Chapter 138: Cleaning Up Clutter
When the evening sun grew gentle, Huai Yu finally finished planting all the vegetable seedlings she had bought.
While fetching water from the pond, she noticed that the lotus roots she’d planted earlier had already sprouted sharp little rolled-up lotus leaves, now swaying lightly with the ripples caused by her bucket. She couldn’t resist touching each leaf, quietly channeling some of her power into them.
This time, though, she controlled it deliberately, pulling her hand back once she clearly felt the prickly stems had grown much sturdier. Then she started to fret—
Actually, she could have planted just one of each vegetable near the Rose Corridor, right?
After all, her yardlong beans had grown as big as giant pythons, so having a three-to-five-meter tall eggplant tree or chili pepper tree wouldn’t be that strange, right?
But…
Forget it!
Now that she had more and more good friends around, it was best to keep her abilities low-key. Otherwise, while she’d be safe hanging out near the Rose Corridor, her friends might end up at risk.
Thinking this through, she lifted her water bucket again, spilling water along the way as she slowly watered the freshly planted seedlings.
She told herself: using too much of her growth-boosting power wasn’t wise, but giving just a little to ensure they survived should be fine!
Water ladled onto the slightly wilted seedlings, and as her powers gently seeped in, the leaves and stems perked up quickly. Huai Yu let out a huge sigh of relief—Finally!
She could finally start tidying up that mountain of junk she had!
Oh wait—she suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled two peach pits out of her pocket. She dug two holes at the edge of the vegetable patch and buried them.
—Starting from seeds is tricky, and peach trees usually take 3–5 years to bear fruit, so this time Huai Yu channeled her powers much more boldly.
She felt the energy surge, even sensing the newborn sprouts breaking through the hard shells. As soon as they poked out of the soil, she quickly switched to her purification ability.
She kept channeling while feeling a bit proud of herself—She was now using these two abilities as skillfully as a game character!
Compared to physical exercise, this definitely suited her better.
Huai Yu squatted by the vegetable patch, staring intently at the two delicate peach sprouts. Keta Rō had snuck up beside her without her noticing and was also obediently lying there, watching the peach sprouts.
Then Huai Yu gently tapped his antenna, “You can’t eat these, okay? There are only two.”
But Keta Rō was so well-behaved…
She thought for a moment, then reluctantly said, “If you really like them, wait a bit, okay? After I finish all my peaches, I’ll grow more peach saplings for you.”
She looked so doting—if Boss Tang saw her like this, he’d definitely feel they were kindred spirits.
Keta Rō fluttered his wings, then suddenly tapped her finger again with his antenna.
Huai Yu was a bit stunned—he’d never done that before!
Now what…
“Keta Rō, do you want a bit of my power?”
But…
Huai Yu spread her hands, “There are two kinds, you know? Which one do you want? So far, I’ve only used a bit of the growth-boosting ability on the chicks. For Big Bro and Little Bro, I used both abilities while they were still in their eggs.”
“Giving it directly to you… I’m kind of scared…”
She rambled on, “Growth-boosting is one thing, but purification… Look at those two, they don’t even have a single feather yet.”
“I really worry that my powers might have side effects when used on living creatures.”
That was a bit complicated—Huai Yu wasn’t sure if Keta Rō understood, so she simply spread her hands, one on the left and one on the right, each channeling a different power.
“Which one do you—”
Before she could finish, Keta Rō quickly backed away a few steps, clearly wanting neither.
Huai Yu: …
Alright, got it—no more using her powers on living things lightly.
She was about to retract her powers when Keta Rō crawled over to her right hand and lightly tapped her finger, just taking a tiny bit of the growth-boosting energy.
As for the purification side, he completely avoided it like the plague.
That tiny bit of energy was so minuscule, it didn’t even compare to what she had used on the peach sprouts!
Huai Yu watched Keta Rō closely for a while, but he just lay there contentedly. After a bit, he perked up and started nibbling at grass shoots again, like nothing had changed.
Alright then.
She sighed and reminded herself once again—not to use her powers on living creatures anymore.
Especially not purification.
And now—The sun was already sinking behind the distant mountains. The scruffy little chicks, now far from their cute days, were scattered across the grassy yard, chirping as they scratched and pecked.
Big Bro and Little Bro, with their long skinny legs and oversized spiky bodies, strolled around, their flat beaks jabbing at the grass like bored little lawnmowers.
And over by the shed, the long-absent Little Tian came rushing over along the corner, bringing along a mate of similar size.
“Little Tian!”
Huai Yu beamed and grabbed Little Tian by the tail, lifting him up: “Long time no see—so you’ve found a partner, huh?”
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
Little Tian thrashed angrily in the air, cursing her—whatever he was saying, Huai Yu couldn’t understand, but judging by his fury, it was probably something rude.
She quickly set him down again and looked at the other, dazed little field mouse, embarrassed, “Don’t be scared, I’ve got plenty now. I won’t raid your burrow anymore—oh, wait, I’ve got your beans.”
She dashed into the house, and soon came back with a big handful of soybeans, even thoughtfully purifying them—
“Here, these are for you! Do you want to carry them back yourself, or should I drop them off at your burrow entrance?”
But unlike the little critters in her own home, who totally trusted her, Little Tian was very cautious. His beady eyes stared at her warily, giving no hint about where his new home was.
“Hmph.” Huai Yu wrinkled her nose. “Whatever, I don’t care! Here you go, you move them yourself.”
She grabbed a chipped plate from the junk pile by the shed and let the plump, dry soybeans clatter onto it—a true jackpot for Little Tian, like the God of Wealth had just made him rich.
—Of course, assuming he didn’t want to risk losing his whole stash come spring.
Little Tian held his ground, but his new partner was circling the plate, both tempted and nervous.
Huai Yu laughed again, “Go ahead and take them all. Once you’ve moved them, I’ll get you some rice next time.”
“These soybeans are way better than those peanuts and mung beans you used to store in your burrow.”
Just as she finished speaking, Huai Yu rummaged through the junk pile again and pulled out something, squinting at it before bursting into laughter—
No wonder Chen Xing said this was all junk—there really was every kind of thing in here.
What she was holding was clearly a hamster wheel—seeing it, she couldn’t help but wonder what on earth Chen Xing and the others were thinking when they gathered supplies and decided to keep this.
But…
This wheel looked exactly like the toy wheel Lin Xuefeng had made for Little Tian out of water screens by the campfire!
