In the Mulberry Garden, there are mulberry trees that are several dozen feet tall. Their berries ripen every three years and can cure children's illnesses. A giant crow, shaped like a falcon, perches on the trees. It eats people's souls at night, and no one dares to approach it.
Looking at the Republican-era edition of the Gazetteer of Wu County in her hand, Bi Shenghua couldn't help but laugh out loud. This was the only entry related to the Mulberry Garden recorded in this edition of the gazetteer, and it was in the twelfth volume, the section on strange tales. The section on strange tales mostly contained bizarre and supernatural folk anecdotes, not much better than Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio from a Chinese Studio. However, the old scholars who compiled the gazetteer did not have the talent of Pu Songling, and they also had to adhere to the rigor of the gazetteer as a historical source, so they could only write it in a hybrid style of unofficial history.
However, the passage about the Mulberry Garden was written concisely and vividly. Bi Shenghua seemed to see the Mulberry Garden of yesteryear. In the pitch-black night, a large bird flew out from the huge canopy, circled silently in the sky a few times, and stared at the pedestrians on the ground with its crimson eyes.
People dared not venture out at night, fearing their souls would be devoured by the giant bird. Those who had urgent business and had to travel at night always kept braised pork hocks at home, marinated in sauce, which they would offer to the giant bird before setting out to ensure their safety. Over time, the bird developed a fondness for braised pork hocks...
Of course, this was all Bi Shenghua's fantasy. As she watched and thought, she was amused by her own imagination and kept laughing to herself.
She didn't know why she suddenly had the urge to read the county annals; it was probably because she'd been too idle lately. The New Year was approaching, and with Xiao Qi and Mo Yu looking after the bar, business had been going smoothly. With Hou Biao Biao's men there, no one dared to cause trouble. In a few days, the bar would close for the holiday, something Bi Shenghua had always insisted on—no matter how good business was, it wouldn't prevent everyone from going home for the New Year.
She's been at the Wuzhong Library for the past few days, flipping through the entire county annals, and only found a few entries related to the Mulberry Garden. Besides the one recorded in the Gazetteer of Wu County mentioned above, there are two other entries:
The Wanli edition of the Gazetteer of Pingjiang, in Pingjiang forty volumes of biographies, states: Sang Yun, courtesy name Linxi, was a descendant of Sang Daomao. He was skilled in the Taiyi Dunjia Technique (a form of divination), and was of a reclusive nature. Shizong summoned him, but he refused to come. He lived in Jiangzuo ), where he planted mulberry trees and raised silkworms to cultivate his mind and life. He called his garden "Sangyuan" ( Mulberry Garden ), and the villagers all became wealthy.
Gazetteer of Wu, Qianlong edition, Volume 32, "Records of Customs and Products": The finest silk is the red silk reeled from the Hua Mulberry Garden, which is of even better quality than the silk produced by the Imperial Textile Bureau. Some say that wild silkworms are fed with human blood, hence the silk is reddish-brown and the fabric is like blood, so people dare not wear it.
Bi Shenghua had heard of Sang Daomao, a Daoist priest from the Tang Dynasty. He seemed to be a figure from unofficial history, not mentioned in official records, and was probably a fortune teller with some supernatural powers. As for Sang Yun, she had never heard of him. If the records in the Gazetteer of Pingjiang were true, then this Sang Yun should be the first owner of the Mulberry Garden.
However, according to the stories passed down from their ancestors, the owner of the Mulberry Garden was surnamed Hua, not Sang. Only three generations have passed since her great-grandfather, so it is impossible for her to have made such a mistake as to get the old owner's surname wrong. But it seems more reasonable that the owner of the Mulberry Garden was surnamed Sang.
She was certain that the red silkworm silk mentioned in the Qianlong edition of Gazetteer of Wu's records existed, because her great-grandfather's story mentioned that the Mulberry Garden produced a special kind of silk. The silk fabric woven from it did not need to be dyed, as it was naturally red. It was especially favored by high-ranking officials and nobles. Unfortunately, the yield was extremely low. Only the cocoons of wild silkworms from that big mulberry tree could produce this silk. Only three to five catties of cocoons were produced a year, and after the silk was extracted, it weighed less than six ounces. It would take several years to weave a single bolt of silk fabric.
However, the idea of feeding silkworms with human blood is definitely fake. Although Bi Shenghua is not a biochemist, as a modern person, she knows that silkworms only eat mulberry leaves and do not eat blood. Even if you fed them human blood, it would be impossible to turn the silkworm silk red, because those are completely different things.
Of the three county gazetteers, two contain accounts of Crow and red silkworms that are only partially true, so the third one is probably also only partially true. Thinking about it this way, Bi Shenghua felt that Sang Yun probably existed. As for whether he was a descendant of Sang Daomao and whether he knew the Taiyi Dunjia Technique, that was another matter.
If we look at it this way, either the Mulberry Garden changed owners, or the Hua Family originally had the surname Sang, but later changed it.
Bi Shenghua flipped through the county annals again, but couldn't find anything else, so she put the annals back in their original places and left the Tushu.
When she returned to Liuying Lane, she saw several people measuring distances on the street with surveying tools. She assumed they were people from a map company doing surveying and didn't pay much attention. After walking in, she found several more people measuring around the old willow tree, and someone was even measuring the tree's diameter.
Bi Shenghua sensed something was wrong, so she went over and asked, "What are you doing?"
The person with the measuring tape said, "From the Parks and Culture Bureau, moving this tree won't be easy!"
"Move away?" Bi Shenghua thought she had misheard. "Why should the tree be moved?"
"This area is slated for demolition and redevelopment. This tree is several hundred years old and is protected by the state; it needs to be moved before construction begins."
"This tree can't be moved!" Bi Shenghua shouted.
"Who are you?" The surveyor looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Whether it's moved or not isn't up to you; it's up to the Parks and Culture Bureau!"
Bi Shenghua knew it was pointless to talk to him, so she turned and left.
She first went to Director Liu of the neighborhood committee to ask what was going on. Director Liu said that the renovation plan for the old street of Liuying Lane had been submitted a few years ago, and the project had just been approved in principle by the higher authorities.
Bi Shenghua knew about the old street renovation project. When the street committee initially solicited residents' opinions, everyone was overjoyed except for Bi Shenghua, who disagreed. Her reason for disagreeing was that the project encroached on the old willow tree's land. Later, after the project was submitted, it disappeared without a trace, and Bi Shenghua thought it had been abandoned long ago. Unexpectedly, it was suddenly approved again.
Director Liu said, " Huahua, don't worry. According to the plan, your old house will be returned to you after the renovation is completed. The government will compensate you for the losses of the bar. You will definitely not suffer any losses. I will help you get the highest compensation standard."
Bi Shenghua asked, "What about that tree? Why was it moved?"
Director Liu said, "There's nothing we can do. Its habitat is too perfect; we can't improve the situation without moving it."
Bi Shenghua said, "Trees have nothing to do with transformation, right?"
Director Liu said, "I'm fine with it, but the old street renovation requires investment from both the government and developers. The developers have modified the plan, and they insist on moving it, which we can't do anything about. Now the government has approved it, and the Parks and Culture Bureau has sent people. What am I supposed to do?"
Bi Shenghua said, "No! The tree can't be moved!"
Director Liu said, "Oh, Huahua, why are you giving me that attitude! I'm just a lowly director, there's nothing I can do. Besides, a tree won't die if it's moved. That 600-year-old camphor tree in the south of the city was moved, and it's fine!"
Bi Shenghua firmly stated, "No way! I'll fight anyone who dares to touch that tree!"
Director Liu was a little annoyed and said, "Go talk to the city leaders, talk to the developers, don't get angry with me! I'm doing this for the good of our neighborhood, and my good intentions have backfired!"
Bi Shenghua asked, "Who is the developer?"
Director Liu said, " West Mountain Real Estate Development Company, oh, you should know their boss, his name is Huang Ziqiang."
Upon hearing this Bi Shenghua took out her phone and made a call. As soon as the call connected, she cursed, " Huang Ziqiang, what the hell are you up to? Coming to Liuying Lane to do development without even giving a heads-up! If a single leaf is missing from the tree in front of my door, I'll hold you accountable!"
This phone call terrified Director Liu. He had finally managed to get the "god of wealth" (someone who was willing to invest money to help develop the old street) to agree to the demolition and renovation project. If he was driven away by this, Liuying Lane would have to wait forever for another opportunity.
Director Liu's face was ashen, like leftover pig liver. No longer caring about the neighbors' feelings, she finally slammed her hand on the table. "What's wrong with you? If you ruin such a good thing, you can forget about keeping your bar open!"
She dialed Huang Ziqiang's number again, smiling ingratiatingly, and said, "Mr. Huang, it was just some ignorant little girl earlier. Oh yes, you know her. I'm so sorry, I'll definitely teach her a lesson. Don't worry, the demolition work in this area will be done well, and we won't cause you any trouble! Ah... you're coming over?... are you already on your way? Oh, okay, I'll wait for you."