Chapter 432 Problems with the Trees
“Yu ‘Er, can you tell if these are sick?” Father Xiao walked over and asked.
Xiao Lingyu said, “They look like they are sick. However, it’s hard to say.”
“What exactly is the illness? Shall we invite professionals over to take a look?” Eldest Uncle Xiao asked.
Gong Tianhao nodded in agreement. “Yes, that is a good idea.”
Xiao Lingyu did not pay any attention to them. Instead, her eyes were fixed on a piece of soil.
Just as she was about to squat down, Gong Tianhao immediately stopped her and asked, “Yu ‘Er, what are you doing?”.
Xiao Lingyu pointed at a piece of soil and said, “Dad, dig out this piece of soil so that we can take a look.”
Father Xiao and the others were very puzzled, but Father Xiao still followed Xiao Lingyu’s instructions and dug out the soil.
When he did, he immediately noticed something was wrong. Xiao Lingyu’s sense of smell was very sensitive. She could smell the salty smell on the soil.
Father Xiao was closest to the disturbed soil. He also smelled the salt. His brows were tightly knitted. He dipped his fingers into the soil and placed them in his mouth.
Mother Xiao, Eldest Uncle Xiao, and the others were surprised. Eldest Uncle Xiao asked in surprise, “Second brother, why are you eating soil? Is there something wrong with this soil?”
“It’s salty!” Father Xiao exclaimed. He frowned, “Why is the soil salty?”.
Eldest Uncle Xiao took some soil to taste too. He frowned. “You’re right.” Mother Xiao did the same thing. “Yes, why is it salty? Could someone have poured saltwater here?” It wasn’t strange for her to think that way. The other villagers kept finding ways to sabotage their farms.
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “Dad, check the other places. Can you find more salty soil?”
Father Xiao dug a few more places, but he couldn’t find any more salty patches.
Father Xiao shook his head. “There’s nothing else. Only this area has it. Plus, the soil here is obviously more moist than in the other places. Could it really be that someone poured saltwater here?”
The saltwater would affect the roots’ ability to absorb nutrients. The culprit wanted the trees to die. However, he had no evidence, so he didn’t accuse anyone.
Gong Tianhao asked, “Then can these trees be saved?” He would definitely not forgive the person who did this. These mountains were planted with tens of thousands of fruit trees. The Xiao Family had invested over a million. If someone wanted to disrupt this plantation, he would definitely let them rot in prison.
Xiao Lingyu looked at these saplings, lowered her eyes, and seemed to be deep in thought.
Then, she said to Mother Xiao, “Mom, go to my room. There are a few bottles of water there. Bring them over.”
Mother Xiao immediately understood and said, “Okay, I’ll go get them now.”
After Mother Xiao left, Xiao Lingyu and the others walked to a normal sapling.
This time, without waiting for Xiao Lingyu to speak, Father Xiao and Eldest Uncle Xiao squatted down and tasted the soil.
“The soil is salty but not as salty as the previous location,” Father Xiao said. Xiao Lingyu nodded. They checked a few more fruit trees. The sick trees were surrounded by salty soil. The normal ones were not affected.
Father Xiao looked at Xiao Lingyu and asked, “Yu ‘Er, can you tell what’s the problem?”
Xiao Lingyu said, “I have some guesses now, but I still need to confirm them. Dad, uncle, I need you to go to the peanut and soybean fields to see if they are affected or not.” “Okay!” The two moved immediately. Peanuts and soybeans could only be harvested once. If this happened there, they could lose millions. They only planted three Mu of land for the last season of peanuts, but they had earned almost nearly two million. Third Uncle Xiao’s tofu business was booming as well. People actually were willing to pay a higher price to get them. It showed how valuable these peanuts and soybeans were to the Xiao Family.
After the others left, Gong Tianhao asked in puzzlement, “Yu ‘Er, what’s going on? is it really possible that someone poured saltwater here?”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “Probably not.” Xiao Lingyu looked around and said, “Everyone in the village knows that I have installed surveillance cameras here. Some of them are very well hidden. They won’t risk it.” Gong Tianhao had even provided her with night vision cameras. Xiao Lingyu had informed the villagers about this situation.
“Furthermore, the affected area is more than a few mountains. If people did this, they would need a lot of saltwater.
“It’s impossible to transport such a large amount of salt at night without people knowing. Based on the scale, they would need not one or two bags of salt but hundreds of them.
“On top of that, hundred bags of salt cost hundreds of RMB. No one would be willing to waste that money. Plus, the case of Zhang Xiaolan and Zhang Chunjiao is still fresh in their minds. I don’t think the villagers are that stupid.”
Gong Tianhao frowned and asked, “What if it’s someone from outside the village? Like the neighboring Back Mountain Village?”
Xiao Lingyu looked at Gong Tianhao in confusion.
Gong Tianhao explained, “Some time ago, the thieves who stole Little Light and Big Light had accomplices not only in Zhang Chunjiao but also some villagers from Back Mountain Village. They were arrested and imprisoned. “Two were detained and fined. Another two were jailed for three months. Is it possible that their families wanted to take revenge? With a group working together, they could have done this.”
Xiao Lingyu smiled and shook her head, “Tianhao, have you forgotten that there are people guarding the mountain at night? Plus, if a whole group came, the cameras would have alerted us. So I’m sure this is not man-made.”
Gong Tianhao agreed with Xiao Lingyu’s analysis.
He frowned and asked, “Then what exactly is going on?”
Xiao Lingyu said, “I’m guessing we’re dealing with halophile.” “Halophile?” Gong Tianhao asked, “What’s that?”
“They are worms who like to eat salt,” Xiao Lingyu explained.
“What? Is there such a thing? Then, doesn’t it mean the salt we eat is not clean?” Gong Tianhao said with confusion.
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “This kind of organism needs soil to survive. Once they leave the soil, they can’t survive.”
“Why does it sound like an earthworm to me?” Gong Tianhao muttered, “I heard that this earthworm also likes to stay in the soil. I also heard that if you cut it off, you can turn one earthworm into two.”
Gong Tianhao was born in a rich family. He had read many things about the countryside, but he hadn’t experienced true countryside life before.
Xiao Lingyu looked at Gong Tianhao. He looked adorable.
She smiled and said, “That’s right. If an earthworm is sliced, it can grow into two. You are quite knowledgeable. Have you seen it before?”
Gong Tianhao said proudly, “Of course.” Xiao Lingyu said, “However, earthworms are beneficial organisms. They soften the hard soil and make the soil more beneficial for plants to absorb nutrients. On the other hand, halophiles are the opposite. They are pests. “They are not big, only the size of a baby’s pinky. They will eat up everything in the surrounding soil. They like the taste of salt a lot.
“But they don’t have a long life. When the food perishes, it will die off too.
“Their digestive system turned their food into carbon dioxide. The only exception is the salt. So after they die, the salt stays in the soil.”