I'm a Druid at a farmhouse.

Chapter 8 Rural Market Days

Grapefruit?

As Song You looked at the comment on the screen, a long-forgotten corner of his mind was suddenly awakened.

This nickname hasn't been used for eight or nine years.

He clicked on the profile of the account called "Skilled in Both Literature and Martial Arts". In the latest video, a young man with tanned skin and a buzz cut was sitting in a Mercedes-Benz, making what he thought was a very handsome expression at the camera.

The background is an intersection in Xiangcheng, with people and vehicles coming and going.

"It really is you, Tian Wenwu," Song You muttered to himself.

This was one of his childhood playmates in the village. Later, he went to study in the place where his parents worked, and they lost contact.

After he moved away, there were hardly any kids left in the village.

That said, I never expected to reunite with Tian Wenwu online in this way. It seems he's doing quite well.

Song You casually liked the video of someone showing off and left a comment below: "Nice car."

After sending the message, he put down his phone without waiting for a reply.

The joy of reuniting with childhood friends is fleeting; the pressure of survival is the real challenge at hand.

He quickly edited the footage he had recorded that afternoon, picking out the embarrassing scene of Deng Shen being pulled into the water by the giant creature, and the stunning scene of the giant bluefish emerging from the water at the end. He added a stirring piece of music and released it directly.

The title is simple and direct: "A top streamer with three million followers challenges this farmhouse inn, and the result..."

After doing all this, he turned off his phone and went straight to sleep.

His physical fitness ability allowed him to recover much faster than ordinary people. He slept soundly through the night, and the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, he opened his eyes, full of energy.

"Going to a show."

He got out of bed, washed up quickly, and pushed his vehicle out of the shed—a slightly worn electric tricycle.

This was left by his father. The truck bed was painted blue, and the four big red characters "Get Rich" were printed on it, giving it a strong sense of history.

Song You got on the tricycle, turned on the ignition, and the tricycle made a soft humming sound as it carried him towards the village market.

The rural market is held every five days, and today happens to be one of those days.

Come to think of it, I haven't been there since I came back, so today is a good day to have breakfast.

Before we even arrived at our destination, the noisy voices of people drifted over through the morning mist.

The market was set up on a main road in front of the village committee, with all kinds of stalls on both sides of the road.

There were vendors selling vegetables, pork, farm tools, and colorful clothes; the place was bustling with people.

Looking around, most of the people rushing to the market were elderly men and women with gray hair; there were very few young people.

Song You's appearance was quite unusual.

He parked his tricycle on the side of the road, and as soon as he walked in, he attracted a lot of attention.

"Isn't that Old Song's kid?"

"His name is Song You, right? The one who went to university."

"Why did you come back after graduating from university? Couldn't you find work in the city?"

Whispers came from all directions, mixed with undisguised scrutiny.

Song You could feel dozens of gazes falling on him, some curious, some scrutinizing, and some with an indescribable sense of regret.

He ignored all of that and walked straight to a rice noodle stall.

The stall owner, a woman in her fifties, was also taken aback when she saw him: "Youya, you're back?"

"Yes, Aunt Liu, give me a bowl of rice noodles, with extra pickled cowpeas," Song You greeted with a smile.

"Okay!"

The steaming hot rice noodles were served quickly, with a thick, white broth topped with minced meat and bright green scallions.

Song You picked up a chopstick and slurped it up.

It tastes just like it did when I was a kid—fresh and fragrant.

However, Song You already has experience as a [Gourmet Druid].

He smacked his lips. The broth was made with bone powder and wasn't rich enough. The rice noodles were also a bit hard and not smooth enough. The minced meat had a slightly overpowering "tech" flavor.

"It's still a bit lacking compared to what I made myself," he silently commented to himself.

After finishing a bowl of rice noodles, feeling warm all over, Song You paid the money and began searching for his target in the market.

Soon, he found a stall selling chicks and ducklings at the end of the market.

Dozens of flat bamboo baskets were lined up, crammed with furry little creatures that chirped incessantly, filling the air with a unique aroma.

"Boss, how much are the chicks?" Song You asked, squatting in front of a basket.

The stall owner, a lean middle-aged man with a cigarette dangling from his lips, glanced at him and said, "Young man, buying chicks? Raising them for your own consumption? This basket is three yuan each, and those over there are speckled chickens, five yuan each."

Song You reached into the basket, wanting to pick out a few that looked healthier.

He had just reached out his hand when a frail, slightly angry voice came from beside him.

"Take your hand away. Is that how you grab or pinch chickens? Are you trying to kill them all one by one?"

Song You paused, looking in the direction of the sound.

An old man wearing a blue homespun jacket, with a wrinkled face and a graying goatee, stood behind him with his hands behind his back and his eyes wide open.

It was Tian Gensheng, Tian Wenwu's grandfather, a well-known stubborn old man in the village, but also a skilled farmer.

"Grandpa Tian," Song You stood up and greeted him politely.

Tian Gensheng sized him up and down, then snorted, "You brat, why aren't you staying in the city? You've come back here to be a lowly servant? And you're even trying to raise chickens? Do you even know how?"

He spoke sharply and harshly, which made several elderly people watching the commotion laugh.

Song You wasn't angry. He knew that was just the old man's temper; his mouth was sharp, but he wasn't a bad person at heart.

"If you don't know how, you can learn," Song You replied with a smile.

"Learn?" Tian Gensheng seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He walked to the chick basket, pointed at the fluffy little things inside, and said, "Do you know that the youngest chicks are male and the oldest are female? Do you know that the youngest chicks can be raised to live, while the oldest ones kick the bucket after a few days?"

A barrage of questions left Song You speechless.

He really didn't know that.

The druid's ability allows him to communicate with animals, but since a relationship hasn't been established yet, the druid's log isn't showing up yet.

Seeing Song You speechless, Tian Gensheng's disdain deepened. He bent down, his withered hand flashing into the basket, grabbing one handful at a time.

"The one with a pointed butt is male. The one with a round butt is female."

"Look at this one," he said, picking up a droopy little chick and showing it to Song You. "Its feathers are dull, its eyes are lifeless, and it's limp when you pick it up. This kind of chicken is a dead chicken; buying it would be a waste of food."

After saying that, he threw the chick back into the basket and then grabbed another one.

"Look at this one next. Its fur is shiny, its eyes are bright and lively, and it struggles fiercely when you hold it. Its paws are dry and strong. This is a good seedling; it can eat and grow well."

As he spoke, he deftly began picking through the basket, muttering complaints under his breath.

"You're a college student, and you can't even understand this simple thing? You want to run a farm stay? I don't think your money will be gone in three days."

"Your dad's a real jerk. He left and dumped this huge mess on you. Isn't that just ripping you off?"

Song You stood aside, not saying a word, just listening quietly.

He could sense that although Tian Gensheng was cursing, he was very serious in choosing chickens, carefully examining each one and throwing away the bad ones.

More and more people gathered around to watch the spectacle, pointing and whispering among themselves.

The vendor selling chicks was getting impatient. He threw his cigarette butt down and said, "Hey old man, are you going to buy or not? If not, stop picking and choosing here and you're killing my chickens."

Tian Gensheng glared and roared back with full force, "Your chicks come in all shapes and sizes, and you won't let people choose? Who are you trying to fool? Let me tell you, I'm buying all of this kid's chickens today! If you dare to try and fool him with a bad one, I'll turn your whole business upside down!"

That shout silenced the entire market for a moment.

The stall owner was intimidated by his imposing manner, opened his mouth, but dared not utter another word.

Tian Gensheng snorted and ignored him, continuing to select chicks. In no time, he had chosen over thirty lively chicks and packed them into a cardboard box.

"Here, take these back and take good care of them." He pushed the cardboard box in front of Song You, his tone still as harsh as ever.

"Thank you, Grandpa Tian," Song You said sincerely.

Just as he was about to take out his money, Tian Gensheng grabbed his hand and turned to the stall owner, saying, "Settle the bill, how much?"

The stall owner dared not be negligent and quickly calculated: "Thirty-five in total, twenty of them are speckled chickens, one hundred yuan. Fifteen are ordinary chickens, forty-five yuan. The total is one hundred and forty-five yuan, but I'll give you one hundred and forty."

Tian Gensheng took out a worn-out old cloth wallet from his pocket, counted out some money, and handed it over.

"Grandpa Tian, ​​I'll pay for this." Song You quickly stopped him.

"Shut up!" Tian Gensheng glared. "My grandson is running a big business out there. What's this little bit of money? Consider it me taking care of you on behalf of your father! Keeping these chickens alive is more important than anything else!"

He forced the money into the stall owner's hand, then clapped his hands and turned to leave.

Song You hugged the cardboard box containing the chicks, a warm feeling welling up inside him.

"Grandpa Tian," he took two steps to catch up and stuffed the money into Tian Gengsheng's hand. "Don't go back for lunch. Come to my place for lunch. I'll buy some fresh pork bones later and make you a soup."

Tian Gensheng paused for a moment. He didn't turn around, but just sighed, took the money, waved his hand, and his voice came from ahead.

"Forget it, I'm not going to your place. You should worry about your chicks first."

He walked away slowly, hands behind his back, with measured steps.

Song You watched his retreating figure and hugged the cardboard box even tighter.

He was about to buy pork bones when a vegetable vendor came over and whispered something to him.

"Youya, Old Man Tian is a good man, but he has a sharp tongue. But if you're raising chickens, you'd better be careful."

"Be careful of what?" Song You asked, somewhat puzzled.

The woman lowered her voice and spoke mysteriously.

"The mountain you contracted is really eerie. Especially the forest behind it. In the past, when some villagers' chickens ran there, one would run away and then disappear. Everyone said it was because weasels took them away."