Husband and Wife are of the Same Mind Chapter 74

Chapter 74

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To drive away the monkeys, Tang Feng wasn’t particularly worried.

What do monkeys fear? The most common thing monkeys fear is blood.

There’s an ancient saying, “kill the chicken to scare the monkey.” This means that when people want to drive away monkeys, they grab a live chicken and kill it in front of the monkeys. The sight of the fresh blood will scare the monkeys so much that they cover their eyes and their bodies go limp, allowing people to manipulate them.

Even in modern times, this method is used to catch monkeys.

However, this time they were going into the mountains where there are many wild animals. It wasn’t possible to grab a chicken and kill it, because the smell of blood would attract wild animals, who would then attack. This would not be advantageous for them.

Blood is very conspicuous, so as long as something is red, even if the monkeys can’t smell blood, they will still be very afraid when they see it.

“It’s very simple, I have a solution.”

Tang Feng said after thinking for a moment.

“Really? Do you really have a solution?”

Father Tang still didn’t believe it.

“Yes, I do have a solution.”

Tang Feng affirmed. Seeing his father still hesitant, he continued, “I will make something, and when you see it, you’ll understand.”

Father Tang nodded, still half-believing.

On the mountainside, there were two types of wild grass that couldn’t feed pigs or sheep, nor could they be used to build chicken coops or thatched houses. However, Tang Feng accidentally discovered that their juices, when combined, turned red, and even a dark shade of red.

The mixture looked like clots of blood coughed up by someone who had internal injuries, which was quite frightening.

Tang Feng spent half a day running back and forth three times to gather the two types of wild grass he needed. To avoid Lin Yu and Tang Amo seeing and feeling uncomfortable, Tang Feng started making the mixture in the backyard.

He used large rocks to crush the two types of wild grass forcefully, and the dark red mixture flowed into the wooden basin. Before long, the basin was filled with dark red liquid, resembling the pig blood used during the annual pig slaughter.

When Father Tang returned, Tang Feng had already transferred the liquid into two wooden barrels.

“This isn’t blood.”

Father Tang said in surprise, taking a sniff and detecting the strong grassy smell emanating from the dark red “blood.”

“It’s a mixture of wild grasses that looks like blood but isn’t actually. If we sprinkle this in front of the monkeys, they’ll be afraid. I plan to sprinkle this liquid around the kiwi trees we need to pick. Two people will watch the liquid to prevent monkeys from rushing in, while the other two pick the fruit from the trees. What do you think?”

Father Tang nodded. “It sounds like a good plan, but I wonder if the monkeys will really be afraid of this stuff.”

Seeing his father still hesitant, Tang Feng didn’t say more. After all, this idea was quite risky.

The next day, after Tang Feng finished his classes, he went up the mountain with Father Lin, Lin Zhuang, and Father Tang, who were waiting for him. This time, they knew the way, so they walked faster. Each of them carried a backpack.

By the time they reached the area, it was already well past noon, and all of them were dripping with sweat.

Father Tang’s face showed both nervousness and excitement as he looked at the kiwi trees laden with fruit not far away. “These things may not sell for money, but they sure make good eating!”

“These monkeys are strange. The fruits are already ripe. Why aren’t they eating them?” Lin Zhuang said, sounding puzzled.

“Monkeys are smart. They know that only fully ripe things are the best to eat. They must be waiting.”

Tang Feng explained.

Then he took down the wooden barrels from Lin Zhuang’s backpack and grabbed two wooden ladles from his own.

“Brother and father-in-law, please wait outside and guard. My father and I will go inside to pick the fruits.”

They had already discussed who would do what on their way up the mountain.

The Lin family father and son felt clumsy and were afraid of damaging the fruits, so they decided it was better for Father Tang and Tang Feng to pick the fruits inside while they guarded outside. After all, they were more sensitive to the approach of wild animals.

Once everything was prepared, the group slowly approached the kiwi grove.

Not long after they stepped into the area near the kiwi trees, the alert monkeys spotted them.

Perched in the trees, the monkeys issued threatening cries at Tang Feng and the others. Some of the monkeys even picked up stones from the ground, glaring at them. But seeing that the group remained calm and continued to approach, the monkeys started to feel intimidated.

When they were about twenty to thirty feet away from the kiwi grove, Tang Feng pointed to two places. Father Lin and Lin Zhuang headed towards those spots. As several monkeys attempted to attack them, Lin Zhuang gritted his teeth and threw the ladle containing the dark red liquid!

Upon seeing the color splashed out, the monkeys panicked and scattered in all directions.

They didn’t have to exert much effort. These monkeys, who hadn’t seen much of the world, fled far away.

“Haha! They really are scared of this stuff!”

Father Lin exclaimed with certainty, bursting into laughter.

The others also smiled. The scent of kiwi from the grove made them involuntarily swallow. Climbing up here had made them thirsty.

Seeing that the monkeys were staying away, Tang Feng took the ladle from Lin Zhuang and sprinkled some of the red liquid around the perimeter of the kiwi trees to prevent the monkeys from entering.

Then he turned to Father Tang and the others, saying, “Take a look at the kiwis on the trees. As long as they feel soft to the touch, they’re ready to eat.”

Hearing this, Father Lin and the others began to search. Not many of them were fully ripe; most were in a semi-ripe state, with only a very small minority feeling soft.

Nevertheless, they were pleasantly surprised when they tasted the kiwis.

“This thing is really delicious!”

Lin Zhuang said.

From a distance, the monkeys huddled together, watching the unexpected guests, but none dared to approach and drive them away. They had witnessed animals in the mountains killing each other, and the bright red blood was a clear sign of death. They scratched their heads and looked at the red liquid under the trees, too afraid to come closer.

Tang Feng and the others began picking kiwis. Their backpacks were quite large, each filled to the brim. They were about to leave when they had only picked less than a sixth of the peach grove.

“Let’s go!”

Father Tang, with a full backpack of peaches, said confidently.

As they were leaving, Tang Feng suddenly turned back. Using his foot, he rubbed the dried dark red liquid, which had been dried by the intense sun, into the soil, making sure it was all well hidden. This group of monkeys had been guarding here for who knows how long; they couldn’t be too harsh on them.

When they returned to the village, it was already dark. Fortunately, not many people saw them like this, which saved them a lot of trouble.

Lin Amo and Tang Amo, who were waiting at home, were walking back and forth. As soon as they heard the noise from the courtyard gate, Tang Amo hurriedly opened the gate.

“Oh, you’re finally back!”

“We carried a lot of things down the mountain, and the road was not easy to walk. I even fell down.”

Father Tang said with a smile.

“Fell down?!” Tang Amo glanced hastily at the things they were carrying on their backs. Upon hearing Father Tang’s words, he quickly asked, “Did you hurt yourself?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s all good! Look, I’m talking to you with a smile on my face.”

“Come, come, come! Come and see our harvest, it’s quite substantial!”

Lin Yu and the others gathered around, instantly smelling the unfamiliar fragrance and looking surprised. “These fruits smell delicious even before tasting.”

“These ones are ripe. We specifically picked them from the trees. Amo, Amo-in-law, Ah Yu, try them.”

Tang Amo and the others opened the kiwis and tasted them. “Mmm, they taste really good!”

“The ones in these backpacks are still unripe. I’ll take out some, and each of you can take them home and let them ripen. When they’re soft to the touch, they’ll be ready to eat. The rest I’ll take to Owner Huang to sell. What do you think?”

“You decide on this matter. We don’t know much about these things. If the price isn’t good, I’d rather keep them for ourselves,” Father Lin said casually.

Indeed, that was his habit. If he felt he needed to buy something with money, he preferred to keep it for himself rather than sell it. Last time, he kept the deer he hunted and didn’t sell any of it.

“Okay, then I’ll go to town tomorrow. Big brother, can you come with me?”

Smiling broadly, Lin Zhuang scratched his head and nodded. “No problem.”

Afterward, Tang Feng selected sixty larger kiwis from the backpacks—thirty each for Lin’s family and Tang’s family.

Today was quite exhausting. After hastily eating something, everyone happily dispersed.

After washing up, Tang Feng lay on the bed. He let Lin Yu continue to make the banging sound with a small wooden pestle until he fell asleep shortly after.

Lin Yu heard his steady breathing after falling asleep. He smiled quietly but continued to hit for half an hour before stopping and falling asleep himself.

Tang Feng had something on his mind. The next day, he woke up early, quickly washed up, and ran to Wen Shu’s house near the Tang family to ask him to teach a class. It was quite simple; just bring some chairs and have the children sit together.

Wen Shu didn’t quite understand, but nodded. He still remembered the mint tea Tang Feng gave him last time. Knowing that Wen Shu liked mint tea, Tang Feng brought some along.

“I know you wouldn’t want anything else from me. I like this stuff too. I have made a lot of it and know you like this stuff too. Hope you won’t be disappointed. Please accept it.”

Wen Shu was a bit embarrassed. “I do like this stuff. Since you’re busy, don’t worry about the school stuff. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you.”

Tang Feng nodded. He couldn’t delay and had to go to town early.

After making an agreement with Owner Huang, he told Tang Feng his private address. Then Tang Feng and Lin Zhuang put things on a borrowed donkey and came to the Huang’s house.

It was a small house in town, not big, not small, but just right, with a quiet environment. It was a good place to stay.

Tang Feng knocked on the door, and a servant opened it.

“I’m Tang Feng, here to see Owner Huang.”

“Ah, Tang Xiucai! Our master mentioned that if you came, you could go in directly to find him. Please come in.”

Tang Feng was somewhat surprised but not entirely unexpected. He pointed to Lin Zhuang at the courtyard gate and said to the servant, “That’s my older brother. We’ve brought things to see him. Can my brother and I enter the courtyard together, along with the cart and goods?”

The servant nodded quickly. “Of course.”

When they arrived in town, it was neither early nor late, and Owner Huang had just finished his meal.

“Brother Tang! What brings you here?” Owner Huang was genuinely surprised to see Tang Feng so early in the morning.

Tang Feng greeted him with folded hands. “I never visit without reason, Brother Huang. I’ve brought the things. Please take a look.”

Owner Huang’s eyes lit up. “Is it that thing?”

Tang Feng nodded and gestured behind him. Owner Huang saw a robust man beside a donkey cart covered with a pile of goods under dry hay. As he approached, a fragrant smell reached his nose, and Owner Huang’s eyes nearly widened in surprise.

Author’s Note:

“Rhythm Couplet”:

A Literature teacher gives a couplet: “Ginger gets spicier with age.” Now it’s your turn to complete the second line, three of you standing in a row.

The seating order was: Wen Qing, Lin Zhuang, and Wu Zhu.

Wen Qing: “Wine is still fragrant when aged!”

Lin Zhuang: “People are still sharp when old!”

Wu Zhu: “Breasts are still big in women!”

Upon hearing this, the literature teacher lowered her head and glanced at her own chest, angrily saying, “Nonsense!”

(This small theater is from a joke adaptation.)

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