RIIDMDR chapter 53

 

The two sisters of the Mermaid Demon Clan didn’t even eat breakfast the next morning before telling Nan Xu they were leaving. Nan Xu was puzzled, but, seeing how hurried they were, he held back his questions, said goodbye, and saw them off at the courtyard gate.

Tingchuan returned from watering the vegetable patch behind the house with a bucket. He glanced briefly at the two sisters before turning to ask Nan Xu, “What are you having for breakfast?”

The brief argument from the previous night had been forgotten by both of them. Nan Xu, who was squatting by the well brushing his teeth, thought for a moment and said, “Let’s cook some noodles! We’ll have sour soup noodles this morning!”

Tingchuan always had countless breakfast recipes, and since he was in charge of food, he didn’t have any objections. He nodded and went to the warehouse to get flour for Nan Xu.

The sour and spicy noodles in the soup were appetizing, and the simple breakfast left the three of them satisfied. Afterward, Zhixing washed the dishes while Nan Xu found the soapberries he had brought back yesterday in the yard and began preparing soap.

He opened the soap recipe on the system and read it word for word before beginning to prepare the soapberries. He split the flesh with a knife, removed the black core, and boiled the flesh in a ceramic pot, filtering the juice.

Nan Xu was busy in the yard making alkali from wood ash water when Guan’er, who had been sleeping on his stomach, suddenly pricked up his ears and ran out.

Nanxu looked on in confusion. A minute later, when Guan’er still hadn’t returned, Nan Xu was about to get up and check when he heard a child’s silvery laughter in the distance. He washed his hands, stood up, and headed for the courtyard gate.

Just as he reached the gate, a group of people appeared outside.

“Brother,” Xu Le greeted Nan Xu, holding Guan’er.

Nan Xu smiled and said, “I heard your voice before I saw you. I could hear your laughter from far away.”

Xu Le grinned brilliantly. Accompanied by a tribesman, Xu Ji worked with him to carry a large showcase.

“Innkeeper, do you think this showcase is what you wanted?” Xu Ji asked.

Nan Xu invited them into the courtyard and walked around the cabinet twice, nodding his head. The canine tribe’s carpentry skills were exceptional. They finished the cabinet in just a few days. From its size to its door design, everything was to Nan Xu’s liking. It was practically the upgraded cabinet he’d been dreaming of.

“Yes, it’s even better than I expected. Thank you for your hard work, Brother Xu Ji,” Nan Xu said with delight.

He was already mentally imagining which pottery jar would go in which compartment, and he didn’t even notice that while he was calling Xu Ji “Brother,” Xu Le had also called him “Brother,” effectively arguing with the father and son.

Seeing Nan Xu’s delight, Xu Ji breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as the owner likes it, I’m glad. Senior Tingchuan gave us detailed instructions. It’s a job we often do, so it doesn’t take much effort.”

Saying this beautifully crafted cabinet wasn’t labor-intensive was simply being polite. Mindful of Xu Ji’s hard work, Nan Xu didn’t bother with the false politeness. He asked Xu Ji to lend a hand, and together, they carried the enormous cabinet into the main room.

The shabby shelf was discarded. With the large cabinet installed against the wall, the entire room looked much better. Beautiful furniture truly boosts happiness.

A pile of bottles and jars filled with various items fit perfectly inside. With the cabinet door closed, the bottles and jars did not fall out, and everything inside was clearly visible. Tingchuan’s idea was a good one.

After arranging the items, Nan Xu admired them for a moment. Seeing that it was almost noon, he invited the three members of the Dog Tribe to join him for lunch.

Xu Ji wanted to decline, but Nan Xu didn’t give him the chance. It was August, the hottest time of the year. They hadn’t suffered so much in the morning, but returning at noon would have been difficult even for a demon to endure the scorching sun.

Whenever Tingchuan went out, he always brought back food. Now, the courtyard’s eaves were lined with food, always ready for guests. While Nan Xu cooked, Zhixing came over to help. Perhaps because he wasn’t used to being around others, he felt awkward. Considering his naturally inherited social anxiety, Nan Xu sent him to feed the chicks instead.

The chicks weren’t in the coop, so they didn’t need to be fed. They were free-range now. They returned to the coop behind the house at night but could be found anywhere around the courtyard during the day. Foraging for their own food had become a habit.

To prevent the chicks from robbing his vegetable patch and crops, Nan Xu recently had the two wild boar demon brothers chop down a lot of bamboo to build a fence and block any potential advances.

Having the wild boar demon brothers do the hard labor saved Nan Xu a lot of work. Furthermore, due to some resentment from previous disagreements, Nan Xu didn’t consider them family yet. He didn’t feel any pity or guilt about having them do hard work like he did with Tingchuan and Zhixing.

Meanwhile, Xu Le and Guan’er were playing a lively game of tag in the yard. The canine man who had come with Xu Ji and Xu Le was planing wood in the shade of the courtyard. After Zhi Xing left, Xu Ji felt bad about Nan Xu working alone in the kitchen on such a hot day. He took Zhi Xing’s place, helping out by carrying dishes and washing vegetables.

“I think you’ve all settled in now. Have all the members of your tribe adapted to the Zhuyu Mountains?” Nan Xu asked.

Xu Ji smiled as he thought about how peaceful and comfortable everyone’s life was these days. He replied, “The mountains here are picturesque, and the valleys are fertile. We live very comfortably here and are all very grateful to you, our owner. When they heard that I was coming up the mountain again, they all wanted to follow me to express their thanks.”

Nan Xu said, “Then let’s wait until the weather is cooler and come up together. When the vegetables are ripe, I’ll cook some new dishes and we can all have a great time.”

“That’s great! I’ll be glad to bother you, the owner,” Xu Ji said.

Nan Xu had a favorable impression of the canine tribe, not only because of their initial acquaintance but also because they had always been friendly and grateful to him in subsequent encounters. Furthermore, the tribe had lived in the mountains for a long time, and the system hadn’t given them a negative evaluation, indicating that they were living peacefully in the valley as agreed and had no ulterior motives.

“Why bother? I live in the mountains, and you live in the valley. Although we’re a bit far apart, we’re still neighbors,” Nan Xu said.

Xu Ji handed Nan Xu the washed cabbage and, remembering something, said, “Last time, Senior Tingchuan passed by our valley and told us there were many wild ducks in the river valley. He also gave us some duck eggs and explained some incubation techniques. He said the owner was ingenious and had already hatched quite a few chicks using this method. The eggs are still pretty good, and I think they’ll hatch some ducklings soon.”

Nan Xu was surprised to hear this. He hadn’t expected them to accomplish what he hadn’t. The mountain wasn’t suitable for raising ducks; the valley where they lived was flat and had plenty of water.

However, Tingchuan wasn’t the meddlesome type who cared about other people’s business. He had specifically mentioned the ducks to Xuji, presumably hinting that they should raise them. But that couldn’t possibly be a way to improve the survival of the Dog Tribe.

As Nanxu compared the time of the incident with Xuji, he suddenly recalled that afternoon after eating duck when Tingchuan had calmly said under the tree, “If we can’t raise them, forget it. What’s the big deal?”

Recalling how he’d asked the canine tribe to raise the ducks, Nanxu naturally added the final sentence Tingchuan hadn’t said: “If we can’t raise them in the mountains, we can raise them in the valley.”

At the time, Nanxu had retorted, but now it seemed he had been too stingy and had wronged Tingchuan.

“That’s good. The valley has plenty of water. If you want to raise poultry, ducks are the easiest,” Nanxu said.

Ducks can forage for themselves in shallow water, so Xu Ji wouldn’t need to spend much time or effort finding food for them.

Xu Ji nodded and said, “That’s right. Later, my tribesmen saw this and went to the riverbank to collect some duck eggs to hatch. If every household in the tribe raises a few, it will be quite lively.”

Nan Xu thought about the ducks cawing in the valley, amused. Besides, if they raised more ducks, he would have enough money to buy duck eggs later. Even before the ducks hatched, Nan Xu was already savoring the taste of golden, juicy, salty duck eggs.

Perhaps because Tingchuan was a picky eater, Nan Xu subconsciously recorded the seasoning ratios and cooking times for each dish. His cooking skills improved day by day, and the guests thoroughly enjoyed their lunch.

After dinner, Nan Xu rummaged through the cabinets and pulled out a small bottle. He scooped two spoonfuls into a cup, rinsed it with water, and served it to everyone.

Xu Le took a sip from the cup, his eyes brightening as he smacked his lips. “Brother, what’s this? It’s so sweet and delicious!”

Nan Xu had just pulled a small clay pot from the warehouse. Upon hearing the question, he smiled and replied, “Loquat jam in water. Sweet and soothing.”

Xu Le’s gaze drifted to the loquat tree in the courtyard. Before dinner, his brother, Zhixing, had picked a few loquats for him from the tree. They were sweet, but their taste was different from that of the water in the cup. Whenever he came to the mountains, the owner always managed to conjure up delicious or interesting food. So, whenever his father went up the mountain, he always followed.

“My brother is amazing,” he murmured to himself.

Nan Xu’s hearing had improved greatly. He clearly heard the children mumbling and smiled. “If you like it, I’ll bring you two cans when you come down the mountain later.”

Xu Le was delighted by the offer but felt embarrassed to accept it. He pursed his lips and smiled. “No, I’ve already had some at my brother’s.”

Nan Xu said, “You drank it, but your mother and the other brothers in the clan didn’t. Take it with you. There are still plenty of loquats on the tree. It’s just a matter of burning some firewood.”

Seeing that Xu Le was still hesitant, Nan Xu said, “If you still feel bad, come up the mountain and help me gather firewood when you have time.”

Xu Le had always wanted to do this, and now that Nan Xu had offered, he was tempted. He nodded vigorously and said, “Then I’ll gather the biggest and thickest firewood for you.”

Nan Xu laughed heartily. He truly thought the children of the demon world were adorable. Although they sounded like they lived for a hundred or two hundred years, many demons took over a hundred years just to transform. After that, they learned survival skills much faster than human children learned to speak and walk.

In other words, all races were relatively equal. Demons had longer lifespans, but they developed mentally much more slowly than humans did.

“Okay, we’ll discuss this once the cooler autumn weather arrives,” Nan Xu replied.

The midday heat was intense, and the forest hummed with cicadas in the distance. Tingchuan and Zhixing closed their eyes for a nap in their recliners. After drinking some loquat syrup, Xu Le soon fell asleep with his dog in his arms. However, the two adult demons of the Canine Tribe didn’t have the habit of napping. Xu Ji saw Nan Xu brewing soap fruit. After asking about it, he took over the molding job. Taking a few pieces of wood, he sat in the shade of a tree to carve. Another Canine man continued his carpentry work.

Nan Xu had originally planned to use a thick bamboo tube as a mold. He would split the bamboo and cut the soap after it solidified. But Xu Ji offered to help him make the mold. Remembering Xu Ji’s exquisite carpentry skills, Nan Xu had an idea. While demons could use the Purification Ring, it still consumed spiritual energy. Soap was a novelty to them. If it was beautifully made, it could be displayed in the window to attract guests.

By the time Nan Xu finished mixing the alkaline water, oil, and water from the soap fruit one busy afternoon, Xu Ji had already finished four or five soap molds.

Nan Xu picked one up and examined it. The design was his idea, based on cartoons he had seen before. Perhaps it was due to racial differences, though. His vision of adorable kittens, tigers, and hedgehogs was vivid and lifelike. He began to wonder if the problem lay in his description.

The mold itself was quite beautiful and far superior to Nan Xu’s initial idea of pouring the soap directly into a bamboo tube. His pot wasn’t very large, so he could only make about ten soaps at a time. After filling five molds, he poured the remaining soap directly into a bamboo tube.