The orchard housed over a thousand chickens, and Mo Yan had not restricted their range of movement. It could be said that there wasn't a spot in the entire orchard where the chickens couldn't go, nor where their droppings weren't found. Fortunately, the chickens primarily fed on grass and vegetable leaves, so their manure was not as foul-smelling. Despite that, stepping in it was still somewhat disgusting.
Gazing at the scattered chicken droppings all over the ground, Yan Junyu, left with only one shoe, refused to set foot in the orchard ever again. He insisted on waiting for Mo Yan to bring back the fruit before tasting any. Subsequently, he had Guan Yu fetch a spare pair of shoes from the carriage to wear, then he hurriedly descended the mountain.
Mo Yan didn't press the issue, picked a variety of fruits--one or two of each kind--until the bamboo basket was overflowing, and then carried the heavy load back home.
