A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 27 Research

Zhang Niu is a bit stubborn; once he sets his mind on something, he'll do it without hesitation. Although he bought a lot of white ducks for them this time, his own batch of white ducks on the mountain will be ready for market next month. Regarding planting cycads on the mountain, Zhang Niu simply asked Boss Wang for help, asking his friend to bring over three hundred cycads from Lingnan.

Zhang Niu, who didn't know how to plant cycads, went straight to the county town. He started researching in an internet cafe. After his eyes started to sting, he paid and left. Once outside, Zhang Niu realized how expensive internet cafes were. He'd spent over ten yuan in just a few hours. He thought he should get internet access back home someday. In this information age, if you don't use it now, you'll be left behind. Especially in his rural area, you never know when a dealer might rip you off.

After spending several hours researching in an internet cafe, Zhang Niu had a general understanding of how to plant cycads. With this information, he wouldn't encounter many problems next time he brought in cycads, preventing any embarrassing situations. Walking down the street, Zhang Niu thought of Zhang Ting, the girl he had met last time. It seemed he had come to the county town several times but hadn't visited her. He figured he could treat her to a meal today to thank her for her help last time.

Going empty-handed would be too embarrassing, so he remembered that quite a few nectarines by the pond in his space were ripe. "Little One" poured them in and ate quite a few. Zhang Niu also ate a few; these nectarines were quite large, bright red, and looked very appetizing. Eating one nectarine could even save him lunch. Taking nectarines with him now should be acceptable, right? Since a few days ago, "Little One" could enter the space on its own. As long as it was near Zhang Niu, it could go inside. This puzzled Zhang Niu. He could only explain that "Little One" was related to the space. As for "King Kong," Zhang Niu still had to bring it in.

After getting a plastic bag from a convenience store, I came to a secluded alley, which was actually near the main road. Due to urban redevelopment, there weren't many people left. I entered the space directly from a dark spot.

The fruit trees by the pond were already laden with bright red fruit, and a few peach pits were left on the ground by the little ones after they finished eating the nectarines.

Several other fruit trees nearby were also laden with fruit. The branches were bent low with the weight of the fruit. Many fruits were already touching the water's surface. Strangely, every fruit that touched the water was bitten off by the fish. It seems the fish have become clever.

The fruit trees are now taller than Zhang Niu, and we're picking only the biggest ones. We'd only picked about ten, but the bags we'd asked for were already full. We had to stop picking peaches.

Just as I stepped out of the space, I heard a child's sweet, childish voice say, "Wow! Flying man!"

This startled Zhang Niu, who thought he had been discovered. Looking closer, he saw a little girl in front of him, wearing a white dress, with big, watery eyes, rosy cheeks, and a small braid at the back of her head. She looked about four or five years old. She looked so lovely that one couldn't help but want to take her home as their daughter.

Zhang Niu looked around and, seeing no one else, felt much more at ease. Now, all he had to do was go up and give them a quick, perfunctory answer, and everything would be fine. He walked over. The little girl wasn't afraid at all. After a moment of hesitation, she ran up to him, tugging at his clothes and asking in a mumbled voice, "Big brother, are you a flying man?"

This question made Zhang Niu break out in a cold sweat. This question was way too difficult!

He crouched down and smelled a soapy scent on her. She seemed to be a rather clean little girl. Looking at the porcelain doll before him, Zhang Niu asked softly, "Little sister, what's your name? If you tell me, I'll treat you to a peach, how about that?" He then took a nectarine the size of a child's fist from his bag and waved it in front of her. This was Zhang Niu's go-to method for coaxing children.

The little girl looked at the bright red peaches in front of her, then at Zhang Niu, and said weakly, "My name is Baobao. That's what everyone in my family calls me." She then looked pitifully at Zhang Niu's nectarines.

"Oh, it's you, baby. So good. But remember, big brother isn't a flying man. If he were, he'd be an airplane! Got it?" He placed the nectarine in the little one's hand.

I had just handed him the peach when I heard a voice from outside, "Honey, where are you? Come out quickly."

Upon hearing the sound, the baby whispered, "Big brother, my mom is here. I have to go back now. Thank you for the peach, big brother. I know big brother is the airplane, not the flying man." Then she skipped and ran outside.

Zhang Niu was completely stunned after hearing those words. He hadn't expected her to remember something he'd just casually mentioned. He felt incredibly annoyed.

As Zhang Niu walked out of the alley, he discovered that the little girl was nowhere to be seen; she must have gone with her mother!

Meanwhile, on the other side, a pretty young woman in her early thirties was walking down the street with a little girl, attracting whistles from a group of hooligans. The seemingly gentle woman immediately shouted, "You bunch of little hooligans! Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman before? Keep whistling and I'll kick your third legs off!" The hooligans, frightened, immediately ran away.

If Zhang Niu were here, he would recognize the little girl in front of him as the porcelain doll he had just met in the alley, and the bold and outspoken woman as the baby's mother.

After attracting stares from those around them, the young woman realized she was the center of attention. Holding her daughter, she walked forward, muttering to herself, "Why can't I help but swear again? What an annoying little brat." She gently said to her baby, "Sweetie, don't tell Daddy when we get home, or your mommy will get a scolding."

"Okay, baby won't tell bad daddy, but you have to give me that peach when we get back. Otherwise, baby will tell daddy that you were swearing outside again."

The young woman pinched her baby's little nose. "You're the best! Such a big peach is rare indeed. But who's the airplane you're talking about?"

"Baby, I'm not telling you." A series of clear laughs followed.

Following the route he remembered, Zhang Niu easily found Zhang Ting's workplace in the city center. It turned out to be a nine-story office building. He heard that she worked there as a clerk, and that a relative had helped her get the job.

After asking the security guard about closing time, I took out my phone to check the time and realized it was still quite a while.

After waiting for about thirty minutes, several pretty young women walked out of the main entrance, including Zhang Ting. They were all laughing.

After they walked out the door, Zhang Niu mustered up his courage and walked towards Zhang Ting.

Second update. Starting today, I'm aiming for the new author rankings, so I hope everyone will support me. Please recommend and favorite! I'll be very busy at home tomorrow, so updates will be late; I won't have time to write in the morning.