Leisurely mountain village

Free brain storage.

All place names and personal names in the book are fictional; please do not assume they represent reality.

"Xiao Huan, when are you planning to go back to the city?" An elderly man with a full head of white hair sat on a bamboo chair in the courtyard and asked the young man who was washing vegetables with a kind smile.

"Grandpa, I'd like to stay here a few more days to keep you company. We'll make further plans later." Ye Huan said, skillfully handling the cucumbers and tomatoes in her hands, while looking up with a warm smile on her face.

"Good, good, it's good to stay a few more days." The old man nodded in satisfaction. His children were all away working, and the house was very quiet. With Ye Huan keeping him company, he did feel less lonely.

This is a quiet and remote village in Sichuan and Guizhou provinces of Blue Star China. Although the village has about a hundred households, the permanent population is not large because most of the young people choose to work outside the village.

The village is mostly populated by the elderly, women, and children.

Ye Huan has stayed in that prosperous land since graduating from Shenzhen University in 2011, working hard and rarely returning home. Now, almost four years have passed.

However, one evening in June 2015, he packed his bags and embarked on his journey home. This time, he didn't tell his grandfather and parents that he had quit his job there and was determined to settle down in this land.

What was the reason? It was an accidental car accident. When Ye Huan was on the verge of death, he unexpectedly discovered that there was a magical spring space inside his body, which was about an acre in size.

When he concentrated, he found himself in a space with a spring, a thatched hut, and a patch of black earth.

He tried putting some items inside and then taking them out, only to find that the items had undergone a strange change in state. After repeated experiments, he was shocked to discover that the time flow in this space was not consistent with that of Earth, and that there was a mysterious time difference.

Even more miraculously, he discovered that he could choose to enter the space entirely, or only mentally. And within this small space, his mental power was like that of a creator god, capable of controlling everything, including life itself.

This discovery gave Ye Huan a glimpse of a new future, a future different from the present. Moreover, a piece of jade he had carried with him since childhood, which he had dug up while searching for treasure in the deep mountains with his grandfather, disappeared after his car accident. Therefore, he guessed that this space should be related to that piece of jade.

However, now is not the time to explore and consider these things. At least after a day of confirmation, he realized that this space was real, and he was overjoyed.

What's the point of going to work then? This lousy job, from 8 am to 10 pm every day, sometimes even until midnight, and the boss is so stingy, he doesn't pay overtime.

Finally, on the second day after getting the space, Ye Huan went to work to resign. However, after being scolded for no reason at the morning meeting, Ye Huan exploded and spat in the face of that disgusting manager. He was then fired and returned to his rural hometown with a little compensation and 20,000 yuan that he had saved up over the years.

He decided to create a better future for himself and his family. He chose to return, to stay, and to stop wandering.

"Grandpa, I'm going to the mountains again in a little while. I won't be coming back tonight. Remember to visit me," Ye Huan said as he ate lunch for his grandfather. He had been back to the mountains twice before and had unexpectedly great gains, so he wanted to go again.

"Okay, you go ahead with your work," Grandpa nodded.

Their family owns about 20 mu of farmland and more than 30 mu of woodland. No one farms it; Grandpa just planted some fruit trees on the woodland. The farmland and vegetable garden are simple, since during busy farming seasons, a skilled laborer helps with the harvest.

"When is the autumn planting?" Ye Huan asked. "There are still more than ten days left. Why are you asking this?" Grandpa asked.

Ye Huan nodded. He couldn't very well tell his grandfather that he had better seeds in his space, could he? The ratio of one day to ten days in his space to the outside world was one day outside and ten days inside his space!

"When I came back this time, a classmate of mine who works at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences sent me some good seeds. I'll plant these this year," Ye Huan said to her grandfather.

“Sure~ I didn’t plant much. I planted less than five acres in the first half of the year. The rest are empty. It’s enough to eat.” Grandpa nodded.

"Okay, I'll bring the seeds over tomorrow, and you can take care of it. I really don't know how to do this," Ye Huan said with a smile.

Grandpa's house was located in the center of the village, while Ye Huan's house was hidden deep in the foot of the mountain at the end of the village. They were not far apart, only about two hundred meters apart.

Their 30-plus acres of mountain forest, like a rich treasure, stood quietly behind Ye Huan's house.

Back then, Ye Huan's parents worked hard on this land, and fruit trees and animal husbandry intertwined to create a vibrant picture.

However, fate often played a cruel trick on this ordinary family. Because of the remote location, the fruits that should have been blooming brightly could only rot silently in the mountains, their sweetness and color isolated from the lush green forest.

When the buyers finally arrived, the prices they offered were heartbreakingly low. Ye Huan's parents also tried to transport the fruit to town to sell themselves, but even after spending more than two hours leaving the village and rushing to the town, they still couldn't get the desired price for their fruit.

Faced with this predicament, Ye Huan's parents were filled with helplessness and anger. They were unwilling to let their hard work go to waste, and even more unwilling to let this land full of hope continue to decline.

So, after a heated argument, they resolutely decided to leave this land and go to the distant Zhejiang Province to seek new life opportunities.

Their figures faded into the distance in the afterglow of the setting sun, leaving only the forest and the lonely house, silently watching over the passage of time.

Ye Huan dared to resign because he had a family to rely on. With so much land and forest, he didn't believe he could starve to death. Besides, there was a huge mountain behind him.

In their world, there's no animal protection. Apart from giant pandas and rare tiger species like the South China tiger—only a dozen or so species—you can hunt any other animals you can, like wild boars or wolves, as long as you can defeat them.

After all, the land of Earth has a forest coverage rate of 75%, while the total population of China, which covers an area of ​​more than 1000 million square kilometers, is less than 11 billion!

Ye Huan also possesses a mysterious spiritual spring space. It is called a spiritual spring because when he first stepped into this space, what appeared before him was a tranquil and ancient scene—an old thatched hut with a pool of clear spring water in the middle.

He tasted the spring water and was astonished to find that his long-standing ailments and sub-health conditions had vanished completely. The spring water seemed to contain endless vitality, making Ye Huan's body radiate an unprecedented glow.

He entered the thatched hut, and his gaze inadvertently fell on an antique jade plaque on a simple wooden table. The jade plaque lay quietly in the corner, as if it were a witness to the peaceful passage of time.

He couldn't help but reach out and touch it, feeling a warm, smooth sensation on his fingertips, as if he had some kind of inexplicable connection with this jade pendant.

The moment his fingers touched the jade pendant, a strange power surged into his mind.

It turns out that this is a secret manual called "Shennong Jing" (Shennong's Classic), which contains rich and profound content. It includes practical knowledge of farming and herb gathering, profound theories of acupoints and meridians, as well as various strange techniques such as medical skills, talismans, animal taming and sacrifice, ancient martial arts, alchemy and qi cultivation.

What interests him most is the "Scripture of Longevity," which he has been practicing for over a month. The secrets of longevity contained in this scripture fill him with longing.

At this moment, his heart was filled with determination and anticipation, as if the path to the future was already clearly visible. He would take this "Shennong Classic" with him and embark on his own journey of cultivation.

Although Ye Huan didn't know what this technique was for, the name itself suggested it was something good. He practiced it for over a month, and while he didn't know much else, he felt lighter, stronger, and his skin improved. He even threw away the glasses he'd worn for years. These were things he experienced firsthand.

He knew that all these extraordinary encounters stemmed from that mysterious jade tablet, and he was determined to transform this opportunity into his own strength, continuously improve, explore more unknown areas, and become a true cultivator.

He also discovered that drinking a few sips of spring water while practicing his skills could make his efforts twice as effective. So for the past few nights, he has been staying at his own home because he needs to go into his space to meditate and cultivate.

Not only did he drink the water himself, but he also changed the water his grandfather drank. As for the vegetables, he used the ones he grew in his own backyard as a cover, bringing vegetables from his space every day to cook for his grandfather.

Grandpa Ye Huan used to be a master mountain runner, so he amassed such a large fortune early on. Even without his spatial ability, with these fields, Ye Huan would never starve.

"Saihu~ Let's go, come with me into the mountains again!!" After finishing his meal, Ye Huan called his grandfather's dog.

"Woof~~" After finishing its food, Saihu came to its little master's side. Ye Huan, having practiced the Beast Taming Technique, could roughly understand what it meant: "I'm done eating, let's go." Then it ran towards the foot of the mountain.

"Go home and get your knife and basket first, what's the rush?" Ye Huan glanced at Sai Hu, who was running wildly, and ran towards Ye Huan's house without looking back.

"I gave you good water for free, and you just ran off without even saying you'd wait for me."

After returning home, I chose a custom-made machete, which was sharp and tough, and then carried the small but sturdy bamboo basket on my back.

"Let's go," Ye Huan said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, "Let's see if we can make any progress today."

A man and a dog, one in front and one behind, embarked on a journey of exploration.

They started directly from the forest behind their house, heading into the unknown depths. For the first half hour, Ye Huan could walk out accurately even with his eyes closed, because he had played and frolicked in this forest since he was a child, and every inch of this land was deeply imprinted in his heart.

Until they crossed that small hill, which was Ye Huan's territory, and it was from there that they began to enter the mountains behind.

Ye Huan searched carefully in the woods, examining each mushroom he saw closely. He would cautiously pick the ones he recognized and put them in his basket; he wouldn't dare touch the ones he didn't, for Ye Huan was filled with awe for these mysterious creatures.

An experience from his childhood left Ye Huan terrified of them, so he always acted with extreme caution. After all, they were just hallucinogenic mushrooms and didn't take his life.

"There are pheasants, Saihu. Go catch a couple to improve our meals tonight," Ye Huan called to the dog.

Saihu stared speechlessly at the idiot. Ye Huan was deliberately teasing Saihu. He smiled, stuck the machete in his hand into the ground, put down his basket, and took out a slingshot from it.

These are steel balls he bought from the city and brought back. He bought three whole bags, several thousand balls in total!

"Whoosh!" It shot out; "Flap!" The pheasant flew away.

Saihu looked at Ye Huan with a human-like gaze, and Ye Huan blushed: "Oops, how long has it been since I practiced? What are you looking at? If you're so good, you do it."

The tiger ignored its young master and continued on its way.

Ye Huan slung a basket over his shoulder, tucked his machete into his waistband, and held a slingshot in his hand. He walked and fired as he went, getting used to the feel of it.

"Gah!" As the steel ball shot randomly into a bush, an unexpected thing happened: by sheer luck, it hit a pheasant hiding inside.