CH 6

…very moving

translator: baumkuchen editor: sora harukawa 

After hanging up, Lu Qingjiu laughed bitterly. He thanked his lucky stars that he hadn’t used the well water to cook or wash clothes, or else he feared he would’ve left a serious psychological shadow. He also didn’t know when the police would arrive, nor if the well would actually have another corpse inside or not.

As he thought to himself, Lu Qingjiu cut the braised meat into slices. Each slice was about the same size, neither too thin or too thick. After he finished preparing the beef, he placed the remainder into the fridge for later. Following that, he boiled some water, then placed in the noodles. As the noodles were cooking, he fried up three eggs.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Once the noodles were done, he used the boiling water to slightly scald the freshly harvested vegetables for a moment. This allowed the vegetables to retain their fresh green colour, as well as let them remain crisp. Finally, Lu Qingjiu scooped out the noodles and placed them into the bowl with the bone broth he’d saved from a few days ago. He poured the remaining sauce from the braised beef into the bone broth, and then topped each bowl of noodles with the fresh green vegetables and a golden yellow fried egg.

“It’s ready, someone come help me bring it over,” Lu Qingjiu called from within the kitchen.

Bai Yuehu heard Lu Qingjiu’s shout and came into the kitchen. He didn’t fear being burnt, so he just directly picked up the three bowls and walked out. Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu remained rooted in place out of shock for a good while.

Seeing the noodles, Yin Xun started cheering, saying: “I’m starving! The noodles smell so good.”

Lu Qingjiu took off his apron, and handed a saucer of chili over to Yin Xun: “I didn’t add spice, so if you want it to be spicy then add it yourself.”

Yin Xun nodded. He scooped out a large spoonful of chili peppers into his bowl and said: “Just now, who were you talking to on the phone in the kitchen? I think I heard you mention the well again?” 

“The police called,” Lu Qingjiu explained, “They suspect that there’s still another corpse in the well.”

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Yin Xun’s eating movements paused momentarily, clearly thinking of that corpse which had been pulled out of the well that night. He replied: “No way? There’s still another corpse? Are corpses appearing so frequently now that this one tiny well can have two?”

“I don’t know.” Lu Qingjiu shook his head.

Bai Yuehu was completely unaffected, his entire attention focused on the noodles in front of him. Without anyone noticing, he’d almost finished an entire bowl of noodles. 

Lu Qingjiu asked him if it tasted good. He nodded heavily, and then finished the soup, before saying: “Delicious.”

As the cook, Lu Qingjiu was instantly satisfied by those words. This time, the beef really was braised very well. The meat tendons were full of flavour. It wasn’t overly chewy, and had a rather meaty aftertaste. The noodles were very fine, each strand clearly defined, and when coupled with the tasty and refreshing vegetables, it really was to one’s taste.

After finishing dinner, Bai Yuehu started washing the dishes as usual while Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun went over to his fields to take a look at how the crops were doing. It might have been better if they hadn’t gone to look. One look made Yin Xun jump in shock, exclaiming: “That’s not right? Haven’t you only been back for half a month? How have your tomato seedlings already grown so tall!”

Lu Qingjiu immediately thought of Bai Yuehu. Of course, he couldn’t say this, and thus just calmly made up a half-hearted excuse: “Maybe it’s because I’m so handsome.” 

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Although he really was very happy on the inside, when he returned, Lu Qingjiu still gently reminded Bai Yuehu that he shouldn’t let the vegetables grow too fast, or else it would attract unwanted attention from others and was hard to explain. Hearing this, Bai Yuehu nodded very slightly, and then continued eating his melon seeds.

On the third day, the people sent by his service provider came over to help Lu Qingjiu activate his internet and cable TV. The house now had unlimited internet service.

“Tomorrow when I go to town, other than buying chickens, I also want to buy a desktop computer.” Lu Qingjiu asked Yin Xun, “Do you know any place that sells them?”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“A place that sells computers?” Yin Xun asked, “What’s with the sudden need for a computer?” 

Lu Qingjiu said: “I’m making plans for the future so I can sell my crops online or something later on. Even if I can’t do that right now, I could still stream, no?” Even though his savings were enough for him to live off of for quite a long while, he still needed to plan for the future.

“Alright then,” Yin Xun rubbed his head, “I’ll help you ask around.”

So the next day, Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun woke up early to take Uncle Chen’s car to the market. Upon arriving at the market, Lu Qingjiu got a phone call. It was the police, calling to say that they were going to his house to check for a corpse today. Lu Qingjiu let them know he’d already left and Bai Yuehu was the only person in the house, so they could just directly go in once they got there.

Next to him, Yin Xun gave a deep sigh, saying that Lu Qingjiu really was unlucky. The moment he returned home, he was met with such bad luck. 

Lu Qingjiu just waved a hand, a helpless look on his face.

When they reached the area where chickens were being sold, Lu Qingjiu saw a whole crowd of little yellow chicks cloistered together in a pen, chirping noisily. Yin Xun asked, “Boss, how much are the chicks?”

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“Both male and female cost five dollars each,” the seller said, “How many do you want?”

Lu Qingjiu said: “Ten.” He thought a little, before adding, “Nine females and one male.” 

“Alright, pick them out yourself,” the seller said.

Lu Qingjiu nodded. He then reached out a hand, wanting to catch a chick to take a look at it, but who knew that once his hand entered the pen, all the chicks were scared into scattering to all four corners of the pen, leaving Lu Qingjiu awkwardly grasping at empty air.

“Is there something wrong with this big brother’s hand?” The seller laughed. “You’re a lucky one, aren’t you?”

Next to him, Yin Xun joined in with loud laughter. Lu Qingjiu, who was being laughed at, gave him a heavy knock on the shoulder. 

“What’s wrong with them? They ran so fast,” Lu Qingjiu said, embarrassed.

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“Make way make way, let me do it!” Yin Xun pushed up his sleeves, and reached a hand into the chicken pen. But as soon as his hand entered, the chicks all ran away once again, as if his hand wasn’t a hand, but the mouth of a fierce beast.

“Hahahahaha.” This time it was Lu Qingjiu’s turn to laugh mercilessly at Yin Xun.

Yin Xun: “F*ck, what did both of us touch! The chicks are so scared!” 

Hearing this, Lu Qingjiu’s smile immediately froze on his face. He instantly remembered that in his home lived a certain chicken-loving fox. Maybe it was because they both smelled of fox, that the chicks would have this kind of reaction…

As he was thinking this, Lu Qingjiu heard Yin Xun loudly shout: “You bunch of little chicks, since you even dare to escape, see if I don’t catch every single one of you!” He reached in his hand, and started to play the game of the Eagle catches the Chicks.

Some of the chicks only knew how to run, but some seemed to have been offended by Yin Xun, and started to use those delicate little yellow beaks to peck at Yin Xun’s fingers.

All of those brave chicks were then caught by Yin Xun, and placed into their newly-bought chicken cage. 

They wasted more than half the day away trying to catch ten chicks. By the time they were done, Yin Xun was absolutely exhausted, saying that he’d never seen such tough chicks in his entire lifetime.

Lu Qingjiu said: “Then just wait here for me, I’ll go buy a computer first.”

“Let’s go together.” Yin Xun stood up, chicken cage in hand. “I’m not that weak.”

Lu Qingjiu said: “Then let me carry the chicks.” 

Yin Xun handed the chicken cage over to Lu Qingjiu. Whether due to coincidence or some other reason, the colour of the feathers of the chicks Yin Xun had chosen weren’t purely yellow. Within the yellow down were the occasional few black feathers, appearing quite adorable.

After choosing a computer, it was about time for them to head back to the village.

On the way back, Lu Qingjiu received another call, once again from the police. They reported that they had really found another corpse in the well in his home. These male and female corpses were both very strange, the female corpse had already become white bone, but still floated. The male corpse, however, was still very intact, but had already completely sunk into the bottom of the well. Furthermore, it was said that the male corpse was completely covered in black hair.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

The corpses had been found thanks to the tip provided by Lu Qingjiu, so the police were waiting for him to return to give him a thorough interrogation. If this case was a normal one, Lu Qingjiu would definitely not be able to wash himself clean of suspicion. However, whether it be the well or the corpses within, both were incredibly unnatural, so the police couldn’t use normal methods to deal with this case. 

As Lu Qingjiu carried along his cage of chirping chicks, his mind was filled with the dream that he had had that afternoon. Could it be that that dream showed the scene of the first murder? But then how on earth did the man die? Not to mention, those calls made by the woman who claimed to be Fu Ziying…

Yin Xun, seeing Lu Qingjiu’s heavy expression, asked him what had happened.

Lu Qingjiu told Yin Xun everything, including his dream and what the police had told him. After listening, Yin Xun was dumbstruck: “No way? Then didn’t she not only single-handedly get revenge for herself, but also casually reported it to the police… Isn’t she so inspiring?!”

Lu Qingjiu: “…” If you thought about it carefully, it truly was incredibly inspiring. This female ghost had really worked hard. 

Yin Xun: “She’s a lot stronger than either of us.”

Lu Qingjiu let out ashamed expression. Truly, one would fear that no average person, after being murdered, would be able to take action to get revenge for themselves.

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With a heart full of respect for this Miss Ghost, Lu Qingjiu returned to his home. Upon seeing him step out of the truck with a cage of chicks, the police officer said: “You really are brave. Two people have died in your home, aren’t you at all scared?”

“I am scared,” Lu Qingjiu admitted, “Aren’t I bringing back a few chicks back to liven up the hose?” 

The police officer:  “You’re really counting on chicks to help you protect your home?”

Lu Qingjiu: “I still need to have my dreams, what if they really come true?” He was merely joking. After placing the chicks into the chicken coop, he then turned to ask the police officer about the male corpse in his well.

Happy April Fools Day! I’m not creative enough to come up with a joke chapter, so you guys don’t have to fear hahaha

Now, here’s the food porn: 

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