Chapter Fifty-Three: Vegetables Mature
Morning light spilled over the fence, casting speckled golden patches across the Vegetable Plot.
As Chen An carried a Clay Jar toward the garden, his footsteps suddenly halted—
Everything before him made him hold his breath involuntarily, as though even a slightly heavier exhalation might disturb the tranquil Spirit Charm flowing silently through this land.
That row of Little White Cabbage was no longer made up of ordinary vegetables. Every leaf had spread out wantonly, like pieces of jade carved by a master artisan—smooth and cool to the touch. Along the leaf edges, morning dew had quietly condensed into strings of clear, abandoned pearls.
Most astonishing of all, the veins were not the usual green. Pale golden patterns wound through them, and on closer inspection, it seemed as though billions of crushed stars had been sealed within the translucent flesh of the leaves. They drifted quietly with the shifting light, flickering with the faint rhythm of life.
The radishes beside them had a delicate charm of their own. Their leafy tops were so green they seemed ready to drip water, brimming with vitality. Above the soil, their half-exposed roots were round and plump, their skins a flawless, lustrous white, impossibly smooth. Under the slanting sunlight, one could faintly glimpse the pale pink flesh within, like a shy maiden's cheek, or as though a master craftsman had coated them with an exceedingly thin, translucent layer of first frost. Beneath their coolness lurked a sweetness ready to burst forth.
The lettuce and various salad greens, meanwhile, spread out like a magnificent velvet carpet. Their leaves were exceptionally thick and layered, presumably soft as velvet to the touch. The curled edges naturally outlined delicate silver borders, as though moonlight had embroidered them with trim. In the firmest hearts of