Chapter 52: Chapter 52: You Arrive, She Leaves; You Pursue, She’s Not There
He opened it, revealing a few pieces of crystalline candy inside.
He shared them with Shen Ningning. The little girl took one to taste and was immediately captivated by the sweet flavor.
"It’s so sweet!" she exclaimed, her bright, dark eyes widening.
Deng Fugui said proudly, "This is loquat candy. Our loquat tree used to be the best, bearing fruit so big and round we couldn’t eat it all."
"My mom would cook the loquats down into candy. If you like it, you can have the rest."
"The drought is too severe now, so the loquat trees can’t survive. When my family can plant them again in the future, I’ll save all the loquat candy my mom makes for you."
As Shen Ningning listened to him, her lively eyes remained fixed on the pieces of candy.
She remembered her grandma saying something similar before.
The soil in Xiangyun Village wasn’t actually very fertile. Before the drought, most families made a living by growing and selling loquats.
This was because loquat trees were drought-resistant, thrived in direct sunlight, and were easy to keep alive.
If well-cared for, they would bear lots of fruit from March to July.
Just then, Grandma Qin, the old village chief, and some other villagers walked toward them, chatting as they came.
Shen Ningning’s eyes lit up, and she ran over. "Grandpa Village Chief! I have a suggestion!"
The old village chief squatted down. "My dear Ningning, what is it?"
"Since everyone is going to start farming, why don’t we plant loquat trees again?"
"Loquats can be used for medicine, made into candy, and they can quench your thirst! They’re drought-resistant, so they have a high chance of survival!"
That way, if people ran out of food, they wouldn’t starve.
If they planted sorghum or other crops, the drought would likely be too severe, and all their hard work would be for nothing.
Even if they stored water, how long could it last?
The old village chief was taken aback by her words.
The villagers all chimed in, agreeing that it made sense.
After all, growing loquats wasn’t difficult for any of the families.
But the old village chief sighed.
"Ningning, let me show you something," he said, walking into his house.
He came out a moment later with a handkerchief in his hand.
Inside were nothing but shriveled, dried-up seeds.
The old village chief’s brow was furrowed with helplessness. "After the great drought began, the loquat trees in our village died off in large swaths."
"Even the seeds are shrunken and dry. They’re completely useless. It’s not that I don’t want to plant loquat trees."
Compared to normal grain crops, they were more familiar with loquat trees, knew how to care for them, and found them easier to raise.
Shen Ningning simply glanced at them from under her long eyelashes.
Then she looked up, her voice sweet and relaxed. "It’s okay, I have loquat saplings!"
The old village chief was stunned. "You do?!"
Grandma Qin immediately stepped forward to explain. "They grew on the mountain. They’re wild."
’She had to protect Ningning’s Immortal Realm from being discovered by outsiders.’
The old village chief came to a sudden understanding.
Shen Ningning blinked and said, "If you agree, Grandpa, Langlang and I will bring the saplings over in a few days. There aren’t many of them."
The old village chief thought for a moment, then nodded at once. "But... Ningning, how much silver will you charge?"
’She can’t possibly be giving these away for free again, can she?’
Shen Ningning answered decisively, "I won’t charge any silver if they’re for the people of Xiangyun Village."
She answered so quickly, it was as if she had already thought it all out.
Then, the little girl gave a sweet smile. "But I want to find two uncles to help me and Grandma farm our family’s land. When we sell the fruit, we’ll split the profits seventy-thirty."
In Xiangyun Village, every family’s plot of land had been allocated long ago.
The Qin Family had a plot of land, not a large one, just about two mu.
Without a man to help, that plot was destined to lie fallow.
The old village chief hesitated.
’It’s not certain anyone will agree. To farm an extra two mu of land and only get thirty percent of the profit...’
However, Uncle Liu stepped forward on his own initiative. "Ningning, you can count me in."
Sister-in-law Liu was stunned and wanted to stop him, but it was too late.
As Uncle Liu stepped out, another strong, able-bodied villager also spoke up, offering to help Shen Ningning.
The little girl’s dark, glistening eyes swept over them. "Uncles, are you two sure?"
"We’re sure. You’ve helped the village so much before. This is just lending a hand. Farming is farming, no matter how much land!" Uncle Liu said in a deep voice.
But Sister-in-law Liu hurriedly said, "Ningning, don’t you think a thirty-percent share is too little? We’re helping you farm, but the entire village gets your saplings for free. It seems a little unfair."
But Shen Ningning just blinked her lashes and said, "It’s very fair! My family’s land is fertile, so it will grow lots and lots of fruit!"
Seeing how young she was, Sister-in-law Liu didn’t have the heart to argue.
’The Qin Family’s plot was a wasteland, so barren that birds wouldn’t even bother to stop and relieve themselves.’
But Shen Ningning had her own plans.
’No matter how desolate that land is, once it’s irrigated with my Spiritual Spring Water, it’ll have to grow loquats in abundance.’
’By then, the harvest from their two mu will definitely be equal to what others get from four!’
After the agreement was made, Shen Ningning and Grandma Qin rode the wolf pack home.
On the way, Grandma Qin asked, "Ningning, where did you get this sudden idea to have everyone start farming together?"
The little girl hugged the Black Wolf King’s neck, swinging her short legs.
Her voice was soft. "Grandma, this weather isn’t going to get better anytime soon. It’s going to get even hotter!"
She didn’t know why, but she had a gut feeling that the drought was only going to get worse.
"The people in the village know we’re doing well right now. If they run into trouble and have nowhere else to turn, they’ll definitely try to come to us."
"That could lead to trouble. Big Brother said that I have so much, and I can’t let just anyone know about it."
"So, I happened to learn a saying a few days ago: ’Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’ Instead of always sharing food and water with the village, it’s better to teach them how to prepare for themselves."
She was also doing this to protect the mountain.
Because the little girl had discovered that when people were pushed to their limits, they were capable of anything.
Grandma Qin was amazed at how quickly Shen Ningning was changing.
’The little girl was really different now. She was so clever, already understanding some of the ways of the world!’
"Ningning, everything you’ve said is right. Grandma supports you."
After dinner that evening, Shen Ningning entered the Immortal Realm.
Luckily, she had planted some loquat seeds a few days ago when she was planting fruit.
After being watered by the spirit rain of the Immortal Realm, about fourteen loquat saplings now stood tall in the soil, each one already taller than Shen Ningning!
HEAVE-HO, HEAVE-HO. The little girl used her shovel to slowly dig up the saplings one by one and drag them out of the Immortal Realm.
Just digging up fourteen trees was enough to exhaust her!
She was just too small, and Langlang and the others couldn’t follow her into the Immortal Realm.
Besides, fourteen loquat trees were nowhere near enough for the whole village.
So, the next day, Shen Ningning went back to the village and told everyone to clear their fallow land first.
This way, she could use the next few days to repeatedly duck into the Immortal Realm to plant more trees. Once the saplings grew taller than her, she would dig them up.
The people of Xiangyun Village were naturally overjoyed. Every household was full of energy, heading out before dawn to weed and till the soil.
And Shen Ningning’s feeling hadn’t been wrong.
Over the next two short days, the sun shone even more intensely.
Even though there had been a heavy rain recently, the small green shoots that had just peeked through the cracks were instantly scorched and withered by the glaring sunlight.
Mo Lingwei’s carriage, braving the scorching sun, went directly to the private school in Guangyang County.
He remembered he had arranged with Shen Ningning to pick her up from school today.
However, when he arrived, an attendant student told him, "The sun has been scorching lately, and many students at the school have suffered from heatstroke. So, the teachers have canceled classes for half a month to let the students rest at home."
Mo Lingwei’s brow furrowed slightly.
Chen Shaobei, sitting beside him with his arms crossed, couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.
He was immediately met with a cold glare from Mo Lingwei.
Chen Shaobei coughed lightly. "My apologies, Your Highness. I wasn’t laughing."
"I was just thinking that the Crown Prince’s fate with this Miss Shen seems rather peculiar."
"It’s always you arriving just as she’s left, or you chasing after her only to find she’s not there."
Mo Lingwei’s voice was deep and cold. "It won’t kill you to say a few less words."
Chen Shaobei raised a hand, signaling that he would shut his mouth.
Glancing at the intense sun, Mo Lingwei pursed his lips. "I may not have been to her new home in the mountains, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find it."
Chen Shaobei’s expression faltered. "The mountains are vast. How does Your Highness plan to find it?"
