Chapter 38: The Poison Tide Sweeping the Fields and the Light Going Out
# Chapter 38: The Poison Tide Sweeping the Fields and the Light Going Out
At daybreak, Lin Xiaoman was awakened by a rapid knock on the door. Grandma Zhang, her face pale, stood at the doorway, clutching a blackened tomato leaf with sticky black soil on the edge. "Xiaoman, this is bad! The roots of the seedlings in the field are all rotten!"
Lin Xiaoman didn't even bother putting on shoes, running barefoot toward the old variety base. As soon as she reached the edge of the field, a pungent, rotten smell filled her nostrils. The tomato roots, which had stretched toward the ancient well yesterday, had now turned dark brown, clinging to the soil and snapping easily, their oozing juice staining the surrounding soil black. Double-kernel walnut vines slumped against the bamboo racks, their once plump, green fruits wrinkled into a ball, their kernels black and smelly within the cracked shells. Even the hardiest strawberry runners had curled into thin, black strips, clinging to the ground like dead snakes.
"How could it be so fast..." Lin Xiaoman knelt on the edge of the field, her fingertips lightly touching the tomato roots. The sticky, venomous liquid instantly burned her, forcing her to pull back. A red rash immediately appeared on her fingertips. She looked toward the ancient well. The soil in the ditch had already turned a pale green. The root rot had worked its way through the cracks in the soil and reached the well's edge. Any further and it would have contaminated the water.
"Sister Xiaoman, don't touch it!" Uncle Li rushed over with a hoe on his shoulder and pulled her up. The black soil on the hoe blade was still dripping with venom. "This poison is too strong. It can even corrode iron and leave marks. It will be troublesome if it hurts someone!"
At that moment, the roar of excavators emanated from the village entrance, shaking the ground. Everyone looked up to see three yellow excavators breaking through the temporary police cordon, their tracks rolling over the ridges of the fields, heading straight for the base. Manager Zhou stood next to the front excavator, megaphone in hand, his voice shrouded in coldness: "Lin Xiaoman, what have you decided? If you don't hand in your planting techniques and seeds today, I'll have the excavators bulldoze this rotten land and even fill in that broken well!"
"How dare you!" Lin Xiaoman struggled forward, blocking the ancient well. "This well is a cultural relic, and this land is a state-protected old variety planting area. If you push it, you're breaking the law!"
"Illegal?" Manager Zhou scoffed, pulling a red-stamped document from his briefcase and holding it aloft. "Look carefully! This is the 'Land Expropriation Approval for Qingxi Village.' We're going to build an 'Eco-Industrial Park' here, and it'll be under the management of our Blackstone Group! Whether you want to push or fill in, I have the final say!" He waved at the excavator driver, "First, dig up that old pear tree! I want to see how long this broken tree can protect you!"
The excavator's shovel slowly rose, its gleaming bucket aimed at the trunk of the old pear tree. Grandma Zhang suddenly rushed over, her arms wide open, hugging the trunk, her graying hair blowing in the wind. "If you want to dig up the tree, run over me first! This tree was planted by Grandpa Xiaoman. He's protected Qingxi Village for thirty years. I can't let it be destroyed in your hands!"
The villagers immediately gathered around, holding hands and forming a human wall beneath the old pear tree. Aunt Wang, clutching freshly brewed strawberry jam, stood at the front: "This is our home, don't even think about taking it!" Xiaochen hid behind Lin Xiaoman, clutching his "Star Pattern" tomato seedlings tightly in his arms. His face flushed, but he didn't cry. Wangfu squatted at his feet, growling at the excavator, his hair standing on end.
"A bunch of idiots!" Manager Zhou's face darkened, and he winked at the man in black behind him, "Pull them away! I'll take the blame if anything happens!"
Five or six men in black rushed over, reaching out to grab the villagers. Uncle Li pushed away the one grabbing his arm and roared, "Get out of Qingxi Village!" In the chaos, someone was pushed to the ground in the black soil, covered in poison. Aunt Wang's strawberry jam jar fell to the ground, and the red sauce splattered on the light green poisonous soil like a drop of congealed blood. Xiaochen lost his balance and almost dropped the tomato seedlings. Wangfu quickly protected him with his body, but was kicked hard by one of the men in black. He let out a sharp sob and curled up on the ground for a long time without getting up.
"Stop!" Lin Xiaoman screamed and rushed forward, trying to protect Xiaochen, but a man in black grabbed her wrist, causing her to wince in pain. At that moment, the old pear tree suddenly shook, and a thick branch snapped, falling to the ground with a few dead leaves, and the black soil splashed all over the man in black. But this was just a natural break in the tree. There was no magical light, only a growing stench of decay, reminding them that the tree was about to collapse.
"What are you still standing there for? Dig!" Manager Zhou shouted impatiently.
The excavator's shovel fell again, slamming heavily into the old pear tree's base. Mud splattered, and the roots were severed, releasing brown sap. The old pear tree swayed, and another branch broke off, crashing into the wall of people, frightening the villagers and causing them to step back. Manager Zhou observed the scene, a cold smile curling his lips. "I wonder what you're still trying to protect? If you resist again, I'll even tear down your houses!"
The villagers' faces gradually turned pale, and some stepped back, their eyes filled with despair. Uncle Li's hands were shaking as he gripped the hoe, but he didn't let go. "Even if you push the land, we won't hand over our skills!"
Manager Zhou ignored him and directed the excavator towards the ancient well: "Fill the well first! Don't let them use the well water to save the seedlings!"
Lin Xiaoman watched the bucket pointed at the well mouth, her heart tightening. She suddenly broke free from the man in black's hand, rushed over, and lay on the edge of the well: "Don't fill it up! The well water is not polluted. If you fill it up, our whole village will have no water to drink!"
Manager Zhou came over and squatted in front of her, his tone full of sarcasm: "Are you scared now? I should have handed over the technology long ago, why would you have to do this? I'm giving you one last chance, do you want to hand it over or not?"
Lin Xiaoman looked at him, then back at the villagers—some were wiping tears, others were gathering scattered farm tools, and Xiaochen was holding the injured Wangfu, whispering comforting words. She gritted her teeth and shook her head, "No! This technology belongs to Qingxi Village, passed down from our ancestors. I can't give it to you bandits!"
Manager Zhou's face turned completely cold: "Okay, you've got guts!" He stood up and shouted at the driver, "Fill it out! Fill it out!"
The bucket dropped, and dirt began to pour into the well. Lin Xiaoman tried to leap over to stop it, but the men in black held her down. She watched as the well water was gradually buried by the dirt, the black poison seeping through it. Her last line of defense was about to collapse.
In the evening, Manager Zhou and his men evacuated, but left behind an even more ruthless trick - they surrounded the base with barbed wire and hung a sign that read "Dangerous and polluted area, no entry"; the village's power lines were cut, the tap water was cut off, and as night fell, Qingxi Village fell into darkness, with only occasional cries and the stench of rotting crops floating in the air.
Lin Xiaoman sat outside the wire fence, cradling Xiaochen's tomato seedlings—they had withered, their leaves shed, leaving only bare stems. Xiaochen leaned against her, caressing Wangfu's injured leg, and whispered, "Mom, when will Dad come back? Will our seedlings survive?"
Lin Xiaoman hugged her son tightly, her voice hoarse: "Yes, Dad will come back, and Miaomiao will survive." But she herself knew that she was lying to her child - the well was filled, and the root rot agent was still spreading. In a few days, the soil of the whole village would be contaminated; Chen Wang was detained in the detention center, and she couldn't even submit a visit application; the villagers began to pack their luggage, and Uncle Li's son had already contacted relatives in the city, saying that he wanted to take the old man away.
Grandma Zhang came over with a bowl of porridge. There were only a few grains of rice in it, the last of the family's food reserves. "Eat something! Even for Xiaochen, you have to hold on." She looked at the base behind the barbed wire and sighed. "I've lived for seventy years, and I've never seen such a cruel person. They won't even leave the soil alive..."
Lin Xiaoman took the porridge, but she had no appetite. She pulled out her phone, wanting to text someone outside for help, but the signal was blocked; even the emergency number couldn't get through. She flipped through her photo album, which was filled with photos of the base—strawberries in the spring, tomatoes in the summer, walnuts in the autumn, and Chen Wang and Xiaochen laughing in the fields. Tears dripped onto the screen, blurring the images.
At this moment, the stem of the tomato seedling in her arms moved slightly. Lin Xiaoman quickly looked down and saw a tiny green bud, the size of a needle, sprouting from the top of the stem. The tip of the bud was covered with a little dirt, but it showed a bit of life.
"Xiaochen, look!" Lin Xiaoman's voice was trembling.
Xiaochen came over immediately, his eyes lighting up: "Miaomiao is alive! Mom, Miaomiao is alive!"
But the light lasted only a few minutes. As the night wind blew, the green shoots withered and shrank, never to move again. Lin Xiaoman's heart sank—this wasn't a resurgence; it was the seedling's last breath. Even with all its strength, it still couldn't withstand the poison.
Late at night, Lin Xiaoman quietly circled around the gap in the barbed wire, hoping to get inside to check on the old pear tree. As she entered, she saw the patrol of black-clad men left by Manager Zhou. Flashlights in hand, their beams sweeping across the blackened crops like trophies. Hiding behind a broken branch, she watched the men in black as they headed toward the mountain stream, the root rot still dripping from the bucket. A growing chill gripped her heart—they were still poisoning the land, intent on completely destroying it.
When he got home, Uncle Li and a few other young people were huddled around an old radio, trying to tune in. All that came out was the crackling sound of electricity and the occasional muffled words, completely inaudible. "It's no use! They've jammed the signal towers," the technician said, slumped down on the floor, dropping his screwdriver. "We're like we're trapped in a cage. There's no answer from heaven or earth."
Lin Xiaoman walked to the window and looked out at the darkness. The city lights in the distance were blindingly bright; that was the Blackstone Group's territory. Qingxi Village, like a forgotten corner, slowly grew colder in the darkness. She fished out her grandfather's notebook and flipped to the last page. On it was his handwriting: "The old varieties are the soul of the soil. The soil remains, the soul remains; the soil is gone, the soul is gone." Tears fell on the paper, blurring the ink.
She knew the storm had already enveloped Qingxi Village. The old crops were dying, the land was becoming wasteful, Chen Wang was still in detention, and the villagers were dispersing. Hope was like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment. But she couldn't leave, couldn't give up—she was a member of the Lin family, Chen Wang's wife, and Xiaochen's mother. She had to stay here, waiting for the last glimmer of hope.
In the distance, the excavator was still parked at the village entrance, like a monster, waiting for daybreak to continue its destruction. Manager Zhou's words were still ringing in her ears: "Push them again tomorrow, and you'll definitely get the technology." Lin Xiaoman clenched the two rings on her fingers—Chen Wang's silver ring and her grandfather's pear wood ring. The cool metal and warm wood pressed against her palms, giving her some strength.
At dawn, the first rays of sunlight shone on the wire mesh, casting shadows on the black soil. Lin Xiaoman slowly stood up, walked to the door, and looked at the empty village entrance. She didn't know what she would face today, or where her hope lay, but she had to keep going, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance.
She didn't know where that one in ten thousand chance lay hidden in the black soil. The stench of decay in the base grew stronger, as if announcing that they were about to lose this battle.
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