Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn-Chapter 34 - 33 Strange things happen every year

A week later, East China International College would start summer vacation, and Zhou Ziang had already made arrangements for this winter break.

Within this week, three incidents occurred in two locations in the Southwest Mountain Area.

All three incidents were indirectly related to Xiao Xian.

The first incident happened in an inconspicuous corner of Bai Family Ancient Town. After winter set in, the lush, verdant banana leaves that thrived in spring and summer in the town withered away, and an unnoticed tree unexpectedly blossomed.

It was a pear tree that seemed to have grown overnight; the townsfolk had always seen the tree there, but only after it garnered enough energy did it bloom. Without blooming, it was insignificant, but once it did, it created a sensation among the townsfolk and passing tourists.

Only after the flowers bloomed did people realize it was a pear tree. The buds formed overnight, filling up the branches, and not long after the buds finished forming, Bai Family Ancient Town on the Yun-Gui Plateau welcomed a spell of winter rain. The drizzle was persistent and lingering.

After the rain, the pear blossoms opened, layers upon layers blooming like winter snow, their delicate, long yellow stamens emerging from the petals.

The flowers lasted for a full half-month without a single petal falling; anyone passing beneath the pear tree would inadvertently look up, becoming intoxicated by the pure white on the tips of the branches and leaves.

The second and third incidents occurred in the same place; we might as well discuss them together.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

In terms of public awareness, the second and third incidents were much less significant because they occurred in the relatively isolated Han Family's small mountain village, Ge Village.

After the arrival of winter, there were more villagers sitting at the entrance of the village, not only basking in the sun to keep warm as they did in previous years but also because there was an added attraction.

"It really is unusual, I'm saying, all those wildflowers blooming on the Zhu Family's land, wasting the fertility of the soil, how will they plant rice come spring," the villagers whose generations had farmed the land, though somewhat puzzled by the purple wildflowers that would blanket the fields every spring blooming in this incorrect season, simply attributed it to this year's winter being warmer than usual.

How large could Ge Village be? The news of Zhu Shijun farming spread across the whole village in just a few days. It was Zhu Shijun himself who signed the agreement with the village chief at the time, so the villagers had no idea that the real "landowner" of those few mu was Zhu Xiaoxian, who had just turned seven years old this year.

"Look, Sister-in-law Lian is taking the little girl from the Zhu Family to work in the fields every day. I heard they're going to cook and eat those forage plants," the villagers would say. Because of the large temperature difference between day and night in the mountains, the green vegetables planted outside the house could not endure and many died; therefore, the villagers' pots and pans contained mostly the sour and spicy cabbage pickled a few months ago.

On the land full of blossoming purple alfalfa flowers, Zhu Xiaoxian was inspecting the growth of the alfalfa. It's uncertain if it was because alfalfa is an annual herbaceous plant, but using the spiritual liquid soaked from the seed leaves only resulted in thicker leaf veins and a shortened growth period for the alfalfa. As for the taste, it would depend on Sister-in-law Lian's culinary skills.

"Xiao Xian, you better not be fooling Sister-in-law Lian. Can these pig-feeding grasses really be eaten?" Sister-in-law Lian was on the verge of being poked in the spine by those mocking glances behind her.

"Of course, Sister-in-law Lian, any crop, if prepared properly, can be turned into a top-notch delicacy. My master... a senior I knew from before, during his trips to the city, had eaten a vegetarian dish made with tender alfalfa leaves," Xiao Xian was reminded of some past events of the Yunteng Sect, feeling a wave of sorrow in his heart.

In order to hide his emotions, Xiao Xian switched to a more cheerful tone: "Heat the oil until it's hot, smash the purple garlic flat, fry it in the oil until aromatic, then pick out the tough stems and older leaves from the alfalfa, stir-fry it in the pan, and if you have sticky rice cakes or the like, add them in, the flavor will be even better."

Listening to Xiao Xian's detailed explanation, Sister-in-law Lian also took it to heart. The New Year was approaching, and before the New Year, every household would also be making rice cakes.

"Oh, it's almost two o'clock already, the old man is about to wake up from his nap, Xiao Xian, stop playing with the mud, it's time to go back. You forgot, the old man said you should start learning to read from today," Sister-in-law Lian, busy putting the tender alfalfa shoots she picked into the willow basket, urged Xiao Xian to come up.

"Sister-in-law Lian, what's the rush? You're the one who forgot, lately after every afternoon nap, grandpa spends almost half an hour staring at the pear tree behind the house. We can take our time walking back, then move the table out into the yard, timing it just right," Xiao Xian had a good grasp of the personalities of Zhu Shijun and Sister-in-law Lian. Zhu Shijun was a person able to remain calm; to Xiao Xian, he seemed to feel a deep debt, and the only time he ever got angry in the past half year was that "Yezi" incident. Sister-in-law Lian was hot-tempered, and her cooking and cleaning were always done in a whirlwind.

The people Xiao Xian was somewhat familiar with in the village were the village chief's family. The village chief's wife, Aunt Jin, was a chatterbox, and the village chief was often annoyed to the point of smoking sullenly, then worrying about the cost of cigarettes after finishing.

After the trip back from the Miao Family's Village, the relationship between the Han Clan and the Miao family had slightly warmed, and it was said that after the New Year, once Li Quqi returned from outside, and the Miao Village's Great Wizard's health improved, the village and the village would sit down to discuss the construction of a shared road for the coming year.

Xiao Xian and Sister-in-law Lian returned home leisurely, and sure enough, Zhu Shijun had already woken up and was standing behind the house, studying the pear tree that had mysteriously burst into bloom with pear blossoms.

The pear tree of Bai Family Ancient Town had already astonished the town's residents and passing tourists with its beauty, but if they saw the pear tree in the Zhu Family's backyard, they would probably be too stunned to close their mouths.

Despite Zhu Shijun having seen countless exotic flowers and plants, more than a month ago, on that morning when Zhu Xiaoxian shook him awake from bed, exclaiming that the pear blossoms were blooming behind the house, Zhu Shijun was also at a loss.

Winter is a quiet and desolate season, with Leigong Mountain and Black Mountain quietly losing their color. Behind the Zhu Family's house, however, a cloud of pear blossoms had quietly risen.

The Zhu Family's pear blossoms had a long blooming period and a rich fragrance, and at night, just like the nearby white pears, they enveloped each villager's bedside with their sweet scent.

In previous winters, the elderly and children in the village prone to coughing had recently been sleeping more peacefully.

"Grandpa, I knew you were staring at the pear tree again, always muttering about 'spring coming to the dead wood'." Zhu Xiaoxian, looking at the sea of flowers, was also very happy; this time the pear tree could have over five hundred fruits hanging from its branches.

"Xiao Xian, you've been running around the village again. Sigh, also, I don't know what that plot of land of yours will look like next year, and those rice seeds need to be taken out for some sun," Zhu Shijun shook his head, his vision of his little granddaughter's figure somewhat blurry.

Lately, his body didn't seem right; at his age, it's time for an annual checkup. After the New Year, he should go to a hospital in Guiyang for a thorough examination.