Chapter 50: Dig, Dig, Dig

“Hey, Brother Shen, what are you up to?”

“I’m in the mountains, farming,” Lu Jianshen replied simply and directly.

“What? Farming? Wait, Brother Shen, are you still the same Brother Shen I know?” The voice on the other end instantly rose in pitch.

“What do you think, Fatty Huang?”

“Heh heh, just messing with you, Brother Shen.”

“By the way… I heard from Da Cong that Auntie posted an artsy side-profile pic of you in her Moments. Looked pretty good. Where’d you get it done? I want one too!”

“…” Lu Jianshen.

What kind of weird friends did he have?

If he hadn’t lost a bet, who would willingly let someone draw a little turtle on their face?

And this guy actually asked about it on his own.

Fine, since he brought it up, there’s no way Lu Jianshen was going to miss this chance to mess with him.

Side note: Madam Lu had taken a bunch of photos of Lu Jianshen from every angle, showcasing the little red turtle drawn on his face.

In the end, she only posted the most “artistic” one on her Moments.

In that photo, the bright red turtle Song Li had drawn was heavily blurred.

Combined with Madam Lu’s shooting angle and some post-editing, the final effect turned out surprisingly unique.

Bathed in sunlight, the side profile was hazy yet well-defined. His hair looked tousled in a stylish way, and the whole image gave off a roguish, refined youth vibe. There were even cute red designs drawn at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

The composition was great, and the mood even better.

Honestly, it looked pretty good.

Otherwise, Lu Jianshen would’ve stormed over to Madam Lu, snatched her phone, and deleted the post himself.

“I’ll send you the address. Bring Da Cong and the others with you.”

“Got it, Brother Shen. See you soon!”

After hanging up, Lu Jianshen opened WeChat and sent a location pin to the contact saved as Fatty Huang.

He also sent a close-up shot of himself digging soil.

As expected, a reply came quickly.

Fatty Huang: ????? No way, Brother Shen, you’re really farming in the mountains?

Fatty Huang: What happened? Did you piss off Auntie again and get exiled by Uncle to dig through mountains as punishment? Like, not allowed home until you tunnel through a mountain?

Shen Shen You Shen: Shut up! Get over here.

Fatty Huang: Brother Shen, can I not come? Don’t forget, these hands of ours are for playing instruments in a band, not for digging dirt!

Shen Shen You Shen: There are pretty girls here. Lots of them. They need help.

Fatty Huang: Say that earlier, Brother Shen! On my way, wait for me~

Shen Shen You Shen: …

After sending the message, Lu Jianshen tucked his phone into his pocket and resumed digging with his shovel, moving in a mechanical rhythm.

Then, he heard a strange, oddly catchy and brainwashing children’s song playing by his ear.

“On the little hill we dig, dig, dig

Planting big apples and sweet, sweet pears

On the high hill we dig, dig, dig

Planting red strawberries and giant melons

In the fields of hope we dig, dig, dig

Planting lots of fruit and lots of melons

We grow melons for ourselves and grow up together

So we can laugh and smile every day~”

“Teacher Yuan, that song is so cute! Teach me, teach me!”

“I want to learn too!”

The little potatoes all turned their eyes to Yuan Yuan after hearing the soft and sweet song.

“Sure, sure, I’ll teach you. Let’s sing together.”

“Yeah yeah!”

“On the little hill we dig, dig, dig~”

“…” Lu Jianshen.

What was this round-faced girl doing?

What was with this constant “dig, dig, dig”?

This counts as a children’s song?

In his memory, children’s songs were more like “Under the bridge in front of the gate, a group of ducks swam by” kind of thing…

This endless digging—what was the point?

But soon, Lu Jianshen realized he’d been brainwashed.

His mind was full of that “dig, dig, dig” melody.

Even his digging started syncing up with the rhythm of everyone singing.

Ahhh, this is addictive!

Finally, thirty minutes passed.

The first round of the competition officially ended.

Lu Jianshen tossed aside his shovel and started counting pits, tallying up the results.

Alright, not bad, not bad. This time, he wasn’t dead last.

He was second to last. Hahaha, no punishment for him today!

As for first place…

What the heck, it was Lu Qingqiang.

She somehow managed to dig enough for three people all by herself.

Damn, was this girl a farming prodigy?

Nope, doesn’t count, ignore that.

Among the competitors, only he and the Little Radish Heads were actually competing. The others were just helping out.

Yep, that’s the story.

In the end, the winners were announced.

First place: Gu Cheng and Song Li’s team.

Second place: Tie between Su Chao and Li Xiang’s team, and Su Tao and Pang Jiajia’s team.

Third place: Madam Lu and Xiao Hui’s team, and Song Zhao and Su Zhixing’s team.

“Everyone take a break. We’ll plant trees, fill the pits, and water them in a bit,” Lu Qingqiang called out, and everyone put down their tools to rest.

Lu Jianshen plopped down on a big rock nearby, not caring about appearances at all.

While it was supposed to be a break, the little kids didn’t look tired at all.

They were still bouncing around like monkeys let loose from the mountains.

Watching them, Lu Jianshen couldn’t help but sigh quietly.

Was he getting old?

Was his stamina already declining?

But come on, he was only in his twenties!

“Here, Second Brother, have some water.”

After handing out water to her parents and Doctor Feng, Lu Qingqiang brought a bottle over to Lu Jianshen.

As she handed it to him, she even twisted the cap open for him.

(She also secretly added a tiny, tiny drop of Spirit Spring Water into it. She did the same for the others too.)

“Thanks!” Lu Jianshen said, taking the bottle and chugging it down.

Ah, nothing beats a little sister. Not only did she bring him water, she even opened the bottle for him.

What was that? That was love and care from a real sister!

Just for that thoughtful gesture, he decided that as long as Lu Qingqiang didn’t ask for anything too outrageous in the future, he’d say yes to everything!

Also, maybe it was because he’d been working hard and was really thirsty, but the water tasted especially good.

After finishing the bottle, Lu Jianshen stood up and called over the kids who’d placed in the top three.

“Your prizes will be handed out after we finish for the day and head down the mountain!”

“Brother Lu, what kind of prizes?”

“First place gets one wish each. Whatever you want, just tell me, and I’ll make it happen.”

“Second place, each of you gets a backpack.”

“Third place, a pencil case for each.”

“Even though the rest of you didn’t place, I could see how hard everyone worked.”

“Every bit of effort deserves recognition, so after we’re done, each of you gets a little flower and a lollipop!”

“Wow, thank you, Brother Lu!”

“Brother Lu, you’re the best!”

“…” Surrounded by soft, adorable voices full of praise, Lu Jianshen felt like he was floating.

Yep, gotta admit, these little brats were actually kind of cute.

After resting for about twenty minutes, just as they were about to get back to work, Lu Jianshen’s phone rang again.

“Brother Shen, we’re on the mountain! Where are you?”

“See the bamboo house?”

“Yeah, we see it!”

“Go past the bamboo house, then turn left. You’ll find us.”

“Got it, Brother Shen! Be there soon!”

After hanging up, Lu Jianshen, looking for an excuse to slack off, put down his shovel and called out.

“Mom, Dad, Sis, I got a few friends to come help with the farming. They’re on the mountain now but don’t know the way. I’ll go pick them up!”

“Alright, don’t take too long.”

“Got it!”

Soon, Lu Jianshen spotted the five friends he’d tricked into coming up the mountain.

All five of them were dressed to the nines in suits, looking sharp and proper.

Beards shaved, hair neatly styled, and Da Cong even had on a light touch of makeup.

“Brother Shen, Brother Shen, where’s the pretty lady?”

“Brother Shen, look at how I’m dressed. Do you think she’ll notice me later?”