A small plot of land in a mountain village

Jixiang landed steadily beside Zhang Niu, its large wings spread wide, truly majestic and extraordinary. The fat man couldn't help but take a few more glances at Jixiang, who was so close to him.

It would be a waste not to look. It's only because Zhang Niu was there that it landed so obediently. Next time we watch it, we'll probably have to look up to see its flying figure.

"Why didn't you tell me about this auspicious omen? I was scared half to death this morning," the fat man complained, his resentment quite strong, almost overwhelming Zhang Niu.

"I got up early, but I still slept in late. Luckily, this won't happen again. Fortunately, Jixiang usually doesn't attack pedestrians. Otherwise, if he had pounced on you, you wouldn't have been a match for him."

The fat man admitted he didn't have the ability, let alone be compared to this guy.

The fat man patted his chest. "Thank goodness you came out early, otherwise I might have been stuck here like an idiot all day."

"I forgot to tell you guys before. If Jixiang hadn't flown back last night, I would have almost forgotten." He gently stroked Jixiang's blue feathers, which were incredibly smooth.

This reminds me of a phrase: "Using Head & Shoulders is just that smooth, that confident."

"Hey Niu, this isn't one of your pets, is it?" A bluebird landed next to Zhang Niu in the distance, and Chairman Zhang walked over with a smile.

"It's not a matter of raising or not raising him. I just helped out in the mountains once in a while. Jixiang has always stayed in the mountains and rarely comes out," he explained to Chairman Zhang.

"Oh, so that's what happened. No wonder you didn't mention it to us." Zhang Niu's words seemed to make sense.

"Fatty, just stay away from Jixiang in the future and you'll be fine." Jixiang wasn't very friendly to Fatty, and not knowing what the problem was, he could only say this.

Standing on the ground, Jixiang was about the height of his navel. Fatty was still a little scared. "Okay, I know. But it's because those three eagles and pigeons are chirping around. That's why you're staring at me like that, Jixiang." He vented his frustration.

"No wonder, I was wondering why Jixiang was so unfriendly to you, so that's what it was about. This is going to be difficult to resolve." Zhang Niu really couldn't find a way to solve this problem.

Fatty and Big Red are mortal enemies. Now that Lucky has joined the fray, Fatty's best bet is good!

It seemed that Chairman Zhang and the others thought it was a giant bird raised in the mountains and didn't say much, which relieved Zhang Niu's tense heart. If they pressed him for answers, he wouldn't know how to explain.

Seeing this gentle and docile Jixiang is truly incomparable to the Jixiang that had been full of sharp eyes just now.

The fat man decided to leave; staying there felt particularly dangerous.

"Then I'll go to the kitchen and see if Liangshan's breakfast is ready." With that, he hurriedly slipped away.

Fatty and Jixiang's airs have been put to rest. Zhang Niu smiled helplessly; this was the only way things could be. After all, he had taken pity on the chubby little guys and kindly raised them.

"The fat guy was pretty scared, he ran away so fast," Chairman Zhang said to the fat guy's retreating figure.

"This trouble stems from eating birds; it's too complicated to explain in a short time," he said, shaking his head.

"That's true. Since you and Jixiang are so familiar with each other, I feel much more at ease. I was a little frightened by what I just saw." He said, walking towards the kitchen.

"Gurgle. Gurgle."

Zhang Niu looked down and saw that the cat had run out from some corner and was standing under Jixiang, staring at the huge creature in front of it and meowing incessantly, as if trying to get Jixiang's attention.

Jixiang tilted his head and looked at the little thing at his feet. In Jixiang's eyes, this cat was only a tiny bit bigger than a mountain sparrow.

The cat's purring was even louder, and its fluttering little wings seemed to indicate that it was quite pleased that Jixiang was paying attention to it.

With a flap of its wings, the auspicious cat tumbled several times before finally stopping.

At this moment, the cat's eyes were shining with admiration. It seemed that this enormous creature was indeed not something it could curry favor with, and it was best to retreat first. It flapped its wings and prepared to fly away.

A pair of sharp claws reached out, grabbed the cat, and tossed it into the air. The cat frantically flapped its wings, but it kept falling. The more anxious it became, the less it could flap its wings.

Cats rarely fly; they prefer to hop around on the concrete road. They only use their wings to fly into the rabbit enclosure.

Just when I thought it was going to fall to the ground, it landed on Jixiang's broad back instead. Its whole body was like feathers, and it took a while before it poked its little head out.

The cat was extremely excited, clearly delighted to receive such auspicious blessings.

Looking at Jixiang hovering high in the sky, leaving only a dark shadow, Zhang Niu smiled. He had finally managed to get through it; he had nothing to worry about now.

Looking back, the cherry tree in the yard was bent over by the weight of Jixiang. It seemed that this place needed to be tidied up, otherwise there really wouldn't be a place for Jixiang to settle down in this orchard.

"Time to eat!"

The fat man's shouts were much louder than before, indicating that the courtyard was auspicious and the fat man had returned to his previous mood, which seemed unlikely to change anytime soon.

I should wash my face first. There's a newly opened well now, and the water in the well in the morning is so cool and refreshing. Everyone says that well water is warm in winter and cool in summer, and that's absolutely true.

Liang Shan, who was inside the house, already knew the auspicious origin of the giant blue bird, but he was still quite surprised. Such birds did exist in the deep mountains, but few people knew about them.

Upon entering the room, a small pot of porridge was placed on the table, and the fat man was already eating.

I served myself a bowl, picked up a pan-fried flatbread, and sautéed it in a pot. It was sweet, and the combination of porridge and flatbread was quite a good choice.

While drinking the porridge in his bowl, he asked, "Fatty, do you have any plane trees in your orchard?"

The fat man, who was eating porridge, was taken aback. Why would he ask such a question? "I run an orchard, not a tree nursery. I might have some osmanthus trees, but how about banyan trees?"

As soon as the fat man finished speaking, he asked again, "What do you want this tree trunk for?"

"You see how heavy Jixiang is! He's deformed under my cherry tree. That's why I bought a few large saplings, firstly so they can have a good place to grow, and secondly so they can have a good shady spot in the summer."

Oh, I see. That's quite thoughtful.

After finishing a bowl of porridge, the fat man said, "If you want some shade, buying some osmanthus trees would be a good idea. In autumn, the fragrance will fill the entire Happy Little House. Besides, osmanthus flowers can be used to make osmanthus cakes and sachets, which have many benefits."

Ugh! I even failed to grow my own orchard. It's really frustrating, I can't explain it.

After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that the fragrance of osmanthus flowers is indeed very pleasant, and the osmanthus cake is delicious. As for the sachet, Fatty's suggestion was quite insightful.

"The osmanthus trees I have have been planted for several years, but people complain that they are too tall, so they haven't been sold yet. Since you're going to plant trees here anyway, why not get some osmanthus trees? They're easy to manage and live. What do you think?" After saying that, he looked at Zhang Niu, as if he wanted to know the answer.

This guy was really scheming, I thought he'd be so kind, but it turns out he was just selling unsold osmanthus trees. He deserves a beating.

"If you can get me two plane trees, there's a reason I can leave the osmanthus tree behind. It's up to you how you want to deal with it," Zhang Niu said, munching on a pancake.

Upon hearing Zhang Niu's words, "If you get a plane tree, you'll naturally want the osmanthus too," and he happily ran out of the kitchen. You can guess he was going to visit a friend!

"Why are you so eager to buy a plane tree? Don't you think your lucky cat is a phoenix?" Chairman Zhang said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Niu genuinely thought that Chairman Zhang would find out, which made him feel a little guilty. It turned out to be a joke. However, Zhang Niu did indeed want to bring back a sycamore tree.

But where are those legendary parasol trees now? Why not find a tree named after a parasol tree to replace it, at least to satisfy our conscience?

"No, I just heard that sycamore trees are easy to manage; any branch can be planted and grow." He replied with a smile.

It's well-known that Chinese parasol trees are easy to grow; any branch taken from them will survive. Many schools and other places prefer Chinese parasol trees.

The sycamore tree is inexpensive and suitable for most people to plant. It is also a good choice for cooling off in the summer. Its leaves are tall and lush, better than those of ordinary trees.

"I've got it! My friend happens to have a few left, they should be delivered around noon." The fat man ran in cheerfully, announcing the good news.

The fat man's friend contacted him very quickly; the tree was delivered by noon, which was quite fast.

"That would be a lot of trouble for you. I don't know how many osmanthus trees you have. There are too many for me to handle, and this place can't plant that many."

Since Zhang Niu brought it up, the fat man decided to calculate how many trees he should bring over. The osmanthus trees in his garden were planted there because he had mistaken the species when he first started. Many people had seen them and thought they were too tall and useless to buy.

The fat man himself likes the smell of osmanthus, and he has quite a few osmanthus cakes at home.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Zhang Niu, "How about six trees? Six is ​​auspicious, and you can plant two on the uphill side and hang a sign between them. It's a great idea."

He's really thoughtful. Six is ​​a lucky number, but why not just have eight? I thought to myself, I was disgusted with this guy.

"Six trees it is! But you'll have to have your employees plant them." Zhang Niu started bargaining; planting saplings is no simple matter.

"No problem! Planting trees is a piece of cake. My staff will take care of it for you. They'll even take care of the sycamore trees. As long as you pay, you don't have to lift a finger." The fat man picked up a piece of pancake and started eating it again.

This plate of pancakes isn't enough for this guy.

"That's good. After all, I'm not as good at planting trees as you experts. I'm just an outsider who doesn't know anything about the intricacies of the trade," he said with a smile.

The changes at Happy Cottage over this period are obvious to everyone. The renovation has indeed brought about a significant change, and at least on rainy days, one can feel the poetic beauty after the rain.

For the fat man, that was unnecessary. If it was drizzling, he would take his fishing rod and start his fishing battle. People often say that rainy days are good for fishing.

Unfortunately, after that spectacular success, Fatty's fishing has been completely unsuccessful. Perhaps it's a technical issue or something else, but at least there's been no sign of any snakehead fish. (To be continued. For more chapters and to support the author, please log in and read the official version!)