Chapter 28

Ye Chen filled the Winter Velvet Flower pillow core and covered it with a pillowcase from a Taobao store.

The material of both the pillowcase and the pillow core were standard white cotton fabric, nothing fancy, but enough to avoid any speculation about cheapness from others.

After preparing the pillow, Ye Chen tied a cross-shaped knot on it using a satin ribbon he bought on Taobao for ten yuan and eight cents, then placed the pillow into a gift bag he purchased for nine yuan and five cents.

The ribbon and the gift bag were of the same design, with a gradient from deep black to dim blue, with delicate light-colored marble patterns scattered throughout, giving it a dreamy yet dignified feel. Ye Chen spent about thirty megabytes of data and took more than half an hour to choose this design, fearing that the color of the gift packaging might reveal his humble origins.

Before the overnight poverty, Ye Chen was still a decent person. Even if he was tight on money, he wanted the birthday gift to look decent. He couldn’t just give Shen Mofeng a plain pillow. Plus, the Winter Velvet Flower pillow only cost him forty yuan and three cents in total. Normally, forty yuan and three cents wouldn’t buy such a practical gift. At most, it would be something from the “made boys cry upon receiving” series.

After packaging the pillow, Ye Chen immediately went about tending to various tasks in the fields. By the time he finished everything, it was already half past one in the afternoon.

It was about time, so Ye Chen picked up a crate of pears and was about to use the teleportation gate to go back when he heard the familiar sound of the Mountain and Sea Realm app notification.

Ye Chen put down the pears and took out his phone, seeing that Jing Ling had issued a new task.

Repair Task 2: Plant two thousand spirit trees.

Task Deadline: Three months.

Task Completion Reward: Diao Shu Tong Mountain Cave Super Gift Pack.

The Super Gift Pack includes: Diao Shu Tong Mountain Cave, a Wei River, and a white jade vein in the eastern part of the mountain.

Task Description: No specific tree species are designated; any spirit tree that helps restore the spiritual veins is acceptable. Trees from the mortal realm do not count toward the task.

Task Slogan: Never forget the original intention, remember the mission. Users are encouraged to immerse themselves in the ecological civilization construction of the Mountain and Sea Realm, embrace the new era, demonstrate a new style, and remember that green waters and green mountains are indeed invaluable assets!

Ye Chen was stunned for a moment, then keenly sensed the key point: “…Did you secretly use my data to read the news?”

Jing Ling replied, “…No.”

Nonsense! The description of this task is exactly like a press release! Ye Chen narrowed his eyes sharply, went into the settings, turned off all the app permissions for the Mountain and Sea Realm app, and deleted various video apps to prevent further disasters.

Jing Ling sent a series of protest notifications.

After resolving the most critical issue, Ye Chen suddenly took a deep breath and realized belatedly, “…They want me to plant two thousand trees in three months!?”

Ye Chen had counted before. The spirit trees were all preserved in the form of saplings, with only one or two saplings of each species. Even if he planted them all at once, it wouldn’t be enough for two thousand trees. Moreover, each type of tree required different planting methods, fertilizers, nutrients, and maintenance intervals. It was completely unrealistic to plant all the saplings at once.

Jing Ling reminded, “After completing this task, the spiritual veins will be further restored, and I will receive enough spiritual energy to materialize Diao Shu Tong Mountain Cave. Don’t you want this cave?”

Ye Chen took a closer look—there was a white jade vein in the eastern part of the mountain.

“Wow.” Ye Chen’s feeling of anxiety, forced by the task, vanished in an instant. “My family… will really have a mine?”

With that, Ye Chen couldn’t help but think of the “young master with a mine at home” persona he had created to explain the courtyard to Gu Qiu.

I’m not exactly a swindler, am I? Ye Chen felt even more relieved.

Although how to mine after having a mine was a big problem, not to mention the initial capital investment. After all, even if he had money, he couldn’t bring miners into the Mountain and Sea Realm to work… But he believed that where there’s a will, there’s a way. If large-scale mining wasn’t feasible, couldn’t he use his own hard work to dig a little bit less and make ends meet?

As for how to plant two thousand spirit trees…

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, and then his eyes lit up as he quickly grasped the essence of the matter.

There’s a saying that goes “pluck a willow and it will grow into a shade tree”. From a scientific perspective, this is because the base of willow branches can grow indefinite roots, allowing broken willow branches to take root, sprout, and grow into new willow trees in the soil. Broken willow branches can even be considered as a kind of “sapling” to some extent. However, not all plants exhibit the same characteristic of growing indefinite roots like willow trees. Many trees cannot grow into new trees from broken branches, depending on the traits of the trees themselves.

…Just check which spirit trees can grow into new trees through branch cuttings like willow trees, Ye Chen thought, figuring out the trick and relaxing.

Once these spirit trees grow, he could break their branches for a second round of planting, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about the source of saplings anymore.

Seeing that it was almost two o’clock as promised, Ye Chen didn’t dare to delay any longer. He decided to check the information later and moved everything he needed into the trunk through the Chaos Anywhere Door, then drove back to the set with the divine beast cubs.

…

The car stopped outside the farmhouse gate.

Ye Chen opened the door and got out of the car. His feet had just touched the ground when Shen Mofeng, who had been waiting at the corner for who knows how long, came out from around the corner and walked towards Ye Chen in large strides, pressing the car door beside Ye Chen and enclosing him.

Ye Chen had just noticed someone standing in the corner, but was suddenly startled by the car door slamming. “Mofeng…”

“Don’t move.” Shen Mofeng grinned, holding a lollipop that was only one-fifth left, his handsome face tinged with a rogue aura, looking like a delinquent youth blocking the road, “I’m going to search you.”

“No,” Ye Chen shrank back, thinking that Shen Mofeng was really going to start, and quickly took out cigarettes and a lighter from his coat pocket, saying anxiously, “I’ll do it myself.”

Shen Mofeng stared at him, chuckled lightly, his left hand still in his pocket, and his right hand pressed against the car door without moving.

Shen Mofeng is teasing me… Ye Chen regained his composure, hesitated for half a second, and reached out to pinch the lollipop Shen Mofeng was holding in his mouth, gently pulling it out.

Shen Mofeng raised an eyebrow. “…You want it?”

“No no no.” Ye Chen felt like a bootlicker but actually softened and opened the cigarette case, took out a cigarette with the carefulness of serving the emperor, and gently handed it to Shen Mofeng’s slightly parted lips. Then, he took out the lighter, leaned over, and lit the cigarette.

Shen Mofeng: “…”

The two were very close, probably only about a foot apart. They were so close that Ye Chen could vaguely feel the breath brushing against his face. In this situation, Ye Chen felt that as long as he lowered his head… Shen Mofeng’s cigarette could singe his hair.

Ye Chen quickly stepped back, trying hard to blend into the car door behind him.

“Do you want more?” Seeing that Shen Mofeng showed no intention of leaving, and just silently looked at him, Ye Chen speculated whether he didn’t have enough with just one cigarette. So, he immediately took on the role of a steward, took out another cigarette from the case, and handed it over, “How about… I give you one in advance?”

Shen Mofeng was taken aback, then smirked, biting the cigarette, but didn’t take it.

“…” The little steward took out another cigarette, and with a serious expression, he upped the ante, “How about an advance of two cigarettes?”

Shen Mofeng was about to go crazy from being teased, his shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.

Ye Chen frowned, “Isn’t four cigarettes too many?”

Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of restraint?

“You…” Shen Mofeng took a deep breath to suppress the urge to tease the kid, pushed aside the three cigarettes, withdrew his hand from the car door, and tried to shift his attention, asking, “What did you go back to the city for?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen turned around and got into the car, picking up the gift bag placed on the passenger seat and handing it to Shen Mofeng. With a serious expression, he said, “I want to wish you an early happy birthday. I originally planned to give it to you on your birthday, but since you’ve been having trouble sleeping recently, I wanted you to use it as soon as possible…” Ye Chen hesitated whether to tell a lie, saying that it was actually a top-notch branded pillow worth tens of thousands, to avoid seeming tacky and to make Shen Mofeng take it seriously and not just let it collect dust. However, the lie that came out of his mouth suddenly choked back before he could say it.

Forget it… it’s better to lie less to Shen Ge; I’ve already deceived him enough. Ye “Little Trickster” pressed his chest, feeling a slight pang of guilt in his conscience.

Shen Mofeng looked at the gift bag and the ribbon tied around the pillow… the packaging was beautiful, but he still instinctively sensed a hint of discordance, a kind of tightening feeling in his throat, as if it was forcefully packaging poverty, like patches hidden under gorgeous folds. However, this fleeting intuition vanished in an instant.

“I made this pillow myself,” Ye Chen said.

The slight sense of discord in Shen Mofeng’s heart was immediately dispelled by surprise, and he confirmed, “You made it?”

“Yeah, the stuffing inside this pillow is a kind of herb grown in my backyard,” Ye Chen worried that Shen Mofeng would look down on it, lacking confidence, and his tone was particularly soft, “I use the same kind of pillow myself, exactly the same.”

He emphasized “exactly the same” purely to demonstrate its effectiveness.

Shen Mofeng’s dark eyes suddenly lit up, forgetting everything else.

Ye Chen continued, “The herb stuffed inside the pillow has a particularly good sleep-enhancing effect, and it smells good too. You should try it tonight no matter what you say. Just three minutes lying on the pillow and you’re guaranteed to fall asleep. If you don’t fall asleep in three minutes, then…”

—He also casually added something as he usually did when selling vegetables in the morning. He wanted to say something like “then you can come and settle accounts with me” or “I’ll refund your money”, but luckily he sensed something was wrong before the words came out and quickly swallowed them back.

Shen Mofeng’s chest heaved quickly for a moment, and he urged in a low voice, “Then what?”

Ye Chen licked his lips, sounding powerless, “Then you’ll just have to wait another three minutes.”

Shen Mofeng burst into laughter.

Ye Chen: “…”

“Thank you.” Shen Mofeng smiled and reached out to gently rub Ye Chen’s head, “You’ve put in a lot of effort, little friend.”

Three seconds later, after getting serious again, Shen Mofeng couldn’t help teasing Ye Chen, “Besides pillows, can you make anything else?”

Ye Chen obediently replied, “If you find the pillow comfortable, I can make you a quilt and mattress, using the same herb as stuffing.”

“You’re just like a little wife…” Shen Mofeng pulled his collar open, letting the cold wind in to cool down, and smiled, “Just making quilts and mattresses? What about cotton coats and pants? Sweaters?”

Ye Chen could tell that Shen Mofeng was teasing him, but he didn’t dare to retort, so he just answered earnestly, “If you insist on me making them, I’ll learn.”

Shen Mofeng even more amused by his internal fantasies, “What about scarves, gloves, and hats? Do you want to learn how to knit?”

Ye Chen simply couldn’t understand why giving a pillow seemed to hit a nerve with Shen Mofeng. With gritted teeth, he said, “I’ll learn.”

Shen Mofeng chuckled, “What about sewing shoe insoles? Stitching the soles? Are you willing to learn everything, little wife?”

Ye Chen gave Shen Mofeng a deep, resentful look, his little face twisted in a knot of grievance, “I’ll learn!”

…What did I do to deserve this?!

Shen Mofeng struggled to hold back his laughter, his abdominal muscles aching.

So for the next half day, the majestic Teacher Shen, a famous actor, spent his time in his room unable to take care of himself because of a pillow.

Xiao He, who saw through everything but dared not speak out: “…”

The kid even gave him a herbal health pillow, and here I am, Shen Ge, still fooling around…

Do we have to wait for him to send over a pair of Wen Wan Walnuts before Shen Ge can straighten out their relationship?

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s account book today:

Today’s Expenses: Gift Ribbon 10.8 yuan + Gift Bag 9.5 yuan = 20.3 yuan

Deposit Balance: 1468.5 yuan – 20.3 yuan = 1448.2 yuan

Shen Mofeng’s account book today:

– The little steward handed me cigarettes one by one, so cute.

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +10

Current Favorability: 330, Three Stars.

– He gave me a pillow he made himself, filled with herbs he planted himself, and it’s even the same as his own… He loves me to the bone, doesn’t he, little fool…

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +50

Current Favorability: 380, Three Stars.

– I asked him to do anything and he agreed, he’s trying to be obedient and kill me with cuteness.

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +10

Current Favorability: 390, Three Stars.

Shen Mofeng: …What pair of cultural relic walnuts? Where are the cultural relic walnuts? (Staring at Chen Chen’s butt)

I figure, in the next chapter, let Qiong Qiong start looking for the god-beast boss.

It’s already over ninety thousand words, and Shen Mofeng’s favorability hasn’t even reached maximum yet. Can’t my main text break three hundred thousand? Impossible…

This flag, I, Lu Qiqi, will set it here today!

TN:

Diao Shu Tong Mountain Cave – literal translation, Bird and Rat Mountain Cave. A cave mentioned in the 《Classics of Mountains and Seas》. It was a cave where birds and rats lived together. It is the origin of the Wei River and has a lot of white jade veins and white tigers.

Wen Wan Walnuts – There was a whole culture of the Upper Class playing with a pair of walnuts. It started as guqin players using them to exercise their hands to nobility playing with them for their health benefits(it apparently hit certain acupuncture points in the hands) After being played with, wen wan walnuts turn red and gradually appreciate in value. During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Tianqi, Zhu Youxiao, was known for his interest in carpentry and his fondness for playing with walnuts. He personally carved walnuts, leading to the folk legend of “Playing with walnuts and forgetting state affairs; Zhu Youxiao Imperial Case records.” So you can imagine how SMF wants to play with YC walnuts~