Harvesting Fantasies Chapter 5

Under the serious gaze of the police, Avery brought a few stools from the house and some snacks for them to sit and rest while waiting for the police station to send professional personnel and equipment.

"When did you come back here?" The young policeman sat down, but the old policeman did not move, and he still looked at Avery with some suspicion.

"I just came back a few days ago." Avery said, "I used to work in City A."

"What are you doing back here?" The old policeman looked Avery up and down.

"This is my hometown." Avery said, "I'm tired from work, so I want to go back to my hometown and farm."

The old policeman asked about the identities of Nathan and Hunter again. After getting the answers, he stopped talking and focused his attention on the well. He seemed to be thinking about something, and his expression became more and more serious.

Hunter was terrified and said to Avery: "What did this policeman remember? Why does he look so scary..."

Avery shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

Neighbor Uncle Li also heard the sirens and came over to ask what happened. Avery told him that something seemed to have fallen into his well, so he called the police and told Uncle Li not to worry.

"Oh, this well in your house," said Uncle Li, "it's very weird."

"What do you mean?" The young policeman next to him heard what Uncle Li said.

"When Avery was not at home before, we often heard the sound of something falling into the well. At first, we thought it was someone, so we came in to check, but we found that there was nothing in the well... After a long time, we stopped caring about it." Uncle Li seemed to think that the policeman's expression was not right, and whispered, "Did you find something in it?"

"Not sure yet." The policeman waved his hand, signaling Uncle Li not to join in the fun, "Go back quickly."

"It's okay, Uncle Li, you can go back first." Avery also said.

Uncle Li then turned around and went back.

Avery exchanged glances with the young policeman. Not surprisingly, he saw a hint of fear in the young policeman's eyes. It was obvious that this young man had not been a policeman for too long and was not calm enough when faced with such a thing.

The old policeman was much calmer and remained cool throughout the whole process. He did not leave the well until support from the bureau arrived.

It was almost twelve o'clock in the morning and the whole village had fallen into a deep sleep, with only the noisy chirping of insects in the grass remaining.

The new police brought professional equipment and personnel, and then prepared to go down the well to salvage the items.

Hunter was still dozing off, but the words "there's a dead body" from the man going down the well made him shiver all over and he woke up instantly.

"Oh my god!" Hunter looked towards the wellhead in horror, "Is there really a dead body?!" He thought it was just a dead animal or something.

The atmosphere among the crowd became tense, and the people on the well pulled the rope hard and finally pulled the body out of the well. Because it had been in the water for too long, the flesh on the body had almost completely rotted away, leaving only white bones with dense aquatic plants attached to them, which at first glance looked like black hair.

It was the first time for Hunter and Avery to see a corpse. They both covered their mouths and noses and took a few steps back. However, Nathan did not change much. He continued to crack his melon seeds with a cold expression, which was completely out of place compared to the nervousness of the others.

"It's a female corpse." The police officer on the scene briefly checked the condition of the body and said, "She has been dead for at least a year. We need to take her back for a detailed examination."

"Do you still remember what happened last year?" The old policeman who came earlier suddenly turned around and asked his colleague next to him a question.

"What do you mean?" the man said, "No way, how could the body be dumped here?"

"It's possible." The old policeman turned his head and looked at Avery, "How long have you not been back?"

"Several years." Avery answered honestly, "About two or three years. This house has been abandoned."

The old policeman nodded: "Okay, you guys go to sleep first, we still need to investigate the scene, you come to the police station tomorrow to make a statement."

Avery nodded.

The police seemed to have a clue about the body and excluded Avery from the first suspect. After all, judging from the decomposition of the body, the man had been dead for at least a year, and according to Avery, he had never come back during this year. Of course, these things still need further verification, and the most important thing at present is to find out the identity information of the body.

Although the police asked them to go back to sleep, Hunter said that he did not want to go back and insisted on staying with Avery for one night.

Avery looked at him suspiciously: "Are you afraid of ghosts?"

"Haha, how could I be afraid of ghosts?" Hunter said, "I, Hunter, have never been afraid of anything since I was a child!"

Avery: "......Since you are not afraid, can you give me some of the quilt?"

Hunter: "I don't! I feel cold on my back!"

Avery: "......"

In the end, he gave up fighting with Hunter for the quilt and quietly went to get a clean bed.

Avery did not sleep well that night. He kept thinking about the appearance of the corpse, which made him feel listless when he woke up the next day. He went to the police station with the police to take a statement, and he kept yawning after coming back.

The backyard was cordoned off by the police, who said they were trying to protect the scene. Although from a chronological perspective the scene was no longer of much value, as too much time had passed, most of the evidence should have been destroyed.

A few days later, the police withdrew their on-site protection, and Avery found some free time to go to the police station to make a statement.

After returning from the police station, Avery went to the neighbor's house and asked Milo to prepare some feed for the pigs. Milo went happily, and his father asked curiously about the situation in the Lu family's backyard.

"Is there really a dead body?" Uncle Li was smoking and almost dropped his cigarette when he heard this. "Then what about the sounds we heard during that time..."

Avery laughed dryly twice, thinking that it was better not to delve into some things, because the more he thought about it, the more terrifying it would become.

Aunt Li also said: "Then you must be careful in the future. If there is anything else, remember to ask a fortune teller to come. Oh, it's really a sin."

Avery nodded, indicating that he understood.

When he came back from the police station, he bought a few pieces of fresh beef and spices from the nearby market, preparing to braise them for later use. As for lunch, he could only make do with something simple. Avery cut some beef cubes, chopped them up and stir-fried them until fragrant, then added carrots, onions, peas, and corn. After a high heat, he covered the ingredients on the leftover rice and steamed it directly in the pot. After steaming, the rice could be eaten directly as a dish.

When he was cooking, Nathan watched by his side and occasionally helped.

After the rice was steamed, Avery took the pot out and divided it into three portions, then poured soy sauce on it and stirred it evenly, and then it could be eaten directly.

The vegetables, meat and rice were evenly blended together, leaving a delicious taste in the mouth. It was simple and filling, and the three of them enjoyed the meal very much.

"Sake, don't forget to water the vegetables in the field later." Hunter mumbled, "These seeds have just been planted, so water is essential."

"I'll go." Nathan said.

"No thanks." Avery wanted to refuse.

"I'll go." Who knew that Nathan's attitude was very firm, "You can just braise the beef at home."

Avery originally felt that it was not nice to let Nathan do such rough work, but after thinking about it carefully, Nathan was not a human being, and perhaps it would be easier to do the work if he had his own way, so he said nothing more and nodded to agree to his request.

After a short nap, Avery called the telecommunications company again and asked them to reconnect the Internet cable and TV signal. The telecommunications company said they would send someone over tomorrow.

Just after finishing the call, Milo, who had gone out to collect pig grass, came back. Avery went with him to feed Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua. When Xiao Hua saw Avery, she hummed happily twice as if to express her gratitude. Milo was mumbling something to Xiao Hua next to the pig pen, and from time to time he reached out to touch the short fur on Xiao Hei's body. This fur would become prickly in the future, but fortunately it was still furry now, like a cute kiwi fruit.

Xiaohua was too proud to let Milo touch her, but her sister Xiaohei was not reserved at all and her pink belly was exposed when Milo touched her. Seeing that Milo was having fun, Avery decided to do his own thing first, as he still had a lot of work to do.

Back in the house, Avery cut the beef he bought in the morning into large pieces and washed them, then put them in a pot with cold water and used high heat to filter out the blood from the beef, and then put the blanched beef and the spices wrapped in gauze into the pressure cooker, and it was done. This method is relatively simple, but the taste is not bad. Avery also put some chicken feet and tendons in to cook together, and when he is free at night, these stewed foods can replace melon seeds as snacks.

After returning to his hometown for several days, Avery has become accustomed to the slow pace of life here. There is no need to rush for anything, it will be done anyway.

Nathan came back from watering the vegetables in the field with some dirt on his body. Avery asked him to take off his clothes and wash them together with her, but Nathan hesitated when he heard that.

"Or do you have any magic that can wash clothes?" Avery looked at Nathan expectantly, "Do you have any?"

White Moon Fox: "......Yes, there is."

Avery said: "Really?!"

Facing Avery's starry eyes, Nathan hesitated slightly and said, "But there is a sequelae."

"What are the sequelae?" Avery asked.

"It's easy to get hungry after using magic." White Moon Fox said, "It's troublesome."

Avery: "Well... I'll wash it then." He originally wanted to say that he could just eat if he was hungry, but he somehow remembered the scene of the White Moon Fox swallowing the huge gecko that night, and immediately felt that he should not expect to feed the White Moon Fox with just a few meals.

Avery drove Nathan to take a bath, and took his dirty clothes to the front yard to wash them. While washing, he planned to go to town to buy a washing machine in a few days, otherwise washing clothes would always be a waste of time.

Nathan took a shower and changed his clothes, then sat quietly by the side and watched Avery do things. He didn't seem to like to move much, and was lazy all day long. If it wasn't necessary, he didn't even bother to say anything extra. At this moment, he half-closed his eyes and looked like he was about to fall asleep.

The braised beef in the house was cooked, emitting an enticing aroma. Nathan Fox twitched his nose and looked into the house.

Avery thought he was like a child craving for meat, so he laughed and said, "It's braised beef. It's not ready yet, so we can only eat it in the evening. We haven't finished eating the melon seeds that Hunter brought. Do you want to get some to satisfy your craving?"

Nathan said: "I don't want to go."

Avery asked: "What?"

White Moon Fox: "Too lazy to leave..."

He spoke so confidently about laziness that Avery burst out laughing. He said, "Okay, then you sit for a while. The market will be open the day after tomorrow. I'll buy some other snacks and a few chicks... This yard is empty."

Nathan said, "You decide." He lay on the chair and half-closed his eyes. The warm sunlight shone on his cheeks. From Avery's perspective, he saw that his eyes were a very beautiful golden color. When Avery wanted to take a closer look, Nathan had already closed his eyes.

Avery hung up the clothes and suddenly remembered something. He turned around and went to the pigpen, only to see that little Milo had fallen asleep with two piglets. He climbed in through the fence, holding Xiaohua in his left hand and Xiaohei in his right hand, and the two pigs slept soundly.

Avery glanced at Xiaohua and Xiaohei, then at the little white pig next to them, and always felt that something was wrong. After careful study, he found that Xiaohua and the little pig's pigpen was exceptionally clean, the straw seemed to have been newly replaced, and there was no peculiar smell. However, even so, you can't sleep in the pigpen.

Avery called out, "Milo, Milo!"

The child was awakened by Avery. After opening his eyes dazedly, he rubbed the little flower head in his arms and said, "Brother Lu..."

Xiaohua whimpered as Milo rubbed her, and buried her face in the child's arms.

"How did you fall asleep in there!" Avery said, "This is a pigsty..."

"Oh, I was telling a story to Xiaohua and Xiaohei, and I accidentally fell asleep." Milo felt embarrassed and quickly sat up, trying to climb out of the pigsty. Xiaohua and Xiaohei also woke up because of this, and they hummed in dissatisfaction with Avery.

Avery said: "You can't sleep here even if you want to sleep, be good and come out quickly."

He stepped into the pigsty, carried Milo out, and brushed off the straw on his body. "Let's go home and sleep."

Milo rested his chin on Avery's shoulder without saying anything, but quietly winked at the two little pigs.

Avery didn't notice his little action at all.

After sending Milo home, Avery rolled up his sleeves and returned to his pigsty. He said to Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua, "Don't play with other children every day. They haven't finished their homework yet. You are not pigs for two or three days. How can you be so ignorant? Can you do something serious?"

Xiaohua: "......"

Xiao Hei: "......"

"Don't pretend you don't understand." Avery knew that his pigs were smart. Seeing them staring at him with innocent eyes, he angrily said, "Why did you kidnap the child into the pigpen? If I see it again next time, I will------"

Xiaohua: "Hum." What?

Avery, who acted like a parent, said righteously: "I won't let him pick grass for your pigs anymore."

As soon as these words came out, the air was silent for a moment. Xiao Hei started to sob aggrievedly, and Xiao Hua turned her bu.tt towards Avery in anger. Avery: ... He knew that his pigs were smart, but what on earth was this weird illusion that he was bullying the kindergarten kids?

Avery gave his pig several more instructions, the gist of which was not to take the child out to play foolishly every day, but to do something serious with educational significance. As for what serious things with educational significance were...to be honest, he didn't know either, he just said it casually.

After educating his own pigs, Avery returned to the house. Nathan was still sleeping in the yard. Hunter came at some point and sat under the shade of the tree in the front yard, with a bag of green plums next to him. When he saw Avery coming, he grabbed one and threw it to Avery. Avery caught it, wiped it and took a bite: "Did you grow this at home?"

"No, the ones from my neighbor's are ripe, so I gave them to me. I brought you a bag too." Hunter said, "Is that okay?"

"Well, what kind of fruits do you grow at home?" Avery asked.

"Cherries." Hunter said, "But they are not well taken care of. They are so sour that I don't even want to eat them."

"Just sell it." Avery said.

"I'm too lazy to go. There's not much." Hunter said.

The price of cherries here is quite high, but there is no demand because they are too expensive and not many people buy them. What's more, his cherries are very sour, so even fewer people buy them, so he is too lazy to go to the trouble.

"Pick them and I'll make cherry jam." Avery said, "You can soak them in water and drink them in the summer."

Hunter laughed: "That's great." Although cherries are sour, they have a unique flavor after being made into sauce, especially in the summer when you rinse them with water and then chill them. It is wonderful to drink a glass of them on a hot summer day.

Avery asked Hunter to wash the plums while he went to check on the braised beef. Hunter nodded.

The beef was almost done braising. Avery tasted it to make sure it was fully flavored. He planned to make some beef noodles in the evening.

While he was cooking the beef, Avery's phone rang. He looked at the unfamiliar number on the screen and pressed the answer button anyway.

"Hello, is this Avery?" the person on the other end of the phone asked.

Avery recognized the man's voice as the policeman who came here on duty that night.

"It's me, what's the matter?" Avery asked.

"Let me tell you, the identity of the body has been found out. Her name is Fu Ziying. Do you know this person?" the police asked.

"I don't know him." Avery said, "I've never heard of this name."

"Okay." The policeman seemed a little disappointed.

"Any clues about the murderer?" Avery asked with some doubt.

The police hesitated for a moment and said, "Think carefully about whether there is anything you have missed. I shouldn't have told you this..."

Avery listened quietly.

"In fact, about half a year ago, someone kept calling the police station to report that someone had died in Shuifu Village," the police said. "They kept calling for a week. At the time, we thought it was a prank because we didn't find the body."

Avery was a little confused: "Could the person who reported the case be related to the murderer?"

The police said: "...that's where the problem lies."

Avery asked: "What's the problem?"

The police said: "The person who reported the case called herself Fu Ziying..."

When Avery heard this, goose bumps appeared on his arms: "No way?"

"We couldn't find the phone number to call at the time, but the recording was still there. We used the recording to ask Fu Ziying's family and confirmed that it was her voice." The police officer said in a low voice, "But the medical examiner is very sure that the body has been dead for a year."

Avery: "...Could it be that it's not Fu Ziying's body?"

"No, the DNA also matches." said the police.

Avery was horrified: "So the dead Fu Ziying... reported the case herself?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone. It was obvious that the police could not stand this kind of supernatural incident.

"That's not right. Why didn't she report it right away?" After Avery recovered, he felt a little strange. "Why half a year ago......?"

"There is a very important clue in the phone recording," the police said. "She said at the time that the dead person was a man, so we suspect..."

Speaking of men, Avery immediately recalled the scene he saw that afternoon. In front of the wellhead, there was indeed a man with his back to him, hitting a woman in the face with a stone. He asked, "Can I ask how Fu Ziying died? Was she hit in the face by a stone?"

The policeman asked curiously, "How do you know?"

Avery laughed dryly: "I've been having strange nightmares recently..."

To be honest, if there hadn't been such a supernatural thing as the deceased reporting the crime, the police would probably have suspected Avery of having a motive for committing the crime. He asked, "What else did you dream about?"

Avery said: "I dreamed of a man who was wrapped in hair and dragged into a well."

After saying this, Avery and the police fell silent. After a moment, Avery smiled bitterly and said, "Hey, I don't think there is another man's body in the well..."

Police: "...Wait, we'll come back and take a look."