Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1039 - 1019. Pull the radish, pull the radish

Chapter 1039: 1019. Pull the radish, pull the radish

"Picking carrots, what’s so special about that? Xiaojun, when does this family smoke? Grab two sticks!"

It was Grandpa Wang from the group speaking, an old smoker. Secretary Xiaozu smiled subtly and said, "Smoking depends on Grandpa Song... Well, Grandpa Wang, if you don’t need it, you don’t have to pick. Brother Xiaoli, since there’s nothing much on this mountain, why don’t you pick one carrot to try?"

Brother Xiaoli, who was beside Grandpa Wang, grinned broadly, showing off his bright, white teeth. "Alright!"

With that, everyone opened their respective room doors. The house didn’t have the air conditioning on, so it was chilly inside. However, the overall temperature was slightly better than the Imperial City. Everyone quickly tidied up their luggage, put on padded cotton pants and thick boots!

"Oh my!" Lao Zhu exclaimed with delight, "These forty-yuan pants are actually pretty warm!"

"Yeah," Secretary Xiaozu said knowingly, "They’re great for bike rides, super windproof. If they get dirty, just wipe them off. Make sure to wear good thermal pants inside—they won’t let the wind through. Is everyone changed? Once you’re ready, let’s head over to the vegetable patch, or else Baobao, who’s on duty today, might not let us in."

"What do you mean, ’Baobao on duty’?" Lao Zhu asked curiously.

Secretary Xiaozu teased, "You’ll find out in a bit."

The group walked along the smooth road ahead. Grandpa Li asked, "Was this road built by yourselves?"

The main road was three meters wide, while the rest trailed off into the slopes as mere two-meter paths.

"Yep," Secretary Xiaozu nodded. "With an area this big, it’ll be divided into zones to grow different crops later. If the roads aren’t properly built, it becomes really inconvenient for harvesting and upkeep."

"Why divide it and grow different crops? Logically, wouldn’t planting one crop across such a large, connected area yield the best economic returns?" asked Grandpa Zhou from the ’Grandpa Task Force.’

Secretary Xiaozu thought for a moment. "Honestly, I didn’t get it either. But their family always says, ’You can never earn enough money; it’s more important to grow what you feel like eating first.’ See, even though winter blankets the hills with vegetables now, once spring comes, the planning will start, and each zone will be planted accordingly."

As they went downhill and turned a slight corner, a neatly built structure appeared atop a gentle hill ahead. Secretary Xiaozu extended her hand and pointed:

"Look, over there is where you’ll be eating later. The chef we have is amazing—I’ve tasted their cooking, and it’s definitely on par with what we get up on this mountain."

That, Lao Zhu believed. The mountain’s chef was exclusively dedicated to them, tailoring meals to avoid various dietary restrictions, focusing on health. Meanwhile, the new chef reportedly had years of experience in high-end restaurants, bringing a completely different kind of expertise.

He gestured toward the vegetable patch next to them. "Are we going to pick these carrots later?"

Secretary Xiaozu glanced over and said, "This side has red carrots; they taste pretty good too, though they’re a bit smaller in size. Personally, I prefer pulling up the green carrots—they’re bigger, more worth it."

The group: ???

Wait, wasn’t Xiaojun raised in comfort since childhood? No one had heard of her going through tough times!

Lao Zhu, however, was eager: "Are they really that delicious? Pick me the biggest one later!"

Secretary Xiaozu thought for a moment. "This vegetable patch is too big; I don’t have the skill for that. Let me find us some outside help... though there’s a little bit of a price to pay."

She walked over to a new carrot patch, where a particularly cute doghouse sat in the middle of the field. From a distance, one could see a yellow-and-black dog lying lazily at the entrance, wearing a bright yellow bowtie around its neck.

Honestly, it didn’t look good—the yellow material seemed like it was cut out haphazardly somewhere, giving off a rather rustic vibe.

On the yellow-black fur of the dog, it didn’t enhance either feature—they just looked mismatched.

Still, Sibao clearly loved it, being the only dog with that color. None of the other dogs had one... was this not proof of its owner’s affection?

With a yellow bowtie, even sleeping seemed cozier than for other dogs.

"Sibao!" Secretary Xiaozu was already calling out, "I just talked to Tantan—bring everyone one carrot each!"

"Woof!" Sibao lazily climbed out of the doghouse, stretched its body low, arching its back dramatically before shaking its tail. It then gracefully weaved through the vegetables, making its way over to her.

Secretary Xiaozu, like clockwork, opened her WeChat and played a voice message. Song Tan’s voice rang out: "Alright, just ask whichever Baobao is on duty and let them know—it’s one carrot per person."

The group: ...

So this was Baobao.

This was their permit to pick carrots.

How strange! The more they thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Sibao, feeling smug, circled the group leisurely. Its robust physique, glossy fur, and lively energy tempted everyone into wanting to pet it!

"You can pet it!" Secretary Xiaozu was quick to explain. "They’re very friendly to humans—Sibao, could you pick out some bigger carrots for me? I’ll give you all the carrot tops and leaves in return."

This kind of transactional bribery originated with Liubao. When Secretary Xiaozu first tried it, she was amazed. Nowadays, Sibao seemed equally savvy...

For instance, at this moment, it began leaping and darting among the vegetable patch. Its agile jumps and precise landings left no doubt about its expertise. Secretary Xiaozu kept an eye on it, and when Sibao crouched down and started digging up soil, she quickly called out to the group:

"Come on, come on! Over here—this side has the big ones!"

The group, faces stiff, felt their perceptions being genuinely refreshed. But carrot picking wasn’t a skill-based task—they grabbed the leafy tops near the root, pulled firmly upwards, and that was it.

"Whoa! This is pretty big!" Old Zhou exclaimed, holding a plump carrot in his hands. "Xiaoqi, snap a picture for me; I want to show it to Lao Yun later."

Lao Yun was his wife, whose health was obviously much better than his. By year’s end, she was already off on organized trips for leisure and recovery.

Xiaoqi had just pulled up a carrot himself and, observing the somewhat sandy soil, couldn’t help praising, "This spot is perfect—the carrots here must taste great!"

After the compliment, he hurriedly pulled out his phone. When straight men take pictures, let’s just say composition isn’t their strength. Especially this old-and-young duo—artistic flair was not really part of their repertoire.

Secretary Xiaozu watched as Xiaoqi’s awkward technique froze Grandpa Zhou into a frame where he somehow only measured up to 1.6 meters tall, holding a massive carrot. She sighed dramatically: "Brother Xiaoqi, what kind of filter are you using? This photo looks like a bad cutout job!"

Brother Xiaoqi, oblivious, said proudly, "I saw an online tutorial—low angles project more dominance and style, right? This carrot is so big, holding it gives off quite the vibe."

Hard to judge.

Secretary Xiaozu shifted her focus: "Grandpa Li, you’re not recording a video?"

Grandpa Li waved his hand dismissively, then locked his gaze seriously onto the pile of carrots in front of him with a solemn, unreadable expression.

Finally, he said, "Xiaowang, you young folks have sharp eyes—see if you can find the biggest one here."

Hmph! Look at Grandpa Zhou and his frivolous ways—not impressive at all. Later, Grandpa Li planned to pick the largest carrot, line every single one up side-by-side, and determine the true winner among them all!