A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chairman Zhang of Happy Little Abode is busy practicing calligraphy, focusing all his attention on this place and reaching the highest state of mind. It seems that practicing calligraphy in a place full of birdsong and fragrant flowers is better than usual.

If it were my third uncle, he could come up and take a look; the two of them might even be able to discuss the deeper meaning of the calligraphy and painting.

Zhang Niu carefully selected the honeysuckle from the large pile in front of him and placed it in two baskets. He swept all the remaining vines and leaves on the ground back into the plastic bag, as it would be a waste not to take them to the duck shed.

I placed the two baskets of honeysuckle on a high place to prevent the wild boar cubs from causing trouble again after I left. These wild boar cubs are not like before, eating sweet potatoes grown in the space for every meal. They grow very fast, but they are still quite a distance from their father, King Kong.

One cannot become fat overnight, just like Zhang Niu, who is still as thin as a bamboo pole.

Carrying a bag of vine leaves, I stood outside the net, ready to check on the rabbits. Now, with a red brick wall more than a meter high below the net, I no longer have to worry about the little rabbits running out or the wild boars coming to cause trouble.

To my surprise, I found the cat chasing the little rabbit with its big wings flapping inside, managing to drive the rabbit into the tall grass.

"Kitty, keep chasing! Come out now!"

No wonder I didn't see the cat this morning. That rascal ran over here and bullied the little rabbit. He's starting to cause trouble too. Now everyone in the house is a natural at it.

Zhang Niu's shout startled the excited cat, who was still chasing after something. It froze, flapped its wings, and ran away.

Damn, the cat has learned to run away! Who taught it that?

Now they can't even control themselves, and they're getting more and more mischievous. Rabbits are the most timid animals, and as soon as the cat leaves, they all crawl out from the tall grass.

Forget it, I'm not watching anymore.

I threw the bag full of vine leaves onto the cement ground, and the quacking white ducks all gathered around, scrambling for the tender leaves. This place was already full of muddy puddles, making it difficult to walk on rainy days.

Just last time there was a major renovation, Zhang Niu had the whole area replaced with cement, even the downhill slopes were paved with cement, making the place much cleaner on sunny days.

There are still about a thousand of these white ducks left, and quite a few have already been sold. Some of them were purchased by guests who wanted to eat them. They all taste just as good when cooked. With Liangshan's chef here, he can basically cook them all well.

The tall grass on the other side of the pond is almost ready to be cut. Looking at the fish leaping out of the water every now and then, it seems we can call someone to haul them in again sometime.

Just looking at this head, it's already quite big. Fatty hasn't come here to fish before; he's actually aiming for snakehead, but snakehead is hard to catch, so Fatty is still holding his ground.

The grass that hadn't been harvested for a week or so had become quite "old." The grass-cutting knife, meant for special purposes, was no longer very effective in my hand, all because of this tall grass.

Now, to mow the long grass, I need to wear a straw hat and long sleeves; only then can I mow in peace, otherwise my whole body will itch unbearably. It seems I need to buy a lawnmower. The only downside to those things is that the remaining roots are too long.

It seems there's a cutting machine by Shengming Pond. That guy is quite diligent; he cuts down grass that's only half a person tall, while leaving grass like Zhang Niu's to grow quite tall. Only then did he remember that he hadn't cut the tall grass by the pond.

Looking behind me, there was a huge pile of tall grass. All that effort hadn't been in vain; at least I'd cut so much.

Throwing long grass into the pond, grass carp swam over with a splash. They seemed to have quite a appetite, dragging the long grass up and down, looking quite delicious.

Carrying two large heaps of long grass, I stepped inside.

The white ducks immediately surrounded him, but Zhang Niu didn't throw the long grass on the cement ground. Instead, he walked down the slope and threw it into the water, and a large group of ducks rushed up with a splash.

It's hot now, so if you leave it on the ground, it'll probably dry out into straw very quickly. But if you leave it in the water, at least it won't dry out completely. It'll be more palatable for the white ducks while it's still damp.

"You're really working hard, don't overwork yourself," the fat man who happened to be passing by said with a smile.

After his hands healed, Fatty planned to look for bird nests in the tall grass. If he found one, he could eat a few bird eggs. And here, he didn't have to search around aimlessly like he did in the mountains.

The entire perimeter of the pond was covered with tall grass, and although a small patch was set aside for the rabbits, the area was still quite large.

I stuck the stalks into the soil one by one. I remember it had just rained, otherwise the ground would have been hard. I was lucky to finish my work after the rain. These grasses can only be planted after the rain, and they usually survive.

The tall, green grass swayed in the wind, and many birds liked to build their nests here. After hearing Zhang Niu's suggestion, they came over with great interest.

"I can't do it, otherwise all this grass will have been planted for nothing." Although it didn't cost much to buy, I spent a lot of time planting the grass.

"Did you find any bird nests while you were cutting the grass?" he asked with a grin.

Zhang Niu shook his head. "I didn't find any. If you want to look, go to the area near the mountains and forests. The grass there hasn't been cut for a month or two, and it's so lush that there might be bird nests."

"Alright, I'll go take a look over there later." It seems he's really determined to find the bird's nest, but it probably won't be easy to find one at this time!

I must have been lucky this morning, as you don't usually run into people like that in the mountains.

Watching the fat guy plunge headfirst into the tall grass, I guess he'll start yelling when he comes out, haha!

Zhang Niu knew very well what it felt like inside. The grass was covered in fine white hairs, and it would be strange if they landed on his neck; and if a caterpillar accidentally pricked him, the feeling was...

Redness and swelling were inevitable. Zhang Niu himself had been stung by caterpillars several times; it felt about the same as a bee sting.

Walking back from the pond, I saw Liangshan had laid out a plastic film on the barbecue grill, with freshly steamed honeysuckle drying in the sun.

A faint, pleasant fragrance reached Zhang Niu as he approached.

It's steamed so quickly, and it seems to have steamed quite well. I grabbed a handful, and it was still slightly warm, as if it had just been taken out.

"Let's dry these honeysuckle flowers in the sun a bit more, and we can have a cup tonight," Liang Shan said as he spread them out.

"I have to try it tonight, it's been so long since I've had it." I suddenly remembered the taste of honeysuckle tea.

"No rush, the sun is really strong right now. We just steamed them briefly to remove some moisture, it'll be over in a bit." He said, heading back to the kitchen, where he still had some honeysuckle left to take out.

Steaming honeysuckle can actually kill a lot of caterpillars. Drying it in the sun will make it much cleaner. However, in the countryside, people usually just dry it in the sun and then steam it briefly before considering it done.

Unlike city dwellers who strive for meticulous cleanliness in every aspect, people in mountain villages are not like that. I remember once, when Zhang Niu ate in the summer, many ants would crawl onto the table, and Zhang Niu would just eat them all.

Ants have nutritional value, so if they come to eat your food, they'll eat you too. If this were in the city, this bowl of rice and vegetables would probably end up in the trash.

Chairman Zhang was very satisfied with the calligraphy and painting he created today, feeling that it was his best work of the day, with each character conveying a feeling, and he laughed heartily.

"What are you laughing at? I can hear your laughter from over here." Zhang Niu walked over after hearing the laughter.

He pulled Zhang Niu to the table and said, "How's this calligraphy today? Give me some feedback." He pointed to the calligraphy in front of him.

At first glance, the calligraphy is indeed better than a few days ago. "Today's calligraphy has a feel for it; it's a step up from the previous days. These past few days of practice haven't been in vain."

"That's right, I feel a different state of mind today, every word I write conveys a feeling." Chairman Zhang still felt this while writing.

Practicing calligraphy cultivates one's character, just like painting and carving. Both require a peaceful state of mind. As long as you have this state of mind, writing or painting is not a simple matter.

"I don't understand this principle. When I write my own name, it's like a dog's scratch, and people would laugh at me." Zhang Niu thought about his own handwriting and compared it with that of Chairman Zhang in front of him, and the difference was like heaven and earth.

"If your handwriting isn't good, you can practice. It's good for cultivating your character. Or I can shamelessly teach you how to do it." Chairman Zhang suddenly became interested.

Zhang Niu waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I'm still so young. Cultivating my mind and spirit? Forget it. I'll think about it when I'm older!"

Zhang Niu was unwilling, and Chairman Zhang naturally couldn't force him to practice calligraphy. However, there was some truth to what he said. Nowadays, children write calligraphy mainly to win awards, not to cultivate their character.

Writing and painting have lost their original meaning; they are no longer for cultivating one's character, but rather a burden on today's children.

Hey! Why is Fatty rushing back? Chairman Zhang saw Fatty running back from a great distance.

"Why are you running, Fatty? Nobody's chasing you," Chairman Zhang joked.

The fat man who ran in was covered in sweat. "Don't even mention it. I thought this grass was just a little tall, but I was unlucky. There were a few caterpillars in there, and they bit me."

The exposed skin on my arms was already red, so it seems I was right.

Now, the bird's nest hasn't been found yet, and he's already suffering a bit. Now Fatty understands why Ah Niu had to wear a straw hat, long-sleeved clothes, and a towel around his neck when he was cutting grass.

That kid is really wicked; he made me go to the very back. What a heartless bastard.

"Fatty, don't worry, go back and get some toothpaste, scrape off all the burrs, it'll be fine by tonight," Zhang Niu said gloatingly.

He gets angry just thinking about it. "It's all your fault! There's a bird's nest in the grass, but you should at least say there are caterpillars in it! You framed your brother, what bad luck!"

"It's because you left in such a hurry that you didn't have time to say anything. You just dodged and plunged right in."

"I'd better go inside and scrape off the visible splinters on my hands first. What a miserable life." He walked towards his room in the bamboo house.

"This guy wanted to eat bird eggs, so he ducked into the tall grass by the pond. There were a lot of caterpillars around lately, so he got lucky," he said with a chuckle.

"I see. Caterpillar bites are indeed unpleasant. I've experienced that feeling before." Clearly, everyone is familiar with caterpillars.

P.S.: That's the third update today! Please consider giving a tip on this cold day! (To be continued. For more chapters and to support the author, please log in and read the official version!)