Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn-Chapter 15 - 14 Foodie Space

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

```

(Thanks to He Tun for the reward and Chi Jiaheng for the review, lively and jumping around, I will also keep going strong~)

Before the time travel, that person couldn't tell the difference between pears a few days old and those of today just by looking at them, unless she'd tasted them. But times have changed, now even if Xiao Xian didn't want to pay attention, her mind would automatically reflect information about the plants she saw.

"Our backyard pear tree is truly remarkable, it's a white pear variety, tastes almost the same as the imported Fengshui Pear," with Xiao Xian's hands washed, the grandfather and granddaughter circled the pear tree, engaging in discussion. That night, after Xiao Xian mentioned the tree was a White Pear Tree, Mr. Zhu didn't take it to heart too much. Wild white pears weren't considered precious fruit, and the infertile soil in the Southwest wasn't suited for growing pears. Little did he know, after tasting the pear today, Mr. Zhu found out that this pear was extraordinarily remarkable.

Xiao Xian's cheeks were still bulging with pear flesh, "Delicious," the fruit was without any residue, its texture smooth, and it was clearly not the same variety as the previous barely thirst-quenching pears.

"I was saying, the soil underneath this pear tree is quite good," Mr. Zhu noticed that the soil at the foot of the pear wasn't the common red acidic soil of the Southwest, but rather looked quite similar to the fertile paddy field soil he had people bring down from the mountain.

Soil is the foundation for crops; good soil means healthy plant growth. The soil in the Southwest isn't suitable for pear trees, which is why white pears that tasted quite good despite the circumstance grew here. But the pear tree in the Zhu family's backyard, at some point, benefitted from such fertile soil, yielding fruits comparable in taste to the imported Fengshui Pears.

Xiao Xian didn't understand soil quality, her eager eyes turned toward the White Pear Tree: "Asian White Pear, this deciduous tree is forty-nine years old, with a height of five meters, blossoms twice a year, flowers in March and October, bears fruit in May and December, ripens in August and January, with an estimated yield of more than five hundred fruits. The flesh is delicate, a top-quality fruit for both consumption and medicinal uses." A piece of pear blocked her throat, and in her urgency, Xiao Xian coughed a few times, her face turning red from the effort.

How did a two-year-old white pear tree suddenly become a forty-nine-year-old tree overnight? This was like someone who was clamoring about getting out of poverty yesterday and today became Li Ka-shing. Even if the pear tree's age could possibly be wrong, not to mention the yield, the taste had undeniably changed.

He'd heard of rice harvests two or three times a year, but never a pear tree blossoming and fruiting twice in one year. Pear trees are deciduous trees, and it's natural for them to shed old leaves in autumn and winter. Zhu Shijun looked up at the tree top, where seven to eight-tenths of the old leaves had fallen, and he could vaguely see new green buds. "Budding in autumn? Could it be that due to the Southwest's warm and humid climate, even the pear tree has mutated?" In this vast world, wonders never cease. When Zhu Shijun was sent to work in the Northwest, he also heard old farmers from the local commune talk about fruit trees that bloomed and bore fruit twice a year, which was considered a strange tale in the region. After hearing these stories, Zhu Shijun simply took note and privately concluded that it might be a result of global warming, similar to peach trees blooming out of season, just a manifestation of plants adapting to their environment.

A former student of forestry from an old generation, Zhu Shijun didn't rely on rote memorization from textbooks but rather on years of accumulated experience. After being transferred back to Jing City when he was forty, though he didn't spend as much time on agriculture as before, the old man truly enjoyed caring for plants and flowers at heart. His residence was an old quadrangle house next to Jianguomen, he controlled his smoking and drinking, and his greatest hobby was practicing Tai Chi, growing flowers, and listening to orioles sing in their cages. It was this disposition that made him seem excessively out of sync in officialdom, and when he was finally pulled down from his position, there wasn't a single person to speak up for him.

The grandfather and granddaughter each had their own thoughts. Sister-in-law Lian finished cooking lunch and called them to come and eat. After lunch, Sister-in-law Lian made an excuse to leave - her second son was returning from another province today, and she had to go to the county town station to pick him up.

Xiao Xian heard the words "county town" and only knew it was a place outside of Ge Village. Having been in this new world for five or six days, the farthest place she had been to was Leigong Mountain for exercise. Her impression of Ge Village was still that of a small mountain village with little cultivable land and few villagers. Her young mind wandered, slowing down her use of chopsticks, and by the time the meal had cooled down completely, more than half a bowl of rice was still left.

```

Sister-in-law Lian had asked for a leave, and Zhu Shijun began tidying up after lunch. Seeing Xiao Xian eating sluggishly, his heart was both reassured and worried. The worry was that Xiao Xian had become picky with food again, since she was still a child after all, and it was only natural to get tired of the simple and bland meals from the mountains. The reassurance came from the fact that Xiao Xian finally seemed like a typical six-year-old. In the past few days, Xiao Xian had been too well-behaved, almost making Mr. Zhu suspect if she was really his own granddaughter.

"Xiao Xian, your Granduncle, the village chief, said that tomorrow is the market day in the village. Is there anything in particular you'd like to eat? Your grandpa can ask the villagers to buy it for you when they head down the mountain," Zhu Shijun asked gently.

Upon hearing about the market, and a trip to the city, Xiao Xian's spirits lifted and she gathered the energy to finish her meal quickly. She tidied up her bowl and chopsticks, and after clearing her voice, she tried hard to recall the demeanor of the original "Zhu Xiaoxian" when acting spoiled,

"Grandpa, I don't want anything specific to eat, I just want to go to the market with you." The word 'market' she did know about from what Sister-in-law Lian had mentioned before. The villagers of Ge Village held a small market every five days, and only during festive occasions like weddings or New Year's would there be a large market. A small market meant traveling three hours to the nearby town to buy fresh meat, grains, and other daily necessities. A large market was for buying larger items like furniture or appliances; for example, Gousheng from the village had gone to a market to buy things for his wedding a few days earlier, which was held in a neighboring county town over seven hours away by car.

Zhu Shijun neither agreed nor refused. After lunch, he instructed Xiao Xian not to run around and to take an afternoon nap at home, then he headed over to the village chief's house.

Xiao Xian didn't go far, instead circling back to the back of the house. Taking advantage of nobody being around, she took the opportunity to dispose of the pile of stones she had picked up. Xiao Xian's method was simple: she threw all the stones into her magical space. She did this so effortlessly that she failed to notice the hoe tool that Zhu Shijun had placed next to the stones, which also ended up being thrown into the space.

When she realized what she had done, she quickly rushed into the space. Luckily, Xiao Xian was quick to react and managed to fish out the hoe which hadn't disappeared yet. However, the other hoe, which had been thrown in first, was surrounded by a ring of green energy. She reached out to pick it up, but as soon as her hand neared the green energy, the "sugarcane seedling" nearby shook its stalk displeased.

"Oh no, how am I going to explain this to grandpa if he asks about it," Xiao Xian worried inside the space, suddenly feeling a familiar heat throughout her body.

Xiao Xian had no time to think about the hoe anymore. She saw it vanishing into the green light, all of it rushing towards the "sugarcane seedling", "How come it feels so similar to the green fog from last night, and what is the sugarcane seedling doing?"

That "sugarcane seedling" was growing a few millimeters at a pace imperceptible to the naked eye. It was Xiao Xian's keen eyesight that allowed her to notice what was happening, but soon the growth stopped. The little fairy seedling made a sound similar to a cry of unfulfilled desire.

Xiao Xian stepped out of the space and hesitated as she looked at the pile of iron nails and pliers scattered on the ground.