Chapter 11 Year after Year
While Li Yuan was assigning tasks to the villagers, the Anshan Animal Tree Planting Team was still working diligently.
Big Gray and Two Gray's claws were digging so hard that smoke was coming out. They had dug out very regular holes on a hillside.
The two pheasants were still as dull as ever, pecking at the seeds in their mouths...
The little rabbit collected some plump insects and dried fruits, and placed them on the top of Anshan Mountain according to Li Yuan's instructions.
The old trees and small grasses on the top of Anshan Mountain sway in the wind, as if to cheer and encourage.
The skinny wild dog was tired from patrolling the mountains, so he secretly ran to the cave to drink water and was almost taken away by the villagers who came to fetch water.
Fortunately, Li Yuan sensed it in time and prevented the extra meal from happening.
Only the little green snake that was sent out to find underground water has not been heard from so far.
The Anshan Animal Tree Planting Team has worked hard and has successfully planted hundreds of tree species.
Li Yuan took care of them personally. Looking at these earth pits, it was as if he saw the green forests of the future mountains.
Although less than half of them sprouted successfully, they have already added some bright colors to the barren mountains.
The villagers of strong age left the wasteland and desert to purchase supplies and saplings, and the round trip took half a year.
During this period, Li Yuan turned into the idle mountain god again.
He was bored, so he took advantage of this time to teach the children in the small village at the foot of Anshan.
A simple classroom was set up just in front of the mountain temple.
Teach Li Yuan some basic knowledge about the world before he traveled through time.
Although it is basic knowledge, it is also the experience verified by generations.
The old people in the village were so moved that they burst into tears and kowtowed to Li Yuan repeatedly.
They themselves are like a dying candle, unable to burn even a little, but they still feel pity for these children in their hearts!
The desert is lonely and survival is difficult. People here are like weeds, it doesn’t matter whether they live or die.
No one pays attention, no one knows.
The children cherish this opportunity and study very hard.
Having never been instilled with knowledge, they are like saplings craving for water and sunlight, absorbing them greedily.
The basic condition for survival is water, and the knowledge that Li Yuan taught is sunlight.
Under Li Yuan's teaching, the children understood a lot of things.
What is propriety, what is benevolence, what is loyalty, and what is righteousness.
Why can’t we eat or touch some things? And why can’t we learn some things?
Half a year passed leisurely.
The villagers' team that went out to trade returned safely, and Li Yuan also finished teaching the children.
The next few days will be very busy, and I am afraid I will not be able to find time to educate the children.
In the simple classroom where Li Yuan taught children for the last time.
The children's eyes were full of cherishment and they were reluctant to see such days end.
They were dirty and ragged, a group of children, without even a usable pen.
But they were full of enthusiasm, using charcoal as pens and the ground as books, painting and writing poetic fantasies on the earth.
They are weeds, flowers, seeds, and pure souls that thirst for everything.
When Li Yuan left, the children suddenly cried.
With tears on their faces, they knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times devoutly.
This time, he was not knocking on the door of a deity, but his mentor.
Li Yuan didn't know why, but his eyes turned red.
Perhaps it was a feeling from his 'past life', or maybe he was just such a sentimental person.
"Kids, class never ends."
"In the days ahead, as long as I have time, I will continue to teach you knowledge!" Li Yuan made a promise.
He is a mountain god and has an eternal life.
When his body was as hard as stone, he looked at the miserable scene at the foot of the mountain, year after year.
Watching the flames of life continue to burn out, watching ordinary people grow old, get sick and die.
Thousands of years have passed, and Li Yuan should have become numb long ago.
If it wasn't for saving Anshan and saving himself, Li Yuan shouldn't have had any contact with these 'ignorant and stupid' mortals.
But looking at the children's innocent smiles and clear eyes, Li Yuan could still feel a heart beating in his chest.
Rather than just fairy spirit.
His body is that of a god, but his heart is that of a human.
Putting aside these emotions, Li Yuan called upon the villagers who had returned and began to plant trees on Anshan.
It is worth mentioning that several villagers never returned after they left.
But no one has ever brought it up.
When Li Yuan asked worriedly, he looked at the red faces and guilty expressions of other villagers and suddenly understood something.
They had enough water to get out of the desert and reach the outside world, and they also had enough money to live a comfortable life.
In the end, some people chose to escape from here, treating it as hell and never wanting to come back.
Everyone has their own aspirations, and he doesn't force them.
Those who stay are those who truly want to change their lives.
I want to change this place where our ancestors have been tortured for generations.
The villagers sweated under the scorching sun as they buried the fragile saplings or tree seeds into the dug pits.
The sun is scorching and the temperature is high.
But the villagers were full of energy and sometimes even when Li Yuan asked them to take a break, they refused to rest.
Even the gray-haired old man in the village joined in and insisted on taking action.
He said that while he still has some strength at his age, he must plant a forest!
They have suffered for decades in this desolate desert, and now they see hope for changing everything!
How can I not cherish it!
Everyone was working enthusiastically, and smiles gradually appeared on their faces, smiles that were frank and proud.
Especially when they see the children being sensible enough to come and help, the adults' tired bodies seem to be filled with strength again in an instant.
Li Yuan planned the area for planting saplings, trying to arrange them as evenly as possible. He also often took time out to teach the children, and was busy every day.
In this area, everyone from mountain gods to mortals and even small animals with little intelligence are working hard.
More than a year later, some of the saplings produced small fruits.
The villagers excitedly knelt in the mountain temple and called out to Li Yuan with gratitude.
Li Yuan also appeared with a smile, and then accompanied them to taste the unripe fruits.
As a result, a lot of people were jealous.
The children were so sour that their facial features could not be seen clearly. There was even an old man who lost several teeth from the sourness when he took a bite of the fruit.
It's so sour that it makes my teeth fall out.
However, afforestation is not a one-day task, and human life is ultimately limited.
More than two years later, the white-haired old man passed away.
When he left, he was sitting next to a sapling, taking a nap, with a smile on his face, and left peacefully.
I wonder if that happy smile foresaw the green mountains in the future.
A few more years passed, and the children grew into strong teenagers.
The old man who used to be able to read is gone too.
He seemed to have foreseen his own end and had prepared a pit early on.
Year after year, day after day.
When one side of Anshan was already full of thriving saplings, all the old people in the small village had left.
The children are now calm and steady young men, and the middle-aged villagers who once protected them are quietly aging.
There are only a few members left in the animal tree-planting team.
The dog bred somewhere unknown and gave birth to a litter of puppies.
The dog that had been running around the mountain and was assigned to patrol the mountain finally chose to sleep forever under the old tree.
Li Yuan kept only one puppies from the litter and gave the rest to villagers to raise.
The three gray mice, the 'model of hard work', finally huddled together in a hole and died quietly.
The little rabbit that was collecting food also fell down, and before it died, it ate the grass next to the old tree.
Li Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he could only sigh that the rabbit's obsession was really strong.
However, the two pheasants miraculously survived, but their eyes were still dull and their movements became slow.
The ferocious green snake still hasn't come back, but Li Yuan feels that there will be a time to see it again.
Looking at the vibrant green on the mountain, Li Yuan didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
Most of the familiar people and animals have passed away, and those once vivid faces have finally sunk into the earth.
This touch of green is hard-earned.
It is witnessed by years and watered by life!