59: Chapter 59 Dandelion Seeds
The red dots on the happiness map were increasing day by day.
Lin Feng squatted under the old locust tree every day, staring blankly at those red dots.
Margaret walked over carrying a plate of mushrooms and squatted down beside him.
"How many now?"
Lin Feng counted on his fingers. "Fifty-three."
Margaret was stunned for a moment. "Weren't there only twenty-seven last month?"
Lin Feng nodded. "It's growing fast this month."
Margaret looked at the people coming and going in the distance—some from other towns to learn, some bringing local specialties to show gratitude, and some simply moving here for good.
She said softly, "Lin Feng, don't you feel like Xinfeng Town is almost full?"
Lin Feng turned his head to look at her.
Margaret pointed to the main street. "Seven new shops have opened: three cafes, two mushroom restaurants, and one specifically selling 'Happiness Merchandise.' Yesterday, a tourist asked me if there were any guesthouses to stay in."
Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's build guesthouses."
Margaret smiled. "And the money?"
Lin Feng pointed to the road sign. "They'll provide it themselves."
---
Inside the church, those seven people were gathered together again.
But this time, it wasn't just them—George, Edna, Mike, Tom, and several representatives from other towns packed the church to capacity.
Alex stood before the altar, explaining with a projector:
"Currently, fifty-three towns have completed their basic transformation. Each town has its own specialty—some focus on mushrooms, some on music, some on psychological counseling, and some have even turned abandoned mines into underground cinemas."
Rachel added, "But problems have also arisen. Every town wants more guidance, but we're understaffed."
Tony, for once not reading a book, looked up and said:
"Then train more people."
Everyone looked at him.
Tony continued, "Let the towns that have already been transformed send people to teach the new towns. Just like... dandelions. Wherever the seeds drift, new sprouts grow."
Sam picked up his guitar and strummed a chord:
"A dandelion song—I could write one."
Jenny laughed. "You want to turn everything into a song."
Sam said seriously, "Happiness deserves to be sung."
Lin Feng squatted in the corner, listening to their noisy chatter with a slight curl at the corners of his mouth.
When they had argued enough, he stood up and brushed off his pants.
"Tony is right. Training. Starting tomorrow, every transformed town will select one person to come to Xinfeng Town to learn. Once they've finished, they'll go back to teach the people in their own towns."
George raised his hand. "Who's teaching?"
Lin Feng pointed at him. "You."
George was stunned.
Lin Feng then pointed at Edna, Mike, Alex, and Rachel—finally pointing at everyone:
"All of you will teach."
---
In the first week of the training program, thirty-seven people arrived.
They came from thirty-seven different towns, ranging in age from twenty to seventy, with all sorts of occupations—miners, teachers, nurses, farmers, and even one former lawyer.
Margaret looked at the group, feeling a bit flustered.
"Lin Feng, with so many people, where will they stay?"
Lin Feng pointed to those newly opened shops on the main street.
"They'll figure it out themselves."
Margaret was taken aback. "Themselves?"
Lin Feng nodded. "People who want to learn will find a way."
Sure enough, those who came to learn quickly organized themselves. Some shared rentals, some stayed with locals, and some simply slept on the floor in the church. The owner of the new cafe on the main street, a young man from Ohio, volunteered to provide free coffee every morning.
George was responsible for teaching mushroom cultivation, taking a group down into the mine every day.
Edna was in charge of teaching how to use the 'Ear' sculptures, giving demonstrations in the church every day.
Mike was responsible for teaching bartending—though most of the trainees were opening cafes rather than bars, they said the techniques used in bartending could also work for making coffee.
Sam was in charge of teaching singing, leading a group to practice their vocals under the old locust tree every evening.
Alex and Rachel were responsible for teaching website management and design, while Yuki taught how to use the happiness map.
Tony... was responsible for chatting.
Someone asked him, "Teacher Tony, what are you teaching?"
Tony thought for a moment and said, "Teaching how to think about problems."
The person didn't understand.
Tony didn't explain either, pulling the person down to sit, chatting for an entire afternoon.
---
A month later, the first batch of trainees graduated.
Thirty-seven people from thirty-seven towns, carrying thirty-seven different kinds of happiness, returned to their respective homes.
On the day they left, Margaret stood at the town entrance, hugging them one by one.
Lin Feng squatted under the old locust tree, watching them depart.
Margaret walked back and squatted beside him, her eyes rimmed with red.
"Lin Feng, do you know? When these people first arrived, there was no light in their faces."
Lin Feng nodded.
Margaret continued, "Now as they leave, their eyes are bright."
Lin Feng watched the receding figures and didn't speak.
Margaret asked, "Don't you want to say something?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment and said:
"They'll be back."
Margaret was stunned.
Lin Feng pointed at the figures. "Not to learn. To give thanks."
---
Three months later, the red dots on the happiness map had increased to ninety-nine.
One short of a hundred.
Alex ran excitedly to find Lin Feng.
"Boss! Ninety-nine! One more and we break a hundred!"
Lin Feng nodded.
Alex asked, "You're not excited?"
Lin Feng said, "I am."
Alex stared at him for three seconds—his face was expressionless, he was biting a straw, and his eyes were fixed on the distance.
Alex gave up. "Fine, your way of being excited is just special."
He turned to leave.
Lin Feng called out to him.
"Alex."
Alex looked back.
Lin Feng asked, "Where is the last one?"
Alex flipped through his laptop. "In Kentucky, a place called Black Creek. There are forty-three people left. They said they want to transform, but..."
Lin Feng asked, "But what?"
Alex hesitated for a moment. "But they have nothing there. The mines are too deep to be converted into farms. The church collapsed long ago, leaving only the foundation. The bar closed ten years ago."
Lin Feng was silent for three seconds.
Then he stood up and brushed off his pants.
"I'll go take a look."
---
Black Creek was deep in the mountains of Kentucky.
Lin Feng drove for six hours before he found the place.
The road sign at the town entrance was so rusted the words were illegible.
The houses on both sides of the main street were either collapsed or empty.
The only building still standing was a small Post Office. An old man sat by the door, soaking in the sun with his eyes half-closed.
Lin Feng walked over and squatted beside him.
The old man opened his eyes and looked at him.
"Who are you looking for?"
Lin Feng said, "I'm looking for the people of this town."
The old man smiled, revealing toothless gums.
"Everyone is right here. Count them yourself."
Lin Feng looked around—including the old man, there were five in total.
The old man said, "There are thirty-eight more in the mountains. They won't come out."
Lin Feng asked, "Why?"
The old man pointed to the abandoned mines in the distance:
"They feel that if they come out, they'll have nothing left."
---
Lin Feng stayed in the mountains for three days.
He sought out those who refused to come out, one by one.
Some lived in dilapidated shacks near the mines, some in caves, and some in abandoned trucks.
When they saw Lin Feng, their eyes were all the same—wary, exhausted, and filled with an indescribable flicker of hope.
Lin Feng didn't say a word.
He just squatted down, staying by their side, keeping them company.
On the first day, no one paid him any mind.
On the second day, someone handed him a bottle of water.
On the third day, an old woman walked out of a shack and sat beside him.
The old woman asked him:
"Are you the one... who makes people smile?"
Lin Feng nodded.
The old woman was silent for a long time.
Then she said:
"My man died in this mine. Forty years ago. I've never left."
Lin Feng listened.
The old woman continued, "I'm afraid if I leave, no one will remember him."
Lin Feng looked at her and said seriously:
"What was his name?"
The old woman was taken aback. "What?"
Lin Feng said, "Your man's name."
The old woman said, "Jack."
Lin Feng stood up, picked up a stone from the ground, and carved four letters onto the rock wall by the mine:
Jack
After finishing, he turned back to the old woman:
"Someone remembers now."
The old woman stared at those letters for a very long time.
Then she wept.
As she cried, she began to smile.
---
That night, thirty-eight people walked out of the mountains.
They stood beneath the rusted, illegible road sign, looking at Lin Feng.
The old woman stood at the front and said:
"We want to try."
Lin Feng nodded.
The old woman asked, "We have nothing here; can it be changed?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment and pointed to the abandoned mine:
"As long as there's a pit, it's fine."
The old woman was confused. "What can a pit do?"
Lin Feng said, "It can hold things."
He pointed to the surrounding mountains:
"It can also hold people."
---
A month later, Black Creek became 'Starry Sky Town'.
The mines were too deep for mushrooms, but Chris discovered it was an excellent spot for stargazing.
They laid moisture-proof mats at the bottom of the pit, installed telescopes, and set up heaters.
In the mountain nights, there was no light pollution; the sky full of stars looked like a handful of scattered diamonds.
The first batch of tourists were the people who came from Xinfeng Town to help.
They lay at the bottom of the pit, looking up at the starry sky, unable to say a word.
George lay there, watching for a long time, then suddenly said:
"I've dug coal my whole life, but I never knew a pit could hold stars."
The person beside him laughed.
---
The hundredth red dot on the happiness map lit up.
Lin Feng squatted under the old locust tree, looking at the newly appeared red dot, which was labeled:
Starry Sky Town, Population 83
Margaret walked over and handed him a plate of mushrooms.
"A hundred now."
Lin Feng took the plate and nodded.
Margaret asked, "Are there any rewards from the system?"
Lin Feng pulled out his phone and took a look.
System Message:
[Ding—Congratulations to the host for completing the second stage of the Volume 4 mission—]
[Mission Name: Make the 'Xinfeng Town Model' influence the globe]
[Completion Progress: 100 towns have completed replication]
[Current Stage Reward: Happiness Resonance (Basic Version) activated]
[New Ability: All transformed towns can now share happy emotions. When people in one town feel happy, people in other towns can feel a little bit of it too. The closer the distance, the stronger the feeling.]
Lin Feng stared at 'Happiness Resonance' for a long time.
Margaret asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Feng handed her the phone.
After reading it, Margaret fell silent.
Then she asked, "Is this for real?"
Lin Feng said, "It's from the system, so it should be real."
Margaret looked at the people coming and going in the distance and said softly:
"So from now on, when George is growing mushrooms, I can feel it in the restaurant?"
Lin Feng nodded.
Margaret asked again, "When Edna speaks to the ears, when Mike mixes drinks, when Sam sings—we can all feel it?"
Lin Feng nodded again.
Margaret's eyes turned red.
"Lin Feng, do you know what this means?"
Lin Feng shook his head.
Margaret said, "It means we're never alone again."
---
That night, Lin Feng conducted an experiment.
He had George, far away in West Virginia, smile at the camera for a minute on the farm.
Then he squatted under the old locust tree and closed his eyes.
He felt nothing.
He opened his eyes, a bit disappointed.
Margaret asked from beside him, "No reaction?"
Lin Feng shook his head.
Margaret thought for a moment and said, "Maybe the distance is too far. George is in West Virginia."
Lin Feng nodded.
He stood up and walked toward the church.
After two steps, he suddenly stopped.
He felt it.
A warmth slowly spread from his chest—very light, very faint, but definitely there.
It wasn't George—George was too far away.
It was the people in the church.
Sam was leading that group of old men in song, singing a newly written piece with a gentle tune, like a breeze blowing through a wheat field.
Lin Feng stood under the old locust tree, listening to the singing and feeling that warmth in his chest.
He suddenly realized—
Happiness Resonance doesn't need a system.
It has always been there.
He just hadn't noticed it before.
[Chapter 59 End]