"Still not coming out?"
From a branch of the peach tree, a green leaf drifted down.
With a flash of golden light, a tall figure emerged, entirely enveloped in radiance.
He picked at his ear, found a comfortable position on a peach tree branch, and lay down.
"Why are there no peaches on you anymore?"
"They're all gone. How did you end up here?"
The golden figure rummaged through himself, pulled out a large peach, and took a bite.
His mouth filled with juice.
"Came to the West Hall to get something custom-made, and thought I'd drop by to see you, old fellow."
It felt like a long time had passed since this peach tree was planted.
The sapling had become an old peach tree.
Crunch, crunch,
After finishing a peach, the pit was casually tossed beside the peach tree's roots.
"You mentioned earlier that the little girl was waiting for someone, what's that about?"
The peach tree chuckled, "Do you want to hear a story?"
It was old, but not senile.
The golden figure pulled out another peach, "Tell me then."
"This story isn't long, nor is it short..."
"Then make a long story short."
"..."
On the vast lake, birds skimmed the surface.
The old peach tree's voice slowly began:
"It's just a story of one wanting to wait, and another wanting to hide..."
In fact, there was no lake here before.
The old peach tree wasn't this large either; its roots were planted in a village.
Next to the peach tree was a household.
In that family, there was a little girl, who, like a boy, always liked to climb trees.
And she was strong...
"Brother, brother, hurry up and climb!"
"Little sister, be careful, don't fall."
On the peach tree, a tomboyish girl stood on the uppermost branch.
Below, a boy of seven or eight looked up with a hint of worry.
If her clothes got torn, Father wouldn't be able to sew them...
"Brother, the scenery from up here is amazing!"
A Rui placed a hand over her brow, looking into the distance.
The peach tree was the tallest in the entire village.
From this vantage point, the whole village seemed like a painting.
Suddenly, her gaze paused, "Brother, brother, it looks like a lot of people have arrived at the village entrance, and they're carrying a sedan chair."
"It must be the owner of the house from the north of the village," Ah Qing guessed.
Since early spring this year, construction had begun in the north of the village, building houses that, to them, seemed very fine.
They were large and spacious, with big courtyards.
It was said that many flowers would be planted inside, and the owner would keep cats.
They had asked the villagers not to disturb them.
"Brother, let's go take a look!"
Ah Rui, like a monkey, scrambled down the tree in a few swift movements.
And ran towards the village entrance.
News of the arrival of the north village's homeowner quickly spread throughout the village.
Many children ran to watch. An old woman came out from the large house and distributed a lot of candy.
She asked them to take good care of their young master and not to make noise around here.
As the candy was being distributed, the young master peeked out half his head from the doorway.
He glanced around, seemingly startled by the liveliness of the village children, and retreated to the backyard.
As soon as he reached the backyard, he heard some movement by the courtyard wall.
At the same time, Ah Rui was on the other side of the wall, pushing and grunting, "Brother, a little to the left, a little to the left."
"Little sister, this isn't right... Peeking over walls is not the act of a gentleman," Ah Qing stood at the base of the wall.
Ah Rui's feet were on his shoulders.
"Oh, I'm just looking, and besides, I'm not a gentleman..."
Ah Rui flipped over, half her body hanging over the courtyard wall.
As she looked down, she met a pair of eyes.
"Ah!"
She yelped in surprise, and the young master inside the courtyard flinched back.
"You, you, who are you?"
Ah Rui blinked her eyes, "My name is Ah Rui, and yours? Are you the child of this family?"
The young master tilted his head up, "My surname is Bao, my given name is Yan."
"Bao Yan? A packet of salt?"
"Not that kind of salt."
Bao Yan looked around, found a twig, and wrote the character 'Yan' on the ground.
"It's this one."
Ah Rui scratched her head, "...Oh, oh, I get it."
She didn't recognize it.
As they were talking, the back door of the house suddenly opened, and someone entered the backyard.
Ah Rui was startled and accidentally fell off the wall.
"Ah—!"
This was Ah Qing's cry from below the wall.
Before he could finish, his little sister covered his mouth.
"Shh—"
Inside the courtyard wall, an old woman's voice could be heard, "Young master, who are you talking to?"
"No one, wet nurse, I just saw a bug and cried out."
From the house in the north of the village, a very fragrant aroma often wafted out.
It was rumored throughout the village that the family had many delicious foods.
Some also said it was the smell of medicine.
The young master of that house was ill, which was why he didn't come out.
The medicine they ate was incredibly expensive, enough to cover their expenses for a year.
"Little sister, don't disturb them..."
Ah Qing's words trailed off as he turned to find his little sister gone from the house.
"E=(´o｀*))) Alas~"
Another day dawned, clear and bright.
Ah Rui had used stones and wooden stakes to build a ladder outside the wall.
She carefully peeked over the wall.
Inside, the young master Bao was reading a book by a stone table.
Hearing the movement at the wall, Bao Yan pursed his lips, suppressing a smile.
"You've come."
Ah Rui pouted, "Why don't you ever come out to play? It's so much fun outside.
There's also a big peach tree next to my house, from which you can see the entire village."
"The peaches it bears are also very big and sweet!"
Bao Yan couldn't help but show a look of envy, "I wish I could see it too."
"Then come! I'll teach you how to climb trees!"
"But my wet nurse says I'm too weak and shouldn't go out."
Ah Rui tilted her head in thought, "Then you take good care of yourself, and when the peaches ripen, I'll bring them to you."
"Okay. Thank you, Ah Rui."
Crunch, crunch,
Another peach pit was tossed to the foot of the old peach tree.
The golden figure on the tree asked, "Are you really paying attention to just two children secretly falling in love?"
The old peach tree's branches swayed, as if wanting to strike, "You threw that little girl to me, have you forgotten?!"
"I handed her over to the nearby family to raise."
The golden figure paused in his action of pulling out a peach, "Is that so?"
The old peach tree: "..."
"Why would I throw a baby to you?"
The golden figure asked curiously, wiping the peach.
Crunch,
Yes, the peaches from Flower-Fruit Mountain were still the most fragrant and juicy.