Future Pet Shop

Chapter 188: Eating All the Way

"Hm?" Hah’Er sniffed the air. ’What’s that? It smells delicious.’ He turned his head and looked toward the source of the fragrance.

Just then, he saw Qin Qing walk over, holding a small bamboo basket. "Director Kong, Mr. Shen—oh, and Hah’Er—come have a taste. These are Zongzi made with bamboo leaves, glutinous rice, and bamboo all sourced from the banks of the Yunshui River. The Dragon Boat Festival is almost here, so you can all try them early and see how they compare to the Zongzi you’re used to."

"I’ve read about bamboo-leaf Zongzi in Yuan Mei’s *Suiyuan Food List*: ’Wrap white glutinous rice in bamboo leaves and boil them. They are small and pointed, like budding water caltrops.’ Hmm, they do look quite exquisite." Director Kong, ever the man of culture, recited the classic text with ease.

Eating Zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival is a Chinese custom, but the leaves used to wrap them vary greatly by region. The south mostly uses broad-leaf bamboo, the north prefers reed leaves, the Central Plains often use oak leaves, and some parts of the southwest use *zongba* leaves. Other regions might use makino bamboo leaves, shell ginger leaves, banana leaves, lotus leaves, or even bamboo shoot husks.

However, while the southern "broad-leaf bamboo" has "bamboo" in its name, it’s actually part of the lily family and very different from true bamboo. This was why it was Director Kong’s first time eating a Zongzi made with real bamboo leaves.

It was easy to understand why. Ordinary bamboo leaves are far too narrow and aren’t up to the task of wrapping Zongzi. But along the banks of the Yunshui River grew a type of bamboo with larger leaves. Though still not as large as broad-leaf bamboo or reed leaves, they were big enough for the nimble-fingered locals to fashion them into small, delicate Zongzi.

"Director Kong, why don’t you try one? See how it compares to the Zongzi you’ve had elsewhere. Mr. Shen, you have one too. And... can Hah’Er eat this?" Qin Qing didn’t dare to feed a Zongzi directly to the panda.

"I’ll feed him," Shen Yibin said, taking a Zongzi from Qin Qing’s hand. He held it to Hah’Er’s mouth and joked, "We humans have to unwrap ours, but you’re in luck. You can eat the whole thing, leaves and all."

This type of Zongzi was much smaller than the usual kind. Hah’Er stuck out his tongue, curled it around the treat, and popped it into his mouth. He started chewing with a CRUNCH CRUNCH, not even bothering to unwrap it. He was eating the Zongzi, leaves and all. Shen Yibin was a little disappointed. ’It would’ve been funnier if he’d only eaten the bamboo leaves and left the rice, like someone eating a dumpling wrapper without the filling,’ he thought.

After finishing the Zongzi, Hah’Er spat out the string that tied the leaves together and leaned in for more. The little guy seemed to love the taste. Director Kong burst out laughing, quickly grabbed another Zongzi from the basket, and handed it to Shen Yibin. "These Zongzi are delicious! Hah’Er should have a few more."

"What are these called? Just ’Bamboo-Leaf Zongzi’? No, no, that’s too plain. It doesn’t capture what makes them special. In my opinion, since Hah’Er likes them so much, we should call them ’Panda Zongzi.’ The Zongzi that pandas love! It’s guaranteed to attract more tourists." And just like that, Director Kong had renamed them.

"Great idea! We could even have Hah’Er be the official endorser and film some commercials," Qin Qing said, looking over at Shen Yibin. This was something they had discussed before. Of course, for such a highly targeted promotion, the Zongzi manufacturer would have to pay an extra fee.

"Of course, of course. Let’s find some time to discuss the details later." Seeing how much Hah’Er enjoyed the Zongzi, Shen Yibin agreed. ’But I’m terrible at this kind of negotiation,’ he thought. ’I’ll probably have to get Xu Ye to come help with the talks, and I’ll need to ask Lawyer Zhang Danxuan to review the contract before I sign anything.’

The bamboo-leaf Zongzi were just an appetizer. They continued down the river on the dragon boat, stopping where the scenery was most beautiful. The chef aboard began to cook fish freshly caught from the Yunshui River. Eating fresh fish, sipping wine, and admiring the views from both banks—it was a truly relaxing and carefree experience.

Watching Hah’Er clutch a food bowl while eating fish, the group was stunned once more. ’Damn, this has to be a fake panda! Don’t they eat bamboo?’ one of them thought. This prompted Shen Yibin to give them a quick science lesson: pandas are, in fact, omnivores. And, he added, his was a particularly special case.

Still, he never dared let Hah’Er drink any alcohol. ’We’re on a boat, after all! If he gets drunk and tumbles overboard, I’ll be worried sick. Even if we pull him out right away, he could still catch a cold.’

"We’ll rest a bit at noon, then continue downstream to climb a mountain and tour an orchard," Qin Qing said cheerfully, outlining the afternoon’s plan for Director Kong and Shen Yibin. "It’s not orange season yet, but we have a small patch of off-season trees, so everyone will be able to taste some fresh oranges." Seeing how happy the two men and Hah’Er were, she felt confident. ’This video shoot is bound to go smoothly, isn’t it?’

The dragon boat moored, and the group went to their hotel to rest for a bit. At two o’clock, they boarded the boat again and continued downstream, docking at another pier. From there, they took electric carts up a winding mountain road. Before long, they arrived at a vast orchard. It happened to be orange blossom season. The trees were covered in blooms, with dots of white flowers peeking out from behind green leaves. A sweet fragrance filled the air, a refreshing and uplifting scent.

The sea of blossoms, spanning over sixteen thousand acres, left Director Kong completely stunned. Xiangjiang was a bustling city, but its small territory lacked this kind of grandeur. He had never witnessed such a magnificent panorama. He praised it again and again, grabbing a camera from his assistant and snapping photos relentlessly, vowing to make this a key location for the shoot.

The sight of trees instantly energized Hah’Er. When Shen Yibin wasn’t looking, he scrambled up an orange tree with a HUFF and a PUFF, settling onto a high branch to sniff the sweet floral scent. It took a great deal of coaxing for Shen Yibin to get the little rascal down again.

The group ambled slowly through the sea of blossoms, and soon they reached the area with the off-season orange trees. The sight here was completely different: countless plump, golden oranges hung from the branches, making everyone’s mouth water.

"Oof!" The moment Hah’Er saw the fruit, he was off again, scrambling up a tree without waiting for a command from Shen Yibin. In a flash, he was on a branch, twisting off an orange with his paw. He cradled it for a moment, hesitated, and then offered it to Shen Yibin first, much to the envy of the onlookers.

Shen Yibin passed the orange to Director Kong. Hah’Er then turned into a little fruit picker, plucking orange after orange from the tree and passing them down to Shen Yibin and the others. Only after everyone had an orange did Hah’Er peel one for himself and start to eat.

’Sigh. Other people go on a trip to sightsee. You go on a trip to eat everything in sight.’ Shen Yibin didn’t know what to do with this little glutton.

’If the Zongzi can be called Panda Zongzi, could these be Panda Oranges?’ Qin Qing began to wonder. ’And could Hah’Er endorse them, too?’