Chief, don't hit me in the face

Chapter 5: Xia Ye’s Utopia!

The next morning, the days of continuous rain had passed, giving way to a clear blue sky dotted with wispy white clouds. At last, there was a hint of spring’s warmth in the air! “Do you really have to come along?” Leaving Xia City and heading north, the sparse forest belt grew increasingly lush; tender buds had already sprouted, clinging to the branches in a delightfully vibrant green. “You sounded so certain—of course I had to come see for myself!” Xia Lingyue was absolutely dying of curiosity. Her younger brother planned to earn a thousand dao coins in seven days—it seemed like an impossible mission. “Fine, but if we run into danger, you run first—don’t worry about me!” Xia Ye relented and patiently warned her. The Beast Tide had just passed, and the wilderness wasn’t very safe, so there were hardly any people to be seen on the main road. Once they entered the forest, it became even more desolate—not a soul in sight. “How much longer?” They’d set out before dawn, and now the sun was high in the sky; they’d already traveled a long way. But Xia Lingyue was used to hardship and didn’t feel tired at all: “Huh? Wild grapes!” Pushing aside the branches blocking their path, a vast grove of wild grapes suddenly came into view. “Wow, there are so many! If we wait until fall, just imagine how many grapes we’ll be able to harvest!” Xia Lingyue jogged over, carefully inspecting the vines as she muttered, “Mine, they’re all mine!” “They’re all yours!” Xia Ye stood leaning against a tree, his eyes brimming with amusement. “Wait, these vines are from different years, and there aren’t many weeds around them—someone’s clearly pulled them out!” Xia Lingyue quickly picked up on the clues and looked at her younger brother in astonishment: “What’s going on?” “I planted them!” Xia Ye explained. “How is that possible?” Xia Lingyue exclaimed, then quickly covered her mouth—speaking so loudly in the forest might just attract wild beasts. “When did you learn how to grow grapes?” Xia Lingyue knew her younger brother never lied, which was why she was so utterly astonished. “I figured it out little by little—it took me a few years, but I finally got the hang of it!” Xia Ye made up a flimsy excuse on the spot. In this era, food was scarce, so all the land was used to grow crops like sorghum, millet, and wheat—staples for daily meals. Ordinary families simply foraged for vegetables in the wild; orchards and vegetable gardens were luxuries reserved for the wealthy elite—symbols of status. As a result, the technical barriers to cultivation were high, and the process remained a mystery to commoners. “How do you grow them? Tell me!” Xia Lingyue tugged at Xia Ye’s arm, looking up at him with wide, eager eyes like a little kitten: “Do you use seeds?” “Grafting!” Xia Ye’s answer was brief and to the point. “Graft…ing?” Xia Lingyue looked completely bewildered; to her, this term was nothing short of a fairy tale. “Um, it means picking the sweetest, strongest grapevine, cutting off a shoot, and grafting it onto another grapevine!” Xia Ye explained. “Will it survive?” Xia Lingyue’s little mouth formed an ‘O’. “Many wild grapes are sour; they need to be grafted and cultivated until only the sweetest and largest grapes remain!” Xia Ye thought for a moment and decided not to bring up the topic of cuttings—otherwise, he’d have to explain even more. “That’s unbelievable!” Xia Lingyue marveled, then grew excited. She grabbed her younger brother by the collar, her eyes sparkling: “Are you saying all the grapes here are big and sweet?” “Barring any surprises!” Xia Ye grimaced—his sister had a really strong grip. “Whenever you’ve been feeling even a little better these past few years, you’ve always been out and about—you haven’t been spending all that time growing grapes here, have you?” Xia Lingyue pressed. “No way! I was just passing through, okay? It’s no trouble anyway!” Xia Ye was at a loss for words—was I really a fruit farmer until I got an arrow in my knee? “No effort?” Xia Lingyue felt like screaming again. With skills like that, he’s a true master—he deserves to be treated with the utmost respect by Prince Zhao, for heaven’s sake! “Let’s go. I didn’t bring you here to look at grapes!” Xia Ye continued leading the way. He’d been tending to the vineyard for five years now, and judging by how the vines were growing, this year should yield a decent harvest. By then, he’d finally be able to put a few long-standing plans into action. Xia Lingyue kept looking back every few steps, gazing longingly at the vineyard, wishing she could stay here forever. After passing through a bamboo grove, they came upon a small clearing by the banks of a babbling brook. As soon as Xia Lingyue arrived, she screamed with delight and rushed over, hopping and skipping across the pebbles. The wind swept through the bamboo grove, casting a dappled green shade; swallows skimmed the stream, and birds chirped merrily! This place is truly beautiful! “Yay, there’s a fish!” Xia Lingyue took off her straw sandals, rolled up her sleeves, and immediately jumped in—but then shivered. The early spring stream was still a bit chilly! The fish weren’t big—about two fingers wide—and swam craftily. Xia Lingyue tried several times but couldn’t catch any. “Oh no, it got away again!” Frustrated, Xia Lingyue slapped the water’s surface. “Stop trying—we’re not having fish for lunch!” Xia Ye carried a stone platter and set it down in the shallow water by the stream: “Make sure to eat it—I’ve got to get back to work!” “Wait, what’s this?” Xia Lingyue ran over, splashing water everywhere. The stone tray was piled high with heart-shaped fruits, glistening with dewdrops and accented by green leaves at their bases—they were a lovely shade of red. “Strawberries!” Xia Ye chuckled softly. “Strawberries?” At Xia Ye’s gesture, Xia Lingyue picked one up and popped it into her mouth. Her pearly white teeth bit down firmly, easily breaking through the flesh. Just as a soft sensation washed over her, it was replaced by a hint of tartness, which then gave way to sweetness. Phew! Xia Lingyue closed her eyes slightly, took a deep breath, savoring the endless aftertaste, and then popped another bright red strawberry into her mouth. “They’re so sweet—you should try one too!” Xia Lingyue pinched one between her fingers and held it out to Xia Ye. “Too sweet—I don’t like it. You eat it!” Xia Ye shook his head. “Oh.” Sticking out her pink little tongue, she licked the remaining juice off her lips. Still wanting more, Xia Lingyue put the plate away. “Go ahead, don’t hold back!” Xia Ye was speechless. “No, I’ll save some for later!” Xia Lingyue refused. “This stuff can’t be stored—it’ll go bad!” Xia Ye explained. “I still don’t want it!” Xia Lingyue shook her head vigorously. “Just eat it—there are plenty more!” Seeing her sister’s smile made all the effort she’d put into transplanting these strawberries completely worth it. “No… what?” Xia Lingyue froze for a moment. Xia Ye pointed casually, and Xia Lingyue dashed off like a rabbit set free. “Hehe!” Xia Ye was getting his tools ready when, just a moment later, Xia Lingyue came rushing back, tugging him toward the back of the garden: “Strawberries! So many! “I know!” Xia Ye was speechless. Xia Lingyue froze, suddenly realizing a possibility: “You didn’t plant these too, did you?” “Wild ones wouldn’t grow in the vegetable beds, would they?” Xia Ye pulled his sister’s hand away: “Go play by yourself—I’ve got work to do!” “Oh!” Xia Lingyue looked at her younger brother, then at the vegetable beds in the bamboo grove. After staring blankly for a few seconds, she rushed back over: “No, I have to take another look.” It wasn’t a trick of the eye. On a plot of land about half a mu in size, six neat rows of low-growing plants were planted. The fruit her brother called “strawberries” was growing on them, and some weren’t quite ripe yet. “I must be dreaming!” Xia Lingyue muttered to herself. Spotting a caterpillar crawling on a leaf, she immediately swatted it away—these were her family’s strawberries, and no one was going to steal them! After weeding and picking off bugs for a while, Xia Lingyue suddenly remembered she hadn’t taken care of the main business, so she hurried off to find her younger brother. “It’s okay, just go explore on your own!” Xia Ye couldn’t bear to let his sister do all the work: “Besides, you wouldn’t know how anyway!” “Oh!” Her younger brother had grown up and developed a mind of his own, which made Xia Lingyue feel a little disappointed. But she quickly perked up again, darting around like a little deer as she set out to explore her new territory. This clearing was shaped like an upright crescent by the winding stream. The southern side—the lower half of the crescent—was hidden by a bamboo grove, while the western side was a mountain cliff that looked as if it had been cleaved by a giant axe wielded by a deity, presenting a precipitous and formidable appearance. There were several natural caves in the cliff face, where swallows would occasionally bring spring mud to build their little nests in the crevices. Xia Lingyue stood at the entrance of one of the caves and peered inside. “The first one on the left is the deepest—warm in winter and cool in summer—and serves as a natural storage room. The second is the kitchen, the third is the bedroom, and the fourth is the largest, used for storing miscellaneous items. The six next to it are workshops for various purposes.” Xia Ye raised an eyebrow: “Want to take a look inside?” “Yes!” Xia Lingyue ran straight into the third cave. In the sunlight streaming in, she saw some household items, all neatly arranged, but what caught her eye most were the earthenware jars piled in the corner. “This many?” Xia Lingyue was stunned. How many Dao coins would it cost to buy all of this? But then she realized that everything in Peach Blossom Spring had been built by her younger brother with his own hands. Could it be… “I made them—they’re all rejects!” Xia Ye gave an embarrassed smile. Back in college, a senior he knew had recruited him into the Classical Club just to make up the numbers, so he’d dabbled a bit in pottery, porcelain, and even the tea ceremony. Xia Lingyue had already crouched down next to a pile of pottery, feeling one piece and tapping another. When she heard Xia Ye say that, she immediately exclaimed. “Such a wonderful pottery jar, and you call it a failed piece?” “They’re not attractive enough!” Xia Ye explained. Xia Lingyue was speechless. What did “aesthetically pleasing” even mean? Could you eat it? For some reason, her younger brother’s ideas were sometimes so outlandish and unfathomable! “I just wanted to leave a gift for archaeologists a thousand years from now!” Xia Ye shrugged. He’d already buried a dozen or so fairly well-made clay pots deep inside the cave, each adorned with his meticulously sketched illustrations of the “Edo 48 Techniques” and the opening lines of the “Evil-Warding Sword Technique.” If the “Nine Yin Manual” hadn’t been too long to memorize, he would’ve engraved that on them too! Xia Lingyue didn’t ask what an archaeologist was—after all, her younger brother often blurted out all sorts of baffling terms. “Come on, I’m going to make you a special treat today!” Xia Ye went to the storage cave, carried out a sack of barley, and entered the workshop. “Can barley porridge really be called a delicacy?” Xia Lingyue asked in confusion. Due to a cultural disconnect, these Late Stone Age people had no idea how to hull wheat or sorghum, and their cooking methods were limited to steaming, boiling, and stewing—so the taste of their meals was predictable. “This is where my carefully crafted secret tool comes into play!” Xia Ye teased, keeping everyone in suspense.