Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn-Chapter 7 - 6 The Secret of the White Pear Tree

Ge Village is located in the Qian Gui Mountain area, in a mixed region of subtropical and tropical climates. The residual dryness of the October autumn hasn't completely dissipated, and there isn't much entertainment in the mountains, so the villagers liked to enjoy some cool air outside their houses after dinner until the heat both indoors and outdoors had dispersed, and then they would go inside to sleep.

The grandfather and grandson of the Zhu family had just finished their dinner when the nimble Sister-in-law Lian cleaned up the open space outside their house. She fetched several basins of well water, gave the sun-baked ground a refreshing shower, and then placed a bamboo rattan chair outside. After Zhu Shijun went into the mountains, his decades-long habit of reading the newspaper was forcibly interrupted, and he could only rely on the radio to catch up with the outside world's excitement.

Xiao Xian's lame leg had healed spontaneously, which took a load off the old man Zhu Shijun's heart that had been there for many years. His appetite was very good tonight; he had eaten three corn pancakes in one go. If buying alcohol in the mountain village wasn't inconvenient, the old man would probably have liked a few drinks. Sister-in-law Lian also seemed especially happy while cleaning up the dishes.

After dinner, Mr. Zhu followed the old routine and took Xiao Xian for a walk nearby, considering that Xiao Xian's leg had just recovered. Therefore, the grandfather and grandson took a walk around the four adjoined bungalows.

The moon was particularly bright tonight, and whether it was due to being full or the mountain air, Xiao Xian felt extremely comfortable; her eyes and hearing were unusually sharp. She could even clearly see the flies fluttering under the moonlight.

The fight with the little boy from East Miao Village during the day had made Xiao Xian miss the chance to take a closer look at the Pear Tree that Sister-in-law Lian mentioned. Under the moonlight as bright as day, Xiao Xian saw a vague shine flickering on the grayish tree trunk. Letting go of Zhu Shijun's hand, she hopped over to the side of the Pear Tree.

"Xiao Xian, come back. Are you greedy for pears again? It's dark now. I will ask Sister-in-law Lian to get a ladder tomorrow to pick some for you, and I'll chill them in ice water for you to enjoy tomorrow night." Mr. Zhu was still not used to his little granddaughter's lively jumps and laughed as he walked under the Pear Tree.

"Grandpa, why are there characters carved on the tree?" From a distance, Xiao Xian thought some luminous insects had settled on the tree trunk, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the shimmering light was deeply embedded in the wood.

Although the greenish glow was not strong, you could still see it clearly upon close look.

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"Characters? How many characters can you recognize? Tell me, let your grandpa hear," Zhu Shijun playfully teased her. He knew his little granddaughter well. When she was in kindergarten in Beijing, Xiao Xian disliked learning characters, managing only with great effort to learn ten Arabic numerals and twenty-six letters, and even her own name was still a mess when written. Xiao Xian's words reminded him that in a few days, he should start teaching her to recognize characters to prepare for school.

The Pear Tree that had been planted not two years ago was about the size of a child's waist, and its top was bending in all directions under the weight of several dozens of pear fruits.

"There really are characters on the tree trunk." The light on the tree trunk formed an article of about a hundred characters. Zhu Xiaoxian could not recognize those characters, and it would be some time before Zhu Shijun taught her Chinese characters, which would then enable her to understand that the characters on the tree trunk were indeed Chinese characters.

Xiao Xian couldn't recognize many characters as she told her grandpa, but she understood the meaning they conveyed. Not to mention that the characters on the tree trunk were somewhat similar to the Chinese characters from the world where Xiao Xian originally resided, even if English or French or any other language had appeared on the tree trunk, Xiao Xian could understand their meaning without recognizing the characters. The specific reason for this was related to the incident that had happened to her the night before, something Xiao Xian was still unaware of at this time. However, this was only limited to characters found on plants.

"Asian White Pear, a two-year-old deciduous tree, grows 5 meters tall, blooms in March, bears fruit in May, ripens in August, with about eighty fruits." Xiao Xian recited in a childish voice, as if she were reading from a book.

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At this moment, her body was of a six-year-old, but her mind was that of a sixteen-year-old; during her time at Yunteng Sect, she was very good at observing words and expressions. As she spoke, she noticed that Zhu Shijun, who was listening by her side, gradually stopped smiling, realizing that something was off. She dared not continue with the next part, "The whole Pear Tree can be used for medicinal purposes, the Pear Skin, Pear Leaf, Pear Blossoms, Pear Root are all usable. Eating raw Pear Fruit can clear heat and detoxify, cooked can..."

"Xiao Xian, where did these characters on the trunk come from? Who told you this?" Zhu Shijun may be old but his eyes were not blurry. He squatted down, picked up a fallen leaf, and scrutinized the lines on the leaf carefully.

In his youth, Zhu Shijun had been down to the countryside, had been an educated youth, and had planted many fruit trees. Although in middle age he switched to studying economic crops due to work, he did not abandon the practical skills he learned in his youth. If not for Xiao Xian's words tonight, his eyes, accustomed to seeing the rare and precious flora of Beijing, would not have taken notice of the Pear Tree behind the house.

"It was that boy from Miao Village who said it today; I just remembered it," Xiao Xian's mind worked quickly, pinning an unfounded blame on Li Ye.

"Mr. Zhu, Xiao Xian, the village chief has brought over half a watermelon, come to the front and eat," Sister-in-law Lian called out loudly, her shout rivaled the village's loudspeaker system, audible to most of the villagers.

Hearing that it was a child from Miao Village who said it, Zhu Shijun didn't ask any further. The children of Miao families grow up in the harsh mountains and waters, their understanding of every plant and tree in the mountains is extraordinarily thorough. Not to mention, the countless strange and curious occurrences in Dongnan Miao Village could not be easily explained in just a few words.

As Xiao Xian walked back to the front of the house, she took another glance at the Pear Tree. The characters were still shimmering faintly, but for some reason, Zhu Shijun just could not see them.

After finishing the watermelon, the night deepened. The village chief and Zhu Shijun chatted about some village affairs and then left.

After washing her face with the hot water prepared for cooking dinner, Xiao Xian clamored to go to sleep. Zhu Shijun was puzzled for a moment; Xiao Xian had changed her ways today. When she first came to Ge Village, she made a fuss every night, refusing to sleep, complaining that she couldn't watch TV or cartoons in the mountains.

"Mr. Zhu, you worry too much, kids loving sleep and food is a good thing; they're growing. Look at the pigs in my pigsty, they're not picky eaters and they grow so strong," Sister-in-law Lian, delighted by the sweetness of the watermelon brought by the village chief in the evening, started to pick up the watermelon seeds from the ground to keep them for planting next spring.

Zhu Shijun didn't know whether to respond or not, so he simply did not reply, his face carrying a smile. People from the mountains are straightforward, even if their words might not sound pleasant, they hold no malice. Having lived here for a while, he had gotten used to the temperaments of the neighbors and villagers and thought it might be time to make some visits.

Xiao Xian sneaked into the room, took off her clothes leaving only shorts and a short vest, and carefully folded them and placed them beside her. Once again, just like the previous night, she searched her mind for that sesame-sized black spot of space.

Just as she closed her eyes, she suddenly opened them again. Something was wrong, the black spot had disappeared. What emerged in her mind was a table tennis ball-sized, black sphere. "Did it get bigger?"

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