stjorthotic Chapter 3 Spirit Spring
Chapter 3 Spirit Spring
"Could I have remembered it wrong?"
Sun Ran squatted down by the flowerpot and scratched his head.
A few withered branches, about thirty or forty centimeters tall, were bare except for a few tender green leaves.
For a moment, he couldn't tell what was planted in the flowerpot.
And just as he was staring blankly at the flowerpot, something even more amazing happened.
He saw those oval leaves right in front of him, visibly growing little by little.
A tiny pink flower bud sprouts from the tip of a branch, then gradually swells and turns into a cluster of flower buds.
One by one, white flowers, like tiny bells, bloomed, blossomed, withered, and fell before his eyes…
Finally, it turns into a cluster of greenish-blue fruits, hanging all over the branches.
"Holy crap!"
Sun Ran stared in disbelief, and blurted out a sentence.
"Could it be the spiritual spring water that just spilled out?"
He looked at the flowerpot, then at the toothbrush cup in his hand, and all he could hear was a series of loud thumps—the sound of his heart pounding violently.
He had just thought the idea of a cheat system was unreliable, but now he completely changed his mind.
If even a withered tree coming back to life isn't reliable, then what can be considered reliable?
Then he recognized what was growing in the pot: a blueberry plant.
He squatted there carefully, staring at the flowerpot, waiting for the blueberries to ripen.
But after about 5 or 6 minutes, the bunch of green fruits hanging on the branch remained motionless, showing no signs of ripening or changing color.
"Could it be that the spiritual spring has been completely used up?"
He had a sudden inspiration, carefully lifted the toothbrush holder near the flowerpot, and then gently tilted it...
Wow~
He poured a little bit of spiritual spring water into the flowerpot.
A short while later, the color of the cluster of fruits gradually began to darken and turn blue.
"It really is!"
Sun Ran was thrilled to see the ripe blueberries and quickly picked one and put it in his mouth.
sweet!
After taking a bite, only this one word remained in his mind.
Compared to the blueberries I've eaten before, these berries are several levels sweeter, with only a slight hint of tartness that's almost imperceptible if you're not paying attention.
This is so delicious! Could it be that this spiritual spring water can improve the quality of crops?
He looked at the toothbrush holder, swallowed, and his hands trembled slightly uncontrollably.
If that's the case, then this cheat code is really amazing.
Planting blueberries is nothing compared to using this spiritual spring water to water those ancient tea trees, or thousand-year-old lychee trees and such...
As thoughts raced through his mind, he suddenly felt a lightness spreading through his body.
If a whole tank of water could be poured onto those trees, you could at least make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, right?
Moreover, I have a cup of this spiritual spring every day, so making money is just a matter of minutes!
It must be that he heard me burning incense for our ancestors yesterday, so I'll go burn another stick of incense later to fulfill my vow.
We should thank him properly!
Sun Ran carefully held the toothbrush cup, her heart filled with joy.
But just as he was feeling happy, the blueberries in the flowerpot began to show new changes.
As the bunch of fruit ripened completely, it began to deform visibly, and soon fell off the branch one by one.
When Sun Ran frowned and picked up another fruit and put it in his mouth, the taste of the fruit had completely changed.
The originally crisp texture became soft and mushy, and the flavor became somewhat sweet and cloying, even with a hint of fermented sourness.
"Is it overripe?" He spat out the blueberry in his mouth and frowned.
It contains spiritual energy, so it can bring dead trees back to life and make plants grow rapidly, but it also compresses the fruit ripening cycle.
That makes sense.
But now, his original plan to pour a bucket of water under an ancient tree and make money seems to have fallen through...
After all, even if you use spiritual spring water to ripen it, what's the use of growing it if you can't harvest it in time?
Especially for tea, which requires tender buds, there's simply no time to pick them all.
Thinking of this, Sun Ran felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, and his heart felt extremely cold.
If you can control the amount of water you give...
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.
It's still unrealistic.
After all, his family were just ordinary farmers, and they weren't qualified to have ancient tea trees or ancient lychee trees or anything like that.
Those outside are definitely being closely watched, and it's not his place to tamper with them.
Instead of thinking about those things, it's better to be practical and see if this spiritual spring water can be used on our few acres of land.
Thinking of this, he raised his hand to support his leg, straightened his back, and stood up.
It seems that directly watering the tree with the spiritual spring water won't work.
The effect is so exaggerated that he can find an excuse to cover it up once or twice, but if it happens too often, he will probably be taken to be dissected.
If we think about it another way, we could try diluting it and see how it goes.
If large-scale planting is effective, then there's no need to shorten the planting cycle. As long as the quality is improved or the yield is increased, it should bring considerable benefits.
Alternatively, you could try finding some plants that require a specific year to mature, like ginseng...
He looked down at the cup in his hand as he thought about it.
This sacred spring is effective for plants, but what about for animals?
The thought of raising my glass and taking a sip started to stir in my mind again.
No, no, what if I drink it all in one gulp and rot like those blueberries!
He quickly shook his head vigorously. This was no joke; it was better to be on the safe side and conduct an experiment first.
But what should we use as a test subject...?
He looked around and his eyes lit up. Hey, isn't this the perfect test subject?
He put down the toothbrush holder, ran a few steps to the chicken coop, picked up a broken bowl used for watering chickens, grabbed a baby hen, and ran back a few steps.
I turned on the tap to rinse the bowl, poured in some spiritual spring water, and then added another half bowl of tap water.
I stirred it with my hand, then gently placed the bowl in front of the chicks...
Squeak squeak squeak~
Just as Sun Ran was coaxing the little hen to come over and drink water, he suddenly heard a clucking sound.
He turned his head and saw the rooster in the house with its comb pointing skyward, charging menacingly towards him.
Damn it, what do you think you're doing to my beloved concubine!
The rooster crowed loudly and rushed in front of him, about to peck him, when suddenly he slammed on the brakes.
No, this feeling...
It turned its head away and forgot all about Sun Ran, then lowered its head and pecked at the broken bowl, starting to drink the water.
Ooh ooh ooh~
After taking a couple of sips, I don't know if I was a little tipsy, but I actually tossed my head back and started singing loudly.
The little hen next to her wanted to sneak over and have a few sips, but the big rooster just shoved her aside with its rear end sticking out.
Forget about concubines, nobody can take my water!
Sun Ran, who was standing to the side, was stunned. Was this spiritual spring water really that powerful?
No wonder I always wanted to have a sip before.
"Hmph! That rooster's naughty!"
Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a clear child's voice beside him, and the two little guys, Sun Ping and Sun An'an, came over.
At this moment, the little girl clenched her fists tightly, looking at the rooster with a huffy expression.
"Uncle, could you pluck one of my hairs? Just one!"
Seeing the rooster intently drinking water, the little guy suddenly had a bright idea and wanted to go up to it.
But after thinking about it, she still felt a little uneasy, so she turned her attention to her uncle.
"Alright, Uncle will grab your hand and pull it out, so you can take revenge yourself!"
"Hey, Uncle, let go! I won't pull it out anymore. Let my brother pull it out for me!"
"You brat, you think you can get away with harming your brother, huh? You dare do it again?"
"Hehehe, I won't do it again~~"
Under Sun Ran's tickling technique, the little girl hugged him and giggled.
Sun Ping, who was standing next to him, looked on with lingering fear.
I was almost used as a shield!
Slightly ~
Just as the three of them were having a good time playing together, they heard a rooster crow from the other side.
Turning around, I saw the rooster with its head raised, its eyes bloodshot, and it staggering a few steps as if it were drunk...
Finally, with a thud, he collapsed to the ground.
giggle~
The little hen next to them was terrified by this scene.
With a flap of its wings, it scurried back to the chicken coop in a panic, huddled in a corner, trembling.
Two-legged creatures are terrifying! They even poison people!
huh?
On the other side, Sun Ran was also stunned as he looked at the rooster.
He was fine just now, how did he suddenly collapse?
Could it be that I didn't dilute it enough, and the spiritual energy contained in the water was still too much for a chicken?
"Thank you, Uncle!"
Before he could react, the little girl had already wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a sweet kiss on his cheek.
"Uncle, you're so kind, you even helped An'an get revenge!"
After saying that, she lifted her short legs and rushed over, grabbed the most beautiful and longest tail feather on the rooster's tail and pulled hard.
I'll make you wake up in the morning, so you won't let An'an sleep in!
That'll teach you a lesson for pecking me earlier!
An'an is so angry!
"Hey, why is this chicken dead? Sun An'an!"
The little girl was happily plucking the fur when she suddenly heard a loud roar. Looking up, she saw Zhou Yue'e standing at the door of the main room, her face full of anger.
"Ah...it has nothing to do with An'an, it was Uncle who poisoned the rooster..."
"Sun Ran! Didn't I just say that this rooster is to be kept for breeding!"
"Hey, Mom, talk this out! Don't listen to that brat's nonsense. How could I possibly poison her!"
"Brother, come help me! Help me pluck these hairs out..."
"Oh? But Grandma, she..."
"Oh well, it's alright. The chicken's dead anyway, we can just pluck its feathers and make a shuttlecock..."
"Oh, okay then..."
"Sun Ping, Sun An'an, what are you doing? Are you trying to drive me crazy?!"
"Oh no! Grandma's angry! Let's run!"
There was a commotion in the yard as chickens and dogs scattered. The two little ones, clutching handfuls of chicken feathers, ran away as fast as they could.
Enraged, Zhou Yue'e picked up a broom and began to beat her son mercilessly.
It's infuriating! These little brats, not one of them is easy to deal with!
"Oh, Mom, let me explain!"
"Explain your ass! You come back and do nothing productive, all you do is cause trouble!"
"Ouch!"
cluck~ oh~
Just as Sun Ran was being chased all over the yard by his mother wielding a broom, a melodious rooster crowed.
Turning around, I saw the rooster wobbling to its feet.
He staggered, his eyes were glazed, and he swayed unsteadily, looking as if he couldn't even stand up straight.
"Huh? How come it's alive again?"
Zhou Yue'e, who was chasing after her son, stopped and looked at the rooster with a look of surprise on her face.
"Mom, I already told you I didn't poison her, it's not my fault!"
Sun Ran, who was ahead, also stopped in her tracks, looking both aggrieved and incredibly guilty.
Thankfully, it seems that although the spiritual spring was quite powerful, it didn't kill them.
Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to escape this meal of stir-fried bamboo shoots and pork today.
"Hmph, you'd better not have one!"
Zhou Yue'e glared at her son, threw the broom handle on the ground, turned around and coaxed the rooster into the chicken coop.
While shooing it away, he kept muttering to himself, "That's strange, something about this chicken just doesn't look right."
When his gaze shifted to the bare chicken rear end, he was immediately speechless...
"Breakfast is ready, hurry and call Ping'an and An'an back to eat!"
After putting the chicken back in its coop, she said a few words and went back to the kitchen without looking back.
Outside, Sun Ran stroked his chin, staring at the rooster. If he remembered correctly…
This thing does seem a bit different from the previous one?
There is no tail...
No, it's that the color of its fur seems to be more vibrant?
Compared to those little hens, it seems to be a bit bigger?
Hmm, it seems like we can try again later...