Chapter 633: Running Out of Land in the Yard

“Hah’Er, time for dinner!” Shen Yibin called out. Hearing what sounded like a reply from outside, he walked out curiously. When he got to the door, he peered out and saw Hah’Er, Turtle Immortal, and Xiaoliu huddled together by the newly cleared tea garden, busy with something. Oh, and it looked like Maphario was in the middle of it all, too.

“Mhmm!” Hearing Shen Yibin’s call, Hah’Er turned and waved its paw, leading the group toward the living room. Shen Yibin could vaguely see that the empty plot next to the tea garden seemed to have undergone a significant change. He suppressed his curiosity for the time being and led them to the dining room for dinner, planning to investigate more closely afterward.

“Sigh, what an unparalleled delicacy. Too bad it’s all gone. If I want to eat this again, I’m afraid I’ll have to wait another month.” Reluctantly popping the last bite into his mouth, Shen Yibin closed his eyes, overcome with deep regret. ‘There’s still hope for next month, but who knows about the month after that. It’s not even certain if Turtle Immortal will still be with me by then.’

Shen Yibin sat blankly at the table for several minutes, savoring the aftertaste. He finally got up to clear the table, and upon opening his eyes, he noticed Hah’Er and the others had run outside again. This piqued his curiosity even more. ‘What on earth are you guys doing?’ He quickly cleared the table, washed the dishes, and rushed out into the yard.

“What’s going on here?” Walking up behind Hah’Er, he took a closer look. The little crew was hard at work. Xiaoliu was using a bamboo stick to till the earth. Hah’Er followed behind, using its paws to pick out small stones and roots from the loosened soil. Meanwhile, Turtle Immortal dug small pits in the patch of land they had leveled. Maphario would then carefully retrieve a seed from Hah’Er’s pocket and drop it in. Turtle Immortal would cover the hole with dirt and use its belly to pat it flat. Finally, Maphario would sprinkle some water on top before they all moved on to the next spot to repeat the process.

‘So they’re planting seeds.’ ‘Hmm? What exactly are you guys planting? Even Xiaoliu is working so diligently.’ Shen Yibin’s curiosity surged. He reached into the pocket on Hah’Er’s chest, grabbed a pinch of whatever was inside, and pulled it out. ‘Huh? These look familiar… Aren’t these from the mountains the other day? I wonder when they ended up in Hah’Er’s pocket. Could Maphario have collected them along the way?’

‘These are clearly Snow Lotus seeds.’ The seeds of the Snow Lotus were tiny; if it weren’t for the two layers of off-white pappus still attached, Shen Yibin truly wouldn’t have recognized them. “Hey, doesn’t this stuff only grow in rock crevices, on cliff faces, and in glacial gravel fields near the snow line of high mountains? Can it even survive being planted in the yard?”

“SQUEAK! SQUEAK!” Hearing Shen Yibin doubt its abilities, Maphario seemed furious. It scrambled up Shen Yibin’s leg and onto his arm, snatched the seed from his hand, and hopped back to the ground. It carefully dropped the seed into the pit. Turtle Immortal ambled over, buried the seed, and packed the earth. The two of them were perfectly in sync.

“All right, you’re the expert, happy now?” Shen Yibin could only surrender at the sight. ‘Since Maphario is this confident, and Turtle Immortal is helping out, it must mean it can actually grow the Snow Lotus. What am I worried about? Every plant Maphario has grown has been exceptionally vibrant.’

“Okay, okay, I’ll go get some tools to help you guys.” Shen Yibin had originally planned to go to the shop to treat Xia Shixuan and the others by making them lunch. The Yellow Essence Sprouts were all gone, but he could still make ribs stewed with the Seven-leafed One-flowered Plant, couldn’t he? But seeing this, he had to put his plans on hold. He would help Hah’Er and the others get these seeds planted first.

Back in the tool shed, he found a hoe and a shovel, slung them over his shoulder, and came out to get busy. He swung the hoe, tilling the entire plot of land, then turned back to help them dig the holes. With an able-bodied worker like Shen Yibin joining in and taking on the heavy lifting, their progress sped up considerably. In no time at all, all the Snow Lotus seeds from Hah’Er’s pocket had been planted in the newly cleared patch of ground.

“Man, that was tiring. All right, everyone wash up and come with me to the shop.” After finishing the work, Shen Yibin checked the time. It looked like he could still make it to the shop to cook lunch for them.

“Mmmph.” But to his surprise, Hah’Er just shook its head. It picked up Turtle Immortal and waddled into the house, reemerging a moment later with a basket. Inside were all the seedlings and rhizomes Shen Yibin had collected in the mountains—there was Yellow Ginseng and Dendrobium officinale, all precious medicinal herbs he had gathered over the last couple of days.

“What’s all this for?” Shen Yibin was confused. ‘Why are you bringing these seedlings out? Aren’t these for making porridge, stewing in soup, or to be processed and eaten?’

He watched as Turtle Immortal climbed down from Hah’Er’s arms, stretched out its neck, and picked up a Dendrobium officinale seedling to bury in a hole. After it covered it with dirt, Maphario produced some plastic sheeting from who-knows-where, propped it up with sticks, and fashioned a simple greenhouse over the seedling.

“You can plant this too?” Shen Yibin finally understood. He knew that some plants couldn’t be grown from seeds and had to be propagated through division, cuttings, or rhizomes. It looked like they were using division for the Dendrobium officinale, and rhizome planting for the Yellow Ginseng.

Using this method, the Dendrobium officinale seedling would grow here for a considerable time. Once mature, its clump could be cut and divided into smaller clusters for transplanting. In this way, a single seedling could produce many more.

Shen Yibin had no choice but to get busy again. He helped Maphario and the others clear another patch of land, planted all the Dendrobium officinale seedlings, and covered them with the simple greenhouses.

“And how do we plant this?” After finishing that, Shen Yibin didn’t leave; they still hadn’t started on the Yellow Ginseng. He leaned over, hands on his knees, and asked, panting slightly. ‘Looks like there’s still a lot of work to do today.’

This time, Maphario hugged the Yellow Ginseng rhizome to its chest and, with a few grunts, gnawed it into several sections. It set them aside to air-dry for a moment. Once the cut surfaces were dry, it picked up a piece and tossed it into a hole that Turtle Immortal had just dug. After carefully covering it with soil, Xiaoliu brought over a watering can and gave it a sprinkle. Then, they moved on to the next hole.

“SQUEAK! SQUEAK!” Maphario didn’t forget to hurry Shen Yibin along, apparently telling him to dig faster.

“All right, I’m on it!” Shen Yibin shrugged, picked up his hoe again, and prepared to get back to work. ‘Huh, it looks like we’re running out of space in the yard…’