Mulberry Garden, a classical garden restored entirely with private capital, once garnered widespread attention. However, the media's focus was not on the Mulberry Garden itself, but rather on the significance of capital entering the public garden market. It was generally believed that such a newly established garden with little historical accumulation would find it difficult to stand out among the many famous gardens in Wuzhong, and it was unlikely to recoup its large investment through tourism revenue. Furthermore, capitalists are never philanthropists and must have other motives.
Some analysts point out that this is a breakthrough in the real estate market, because with the completion of Mulberry Garden, the surrounding second-hand housing prices not only did not fall in the sluggish housing market, but also steadily rose. Hu Xing did indeed take the opportunity to accumulate two new plots of land around Mulberry Garden for real estate development projects. One of the projects has already been launched and quickly sold out, making her a fortune. She expects the second and third phases of the project to generate even more profits, and with the opening of the newly built pedestrian commercial street next door, the investment in rebuilding Mulberry Garden will soon be fully recovered.
Hu Xing's investment was initially viewed with skepticism, seen as a capricious act allowed by Elder Xia as a compromise to allow his beloved granddaughter to return to the business world. However, the unexpected real estate boom spurred by the opening of Mulberry Garden led to a dramatic rise in her status within the Xia Family Xia Wenyuan, with some even half-flatteringly praising Xia Wenyuan as a young business genius.
Xia Wenyuan knew, of course, that this was just an accident, but he was happy to see it happen. To help Hu Xing, he had his subordinate real estate companies also cooperate and get involved. With the encouragement of the media and the support of government policies, the area centered on the former Liuying Lane quickly developed a new regional development model that had never appeared before.
To complement the Mulberry Garden, the roads, landscaping, and public green spaces in this area have been planted with mulberry trees. This area is known as the " Mulberry Grove District."
Despite this, compared to other gardens in Wuzhong, Mulberry Garden remained deserted. On one hand, it was a new area; residents who originally lived nearby had gradually moved away due to demolition, changing the environment but diminishing its former vibrancy. On the other hand, Hu Xing and Bi Shenghua, citing the need to recoup their investment, set the entrance fee for Mulberry Garden at the same high level as those famous gardens. This deterred tour groups from visiting. A new garden with no history, at such a price, without group discounts—who would want to come?
Only a very small number of tourists actually spend money to buy tickets to visit the Mulberry Garden, and Mei Ziqing is one of them.
The weather was still quite cold, but the mulberry trees in the Mulberry Garden had already sprouted new buds, suggesting that spring had arrived earlier here than elsewhere.
Mei Ziqing wasn't in a hurry to see Bi Shenghua, but instead strolled slowly through the Mulberry Garden, appreciating the extraordinary scenery like a true traveler.
The most eye-catching thing in the Mulberry Garden is probably that huge old mulberry tree.
Like other gardens, each old tree has a plaque next to it with its name and age. If the person who planted it was very famous or if something special happened at the time, then a piece of its history will also be recorded.
Mei Ziqing walked over and saw a sign in front of the tree that read " Red Silkworm Mulberry" and stated that the tree was "over 260 years old".
Below are explanations in small print in both Chinese and English:
The Red Silkworm Mulberry is a very rare tree species, belonging to the genus Morus of the family Moraceae. Folk legend has it that a kind of wild red silkworm once lived on the tree, which could spin red silk, and the silk made from its silk was once praised as a masterpiece.
As early as the Qianlong era, the " Gazetteer of Wu " recorded. "The finest silk is the red silk reeled from the Hua Mulberry Garden. Its quality surpasses that of 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."
Based on measurements of the trunk, the tree is approximately 260 years old, but C14 dating of its roots and the soil it inhabits reveals it to be over 1300 years old. Experts estimate that the main trunk of the Red Silkworm Mulberry tree was likely destroyed but later regrowed.
Mei Ziqing carefully read every word, then looked up at the tall, ornate crown, stood there thoughtfully for a while, and then muttered two words to herself, " Qingmu..."
She continued walking. After passing through a small mulberry grove, she came to a lake with a winding stone bridge spanning it. On the opposite bank of the lake stood a willow tree, which stood out prominently among the mulberry grove.
The willow trees had more green buds than the surrounding mulberry trees, making them appear particularly vibrant. The willow branches hung down, gently brushing the water's surface, swaying in the wind with countless charms, like a shy maiden coquettishly flirting with her lover.
Mei Ziqing stood on the stone bridge and looked back, seeing the tall, magnificent crown of the Red Silkworm Mulberry Tree facing the Willow Tree across the lake.
For some reason, she always felt that there was something strange in the air here, just like in martial arts novels, that the place was full of spiritual energy that made people feel invigorated.
Not far from the opposite shore of the lake stands a house. Although its architectural style is also quite ancient, it is clearly out of place with the other pavilions and towers in the Mulberry Garden.
Following the roadside signs, Mei Ziqing knew that it was the Mulberry Garden Management Office.
She arrived at the house and found the front door closed; judging from the marks on it, it hadn't been opened in a long time. But the house was clearly inhabited; clothes were hanging to dry on the upstairs balcony.
She went around to the back of the house and found a back door. The entrance was made of two bluestone steps, and next to the steps was a pot of star Beauty.
Meizi (https://www. hetushu. com. com) raised her hand and knocked on the door, but there was no response. Was no one there? She thought it couldn't be such a coincidence.
She had investigated Bi Shenghua and knew that she rarely left the Mulberry Garden after it was built.
Mei Ziqing released her Mental Power to sense the building. It wasn't large; if there were a living person upstairs, she should have been able to sense them. However, strangely, the abundant "spiritual energy" around her interfered with her. She then realized that what filled the area was something similar to Mental Power, forming a field like a magnetic field that covered the entire Mulberry Garden.
" Holy Land!" Mei Ziqing exclaimed inwardly.
One of her purposes in coming to Wuzhong was to find the Holy Land mentioned in her father's notes. She had a hunch that the Holy Land must be related to a garden in Wuzhong. It could be said that this intuition was quite accurate, but her search yielded no results. Over the past ten years, she had traveled to most parts of Wuzhong and seen most of the gardens, both open and closed, but she had never thought of this newly built Mulberry Garden.
Mei Ziqing had also visited Liuying Lane before the Mulberry Garden was built, and had heard those unfounded rumors. If she had seen the giant Red Silkworm Mulberry back then, perhaps she would have discovered the secret of this place long ago. However, a clever grafting made her miss the clues to the Holy Land, just like Kitano Masatake back then. They only saw a century-old willow tree there.
She looked up at the azure sky, imagining the Mental Power continuously flowing from some unknown, deep place in the universe. How exactly was this passage established? Was Qingmu's disappearance and sudden return related to this?
Mei Ziqing put down her hand that was knocking on the door, preparing to leave temporarily and take a walk around the garden.
As she turned around, she saw the Beauty plant by the bluestone slab again. She always felt that the plant was out of place, as if someone had done it on purpose.
She bent down, picked up the flowerpot, and saw a key underneath.
She laughed. So the owner of this house was a forgetful person! Only forgetful people would leave their keys at the door. What era are we living in? Why not install a smart lock? Fingerprint, voice, facial recognition—anything is possible!
" Qingmu..." She remembered that name again. Yes, Qingmu was a forgetful person. Professor Mei Yiqiu often said that his brain was like an old hard drive riddled with bad sectors. Could this key have been prepared for him?
Out of curiosity, Mei Ziqing picked up the key, intending to verify if it was the one to open the door. Suddenly, she heard someone speak behind her, "Are you here to see me?"