Dragon, Truly Shameless (Yuri Futa, Farming) - Chapter 22
Today, Long Qing’s haul included some fruits and two wild rabbits.
Winter was approaching, and the wild animals in the mountains were all fattening up for the cold. The two rabbits were very plump, trembling in Ah Hu’s paws, huddled into a ball of fur.
Shen Qingming’s eyes curved slightly, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the rabbits. She pondered what dinner to make for Long Qing later; braised rabbit meat sounded good. Lost in thought, she continued to follow blindly behind Long Qing, not watching her step. After an unknown amount of time, Long Qing stopped, and Shen Qingming, unaware, simply bumped into her.
Her forehead hit Long Qing’s back squarely. She cried out in pain, clutching her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She poked her head out and asked, “Why did you stop?”
Long Qing looked at her foolish expression and turned around helplessly, saying calmly, “Little girl, why are you so distracted today?”
Shen Qingming didn’t understand at first. Long Qing stepped aside, and only then did she clearly see the surrounding forest. The cave was right in front of them; they had arrived home. Thinking of her own foolishness just now, the familiar blush crept up her cheeks again, mentally chiding herself for always embarrassing herself in front of Long Qing.
“Are you terribly hungry? Have a pear first; dinner will be ready soon.” Long Qing thought she was light-headed from hunger, so she took out a snow pear and handed it to her.
Shen Qingming first secretly glanced at Long Qing to make sure she wasn’t angry before taking the pear. The snow pear was large, with thin, crisp skin, and she could smell a faint pear fragrance when she sniffed it. Taking a bite, the pear juice burst in her mouth, bringing a sweetness unique to autumn. Her eyes lit up, and she instinctively held the pear towards Long Qing’s mouth, “It’s so sweet, you should try some too.”
Long Qing looked down at the bitten snow pear, pursed her lips as if hesitating, then looked at Shen Qingming uncertainly. It was only then that Shen Qingming realized what foolish thing she had done again. Her already flushed face turned completely crimson, and she quickly waved her hand, “No, I, I’ll get you another one.”
Just as she was about to reach for a pear, she realized the bag of pears was hanging on Long Qing. Her hand paused in mid-air, caught between a rock and a hard place, so embarrassed she wished time could rewind. In her mortification, she saw Long Qing reach out, not for a pear, but to take her hand that was holding the pear, then lowered her head and bit into the pear flesh, directly where Shen Qingming had bitten.
Even though it was the pear that was bitten, Shen Qingming felt as if her own hand had been bitten. A jolt like an electric shock traveled from her fingers through her body, rapidly spreading along her spine to her entire being, making her stiff and her heart pound faster and faster, her face flushed to the point of dripping bl00d.
“Mm, it’s really sweet,” Long Qing chewed the pear flesh slowly, her gaze lingering on Shen Qingming. The young girl lowered her head and hunched her shoulders, eating the pear in small bites. She seemed a little cold; the little girl shivered with each mouthful, paired with a rosy little face, incredibly cute. Long Qing’s eyes held a smile. It was strange, she had eaten this autumn pear for at least a hundred years, but this year’s pear was different, especially sweet.
After “sharing” a snow pear, the bamboo drying rack set up in front of the dragon’s cave caught Long Qing’s attention. Because it was dark, she hadn’t noticed it earlier.
“Are these persimmons?” She walked over, curious, examining them up and down. They were indeed persimmons, and they had been peeled. A single grass rope held a dozen or so, and at first glance, she thought they were strings of unusually large golden grapes.
“Mm, aren’t the velvet antlers gone? I figured we needed to find a second source of income. We can’t eat all these persimmons anyway, so instead of wasting them, why not make them into dried persimmons? Dried persimmons are sweet and soft, and they can be stored for a long time. When fruit is scarce in winter, we can sell them. They should fetch a good price.”
Long Qing truly didn’t understand what was in the girl’s small mind. Did she seem that poor? To the extent that the girl was entirely preoccupied with making money.
“Are dried persimmons very valuable?” She glanced at the persimmons on the bamboo rack, asking idly.
Shen Qingming shook her head, “Not very valuable, but at least it’s an income.” In her heart, however, she thought that Long Qing seemed a little unhappy just now, or rather, competitive? She couldn’t help but recall that Long Qing had been like this when they were dealing with the velvet antlers, and now it was the same with the dried persimmons.
Long Qing’s expression was natural, but in her heart, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Living with the little girl for a long time, she felt as if she herself had become worthless, relegated to the same level as common things like velvet antlers and dried persimmons. She said to Shen Qingming: “Since you want to make them, then make them. Just don’t tire yourself out.”
“Mm,” Shen Qingming nodded, her face full of anticipation. “Then tomorrow we’ll pick more persimmons. I see winter is only about a month away, so we need to hurry.”
The young girl’s expectant gaze in the night was like shimmering stars, radiant and captivating. The vitality and passion for life she displayed were infectious to Long Qing, who chuckled softly and nodded.
The next morning, Long Qing took Shen Qingming to pick all the good-looking persimmons from the persimmon grove, turning them all into hanging dried persimmons. During this time, they also tidied up the cave again. In just a few days, the cave was completely transformed.
The cave was still the same cave, but now it was surrounded by a simple bamboo fence. On one side, near the stream behind the mountain, was a vegetable patch, and the other side served as an area for daily activities. Shen Qingming cleverly utilized the hollow structure of the bamboo to divert water from the nearby stream, making daily water use convenient. Every time Long Qing saw all this, she would sigh with emotion.
A month later, the north wind finally broke through the last barrier, howling down Black Dragon Mountain with unstoppable force, signaling the arrival of winter. The hanging dried persimmons made earlier had transformed after a month of drying. The plump persimmons had shriveled and wrinkled due to dehydration, and a thin layer of white frost had precipitated on their surface.
Shen Qingming squeezed them one by one, testing their texture. She took down the one with the best feel and handed it to Long Qing, “A-Qing, try this.”
Long Qing was very curious. Earlier, when she saw white frost forming on the persimmons, she thought they were molding, but Shen Qingming said it was normal and called it persimmon frost. Taking the persimmon, it felt soft. She tentatively took a bite; the skin was slightly springy and chewy, enveloping an orange-red, translucent pulp, with a rich persimmon aroma.
“Is it good?” Shen Qingming looked at her, her eyes sparkling.
“Why don’t you try it and find out?” Long Qing quickly finished one. The taste was completely different from fresh persimmons; it lacked the astringency of fresh ones, and its texture was soft and glutinous, sweet but not cloying—it was indeed good.
Shen Qingming turned her head and quietly mumbled that this was for selling, so she wouldn’t bear to eat it herself; she would only eat it if it was for Long Qing. Long Qing had already experienced the girl’s frugality. Shen Qingming was very frugal, but only with herself; she was exceptionally generous with Long Qing, always giving her the best, despite being so thin herself, she wouldn’t spare a single bite. Long Qing picked out a good-looking one and put it into her small mouth, “Eat it if I tell you to. It wouldn’t do for the person making dried persimmons not to eat dried persimmons, would it?”
Shen Qingming’s face flushed, but Long Qing’s latter half of the sentence made her expression stiffen. It was very normal for someone making dried persimmons not to eat dried persimmons. Not just that, just like farmers don’t eat the new rice they grow, carpenters don’t use the redwood tables and chairs they craft with their own hands, and tailors don’t wear the brocade robes they sew by lamplight. Even in the Old Shen family, she, who raised pigs, couldn’t eat the New Year’s pig she had raised. The root of all this was that she wasn’t worthy; she was lowly and didn’t deserve to eat the New Year’s pig.
“What’s wrong?” Long Qing saw her suddenly look dejected and her aura listless, and couldn’t help but worry.
“Nothing, I just realized the dried persimmons are truly delicious, and eating them feels a bit wasteful,” Shen Qingming ate the dried persimmon. The dried persimmon was sweet, but her heart was filled with bitterness.
“How can eating something be a waste? Besides, haven’t you realized that this deliciousness is all thanks to you? Otherwise, they would just ripen and rot on the ground. How can you belittle yourself like this? My little girl is precious,” Long Qing said with a light smile, seemingly with a deeper meaning.
Unfortunately, Shen Qingming didn’t catch her underlying meaning; instead, the phrase “my little girl” made her feel inexplicably shy. It sounded as if she were Long Qing’s something, though she seemingly was indeed Long Qing’s something.
Perhaps it was from living here for so long, running all over the mountains every day. The dangers of the deep mountains gradually faded from her mind. Now, she only felt that the scenery here was beautiful and wonderful. This forest was untouched by humans, filled with wild animals and fruits everywhere, and there were no dangerous beasts threatening them. Over time, her impression of this place evolved from a place of lonely souls and ghosts to one of… “marrying a chicken, following a chicken; marrying a dog, following a dog.”
Even though Long Qing was a woman, she still developed this “marry a chicken, follow a chicken; marry a dog, follow a dog” mentality. She secretly glanced at Long Qing beside her. No matter what happened in the future, she thought she would basically live with Long Qing, and even… didn’t want to marry a man. But what about Long Qing? Were Long Qing’s family still alive? Or was Long Qing already married? If Long Qing’s husband came looking for her, then she…
At this thought, Shen Qingming felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her head, chilling her to the core. She realized that her current life was not substantial at all, like a dream, always facing the possibility of ending. She desperately wanted to ask Long Qing, to clarify everything, but then realized she had no reason, no standing.
Was she being too greedy?