Chapter 109 Out of their mind, building a treehouse deep in the mountains
The elderly women chatting under the trees were attracted by the noise of the truck and gathered around.
"Hey, isn't this young Xu, the educated youth? Why did you come back in a truck?" Aunt Wang recognized him immediately.
"It's Aunt Wang."
Xu Zhili greeted them with a smile, "It's a truck from the county machinery factory. It was going to the commune to pick up some things, and it gave me and An'an a ride along the way. Otherwise, it would have been dark by the time we walked back from this far away."
"Oh! Hitch a ride? That's great!"
Aunt Li nodded, "Young Xu, I heard you went to help out at the machinery factory? You really make our brigade leader proud!"
"I did help out in a small way, and the factory leaders took care of me."
Xu Zhili said modestly, taking out a handful of melon seeds and fruit candies she had bought in the county town from her bag and distributing them to the children who had gathered around, "Here, have some sweets."
The children cheered as they accepted the gift, and the older women looked at Xu Zhili with admiration and envy as she appeared poised and generous yet mindful of her fellow villagers.
Nearby, Yao Xueru and Li Wei also witnessed this scene.
As Yao Xueru watched Xu Zhili being surrounded by villagers chatting and laughing, and the children affectionately calling her "Sister Xu," her heart felt a mix of emotions, both sour and bitter.
She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh, but she tried her best to keep her face calm.
But the jealousy and resentment in his eyes were impossible to hide, and he muttered under his breath, "He certainly knows how to behave..."
Li Wei stood beside her, looking in Xu Zhili's direction with a complicated expression.
Hearing Yao Xueru's whisper, he frowned and quietly advised, "Yao, educated youth, say less. She... is indeed capable. Let's just do our own thing."
There was a subtle, almost imperceptible hint of disappointment in his tone.
Actually, he had feelings for Xu Zhili.
However, Xu Zhili was exceptionally capable, too assertive, and possessed excessive martial arts skills, making him feel that he could not control such a woman.
Yao Xueru snorted and turned to leave.
Xu Zhili didn't notice the commotion in the corner. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with the enthusiastic villagers, she led Xu Zhian towards the educated youth settlement.
"Phew... It's so reassuring to be back here."
Back in her simple but familiar home, Xu Zhili breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as Xu Zhian entered the room, he couldn't wait to take out the comic book "Raid on the White Tiger Regiment" and sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) to read it with great interest.
"An'an, your sister is going to work. Is it okay for you to read at home by yourself?" Xu Zhili asked.
Xu Zhian didn't even look up, and vaguely replied, "Okay, go ahead, sister."
This child is completely absorbed in hero stories.
Xu Zhili chuckled, packed up her farm tools, and went out.
Today's task was to plow the fields. She was quick and efficient, and since she seemed to have more strength than before, her work was remarkably efficient.
While others were still working hard, she had already leveled her assigned plot of land perfectly, and Xie Chunlan, the scorekeeper from the inspection team, gave her a perfect score.
"It's still early..."
Xu Zhili glanced at the sky, her mind preoccupied with the back mountain.
She made an excuse to avoid people and quickly headed towards the back of the mountain.
Once they reached a secluded spot, Xu Zhili used her mind to communicate with the surrounding space: "Tree of Life, come out and get some fresh air."
A small sapling emitting a soft glow appeared in her palm.
Xu Zhili gently placed it on the ground, and the sapling's roots immediately burrowed into the soil, greedily absorbing the earth's essence.
"Master, I need energy to grow."
The divine tree's childlike voice echoed in her mind, "If you find a source of energy containing life as soon as possible, I can open up a space with black soil to grow food and medicinal herbs, so that you and your brother will have enough to eat and wear and will never have to worry about going hungry again."
Xu Zhili's eyes lit up: "Really? What kind of energy does it need? Like last time, absorbing flowers, plants, and trees?"
She remembered that the divine tree had mentioned absorbing life force.
"No, Master."
The voice of the Tree of Life carried a hint of holiness: "Forcibly absorbing the life force of healthy creatures goes against the way of nature and is not my wish."
"My growth requires a purer source of life energy, or... the remnants of life that are about to dissipate and return to the world."
"The remnants of life that are about to dissipate?"
Xu Zhili seemed to be deep in thought, her gaze sweeping across the mountains and forests. "For example... those withered plants? The fallen, rotten trees?"
"Yes, Master. Although the life essence they contain is weak and about to dissipate, it is gentle and pure in nature, which is just right for me to absorb and transform. It will not harm any living things. On the contrary, it will make their process of returning to dust and ashes more valuable."
The voice of the divine tree was filled with joy.
"That's a good idea."
Xu Zhili immediately agreed.
It could help upgrade the sacred tree without damaging the environment, and even had a bit of a "waste utilization" feel to it, which suited her just right.
She began to search carefully in the woods.
Soon, she discovered an old tree stump that had been struck by lightning and was already dead and blackened, next to which was a patch of scorched and withered bushes that had been burned by a wildfire.
"Try this?" Xu Zhili brought the divine tree sapling close to the dead tree stump.
The divine tree emitted a soft, emerald-green light, which rippled gently like water, enveloping the withered tree stump and the dead shrubs.
Visibly, the last traces of withered life remaining on the dead tree stumps and shrubs were drawn by the light and flowed into the divine tree.
The withered tree stump seemed to have become even more gray and soft, while the light from the sacred tree had brightened a bit.
"It works." Xu Zhili was overjoyed.
She followed the same method, searching for naturally withered and fallen plant remains at the edge of the forest, allowing the sacred tree to absorb their remaining, soon-to-dissipate life energy.
“Master, if we can find jade that contains the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it will be of great help to my growth! Jade condenses the essence of the earth and is an excellent energy carrier.”
After absorbing a withered vine, the divine tree conveyed a new longing.
"Jade?" Xu Zhili frowned slightly.
These days, jade is considered one of the "Four Olds" (old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits), and everyone was afraid of being discovered if they hid it away. In this rural area, it was an even rarer commodity.
This is a bit tricky... but I'll keep an eye on it.
She wrote down this information.
The divine tree absorbed a lot of withered energy, and its light became brighter and more stable, but it was still a long way from being upgraded.
Xu Zhili wasn't in a hurry. She let the divine tree continue to take root in place as an ordinary sapling and slowly absorb the nutrients. She planned to go into the mountains to see if she could get some prey, as the idea of stockpiling was ingrained in her bones.
She carefully walked deeper into the mountains and forests.
Just as she reached the edge of the deep mountains, a place rarely visited by people, her sharp eyes suddenly stopped.
Not far ahead, on the trunk of a huge ancient tree that requires several people to encircle, about three or four meters above the ground, there was a... treehouse?
The treehouse looked quite old; the wood was blackened, and the structure was simple, as if it had been built by binding together thick branches and vines, and was covered with a thick layer of moss and dead leaves.
It is quietly hidden among the dense canopy of leaves and branches, and would be difficult to find if Xu Zhili did not have a keen eye and the tree was in a special location.
"How...how come there's a treehouse here?"
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