What the hell? Can your pee make plants grow too? Maphario had just finished fertilizing the Drip Guanyin and was already busy again. He had now climbed onto the pot of Lucky Bamboo and was peeing inside.
"Hey, Hah’Er, make him take a break! He’s been working for ages." After watching for a while, Shen Yibin started to worry. Maphario hadn’t stopped since digging up that Cyan Halo. First, he’d dug up all four of Xia Shixuan’s succulents and replanted them by the bamboo grove. Then, he started treating all the various potted plants in Shen Yibin’s store. He was so busy it was crazy, and he still hadn’t stopped. ’He’s not going to work himself to exhaustion, is he?’
"Mhm!" Hah’Er nodded repeatedly. This little guy’s energy was even greater than Shi Gaofei’s when he ran the marathon. It really did startle Hah’Er. Such an intense amount of activity was simply unimaginable for a guy like him who just collapsed on the couch all day after eating his fill. Especially since Maphario’s body was so small; it was truly worrying.
He quickly went over, scooped up Maphario—who was still standing on the Lucky Bamboo pot peeing into it—and placed him in his pouch. He then grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and offered them over. ’You’ve been busy for so long, you should eat something to tide you over.’
Perhaps he really was tired and needed to replenish his energy, because Maphario didn’t resist. He took the sunflower seeds and started cracking them open with a series of crisp CRUNCHes. The pet shop was suddenly filled with the clear sound of seeds being cracked.
"Boss, can I have some sunflower seeds too? Watching him eat them so happily is making me want some," Xia Shixuan said, holding her hand out to Shen Yibin. Shen Yibin felt the exact same way. He reached into Hah’Er’s pouch, grabbed a handful, and started eating them with Xia Shixuan. Hah’Er seemed to want to taste the sunflower seeds too, but unfortunately, his thick, short claws were completely incapable of such delicate work. He couldn’t get a single whole seed kernel, which left him quite frustrated.
"Hahahaha, Hah’Er, don’t worry, I’ll shell them for you." Xia Shixuan couldn’t help but laugh. It was rare to see Hah’Er looking so down. She quickly shelled a few seeds and placed them on Hah’Er’s paw. Hah’Er hastily brought the seeds to his mouth, and then... just as expected, the kernels slipped right through the gaps between his claws, making Hah’Er cry out in frustration.
"Squeak squeak!" Maphario seemed to have noticed Hah’Er’s predicament. He scurried smoothly up Hah’Er’s arm to his shoulder, deftly cracked open a sunflower seed, and fed the kernel into Hah’Er’s mouth.
How could he even taste such a tiny kernel? But Maphario’s gesture filled Hah’Er’s heart with warmth. Overjoyed, he cupped Maphario in his paws and rubbed him against his face for a good long while, nearly crushing the little guy to death.
"I’ll cook you some maltose to make a sunflower seed brittle for lunch!" Shen Yibin said, shaking his head with a helpless smile. ’Since he wants to try them so badly, I’ll just have to make it for him. The individual kernels are too small for him to eat, so I’ll use maltose to stick a bunch of them together for him to eat.’
Having made up his mind, Shen Yibin started rounding up helpers. "Shi Xuan, you and Nannan, come help me shell sunflower seeds. Gao Shu, you go to the supermarket next door and buy some more seeds by weight. It doesn’t matter if they’re roasted or not, the key is they have to be plain."
Leaving Li Shiqing to mind the store by herself, everyone else got busy. Xia Shixuan and Xie Nannan set a bowl on a table on the second-floor terrace and began shelling seeds with their slender, nimble fingers. Gao Shu went out to buy more seeds, while Shen Yibin returned to the kitchen to begin his prep work.
He rummaged through the kitchen and found some sesame seeds and peanuts, portioning some of each into small bowls to set aside. ’Sunflower seeds alone would be a bit plain,’ he thought. ’I’ll add some other ingredients for Hah’Er.’
It would still take some time for Xia Shixuan and Xie Nannan to shell all the seeds, so there was no rush to start melting the maltose. Shen Yibin rolled up his sleeves and started cooking lunch. He figured they’d probably be done by the time the meal was ready.
’What should I make today? Maybe some corn with pine nuts to see if Maphario likes it? And maybe some stir-fried five-spice peanuts?’ Shen Yibin chose a few dishes based on Maphario’s eating habits, then stir-fried a few more dishes for Hah’Er and the girls in the shop. A sumptuous lunch was soon ready.
By this time, the girls had already shelled a huge pile of sunflower seeds, more than enough for Shen Yibin’s needs. He had them bring the dishes to the dining table first, then he started making the maltose, sunflower seed, and peanut brittle for Hah’Er.
First, he mixed the sunflower seeds, peanuts, and sesame seeds together until they were evenly distributed. Then, he placed the maltose in a pot and slowly heated it over a low flame. Soon, the maltose began to melt. Once all the sugar blocks had dissolved into a liquid, Shen Yibin quickly poured the mixed seeds and nuts into the pot, immediately turned off the stove, and stirred rapidly to ensure the syrup coated all the kernels and nuts evenly.
While the syrup was about to set but hadn’t yet fully solidified, Shen Yibin transferred the large mass into a mold to give it a fixed shape. While the block of candy was still hot, he coated a knife with cold water and began slicing it. If he waited until it cooled, it would be much harder to cut. After cutting it, he set it aside to cool completely and went to the terrace to start lunch.
It seemed Maphario only liked to eat nuts and kernels. He picked only the pine nuts out of the corn dish, though he did eat several of the five-spice peanuts in a row. He didn’t touch any of the other dishes.
’Finally, one that’s easy to feed.’ Seeing this, Shen Yibin breathed a small sigh of relief. Hah’Er was a picky eater, of course. The Amazonian fruits that Cheeky liked were all outrageously expensive. Egg was a carnivore, and Shi Gaofei had a preference for snakes. The food budget for these guys was higher than Shen Yibin’s own. But Maphario? You could probably feed him until he burst for just a few cents a meal.
After lunch, the task of clearing the table was left to Li Shiqing and the others. Shen Yibin went back to the kitchen. By now, the brittle had cooled completely. Shen Yibin picked up a piece and popped it into his mouth. ’Mmm, not bad. Fragrant, crisp, and delicious.’
"Here, Hah’Er, try it and see if you like it." Shen Yibin placed two plates on the table—one for Hah’Er, and the other for the girls.
"Hm?" Hah’Er eyed the brittle curiously. He tentatively picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. This time, he could finally taste the sunflower seeds.
Maphario also climbed out of the pouch. Seeing this, Shen Yibin broke off a small piece and offered it to him. Maphario immediately began to gnaw on it with a series of CRUNCH CRUNCH sounds. It looked like he really liked this stuff, even more so than the pine nuts and five-spice peanuts from earlier.
’I never would have guessed. You have a sweet tooth, just like Shi Gaofei. Well, as long as you like it, I’ll make it for you every day. Just don’t be afraid of getting cavities.’
He picked up a few pieces of the brittle, put them in a paper bag, and tucked it into Hah’Er’s pouch. He then placed Maphario back into the pouch on Hah’Er’s belly. Shen Yibin patted Hah’Er’s head and said, "Let’s go. Time to go on a big shopping trip for your godson!"