Chapter 30: Like the Awakening of Insects
Xing Chang was practically Ying Kongtu’s informant. After drinking tea with Yue Chengji and parting ways, he immediately went back to brief Ying Kongtu.
“Yue Chengji wants to sell his family’s mountain for eighty yuan per mu per year!”
“His family only renewed the rights a few years ago, so there are still sixty-three years left.”
“He said there are a total of 3,345 mu of mountain land, and he wants to sell it all as a package.”
Xing Chang finished speaking in one breath, picked up his teacup, and gulped down all the wild chrysanthemum tea inside.
Ying Kongtu glanced at him.
“We did go to a teahouse, but the tea there was nowhere near as good as yours. Besides, I was busy sparring with him verbally, so I had no mood to savor tea at all.” Holding the empty cup, he wiped his mouth. “That hit the spot.”
Wen Zhongshan poured him another large cup.
He quickly held the cup with both hands. “Thank you, Brother Wen!”
Ying Kongtu said, “Take some dried wild chrysanthemums back later. You can brew them at home too.”
Xing Chang said, “Great, then I won’t stand on ceremony. Back to Qianchongcui Mountain. Are you interested in this mountain? Are you going to buy it?”
Ying Kongtu shook his head. “Too expensive. Where did his family’s mountain come from?”
Xing Chang said, “He said it’s ancestral property. Not long after the founding of the country, it was returned to his family, so they only renewed it once a few years ago.”
Ying Kongtu said, “No wonder he wants to sell it. But this price is too high. We basically can’t consider it. You know our financial situation.”
Xing Chang roughly understood his thoughts and was not surprised. “Then wait a while. The one who should be anxious is Yue Chengji.”
Changchuan County was a small mountain county.
There were especially many mountains here, relatively few people, underdeveloped transportation, and high management difficulty. Because of this, very few people were willing to take over mountain forests.
Although Yue Chengji’s Qianchongcui Mountain had an orchard, orchards depended on the weather, required a lot of worry, and after everything was taken into account, they might not necessarily earn money.
Local people knew the situation of the nearby mountain forests quite well and would absolutely not take over a large mountain lightly.
After all, the various management fees and taxes for a mountain forest added up to quite a large sum. If it could not immediately be put into use to make money, one would lose quite a bit each year.
Yue Chengji had let the word out.
Xing Chang still asked his family to help inquire around.
That day, after getting off work, Xing Chang hurried over to Ying Kongtu’s house. “I know why Yue Chengji suddenly wants to sell the mountain!”
Ying Kongtu asked, “Why?”
Xing Chang said, “Because his family’s kiwifruit trees have already been planted for thirteen years. The trees are about to age, and that huge orchard is almost useless!”
Wen Zhongshan asked from the side, “Don’t kiwifruit trees live longer than just ten-something years?”
“They do.”
Ying Kongtu turned to Wen Zhongshan and explained, “The lifespan of fruit trees is generally divided into natural lifespan and economic lifespan. The natural lifespan of kiwifruit trees can reach fifty years, but their economic lifespan is only ten-something to twenty years. Once the trees are over twenty years old, they age, their yield drops, their quality drops, and there are more misshapen fruits.”
Wen Zhongshan nodded in understanding.
Ying Kongtu said, “For orchards of the same area, with the same labor and fertilizer input, an old orchard’s yield decreases greatly, and it may start losing money. So ordinary people won’t buy an orchard like that.”
Xing Chang said from the side, “The reason Yue Chengji dared to name a high price of eighty yuan per mu per year is because of that orchard.”
“He won’t sell the orchard separately. He wants to sell everything as a package.”
“If the orchard were sold separately, seven or eight hundred yuan per mu per year wouldn’t be a problem. But then no one would buy the remaining mountain forest, so he insists on selling it as a package.”
“Now that his family’s orchard is about to become useless, the whole mountain isn’t worth much anymore.”
At this point, Xing Chang gulped down another cup of tea and complained, “This is why people say buyers are never as shrewd as sellers. Yue Chengji just wants to get rid of it while the orchard’s yield is still okay. In another two years, that orchard will really be hard to sell.”
Ying Kongtu said, “So he’s still the one who’s more anxious.”
“Right.” Xing Chang wiped his mouth. “Good thing you can sit still. Otherwise, you would have suffered a huge loss.”
Ying Kongtu shook his head. “Mainly, I have too many things on hand. I can’t really keep up, so I’m not in a hurry to buy a mountain either.”
“Not necessarily, right?” Xing Chang said casually. “You definitely can’t handle it alone, but now you have Brother Wen. Aren’t you two partners now?”
Ying Kongtu glanced at Wen Zhongshan.
At the same time, Wen Zhongshan also looked over.
Their eyes met directly.
Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan quite often. Sometimes, when he met Wen Zhongshan’s eyes, there was no need to speak; they could communicate with just their gazes.
Because their communication was especially smooth, Ying Kongtu’s eyes always carried a smile when he looked at Wen Zhongshan.
It was the smile of someone seeing a close friend.
Today, when he met Wen Zhongshan’s eyes again, under the bright evening sunlight, Ying Kongtu suddenly saw something in the depths of Wen Zhongshan’s eyes that had not had time to be hidden.
Those things were so deep, so vast, and they crashed straight into Ying Kongtu’s eyes.
It was like a spring thunderclap in Ying Kongtu’s heart.
Jingzhe. (Meaning: Shocked/Stirred by Hibernation/Insects,” representing the awakening of nature.)
The Awakening of Insects.
That was the first phrase Ying Kongtu thought of.
This glance was like Jingzhe.
When Jingzhe arrived, spring thunder rumbled, all things awakened, and things hidden deep below suddenly surged upward.
Ying Kongtu turned his head and quietly took a deep breath.
He had never thought in that direction before.
Now that he had been suddenly startled awake, he felt somewhat at a loss, and somewhat unable to believe it.
When he turned back to look into Wen Zhongshan’s eyes again, Wen Zhongshan’s gaze was gentle and carried no aggression.
Ying Kongtu almost suspected that he had seen wrong.
However, that one glance, like the Awakening of Insects, made it completely impossible for Ying Kongtu to ignore.
Ying Kongtu took a deep breath, many thoughts running through his mind.
He silently drank a large mouthful of tea.
Wen Zhongshan was probably also thinking a great deal.
For nonhumans like them, formally accepting a partner required extreme caution.
This did not only concern themselves, but also their territories and power.
On Ying Kongtu’s side, if he accepted a partner, all the mountains that had once been his territory, the entire region under his protection, and dependents like Tiaozhu would all be affected.
If Wen Zhongshan accepted him, there would probably also be effects on Wen Zhongshan’s side.
Although at present, he still did not know what Wen Zhongshan’s true form actually was.
Both of them sensed this change, and both of them also tacitly stopped at an ambiguity that was slightly above friendship, yet had not reached partnership.
Life continued.
Ying Kongtu took Wen Zhongshan to Wuchuan Mountain to pick persimmons.
Wuchuan Mountain’s elevation was relatively low, and the climate was comparatively warm and humid. Several decades ago, there had been mountain villagers living here.
As time passed, the mountain villagers gradually moved to more economically developed cities with more convenient transportation. There were no longer any humans on Wuchuan Mountain.
But while the people had left, they had left behind all kinds of fruit trees.
Persimmon trees were one of them.
Ying Kongtu pointed. “It’s just ahead. There’s an especially good persimmon tree. I buried fertilizer for it twice this year, so it should have grown well.”
Wen Zhongshan raised his head and looked upward. From afar, he saw specks of orange-red among the forest.
Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan and asked, “Do you like eating persimmons?”
Wen Zhongshan actually felt quite average about persimmons.
He had been born quite early. In those years, there had not been many snacks or fruits.
Peaches, plums, and persimmons were relatively common fruits.
He occasionally ate persimmons, but persimmons were sticky and mushy, and no matter how sweet they tasted, they easily left the mouth astringent.
Looking at Ying Kongtu’s expectant face, Wen Zhongshan thought for a moment. “If they’re delicious, then I like them.”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “Then these persimmons definitely won’t disappoint you.”
They walked a few more steps, and the old persimmon tree, over ten meters tall, suddenly leapt into their view.
The persimmons on the old tree were orange-red and translucent, with a fresh juiciness that seemed to have fully absorbed sunlight, rain, and mist. They were completely different from ordinary persimmons.
Even though Wen Zhongshan did not particularly love persimmons, upon seeing this persimmon tree, he could not help feeling fond of it.
After observing for a while, Wen Zhongshan suddenly noticed, “Why are the two sides of this persimmon tree different?”
“It’s not the left and right sides that are different. It’s the sunny side and the shaded side.” Ying Kongtu smiled and pointed. “The persimmons over there are sparser, aren’t they?”
Wen Zhongshan nodded.
“Those are the persimmons on the shaded side. I thought that with such a big persimmon tree, we wouldn’t be able to finish them all anyway, so I left that half on the shaded side for the birds and beasts in the mountain forest. The sunny side is sweeter, so we’ll eat those ourselves.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “They should have been eating them one after another for a while already.”
“I expect so. These persimmons are fully ripe and about to fall.”
Ying Kongtu raised his head and smiled, rolled up his sleeves, directly grabbed the tree, and climbed upward.
After Wen Zhongshan waited for him to climb up, he also followed.
Both of them were extremely agile and reached the treetop in just a few movements.
The persimmons at the treetop were even more beautiful. The orange-red persimmons looked almost translucent.
Each one was plump, nearly as large as Wen Zhongshan’s fist.
Wen Zhongshan gently picked the nearest persimmon.
A persimmon grown in the autumn wind was a little cool. In the hand, it felt soft and pillowy. Under the thin skin, it was practically like a pouch of nectar and jade liquid.
Ying Kongtu also picked one. Standing on a branch, leaning against the trunk, he raised his hand toward Wen Zhongshan. “You can eat it. Cheers.”
Wen Zhongshan took his persimmon and gently clinked it against Ying Kongtu’s.
Standing in the tree, they bit through the thin persimmon skin and gently sucked.
The dense, smooth flesh was immediately sucked into their mouths, cool and sweet, with the unique fruity fragrance of persimmons.
Most importantly, it was not astringent at all. Even if they accidentally touched the persimmon skin with their teeth, there was no astringency whatsoever.
Wen Zhongshan looked at the persimmon in his hand with slight surprise.
“It’s called a sweet persimmon,” Ying Kongtu’s smiling voice sounded. “It fully loses its astringency on the tree. It’s different from other persimmons that have to be covered and kept for a while after being brought back.”
“It’s so clear and sweet, and it has a special fragrance.”
“Right? That’s why it’s different from ordinary persimmons.”
Ying Kongtu finished eating a persimmon and casually tossed the skin under the tree.
All kinds of small creatures were hidden in the forest. They would eat these sweet peels.
Even if they did not eat them, it did not matter. The peels would soon decompose naturally.
So throwing them under the tree was fine.
“Come, let’s pick some persimmons to take back. Place them gently, don’t crush them.”
“Okay. Should we line the bottom with some leaves?”
“You can line it or not.” Ying Kongtu lifted the basket and gestured to Wen Zhongshan. “Arrange them neatly like this, and they won’t be crushed.”
After teaching him the method, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan began picking persimmons.
This persimmon tree was exceptionally tall, and there were also exceptionally many good persimmons on it.
They picked one, then took a liking to the next. Every persimmon looked extremely adorable.
They became more and more absorbed in picking, until Ying Kongtu was the first to stop. “That’s enough. Let’s go back for now. We can come again next time.”
“Can they stay on the tree for a long time?”
“A very long time. As long as they aren’t eaten by birds and beasts, even in the depths of winter, they can still stay on the branches.” Ying Kongtu smiled at Wen Zhongshan. “Don’t worry. I used a little divine power to keep other small animals away. When we want to eat them, we can come pick them again.”
Only then did Wen Zhongshan reluctantly follow Ying Kongtu down the mountain.
Persimmons were delicious on the mountain, and after being picked and brought home, they were also delicious stored and eaten slowly.
Ying Kongtu also taught Wen Zhongshan to cut a small opening in the persimmon and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
The persimmon flesh was dense, delicate, and smooth. When eaten with a spoon, it was like scooping whipped cream. Spoonful by spoonful, the crystal orange-red flesh trembled on the porcelain spoon, looking extremely lovely.
With each bite, this kind of persimmon flesh was clear, sweet, and cool, completely different from desserts with large amounts of powdered sugar added.
Wen Zhongshan had not expected that one day, he would actually fall in love with persimmons.
Wen Zhongshan glanced at Ying Kongtu, who was lying on the neighboring lounge chair and scooping persimmon.
When Ying Kongtu scooped a satisfying spoonful of persimmon flesh and put it into his mouth, he would even narrow his eyes comfortably.
Just like a cat.
Wen Zhongshan found it incredibly marvelous.
Ying Kongtu himself was marvelous, and all the various mountain fruits he brought back from gathering were also marvelous.
The kind of marvelous that could always create surprises in ordinary life.
Update Posting Schedule: Starting next chapter, posting schedule change from posting every day to 3 chapters every Tuesday~
