Chapter 69: Plum Blossoms Open

  "Here, here. It's about to open." Xiao Yang muttered to himself. We all looked up at the sky and indeed heard a few chirps, raised our eyes to see two small birds flying between the trees. I couldn't help but wonder: on such a cold day, aren't these little birds afraid of the cold? Or is there really something here that's worth them taking the risk for? Or are they just a pair of lovebirds who came to this icy land to be romantic? He opened his narrowed eyes, raised an eyebrow and beckoned us to follow him. I knew maybe there was indeed something surprising waiting for us, so I followed him towards the plum forest. Standing at the edge of the plum forest, he waved his hand: "Okay, now everyone close your eyes, I'll count down and then open them again, definitely a surprise." Seeing how determined he looked, we had no choice but to close our eyes, he softly counted: "One, two, three... ten, okay, open!" With the order given, we couldn't wait any longer and opened our eyes.

  Wow! So unexpected! The plum tree in front of us is quietly blooming. Those slowly unfolding 'petals' are too beautiful! Is this real? We actually witnessed the process of the plum blossoms opening with our own eyes? This is truly a rare encounter! "Xiao Yang, it's really surprising! It's a huge surprise!" I exclaimed repeatedly, "This is my first time seeing the plum blossoms open with my own eyes, so beautiful! So unbelievable!" Looking at others, they were already stunned, mouths agape, eyes full of wonder.

  As I gaze out, those plum blossoms in the snow-covered ground, pink, white, and pale purple, are like clusters of dawn clouds. The gentle breeze blows by, and the entire dawn cloud seems to be set ablaze, lingering on without end. With the wind comes a refreshing fragrance that is simply captivating. Those delicate plum blossoms attract our gaze. That soulful bloom in the snow moves our hearts. In that moment, I feel my heart is crystal clear.

  One can imagine, in this pure white snowy world, there is a plum forest bursting into bloom - what a breathtaking beauty it would be! What an awe-inspiring sight it would be!

  As we watched the plum blossoms open one by one, our eyes couldn't take it all in, and all we could utter were monotonous exclamations of wonder: "Ah, so beautiful! So amazing!" Meanwhile, those two greatest contributors - the little birds - flitted happily through the forest, their tiny beaks emitting crisp chirps. I smiled and whispered to Xiao Yang, "Shouldn't we thank them?" Xiao Yang's eyebrows rose in a smile, and he chuckled: "You're right, we should." Look at this one, look at that one - every plum tree was so lovely, every blossom so captivating.

  The following poem emerged involuntarily in my mind: "Already seen the plum blossoms bloom, again heard the cry of the bird." I softly recited it, and Xiao Yang responded loudly: "Heart to heart sees the spring grass, afraid to grow on the jade steps." My inspiration struck, and I proposed: "Such a beautiful scene, such a rare opportunity, let's recite poetry! Today the plum blossoms have opened, the snow has fallen, as long as we respond to the scene it will be fine. What do you think?"

  "Ah, reciting poetry again?" Qiao Xuan's worried and unhappy expression was really cute. Hong Yan's enthusiasm was high: "Great, great, seeing such beautiful plum blossoms, I'm also inspired to write poetry." Pang Yu then rushed to say: "I know one poem, let me go first, don't snatch it from me." After finishing speaking, he shook his head and recited: "A few branches of plum blossoms in the corner of the wall, bravely opening alone in the cold. From afar, I know it's not snow, because there is a faint fragrance coming." Qiao Xuan stomped her foot anxiously: "How annoying, I just thought of this poem too, and you snatched it from me!"

  I smiled and comforted her: "Don't worry, it's just for fun, you can recite a poem about snow!" Cui Hua's eyes lit up: "Really? I was so flustered." After thinking for a moment, she said with a smile: "Here it is: 'A thousand mountains, birds flying away, ten thousand paths, human footprints erased. A solitary boat, an old man fishing alone in the cold river snow.'" She looked at us proudly after finishing. Hong Yan smiled and recited in a crisp voice: "Plum blossoms and snow compete for spring's arrival, but neither will yield. The poet struggles to evaluate their beauty. Plum blossoms must concede three points of whiteness to snow, but snow loses one point of fragrance to plum blossoms." "Great poem!" I applauded loudly.

  Xiao Yang stared at the tree with red plum blossoms, and casually recited: "A tree of cold plum white jade branch, overlooking the village road beside the creek bridge. I don't know if it's near water that flowers bloom first, or if it's because the winter snow hasn't melted yet." We applauded and cheered, and Fat Fish said: "Now it's your turn, Cloud Old Big." I smiled and opened my mouth to recite: "Wind and rain send spring back, flying snow welcomes spring's arrival. Already on the hundred-foot ice cliff, there are still beautiful flower branches, not competing with spring, only reporting spring's arrival. When the mountain flowers bloom profusely, she laughs in the midst of them." Xiao Yang gave me a big thumbs up, and Cui Hui was extremely impressed: "Cloud, you must teach me tomorrow!"

  We were laughing and making noise by the plum blossom forest, when Xiao Yang suddenly raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Shh, don't speak! Listen." Everyone looked at each other in confusion, stopped in their tracks, and listened quietly. A clear and beautiful singing voice came over, it was a song, but there were no lyrics, just a pleasant melody echoing in our ears, the sound seemed to have a penetrating power, directly entering our hearts, and a strong sense of sorrow swept over us.

  I couldn't help but wonder who was singing. Xiao Yang turned his head to look at me, and I nodded towards him, saying softly: "Let's go take a look." Qiao Hui and the others were also full of curiosity, so everyone walked quietly and slowly towards the depths of the plum forest where the song was coming from.

  Under Xiao Yang's indication, we stopped in our tracks and looked up to see a purple figure standing under a plum tree. It was a woman. Just by looking at her back, my first impression told me that she was a beautiful woman. A purple hat covered her long hair like a waterfall, black tight pants, black boots, and she was over 1.6 meters tall. She was a mature and beautiful woman. I really wanted to see what she looked like.

  Our footsteps were light, but we still startled her. She slowly turned around, and wow, what a beautiful pair of eyes! Deep black eye sockets, long eyelashes slightly trembling, as if the butterfly about to fly was struggling. Yes, struggling, this word suddenly appeared in my mind, and a strange thought arose in my heart - this woman needs my help. This is a sorrowful woman, looking at her wrapping her entire face with a scarf, leaving only her eyes exposed, I felt strange inside. If you say you're afraid of the cold, I'm the first among these people who's not afraid of it, but she's even more afraid of the cold than me, too exaggerated. "Hey, sorry to disturb you." I smiled and laughed, "We were admiring the plum blossoms over there and came over when we heard your singing." People say that a smiling face is hard to hit, I'm very interested in her, so I took the initiative to greet her. She stood quietly, looked at us silently for a moment, slightly nodded, then turned around and left. Ah, no way? I smiled so cutely, but she didn't give me any face. So depressing!