There aren't many terraced fields in the village, and taking care of the cattle and working the fields already keeps everyone busy. Xiaobei decided to put the hundred or so semi-grown calves into the space for a while. Considering the time difference between inside and outside, it would only be about seven or eight days at most before they reached one year old and could be sold under uncle Zhong's arrangements.
Without their calves, the cows wouldn't last long. Their milk would swell up, so Xiaobei took out a few buckets and decided to milk the ones that were full. It sounded easy, but it was much harder in reality. Her hands were cramping, and she hadn't even finished half of them when Cheng Mo came over. Seeing the situation, he sent someone to organize help from the village.
It was only when everyone came with buckets to help milk that they realized it wasn't easy. Although these cows had lost their wildness in the space, they still squeezed desperately toward Xiaobei.
In the end, they had to pull them by their nose rings, while Xiaobei cleverly fed them grass one by one in the space. It was strange that the grass in the space was not only fresh and tender but also carried the same fruity fragrance as Xiaobei's body.
The small animals quietly approached the grass, gathering around Xiaobei's hands. They had never seen so many wild rabbits and pheasants, and various colorful birds gathered more and more. Cheng Mo noticed the anomaly and immediately hurriedly took Xiaobei away.
Several hunters from the Chen family built courtyard walls, bamboo houses, cattle sheds. They resolved the problem by milk diversion fences at the foot of the eastern mountain of the village. Driving the cows into the narrow enclosure made milking work much easier.
When Xiaobei moved the water buffalo herd out of the valley, fresh milk entered a season of large-scale production. Xiaobei started arranging dairy product workshops and asked Uncle Lin and others to inform people in the mountains that anyone interested in seeking work or learning skills could come over.
To soothe the water buffalo's emotions and ensure the nutrition of lactating cows, Xiaobei would harvest large amounts of grass in the space every day. Then, rain clouds would drift over the land she had just mown, and the rainwater would carry a faint fragrance, similar to the aroma emanating from the dewdrops of the nebula air vortex in the Jade Snowflake Cave. This made Xiaobei vaguely speculate, could this milk-like mist have some significant use?
"Cheng Mo, Cheng Mo, I need to ask you something." Xiaobei ran to the glass workshop outside the west courtyard, where Cheng Mo would often chat with the prince Rong and do chores every morning.
"Xiaobei, you're here. What's up?" Cheng Mo was delighted to see Xiaobei and pulled her out of the workshop.
"A-Mo, smell me." Xiaobei tiptoed, tilting her slender neck towards Cheng Mo.
Though caught off guard, Cheng Mo quickly kissed Xiaobei's red lips.
"Oh, A-Mo, what are you doing? I asked you to smell me, not kiss me. Can you tell if there's a fruity fragrance?" Xiaobei finally managed to push Cheng Mo away, who seemed determined to continue kissing her. This lovesick fool probably misunderstood.
"Oops, sorry, Xiaobei. I just can't help myself when I see you. There is indeed a scent on you, a faint and pleasant one. It's been getting stronger lately. I even mentioned feeling slightly intoxicated on the way back from Coal Mountain, but you didn't believe me. Why the sudden question today?"
"Well, A-Mo, there are some things I can't explain right now. I can only ask you to trust me."
"Xiaobei, I trust you completely. I'm just curious. Trust me, I have no doubts."
"A-Mo, I've been drinking a certain beverage lately. It's colorless and tasteless, but every time I drink it, I feel energized, my mind clears, and after bathing, there's a faint fragrance lingering around me. So I have a suspicion, but I'm not sure."
"Xiaobei, do you still have some? Could you let me try it?"
"Of course, that's why I came to you. Here, take a look." Xiaobei took out a small silver pot from her sleeve and filled it with the white liquid from the air vortex in the Jade snowflake cave.
Cheng Mo glanced at it roughly and then took a careful sniff. It had a fresh fruity fragrance, but it wasn't as strong as the one emanating from Xiaobei's body. He then tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. Xiaobei was about to advise him to try it slowly, but to her surprise, he finished it in one go and, then, just within a few breaths, he immediately sat down cross-legged with a flushed face.
What's wrong with him? Is he detoxifying or something? Xiaobei had drunk it herself and didn't feel any poison. She didn't dare to disturb him and could only sit quietly by his side. After waiting for nearly an hour, when Cheng Mo opened his eyes, Xiaobei saw galaxies and stars, the vast universe from the depths of his twin pupils.
She was drawn closer, but he pushed her away.