Chapter 158 Lost Paradise (2/2)
There was a legend that originated from this village. There had been claims from the villagers that the crickets of Tizishan Mountain were known to have a distinct golden ring around their eyes, and every night, the villagers could see lights flickering from the crest of the knoll. But no one had been able to find out the source of the light. Instead, a song began to mysteriously spread among the villagers, ”The day grows grey and the mountains old; In darkness lay the silver and gold; Deep behind Mount Tizishan, a trove is stashed beneath the trees; There lies the gold in forest deep; Ere it wakes again from sleep.”
And one day, a man from the South came to the village. No one knew from whence he came, for everyone in the village grew up in the North with no knowledge about the South. The Southerner came to the village and was astonished to see a bottle gourd hanging from the vines on a farmer's rack. He went to the farmer and begged to buy the bottle gourd growing in this farm.
Some people might not realize that bottle gourds share the same species as calabash gourd, and were hardly the most lucrative farming product.
The farmer was confused. He had planted the gourds out of his own hobby rather than profit. But clearly, the Southerner saw great value in the gourd. ”Sell me this gourd! I'll pay any amount you offer me!” he declared proudly. ”Who do you think you are? The Deity of Wealth with sackloads of gold to spare? A gourd like this would cost at most two copper coins! What else do you think, tens of thousands of gold?” But the Southerner said, ”I want your gourd, but not now. Let it be after autumn. I'll come again when the gourd is fully ripe to collect it!” He paid the farmer a piece of silver, and asked him to take good care of the gourd. He would be back as he promised the farmer.
At first, the farmer paid no heed to the words of the Southerner, dismissing them only as mere ramblings of a madman. He was rather pleased to have received a piece of silver for nothing. But after some thought, he began to suspect that in no way that the Southerner was insane! A piece of silver was a lot of money in those days and no madman would have that kind of wealth to squander for a worthless gourd! He spoke to his wife about the Southerner and the gourd and they both concluded that there must be something about their bottle gourd that had caught the eye of the Southerner.
Out of greed, the husband and wife picked the gourd and stowed it away, right before the end of the autumn season.
And indeed, the Southerner did return to the farmer just before winter loomed around. To his dismay, the bottle gourd was no more! ”What happened!? Why is my gourd missing?!” he cried. The farmer, feigning innocence and distress, complained, ”It's all your fault! The last time you came, you gave me a piece of silver as a stake to buy my gourd. Word of this must have traveled, for it was stolen just not long ago!”
The Southerner grimaced with exasperation, slapping at his thigh hard while looking terribly upset. ”But it'll be useless! The gourd needs to fully mature to be of any use! I guess I'm not fated for this, I guess...”
The Southerner's reaction was enough to convince the farmer that his gourd was no ordinary farm produce. ”I can see that you are a man of prosperity and wealth, dear sir. But what is so special about my bottle gourd that you are so interested in it? Could this gourd really worth tens of thousands of gold?”
Hearing this, a weak smile broke on the face of the Southerner. ”Alas! I'll tell you the truth then, since I'm not fated to keep the gourd. It might look simple and ordinary, but it is the key to unraveling the mysteries of what is hidden behind Tizishan!”