129: Chapter 129 The Fruit's Journey

Old Zhou put the blue fruit into his pocket, intending to save it for tomorrow. But halfway through his ride, he couldn't help himself.

The chain jingled, the wind blew past his Ear, and the fruit in his pocket seemed to be tapping gently against his thigh, over and over.

He stopped beside the tree carved with "Li Xiaojun was here," propped up his bicycle, sat on the roots, and took the fruit out of his pocket.

The fruit was still blue and bright, like a gemstone. He held it up to his eyes and looked at it against the sunlight; the flesh inside was transparent, and he could vaguely see a few thin threads. He put it in his mouth and took a bite.

It was sweet. Not the sweetness of sugar, but a fresh, clear sweetness, like the taste of something just picked.

As he chewed, he remembered the day he first rode down this road. Back then, it was still a dirt road, full of potholes, with no trees on either side, only bare hillsides.

He rode for an entire day without meeting a single person. When it got dark, he stopped under this tree and sat against the trunk for the whole night.

At that time, the tree was still very small, not much taller than him. The next morning, he carved three characters into the trunk—"Li Xiaojun." It wasn't his name; it was just something he thought of randomly.

He remembered when he was young, always feeling like he was a very important person, wanting to leave his name wherever he went. Later, he realized he was just a deliveryman.

No one knew his name, but everyone knew that on Tuesdays and Fridays, he would come. He swallowed, opened his eyes, and smiled. He stood up, got on his bike, and continued forward.

By the time he rode to Millfield, the sun had already risen high. Eric was standing at the entrance of the town waiting for him, holding a white mushroom in his hands.

Old Zhou handed him the letter and took the bitten blue fruit out of his pocket—more than half of it remained. He handed the fruit over. "Have a taste."

Eric took it, looked at it, and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he remembered the day he first received a reply.

After sending out his first letter, he waited for three days, thinking no one would reply. On the fourth day, Old Zhou came, rummaged through his bag, and handed him a letter. On the envelope, it read "To Eric," in crooked handwriting.

He opened it. Inside was only one sheet of paper with a few lines written on it: "Hello, Mark. My name is Eric. You've seen me. The day you left, you sent me a message. You said someone saw my letter. I looked at it for a long time. I decided to write one too. Sending it to you. Thank you for seeing me."

He swallowed, opened his eyes, and smiled. He handed the remaining fruit to Old Zhou. "You have some too." Old Zhou shook his head. "I've already had some." Eric stuffed the fruit into his pocket, saving it for tomorrow.

Old Zhou's second stop was Greenfield. Martha was sitting at her doorway playing the guitar; the newly changed strings sounded very bright.

Old Zhou handed her the letter and took the bitten blue fruit out of his pocket again—it was already very small, with only a little piece left. He handed that piece of fruit over. "Have a taste."

Martha took it and put it in her mouth. As she chewed, she remembered the day she first gave a broken string to Old Zhou.

She took that broken string off the guitar, rolled it into a circle, and handed it to Old Zhou. "Give this to Sam. He said last time that his strings were getting old and needed to be changed." Old Zhou took it and put it into his canvas bag.

Later, Sam changed his strings and played a new song; she heard it, and it sounded very nice. She swallowed, opened his eyes, and smiled. She handed the remaining fruit to Old Zhou. "You have some too." Old Zhou shook his head. "I've already had some." Martha put that small piece of fruit into her mouth, swallowed, and smiled again.

Old Zhou's third stop was Xinfeng Town. He didn't go to the church first; instead, he went to the Coffee Shop.

Molly was brewing coffee behind the counter, and the cat was crouching on the steps at the entrance, the milk in its saucer already finished.

Old Zhou handed the letter to Molly and took the blue fruit out of his pocket again—it was gone, only a seed remained. He placed the seed in his palm and handed it to Molly. "The fruit is all gone, this is all that's left. Try planting it."

Molly took it; the seed was very small, black, and round, exactly the same as the one the cat had planted. She walked to the entrance, crouched in the flower bed next to the steps, used her finger to dig a small hole, put the seed inside, covered it with soil, and watered it a little.

She stood up and looked at the freshly turned soil. "It will grow," she said. The cat walked over, crouched next to the flower bed, and stared at the soil, its tail tip swaying gently. It seemed to know what this was.

After the news spread, more people came to the entrance of the Coffee Shop to see the seed. They weren't there to see flowers, but to see if it would sprout. Some said it would grow, some said it wouldn't, and some said they had to wait.

Lin Xiaohe came to see it every day after school, crouching by the flower bed and staring at the soil. On the first day, the soil showed no movement. On the second day, still no movement. On the third day, the soil cracked open a sliver.

She leaned in close and saw a bit of green in the crack, very small, as thin as a needle tip. She reached out her hand, not touching it, just looking. The cat also came over, sniffed the crack with its nose, and then stuck out its tongue to lick it.

After licking it, it narrowed its eyes, and a purring sound came from its throat. Lin Xiaohe also sniffed it; there was a faint fragrance, the same scent as the tree by the lake. She smiled. "It's alive."

On the fourth day, the sprout grew out. Two leaves, small and thin, exactly the same as the one by the lake. The leaves were heart-shaped, bright green, and glistening in the sunlight.

Lin Xiaohe crouched beside it and reached out to touch the leaf gently. The leaf swayed, as if greeting her. The cat also reached out a paw and gently swiped at the leaf; the leaf swayed, and the cat's Ear twitched. It swiped again, and the leaf swayed again. It seemed to really like this game.

On the fifth day, the sprout had grown into a small tree. The trunk was thin but very straight, thinner than Lin Xiaohe's arm. The canopy wasn't large, with only a few branches, but every branch was full of leaves.

The leaves were heart-shaped, bright green, swaying gently in the wind. Molly brought out a cup of water from the shop and poured it on the tree roots. The water soaked into the soil, and the small tree, having drunk its fill, stood even straighter.

The cat crouched beside the tree roots, using its paw to swipe at a fallen leaf on the ground; the leaf flipped over, revealing the fuzz on its back. The cat swiped again, and the leaf drifted up and landed on its head. It shook its head, the leaf fell off, and it swiped again, as if playing with the leaf.

On the sixth day, the tree blossomed. Not one flower, but many—red, yellow, purple, white—exactly the same as the one by the lake. The petals were very small but numerous, crowded together like colorful balls.

Passersby all stopped to look; some said it was pretty, some said they had never seen it before, and some asked what kind of tree it was. Molly didn't know either; she only knew it was a seed brought by Old Zhou, and Old Zhou had picked it from the tree inside the door, and the tree inside the door had been planted by the cat.

She stood under the tree, looking up at the flowers. The wind blew, and petals drifted down, landing on her head, on the cat's back, and on the steps. She picked up a red one and placed it in her palm.

The petals were very thin, cool, and had a faint fragrance. She pressed the petal against her nose and smelled it—it was sweet, just as sweet as the fruit from the tree by the lake.

The cat stood up, caught a falling petal with its paw, put it in its mouth, chewed, and swallowed. It licked its lips, caught another one, chewed, and swallowed again. It seemed to really like eating the petals.

On the seventh day, the flowers withered and fruit formed. The fruit was small and round, the size of a glass marble, but in different colors—red, yellow, purple, white—exactly the same as the one by the lake.

Lin Xiaohe picked a red one and placed it in her palm. The fruit was smooth and hard, like a gemstone. She didn't eat it; she put it in her pocket, saving it for her mother.

The cat stood up, used its paw to pick a yellow fruit, put it in its mouth, chewed, and swallowed. It picked a red one and ate it, too. It ate three, then crouched under the tree, its tail tip swaying gently, as if savoring the aftertaste.

When the news reached the farm, George was cutting rainbow mushrooms. Sarah ran in and said that the tree in front of the Coffee Shop had borne fruit, and it was exactly the same as the one inside the door.

George put down his knife, walked to the entrance of the Coffee Shop, stood under the tree, picked a purple fruit, and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he remembered the day he first shared rainbow mushrooms with everyone.

He cut a small slice and handed it to Eric; Eric ate it and remembered the time he wrote his first letter. He handed it to Martha; Martha ate it and remembered the first time she played the guitar. He handed it to Sam; Sam ate it and remembered the first time he sang.

He handed it to Lin Xiaohe; Lin Xiaohe ate it and remembered the first time she wrote the character "Listen" on the wall. He handed it to the cat; the cat ate it, licked its lips, and rubbed against his hand. He swallowed and smiled. He picked a yellow one and put it in his pocket, saving it for Sarah.

That evening, Lin Feng was crouching under the old locust tree. Margaret brought over a plate of mushrooms and crouched beside him. "Lin Feng, a tree has also grown in front of the Coffee Shop, exactly the same as the one inside the door. The fruit is sweet, too; eating it makes you remember happy things."

Lin Feng took the mushroom and ate a bite. "Have you eaten any?" Margaret nodded. "I have. I remembered the first time I saw you."

Lin Feng looked at her. "What did you remember?" Margaret smiled. "I remembered you crouching at the restaurant entrance, chewing on a straw. I thought you were there to freeload a meal." She paused. "Only later did I realize you were there to make people laugh."

Lin Feng chewed the mushroom, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. "That tree will keep growing." Margaret looked at him. "How do you know?"

Lin Feng swallowed. "Because the fruit will be taken away, and the seeds will be planted. Once planted, it will grow. Once it grows, it will bear fruit again. The fruit will be taken away again, and the seeds will be planted again. It will keep growing, keep spreading."

Margaret looked at him and smiled. "When did you learn to say things like that?" Lin Feng said, "When I was chewing on the straw."

The next morning, Old Zhou came to deliver mail. He parked his bike in front of the Coffee Shop and saw the small tree, its branches laden with colorful fruit.

He stood under the tree, picked a red one, and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he remembered the day he first put that blue fruit into his mouth.

He rode to the tree carved with "Li Xiaojun was here," sat on the roots, and took a bite. It was sweet. He remembered the day he first rode this bicycle.

The bike was new, the chain was bright, the tires were black, and the bell rang as soon as he pressed it. He rode it, starting from the Post Office, riding through Millfield, through Greenfield, and to those places whose names he didn't know.

Back then, the road was still a dirt road, full of potholes, and riding it made his backside ache. But he felt it was fast—much faster than walking. He swallowed and smiled.

He picked another blue one and put it in his pocket, saving it for Eric. He got on his bike, the chain jingling. He rode very slowly, but very steadily. He thought of that tree, those fruits, and those smiles.

They grew from inside the door, from the base of the wall, from the entrance of the Coffee Shop. They would grow to even more places. He smiled, and continued riding forward.

[ Chapter 129 End ]