Chapter 72: The Black Umbrella

After a few rounds of mahjong, it was almost time for lunch. Shao Hao said he had prepared a private room and invited them to come.

Lu Qingjiu was interested in what Shao Hao and the others ate, so he didn't say no. But Shao Hao led them straight out of the bird park, back to the human world, and then greeted them in the car and drove them to a very classy restaurant in the city centre.

Lu Qingjiu was dumbfounded sitting in the car: "You don't eat at your house?"

Shao Hao said, "I don't know how to cook, and I rarely cook at home."

Lu Qingjiu was a bit surprised: "So you eat out every day?" Although the food tasted good, it would get boring every day.

Shao Hao says: "It's not every day outside, most of the time. It's all eaten with the birds if it's too much trouble."

Lu Qingjiu: "What does the bird eat?"

Shao Hao smiled: "I'll eat anything." As he said this, he gave Yin Xun a thoughtful look, causing him to crane his neck and try to shrink his presence, Shao Hao returned his gaze and continued, "Like ripe fruit, or some small mammal."

Lu Qingjiu: "Eaten raw"

Shao Hao nods his head.

Lu Qingjiu sighed in his heart that the White Emperor was too hardcore.

When they arrived at the entrance of the hotel, Shao Hao parked the car and led them in. He was obviously a regular customer here, and even the waiter at the entrance greeted him with a curt "Mr. Bai".

Lu Qingjiu had never been to this place before, but he had heard that it was a members-only restaurant, and that people who wanted to eat there could not, and had to be introduced by someone on the inside. Based on Shao Hao's identity, Lu Qingjiu suspects that the owner of the restaurant is Shao Hao himself.

Lu Qingjiu was about to ask a question when he stood up and hurriedly said, "I have to go to the toilet." Lu Qingjiu was about to ask a question when he stood up and said hurriedly, "I have to go to the toilet." He turned around and left, looking a bit distressed.

Lu Qingjiu at first thought Shao Hao was just solving a physical problem, but who knew that for the next hour, he would be sitting on the bench for less than two minutes before getting up again, and his face was turning increasingly blue, and finally he would not return to the box. Lu Qingjiu looked at the scene and felt somehow familiar, so he turned his suspicious gaze to Yin Xun, who was looking very faint.

"What the hell were you doing?" Lu Qingjiu asked.

Yin Xun said, "I didn't do anything."

Lu Qingjiu: "Then why does he have diarrhoea?"

Yin Xun played it cool: "Maybe it's because he's weak."

Lu Qingjiu would be damned if he believed it. He watched his friend's expression to make sure he was hiding something: "Tell me honestly, when you were out with Shao Hao just now, you didn't cook for him, did you? There was no ambiguity at all. It's a good thing the toilets in this place are toilets, otherwise he would have felt like his legs could be amputated.

"No." Yin Xun said, "I have nothing to do with cooking for him."

Lu Qingjiu: "No really"

Yin Xun said, "No." He lowered his gaze to the sumptuous dishes before him and swallowed.

When Lu Qingjiu saw how resolute Yin Xun was in his answer, he didn't pursue the matter any further. He obviously couldn't have imagined that Yin Xun had indeed not made anything for Shao Hao to eat, he had just shyly cut himself a piece and given it a taste. Of course, with such a large piece, the potency was so good that Shao Hao probably had to live in the toilet for a few days.

Shao Hao lives in a toilet, but it doesn't affect their desire for good food at all. You can tell when you've tasted it that it's no ordinary dish. This is a dish that Lu Qingjiu has never tried because it is too complicated, even though he knows the general recipe.

Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun were so happy with their meal that they forgot all about their hosts. Lu Qingjiu had a little bit of conscience left, and when he had almost finished eating, he went to the toilet and asked Shao Hao if he needed some more paper.

Shao Hao squeezed a no thank you through his teeth.

"Have you eaten something wrong?" Lu Qingjiu saw that he was in a terrible state and felt compassionate, "Do you want me to get some medicine for you?"

"No need." Shao Hao said, "Ordinary medicine has little effect on me."

Lu Qingjiu: "Oh well, we've almost eaten, you see"

Shao Hao: "The order has been bought."

Lu Qingjiu: "Wonderful, thank you for your hospitality."

Shao Hao: ""I knew it, he was wondering why Lu Qingjiu had suddenly come to ask about the situation when he had been pooping for so long, but it turned out that he had almost finished eating and was worried that he had not paid the bill. Sitting on the toilet, Shao Hao took a deep breath and was about to stand up and walk out, but just as he pushed the door open, he felt his stomach flip again and was forced to sit back down. Desperate, he propped himself up on his knees and thought hard about what he had eaten all day, finally remembering inexplicably that the soft touch of Yin Xun's fingers could have been

Shao Hao covered his face and let out a long sigh.

Sitting in front of the table with his belly rounded from eating, Yin Xun suddenly sneezes, rubbing his nose and muttering if he has a cold.

"The mountain gods still catch colds," Lu Qingjiu asked.

"That's not true." Yin Xun says, "To be honest, I don't feel much different from ordinary people, except that I can eat myself."

Lu Qingjiu: ""Put away your proud little face, is it something to be proud of when you can be eaten

Although Shao Hao was still trapped in the toilet, he had treated them to such an expensive meal. The three of them combined their efforts and went into the toilet together to say goodbye to Shao Hao.

"Mr. Bai, we're ready to go back." Lu Qingjiu said, "Come and play more often next time."

Shao Hao's voice sounded a little muffled through the toilet door, "Good."

Yin Xun followed Lu Qingjiu and whispered, "Welcome to play."

Shao Hao: "Definitely come." These three words were uttered with a gnashing of teeth that made Yin Xun crane his neck.

The three of them ate and drank their fill and left satisfied, then took a taxi back to Shao Hao's villa and drove home in their minivan with great pleasure. The Shao Hao butler was a bit confused, apparently not understanding why the guests had returned but the hosts were nowhere to be seen.

Lu Qingjiu was in a good mood after seeing the beautiful bird garden and eating a big meal. After an afternoon nap, he got up from bed and planned to make some buns and rolls for dinner. But when he checked the ingredients, Lu Qingjiu found that the family had run out of green onions.

Bai Yuehu was also taking a nap in the courtyard, so Lu Qingjiu thought the field was not far away anyway, so he didn't bother him and planned to go and pick it himself.

Small onions are a common ingredient that can be used in all kinds of dishes, so they are consumed very quickly, but the good thing is that they grow a lot of them at home, so when you want to eat them, you can just take a pair of scissors and cut one, which is very fresh.

On the way, Lu Qingjiu thought that he might as well transplant the onions into the garden like leeks, so that they would be easier to pick.

It is still a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly. The weather is pleasant for ordinary people, but not for the farmers who depend on the sky for their livelihood. There is too little rain, the crops in the ground grow slowly and they have to pick up water every day for irrigation or the harvest will be affected.

It's been a few months since the start of spring and it has only rained three or four times. If it weren't for Bai Yuehu, Lu Qingjiu would be struggling with the vegetables in their fields. Their irrigation water is drawn from a distant reservoir, and if the water level is too low, they have to find another source. Lu Qingjiu had never farmed before and didn't understand this until he heard the old Li Family next door sighing and sighing, then he realised the importance of spring rains to the farmers.

Lu Qingjiu realised that he had gone too far when he came back to his senses and saw a row of lovely little green onions in the field.

This is a much more fragrant version of the green onions sold in the market, especially when used to make tofu with green onions. The tofu is also home-ordered and has a great bean flavour, so cut it into cubes and serve it cold with the green onions, drizzled with sesame oil and a little salt for a refreshing taste.

Lu Qingjiu took out his scissors, bent down and cut a handful of small onions, picked a ripe pumpkin, plucked two nests of cabbages and picked some small red peppers, all of which he put into the bamboo basket he was carrying before starting to walk slowly back.

Every time Lu Qingjiu comes to the field, he is amazed by Bai Yuehu's talent for cultivating the land, with its neat green seedlings, red peppers and yellow pumpkins.

The pumpkins are a bit big, Lu Qingjiu has picked a small one on purpose, so you can have two meals from one pumpkin, and if you have time in the afternoon, you can also make pumpkin cakes with bean paste to satisfy your craving.

Lu Qingjiu was walking along when he noticed a black object sitting in the middle of the road, and on closer inspection he realised that it was a black umbrella lying quietly by the side of the road.

Whose umbrella Lu Qingjiu's feet stopped, the umbrella was right in front of him, and he could pick it up as soon as he bent down. It looked ordinary, a black umbrella of the kind you can buy on the market. Lu Qingjiu was going to pick it up and ask if someone in the village had lost it, but before he could reach out his hand he noticed a detail on the umbrella.

The black umbrella was wet, with traces of rain on its surface. It hadn't rained in Shuifu Village for almost a week, so who would take such a black umbrella out Lu Qingjiu had a bad feeling, thinking of the Rainmaker concubine, and slowly took a step backwards, stepping around the side to avoid the bizarre-looking umbrella.

Lu Qingjiu walked some distance away and looked behind him, but he saw that the umbrella was still lying in place, seemingly not reacting to anything. Lu Qingjiu clearly saw that there were countless eyeballs inside the umbrella, with blood-red nerves and black pupils looking directly at Lu Qingjiu.

"Ah" Lu Qingjiu screamed out in shock at the sight, he reacted extremely quickly, threw the vegetable basket away and turned to run.

Lu Qingjiu turned his head to see the black umbrella rolling towards him like a wheel, the nerves of the eyeballs stuck to the inside of the black umbrella, forming a circle as it rolled.

"Bai Yuehu, Bai Yuehu, help, help," Lu Qingjiu rushed faster than a rabbit in the face of his desire to live, but fortunately their land was close to their home. The heart of Bai Yuehu was instantly dropped.

"What's wrong?" Bai Yuehu asked, seeing Lu Qingjiu's breathless appearance.

"I saw an umbrella on the side of the road," Lu Qingjiu said with difficulty, "and it was full of eyeballs, and it came after me."

Bai Yuehu said, "The eyeball," he thought for a moment and seemed to think of something, frowning slightly, "Where is it?"

Lu Qingjiu: "Just outside."

Bai Yuehu gets up and walks to the door, but sees nothing; the empty country road is devoid of the black umbrella and eyeballs Lu Qingjiu spoke of.

Lu Qingjiu stood behind Bai Yuehu and poked his head out: "Why is it gone?"

Bai Yuehu turned his head and looked at Lu Qingjiu for a moment: "Want to go and have a look?"

Lu Qingjiu: "Go and have a look, the vegetables I just picked are still on their way."

Bai Yuehu walks out of the courtyard, but what puzzles Lu Qingjiu is that the black umbrella that was chasing him has disappeared, along with the basket of vegetables he left by the roadside.

"No more." Lu Qingjiu said, "What's that?"

Bai Yuehu shook his head, "I don't know."

Lu Qingjiu: "Why is he chasing me?"

Bai Yuehu sighs, "It's never good to chase you."

It's not a good thing to look at that umbrella, even though it's gone, but Lu Qingjiu's heart is still pounding.

Bai Yuehu said, "You go back to the yard, I'll pick the vegetables, what do you need?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "I'd better go back with you." Don't see that thing again on the way back.

Lu Qingjiu kept an eye on the area, but it was clear that the object did not want to meet Bai Yuehu, and Lu Qingjiu did not see it again until they entered the courtyard.

"Don't go out for the next few days." When he arrived home, Bai Yuehu instructed Lu Qingjiu.

Lu Qingjiu nodded in response to Bai Yuehu's advice. He was not as strong a fighter as Bai Yuehu and if he did encounter something strange, running was the only way to survive.

In the afternoon, Yin Xun also heard about what had happened to Lu Qingjiu and was a bit worried, but he reassured Lu Qingjiu that Bai Yuehu was there and that he would be fine.

Lu Qingjiu laughed, "I know, I'm just curious about what it is and what the eyeball inside is."

Yin Xun said, "It's definitely not good anyway."

The corners of Bai Yuehu's mouth twitched slightly at his words.

With nothing else to do in the afternoon, Lu Qingjiu steamed the pumpkin he had brought home earlier and took out the salted duck eggs he had salted over the winter to make pumpkin soufflé. Yin Xun helped to knead the pumpkin and flour together. Lu Qingjiu's first time making the puff pastry meant that the pastry was a little thicker, but it was still crispy enough. The egg yolks spilled out with a single bite, and the sweet bean paste gave it a delicious salty flavour.

Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu are always enthusiastic about snacks, and the three of them soon forgot about the morning's unpleasantness as they ate their sweet treats.

Lu Qingjiu had planned to go to town tomorrow to buy some lemons and passion fruit to make lemon chicken feet, but he had to delay because of what had just happened, so he talked to Bai Yuehu about it.

Lu Qingjiu was still very much at ease with Bai Yuehu and watched him get into the minivan before returning to the courtyard.

Yin Xun has just eaten several soufflés and is now sitting in the courtyard resting. Lu Qingjiu looks up at the sky and sees that the sunny morning sky is now covered with black clouds and it looks like it is going to rain.

Spring rain is as precious as oil and it was a long-awaited downpour.

Lu Qingjiu put away the things that were drying in the courtyard. He took advantage of the good spring weather to buy some cowpeas and seaweed, which he intended to dry and store, as long as they were well preserved, they would last for a long time and would be a good ingredient for stews in winter.

At this time of year, honey oranges are also ripe, so Lu Qingjiu bought some to eat at home and after eating them, the peel is dried and can be used to make a peel. The peel can be used in water or as a spice to remove most of the fishy taste and grease from food.

Lu Qingjiu had almost finished putting his things away when the rain came down from the sky.

Unlike the intense summer rain, the spring rain is as soft as silk, and even the sound is gentle, falling slowly on the ground with a rustling sound.

The smell of earth begins to fill the air as Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun sit at home, chatting and watching the rain outside.

" Bai Yuehu didn't bring his umbrella" Lu Qingjiu remembered something.

"I thought he didn't need an umbrella," Yin Xun said.

"I can't." Lu Qingjiu said, "He's shopping in the town, so he can't keep the rain away like he did before." If humans saw him, Bai Yuehu was afraid he would be mobbed.

"Hey, that's true." Yin Xun didn't think of this, and reached out to rub his head, "But it's a light rain, so it doesn't matter if I get wet."

Lu Qingjiu didn't say anything, he just got up and went to the bathroom to get a dry towel and put it on the table, thinking that Bai Yuehu was coming back, so he would just wipe his hair.

The rain gradually became heavier, and the dry land turned into a wet colour, with puddles of water forming in the lowlands. Lu Qingjiu suddenly remembered something: "Hey, did I forget to cover the beehives in the backyard with tarpaulins?" He had taken the tarpaulins off the top of the hives to clean them, but had forgotten to hang them back up.

"I'll go." Yin Xun said, "Is the tarpaulin in the kitchen?"

"Hmm." Lu Qingjiu said, "Take a quart of honey out, by the way, for the cake tomorrow."

Yin Xun nods, touches an umbrella in his hand and goes out. Lu Qingjiu was wondering if there was something else he had forgotten to take back when he heard Yin Xun's miserable scream from the backyard.

Lu Qingjiu's heart fluttered in shock and he shouted under his breath, " Yin Xun" He didn't even have time to hit his umbrella and rushed straight for the backyard, casually picking up a wooden stick placed in the corner as a weapon of defence as he rushed past.

"Ahhhhhhh" Yin Xun was still screaming miserably.

When Lu Qingjiu saw Yin Xun in the backyard, he sucked in a mouthful of

The umbrella seemed to be alive, wrapping Yin Xun's head in it, and no matter how much Yin Xun struggled, he could not break free.

Lu Qingjiu put down the stick and started to help Yin Xun tear the black umbrella, but no matter how hard he tried, the umbrella was firmly stuck to Yin Xun's head, and Yin Xun struggled hard at first, but then his movements gradually became less and less, as if he had lost his strength.

Lu Qingjiu was frantic and rushed to the kitchen to get scissors, only to find that the umbrella was made of material that could not be poked through with scissors.

"Yin Xun, Yin Xun, hold on, I'll call Bai Yuehu right away, hold on a little longer." Lu Qingjiu's face was covered in water, not knowing whether it was rain or sweat from the rush.

"Wait." Yin Xun's muffled voice came out from inside the umbrella, "I've noticed that this thing doesn't seem to have much effect on me either."

Lu Qingjiu: "Ha"

Yin Xun said, "Except that I can't see." He reflexively tried to scratch his head, but touched the surface of the black umbrella, "I don't need to breathe anyway, so it doesn't seem to matter if I'm wrapped up like this."

Lu Qingjiu: "It's really okay"

Yin Xun got up from the floor: "Nothing really happened."

Lu Qingjiu: "But can't you see?"

Yin Xun: "I'm at least a mountain god, so I can actually see without my eyes if I want to, but I don't usually like to turn on this ability, after all, I always see things I shouldn't."

Lu Qingjiu: "So what are the other feelings?"

Yin Xun: "It doesn't feel like anything." No pain, no itch.

Lu Qingjiu took a deep breath: "Then why the fuck are you screaming like a chicken that's been killed?"

Yin Xun snapped, "I'm just scared." He justified again, "If you were suddenly held by such a thing on your head, wouldn't you scream?"

Lu Qingjiu thought to himself that I wouldn't have much chance to scream, and that I would be suffocated in two minutes at most anyway.

Yin Xun said, "So what do we do now, let it be on my head?"

Lu Qingjiu sighed, "Make do with it, when Bai Yuehu comes back, let him get it for you."

Yin Xun said, "That's fine, it's still raining, you go in first, I'll put the tarpaulin on and come."

Lu Qingjiu said, "No, we'd better go in together." This heart of his really couldn't take any more stimulation.

Yin Xun sharply covered the tarpaulin, proving that he could indeed see it, and finished the hive before joining Lu Qingjiu in the house. Lu Qingjiu took a towel and wiped his face, then looked at Yin Xun, whose head had turned into an umbrella.

Yin Xun: "What do you think I'm doing? Does this umbrella look good?"

Lu Qingjiu: ""Friend, why is your focus always so clear.

Bai Yuehu's expression froze as soon as he entered the house after his shopping.

Lu Qingjiu seemed to know what Bai Yuehu was thinking and made an introduction, "This is Yin Xun."

Bai Yuehu: "What kind of look is this? You need an umbrella for your brain"

Lu Qingjiu :""

Yin Xun :""

Bai Yuehu, you are a real talent.

Lu Qingjiu's silent pat on the shoulder: hard work.

Bai Yuehu: What are you doing at home while I'm away?