"Little Zhezhe, can I take the bird's nest?"
"Go ahead!"
"Can I chop some of the branches too?"
"Knock yourself out!"
"Wanna listen to some music?"
"No thanks!"
Tang Xiaoguo carefully placed the bird's nest in the tree fork like a professional artist, then embarked on her grand project.
Over at Lu Zhe's side, he had cleared out a patch of land after working hard all morning, which was one-third of the original planned area.
He discovered that actually, chopping down trees wasn't the most difficult part of pioneering new land, there were other problems.
With the soil exposed, there were also lots of weed seeds that would soon sprout into new weeds, competing for the limited sunlight with tender crops.
Even the strongest herbicide would be no match for glyphosate in dealing with this less-than-one-sixth acre plot of land.
Even more annoying were the removal of rootstalks!
The tree density here was too high, the tree roots would severely hinder crop growth.
To dig up those roots that had grown for decades or even centuries, it would be really difficult without some heavy machinery.
Relying solely on trenching shovels to slowly and gradually dig bit by bit, it would probably take half a month to clear away these obstacles.
Having worked until sunset when the glare off the stone wall had significantly diminished, Lu Zhe decided to call it a day.
Oh right, he wondered how Xiaoguo was coming along with her shelter construction.
Lu Zhe picked up his axe and walked over, then dropped it in shock.
He saw an oval dome about 1.5-2 meters in diameter under a short tree.
Lu Zhe's first reaction was could there be some prehistoric bird still living here?
But then he recalled not having seen anything like that before!
Where was Xiaoguo?
Hope she hadn't been carried off by a giant bird.
Just as he was puzzling it over, a sweaty Tang Xiaoguo emerged nibbling on a papaya from behind the tree, beaming with pride.
"Well, whaddya think?"
"Good heavens, what on earth is this thing?"
"It's a shelter, duh?"
"A shelter?" Lu Zhe circled the bird's nest in wonder. "Are you...trying to lay eggs here?"
"Lay eggs? What nonsense! This is the bio-inspired shelter I designed!"
"Who taught you to build a shelter shaped like the Bird's Nest stadium from the 2008 Olympics?"
"Where's your taste? Isn't this the most suitable shelter that could be built here? If you don't believe me take a look at what the natives did, aren't their shelters built just like this?"
Lu Zhe looked around and indeed saw several more bird nests.
"What about when it rains?"
"That's why it's under a tree silly. Oh wait, it won't get struck by lightning will it?!"
"It shouldn't."
"If worse comes to worst I can always add a canopy on top later. Look, two people can lie down perfectly fine in here."
So saying, Tang Xiaoguo plopped down but immediately yelped and jumped up. "Oww that hurts!"
Lu Zhe sighed. "You don't have the soft feathers of a bird. Branches won't prick you if you crouch on them, but sustained pressure will be painful. Give it some time and your body will adjust."
"No way, too painful...Lu Zhe, can we fix this?"
"Hmm..." Lu Zhe pondered. "Looks like we'll just have to make do. Let's gather some hay to put on top."
"Okay!"
"But first let's get some food. What's for lunch?"
"Papaya and boiled papaya, plus some grilled fish and seafood soup!"
"How come it's all papaya? Lately you seem obsessed with eating that!"
"It's yummy, I just love it! What, got a problem?!"
"No, not at all!"
After lunch the two gathered some hay to line the bird's nest. Lying on top once more was much less uncomfortable.
In fact it was rather cozy.
Lu Zhe had to admit he was impressed.
"I've seen lots of survival videos before showcasing all kinds of shelters, but this is my first time seeing one built like a bird's nest!"
"Haha, aren't I clever?"
"Very clever indeed! Let's add a rain canopy and we can make do with this."
"Make do? This is extremely makeshift!"
To be frank, despite its bizarre appearance, the shelter Tang Xiaoguo built worked surprisingly well - good drainage, dry, breathable and flexible. As long as they had materials, it was relatively easy to construct.
It just needed some patience and lots of branches, which Lu Zhe happened to provide in abundance from his tree chopping efforts. This allowed such an odd yet practical shelter to be born.
"You must be exhausted. Let me give you a back massage!"
Lu Zhe figured there was no harm in trying. Might open new horizons.
"Sure, but go gentle."
"I know I know!"
Tang Xiaoguo perched on a low tree branch and started lightly treading on Lu Zhe's back with her snowy feet.
Lu Zhe found it to be quite enjoyable!
"Well?"
"Feels really good!"
"I'm going to stand up now, okay?"
"Okay!"
Tang Xiaoguo slowly rose while holding onto the trunk, dancing gracefully atop Lu Zhe's back as if waltzing.
The wonderful sensations relaxed all the tension from his body.
And just then, he noticed something peculiar.
Tang Xiaoguo angrily exclaimed: "Too naughty, copying us are they?!"
"Who's copying us?"
He looked up. "Well I'll be darned, it really is!"
Not far away, inside another bird's nest, a scarlet macaw lay on its stomach while an emerald macaw slowly marched on its back, swaying rhythmically!
"But they're not the same as us. It looks like they're...making babies, known colloquially as treading."
"Oh my, a scarlet macaw and emerald macaw making babies? Tsk tsk, in broad daylight too, have they no shame before the scarlet papa and emerald mama?!" Tang Xiaoguo self-righteously admonished.
Lu Zhe casually explained: "That is a hybrid macaw, the easiest parrot to differentiate male from female since the females are red while the males are green. So it would be unusual to see two red or two green macaws paired together."
Tang Xiaoguo nodded in understanding. "I see, that makes sense!"
That night, as they dined on roasted macaw meat and contemplated the unpredictability of life and fate, many a sentimental sigh was heaved.
And so the day passed without incident. Lu Zhe felled half of the targeted trees, while Tang Xiaoguo constructed a bird's nest shelter.
The next day they would continue clearing land for planting, but rains arrived again by dusk.
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
