Feng Yuan repeatedly assured Lady Lianji that the matter of the blood-swiftlet nests was already in the works and was a sure thing. He asked her to be patient and wait for a few more days.
Meanwhile, Li Ying was completely unaware of Lady Lianji's impatience. Her fat - reducing meals had received great acclaim. But sharing space with the pastry shop every day was not a long - term solution. She needed to find a storefront in the town as soon as possible.
However, her plan of "boosting consumption and attracting investment" had been extremely successful. In just a few months, the magistrate and Inspector Lin had both visited the town. Many shrewd merchants had already seen the town's prosperous future and rushed to buy properties here.
As a result, although Li Ying had enough money, there wasn't a single store for rent in the town!
She smiled helplessly. Knowing that this couldn't be rushed, she simply pulled A Man and mixed the sliced konjac strips with spicy seasonings to make konjac snacks for sale.
While she was busy, she heard a scream from outside the door.
"Hey! Ying'er, come out and take a look quickly! Such a huge eagle! Don't let it grab our Mao Mao!"
Li Ying dropped the konjac snacks in her hand and rushed out.
Sure enough, on the fence outside the courtyard gate stood the goshawk she had released on Swiftlet Island the other day. Now, it was looking at her proudly.
Li Ying smiled and explained to Granny Sun, "Don't be afraid, Granny. This eagle belongs to our family."
Belongs to their family?
Granny Sun was secretly amazed. Her Ying'er was really amazing. She had cats and swallows, and now she had even tamed an eagle!
She bravely went to the kitchen and fetched a few pieces of raw meat. The eagle glanced at her and walked casually on the bamboo fence.
Granny Sun looked at the shiny claws and beak of the eagle and couldn't help but feel a bit scared. She shyly handed the meat to Li Ying.
Only then did the eagle finally lower its head and feasted on the meat from Li Ying's hand. After finishing, it fluffed up its feathers proudly.
Li Ying tentatively reached out her hand and said softly, "Since you've eaten my meat, you're my eagle now. I'm a very fussy person. I don't keep idle hands around."
"I'll make a deal with you. After the swiftlet house is built, you'll guard it for me to prevent other raptors from invading. I'll provide you with plenty of meat strips mixed with sesame oil. How about it?"
Mao Mao jumped onto the fence and waved its little paws, meowing at the eagle. Strangely enough, the goshawk seemed to understand human language. It sized Li Ying up with its bright eyes and nodded.
The eagle still had unhealed injuries. Since she had "hired" it as the "security captain", she naturally had to take good care of it.
Just as Li Ying was about to fetch the small first - aid kit at home, Lu Xunguang came back at some point, holding a delicate eagle hood in his hand.
The leather thread was spirally inlaid and sewn around the position for the eagle's eyes, forming a raised shape like a goldfish's eye with multiple layers. At the top was a red tassel made of horsehair.
The whole eagle hood was a smooth and lustrous maroon color, embossed with auspicious cloud patterns. It was extremely luxurious yet also imposing.
As a girl, Li Ying naturally liked such delicate and exquisite trinkets. She fell in love with it at first sight.
She examined it repeatedly with affection. Seeing her like this, Lu Xunguang couldn't help but smile.
"Uncle Zheng used to be the leader of a caravan. He was quite knowledgeable about falconry. I learned how to make this eagle hood from him when I was a child."
"The other day when you released this eagle, I guessed that it might come back to find you. So, I made this eagle hood after I came back. And it's really useful today."
With the eagle hood, it was much easier to apply medicine to the goshawk's injuries. Li Ying secretly thanked Lu Xunguang for his thoughtfulness.
She wrote a short note briefly explaining the situation of the falcon and tied it to the leather anklet on the eagle's claw.
After a good rest, the goshawk flapped its wings and took off again. It was flying straight towards Swiftlet Island.
"I didn't expect Uncle Zheng, who is now in decline, to be such a heroic figure in his youth?"
Li Ying said casually, "Since you're as close as father and son to Uncle Zheng, why don't you invite him to live in the village with us? It's better than being lonely in the north of the town alone."
Lu Xunguang looked embarrassed and pondered for a while, "Uncle Zheng... may already be extremely annoyed with me. He has been living here incognito. If I were to disturb him forcefully, it might only make him unhappy."
He was evasive and didn't want to say more. Although Li Ying didn't know what exactly had happened between them, she vaguely guessed that it must be related to his family affairs. So, she sensibly didn't ask further.
She gave him a gentle smile, tightly holding his hands with her small hands, and said softly, "It doesn't matter. If you're not ready to talk about it, don't force yourself. We have plenty of time. I can wait."
With the eagle delivering messages, it was much more convenient for her to communicate with the people on Swiftlet Island. The construction of the artificial swiftlet house also progressed by leaps and bounds.
Li Ying had no time to care about Lady Lianji. Anyway, Lu Xunguang dutifully informed her of Lady Lianji's every move every day.
One day, Feng Yuan came early, holding a delicate box, asking to see Lady Lianji to claim credit.
"Lady Lianji, it's done! The blood - swiftlet nests you wanted are ready!"
Lady Lianji had been in a bad mood for several days. Now that she finally heard some good news, she couldn't hide her joy on her face. She quickly got up and said, "Hurry up and help me freshen up!"
In the box, there were ten neatly arranged blood - swiftlet nests, each one startlingly red.
"Feng Yuan, you're really capable! After we win against that little bitch with these blood - swiftlet nests this time, why don't you come back to the capital with me!"
Lady Lianji gently picked up one of the blood - swiftlet nests with her two slender white fingers. While examining it, she casually ordered, "Go and stew this blood - swiftlet nest. I'll taste it myself!"
Blood - swiftlet nests of such quality were extremely rare even in the capital. Even she rarely had the chance to enjoy them, so she naturally couldn't miss this opportunity.
The maid obeyed the order and was about to leave with the blood - swiftlet nest. Feng Yuan had a strange look on his face. After hesitating for a moment, he finally summoned up the courage to say, "My lady, you mustn't do this. These blood - swiftlet nests... can't be eaten..."
Lady Lianji raised her eyebrows, looking unhappy, and snorted, "What rare delicacies haven't I tasted? Feng Yuan, it's your good fortune that I'm willing to taste these blood - swiftlet nests. Don't be ungrateful!"
Feng Yuan's face became even more embarrassed. He had to lower his voice and honestly say, "My lady, the things in this box are not real blood - swiftlet nests..."
After Lady Lianji dismissed the servants, he told her exactly how he had fabricated the "blood - swiftlet nests".
When Lady Lianji heard the words "swallow droppings" from his mouth, she almost vomited. She barely managed to hold back the leftover food from the night before and disgustedly pushed the box of "blood - swiftlet nests" far away.
"Get rid of this filthy stuff quickly! It's so unlucky!"
Seeming to think that she had lost her composure, she calmed her angry expression and then casually asked, "If someone eats these blood - swiftlet nests, will it be life - threatening?"
Feng Yuan thought for a moment and said awkwardly, "There's no poison in them. But most people who can afford to eat blood - swiftlet nests are usually in poor health... If they eat our blood - swiftlet nests..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Lady Lianji had already lost her patience and waved her hand indifferently.
"Since it won't kill anyone, then go all out! Tomorrow, I want all the people in the town to know the benefits of blood - swiftlet nests. I'll show these fools clearly that only what I present is the good stuff!"