## Chapter 33: The Clean Freak Got Scared Off
1142 Words
After giving away the green pepper seedlings, Jiang Tingyun didn't think about them anymore.
The weather had been getting hotter lately. The peppers and loofahs that were planted late had entered their peak production period. There were so many fruits hanging that the leaves were starting to look a little dull.
Jiang Tingyun could clearly feel that the soil wasn't fertile enough. Luckily, the organic fertilizer she'd made from kitchen waste had just about finished fermenting. She planned to dilute it a bit and use it as top dressing.
Before the sky even turned dark, Jiang Tingyun had already sold out and closed up shop.
In the evening, it was a little cooler, and the soil temperature had dropped as well.
She hauled out the organic fertilizer she had been composting in the corner of the backyard with kitchen waste. Lifting the cover, she saw that adding brown sugar and bacterial culture had really helped the fermentation. There was almost no bad smell—just a slight hint of alcohol.
Jiang Tingyun took out a portion, added some water, and stirred it to dilute.
"The color looks kind of weird."
She couldn't help frowning. This stuff looked a bit like...
After mixing it evenly, she didn't pour the fertilizer directly onto the roots of the vegetables. Instead, she dug small pits between the seedlings, used a long-handled scoop to pour the fertilizer into the pits, and then covered them with soil.
Jiang Tingyun was working hard when she heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching.
She didn't pay much attention and kept working, just calling out, "The restaurant's closed. Come back tomorrow."
A minute or two passed, but no one answered her.
She looked up in confusion and saw a man dressed entirely in white standing at the back door.
"It's you?"
Jiang Tingyun was a little surprised. Wasn't this the handsome guy she'd bumped into at the temple last time when she took a wrong turn? What was he doing at Qionghua Eatery?
She put down her long-handled scoop and walked over. "Can I help you?"
The man still didn't answer. His face was pale, and he was staring nervously at that bucket of fertilizer.
A few seconds later, he stumbled back a few steps, opened his mouth several times, and finally managed to say, "Don't... don't come near me... it's so dirty..."
Jiang Tingyun: "..."
Was this guy asking for a punch?
...
Ever since Yun Tingyi had eaten the stir-fried dried mushrooms (ganba mushrooms) that his assistant Xiao Li had brought back from Qionghua Eatery, he had developed an interest in the place.
He was picky and didn't have much of an appetite, but the truth was, his stomach was hungry. It wasn't that he didn't want to eat.
Lately, he had been surviving on Master Zhengyuan's plain noodles or some fresh fruits and vegetables.
After finishing the vegetables that Qionghua Eatery had delivered a few days ago, his family had specially sent organic vegetables from a high-end farm.
He thought they tasted pretty good, but there was just something missing.
Lately, he had been missing the taste of the fruits and vegetables from Qionghua Eatery more and more—and that stir-fried dried mushrooms (ganba mushrooms). For once, he actually experienced what it felt like to *crave* something.
So a few days ago, he told Xiao Li to go to Qionghua Eatery and get some takeout for him to try. Xiao Li rushed over, but came back empty-handed. He said no one was there—the place was closed.
Yun Tingyi didn't want to put people out, so he didn't bring it up again.
Today, he went out alone to clear his head. He hadn't eaten much in the evening, and his stomach was bothering him. He looked up—and there it was. The Qionghua Eatery sign.
Without really thinking, he walked inside. But again, no one was in the dining hall. The back door was wide open, and out of curiosity, he went over to take a look.
And then he saw something that nearly made him lose his composure completely.
It was too dirty! Could it be that these delicious vegetables were all grown with such filthy stuff?
He wasn't completely clueless about how things worked in the countryside. He had heard that some people used manure water to fertilize their crops.
But he never imagined that the fruits and vegetables he'd been eating were grown that way too.
He had severe mysophobia. If he didn't see it, it was fine. But now that he had seen this scene, Yun Tingyi felt acid constantly rising in his throat. The world spun around him, and he could barely stand.
Jiang Tingyun set aside how annoying he was being and said, "Are you okay? Do you need me to call an ambulance?"
Yun Tingyi's brows were tightly furrowed. He forced himself to point at the bucket. "You use that kind of filthy stuff to grow vegetables?"
Jiang Tingyun wanted to hit him. Where did this young master even come from? Who farmed without using fertilizer?
The guy was so dramatic. Why didn't he just go live in a castle?
She said irritably, "What's wrong with using this? It's fermented from kitchen scraps. It's clean. No smell at all!"
Yun Tingyi's face improved a little. "I thought... but still, it's dirty."
Jiang Tingyun realized—this guy thought she was using manure water to water the vegetables? So what if she did? And besides, her fertilizer had no smell at all. The only resemblance was the color after dilution. How did he even make that leap?
Anyway, for thousands of years, before modern fertilizers were available, human waste, cow dung, and chicken droppings were all good stuff for farming.
A spoiled rich kid who'd never lifted a finger to do manual labor was looking down on hardworking farmers. She really couldn't stand it.
Jiang Tingyun stopped looking at him. Calmly, she picked up her long-handled scoop, stirred the bucket a few times, scooped out a big ladle of the diluted liquid and solids, and dumped it heavily into a pit.
"Sorry, handsome. We're closed. I've got work to do."
Yun Tingyi suddenly *urrp*—and gagged.
He stumbled back several steps and dry-heaved a few more times.
Jiang Tingyun: "..."
Was that really necessary?
She put down her things and stepped closer. "Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone to come get you?"
"N-no..." Yun Tingyi squeezed out a single word from between his teeth. He covered his mouth, turned around, and ran out as fast as he could.
He swore he would never eat anything from Qionghua Eatery again!
"..."
Jiang Tingyun stood there dumbfounded in the middle of her garden.
Was it really that dramatic?
So... what exactly had he come here for?
- Writer
