From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 1 Treasure Tree
Baihe Village.

The man was wearing a coarse linen vest, revealing his lean arms that were tanned to a shiny black, and he was wielding a hoe in the orchard.

Fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead as he worked, evaporating without a trace before dripping, leaving only white sweat stains on his temples.

His name is Xu Fugui, and his soul has been here for twelve years.

Before crossing over, he was a college student studying painting on Blue Star. Unfortunately, he was hit by a collapsed wall while visiting an ancient ancestral hall tourist attraction. After waking up, he became the only child in a landlord's family in a remote mountain village.

This is a world of cultivating immortals, where there are immortals with great magical powers and long lifespans.

At first, he also fantasized about becoming an immortal, but after some struggles, he faced the reality: without spiritual roots and support from powerful immortals, he couldn't even enter the threshold of becoming an immortal.

So he gave up his fantasy and decided that it would be nice to live a stable life as a small landlord.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished. His father was a prodigal son who liked to visit brothels, smoke opium, and later became addicted to gambling.

Of the Xu family's more than 500 acres of fertile land, only 80 acres remained. The family's three-story mansion was sold to pay off gambling debts, and all the maids and farmhands ran away.

Not long after, Xu Fugui's father died of depression.

His mother, on the other hand, thought it was a good thing, as at least some of the family property was saved and not wasted.

Fortunately, the Feng family, who had arranged a child marriage with the Xu family, did not break off the engagement and still let their daughter Feng Jiazhen marry Xu Fugui.

Initially, Xu Fugui was very reluctant about his parents' arranged marriage. But after meeting Feng Jiazhen, all his reluctance disappeared, and he only wanted to get married and spend the wedding night as soon as possible.

The reason is simple: Feng Jiazhen is beautiful and gentle, well-educated, polite and graceful, which meets Xu Fugui's fantasy of a perfect wife.

The two got married naturally.

On the night of his wedding, Xu Fugui awakened the space in his body, where a "treasure tree" was planted.

According to the information that suddenly appeared in his mind, Baoshu was named "Family Baoshu". He was the ancestor of the family and the founder of the "Xu Family".

His descendants will provide "nutrients" to the treasure tree, nourishing this magical treasure tree with "blood", allowing it to have various mysterious functions.

So in order to nourish the family tree, he got married for four years and had three children.

Raising three hungry children was a real struggle for the couple. During this time, Xu Fugui's mother died of illness, and he slowed down his plan to have children.

A few years later, when the three children grew up, Xu Fugui started his plan to have children again and gave birth to his fourth son.

Up to now, he has four children, and his wife is three months pregnant with another one.

----

It had rained heavily two days ago, and the weeds in the fields grew more than a foot high in the blink of an eye.

Xu Fugui swung his hoe quickly, severing a large area of ​​weeds with each strike. Years of farm work had made him a skilled worker, adept at all farm tasks.

"Hu~~"

He took a deep breath, put down the hoe, and began to pick out grass that could be used to feed pigs from the weeds he had hoeed. Some of the weeds were fresh and juicy, suitable for feeding pigs.

He put the weeds into the bamboo basket and pressed it firmly with his hands, trying to fit more.

I was busy weeding and picking up grass for most of the day.

It was not until the sun was setting that Xu Fugui stopped swinging the hoe and looked up at the sky.

"Today is Xiaoyun's third birthday party, it's time to go home."

In the past, he would not go home until dark, but today was an exception.

"Hey, Daniel! I'm back!"

He called out to the young man lying in the distance in the field, and then he picked up the bamboo basket filled with weeds. The heavy basket weighed at least 30 or 40 kilograms, causing him to lean forward.

"Got it, Dad."

The young man stood up, shouted crisply, and picked up the small bamboo basket beside him and put it on his back.

His full name is Xu Xiaoniu, the eldest son of Xu Fugui, who is ten years old this year. At this age, he can already help with some simple chores at home.

He followed closely behind Xu Fugui, bowed slightly like his father, and walked home briskly across the ridges of the fields.

The huge piece of farmland stretching from east to west is his family's eighty acres of land.

There are 30 mu of orchard, planted with pear, apricot and fruit trees, 30 mu of dry rice and wheat, and 20 mu of medicinal herb fields.

Xu Fugui was able to support such a large family thanks to these fields.

"This year is a good year."

Looking at the pink and white pear and apricot blossoms all over the garden, and the vast expanses of lush green rice and wheat, although he was tired, he felt happy in his heart.

At the eastern end of the farmland, there is a courtyard house with a separate entrance and a separate building.

That was the old house where Xu Fugui's grandfather lived. After his father lost his family's three-story mansion, the Xu family renovated and repaired the old house and moved in.

Although the house is old, it is spacious and has many rooms.

The father and son returned home and pushed open the gate. The rusty iron door knocker made a crisp metallic sound.

In the upper room on the north side, Feng Jiazhen was sitting on a chair with a slightly bulging belly, sewing shoe soles.

Hearing the noise at the gate, she put down her needlework and walked out to greet him: "Husband, you have worked hard. Put down the basket quickly. Da Niu has been very good today. He has been busy in the fields with your father for most of the day."

Xu Xiaoniu raised his head with a hint of pride: "I caught a lot of grasshoppers and katydids. I'll go feed them to the chickens now."

After saying this, he walked towards the chicken shed carrying a small bamboo basket filled with weeds and insects.

Xu Fugui took off the bamboo basket on his back and looked at his beautiful wife with love on his face.

After eleven years of marriage, Feng Jiazhen bore him four children and was pregnant with another, enduring hardships and never complaining. Born into a merchant family in the city, she had grown up enjoying fine clothes and fine food, with maids to serve her. After marrying Xu Fugui, she became proficient in all household chores.

"Xiaoyun is three years old today, let's kill a chicken and have a good meal. My dear, you should take a good rest and take care of the baby, don't be too busy."

As Xu Fugui spoke, he reached out and touched his wife's lower abdomen, then kissed her on the cheek.

"I hate it, but I'm not afraid of the kids seeing it..."

He listened to his wife's coquettish words behind him, picked up the bamboo basket and walked towards the pigpen.

He converted the back houses on either side of the courtyard gate into chicken coops and pig pens. With so many mouths to feed, he could only do everything he could to improve his family's quality of life.

There was only a half-grown piglet in the pigsty, grunting with hunger.

He picked up the bamboo basket and poured the full basket of fresh grass into the pigpen. Seeing the piglets eating happily, he felt happy too.

After feeding the pigs, he walked towards the chicken house next door.

Inside the house, several makeshift chicken coops made of sticks and bamboo strips housed more than a dozen chickens, one of which was a rooster, and the rest were hens.

They were fighting over the weeds and grasshoppers that Xu Xiaoniu had just poured into the chicken coop.

Xu Fugui opened the chicken coop and quickly grabbed a hen: "Daniu, was it the one that pecked you last time?"

"That's it. That's it."

The last time Xu Xiaoniu was feeding chickens, it pecked him hard, and he recognized the color of its feathers.

"Then you can't blame anyone else. Dad will avenge you today."

Xu Fugui closed the chicken coop, pinched the hen's wings and walked towards the kitchen.

Xu Xiaoniu's mouth watered when he saw his father was about to kill a chicken. He was ten years old, in the prime of his growth, and his family didn't get to eat meat except on special occasions like festivals.

In the kitchen.

Xu Fugui bled the chicken, plucked the feathers, then cut it open and removed the internal organs... He was very skilled in the whole process.

Jiazhen usually cooks, but Xu Fugui’s cooking skills are also not bad.

He stewed the chicken, boiled a few eggs, cooked some porridge, heated up some steamed buns, and prepared two side dishes. After just half an hour, when the chicken was thoroughly stewed, the whole family could enjoy their "big meal."

"Hey, where's San Gou? Daniu, go call your third brother back for dinner."

Xu Fugui's third son was named Xu Xiaogou.

It is popular in the village to give people nicknames. As the saying goes, "It is easy to live with a bad name", so Xu Xiaogou's nicknames are Sangou and Gouzi.

Xu Xiaogou was seven years old. He played outside all day and would not come home until he was hungry. Before Xu Xiaoniu could even leave the house, he saw his third brother sneaking back in. His shirt was half lifted, and he was holding something in his arms.

"Third brother, what are you doing?"

"Shh~~"

Xu Xiaogou put down his clothes and held a huge flower-shaped steamed bun in his arms.

The flower bun, coated with colorful icing, resembled a blooming flower, and was dotted with red dates and raisins. Because the bun was so large, Xu Xiaogou could barely hold it: "Brother, please help me hold it down. It's too heavy."

Xu Xiaoniu reached out to take it, wondering: "Where did you get it?"

"I've never seen such a beautiful steamed bun before, so I took it back when no one was paying attention. Hehe, I'm awesome, right?"

Xu Xiaogou spoke the truth, with a hint of pride in his words.

"What?"

When Xu Xiaoniu found out what was going on, he turned around and yelled, "Mom, Mom, my third brother is stealing things again."

When Feng Jiazhen heard the shouting, she rushed out of the room and saw the colorful flower buns with a gloomy face.

Although his family is not wealthy, with 80 acres of land, they are considered wealthy in the village. How could he develop such a bad habit of stealing?

She picked up the broom placed at the foot of the wall and prepared to enforce the "house rules".

Seeing his mother coming towards him with such a fierce look, Xu Xiaogou was so frightened that his legs went weak and he shouted, "My fourth brother is having his third birthday party today. Those steamed buns and flower buns are for him."

After saying that, he turned and ran, his legs moving very fast.

Given Jiazhen’s pregnancy, she couldn’t catch up with seven-year-old Xu Xiaogou.

As a result, Xu Xiaogou turned around and ran into Xu Fugui's arms. He felt his collar tighten and someone was strangling him.

"What has this kid done again?"

Xu Fugui asked with a smile.

"He stole someone else's steamed bun."

"That's the lesson."

Xu Fugui stuffed Xu Xiaogou into Jiazhen's hands.

He was in charge of the family's farm work, while Jiazhen was responsible for teaching the children to read and educate them. Unless it was a major matter, he would not interfere with Jiazhen's discipline of the children.

I saw the broom handle in Jiazhen's hand fall on Xu Xiaogou's butt, hitting him so hard that he screamed in pain, and soon his nose and tears were streaming.

"Let's see if you can learn your lesson. Go to the main hall, face the wall, and recite the Hundred Character Essay twenty times. You won't be allowed to eat until you finish."

Xu Xiaogou sniffed his nose and replied in a sobbing voice, "Oh."

----

"Whose shop is this flower bun from?"

Jiazhen prepared to return the things.

"Today, only Mr. Liu's family is having a banquet. It's Mr. Liu's sixtieth birthday. The flower buns have been soiled by San Gou. It would be filthy to bring them back."

Most of the land sold by Xu Fugui's father was bought by the Liu family, including the three-courtyard house.

Today, the Liu family is a major landlord in Baihe Village, owning 800 acres of land and is known as "Mr. Liu."

Jiazhen thought about it and realized that if she returned the flower bun, people would definitely gossip about her behind her back. So she took a bag of copper coins from her bedroom and gave it to Xu Fugui: "Go to the Liu family and give them a gift to celebrate his birthday."

"it is good."

Xu Fugui didn't like to take advantage of other people, so he treated the gift money as buying flower buns.

When he arrived at Liu's house, he saw that the birthday banquet was in full swing. A play was being performed on the stage, and the villagers were watching.

He found the gift table, presented 50 copper coins as a gift, wrote down his name, and then hurried home without joining in the fun.

He walked into the north room and saw Xu Xiaogou facing the wall and stumbling over while reciting the "Hundred Character Classic".

"Filial piety, loyalty, propriety, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, and virtue..."

This "Hundred Characters" was compiled by Xu Fugui and is also the generation name for the Xu family. "Filial piety" is the first character in Xu Xiaoniu and Xu Xiaogou's names.

"Full of vitality, vigor, vigor..."

"A prosperous family!"

Seeing Xu Xiaogou stuck again, Jiazhen reminded him sternly.

"The family will prosper and enjoy eternal peace..."

"Where are Erxia and Xiaoyun?"

Xu Fugui did not see Xu Xiaoxia and three-year-old Xu Xiaoyun.

"They're playing in the backyard. Tell them to wash up and eat."

"Well, the chicken stew should be cooked."

As Xu Fugui spoke, he walked towards the backyard and saw Xu Xiaoyun crawling on the ground. Xu Xiaoxia followed him to prevent him from bumping into anything.

Xu Xiaoxia is the second daughter, nine years old. She usually helps Jiazhen take care of her fourth brother at home.

Three-year-old Xu Xiaoyun was at the age when he was supposed to be throwing a tantrum and rolling around on the ground.

“Daddy, Daddy…”

When Xu Xiaoyun saw Xu Fugui, he got up from the ground, opened his arms and ran towards him.

Seeing that he was about to fall, Xu Fugui picked him up and held him in his arms.

"Erxia, go wash up. It's time to prepare dinner. We have stewed chicken."

"Chicken stew?"

When Xu Xiaoxia, who looked tired, heard about stewed chicken, her eyes brightened up and she ran to wash up.

"Xiaoyun, come on, Daddy will take you to do something important."

Xu Fugui carried Xu Xiaoyun into the bedroom in the east wing and closed the door.

Although the "family treasure tree" in the space inside his body uses the blood and energy of his offspring as nutrients, it has a limitation: the offspring must be at least three years old to provide blood and energy.

He didn't understand the reason, but this information appeared in his mind along with the awakening of the space in his body.

"Be good, don't move."

He laid Xu Xiaoyun on the bed, gently placed his right palm on his head, and chanted, "I, Xu Fugui's fourth son, Xu Xiaoyun, am three years old today! May he grow up safely, have everything go smoothly, and live a life free of illness and disaster."

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint breath emerged from the Baihui acupoint on Xu Xiaoyun's head, flowed into Xu Fugui's body and disappeared.

Xu Fugui "saw" that the treasure tree in the space inside his body underwent a mutation after absorbing this breath.

At the top of the three-meter-high precious tree, there is a thirty-centimeter green branch with tender buds sprouting on it.

At the same time, the solitary green fruit on the top of the treasure tree began to grow, and stopped when it was the size of a fist. It was fresh and juicy, and emitted a burst of fragrance.

"Finally mature!"

Xu Fugui was extremely surprised. He had waited for seven years for this fruit.

Speaking of Baoshu, he had just gotten married when he awakened the space in his body. He was nineteen years old and Baoshu was just a bare, slender little tree about 1.9 meters tall.

After that, the tree grew ten centimeters every year, and this year it is exactly three meters tall.

When his eldest son Xu Xiaoniu was three years old, he used his offspring's blood to nourish the treasure tree for the first time, causing a branch to grow from the top of the treasure tree and producing a green fruit the size of a quail egg.

When his second daughter Xu Xiaoxia was three years old, he used his offspring's blood to nourish the treasure tree for the second time. A branch grew out from the top of the treasure tree again, and the unripe fruit grew to the size of an egg.

By the time of his third son Xu Xiaogou, the situation remained the same: the unripe fruits had grown a little but were not ripe.

Seven years have passed since the unripe fruit appeared, and he finally waited for the green fruit to ripen.

(End of this chapter)