PCJ – Chapter 205 Spiritual Mist Fills the Garden

“Last night I went to water them,” Zhang Jiaohua said groggily.

“Watered them? Don’t talk nonsense. Did you water the trees in your dreams last night?” Zhang Manyin laughed.

Zhang Manyin couldn’t believe it. Not only did he not believe that Zhang Jiaohua would dare to go alone to the horticultural field late at night, but he also didn’t believe that Zhang Jiaohua could water over 200 acres of fruit trees in one night. Even a strong young man couldn’t do that in one night. The water reservoir at the horticultural field had already dried up, and one had to go over a mile to the canal to fetch water.

“I really did water them. If you don’t believe me, just go and see for yourself,” Zhang Jiaohua, still not fully awake, replied. Last night had been exhausting for him, and he had no idea how much nutrition he would need to replenish his energy.

“Really watered them?” Zhang Manyin, full of doubt, headed to the horticultural field, carrying a yoke with water buckets on his shoulders.

Zhang Jiwang also came over with a yoke and water buckets. “Manyin, are you also going to the horticultural field to help Jiaohua water the trees?”

“Yes. I just went to call Jiaohua, but that guy is still lying in bed, unwilling to get up. He even said the trees had already been watered. Never mind, Jiaohua is still growing, let him sleep well. I’ll go to the horticultural field and check it out.” Zhang Manyin’s shoulders swayed under the weight of the water buckets, producing a creaking sound as the yoke and the water buckets rubbed together.

“I’ll go take a look too. I drank too much yesterday and forgot the important task. Today we must water the roots; otherwise, the survival rate of the trees will be a problem.” Zhang Jiwang completely treated Jiaohua’s matters as his own.

The two men filled their water buckets in the roadside canal and carried them to the horticultural field. This yoke of water could only water about a dozen saplings. With over 200 acres of the horticultural field and tens of thousands of fruit tree saplings, it would take more than a thousand trips to carry enough water. Just thinking about it was daunting, but the elderly men had the spirit of the legendary Foolish Old Man Moving the Mountain. Whether it was useful or not, carrying a yoke of water would save some saplings, and saving some was better than none.

“It would be great to get a water pump. We could pump water from the canal to the horticultural field’s water channel and direct it to the reservoir. That way, irrigation would be much faster,” Zhang Jiwang said, his yoke bending under the weight of over 100 pounds of water, bouncing with each step.

“Yes, let’s take a look first and think of a solution if it doesn’t work,” Zhang Manyin, despite being over fifty, still carried the heavy yoke with ease and spoke fluently.

When they arrived at the horticultural field, what they saw made Zhang Manyin and Zhang Jiwang widen their eyes.

“Manyin, did Jiaohua really tell you he watered the trees last night? How could he have done it? When we came over, we clearly saw that the canal was dry and cracked. How could he have gotten water?” Zhang Jiwang was stunned for a while before he spoke.

Zhang Manyin seemed not to hear Zhang Jiwang’s question and muttered, “It’s really strange.”

In the horticultural field, the orange saplings looked as if they had already taken root, with many small water droplets on the leaves. The soil beneath the saplings was still moist as if it had just rained. The air seemed to carry the scent of water, a clear sign of recent rain.

“Could it have rained?” Zhang Jiwang whispered but quickly dismissed the idea himself, “It doesn’t seem likely. It couldn’t have rained only in the horticultural field.”

“Look, look at those tea trees. Jiwang, look at the buds on those tea trees,” Zhang Manyin pointed in astonishment at the numerous tender buds on the tea trees. Although they were just emerging, the tea trees had looked almost dead the previous day. They had been left uncleaned due to lack of time, but now they seemed rejuvenated, with new buds sprouting.

“These tea trees have come back to life! What’s going on? Did Jiaohua really say he watered them?” Zhang Jiwang turned to Zhang Manyin, hoping for a definitive answer.

Zhang Manyin nodded, “Jiwang, you must keep this to yourself.”

“Don’t worry, don’t you know who I am?” Zhang Jiaohua smiled, “Only Jiaohua can handle this horticultural field.”

“Now that the orange trees are planted and the tea trees have come back to life, should we grow tea or oranges?” This question troubled Zhang Manyin. The horticultural field had declined not because tea was unprofitable but because the scale of tea planting had shrunk, and the planting became chaotic. The decline wasn’t due to an inability to sell tea but because the quality had worsened. If the quality could be improved, tea could still be a very good economic crop.

“Isn’t it obvious? We need both tea and oranges. One grows tall, the other short, and they won’t interfere with each other,” Zhang Jiwang said.

“It looks like we can harvest some tea leaves soon,” Zhang Manyin said as he looked around. Although the tea trees were in poor condition, the number of buds this time was quite large. Some tea tree buds were breaking through the soil, and soon, this patch of tea trees would turn green again.

“It’s not enough to have tea leaves; we also need a good market. Otherwise, it’s hard to make money from tea trees. The horticultural field hasn’t produced tea for so many years, and I’m afraid the buyers won’t want it. Even if they come, they’ll try to push the price down. It’s best to have Director Luo look into it. He has a wide network and might find a good market,” Zhang Jiwang was a sensible person.

“You’re right. I’ll talk to Jiaohua about it,” Zhang Manyin agreed after some thought.

The horticultural field was shrouded in mist every day, unlike the surrounding environment. After all, this was the only place with mist for miles around. The villagers of Meiziao had various opinions about it.

“It must be Jiaohua using Meishan magic. Otherwise, how could the horticultural field change so much after Jiaohua took over?”

“Yes, it’s like the demons in ‘Journey to the West’ have come, with mist everywhere.”

“Have you seen it? The tea trees have come back to life. It seems like anything covered by this mist can come back to life. Look at how well the orange saplings are growing. I remember Jiaohua didn’t even water the roots when planting the trees. I didn’t expect them to grow better than others’ trees.”

“I’m already used to Jiaohua’s tricks. This kid will be something great when he grows up.”

The fifteen hunting dogs didn’t make a sound while the villagers watched the excitement at the horticultural field, quietly sleeping in the warehouse. But if anyone dared to come at night, they would receive a severe and unforgettable lesson.