Chapter 24

Holding the two sleeping little ones, Wang Yong carefully observed the small world and realized that, without his notice, the small world had undergone another significant transformation. The entire area of the small world had expanded to over a thousand mu, stretching out as far as the eye could see. At the boundaries, the rolling gray mist still blocked the view, making it impossible to see what lay within the mist.

The stone mountain had grown to over a hundred meters in height, and it was no longer just bare rock. Various trees and countless weeds and wildflowers adorned the entire mountain, like a new green coat. Most of the trees were pines, with some locusts, elms, stinky toon, and phoenix trees. These were likely brought in when Wang Yong had randomly collected species from the mountain. At this moment, these trees had not yet grown large, with the tallest being just over a meter. They were scattered without any pattern across the entire mountain. The spiritual spring seemed to have grown larger, cascading down from about seventy meters up the mountain, forming a waterfall with a seventy-meter drop. Accompanied by a rumbling sound, the waterfall fell, splashing up white, crystal-clear water droplets. It then fell back into a pond about the size of a mu. The water in the pond remained clear to the bottom, with small fish and shrimp swimming around, and aquatic plants floating about. As the water from the spiritual spring continuously flowed in, a large amount of water overflowed from the pond, forming a small river about two meters wide and one meter deep. The river flowed continuously, eventually merging into a vast lake.

The lake covered about one-tenth of the entire small world. The vast lake had a boundless appearance, with the water surface rippling gently under the breeze, washing over the pebbles on the shore. Fish frequently leaped out of the water, one after another, as if performing the legendary "carp leaping over the dragon gate." Through the clear lake water, various fish and shrimp could be seen swimming around. Some swam in groups, some alone, and many in clusters of three or five. The willow root fish, which could only grow to three to five centimeters outside, were almost everywhere in the lake, reaching the length of a palm. Schools of carp, about the length of chopsticks, played and foraged happily in the lake; river shrimp about ten centimeters long were common; snails the size of a child's fist covered a patch of grass by the shore; and large fish over half a meter long occasionally flashed their massive silhouettes...

"Every March, the willow branches sway gently, the green waves roll in the sky, the peach blossoms bloom, and the red clouds cover the ground. For ten miles along the dike, the green smoke and colorful mist are fragrant and intoxicating." This was a verse by a Ming dynasty poet describing the West Lake's Su Causeway. Wang Yong decided that when he had the time, he would plant a row of weeping willows along the shore and a grove of peach trees beside them to create a scene reminiscent of the West Lake. When the willows sprouted new buds and the peach blossoms bloomed, with green grass on the ground, the scent of flowers in the air, and the soft, carpet-like grass underfoot, the gentle breeze would carry the willow branches, brushing against his hair and face. What a beautiful scene that would be! Yes, he should also plant some lotus flowers, so he could enjoy the beautiful lotus and have free lotus seeds and fresh lotus roots to eat.

Many rivers branched out from the lake, flowing in all directions, some intersecting and eventually forming various small lakes. These rivers and lakes were distributed like a chessboard in the small world, with the rivers as the lines and the lakes as the pieces. Together, they formed a natural landscape. One of the larger rivers extended from the southwest of the lake to the east, gradually widening to nearly ten meters at its widest point. It looked like a shimmering jade belt, winding its way to the distance, eventually merging into a vast body of water that extended to the edge of the small world. From a distance, it looked like a piece of glass embedded there, reflecting a silvery light that dazzled the eyes. With a thought, Wang Yong disappeared with the two puppies and reappeared on the shore of this body of water.

Under his feet was a stretch of white sand, fine and white, covering about a kilometer. One side was on the shore, and the other extended into the sea. The white sand and clear seawater blended together, like a pair of lovers in a passionate embrace. Sunlight, sand, waves, cacti, and an old ship captain. The childhood song suddenly echoed in his mind. Could this be the sea?

Frowning, he examined the clear water ahead. A breeze blew, bringing waves that crashed onto the shore. The breeze and the waves brought a salty, damp smell, which startled Wang Yong. Having grown up in a coastal city, he knew exactly what this meant. He squatted down, holding the two sleeping puppies in one hand and scooping up some water with the other. He tasted it and immediately spat it out. It was bitter, astringent, and salty. No doubt, this was seawater. He never expected to find seawater in the small world! Looking at the vast body of water that surrounded about a third of the small world, extending over thirty meters out to sea, Wang Yong was amazed. This was the sea, and as the small world continued to grow, this sea would expand. He couldn't imagine what it would be like in the future.

There were no fish or shrimp in the seawater, only some corals, seaweeds, and algae. Wang Yong was most familiar with laver and kelp, two common sea vegetables. The kelp grew in clusters on the rocks at the bottom of the sea, with the longest reaching three meters, broad and thick leaves, and a glossy sheen. This was a vegetable he particularly enjoyed, especially when served cold. As he watched, he couldn't resist pulling a few pieces of kelp from the water, tearing them off, and preparing to make a cold kelp salad. The deepest part of the seawater was about twenty meters, and through the clear water, he could easily see the coral reefs and kelp forests swaying with the waves, as well as other unknown types of algae.

Looking at the empty sea, Wang Yong resolved to introduce some fish and shrimp into the small world. In the future, when he wanted seafood, he could simply scoop it out of the small world. It would be convenient and healthier, as the water quality in the small world was far superior to the outside world, completely green and pollution-free. However, raising just a few fish for his own consumption seemed a bit wasteful for such a vast sea. He should raise some high-value seafood that required a high-quality environment, like pearls.

Suddenly, Wang Yong remembered his mother's work processing pearls when he was a child. His uncle had somehow obtained two bags of pearls and asked the villagers to polish the irregularly shaped pearls into round ones. For each pearl polished, they earned one cent. Almost every woman in the village had a grinding wheel at home to polish pearls. Polishing an irregularly shaped pearl into a nearly perfect sphere was a very labor-intensive task. It was easy to make mistakes, and if you accidentally removed too much, you had to start over, often resulting in the pearl being completely ruined. This was the first time Wang Yong had seen pearls, and as he grew older, he learned more about them. He knew that pearls could be freshwater or saltwater, natural or cultured, and their prices ranged from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands.

Hmm, maybe introducing some sea shells into the sea wouldn't be a bad idea. Although he didn't know how to plant pearls in pearl oysters, if he added more, some would surely grow pearls. Or he could buy pearl oysters that had already been planted with pearls. After all, he wasn't short of money at the moment. When the pearls were harvested, he could have some pearl necklaces made to give as gifts. He believed that with such high-quality seawater and the abundant spiritual energy in the small world, the pearls would be of exceptional quality. Wang Yong began to imagine Yuan Yuan wearing a necklace of top-quality pearls he had given her, drawing envious glances from those around her.

Wang Yong moved and suddenly appeared in the area he had turned into a vegetable garden. Half-meter-long cucumbers, large-headed radishes that sold for high prices in the spatial market, tomato plants with small lantern-like tomatoes, pepper plants with long, green or bright red peppers, tall, upright leeks, green, lush chives, emerald-green rape, and tender, light green lettuce... Various vegetables grew abundantly, while some were clearly withering. They were mixed together, and some seeds that had fallen to the ground had sprouted, grown, matured, died, and sprouted again, in a continuous cycle. This area of nearly ten mu was Wang Yong's seed base, where the seeds for the villagers' future vegetable needs would come from. Every day, Wang Yong spent over an hour collecting various vegetable seeds to provide for the villagers in the future. Many seeds had already sprouted and grown before he could collect them, and even more had been carried by the breeze to distant parts of the small world, occasionally resulting in patches of young or mature vegetables in other areas. Wang Yong let these vegetables grow and die on their own. In the future, when he introduced chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, pigs, sheep, and cows into the small world, these vegetables would become a delicious treat for them. Wang Yong picked some scallions, cilantro, and lettuce, and cut some chives, planning to give some to the aunt, grandpa, and uncle. Eating vegetables grown in the small world, which contained spiritual energy, would be very beneficial for their health, and as a younger generation, the health of their elders was their greatest concern.

After a tour of the small world, he finally came to the base of the mountain, where the first plant in the small world, a yellow peach tree, stood. This peach tree, as the first plant in the small world, held significant meaning for both Wang Yong and the small world. Every time he entered the small world, he would come here to check on it. The peaches on the tree had grown to the size of an adult's fist, with green skin that felt fuzzy and hard to the touch. The scent of peaches could only be faintly detected when he got close to the tree. It seemed he would have to wait a while longer to taste the fruit of this peach tree grown in the small world. The vegetables produced in the small world had already been confirmed to be far superior to the so-called premium vegetables outside in terms of appearance, taste, and nutritional content. He hoped the peaches from this tree would also be exceptional.

Placing the two sleeping puppies in their little nest, Wang Yong left the small world.

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**End of Chapter**