A Single Flower Of The Village - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

There really was a hot pot restaurant besides Haidilao that opened in the early morning, hidden at the end of a very old street and alley. The environment was very crude. Ruan Jingluo, who had followed along for some inexplicable reason, sat down and was startled to realize that there were quite a few people inside the small shop, only two tables away from being fully packed.

Not knowing why she had been humbugged into coming here, she saw that this crazy woman seemed very familiar with the boss, hearing the boss call the woman Qiuqiu.

“This wouldn’t happen to be a shop owned by one of your relatives, would it?” It was hard not to make such an association.

After entering the room, Lu Shouqiu had put away her oil-paper umbrella and was currently propping up her chin, waiting for the soup base, “Yes, a distant relative.”

As expected, in this world, I am the only poor person, Ruan Jingluo thought with a pout.

She had just eaten glutinous rice and wasn’t hungry now, plus she felt bloated and completely lacked an appetite. She was only interested in the free pickled radish strips on the table, picking them up with her chopsticks to chew slowly in her mouth. Anyway, the woman opposite her had said she was treating, and since she was relatives with the boss, it would be fine even if they didn’t pay for the meal.

She turned her head to look over the menu posted on the wall. The small shop charged per head, 20 yuan per person. Vegetarian dishes were free, all-you-can-eat, while meat dishes were charged separately. The freshly stir-fried soup base already contained meat, so if one didn’t love eating meat very much, 20 yuan was enough for one person to eat until stuffed.

The shop owner personally came to stir-fry the ingredients for their table. The iron wok was set on the stove to render lard, and the fatty pork with skin was cut into thin slices. The rendered lard was used to fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, then a large scoop of the local unique wet fermented black beans was added. It smelled stinky, but the more one ate, the more fragrant it became. Next came a large bowl of pickled chilis, its color bright red like New Year’s firecrackers, sending the spicy aroma straight from the nose to the crown of the head. Finally, a spoonful of secret-recipe fermented black bean chili was added to increase the spiciness and flavor, changing the color from fiery red to sauce red and stir-frying out a rich aroma. Lastly, sliced pork plum meat was added, along with tomato chunks, garlic sprouts, and soft pork lard dregs, before pouring in broth. The small bowls next to it contained freshly prepared dishes, and if there wasn’t enough to eat, more could be added.

Because the fermented black beans themselves were salty, the entire soup base of the fermented black bean hot pot was on the saltier side. The dishes put in were also salty with the spicy aroma of the pickled chilis, making the mouth feel like it was spitting fire. It was just right when paired with steamed white rice. After scooping out the pork belly in the soup base, one could also add cured bacon, braised fatty intestines, potatoes, pea shoots, and bean sprouts.

Lu Shouqiu reached out her chopsticks and scooped, bringing chilis, ginger, and garlic leaves all into her bowl, then mixing them with her life-equivalent chameleon plant.

Not seeing Ruan Jingluo reach her chopsticks into the wok, she opened her innocent eyes, puzzled: “Why aren’t you eating?”

Locals were all very capable of eating spicy food, eating chilis and chameleon plant like they cost no money as a meal. Ruan Jingluo, a genuine northerner, couldn’t get used to the food here when she first arrived in Yunqian. As the years passed, she slowly adapted, but she still couldn’t eat too spicy, and she ugly-rejected chameleon plant. When buying glutinous rice, she specially exhorted the boss not to put chameleon plant. She could never eat this stuff in her life. Seeing this woman take chameleon plant to mix with her rice gave her a face that looked like she wanted to die immediately.

Her face stiffened as she chuckled twice, not answering.

“You don’t eat chameleon plant?” Lu Shouqiu quickly discovered where the problem lay, and at the same time was very puzzled. How could anyone dislike eating chameleon plant?

Ruan Jingluo didn’t want to speak at all, but now she had to say, “Eat yours, why care so much, so idle.”

If tastes are different, it will be hard to get along in the future, Lu Shouqiu worried in her heart, trying to make Ruan Jingluo attempt to accept chameleon plant, “It’s very delicious, taste it, after you fall in love with it, you’ll feel uncomfortable if you miss a meal.”

“Even if I die, it’s impossible for me to fall in love with chameleon plant.” She set her flag right here today.

Lu Shouqiu’s face stiffened, “Ha…”

Then there was nothing to talk about.

“What’s your name, and why do you squat at the office building main entrance every Monday?” After brief contact, this woman didn’t seem to have a mental problem either. Ruan Jingluo suddenly became curious, leaning her upper body forward a bit, letting her thoughts wander to guess, “Your husband cheated, and that mistress works in our office building, you’re here to catch the mistress, right?”

“Lu Shouqiu, acquaintances call me Qiuqiu,” nodding extremely perfunctorily, “Right, right, right…”

Ruan Jingluo was also dazed, actually believing it, and even revealed an ‘as expected, I am the smartest in the world to be able to guess this’ expression. She began to pose as an experienced person to pass on experience, “Are you stupid? That mistress definitely knows who you are, how could she let you catch her? She’d drive straight into the underground garage and take the elevator up from inside, what ghost are you catching? No wonder your husband cheated, with your stupid look, how can you play against that pair of bstard couple.”

There was no more meat in the wok. Lu Shouqiu poured three plates of braised fatty intestines inside, responding while eating: “Yes, yes, yes… everything you say is right, I’m stupid, I deserve it,” she scooped up a chopstick-ful of scalded pea shoots, “The vegetables are all cooked, are you sure you won’t eat?”

Ruan Jingluo felt frustrated by her lack of resolve, “You actually still have the mood to eat hot pot, your husband is warming someone else.”

“Then what do you say I should do?” Lu Shouqiu asked open-mindedly for guidance.

“Stupid, of course it’s to collect evidence of his cheating, then file for divorce, demand the scumbag leave the house empty-handed, and recover the money the scumbag spent on the mistress, that is joint marital property.”

Speaking logically, as if she had experience in this area, Lu Shouqiu was suspicious, “You know so much? Divorced before?”

She had asked someone to check Ruan Jingluo’s profile, she was unmarried.

Ruan Jingluo immediately withdrew her expression, returning to that cynical face from the beginning, saying impatiently: “Am I close to you? Why should I tell you.”

So moody, anyone else wouldn’t be able to stand her dog temper, but Lu Shouqiu was not a human, it didn’t matter. Her emotions were extremely stable. Seeing that Ruan Jingluo had no interest in the hot pot, she asked the boss for a can of chilled hawthorn juice.

“Eating too much glutinous rice hits the stomach, drink a bit of this to help digestion, it also relieves greasiness.” When handing it over, she even popped open the pull tab of the can, very thoughtful.

Where could one find such a good boss like her? Hurry up and come to the farm to help her guard the main gate.

Ruan Jingluo, who had always lived like a bitter melon, gripped this can of hawthorn juice. Her fingertips were chilled to numbness by the cold seeping from the can wall, yet she didn’t let go. She tilted her head to stare at the corner, no longer bickering with Lu Shouqiu with bared fangs and brandished claws, but sitting quietly, waiting for Lu Shouqiu to finish this hot pot meal.

The braised fatty intestines of this shop were very delicious. Biting down, they were full of chewiness, yet didn’t feel very hard to bite. There was a bit of soft chewiness within the chewiness. The braised sauce had a rich aroma, which was the boss’s exclusive secret recipe, unavailable outside. When leaving, Lu Shouqiu additionally packed ten portions, half to take back to make Changwang noodles tonight, and the rest for Ruan Jingluo.

“For me???” Ruan Jingluo pointed back at herself, alarm bells ringing majorly in her heart. Offering unearned pocket money meant either deceit or theft. She didn’t believe anyone would be nice to her for no reason, there must be a purpose. This woman named Lu Shouqiu had been very strange from the moment she appeared.

She had been out for a long time today, and having eaten and drunk her fill, Lu Shouqiu had a bit of daytime drowsiness, yawning repeatedly. She shook the five portions of fatty intestines in her hand that hadn’t been taken over yet, and said: “What’s the matter, afraid I’ll poison you to death? It’s not like you didn’t see when the boss packed it, it’s safe. It’s a society ruled by law now, quickly take it, I still have to rush home to sleep, dying of sleepiness~”

Ruan Jingluo, whose dark circles were more exaggerated than panda eyes, didn’t even have the strength to huff out a cold laugh. Take it then, anyway it didn’t cost her money, and she could still eat a meal when she took it back tonight. The braised fatty intestines were quite fragrant, she had smelled it just now, it was just that her stomach was too full and she really couldn’t eat it down.

She took the bag almost as if snatching it, “You better poison me to death.”

Her attitude toward life is too negative, Lu Shouqiu thought secretly. There were many souls she sent off who cried to heaven and earth, unwilling to die, begging her to let them go back because they still had many things they hadn’t had time to do in the human world.

“You won’t die,” at least not before guarding the main gate for me, “Alright, I’m going home, I’ll come find you to play again tomorrow.”

“I’m not as idle as you.” Her hard-saved coffin money was completely compensated away, and she had no capital to allow herself to stop now. The security guard job had to be continued, and she also had to find a way to get some part-time work, otherwise, next month she wouldn’t even be able to bring out the rent.

“Are you short of money?” Lu Shouqiu was like a charlatan who could read minds.

Ruan Jingluo didn’t want to talk to the young lady who didn’t worry about food and drink, carrying the braised fatty intestines and walking away without turning back, without even a word of thanks.

“Hey! I still don’t know your name, new friend.” Lu Shouqiu shouted from behind, though she actually knew.

Ruan Jingluo, who had walked a distance, stopped, took a deep breath with her back to Lu Shouqiu, then pulled her work ID from her pants pocket, turned back, and threw it to Lu Shouqiu.

The latter caught it in a flurry, opened it to look, and on it was Ruan Jingluo’s name and a one-inch photo. Her shoulder-length hair was tied in a small tuft, and what wasn’t tied up was tucked behind her ears, her eyes always revealing an impatience and detachment toward this human world.

After reading it, Lu Shouqiu returned the work ID to her, “The name is so special, ‘a whale falls, ten thousand things status’.”

“An uncultured woman spent ten yuan to ask someone to name it,” mentioning her name, Ruan Jingluo’s tone was full of ridicule. She stuffed the work ID back into her pocket, waved her hand casually, “Going, although I don’t want to say it, still thanks for your braised fatty intestines.”

“This time you’re not afraid of being poisoned to death again?”

“That would also be my fate, I deserve it.”

“Aiya, young people shouldn’t be so pessimistic, your fate is very good.” Being chosen by this Lord, as long as you promise to guard the main gate for me for free, you can immediately welcome the peak of life.

Ruan Jingluo chuckled sarcastically, “Listen to yourself, are you speaking human words?”

“No.” I’m not a human, I’m an evil ghost, ghosts don’t speak human words.

Lu Shouqiu still smiled harmlessly.

Seeing it made Ruan Jingluo particularly want to hit her, but forget it, her wallet couldn’t withstand the load of compensating medical expenses again.

The farm during the day was more bustling than at night, with many living people, and they were all aged grandpas and grandmas who had retirement pensions in hand and nothing to do.

The farm was located in a remote position. If not driving yourself, one had to take the subway, take the bus, and change to a small tricycle to arrive. In order to buy authentic farm food, these grandpas and grandmas traveled back and forth without fearing the hardship every day. Lu Shouqiu admired their eternal perseverance that was unhindered by wind or rain.

She sat on the threshold playing with her phone. Ruan Jingluo’s WeChat had been obtained by her through soft soaking and hard rubbing. She was chatting right now, mostly her single-sided initiative, while Ruan Jingluo only replied with a rolling-eyes emoji, and then vanished, not replying no matter how many messages were sent over, truly like she was dead.

She clicked open Ruan Jingluo’s Moments, a blank slate, she hadn’t posted any updates at all, and even the background picture was the one that came with the system.

En…

This person really wrapped herself up very tightly, not wanting to leave a single memory.

Ferrying souls, she was most afraid of encountering someone like Ruan Jingluo, utterly disheartened to the point of being completely clean, leaving no attachment when alive and not wanting to take away anything after death, having no unfulfilled wishes, and not even having farewell words. Such souls were the hardest to ferry. The return journey had no meaning to them, they only wanted their souls to scatter.

How could this be allowed? If a soul scattered on her territory, it represented her dereliction of duty. As a farm owner whose annual evaluation was always excellent, this was fatal.

“Meow-ao—” The thick-bodied and fat-bellied calico cat leaped down from the roof beam.

Last night, because it accidentally stepped over Lu Shouqiu’s rice bowl, it ran outside to hide for several hours. After ferrying the soul, it slipped to the already closed Immortal Market to catch mice, exhausted to death. It came back to nest on the roof beam to sleep, only waking up when its stomach was hungry, circling around Lu Shouqiu’s calves with its antenna-like tail turned up.

Rice! Rice! This Emperor’s meat mixed rice!

Lu Shouqiu no longer remembered the grudge of that bowl of fried rice last night, and her affection with Calico was still number one in the world. She reached out to scratch the fat belly on the cat’s stomach, “I packed braised fatty intestines from Su Jili’s small shop. When it gets dark, I’ll make Changwang noodles to eat. I haven’t eaten it for a long time, quite miss it. Go to the market to buy a bowl of fresh pig blood back for me now.”

Su Jili was the Kitchen God, who liked to research delicious food, and his ambition was to turn the hot pot restaurant into a chain store renowned nationwide, currently working hard toward this direction.

Calico shook its tail twice. Supposed to be number one affection in the world, why is it always me running errands?

“Meow—”

Lu Shouqiu knew it wasn’t convinced, “Could it be that I should go? It’s too far, my two legs don’t run as fast as your four legs. The stupid donkey is not here either, oh right, where did it go? I haven’t seen it since yesterday.”

There were many small animals in the drum tower. Naming them one by one was too brain-taxing, and she was most afraid of using her brain, so she directly called them by species. The calico cat was called Calico, and the donkey was called Stupid Donkey, because it indeed looked not too smart.

Calico, with two yuan hanging from its neck, was dismissed by Lu Shouqiu to go to the market to buy fresh pig blood.

Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn’t dark yet, she went out to find the Stupid Donkey that hadn’t returned home for a day and a night. It wasn’t that she was worried the donkey would be abducted, but she was afraid this fellow would again steal food from the fields. She didn’t want to be sought out by the agricultural official to settle accounts, saying her donkey spoiled the grain and wanting her to compensate money.

On the way, she encountered a few living people, with big bags and small bags, and the small trailer pulled behind was also full, discussing that the market today actually had fresh pig cake spot, which was the giant grouper well known in the southeastern coastal areas, a giant grouper fish living in the deep sea, with delicious meat and an expensive price.

Wild giant grouper was a key protected aquatic animal in the country, and what was bought and sold on the market was basically artificial cultivation. If one wanted to eat wild giant grouper meat, one could go abroad. It was rumored that a certain country had once captured one weighing up to 200 kilograms, and then sold it to a local Chinese tycoon.

“We are not close to the sea here either, how can the market have such fresh seafood?”

“The stall owner must have supply channels, why care so much, it’s good enough to be able to buy it. Just now so many people were in line, fortunately we came early, those behind us didn’t have such good luck.”

In fact, the farm had a sea, mountains, rivers, and streams, just like the outside world, it was just that the living couldn’t see it.

Immortals weren’t all on duty in the Nine Heavens, many were also ordinary citizens, called immortal citizens. They likewise would marry and have children, and needed to earn money to support their families. The things sold at the market were also cultivated and bred by immortal citizens; the difference lay in that they irrigated with Milky Way water, the taste was a notch better, and the nutritional value was also higher.

What the farm could ferry was not only human souls, birds and beasts were also in the lineup. In the depths where the living couldn’t reach, there were dinosaurs and various beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

The giant grouper sold at the market today was only one of the more ordinary kinds among them. Giant grouper meat was called dragon meat in the human world, possessing extremely strong nourishing efficacy, and ranking alongside it was the golden frog, though the latter was already extinct in the human world.

“Could it be that you still want to eat dragon meat and golden frog” became a joke used in a small number of regions to playfully mock picky eaters.

Every year in the midsummer of July and August, immortal citizens would go to the rice fields to catch golden frogs to bring to the market for sale. Those purchasing included not only the living, but the stall owners of the Ghost Village were also major frog consumers. The fist-sized frogs were golden all over, and even their eyes were a gilded color. The tenderness of the meat was more than ten times that of ordinary frog species, and also because the appearance was unique and beautiful, many living people would rather spend a high price to buy them back as pet frogs than bear to eat them.

Lu Shouqiu found the Stupid Donkey that was stealing rice seedlings in the terraced fields on the side of the Ghost Village. His old self was leisurely indeed, yet it tired Lu Shouqiu half to death. Climbing terraced fields was a nightmare to her. She sat on the field ridge panting for breath, extended a trembling finger, and ordered the Stupid Donkey not to run.

“If you dare to move once, I’ll immediately slaughter you to make donkey meat burger.”

Her daily emotions were very stable, it was just that when she encountered this gang of mischievous troublemakers at home causing trouble, it was hard to control her anger. She hadn’t starved the Stupid Donkey, why did it run out every day to eat other people’s things? Although she was the farm owner, most of the land had already been leased to ghosts and immortal citizens, and the things grown in the fields were not hers. Losses had to be compensated.

The one she raised was a Jinnan donkey, large in body size, with fine and soft fur that shone like black silk under the sunlight. Its temperament was gentle though, never kicking people, allowing itself to be a mount, the only bad thing was being gluttonous.

Many years ago it was still a small donkey, dying from mistakenly eating something at a breeding farm in the human world. Seeing that it was fluffy and its two big eyes flickered very cute and lovely, she then softened her heart to keep it to raise herself, not expecting to raise a gluttonous ghost, running to other people’s fields to steal crops every day. It was happy indeed, but it made it hard for her, compensating away even her underpants.

The Stupid Donkey nuzzled close to her hand, rubbing pleasingly, its two erect big ears moving cleverly. Lu Shouqiu got angry just looking at the fluff growing inside its ears. Saying that ears stuffed with hair can’t hear teachings referred exactly to donkeys. This thing was too capable of angering people. After angering a person to death, it could still open its innocent big eyes to continue acting spoiled and cute.

She climbed up from the field ridge, mounted the donkey’s back, grabbed a handful of thatch to act as a whip, and slapped the donkey’s butt twice.

“Go home!”

The golden crow sank in the west, and fire clouds filled the sky, reflecting the farm into an orange-red color as well.

In the distant grassland, immortal citizens waved long whips to drive herds of cattle and sheep, and two majestic sheepdogs lowered their bodies to follow on both sides, preventing the sheep herd from falling behind.

Lu Shouqiu rode the Stupid Donkey, swaying along the dirt road, humming an ancient Miao ethnic ballad in her mouth.

The gates of the market were about to close, and the living who still wanted to spend money had to move toward the exit full of regret, secretly vowing that tomorrow they must definitely come earlier to grab the goods they wanted.

At dusk, the hexagonal copper lamps on each layer of the drum tower lit up simultaneously. Passing living people were curious about the drum tower, but also felt that the couplet pasted on the drum tower’s main gate was truly unpropitious—”Living people keep away, dead ghosts free of charge.”

According to living people who knew the trade, this drum tower used entirely fir wood, with a unique structure that didn’t need a single nail or rivet, relying completely on fir wood mortise and tenon connections. The roof beams crossed horizontally and vertically, and the eaves layered over each other, looking from afar like a huge fir tree, with a large cowhide drum at the top.

The living who went to the village for late-night snacks would often hear the sound of drums, but no one had ever gone up the drum tower. According to the stall owners of the village, the drum tower belonged to private property, and one had to get the owner’s permission to enter.

Calico, who bought fresh pig blood, had already returned, a large bowl, placed on the low table in the first-floor hall.

The pork sold at the Immortal Market was mostly Xiang pig, different from the black pig of the Ghost Village. The bit latter was a hybrid black-skinned pig breed, while the Xiang pig was a purebred pig living in regions above an altitude of three thousand meters, also known as the ginseng pig, usually free-ranged in the woods, growing up eating mountain delicacies like cordyceps and matsutake. Its body size was smaller than ordinary pigs, its skin was also thin, with less fat and more lean meat, and high protein content. The meat was tender, and the pig blood was also redder than ordinary pig blood, with a better taste.

The calico cat squatted on the stool, extending its tongue to lick the whiskers around its mouth. When buying pig blood, the immortal citizen gave it a piece of roasted pork. No matter how many times it ate it, this Xiang pork grown up drinking Milky Way water and eating mountain delicacies was still so fragrant, best for stewing and roasting. Tomorrow she must definitely let Master Shouqiu make stewed pork again.

In the adjacent kitchen, Lu Shouqiu was starting a fire. The farm still used the most primitive way of starting a fire—burning firewood. She lay in front of the stove eye, puffing out her cheeks, and blew air inside hard with a blowpipe. The dry pine needles caught fire, and the corn stalks placed above also started to burn. Waiting until the iron wok was hot enough to smoke, she poured oil down to fry the ingredients for the Changwang noodles.

She liked to use braised fatty intestines, which saved the step of processing the pig’s large intestines. The crispy pork lard dregs and fried tofu cubes were also readily available, and now she only needed to make the soup base. Chili and red oil were indispensable, and ginger and garlic also had to be there.

The egg noodles and bean sprouts were scalded in the soup base, scooped out and placed in a bowl, then the cut fresh pig blood chunks were scalded ripe, covered on the noodles together with the braised sauce, and then soup was poured. A bowl of delicious Changwang noodles had to achieve soft blood, crisp noodles, spicy aroma, and fragrant soup, with the soup base red but not burning, oily but not greasy.

She sat on the stool lowering her head to slurp noodles, while Calico leaped onto the low table to lie by the bowl side and sip. Eating noodles was still difficult for a cat. Wanting to eat but not wanting to dirty its whiskers, it ate very carefully and cautiously, at a speed completely different from its ferocity when biting mice.

Halfway through eating the noodles, Lu Shouqiu stopped to look at her phone. Ruan Jingluo still hadn’t replied. What was going on? Even such an appetizing bowl of Changwang noodles couldn’t hook the other party’s interest. She was very worried. How could she abduct the person over? The farm main gate couldn’t be without someone guarding; over time, big trouble would happen.

“Do you say I should change to another candidate,” she inserted her chopsticks vertically into the noodle bowl, asking with a straight face to Calico who was still elegantly eating noodles, “but she matches my eye affinity very well, I don’t want to change too much. Help me think, how can I make her willingly come to the farm to guard the gate? Her current job is also guarding the main gate for others, just changing a place, it should make no difference, it’s just that there is no salary.”

Calico raised its eyes, “Meow—”

Wanting humans to work for you without money, you skinflint.

Lu Shouqiu automatically ignored the ridicule issued by Calico’s broken-gong voice, talking to herself, “She seems to be very short of money, oh no, she is just very short of money. If no salary is given, she definitely won’t be willing to come. I tested it today, and she said only a psycho would do work with no money.”

For this, she changed her strategy, planning to first make friends with Ruan Jingluo. As a result, having obtained her WeChat with great difficulty, the other party only replied with a rolling-eyes emoji and didn’t want to pay attention to her at all. The five portions of braised fatty intestines counted as given for nothing.

“I’ll go try again tomorrow. What is that saying in the human world? Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I believe that one day she will be touched by my sincerity.” She self-hypnotized, then proceeded to send messages to bombard Ruan Jingluo.

Returning, taking a shower, and falling asleep right away, Ruan Jingluo opened her eyes and woke up to find that it was dark outside. She sat up from her crude bed, her body sweating and very sticky.

Taking over her phone to look at the time, she still pulled the night shift today.

A bunch of unread messages popped up on the screen, all from the same person. At the beginning, she still knew to restrain herself, sending text first, and later it was text, pictures, and videos one after another, talking to her about all kinds of random things, and the matching meme packs were as crazy as Lu Shouqiu herself.

She flipped through randomly; asking her if the braised fatty intestines were delicious?

Turning her head to look for the brought-back braised fatty intestines, they were on the table. There was no refrigerator here, and in such hot weather, hopefully, they hadn’t spoiled.

She got out of bed to wash her face and take a shower along the way, rinsing the sweat off her body, then used a small electric pot to cook a handful of hanging noodles. She tasted the braised fatty intestines. They were okay, not spoiled. Five portions accumulated together was the amount of a normal noodle bowl, and she could finish eating it.

Before eating, she had taken a photo and was prepared to send it to Lu Shouqiu. Her finger paused above the send key for a long time without pressing down, then as if thinking of something, she let out an abrupt sneer, deleted the photo, and threw the phone aside.

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