According to the description of the black-golden musk deer, over the past couple of days, a strange scent has emerged in Changxi Town.
It's not just the black-golden musk deer that have come down in droves; even some large wild animals have descended from the mountains, but the strange scent that lured them is diffused throughout Changxi Town, making it hard to identify its source.
However, Ansheng didn't smell the strange scent. He even asked the village's dog patrol, but the dogs looked puzzled; obviously, they couldn't smell that peculiar scent.
"If there's anything, come down first and talk about it. We'll definitely help with whatever we can..."
Persuaded by A-Qing's heartfelt words and better conditions for viewing, the black-golden musk deer group agreed to come down from the heavy-eaved roof of the ancestral hall.
The village elders and residents breathed a sigh of relief.
"A-Qing, why don't we make a call and have the Forestry Bureau come and give us a bonus? No need to waste it if it can be used. Besides, our family isn't exactly wealthy..."
Ansheng withdrew his gaze from the dogs and happily suggested to A-Qing.
Rescuing national key protected animals theoretically doesn't come with any cash rewards; it's purely a public welfare act.
Different regions have different guidelines, and in some areas, you can receive subsidies and pennants from the Forestry Bureau, but subsidies require one-off assistance to prevent fraud.
A-Qing had previously handed over a Class 1 fish.
The Forestry Bureau awarded several thousand as living expenses.
Now, handing over so many black-golden musk deer, it could furnish a four-seat new energy car for the family.
"Uh... that's not very ethical, is it?"
Listening to the little fox's mischievous idea, A-Qing looked at the five Forestry Bureau staff squatting by the roadside, smoking with dark circles comparable to pandas.
The Forestry Bureau people had been there the whole time but couldn't do much about the black-golden musk deer.
If they used tranquilizer guns, the deer would fall off the roof.
Using ropes would be even worse; if startled, they might destroy the ancestral hall of the Chen clan, making things more complicated.
"What's wrong with it? Trust me, these black-golden musk deer were all picked up by us on the rooftop!" The little fox mischievously cooed, persuading A-Qing to go along with the mischief.
"No way!"
After thinking it over, A-Qing firmly disagreed and pinched the muzzle of the little fox lying in her mother's arms.
"Blah blah blah—"
The little fox, its muzzle pinched, turned its cooing into a tongue-rolling sound, "Blah blah blah."
Ansheng rolled his eyes: "Blah blah blah!"
After inviting the black-golden musk deer patriarchs down, A-Qing was invited by Old Chen to dine in the ancestral hall, where previously unseen Yu Zhenghong was also present. A group of elders held hands to prevent the black-golden musk deer from knocking over the ancestral tablets.
"A-Qing! Quickly! The lychee pork is here; pour some mustard soy sauce into a bowl for me with the plain-boiled squid."
"I don't want pickled vegetables and pork rib soup; throw that plate of stewed winter melon with clams at Old Deng's face."
Ansheng, not very eager to work, was very eager about the meal, sitting in a high chair, gazing at the dishes on the table, patting A-Qing on the shoulder to ask for help.
However.
Upon seeing the clams, Ansheng's face showed a disdainful expression.
In Xia Dong's home-cooked dishes, clams were a highlight—sautéed loofah with clams, steamed eggs with clams, winter melon and clam soup—all involved eating sand...
Ansheng had a deep hatred for clams, always coming back from Xia Dong after sampling the clams and feeling nauseated, nearly breaking his teeth.
"Here, A-Qing, have a drink; we managed to preserve the ancestral hall's roof thanks to your help." At the dining table, Old Chen raised a cup of tea to toast A-Qing.
A-Qing picked up a cola in response.
Then, some uncles came over, asking A-Qing to help out at the tea factory.
No need to do much, just face the machine-harvested tea leaves and shout a bit, checking for any venomous snakes.
Due to various reasons, lower-value summer and autumn teas are machine-harvested—a large bag, covered with a tea-picking machine, cuts across a mountain, saving labor.
The downside is that machine-harvesting often sweeps in Bamboo Leaf Green Snakes, Five-step Snakes, and other venomous snakes into the large bags. Every year, come the processing of drying or frying the leaves, people get bitten.
Manual picking can avoid this but is too costly, only used for high-value tea leaves, or during spring tea and Tieguanyin autumn tea.
The wages for tea pickers are six to seven hundred a day, with three meals included.
Though it seems like a high wage, the work time is only forty to sixty days a year, and the workload is heavy.
To fully rely on manual labor, the price of daily-consumption tea would skyrocket.
"A-Qing, I'm full now, I'm going out with Lai Foo and them to walk around; can you hand me that drumstick?"
Taking advantage of A-Qing talking with the uncles, Ansheng eagerly devoured the meaty dishes on the plate, rubbing his round belly afterward, and mentioned to A-Qing his plan to go out and play.
Though, it couldn't entirely be called playing.
Ansheng planned to visit Lin Ying, not having seen her in a while, not knowing how she's been.
If things still weren't looking good, he'd take Lin Ying to Xia Dong's Security Bureau to get a few bottles of Spirit Particle Potion.
Causing some ruckus is better than being sullen.
"Lai Foo! I brought you half a chicken and two eggs to nourish yourself."
Ansheng leisurely returned to his own home with a takeaway box from the ancestral hall, quickly clambering onto the wall, shouting toward the flat roof next door.
"Howl?"
Lai Foo, gradually regaining its weight, poked its head out from its doghouse. The Labrador's characteristic worried expression slowly relaxed, with a joyous face, wagging its steel-like tail to greet Master Fu Li.
"Woof woof woof—"
Having not seen his friend for a while, Lai Foo was very excited to see him return with something in hand.
"I've packed some food for you. Tonight, we gather the dog patrol to patrol the territory!" Ansheng placed the takeaway box in Lai Foo's house, promising to go for a stroll together that night to earn some Wish Power Value.
"Woof woof woof!" Lai Foo, munching on a big chicken drumstick, responded to Master Fu Li.
"Alright, don't wander off tonight."
Ansheng jumped off the wall onto the asphalt road, walking along the road toward Lin Ying's house, entering through his own dedicated gate by face recognition.
Lin Ying's garden hadn't changed much, except the koi in the swimming pool had turned into pigs.
Ansheng stepped along the poolside, knocked on the door, and the maid inside was startled, but upon seeing Master Fu Li back, she immediately rushed to open the door and greeted, "Welcome home, Master Fu Li."
"We received a call from Housekeeper Lin this morning, informing us of your return; Miss Lin is in her room."
"Hee—"
Ansheng responded and happily went upstairs, saying, "Lin Ying, Lin Ying, I'm here to play! Would you like some afternoon tea?"
After squeezing through the door.
"Huh? What are you doing?" Entering Lin Ying's room, Ansheng's face showed an expression of surprise.
Lin Ying was clad in a body suit, standing with her arms outstretched in front of a full-length mirror, while two women in suits wearing denim aprons took measurements like bust size around her body.
"Customizing and fitting the dress," Lin Ying said with a hint of a smile to Master Fu Li.
"Dress customization?" Ansheng was full of curiosity, seeing such a scene for the first time.