Tai Zhu Xuan Xiang: Me and My Eight Golden Gourd Sisters

Beneath the dome, the primeval forest stretches across the sky and earth, with towering trees rising from the ground and dense canopies layered upon each other, transforming into an endless green sea.

As the wind blows, the forest surges and roars like a giant beast's low groan, echoing across the fields.

The distant mountain peaks stretch endlessly, some round and solid, others sheer cliffs, their sharp edges pointing straight to the sky. Wisps of clouds entwine around the mountainside, like white ribbons across the sky, gently embracing and slowly enveloping each majestic peak, and the whole world exudes a mysterious aura of desolation and antiquity.

In front of the Stone Mountain, the Longjiang River, originating from the distant mountains, shimmers with golden light under the sun, winding forward like a giant dragon, surging endlessly.

The river was wide and the current was mighty. Even standing on the mountaintop, Cai Xuan could faintly hear the sound of the flowing water.

After standing there for a while, Cai Xuan suddenly realized that his previous idea that Stone Mountain was a geomantically auspicious place was a bit foolish. A vast river blocked his path in front, terrifying beasts lurked in the water to his left, and countless sword-backed crocodiles infested a tributary to his right. It was surrounded by enemies on three sides, a place of constant danger. What kind of geomantically auspicious place was this? It was clearly a dangerous place.

But on second thought, perhaps it was precisely because of the surrounding dangers and perilous situations that there weren't so many ferocious beasts on the rocky mountain, which was a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

But he couldn't be trapped here; he had to find a way out and learn more about the world.

Since the left, right, and front are all blocked, the only option is to go through the back.

Cai Xuan turned around and looked behind the Stone Mountain. There was a rocky outcrop clinging to the mountain, covered with jagged rocks, overgrown with weeds, and sparsely wooded. Behind the rocky outcrop was a vast forest, with layer upon layer of peaks that seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.

After observing the terrain, Cai Xuan felt that a path could be built halfway up the mountain to reach Shiyan, and then a path could be built from Shiyan to continue.

In this way, one can perfectly avoid the territory of the sword-spined crocodile.

"Brother, what are you looking at?" Xi'er asked, leaning closer.

"A road, a road leading to the outside world."

"Let's go take a look!"

"We won't go today. Let's go down the mountain first and get ready when we get back."

The rocky mountain was all rocks and there wasn't much scenery to see. After walking around for a while, Cai Xuan led Xi'er and the others down the mountain.

It was still early, so Cai Xuan led the children around a bend to pick tea leaves from the tea trees they had discovered earlier. The tea trees grew in a wide area among the rocks, four or five in total, their branches and leaves glossy green, and none of them were very tall. Picking tea was a troublesome task, requiring both sharp eyesight and mental effort.

Xi'er didn't have that much patience, so she stopped picking after a while and started wandering around.

Cai Xuan shouted, "Don't go too far," and then didn't pay any more attention.

Yun'er, Shu'er, and Xin'er were much more patient than her, standing quietly beside the tea tree, picking the tender buds one by one.

As Shu'er picked the tea leaves, a sudden inspiration struck her. She stretched out her right hand, and a stream of clear water emerged from her palm, like a lively water dragon, sweeping towards the newly sprouted buds at the tips of the tea trees. Wherever the water dragon passed, the tender buds fell off, carried by the water, and gently landed back in Shu'er's hand.

In the blink of an eye, all the tender buds on a tea tree were picked clean.

Shu'er looked at the tender bud in her hand, then at the tea tree, and nodded in satisfaction.

When Xin'er saw this, her eyes lit up, and she stretched out her hand, a ball of flame suddenly bursting up from her palm.

"No!" Cai Xuan shouted immediately.

Xin'er was startled. The flame flickered in her palm and then shrank back.

"You can't use fire to pick tea. If you set fire to it, these tea trees will probably be burned to ashes," Cai Xuan said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Oh." Xin'er pouted and obediently picked them with her hands.

With the help of Shu'er's water, the tender buds of several tea trees were quickly picked clean. Cai Xuan put the tea leaves into the basket he had brought and then led them to continue down the road.

Before long, we arrived at the location of the photinia and arrow bamboo forest.

The bamboo covering the hillside was lush and green, rustling softly in the wind, as if someone were whispering.

Unfortunately, the bamboo shoot season is over, and the bamboo forest is completely bare, without a single bamboo shoot in sight. Cai Xuan looked at the bamboo forest with some regret. He had been so busy that he had forgotten about this place; otherwise, he would never have given up on the bamboo shoots here.

Walking a short distance further down, you'll find the place where you found pear and persimmon trees.

The persimmon tree was laden with fruit, but it was still green and hard, clearly inedible. The pear tree, however, was different. The pears on the tree were ripe, bright green, hanging from the branches, emitting an enticing fragrance.

Cai Xuan picked one and tasted it—it was crisp, sweet, and juicy, making his mouth water; it was better than any pear he had ever eaten before.

"Pick it!"

He waved his hand, and Xi'er was the first to rush up, grabbing the tree trunk and trying to climb up.

Cai Xuan quickly pulled her back: "Pick the bottom ones first, I'll take care of the top ones later."

Xi'er responded, reached for the lowest branch, grabbed two, wiped them on her clothes, took a bite, and juice dripped down her chin.

Yun'er, Shu'er, and Xin'er also dispersed to pick ripe pears. Yun'er didn't pick many, but she carefully selected each one; Shu'er still used the water flow to help her, making her the most efficient; Xin'er specifically picked pears from high places, jumping up to pick them, and if she couldn't reach them, she would hop, and if she still couldn't reach them, she would call out to Cai Xuan.

Before long, the baskets they brought were full, but many more fruits were still hanging on the trees.

Cai Xuan glanced at the sky, then at the basket full of pears, and decided to come back tomorrow.

This pear can not only be eaten fresh, but also pickled with salt to make salted pears for later consumption; it can also be boiled into pear paste for preservation.

Continuing downhill, we passed a large peach tree. This tree was clearly a late-ripening variety, its branches laden with fruit, each one a lovely green tinged with red, but still hard to the touch, obviously not fully ripe.

Cai Xuan picked one and tasted it; it was sour and astringent, and he spat it out.

He threw away the remaining half of the sour peach, wiped his mouth, and said to Xi'er and the others, "This peach is inedible. We'll come back to pick more later."

Actually, it goes without saying that Xi'er and the others already understood from the expression on his face when he ate the peach.

Further down, they arrived at the giant tree with its large leaves. Cai Xuan had thought the fruit of this tree looked somewhat like jackfruit last time, and this time he took a closer look—the peel was bumpy and greenish-brown, and it did indeed bear some resemblance. He leaned closer to smell it, but it didn't have the strong sweet fragrance of jackfruit; instead, it had a faint, indescribable bitter smell.

It's probably not ripe yet. I'll check back in a while.

Back at the cabin, it was still early.

Cai Xuan let Xi'er and the others go play by themselves, while he went into the kitchen to process the tea leaves he had brought back. He didn't make tea in the complicated way that others did, with things like fixing, rolling, and drying. He simply poured the picked tea leaves into a pot and stir-fried them like stir-frying vegetables, slowly until they were dry.

He had seen his mother stir-fry tea like this at home before. Although the technique was rough, the tea tasted quite good, with a sweet aftertaste, and was even better than the tea sold by others. He found it very amazing at the time.

After frying the tea, Cai Xuan immediately brewed some and drank it.

The fragrant aroma of tea rises gently; take a deep breath and you'll be filled with the pure fragrance of nature; take a sip and your mind will be at peace, all your worries will disappear, and you'll have a sweet aftertaste.

This tea is wonderful!

"Brother, what are you drinking?"

Cai Xuan turned around when he heard the sound and saw that Xi'er, along with Yun'er, Shu'er, and Xin'er, were standing beside him, each of them casting curious glances at him.

"These are tea leaves we just picked. I stir-fried them a bit, and they taste pretty good. Would you like some?"

"want."

Putting everything else aside, the little ones were incredibly enthusiastic about food and drink. Upon hearing his words, they immediately went to find their own cups to make tea. Before long, the kitchen was filled with the rich aroma of tea.