Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn-Chapter 27 - 26 Fish and Rice Treasure Mountain

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The path up to the tea mountain was much easier to navigate than the road into Black Mountain.

Miao people are hardworking and good at cultivation. The tea gardens, which must be located at high altitudes, thrive on Black Mountain, which is over 700 meters above sea level. The climate higher up is milder than at the foot of the mountain, with an average temperature of around ten degrees annually and plenty of rainfall, making it a rare treasure land for planting tea trees.

Halfway up the mountain, Zhu Shijun began to recount anecdotes about white tea. Both Zhu Xiaoxian and Li Ye, trailing behind, were at the age when they loved listening to stories. Mesmerized by Zhu Shijun's detailed explanation of the history of tea, the two children stopped quarrelling and quietly followed along.

"In China, there are many places that produce white tea, among which Fujian has the highest output. However, when it comes to the uniqueness of the variety, Guizhou's white tea takes the crown. This is closely tied to the local climate and culture. There's a legend from the Eastern Han period about a young man named Yin Zhen who carried his homemade 'tea' to seek an audience with the renowned Confucian scholar Xu Shen but was blocked by a malevolent servant. Rather than becoming disheartened and giving up his desire to learn the art of tea, he sat down outside Xu Shen's residence and began to chew his 'tea' dry. Soon, the whole mansion was filled with a rich fragrance, which led Xu Shen to come out and greet him," Zhu Shijun narrated, pausing deliberately to gauge everyone's reaction.

Sure enough, the two youngsters reacted most rapidly. After hearing the story, Li Ye asked in a loud voice, "So what happened next? Was that Yin Zhen an ancestor of the Miao people, and did the Miao family's white tea originate from him?" He was just like a hot-tempered little monkey. Yezi's mother couldn't help but scold her son, wishing for the world's finest things to have some connection with the Miao family to be truly satisfied.

"What tea could be so fragrant to fill an entire mansion? Even the divine tea offered to the immortal realm couldn't achieve such a feat. This story from Grandpa is only fit to fool little kids like Li Ye," Xiao Xian scoffed, assuming the fragrance of tea, flowers, or fruit was simply a form of Spiritual Energy leakage in Yunteng Sect's view.

If used properly, absorbing the essence of medicinal scents or the flavor of fruits was just a matter of course. Of course, such feats were still pure fantasy for Xiao Xian at this point.

"Auntie, aren't those the Miao family's rice paddies ahead? It's already autumn, so why hasn't the water been drained off?" The five of them had left the suspension house cluster of Southeast Mountain Village, and before their eyes spread vast expanses of rice paddies.

The terrain of Black Mountain was somewhat similar to Leigong Mountain, with steep slopes and the only level ground being the fields cultivated by Miao people. The rice had been harvested a month earlier, and the paddies were still flooded.

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Xiao Xian, with sharp eyes, hadn't yet approached when he shouted, "Grandpa, there are fish being raised in the fields."

The village chief took a few steps closer and indeed spotted several carp with short whiskers around their mouths. Each fish was almost the same size, and they appeared to have been nurtured for over a year.

"Those are rice paddy fish, a technique we learned from the Dong people. In spring, we release the fish fry into the water. They naturally feed on insects in the rice straw, and the fish waste fertilizes the rice plants. When autumn comes, we catch the fish," Li Ye eagerly explained, not satisfied with just words. He rolled up his pant legs and waded into the paddy.

He wasn't bad at fighting, and even better at fishing, with sharp eyes and hands like natural fish spears. He spotted a carp tail poking out of the water, acted with swift precision, and when his hand emerged from the murky water, he held a plump fish.

"Here, catch, Zhu Xiaoxian," Li Ye thought on the way up that Zhu Xiaoxian had tricked him once today, and determined not to be outdone, he hurled the carp straight at Xiao Xian.

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Xiao Xian was caught completely off guard, suddenly finding a slippery fish added to her person, its tail ceaselessly thumping against her chin, which really gave her quite the scare, causing her to cry out loud.

"Ha ha ha, Zhu Xiaoxian," Li Ye laughed till his stomach hurt watching from the field, the fearless Zhu Xiaoxian actually scared of a fish.

The few adults present watching the children's antics all burst into laughter; Zhu Shijun couldn't help but show a face full of wrinkles as he laughed looking at the still struggling fish on the ground and his little granddaughter's cute but flustered appearance.

"Such mischievous children, truly a source of amusement for the old fellow," Yezi's mother really wished there was another girl in the family, someone affectionate and lively. Unfortunately, although Li Quqi had been married to her for many years, perhaps influenced by her gu refining, she hadn't had any news from her belly after giving birth to Yezi. Seeing Xiao Xian today, she really took quite a liking to the girl, her own son verbally picking on that little girl.

But it doesn't matter, don't boys always love to lift the skirts of the girls they fancy? Yezi's mother thought, her face breaking into an even broader smile.

Yezi's mother then asked Li Ye to catch several carps in the field, threading them onto a straw rod to take back for Mr. Zhu and the village chief.

On their way up the mountain, they came across rows of low sheds, which had no doors and were simply enclosed by rudimentary fences.

"Auntie, do Miao families also raise pigeons?" The cooing of the flock of pigeons sounded like lively songs to the ears of the group.

"That's what my brother Yibar has been raising. Pigeons have become popular down the mountain in recent years, with pigeon eggs being sold for money, and the litter from the pigeon cages being used to fertilize fields and tea trees. The pigeons raised on the mountain have tender meat, and many restaurants in Guiyang prefer to use pigeons that are free-ranged on the mountain. Yibar has over a hundred cages of pigeons, laying several hundred eggs a day, and after raising them for more than a year, they can be sold off to outsiders." Yezi's mother wasn't exactly keen on her brother's money-making venture, disliking the idea of selling live pigeons to restaurants. However, she was just Yibar's sister and since pigeon raising was approved by the village, she didn't have much say in it.

After the adults went past, Yezi took another peek inside the birdcage, his gaze suddenly fixed on a small, curled up fiery red figure.

The village chief was becoming increasingly apprehensive as they walked along the mountain path; a Black Mountain with an elevation of less than a thousand meters, supporting fish in rice paddies, raising meat pigeons, and also having hundreds of acres of white tea garden—every part was a source of gold and riches. Compared to Dongnan Miao Village, no wonder Ge Village was so poor. The more he thought about it, the less confidence he had, his footsteps growing unsteady as if treading on cotton.

"Da Fu, watch your step, we've only just begun this journey," Zhu Shijun could see the village chief's disheartened demeanor and subtly hinted at something in his words. People in the mountains need a huge shock to open their minds. Jin Dafu was a wise man. Presumably, this trip wouldn't be in vain for him.

Yezi's mother led the way at the front without looking back, aware that when the Han family visits the Miao, they can't just leave empty-handed. However, if the two neighboring villages truly became prosperous, it'd be far more beneficial than just one alone being wealthy.

"Mr. Zhu, we've arrived at the tea mountain, could you take a look and see what exactly is wrong with our tea trees?" As difficult as the path was, once you start walking it always comes to an end. Zhu Shijun had just reached the mountaintop when Yezi's mother ahead asked anxiously.

The adults walking in front hadn't noticed that Zhu Xiaoxian and Li Ye, who had been following behind, were missing.