Pastoral Daily Life

The news of the rejuvenation of the old willow tree spread throughout the village in a very short time.

Before seven oclock, the old willow tree was surrounded by the people of the village. Everyone was either shocked or amazed at the new life of the old willow tree. The traces of the lightning strike were still there, but the new green shoots were already growing. What was even more astonishing was that the trunk had been split in half by lightning and the new willow tree formed a Y-shape from its roots. From a distance it looked like an old man standing at the head of the village with his arms outstretched.

“The sacred tree, the tree god.”

Grandma Shen, who was already over eighty years old, looked at the old willow tree in awe with her mouth open and her hands shaking and couldnt help but murmur in a low voice. Some of the people around the village were unimpressed, but many more muttered in their hearts that this old willow tree was really extraordinary and powerful. Perhaps it was an illusion of the villagers, but they felt that when they were close to the tree, they could breathe more freely, and that a breath of air was very refreshing and nourishing. The environment in the village was usually not bad, and especially after the rain the air was even fresher. But today it seemed to be particularly good; even the few wild flowers under the tree that were normally inconspicuous smelled fragrant.

A group of people were whispering around the willow tree, and Lu Lingxi took Dahei back to the plant nursery as soon as someone came over. As the night passed, the inside of the plant nursery had changed no less than the outside. Due to the formation of the willow ecological community, all the land in this vicinity had been purified. The effect of the purification was outstanding.

In just one night, the large-leaved golden pothos and money trees that were only half a person high, had grown almost 20 centimetres taller, with their branches and leaves spreading out and their leaves vibrant green. In the morning light they seemed like pure jade. Similarly to the large-leaved golden pothos and money trees, all the foliage plants in the plant nursery were lush and flourishing. At the other end of the plant nursery, flowers of all colours were competing with each other in blooming, fragrant in the light breeze. Even a few clivias that had obviously passed the flowering period showed new flower buds, swaying gently in the wind. The most exaggerated were the five small willow saplings planted at the edge of the plant nursery. Although they still looked the same thick as before, they had flourishing branches and leaves, quite like described in the poem: “A tree made of jasper is tall, and ten thousand green silk ribbons are hanging down”(1).

Lu Lingxi looked at the changes in front of him with some anxiety, wondering how he would explain in case Yan Yue asked him about it. He didnt worry about Uncle Li. Uncle Li had never seen the courtyard before and only came to the plant nursery once in a while, so even if there were any changes, he wouldnt think much of them. But Yan Yue was different. The changes in the courtyard were too similar to the changes around his house, so he wondered if Yan Yue would make the connection. When he thought of Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi remembered what Yan Yue had done in the morning. He didnt understand why Yan Yue liked to kiss him so much and he felt like he was out of breath every time. After he realised what he was thinking about, the tips of Lu Lingxis ears reddened slightly.

Pushing Yan Yue out of his mind, Lu Lingxi concentrated and clicked on the white panel. The entire purified land was displayed on it. He found that it seemed that the purified land was free from the three metre limit of mental scan and could be displayed as he wished. This was the first time Lu Lingxi had seriously looked at the land since the purification last night, and it was much larger than the small courtyard. From the village head to the plant nursery, even the courtyard of Uncle Lis house was included in it.