Lin Mu woke up early in the morning and drove the little monsters into the house. He waited for Uncle De to come then moved all the goods that needed to be moved.
Entering the house, Uncle De opened the pot and found a large bowl of braised pork as well as two bowls of millet porridge.
Uncle De was a little surprised. He took a bowl and divided the meat into half, bringing it to the doorstep with the congee and sat down to eat it. He looked at Lin Mu who was busying away, and said, “you"re having braised pork in the early morning?”
"En?" Lin Mu paused, and then realised that the little Ginseng had made braised pork for breakfast today. “Yeah, I"ll have enough strength to work if I"m full.”
Uncle De took a bite and praised, “delicious!”
Lin Mu turned his head and glanced at the Ginseng Baby who was squatting on the balcony of the second floor. His cheeks were red and his happiness was visible to the naked eye.
The little Ginseng didn"t know what diets humans had, and Uncle De didn"t mind that big bowl of braised pork was shining with oil. After eating it all, he even drank the sauce with half a catty of millet congee.1about 600 grams.
Lin Mu went through a final check as Uncle De went in to wash the bowl.
Glancing at the frame of the greenhouse in Lin Mu"s yard, Uncle De asked, “what kind of house are you working on?”
“A gla.s.s greenhouse for growing vegetables and flowers. It"s just a nicer looking version of a greenhouse.” Lin Mu replied as he checked, “some flowers are delicate, and if I wanted to raise them, I would have to make one.”
Uncle De nodded, showing that he understood. He waited until Lin Mu had checked everything then pulled the car door open, before pausing for a moment like he had thought of something. He then turned around and looked at Lin Mu, “oh right. I heard that our village is going to be demolished, did you know?”
Lin Mu was stunned. He looked back at the small courtyard where he had lived for more than 20 years and opened his mouth, “……when?”
Uncle De had gotten into the car got in the car when he had heard what Lin Mu asked. He leaned out of the window and said, “I don"t know, I only just heard about it.”
Lin Mu nodded, watched as Uncle De"s van leaved. Then he took a deep breath and looked around his yard somewhat helplessly.
“Lin Mu, Lin Mu!” The little Ginseng ran out of the room, followed by Milky behind him. He opened his arms and hugged Lin Mu"s thigh, “that human said that the braised pork was well made!”
Lin Mu retracted his his gaze and took in a deep breath, “yeah, I"ll have to try it too.”
The little Ginseng took Lin Mu"s hand and walked into the house with a skip in his step.
While Lin Mu was eating, the little Ginseng had climbed up onto the stool beside him and held a tablet with a serious expression.
Lin Mu took a mouthful of congee with meat and glanced at the screen. “Sweet and sour ribs?” He said vaguely.
“Yeah!” The little Ginseng held the screen up, “they said that you have to eat some sour things in the summer in order to open up your appet.i.te!”
Lin Mu looked at the sun which would become too blazing hot in just half an hour, and raised his hand to touch his head.
At the end of June, the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Even the occasional wind that pa.s.sed through carried a wave of heat, and one would perspire if they moved a little. The little seedlings on the heads of all the little monsters in his house, including himself, weren"t willing to come out.
The weather was getting hotter, and several rooms on the first floor of the house had to be ventilated in order to cool down.
Lin Mu thought about this and felt that this weekend wasn"t long enough.
He quickly ate his breakfast, patted the little Ginseng"s head and ruffled the dog all over, “I have something on today, you guys pay attention to your own safety at home, and remember to hide if anyone comes.”
The little Ginseng answered softly with an ‘okay".
Milky tilted his head slightly and shook his ears to show that he understood.
Lin Mu looked at Milky and couldn"t help but nuzzle the dog. He landed a great big kiss on the dog"s forehead then carried the pot of Rhododendron, pushing the little electric scooter as he left the house.
Yan Xuanjing, who had been kissed, froze for a very long time. It was only when a warm wind blew in from the open doors did he return to his senses, and he raised a paw to gently touch the place where he had been kissed.
The little Relaxed Emperor smelled nice.
It was the smell of a milk-scented shower gel coupled with the natural scent of plants and trees that belonged to a Relaxed Emperor.
The tip of Yan Xuanjing"s tail curled slightly, and he couldn"t resist flattening his ears when the tips of his ears became slightly itchy when they were brushed by the wind.
Oh no.
The fox spirit placed his paw down, fell silent for a moment, and began to wonder if that old fox had enjoyed such treatment this week.
— If he had enjoyed such treatment, he would find a time when that old fox was asleep and shave off all his fur.
Recently, Yan Xuanjing had seen several shaved dogs when he had pa.s.sed through the human town.
Extremely ugly.
Extremely suitable for that disrespectful old fox.
Far away, the old fox felt a chill down his back, and all the fur on his body puffed up.
Which trash wanted to plot against the great me!2Laozi, aka, I, your father.
Yan Gui raised his head and looked around alertly, but didn"t notice anyone.
He frowned and placed the matter aside for the time being, and jumped over the resorts power grid as he followed the Di Wu"s faint aura, going around the humans to find him.
……
Lin Mu arrived at the community"s gate, said h.e.l.lo to the security guard, registered his name, and rode on the familiar road to find the big boss" house.
This was a famous villa community in A City, the location was good, the area was large, and the price was also extremely beautiful.
It was said that the people who lived in this district were either extremely wealthy or reputable.
Lin Mu didn"t know much about these matters. The only thing he knew was that if he worked hard for many years, he wouldn"t even be able to afford an attic.
He stopped outside a yard and rang the doorbell.
The courtyard door opened, and Lin Mu found a corner where he would not get in the way, locked the little electric scooter away and carried the Rhododendron into the yard.
The one who came to open the door was a lackadaisical man wearing a nightgown.
This man was one of Lin Mu"s regular customers, surnamed Zhao, and was in his early forties this year. He had taken over his family"s business, made it become popular, and was quite amazing.
He didn"t have many hobbies and playing around with flowers was one of them. However, due to being busy with his work and all thumbs with raising flowers, he had lead a lot of plants to death, before he finally let Lin Mu help him raise his latest flower until it budded, before sending it to him.
“Uncle Zhao, I brought the Rhododendron.” Lin Mu said.3Again, not related. Just like Uncle De.
“Great, great, great.” Uncle Zhao looked at the Rhododendron that Lin Mu was holding and was extremely happy. He wanted to take it from him, but was afraid that his clumsiness would damage it.
“I"ll bring it to the viewing room4景观房. Lit. Landscape/view room. A room/location in a house used for viewing nature, such as huge gardens, etc. for you5polite version of you.” Lin Mu said.
Uncle Zhao rubbed his hands together, “great!”
Lin Mu carried the flowerpot and placed into to the big boss" viewing room.
The viewing rooms of the rich weren"t the same as Lin Mu"s poor greenhouse. The viewing room was divided into several rooms according to different needs, and every room was heated to a constant temperature. Even if it wasn"t in the season, there were still many flowers in bloom in the viewing room.
Lin Mu placed the Rhododendron in a suitable constant temperature room, and here, he also saw several pots of orchids and several very familiar peonies that he had sent to this big boss before.
That was the purple peony flower that he had raised, and was also specifically ordered by the big boss. It was known for being easy to raise, and he had delivered it some time ago. Now that the flowering period had ended and the flower was wilting, he couldn"t help but feel his heart hurt.
Uncle Zhao trailed behind him, followed his line of sight and gave a dull ‘ah".
Lin Mu went in closer to look at it, and felt that it could still be saved.
As a matter of routine, every time Lin Mu sent flowers over, he would help the big bosses take care of the flowers for free. This time was no exception.
Lin Mu slowly fiddled with the plants in the viewing room one by one and Uncle Zhao followed behind him, earnestly learning what to do.
He wasn"t a stranger to this scene, but Lin Mu felt that it didn"t make any difference.
Anyways, once the big boss went out on a business trip and came back to the viewing room, he would most probably have forgotten how to take care of these flowers and plants.
Lin Mu cut the last flower branch, and just as he placed down the tool, he caught some movement from the main gate and said, “Uncle Zhao, I have to have heard the doorbell.”
The viewing room was far from the house and the main door, and Uncle Zhao didn"t hear anything.
“Then I"ll go check.” Uncle Zhao felt that this time round, he had definitely remembered how to take care of these flowers and plants, so he pushed open the door of the viewing room and went straight for the main door.
Lin Mu also followed behind him, planning to leave at the same time.
Uncle Zhao opened the door and a figure came in like the wind. He looked like he was in a hurry, and his mouth shot out the words, “Old Zhao, Old Zhao, help me to transfer my paintings. The old man is coming to confiscate them!”
He froze for two seconds, but didn"t respond to the person who rushed in. Instead, Uncle Zhao turned his head to glance at Lin Mu then took back his gaze and gave a warning glance at the person who had rushed in.
The man followed his gaze and looked towards Lin Mu, then suddenly froze.
Lin Mu also froze. He looked at the man for a while, then looked at Uncle Zhao and nodded his head towards the two of them. “I"ll be going first,” he said calmly.
Under the silent gaze of the two men, Lin Mu walked out of the yard and left on his small electric scooter.
After he had left, the two middle-aged men in the yard looked at each other, and showed a troubled expression together.
“No, why didn"t didn"t you tell me that Xiao Mu was here?” Lin Hongsheng took the lead in speaking.
Uncle Zhao, who didn"t intend to take the blame, snorted, “oh? You"re calling him Xiao Mu now? I haven"t seen you take care of him for so many years.”
Lin Hongsheng choked, then took out a cigarette as he quietly whispered, “how could I? That old man"s keeping an eye on me everyday after his retirement.”
“Humph, corward.” Uncle Zhao scolded, "two brothers aren"t even as brave as a young lady, useless!”
Lin Hongsheng blew out a puff of smoke but didn"t refute it.
Within the three Lin children, Lin Xueji, the second child, was indeed the most courageous one.
Father Lin had a strong desire for control.
In the past, the eldest brother, Lin Hongkuo, had excellent physical fitness and was selected by the national team and wanted to get involved with sports. The old man had directly broken his legs and forced him to study business.
Lin Hongsheng, the third brother, grew up with his sister and liked to draw. His brother and sister took the money they saved from work and quietly gave it to their brother for him to learn painting, and after it was discovered by that old man, all three siblings had been beaten up and made to kneel for one night, then Lin Hongsheng was forced to go and study politics.
Lin Xueji, his older sister, was the only one who resisted to the end. Every single time her hobby of fiddling with flowers was suppressed by Father Lin, she would fight with him once.
The Lin family"s children had no pocket money, but Lin Hongkuo"s mind was flexible, and he borrowed some money from his cla.s.smates and made some small business, saving money to support his hobbies and his brother"s hobbies.
The eldest brother felt that he was doomed, but his younger brother and sister still could fight.
In the end, during high school, Lin Xueji was brought out by their father on several occasions to set up a betrothal, and became so angry that she changed the business studies that her father had filled up the form with and went straight to botany.
She also didn"t plan to take business studies after university and followed her mentors into the wild everyday, escaping from her blind dates quite a few times. She ran and ran, until she ran back with a kid.
Afterwards, there wasn"t any afterwards.
The two Lin family brothers didn"t even get to see their sister a last time, let alone attend her funeral.
Every time the brothers wanted to go and see their nephew, they had to do so secretly.
“What"s the point of living your days like this?” Uncle Zhao asked.
“It doesn"t mean anything, and we"re just waiting for the old man to die.” Lin Hongsheng smoked a cigarette and sighed, “okay, don"t speak about these anymore. If you had such a father, you wouldn"t be in a better situation than to me.”
Uncle Zhao stopped talking, and turned to help Lin Hongsheng move all the paintings in his house over.
Lin Mu exited the community, stopped on the side of the road and froze for a long time, then found his phone and sent a message to Mentor Tan, asking him if Uncle Zhao was a customer he had introduced.
It was rare that the reply came so quickly, and it said that he didn"t know him.
But when Uncle Zhao first found him, he said he was introduced to him by Old Tan.
Lin Mu took in a deep breath and pressed his lips together. His mood was rather complicated.
That man who looked like he had a good relation with Uncle Zhao, according to blood relations, was his uncle, Lin Hongsheng.
Lin Mu thought of Uncle Zhao"s reaction and looked at Mentor Tan"s reply on his mobile phone.
He wasn"t stupid. At this point, he understood who had introduced Uncle Zhao, who had always taken care of his business, to him — one could even say he took extra care of him under somebody"s request.
But Lin Mu couldn"t understand.
When his mother had left, other than his grandfather, his two uncles didn"t even appear.
Now, they were acting like some sort of good person.
“……”
How annoying.
Lin Mu placed his cell phone back in his pocket and stopped thinking about the matter as he silently rode back home on his small electric scooter.
Lin Mu"s mood wasn"t good.
The little monsters were squatting together, and they looked as Lin Mu greeted them very calmly, then went up the stairs without any expression. They turned to each other and finally pushed Milky to the front.
The Ginseng Baby cheered for him in a childish tone, “go Milky! He raised you for a thousand days, just for this day!”6养你千日用你一时, a variation of 养军千日，用在一时 lit. Armies are to be maintained in the course of long years, but to be used in the nick of time.
The potato who looked like a youth said in a very serious tone, “previously, when I watched a video, humans said that fluffy things would help with healing emotions.”
“That"s right, that"s right!”
“Lin Mu"s also half a human.”
The two mimosas said one by one and in sync.
Yan Xuanjing turned to look at the four little monsters, and walked up the stairs under their eager looks.
Then, Lin Mu mercilessly shut him out of his mother"s workshop.
“……”
Milky looked at the door that almost hit him on the nose, went silent for two seconds and turned to go down the stairs.
Looks like Milky was useless.
So Yan Xuanjing had to be called in to save the scene.
The author has this to say:
Milky: I"ll save myself.
The translator has this to add:
Poor Lin Mu, just one thing after another on this day.
And also this to add:Apologies for not updating yesterday! Was busy, and this chapter was slightly harder and longer than the usual ones. A sleepy, sleepy couch potato that adores BL. Only second to sleeping.