The villagers set out several large tables of food at the village committee office to welcome them.
Although the village food could not compare with what they ate at school, these were the villagers' best dishes.
The students ate with relish.
They kept praising the food. "Grandpa, home-raised chicken really does taste better. I've never had meat this delicious. It's so good..."
They shoveled rice into their mouths, chattering away between bites to praise the meal.
Their words delighted the village chief. "As long as you don't mind our simple food. If you like it, have some more, and drink more soup. Old hens are nourishing. Studying day after day must be hard work."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm..." They kept chewing their meat.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal, chatting as they ate.
Their conversation ranged from the village's founding to its development.
Bai Chen and the others listened quietly.
The plants in the village, as well as the water the villagers drank and used, all depended on the mountain spring just behind the village.
That spring was also the main reason Longquan Ancient Town had gotten its name.
Their village was where the spring originated.
According to legend, Longquan Ancient Town had once gone by another name. Then a prolonged drought struck, leaving no water anywhere, and many people died of thirst.
At the time, many people knelt on the ground and prayed to the gods, hoping to be saved.
Then one day, a mountain spring suddenly appeared in Shuiji Village. Clear water gushed from it, flowing all around Longquan Ancient Town.
With the spring's arrival, the people finally survived the disaster.
Later, someone discovered that the course of the spring water formed the shape of a dragon.
From then on, everyone believed a divine dragon had heard their pleas and sacrificed