Chapter 159
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Chapter 159: Another Year of Blooming Peach Blossoms
On New Year’s Eve,
Wang Chen was making dumplings at home.
The dumpling skins were crafted from flour ground from Yunmai.
Yunmai thrives only on high mountains abundant in spiritual energy, and its scarcity makes it exceedingly precious.
He had purchased ten pounds of it in Yunlong City specifically for this New Year’s Eve feast.
Such a luxury was beyond his reach on ordinary days.
For the filling, he selected the finest tenderloin from the Spotted Pig, winter bamboo shoots from his own bamboo forest, yellow mushrooms gathered from the orchard, dried shrimp and fish from the small creek, and green cabbage, among other ingredients.
Wang Chen prepared three distinct flavors, filling a large basin to the brim.
As he shaped the dumplings, Yuan Yuan perched on the table, her dark, gleaming eyes brimming with curiosity.
Wang Chen chuckled and dipped his finger in flour, gently dotting her red nose.
Yuan Yuan twitched her nose and chirped, “Ee ee~”
The little one was in the midst of a voice change, her sounds now different from before,
yet she remained as endearing as ever.
“Patience,”
Wang Chen reassured her, “It won’t be long now.”
Today marked his second New Year since arriving in this world.
To celebrate the past year’s toil and triumphs, Wang Chen had prepared a lavish New Year’s Eve dinner for himself and Little Yuan Yuan.
Alongside the dumplings, there were soy-braised large bone pieces, braised lion’s head meatballs, steamed white creek fish, a trio of seasonal vegetables, charcoal-roasted Beggar’s Chicken, and scallion-stirred river shrimp.
He poured all his culinary prowess into the meal.
Yuan Yuan was overjoyed.
Several dishes from tonight’s feast were new to her, and she savored each bite with eyes narrowed in delight.
Her little head was almost buried in her bowl.
So incredibly delicious!
“Take your time,”
Wang Chen said, placing a large bone piece in her bowl. “It’s all yours.”
He served himself a bowl of dumplings and ate leisurely, watching the little one devour her meal with gusto.
A profound sense of contentment washed over him.
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Wang Chen carried Yuan Yuan up to the rooftop of their home.
Together, they gazed at the star-studded sky, bidding farewell to the old year.
He wished for a year filled with prosperity, joy in every season, dreams fulfilled, and smooth journeys ahead!
As winter gave way to spring, the earth awakened from its slumber.
When the old willow by the creek bank began to sprout anew, it signaled the time to plant the season’s rice.
Wang Chen had already secured his rice seeds from the Administrative Hall well in advance.
This year, however, his spring planting was accompanied by a capable assistant.
Mu Kui.
This mechanical puppet propelled Wang Chen’s spiritual plant farming into the era of mechanization.
It toiled ceaselessly, day and night, requiring neither rest nor sustenance, and never uttered a word of complaint.
Mu Kui tilled all fifty acres of Wang Chen’s spirit fields, surpassing his own efforts by a wide margin!
The seeding was also handled by Mu Kui, executed with both speed and precision.
Wang Chen’s role was simply to apply the Spring Breeze and Rain Fertilization Technique across all the spirit fields, thus completing what was once an arduous spring planting task.
This newfound efficiency afforded him more time to dedicate to his cultivation, as well as to venture to the small creek for fishing and gathering snails, adding variety to his meals.
The creek, originating from deep within the mountains and connecting to a larger river, occasionally saw river fish swimming upstream, entering Wang Chen’s domain and thereby enriching his dining table.
Whether steamed, braised, fried, or grilled…
Yuan Yuan, despite being a spirit mouse, had a fondness for fish, capable of consuming three at a sitting!
As Wang Chen fished,
she would perch on a rock by the creek bank, chirping joyfully.
Yet, this morning, when Wang Chen and the little guy revisited the small creek,
both were taken aback!
The creek, merely ten paces wide and four to five feet deep, was teeming with countless white and blue fish.
Some measured up to two or three feet in length!
It was noteworthy that the small creek was incapable of supporting large fish; these sizable blue fish undoubtedly hailed from the larger river downstream.
Fish of all sizes, both river and stream varieties, vied to swim upstream, many leaping impatiently from the water, only to crash back down, sending droplets flying.
A few large fish, in their haste, overshot the bank and landed ashore.
Splash!
A two-foot-long blue fish landed squarely before Wang Chen!
Wang Chen was at a loss for words.
This variety of blue fish was prized for its succulent, tender flesh and the spiritual energy it contained, making it a superior food ingredient.
He had encountered them before, but never one of such magnitude!
There were even larger fish in the stream.
Wang Chen reached out and caught a lively blue fish, tossing it into the water bucket he had brought.
Freshly caught river fish taste the best when cooked immediately, and since the storage bag couldn’t hold live creatures, keeping them in the water bucket was the best way to take them home.
But as he looked at his water bucket and then at the abundance of large fish in the creek,
Wang Chen felt for the first time that having too many free fish was a great dilemma!
At the same time, he was filled with immense curiosity.
What could be causing all these river fish to rush into the small creek?
Was this an annual occurrence, or was something special happening?
Considering that this stream flowed within his estate, Wang Chen didn’t rush to catch more fish. Instead, he walked upstream along the creek bank to investigate!
When he reached the front of the valley, he began to see the clues.
The source of the small creek was within the valley, where there was a drop at the creek’s mouth.
In the small pool created by the rushing water below, blue fish crowded together.
They were all desperately fighting over the floating peach blossoms brought downstream!
Wang Chen suddenly realized.
The peach blossoms were blooming again this year; there must be many peach trees in the valley up ahead.
He had never explored this hidden little valley before,
so he was unaware of what was inside.
But today’s unusual sight made Wang Chen curious to explore further.
After all, it wasn’t far from his estate.
If something went wrong and he wasn’t prepared, it could easily put him in a passive position.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Chen plucked a floating peach blossom from the creek.
A lightly sweet fragrance, filled with a touch of ethereal water energy, wafted into his nostrils.
Wang Chen finally understood completely why these large fish were frantically fighting over the peach blossoms.
The spiritual energy contained in these petals was no less than that of the spiritual rice he grew!
So, he definitely needed to go in and take a look.
From the petals, it was clear that the peach trees in the valley were far superior to those in Wang Chen’s own orchard.
If he could transplant a few over,
the resulting Spirit Peaches would be wonderful for his own consumption or as gifts to others!
Most importantly, this area had no master.
Taking them wouldn’t be considered theft.
After thinking this through, he flicked the peach blossom back into the pool of water.
Just as the petal was about to fall, a large blue fish suddenly jumped out of the water, opening its mouth to swallow it.
However, before it could fall back into the water, Wang Chen quickly reached out, catching it and tossing it into his bucket!
It was like a mantis catching a cicada, unaware that a yellow finch was waiting behind.
Wang Chen set the bucket of live fish aside and then entered the valley with Yuan Yuan.
The inner sect of Yunyang Sect had neither wild monsters nor evil spirits.
It was very safe.
