A small plot of land in a mountain village

The fat man shook his head and teased, "If you could lift it up with one hand, I could knock the sun down."

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll show you the strength of a country bumpkin." Having gained this strength last night, Zhang Niu was determined to show it off and provoke the fat man.

People in the countryside are hard-working and have plenty of strength. Carrying 200 pounds of goods is a piece of cake for them. They are also quite strong in their hands, and wrenches are no problem for them.

The fat man shouted, "Good! Let me see how strong you are, pulling up a stone pillar with one hand, and look at your skinny frame."

Two stone pillars, roughly the same size, are placed on the ground. You can randomly choose one, grab the handle, and shout "Up!" – this is also to create an atmosphere.

We still need to put on a show and make it look more realistic. Lifting a 100-pound stone pillar is an easy task; we just need to control the force.

With a shout, he raised his hands, lifting the stone pillar and letting it roll a few times. Looking at the dumbfounded fat man, he said, "How about it? This country bumpkin is pretty strong, isn't he!"

The chopsticks in his hand had already fallen to the ground. He rushed over and squeezed his bulging hands. "Looking at your seemingly thin figure, I didn't expect you to have such explosive power. Your hidden skills are really impressive."

What do you mean by holding back? This strength was only gained last night. If it were before, I don't think I had the strength to lift a 100-pound stone pillar with one hand.

Lifting 100 pounds with both hands is manageable, but lifting 100 pounds with one hand is not as simple as one plus one; it involves many technical aspects.

The fat man's bulging arms made his skin crawl, and he quickly pulled them back. "Country folks are strong, you don't doubt that now, do you?"

The chick nodded hurriedly, like a chick pecking at an insect. "That's right, you're still the most amazing person I've ever met. If you had both hands, I think you could easily compete in the Olympics."

Carry the two stone pillars, one in each hand, to the entrance of the courtyard and place them against the wall. From now on, all training will be done in this place, so that even if you become stronger, you'll have a reason to explain it.

After the meal, Zhang Niu pondered whether to catch a duck or try the medicine's effects. It was a difficult problem. He rubbed his temples, unable to make up his mind for the time being.

squeak-

I was just thinking about which animal to use when I heard the little one's unique voice next to me, so I turned around and looked.

Damn it, when he turned around, he found the little guy dragging a black venomous snake next to Zhang Niu. Zhang Niu was so scared that he jumped up from his chair and quickly hid to the side.

The little one seemed quite surprised. Zhang Niu ran away and continued dragging the black snake over.

"Don't come any closer. Just stand there." Zhang Niu couldn't let the little one come over. If the black snake suddenly lunged and bit him, he'd be done for.

At this shout, the little one stopped, blinked, and pulled the snake he was dragging up. The black snake hissed as it flicked out its tongue, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

Just as it stuck out its red tongue and black triangular head, it was swatted by the little snake's claw and quickly retracted its tongue, seemingly quite pleased with the black snake's action.

Looking closely at the black snake, he saw that it had a triangular head and its body was not jet black as Zhang Niu had seen, but rather a mixture of black and white. What was most puzzling was that the black tail was broken in two.

Snakes are naturally abundant at this time of year, but I haven't seen any venomous snakes around Happy Cottage yet. Big Red and the others are known to love eating snakes.

If a snake appeared at Happy Abode, it would become food in his mouth. This made Zhang Niu even more curious: where did this black snake come from? Was it caught on the mountain?

But why did the little one run up the mountain to catch snakes so early in the morning? Could it be to let me test the effects of the Seven-Colored Fruit? I only remembered this after seeing the black snake's wound.

The black snake that the little guy caught did not show any signs of agitation and remained calm. Normally, if a snake were caught by someone, it would definitely coil around the arm.

The power of a snake's coiling is immense; a large python could easily strangle a domestic pig to death. Yet this black snake before us behaved like a docile child.

Oh well, it won't hurt to try one of the medicinal fruits anyway. I can't find any injured animals myself, so this black snake can have it for free.

"Keep a close watch on it, then let the black snake slip away."

A moment later, it came out with a bag of seven-colored fruit. As soon as it returned, the black snake started making hissing noises again, causing the little one to slash at it a few more times.

The squeaking sound warned the snake to behave, and it pointed to the bright red cherry tree, which scared the black snake into shrinking back, but the little one held its neck firmly.

He opened the fruit bag, took out the seven-colored medicinal fruit, and tossed it to the little one. Zhang Niu didn't have the courage to personally feed the black snake. He wasn't afraid of it trying to bite him.

The little boy picked up the seven-colored medicinal fruit that had rolled to his feet. He roughly pried open the snake's mouth, not afraid at all that the black snake might bite him; the two venomous fangs on the black snake's forehead gleamed coldly.

Having successfully removed the medicinal fruit, Zhang Niu could now observe from a distance with peace of mind.

The black snake, having swallowed the medicinal fruit, closed its eyes, seemingly enjoying the effects of the evaporation. The snake no longer struggled and showed no signs of discomfort.

Does this medicinal fruit lack the abundant heat of the Golden Fruit? Or does it have a simple and mild effect? ​​Several thoughts flashed through my mind.

As time passed, Zhang Niu gradually lost patience. There was no change at the severed part of the snake's tail. Was it that the medicinal effects needed time to appear?

If that's the case, we might as well put it in a bucket first and see the effect later. Anyway, quite a bit of time has passed, and the black snake has kept its eyes closed.

Find a bucket, have the little one throw the black snake in, put the lid on, and then stack a few red bricks on top. This way, it feels safe and avoids trouble.

Through the bucket, one can roughly see that the black snake is coiled up and motionless. Could it be that the medicine hasn't started working yet? It seems that the fruit won't be effective anytime soon and will take time.

However, this was the first time using a black snake as a guinea pig, especially a venomous one. Although Zhang Niu didn't particularly like black snakes, he decided to make do since the little guy had caught it.

Today, the dirt road outside has been reinforced with steel bars and cement is being poured. It's bustling with traffic, but Zhang Niu doesn't plan to go out.

I've seen cement pouring before, so this second time is pretty much pointless. It's the same work, not worth watching. But the road repair is really good though.

Once the road is repaired, it's time to lay out the cables and buy furniture to put on the desk. At that time, money will flow away like water, and it will really hurt my heart.

Ignoring the cement pouring, this banyan tree still deserves a visit. In just one day, many leaf buds have already sprouted, and the pale purple leaves give it a refreshing feel.

The purple hue is tinged with green, creating a subtle and soothing sensation that makes one feel as if they are in the embrace of nature.

Is this also an effect of that seven-colored leaf, or a mutation? Although the feeling was faint, Zhang Niu, who frequently visited the space, could still vaguely sense it.

It is estimated that in a few more days, this banyan tree will be covered with branches and leaves.

Feeling that quite a bit of time had passed, Zhang Niu still planned to go back and check on the black snake. He had things on his mind, and he couldn't put his mind at ease if he didn't go and check.

Just as we returned to the courtyard, Little Dot dragged the black snake out again. Despite how tightly I had secured it, Little Dot still managed to unscrew it with ease. There was just no way to deal with it.

However, as soon as he took a look, Zhang Niu's gaze was fixed on the black snake's tail, where a section of black tail had grown out from where it had broken off.

Although the newly grown tail was almost the same color as the body, it was indeed a new growth, and Zhang Niu jumped up in joy.

As soon as he landed, he left a pair of footprints. Looking back, he didn't see the fat man. He had been too happy and forgot that in his excitement, he had lost control of his strength.

He completely forgot about it. Luckily, the fat man didn't come in, or it would have been a real problem. He quickly found a bucket and went to the road construction site where they were pouring cement. He could fetch some water to save himself the trouble. Before leaving, he covered his footprints with a wooden board.

It seems I can't be too happy in the future, otherwise it will be too difficult to control my strength. Zhang Niu is not a martial arts practitioner, so it's already quite good that he can control himself like this.

I just saw the little guy dragging the black snake back to retrieve the cement. I wonder where he's dragged the black snake off to again. As long as he doesn't run out and scare people.

He had just thought about it when a quacking sound came from afar. He sighed, and before he could finish his thought, the little one had already dragged the black snake to the big white duck.

What a troublesome fellow! Luckily, Zhang Niu raised a big white duck; if it were an egg-laying duck, it would be strange if it didn't cry.

They should focus on burying the footprints properly, especially since there were still several other places inside the house. Zhang Niu locked the door when he left.

The whole bucket of cement we brought back still wasn't enough, so we had to make another trip. Luckily, the construction team didn't seem to care about such a small amount of cement. Taking a little bit wouldn't be a problem.

The cement is mixed far away before being brought over.

It took quite a bit of time to fill in the small hole, the footprints, and the wall with cement.

After stopping work, this medicinal fruit is indeed used to replenish the body. If my parents take one, their health will definitely be better than before, since it can heal injuries.

There shouldn't be any problems with this health care.

. . . . . .

As evening fell in another place, several young men in military uniforms entered the sanatorium.

"Liu Wei, how is Xiao Feng's condition?" He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face—a typical soldier.

"Sigh!! It's hard to say. We've brought back quite a few foreign doctors, but the condition has been steadily worsening. Recently, I've even started to lose control of my hands. It seems..."

These people are all from the Liu family and are serving in the military. They just got back on leave.

The Liu family was completely baffled by this sudden illness. They had done all the necessary tests, including blood tests and high-tech X-rays, but the illness could not be detected.

His square face was furrowed tightly; having spent so much time in the military, he naturally possessed a rugged, soldierly air. Yet, he was helpless against his illness.

As I stepped onto the stairs, the two soldiers guarding the entrance stood ramrod straight. "Reporting, sir, all is well!" came a crisp salute to the square-faced man.

"Thank you for your hard work, let's switch shifts later!"

"Thank you, sir!"

"There are people on duty here, so the hospital is much quieter than it was a few days ago," Liu Wei said.

The square-faced man uttered a soft "Mm."

Although he was in a position of power, he was still aware of what had happened in the family. Everyone felt sorry for Liu Guanfeng, as the family had lost another rising star.

Pushing open the door, one sees Liu Guanfeng lying on the bed, resting quietly, while the nurse stands by. However, this is a new shift, and the nursing care is continuous, 24 hours a day.

PS: This is the third update today, and there will be one more tonight. (To be continued. For more chapters and to support the author, please log in and read the official version!)