Fantasy Farm

translator: baumkuchen

After cleaning up the cellar, Lu Qingjiu laid a thick layer of oil paper on the ground to separate the cabbage from the ground when he was storing it. He then brought that wooden box out of the cellar and used a wet rag to clean it seriously, wiping off the dust and dirt on its surface. 

Before, he hadn’t been able to see very clearly in the cellar. Only after taking it out and cleaning it did Lu Qingjiu notice that the wooden box was black, and there were no designs whatsoever on it. It was just a smooth box. However, the grain of its wood surface was incredibly beautiful, and it felt very good to the touch.

At the very front of the box hung a small, black text lock. The text lock was an ancient type of lock, somewhat similar to a password lock, only that words replaced the password. This text lock required three words, which by all logic should have made it very easy to guess. However, even after Lu Qingjiu picked up the box and tested all the possibilities, he still wasn’t able to open it.

Could it be that the box had been locked for too long? Lu Qingjiu thought that he would have to find a time to smash the box, and casually put the wooden box off to the side.

On to another topic, ever since Lu Qingjiu said that he wanted to make sweet roasted chestnuts, Yin Xun had been going on about looking for fine sand day in, day out. That night, he actually really did find a bag of fine sand from somewhere, and started making a fuss about wanting to eat the legendary sweet roasted chestnuts now. 

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “Wash the sand first. After it dries, we can start roasting.”

“Alright.” Yin Xun rolled up his sleeves, and took the initiative to run off to wash the fine sand.

It was just that after he put the sand into the water, even after washing two basins worth, he didn’t manage to wash out any dirt. The fine, white sand seemed to be very clean, not dirty at all. Even though Lu Qingjiu found it curious, he didn’t ask Yin Xun where he’d gotten the sand from. Yin Xun was a mountain god, after all, so finding some sand should be an incredibly easy task.

After washing the sand, he placed it on top of clean plastic sheets and left it out in the courtyard to dry. When it dried, they would be able to roast their chestnuts. 

Today had been an especially busy day. Having worked the entire day, Lu Qingjiu was also a little tired. After getting the sand ready, he went to bed very early. Before going to bed, he saw the wooden box he had placed by the side of his bed and thought that if he had the time, he would get the box open tomorrow morning and take a look inside.

However, what Lu Qingjiu didn’t expect was that after he finished making breakfast the next day, and tried to break the lock of the wooden box with pliers, he noticed something that shocked him a little —— The words on the lock had changed.

It seemed like the words had been completely replaced with new once, because Lu Qingjiu had tried unlocking it for a long time yesterday, so he’d practically memorised all the words on the lock, but now, those words had actually changed into completely different ones. Lu Qingjiu could confirm that he’d never seen those words on the lock before.

How could this happen? Lu Qingjiu stared at the box for a long time before confirming that he wasn’t hallucinating. 

He thought for a moment, then brought up the pliers and tried very hard to cut the lock. However, nothing happened to the lock that had looked so fragile. Even after Lu Qingjiu exerted all his strength, he didn’t even manage to leave a shallow mark.

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It was a nice day today. The rays of the sun shone down into the courtyard, making one feel lazy. 

Bai Yuehu was basking in the courtyard. He lazily took the offered box and took a look. He asked, “Where did you find this?”

“In the cellar,” Lu Qingjiu replied truthfully.

As Bai Yuehu stared at the wooden box, his expression became a little serious. Lu Qingjiu had rarely seen such a serious look on his face. He inexplicably started to become a little nervous. He licked his lips and said, “What, is this box very special?”

Bai Yuehu said, “It’s indeed a little special.” He stroked the lock with his hand. “This kind of lock can only be opened at a certain time.” 

Lu Qingjiu said, “En?”

Bai Yuehu said, “Even though it only needs three words, in actuality, these words change every day. Only on a specific day, will the specific words appear.” He blinked.  “Who left this?”

Lu Qingjiu said, “I found it in the cellar…… It should have been left by my grandma.”

“Oh,” Bai Yuehu said, “Then it might be a gift left for you by your grandmother.” As he spoke, he handed the box back to Lu Qingjiu. 

Lu Qingjiu held the box to himself, a little confused. “But, this wooden box shouldn’t be a thing from the human world, right? Could it be my grandma knows some supernatural beings?”

Bai Yuehu’s attitude towards this was very ordinary. He said, “Everyone has their own secrets.”

“That’s true.” Lu Qingjiu agreed with Bai Yuehu’s view. He said, “But I don’t know the box’s password, and I don’t know the time it should be opened. Is there any way to force it open?”

Unexpectedly, Bai Yuehu shook his head. “The materials this box and lock are made from are very special. They’re not from the human world. If you try and force it open, there’s a chance that the things in the box will be destroyed.” 

Hearing this, Lu Qingjiu could only give up.

Seeing his slight disappointment, Bai Yuehu consoled him, “You can look at the box every morning after you wake up. Since this was specially left to you by your grandmother, then she definitely would have left you some clues. She either doesn’t want you to open it, or perhaps, it’s just not the right time.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “I guess that’s all I can do.” He smiled at Bai Yuehu and thanked him, but he went back to his bedroom by himself, carrying the box.

Lu Qingjiu’s family was very small, with practically no relatives whatsoever. Other than his parents, all he had was his grandmother. His grandma raised him until he was eight years old, before his parents took him back to the city. It could be said that all of Lu Qingjiu’s childhood memories were about his grandma. 

His grandma was tall and slim. It could be seen that she must have been a beauty when she was younger. She didn’t like to talk very much, but even if she didn’t say it, Lu Qingjiu could feel her love for him from the look in her eyes.

After the sudden death of his parents, his grandma, having had to send off her children before her, aged a lot overnight. At that time, Lu Qingjiu hadn’t yet graduated. He originally wanted to get his grandmother to live with him, but no matter how he tried to persuade her, his grandma wouldn’t agree. In the end, he could only give up on this idea.

This was probably the decision Lu Qingjiu most regretted ever making. If he had returned to Shuifu village to accompany his grandma at that time, she might not have left him so early.

Lu Qingjiu put down the box. His gaze fell on the lock. He didn’t know what his grandma’s secret was, but he knew, no matter what his grandma did, it wouldn’t harm him. 

Since she hadn’t left him the password to open it, perhaps it was as Bai Yuehu said…… It wasn’t yet time.

Lu Qingjiu got his emotions under control. He decided to do as Bai Yuehu said and try the lock every morning. He felt like there would eventually come a day where he would be able to find the password through trial and error, and find out what exactly was in the box.

After putting the box back down, Lu Qingjiu went off to do his other stuff. First, he placed the now-dry sand into an iron wok, then roughly stir-fried it for a bit. Next, after putting the chestnuts into the hot sand, he slowly stirred them around. These chestnuts had all already opened, which made it more convenient for the flavour to sink in. After the chestnuts were just about roasted, he then added in a large amount of white sugar and started stirring it quickly, in order to avoid having the melted sugar stick to the wok. After they were pretty much done, he left them in the wok to cool for a while. After that, they were ready to be eaten.

It had to be said, making sweet roasted chestnuts really was intensive work. After just making a wok full, Lu Qingjiu was drenched in sweat. However, the strong aroma of chestnuts summoned over all the people in the house. Two little pigs and a little fox were crouched next to Lu Qingjiu’s feet, openly staring. Yin Xun stood in the doorway, sticking out his head and drooling. 

“It’s pretty much done.” Lu Qingjiu wiped off the sweat on his forehead and let Yin Xun come in to give out the chestnuts.

Yin Xun rushed straight to the wok. Before Lu Qingjiu could warn him, he saw him reach for a chestnut in the wok with his hand. The moment his hand touched the chestnut, he screamed from the pain of the burn, “Ah ah ah ah so hot!”

Lu Qingjiu, “……”

Yin Xun was burned, but after he drew back his hand he didn’t pay any mind to his wound, simply grabbing a spatula and starting to dig out chestnuts from the fine sand. 

Lu Qingjiu truly couldn’t watch any longer. “Doesn’t your hand hurt?”

“Not really.” As Yin Xun spoke, he grabbed a chestnut and began to peel off its shell. After peeling it, he popped it into his mouth. Immediately, his eyes began to water from emotion. “It’s too delicious wuwuwu, this chestnut is too delicious.” Chestnuts were crispy when raw. After being roasted, they became soft. The sugar gave the chestnuts sweetness, and that smell of caramel which blended together with the aroma of chestnuts…… 

Tears ran down Yin Xun’s face as he ate.

Lu Qingjiu, watching by the side, was struck dumb, he couldn’t tell if Yin Xun was crying because his hand was burnt or because the chestnuts tasted too good. 

“Too delicious,” Yin Xun said in a muffled voice, “I officially declare that chestnuts are the best tasting fruits in this world!”

Lu Qingjiu, “……Just eat, if you like it I can make more for you tomorrow.” He then gave a few to the little pigs and the little fox, also not forgetting to pinch off a small piece for the Rain Master’s Concubine, who was staring from where she was hidden in the little fox’s fur.

Of course, the biggest foodie in this house, Bai Yuehu, naturally wasn’t forgotten. Lu Qingjiu fished all the chestnuts out from the sand, then the few of them sat out in the courtyard and ate.

He’d roasted a full seven or eight jin, but clearly, it wasn’t enough. Yin Xun ate until his stomach was bulging out, but still wasn’t willing to stop. Bai Yuehu, this carnivore, was also very interested in the chestnuts. Even thought it was a bit troublesome to peel them, the difference in the taste of the chestnuts without the shell and that of the chestnuts with the shell was really large……  

After eating these few jin of chestnuts, they didn’t have to eat much for dinner. Lu Qingjiu told Yin Xun that he wanted them to go to town together tomorrow morning. He had made an order for quite a few duck eggs from the seller to make salted duck eggs, and had also planned on making cured meat along with that.

Yin Xun nodded and agreed, saying that he would come early.