Chapter 9

As Lei Huxi entered the house, Xiao Pang immediately sensed his presence and leaped out of the water basin, landing on the ground with a thud. His four little feet appeared, and he began to move his round, plump body forward.

Apparently, Xiao Pang found walking on his feet too slow, so he curled his body into a proper meatball and rolled forward with a "puff, puff, puff."

As soon as Lei Huxi entered, the meatball rolled to his feet. Then, it stretched out, leaped onto Lei Huxi's calf, and with several quick jumps, landed on Lei Huxi's face. Xiao Pang's little tongue extended, licking non-stop, showing an extremely affectionate demeanor, completely forgetting that he had once used a paralyzing technique on Brother Huxi.

"Stop, stop." Lei Huxi found Xiao Pang's affection even more terrifying than the paralyzing technique: "If you don't stop, I won't cook for you anymore."

This statement was more lethal than anything else, and Xiao Pang immediately stopped, obediently staying to one side. However, his mischievous eyes kept glancing at the vegetables Lei Huxi was holding.

"From now on, we need to have some rules," Lei Huxi took the opportunity to say: "You must not use that... paralyzing technique on me. If you dare to use it once, I will never cook for you again, and you will starve. Do you hear me?"

For the sake of food, Xiao Pang was quite obedient and nodded pitifully.

"Meals should be eaten together; that's polite," seeing how obedient Xiao Pang was, Lei Huxi was delighted: "Before I sit down, you are not allowed to steal or snatch food. Otherwise, I won't cook for you anymore."

Xiao Pang's little eyes blinked continuously, but he finally nodded again, looking as pitiful and aggrieved as possible.

"Also, you can't just eat and live for free," Lei Huxi pressed his advantage: "You need to help me, right?"

Xiao Pang shook his head without hesitation.

Eating and sleeping were the two most important things for Xiao Pang. Why would a dragon need to do anything else? Isn't it just about eating and sleeping all day?

"Alright, then," Lei Huxi compromised: "If you help me, I'll cook you a big meal for each task. Do you know what a big meal is? Lots and lots of delicious food... I know it takes a lot of energy for you to produce that dragon saliva. I'll find jade for you to absorb its spiritual energy to recover, okay?"

"Poof—"

Xiao Pang opened his mouth and made a sound. This sound seemed to be...

A sigh?

Is this a dragon that can sigh?

Seeing that Xiao Pang didn't shake his head, Lei Huxi quickly pressed on: "So, we have a deal. This will be our house rule."

Xiao Pang's body started bouncing, heading towards the kitchen. After two bounces, he looked back, as if urging Lei Huxi, "What are you waiting for? Go cook!"

Lei Huxi's cooking skills were not to be underestimated, and he was quick. When he worked part-time at a restaurant, he would be scolded by the boss if he was even a little slow.

The braised pork was ready, and seeing Xiao Pang's drooling face, Lei Huxi quickly said, "Remember the rules."

Breaking the rules meant no more delicious food in the future. Xiao Pang struggled with his inner demon, swallowing large gulps of saliva, his body twitching, his eyes fixed on the braised pork, but he managed to resist.

A drop of meat broth dripped from the edge of the bowl, and Xiao Pang darted forward, his little tongue flicking out to lick it clean.

He licked his lips, looking unsatisfied.

Lei Huxi was both amused and exasperated. It was rare to see someone so greedy. Considering how hard Xiao Pang had restrained himself, Lei Huxi's heart softened: "If you want to eat, you can have one piece, just one..."

Before he finished speaking, a flash of lightning streaked across the room.

What does it mean to move like a rabbit? What does it mean to be as fast as lightning? This is Xiao Pang.

With just that movement, the largest piece of braised pork in the bowl had vanished.

Lei Huxi was dumbfounded: "Xiao Pang, Xiao Pang, how did you eat that? Your body is so small, I really admire you."

Xiao Pang's body suddenly moved, and he ran to the gas stove in a flash.

In the pot, a mandarin fish was cooking, releasing waves of fragrance. This was Lei Huxi's specialty, the eight-flavored braised mandarin fish. When he worked at a restaurant, a chef suddenly fell ill.

Lei Huxi volunteered and cooked the first dish, the eight-flavored braised mandarin fish, which the guests praised highly. If it weren't for the start of the school term, he might have become a chef.

After cooking two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, he placed them on the table. Xiao Pang's eyes were fixed on the eight-flavored braised mandarin fish.

Ding Meng suddenly remembered, "Right, do dragons like fish the most?"

Serving two bowls of rice, Lei Huxi, with a serious face, looked at Xiao Pang's impatient expression and tried to suppress his urge to laugh: "Xiao Pang, after you eat, you have to help me with something, okay?"

Xiao Pang nodded like a rattle drum.

Now, not only was he willing to help, but even the most difficult tasks would be acceptable.

"Let's eat."

As soon as the words were out, Xiao Pang leaped up, performing a 720-degree spin and two and a half somersaults in the air, a highly difficult move, but lacking in beauty due to his plump body.

He landed accurately on the fish, and in a blink, a large piece of fish meat disappeared.

You, how are others supposed to eat like that? Lei Huxi was stunned. But the rules didn't prohibit such behavior, did they?

In terms of eating speed, Xiao Pang would be second to none.

"Hey, hey, slow down, leave some for me."

Unfortunately, Lei Huxi's words had no effect. The fish on one side was already entirely in Xiao Pang's stomach.

Xiao Pang's way of eating fish was not only fast but also peculiar. He didn't even spit out the fish bones, swallowing everything.

What kind of digestive system does he have?

"Xiao Pang, eat some meat, eat some meat." Seeing that the fish was about to be completely devoured by Xiao Pang, Lei Huxi was anxious.

However, Xiao Pang suddenly lost interest in the braised pork, focusing entirely on the fish in front of him.

Lei Huxi was certain he hadn't guessed wrong; Xiao Pang's favorite food was fish.

The fish was quickly devoured, and even the green and red peppers were eaten clean. More incredibly, even the broth was consumed by Xiao Pang.

The plate that held the fish was as clean as if it had been washed.

Impressive, impressive.

Looking at Xiao Pang, his body was like a miniature ball, his belly swollen, lying contentedly on the empty plate, looking extremely comfortable.

More surprisingly, his body, which was completely on the fish, had not a single speck of oil on it.

Does this dragon have a self-cleaning function?

"Do you want to eat some more meat?"

As soon as Lei Huxi asked, he regretted it. He hadn't even had a taste of the fish, and now he was asking if Xiao Pang wanted more meat...

Fortunately, Xiao Pang lazily shook his head.

It seemed that eating a whole fish was enough to satisfy him.

Lei Huxi, preoccupied with important matters, quickly ate a few bites of rice: "Xiao Pang, it's time to do something."

Who would have thought that Xiao Pang would close his eyes in the plate, as if he were fast asleep.

"Hey, hey, get up and do something."

Still no response, Xiao Pang seemed deaf.

Was he being unreasonable? They had agreed before eating, but now that he was full, he wouldn't honor the deal?

A dragon that can be unreasonable?

Lei Huxi wasn't in a hurry and said slowly, "This eight-flavored braised mandarin fish, actually, I cooked it pretty well. I have other fish dishes that I'm even better at..."

Xiao Pang quietly opened a slit in his already small eyes...

"Like the dry-fried carp, with a mix of chopped chili, green pepper, and spicy bean paste, the taste..."

Xiao Pang quietly swallowed, but then tightly closed his eyes...

Lei Huxi pretended not to notice: "If I make a fish head soup, it would be fragrant... and some spicy shrimp... oh, my mouth is watering..."

Xiao Pang suddenly sprang up, his upper body straight, looking like a brave warrior about to set out on a mission or a hero ready to face death.

His eyes kept blinking at Lei Huxi, as if saying, "Come on, tell me what to do, Xiao Pang is ready to face any challenge!"

Lei Huxi wanted to slap him.

How did he end up with such a greedy, lazy, and boring creature?

Taking out the ginseng seeds given by Grandpa Dong, he said, "Follow me."

Xiao Pang leaped lightly from the table to the ground.

Being a dragon, despite his plump body, he was not slow but rather agile.

They arrived at the small yard behind the house.

Next to the yard was a well and a small vegetable patch where Lei Huxi's grandfather used to grow vegetables for self-sufficiency.

How to plant ginseng? Unfortunately, there was no computer to look it up.

He bravely buried the ginseng seeds in the soil and called Xiao Pang over: "Xiao Pang, be a good boy and help me. Look, I've prepared the jade for you."

He took out the jade he had bought from Brother Hong and placed it to one side.

Xiao Pang glanced at the jade, seeming unsatisfied. No wonder, it wasn't as good as the rose quartz from before.

Xiao Pang crawled to where the ginseng was planted and shook his head at Lei Huxi.

What's wrong? But Xiao Pang didn't seem to be slacking off?

Lei Huxi scratched his head, took out his phone, and opened a webpage.

Using 2G data, his phone was slow, and it took a while for the page to load.

"How to plant ginseng..."

After a quick read, Lei Huxi had a general idea.

He found some rotten leaves to spread on top and made a temporary canopy to block the light.

Ginseng prefers cool, semi-shaded areas, is cold-resistant, and avoids direct sunlight.

After setting everything up, he faced Xiao Pang: "Is this okay?"

He guessed that Xiao Pang had strong abilities but needed the initial work to be done properly.

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