While feeling emotional, Jiang Jinjiu thought of the trees outside the village that constituted Huiyang's important position. He pointed to the drawing and asked Li Dazui, "What about these trees outside the village?"
"Those are walnut trees, so they don't count as being planted by us."
According to Li Dazui's account, the province promoted scientific agriculture more than 20 years ago and sent several experts to the village to teach people.
One of the experts asked the villagers to plant more than 3,000 pecan trees in the area designated by him, more or less surrounding the village. It is said that the pollen from the pecan tree can indirectly increase the yield, and the fallen leaves, flower spikes and husks can be used as fertilizer.
Furthermore, walnuts are good for people. Even if you don’t eat them, you can sell them. In short, planting trees only has advantages and no disadvantages.
In the second year after the trees bloomed, the village's output and income increased by nearly 30%. The villagers all took good care of these pecan trees as if they were treasures.
However, a few years later, with the introduction of chemical fertilizers, the income increased by another 50%.
The effect is obvious and it is less troublesome than taking care of a tree. Gradually, people didn't care about the pecan trees, and some people moved them away or cut them down because they felt they were an obstruction.
Less than half of the remaining trees died because no one watered them during the drought, and now their number is only 50% of what it was back then.
The strange thing is that after so many years of planting walnut trees, most trees bear fruit normally, but some trees bear fruit only once every two or three years.
The last time the results were obtained was three years ago. The walnuts did not smell like walnuts, but rather fragrant and sweet like honey money. It has miraculous effects on coughs, and some people say it can nourish the kidneys.
Partly because of this, some trees have not been cut down or transplanted even though they occupy an obstructive area.
If what Li Dazui said is true, this is indeed strange.
Jiang Jinjiu's grandfather planted pecan trees at home, so he knew the tree's habits.
Pecans grow slowly in their infancy and accelerate after three years. It usually blooms and bears fruit in six to seven years, and enters the full fruiting period after twenty years.
It bears fruit once every three years, which not only violates the habit, but the fruit is also delicious and unusually unlike walnuts, which is really weird.
A few trees would be fine, but a hundred or so trees would become a plot only found in fairy tales.
Jiang Jinjiu decided to take a look at those trees. Li Dazui couldn't remember the location of those trees. He could only roughly indicate where they were. Sure enough, they were all near the suspected Huiyang heavy game point.
He borrowed a bicycle and first went to the north outside the village.
There are five walnut trees growing there very clearly, which is unusual from a distance.
The five trees are arranged like the five mahjong cakes on a raised hill in the center of the four square fields. There are seven walnut trees on each side of a square field behind the tree, which are obviously half shorter than these five trees. There were three trees about ten meters ahead, and they were even shorter.
These five trees are about 25 meters high, with straight trunks and a diameter of about 40 centimeters. At first glance, they are easily confused with white birch trees.
The tree body is clean and there are no insect-proof measures, but there is no sign of any insect infestation.
Jiang Jinjiu couldn't help but sigh again at the magic of Huiyang Bureau, which turned out to be a natural protective shield.
But...why don't these five trees bear fruit once every few years according to the regular pattern?
Although he thought of the peach tree in Journey to the West, it was something from a fairy tale after all, and he couldn't figure out the real reason even if he tried hard to think of it.
I want to say look at the other trees first before making any calculations.
After searching according to the map, we found twenty-three anomalies, each with four to twelve trees.
The arrangement within seven trees is with one tree as the center and the others surrounding it in a circle.
There are more than seven trees, with three trees arranged in an equilateral triangle as the center and other trees surrounding it in a square shape.
The height of the tree ranges from 20 meters to 35 meters, and the trees at each point are of the same height. The surrounding appearance is similar, with several unusually tall walnut trees standing in the center, and ordinary walnut trees planted at a certain distance around.
Some are concentrated on one side, some are surrounded by a fan shape, and some are surrounded by four directions, more or less but not messy, like guards.
And while walking around, Jiang Jinjiu discovered the pomegranate trees at the Huiyang Bureau point in the village, all with straight trunks.
I have a concept in my mind: "To form a formation, trees must be as straight as pillars."
I just don’t know if it’s because he was born like this or if it’s the effect of special points.
After walking around the village for a long time, Jiang Jinjiu satisfied his curiosity. My legs were also tired, and I planned to go back to rest and prepare for the "demon exorcism operation" in the evening.
On the village road, I saw Li Dazui and a few people sawing a tree. When asked why, it turned out that a naughty kid next door poured a bottle of pesticide on the tree and killed it.
Li Dazui and others sawed down the tree in a few moments, and Jiang Jinjiu helped carry the tree to the yard.
This was good, being left with a few people asking around, and all the tea, water, and cigarettes were served, so I couldn't escape even if I wanted to.
At this time, the adults were chatting about Master Xu and the Qin brothers and sisters, while two children, a boy and a girl, were running around in the yard.
When we were tired from running, we sat next to the broken tree and counted the rings together in a childish voice: "1, 2, 3, 4...21, 22, 23, 24. Brother, this tree is 24 years old."
The child's mother, who was washing vegetables at the side, said, "Did you count it wrong? I grew it on my own a few years ago. I am almost 18 years old."
As soon as the two children heard it, they counted it again, "1, 2, 3, 4...21, 22, 23, 24. It's 24 years old."
The two children said in unison, which immediately attracted Jiang Jinjiu's attention. They also came to the broken tree and started counting...it was really 24 circles.
"Ask my sister-in-law, when did you say this tree was planted?"
"Well, let me think about it? I remember it was 17 years ago, and I can't tell you clearly. The child's father - do you know?"
"What's so hard to remember? It must have been 18 years. You forgot that we were still under the tree..."
The child's father smiled ambiguously at the child's mother and raised his eyebrows twice. That is to say, we were in love under the tree, and we were close to each other.
The child's mother spat, "Fuck you, you ungrateful person! Do you want to wash the washboard..."
Even though there were outsiders and the children were there, the couple still flirted.
Others followed suit, but Jiang Jinjiu looked at the tree trunk solemnly, thinking in his mind, "The tree rings can't be wrong, but people are definitely remembering them correctly, so what's going on with the six extra rings?" ? Genetic disorder?...Or is there something wrong? What originally increased lifespan did not increase lifespan, but shortened lifespan and accelerated aging like the legendary layman Hongyi... It was like speeding up the flow of time, so he lived. An 18-year-old tree has aged 6 years prematurely to have these 24 growth rings?”
To confirm his idea, he needed more evidence.
Jiang Jinjiu remembered a tree stump in the east of the village. When he went over, he saw that it had 46 growth rings. After asking several villagers, the age of the tree was probably between 38 and 42 years old. I found another tree stump, but there was still a deviation.
"Maybe it's a coincidence." Jiang Jin said in his heart.
I came to Li Dazui to discuss, "Brother Li, can I trouble you with something?"
"Even so, I'm sure I'll help you."
"Do you think there are any dispensable trees in the village? It would be best to know when to plant them and saw them one by one?"
"Ahem! It's a trivial matter, but what is it used for? Is it... to catch that thing at night?"
"Yes, no. That is..."
Jiang Jinjiu didn't know what to say. His original intention was to see another fresh tree ring. If it was normal, it would be fine. If there were a few more growth rings, the situation would be as expected. Telling Li Dazui would undoubtedly cause harm to the trees in the whole village.
He couldn't be sure if it was because of the trees, and he didn't know if cutting them all would have harmful consequences.
But he couldn't make up a suitable reason to cut down the tree for a while, and he hesitated.
Fortunately, Li Dazui mistakenly thought it was related to catching monsters and needed to keep it a secret.
"I know, let's go chop down the tree in my front yard. I've long thought it was in the way."
Jiang Jinjiu smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Brother Li."
There is a 20-year-old willow tree planted beside the road in the front yard of Li Dazui's house. The tree is not very high and its branches almost touch the ground, so it is indeed a bit in the way.
After a while, the tree fell down, and I counted... 23 circles.
Oh my gosh!
Jiang Jinjiu suddenly thought that the villagers generally looked older, and the old face of Li Dazui in front of him was like a wake-up call. He thought to himself, "Could it be the magic of absorbing stars?! Could it be that the goblins lurking in this village are secretly stealing people's lifespans. The reason why the villagers are living well is all because of the Huiyang Bureau?!"
Jiang Jinjiu felt a chill in his heart, and for a moment he felt that the village was eerie, as if it was shrouded in an invisible net.
He immediately informed the Qin brothers and sisters of the situation. After hearing this, they also thought that something was fishy and hurried back.
After seeing the growth rings of the three trees, the Qin brothers and Master Xu all frowned.
"It shouldn't be like this? It's really against common sense." Master Xu took a compass and observed a circle around the tree stump. "Look, there is nothing abnormal at all. How can such a harmony be achieved?"
The four of them fell silent in unison, as if they were waiting for each other to express their thoughts. Everyone had their own thoughts and doubts, and the solemn atmosphere seemed to freeze the air.
Finally, Jiang Jinjiu couldn't help but ask, "So where do you think the problem is?"
Everyone's eyes fell on Master Xu. He shook his head and said with a shameful smile, "I can't say that I know it completely. I also have some doubts. Don't you think the annual rings are too round?" Then he explained to everyone another aspect of the tree rings. kind of statement.
Tree rings, everyone knows they represent the age of a tree. Science calls it a "living archive", a record.
It explains the climate, annual precipitation and temperature changes. Forest fires, early frosts, and chemicals drawn from the surrounding environment can also be recorded.
But from a metaphysical perspective, the role of trees is more complicated than scientists think.
First of all, in mythology, trees are one of the "ladders" linking heaven and earth.
According to legend, there is a sacred tree. Within the South China Sea, there are nine hills between the black water and the green water, surrounded by winding water.
The names of the nine hills are Taotang Qiu, Shude Qiu, Mengying Qiu, Kunwu Qiu, Black and White Qiu, Chiwang Qiu, Shenwei Qiu, Wufu Qiu and Shenmin Qiu.
There is a big tree growing on these nine hills. Its green leaves are like the leaves of Miscanthus. It has a purple trunk, black flowers, and yellow fruits like pockmarks, and is called Jianmu.
This tree grows straight up, about a hundred feet high. There are no branches on both sides. There are only some winding branches on the top of the tree, which look like an umbrella cover.
The roots of the tree below are also twisted and intertwined. Taihao Fuxi ascended to the world from this tree.
And this magical tree was created and performed by the Yellow Emperor, the central emperor of heaven.
Taoists absorbed the theory of trees as a link between heaven and earth and imagined them as a way to become immortals through cultivation.
The Legend of Hou Daohua's ascension from a pine tree is recorded in the "Tongjian of the True Immortal Body and Way of the Past". When he was ascending, "there were clouds and cranes circling on the pine, and the flutes and shengs were playing loudly. Daohua flew up and sat on the top of the pine...for a while, there were music and flags in the clouds." Faintly, flying away in the sky."
A descendant, Zheng Yunsou, wrote a poem about this: "I leave my clothes on the top of the pine tree and climb up to the jade sky, and the sacred relics will be transformed into the middle strip forever. I wonder if I have bowed to all the immortals? How can I be tired now after two nights?"
The ancients said that virtuous people can live on trees and live forever, while ordinary people can worship trees and live forever.
"Zhen Gao" records: "In the past, there was a man who was good at Taoism but did not know how to seek Taoism. He only knelt down day and night and prayed for immortality to a dead tree. He did this tirelessly for twenty-eight years. Once the dead tree suddenly bloomed, the flower bloomed. It also has juice. It is as sweet as honey. Someone taught me to eat it. So I took the flowers and the juice and ate them together. After eating, I became an immortal."
Trees can be used as a way to ascend to immortality, and the concept of trees as a link between heaven and earth has been inherited and extended in Taoism.
Since it serves as a "channel", there is air circulation.
There is a saying that "the universe intercourses and all things come into being".
It is said that Kun is the earth and Qian is the sky. Only when the Qi of the earth rises and the Qi of the sky descends can the universe and the earth be united. Coupling brings about harmony between the upper and lower qi, so all things come into being.
That is, trees are one of the media that guide the rise and fall of the air of heaven and earth.
The roots of the tree absorb the energy of the earth and spread from the branches and leaves to the sky. The leaves absorb the energy of the sky and sneak into the ground from the roots.
Heaven and earth are originally pure yang to yin, and yin and yang interact and mix continuously. So there are various weather conditions in the sky, and there are changes in the mountains and rivers on the earth.
As a medium for guiding yin and yang, trees can measure their effects. The effect of a single tree is almost zero.
The main reason is that the speed of absorption is not directly proportional to the area of emission, so that the tree has a storage function. What is absorbed is stored first and then slowly discharged.
The tree body is a good carrier of yin and yang qi. Some trees carry more yang qi and some more yin qi. The simple way to tell is to see if the tree bears fruit. Trees that bear fruit are mostly yang, and vice versa are yin.
Trees that only bloom but do not bear fruit belong to the neutral category. The yin and yang are determined by the yin and yang conditions in the environment.
Theoretically, a tree can balance its own yin and yang energy between inhalation and exhalation, but there are many factors that will change the proportion of balance.
Such as the number of trees, surrounding environment, geographical characteristics, etc. Especially due to geographical characteristics, there is a place where even the ground is full of yang energy. In this environment, the negative wood will turn into masculine. On the contrary, even the best carrier of yang like the peach tree can turn into negative.
It is assumed that the process of a tree sucking in yang and spitting out yin during the day is called "sucking", and the process of taking in yang and spitting out yin during the night is called "exhaling". "Breathe" expels the yin energy that was breathed in last night, and "exhale" to expel the yang energy that was breathed in that day. Only after completing such an inhalation and exhalation, the tree will know that a day has passed.
In between the two, that is, during the period when day and night alternate, inhalation has not ended and exhalation has begun. If the two states run at the same time, friction will occur. The two incompatible yin and yang qi collide around the tree veins, and the annual rings are produced. They are actually "scars" accumulated over time.
And the scars are all traceable. Through it, we can know the operation of Yin and Yang Qi and earth Qi in this place, and even whether there are evil things nearby.
And the power of trees doesn’t stop there. In the legend of Pangu’s creation of the sky, it was the hairs on Pangu’s body that turned into trees.
The main function of human hair is to wick away sweat and prevent bacteria from invading the pores.
Relatively speaking, trees do play a role in protecting the surface. But for the earth, it plays one of the main roles in regulating the earth's atmosphere.
For example, why is it so windy in places with few trees?
No windshield to slow down the wind?
Then the wind becomes even more violent after climbing over a bare mountain several hundred meters high. Is this wind like riding a roller coaster?
The main reason is that the flow potential of the earth's atmosphere is basically equal to the speed of the earth's rotation. The earth's atmosphere affects the weather. Such high-speed movement of the earth's atmosphere will inevitably cause strong winds.
The sea, rivers, lakes, and trees all have the function of "sucking", which can slow down the flow of earth air and make the earth air run smoothly under their regulation.
At the same time, these regulators also play the role of guide.
They create a traction between each inhalation and exhalation, which not only guides the flow of breath in an area, but also becomes an indicator of another area.
Take a windy area with few trees as an example. The wind direction is basically towards the nearest mountains and rivers and areas with the largest woods. This is the result of the earth's atmosphere being guided by them.
All in all, the function of trees is very powerful.
And once the tree rings appear abnormal, something extraordinary must have happened here.
