stood up. "I'll go get some bowls."

"Someone's already getting them," Uncle said.

"Oh."

Breakfast was egg noodles. The eggs were fried in lard, and salt was added to the noodles as they boiled. Pea shoots and a sprinkle of chopped green onions completed the dish. Even served simply like this, it was salty, savory, and full of flavor. Huai Xu, for example, added nothing extra. He held a large basin of noodles and ate with gusto, SLURP, SLURP, taking huge mouthfuls. He ate so heartily it seemed to grant a continuous 'good appetite' buff to everyone around.

Zhou Li usually couldn't be bothered to add anything extra. However, when he saw Brother Nan add leftover green pepper chicken from last night to his bowl, creating an instant bowl of green pepper chicken noodles, Zhou Li immediately followed suit.

Then Brother Nan took his bowl and went to sit by the doorway to eat. Zhou Li again followed his example, sitting down next to him.

It was still early. The morning mist on the mountain had not yet dispersed and lay thick in the valleys. Pale golden sunlight shone on the rising mist, a sight that seemed to further whet the appetite.

Brother Nan glanced at him sideways, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"Brother Nan, do you eat pea shoots?"

"Hm?"

"I'll give you some of mine."

"You're not eating them?"

"You have them."

"Thoughtful."

So Brother Nan held out his bowl, watching as Zhou Li transferred the pea shoots into it. Brother Nan smacked his lips. "These mountain pea shoots seem tastier than the ones from down the hill."

"It's because the temperature is lower up here."

"Oh?"

"You'd know if you skipped fewer classes," Zhou Li explained. "Some vegetables produce maltase in low temperatures to protect themselves from freezing, which makes them taste sweet. Our plant physiology professor talked about this. The classic example is cabbage. As the saying goes, frost-bitten cabbages..."

"Shut up."

"Okay."

"Pick some more tomorrow."

"Got it." Zhou Li nodded obediently. "There's still a lot left. But I think I saw one that was flowering. Can you still eat them after they've flowered?"

"Oh, so now you're asking me? Aren't you the expert? Go look it up in your textbooks."

"Stingy."

"You're the stingy one!"

"..."

Zhou Li focused on eating his noodles, not engaging with Brother Nan any further.

After breakfast, there was no time to rest. Once the dishes were washed, Zheng Zhilan had to feed her various animals, which ranged from large ones like cows and horses to small ones like quail, with plenty of other poultry and livestock in between. This kept them quite busy. It would be even more hectic during the peak farming season.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan followed her for a while. After returning, they rested briefly before it was time to start preparing lunch.