Chapter 175: Swimming in the River
After the meeting, the villagers were even more polite when they saw Chu Feng.
After all, Chu Feng’s actions were bringing great benefits to everyone.
Building roads, renovating the entire village, adding various recreational facilities—turning this remote little mountain village into a village of millionaires was going to cost a fortune.
After the meeting, Chu Feng strolled around the village. It had been many years since he’d had a proper walk around the place.
"It’s still best at home," Chu Feng sighed. No matter how much money you had, you had to return to your roots. You had to have a house in your hometown, because your roots were here.
A person can’t forget where they came from, and they certainly can’t forget their roots.
Fuhe Village wasn’t large, but it was quite old. When Chu Feng was a child, he heard his grandfather say that the village had a history of several hundred years. In its heyday, it had several hundred households and was the largest village for dozens of miles around.
But over the centuries, Fuhe Village had faced some misfortunes. Many people had died or moved away, leaving only a few dozen households behind.
Chu Feng walked to the old ruins of the village and gazed at the distant mountain peaks. Pushing aside the weeds and soil under his feet, he could still faintly see traces of old buildings.
They were just crumbling walls and some nearly weathered-away green and earthen bricks.
’This place might have been an excellent feng shui spot a few hundred years ago.’ Chu Feng thought as he surveyed the surroundings, even though he didn’t understand the esoteric principles of feng shui.
But he could feel that this land was extraordinary.
It gathered the essence of the mountains and the earth’s ley lines, nurturing all the plants and living things here.
"What a shame. No matter how good the feng shui, in an era of thin Spiritual Qi, it was ultimately destined for decline," Chu Feng lamented. ’If only the Spiritual Power here were a bit purer.’
Chu Feng spent almost the entire day wandering around the village. He was looking for a good spot to see if there were any rare herbs or medicinal ingredients.
At the same time, he also wanted to find a good place near his hometown to refine medicine, borrowing the energy from the mountains and the earth’s ley lines.
Doing so would allow him to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
In the evening, after dinner, the sky had not yet grown dark.
"Hao Zi, want to go for a swim in the river? I haven’t been in ages," Chu Feng said to his younger brother, Chu Hao.
"Yeah! Of course, I want to go! I haven’t been swimming there in years," Chu Hao replied happily as soon as he heard the suggestion.
"Huh? You’re going to swim in the river? Isn’t the water dirty?" Su Miaoke asked with a frown.
"Sister-in-law, I think the river water here is much cleaner than the water at the school’s swimming pool. And it’s cooler, too," Chu Hao said.
"Then I want to go too," Su Miaoke said.
"You’re going too? Can you swim? If you can’t, you shouldn’t go. Just take a shower at home," Chu Feng said.
"I can! I’ve known how to swim since I was little. Don’t even think about leaving me behind. I’ve lived this long and I’ve never been swimming in a river before," Su Miaoke said with a pout.
"Alright, then bring your swimsuit and come for a swim with us," Chu Feng said with a smile.
When she returned, Su Miaoke had everything ready, she’d even bought a swimsuit. This made Chu Feng suspect that she had been planning to go swimming in the river all along.
"The most I’ve ever done is swim in the ocean or in a pool. I’ve really never been in a river before," Su Miaoke said, then went to her room to grab her swimsuit.
At this time of day, the sky wasn’t dark yet. The sun was just about to set, and the weather had cooled down a bit. A swim would be perfectly refreshing.
Most of the people in the village now were either elderly or middle-aged folks who made a living by farming. The young people had basically all left for work or school.
So, nowadays, almost no one went swimming in the river. Besides, without adult supervision, what kid would dare to go?
Chu Feng led his wife and younger brother to the riverbank, following a familiar path. The road to the river was quite wide, enough for a car to pass through, but since no one had used it for years, it looked a little desolate.
The river water was very clear, and there was even a pier that extended thirty meters out.
The three of them walked onto the pier and looked at the water beside it. It was so clear you could see the bottom, and from time to time, they could see fish swimming about.
"The water here is so clean! You can even see fish!" Su Miaoke exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course. The water here is completely unpolluted. If you spit in it, you’ll see even more fish," Chu Feng said.
Su Miaoke was taken aback when she heard this. "Huh? Spit?"
Before Su Miaoke could react, Chu Feng spat into the water.
The moment his saliva hit the surface, a school of small fish swarmed over instantly.
"There really are that many fish?" Su Miaoke was amazed, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Of course," Chu Feng chuckled, then took off his clothes and jumped straight into the river, starting to swim freely.
Chu Hao didn’t hesitate either. He leaped right in. The water here was only about two meters deep. With a loud SPLASH, he sent up a huge spray of water.
"Come on in!" Chu Feng called out when he saw Su Miaoke still hesitating.
"I’m scared. Are... are there any of those legendary Water Ghosts in the water?" Su Miaoke asked fearfully.
"How could there be? Don’t be afraid," Chu Feng said.
"I’ve heard that people have drowned in a lot of rivers, and that there are Water Ghosts and things," Su Miaoke said, still a little scared.
"Sister-in-law, don’t worry. No one has ever drowned here. We used to come play here all the time when we were kids. Nothing will happen," Chu Hao added.
"O-okay then." Su Miaoke cautiously entered the water, still a little afraid.
"Wow, it’s so cool!" Su Miaoke exclaimed in surprise.
After feeling how cool the water was, Su Miaoke immediately fell in love with the sensation.
This was her first time swimming in a river in the mountains, and the feeling was truly different.
Chu Feng was also very happy. He hadn’t swum in this river in seven or eight years.
Soon, he was swimming straight for the opposite bank. In less than ten minutes, he reached the other side.
The river was over three hundred meters wide. For an ordinary person to swim to the other side was no simple task.
"He’s so fast," Chu Hao said, surprised by his brother’s speed.
"Is it far to the other side?" Su Miaoke asked.
"It’s over three hundred meters. A normal person would take more than ten minutes to swim across, but my brother did it in only six or seven minutes. That’s way too fast," Chu Hao said in amazement.
Su Miaoke, however, just smiled secretly. She, of course, knew what was going on.
Because Chu Feng was a Cultivator, his stamina and endurance were far superior to that of an ordinary person.
"I can make it across too," Su Miaoke said, and then began swimming toward the other side.