Liu Guihua was also dumbfounded. In all her years, she had never seen vegetables grow so large, so lush, and, above all, sprout overnight.
"Old man, take a look, is there something wrong with this soil?" Liu Guihua tugged at Old Man Zhou's sleeve, a hint of fear in her voice.
Old Man Zhou squatted down, scooped up a handful of earth, and brought it to his nose.
The soil was moist, carrying an indescribable fresh, sweet scent that smelled far more pleasant than the dirt in their fields usually did.
His expression shifted through a succession of emotions. Finally, looking at everyone with growing excitement, his voice trembled as he said, "This ground… there's nothing wrong with this ground. Nothing wrong with the vegetables, either. This is a blessing—a tremendous blessing!"
Standing behind the others and watching her family's stunned expressions, Zhou Xing'er knew it was time to put on a performance.
She had to guide their thoughts toward "divine will" or "feng shui." Under no circumstances could she let anyone suspect her; the matter of the Spirit Spring Space could never be revealed.
Taking a deliberate, deep breath, Zhou Xing'er painted an expression of absolute shock, reverence, and delight across her face. She hurried forward, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with an incredulous light.
"Goodness! Dad, Mom, this… this is simply a miracle!" Zhou Xing'er gasped, her voice bubbling with pleasant surprise. "Look at them! These vegetables are growing so well, ten times better than the ones sold in town!"
Zhou Dazhu turned to look at her, a puzzled expression on his face. "Little Sis, weren't you in the vegetable patch yesterday? Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"
Zhou Xing'er's heart tightened, but her expression didn't slip in the slightest. She shook her head with an innocent look and said, "Big Brother, I just thought the soil seemed a bit dry yesterday, so I carried over a bucket of water and gave it a sprinkle. The crops were still all wilted back then! I swear, they definitely didn't look like this when I left! Could it be… could our family's land really have received a great fortune?"
"A great fortune?" Zhou Dazhu looked at her.
Zhou Xing'er nodded vigorously, looking entirely serious, and lowered her voice as she spoke to them: "Dad, Mom, I heard the elders in town say before that our land might have been home to someone truly blessed in the past. Some plots of land have exceptional feng shui. They look ordinary on regular days, but once the time comes and heaven bestows its blessing, a miracle will occur!
"Think about it. The water our family drank these past two days was so sweet. After drinking it, Dad's back stopped aching, Mom felt full of energy, and none of us felt tired working in the afternoon. Now, even the vegetables in the backyard have grown so huge overnight. Isn't this Heaven helping our family? This is a sign that our family is about to strike it rich!"
Zhou Xing'er's explanation was utterly convincing, smoothly covering up the business with the water from the day before.
In this remote countryside of the nineties, the villagers were superstitious to begin with. Hearing Zhou Xing'er's explanation, the fear lingering in everyone's hearts largely dissipated, replaced by boundless ecstasy.
"Yes! Xing'er is right!" Old Man Zhou slapped his thigh in excitement and stood up, his eyes gleaming. "Heaven must have seen our Zhou family live an honest, bitter life, couldn't bear to watch us suffer in poverty any longer, and manifested a miracle to help us! It's a miracle!"
Liu Guihua hurriedly pressed her palms together, bowing toward the heavens as she mumbled prayers, "Thank you, Heaven, for your protection. Thank you, Bodhisattva, for showing yourself. Our Zhou family will surely perform many good deeds and never take Heaven's grace for granted."
Zhou Erzhu and Zhou Dazhu rubbed their hands together in sheer excitement.
"Dad, then these vegetables of ours… can we take them to the county seat to sell?" Zhou Erzhu asked, barely able to contain himself.
"Sell them! Of course we'll sell them!" Old Man Zhou declared loudly, brimming with an unprecedented drive. "Dazhu, Erzhu, hurry back to the house to get the baskets and shoulder poles! Today, we'll harvest all these ripe tomatoes and cabbages, and we'll set up a stall in the county seat right now! If we can't sell vegetables this good, Heaven would strike us down!"
"You got it, Dad!"
Zhou Dazhu and Zhou Erzhu shouted eagerly, whirling around and dashing toward the house to fetch the tools.
Zhang Fangfang was thrilled as well, chasing after them with a call, "Big Brother, Second Brother, wait for me! I'll help you pick them!"
The entire family busied themselves in the vegetable patch for over an hour. Every one of them felt a bit lightheaded, as if treading on cotton, finding it all too wonderfully surreal.
Once all the ripe, giant tomatoes and cabbages were packed into the large wicker baskets, Zhou Dazhu and Zhou Erzhu shouldered their heavy burdens. Flanked and protected by Old Man Zhou and Zhang Fangfang, the family finally made their way back to the front courtyard, filled with jubilation yet still in a state of dazed disbelief.
Because the eldest sister-in-law, Li Xiulan, had stayed behind to look after six-month-old Xiao Tiedan, she was the only one who hadn't gone to the backyard patch to witness the miracle.
At that moment, Li Xiulan was seated in the main room, holding Xiao Tiedan.
Seeing everyone return, she quickly came out to greet them, asking curiously, "Mom, what was Dazhu shouting about back there earlier? Did something big happen?"
Before Liu Guihua could reply, the baby in her arms suddenly opened his throat and let out a loud wail.
The little guy cried with immense grievance, tears streaming down like a broken string of pearls. His tiny body squirmed constantly in Li Xiulan's embrace, his chubby little legs kicking vigorously.
"Oh dear, this child, why are you crying again?" Flustered, Li Xiulan gently patted Xiao Tiedan, cooing softly to soothe him. "There, there, precious baby, don't cry, don't cry. Mommy's here. Are you hungry? Or does something hurt?"
Yet Xiao Tiedan only cried harder, his tiny face flushed bright red.
Having just set down a basket of tomatoes, Zhou Xing'er couldn't help walking over upon hearing the cries, wanting to check on her adorable little nephew.
The very instant she drew near to Li Xiulan, a childish, milky voice—startlingly loud and crystal clear—rang out in her mind without the slightest warning.
[Waaah, waaah, waaah! My bottom is so wet and hot and uncomfortable! Mommy, hurry and change my diaper! Stop trying to save diapers! If you don't change it, my bottom is gonna get all red and raw! It hurts!]
The voice was soft and tender, laced with a tearful whine, unmistakably the tone of a toddler.
Before Zhou Xing'er could even realize that she had overheard Xiao Tiedan's inner thoughts, she almost instinctively blurted out to Li Xiulan: "Sister-in-law, Xiao Tiedan needs his diaper changed. He said he wet himself and his bottom is very uncomfortable. He told you not to scrimp on diapers and to change him into a clean one right away, or his bottom is going to turn red."
As soon as Zhou Xing'er's words left her mouth—
Zhou Dazhu froze beneath his shoulder pole.
Zhou Erzhu, just about to fetch water, went stiff.
Zhang Fangfang and Liu Guihua also snapped their heads around in unison, staring at Zhou Xing'er as if she had lost her mind.
Holding the baby, Li Xiulan looked at Zhou Xing'er with a mixture of amusement and utter bewilderment. "Little Sis… what kind of nonsense are you talking about? Tiedan is only six months old; he can't even talk. How could he tell you he wet himself? And how could he tell me to stop saving diapers?"