IPMH Chapter 28

His meals and decreased nightmares came at the same time. It was hard to convince himself that the two had nothing in common. Yu Feng’s eyes darkened as he thought of the past.

He did not follow the doctor’s instructions and took a deep drag from a cigarette. Although his spirit was eased, the doctor had said, “If you continue smoking, the country will lose a young entrepreneur.”

He fidgeted before shoving the cigarette butt into the ashtray and then got up to eat. He noticed that there wasn’t any rice, only some thick-looking porridge.

“Ha.” Yu Feng was 100 percent sure that the one who called Pei Wen and cooked was the same person. Otherwise why else would he make this soft boiled porridge?

Looking at the red hazelnut ribs, this was not even close to the other’s taste. Yu Feng also preferred eating spicy foods. Yu Feng ate this light and stomach-soothing meal as his heart had some ups and downs, but his face was expressionless.

After eating, he found some paper and a pen to write a note. “Why are you treating me well?”

Yu Feng pinched the message and placed it inside the food box. Then he looked at it in silence before scrunching up the paper and throwing it in the trash. The next day, Su Xing retrieved the box and only washed the dishes.

He dried the container and filled it up with his previously cooked porridge. Su Xing delivered the meal as usual before going out of the door. Today he was heading up the mountain for work.

That day, he had only dug out a little kudzu and there were several mountains. Su Xing also faced a problem, it was easy to dig up the roots but difficult to transport them. It took a lot of hard work.

The rural youth suddenly started a live broadcast after missing many days. The audience saw bunches of lush kudzu plants on the slope.

“Hello everyone!” Su Xing turned the camera to his face so that all could see a young face dotted with sweat in real-time. The audience barraged the chat.

Pretty Girl look at Me: [Brother! You can obviously rely on your looks to eat, what are you doing digging up kudzu roots in the mountains?]

French Fries Mood: [Digging up so many roots, are you going to sell kudzu today? Selling right?]

Lulu: [What did the host think of staying in the city? Haha]

Shuyang Bamboo Pole: [Wild kudzu root is a good thing. Brother, how much for a catty?]

There were too many messages during the broadcast so Su Xing answered the most relevant issues for the audience while wiping some sweat. “Fresh kudzu roots are easy to store so it is really for sale. Twenty dollars per catty, free shipping for the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. Minimum two roots to buy, when I go back I will weigh the goods.”

Shuyang Bamboo Pole: [Twenty dollars is a really good price, I am sure to buy some. Host look kindly upon me. 💕💕]

French Fries Mood: [Buddy, I also want to buy! Send five big ones to the previous address!]

Su Xing nodded. “Okay, I’ll continue to dig, today’s goal is to dig up fifty pounds.”

However, this wild patch of kudzu had grown very lush because no one had dug around. Su Xing could dig without stopping.

“…It’s another big one.” Su Xing pulled out a record-breaking kudzu root in surprise. “This is very good, it has to be at least four of five pounds.”

Shuyang Bamboo Pole: [King kudzu! I want this king kudzu, no one can steal it from me!]

Laughing Cola: [Sell it to me, I’ll pay thirty dollars a pound.]

Bidding unwittingly appeared on the live broadcast.

Su Xing rested on the ground beside the sacks filled with kudzu roots. He used his sweaty t-shirt to wipe his body and wring it dry. The weather in mid-June was too hot. Su Xing used his straw hat as a fan while chatting with the audience. “It’s too hot, I’m going back inside for a bit and then I’ll dig out more kudzu.”

The live room was fried into silence again. This time was because half of the host’s chest bloomed on the broadcast like a white flower. The crowd’s eyes were blinded and at the same time, not everything was covered up.

They could still see small beads of sweat on the youth’s skin, refracting the sun’s rays like bright crystals.

Star River: [My god, I actually think this little brother is very sexy and manly, how?!]

Zjh2238: [This gives a different taste than compared to the gym.]

Su Xing, who was flirted with, quickly put down his phone and straightened his shirt. “Okay, I’m heading back and will see you in an hour.”

The live broadcast shut down as the hour-long hike home started. Before setting out on the road, Su Xing tested the rope’s stability, his shoelaces, and his load’s weight.

“Huh…” Fifty to sixty pounds strained on his shoulders. It was very heavy.

Su Xing slowly and steadily descended the roadless slope with some excitement. He breathed a sigh of relief, shifted his pack, and continued heading down the mountain. This mix of moving and stopping took around an hour.

When Su Xing returned home, he was dizzy with exhaustion. “It’s so late?” He looked at his mobile phone and hurried inside while muttering. “Cooking on time means no money but going out to make money means less time to cook…”

As a bachelor, life was not super easy. Fortunately, when Su Xing went up, he found the suited homeowner drinking tea in the living room using the remote control with a bored expression. Su Xing was relieved, at least the house owner was not smoking or drinking out of boredom. However, the smell of tobacco was definitely lingering in the house.

Su Xing’s heart always panicked whenever he was the homeowner smoking and drinking. He always felt that he would end up dying young.

Su Xing did a good job with lunch today and wrote a note. “Smoke, drink, and stay up late less. Eat, exercise, and smile more.”

After delivering the food box, Su Xing went back to the first floor to eat his own meal. Before starting, he poked the corner of his mouth with a chopstick as if smiling for a photo. “Eggplant…”

The two dogs barked in confusion. They looked at the table and the ground, there were no eggplants to be seen.

“Silly dogs.” Su Xing dotingly chided while happily eating his lunch.

Afternoon work was in the yard. One by one, he registered the telephone, address, quantity, and bill for those who wanted kudzu roots in a notebook. Since a lot of the customers were buying four to five catties, some even bought ten, registration and collecting the money was fast. After all, four to five catties of kudzu cost at most one hundred dollars.

No one was hurting for money. Afterward, Su Xing counted a total of 65 catties of kudzu roots brought back from the mountain. In truth, the two bags didn’t look like much but the roots were surprisingly heavy. The kudzu roots were sold for twenty per catty, sixty-five times twenty equals a total of $1300.

Su Xing looked at the numbers on the calculator. He squirmed and then showed a big smile. He made money! He could think about duck, old hen, ribs, even lamb and beef!

Su Xing rubbed his worn shoulders and blistered palms and feet. He felt everything was worth it.

“Dogs!” Su Xing hugged the two dogs beside him. “I’m so happy…”

Ten fluffy chicks eating millet and living well. Su Xing felt comfortable, these were his property. He had two rooms, two dogs, and ten chickens at age nineteen! And a large vegetable garden!

Su Xing puffed out his chest and decided to take a longer afternoon nap and take a break. He laid in bed surrounded by the scent of bamboo while fanning himself. He fell asleep while listening to popular songs on his mobile.

Six o’clock in the evening. Su Xing woke surrounded in darkness and silence. Only the sound of mosquitoes buzzing filled his ears.

*Clap* Su Xing slapped his arm and killed a mosquito. He got up to see the repellent had burned out and the dogs were still sleeping. Su Xing found his phone…the battery was dead. He went to the second floor to charge the device.

Su Xing picked up his charger and slipped it into his baggy black pants along with a pair of slippers. On the second floor, he started charging his phone and opened it to answer a customer’s message.

[Won’t go up the mountain the next few days for kudzu because my hands, feet, and shoulders were rubbed raw.]

Su Xing finished the reply and then pondered the evening’s dishes. Should he prepare duck or old hen? It was too late, if he wanted to have chicken, he would have to wait an hour or two. Duck seasoned with cilantro, ginger, and garlic was also very delicious.

Of course, this was Su Xing’s own recipe. As for the ill homeowner, he could give him two pieces at most. So the homeowner’s meal was still stomach-soothing porridge with some blanched vegetables. He could add an egg-sized piece of meat, which was equivalent to a mouthful of food…

When he cut the meat, his heart softened and increased the portion to two egg-sized pieces. The meat was mixed with cornflour so the texture was more tender and smooth. After finishing up, Su Xing opened the food box and found the owner had left a reply.

The note showed an address and a phone number. Su Xing was silent but his heart felt overwhelmed. Had the owner lost his mind? It made no sense to expose his address and phone number to a complete stranger.

Su Xing thought about it but the corner of his mouth twitched. However, there seemed to more words on the back of the note.

He smiled while picking up the message. [Next time report this address when you need to send me to the hospital.]

Su Xing was speechless, then he threw the note back.

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