Chapter 591 - 2: Passing Away
When the challenge began, Chen Zhou was exactly 25 years old.
After spending many years on the island, he was now unknowingly 34.
Nine years passed quickly, and all sorts of tasks on the island had suitable people to take over. Chen Zhou gradually retreated to the background and moved into his manor in Fruit Tree Valley.
...
Thanks to the mysterious gift of plants, many types of trees were planted in the mountains and forests near the manor.
Litchi trees, durian trees, cocoa trees, autumn white almonds, peach trees...
Some were still young, while others had grown into towering trees, bearing abundant fruit.
Just outside the door, the lawn surrounded by a wooden fence was always neatly trimmed, and a well was dug in the yard with a water pump installed on it.
However, this water pump was not the original one that Chen Zhou had taken apart from the ship. That pump had become decayed due to years of disuse, and this water pump was forged by the island’s blacksmith.
Indeed, the island’s craftsmen were now capable of forging iron tools by themselves from designs.
Chen Zhou had Kilian bring over many old craftsmen from Europe, eager to make their fortunes, to teach the islanders and develop the island’s manufacturing industry.
Carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, veterinarians, cobblers, all gradually mastering their trades and learning traditional handcraft techniques, driving the island into a bright future of industrial growth.
Next to the water well, several nurseries were built from bricks and stones, planted with unknown flowers native to the island. A bit further away was a fish pond, where fish caught by Chen Zhou were usually released.
Arriving here, the fish led a pampered life, requiring no foraging as someone brought them food daily.
It’s just that the cats, being mischievous, often reached for the fish in the pond or prowled around it, tempted by the fishy scent.
Sometimes they slipped into the water, hurriedly jumping ashore, leaving muddy paw prints on the clean floor of the villa upon returning inside.
...
It was another dry season, with hot weather silencing the insects in the forest, making the manor very quiet.
A few slender, unidentified young trees in the yard bloomed with five-petaled small white flowers. Sunlight shone down, illuminating the petals, making them appear exceptionally crystal clear, resembling white porcelain.
The thin green leaves too were translucent in the light, with edges glinting like gold borders.
Tiger Head lazily lay among the flowers in the nursery, its belly rising and falling, occasionally getting up to lick its fur before lying back down to sleep.
The family’s dog panted with its tongue out from the heat, lying on the wooden porch outside the villa, looking listless.
Chen Zhou lay back in a wicker chair, slightly squinting his eyes to enjoy the breeze, with an open book on the round table beside him.
From above, there was an occasional flutter of wings. It was the parrots he raised playing around—
These birds, native to the island, adapted well to the climate here.
Sometimes they mischievously imitated the dog’s barking, woofing to grab attention, then diving into the nearby forest, disappearing from sight amid the cats and dogs’ disdain.
...
The slope behind the manor was kept very tidy, paved with square bricks, with a particularly noticeable small mound.
The small mound had no headstone but was covered by a rain shelter, inside which stood a delicate wooden cabin with the Little Dragon Cat’s favorite food bowl and running wheel.
The Little Dragon Cat had died some days ago.
In the last two years, it often stood still in its nest, daydreaming. When Chen Zhou found it dead, it was leaning in the corner of its cage, still standing, with its tiny front paws slightly clasped as if in a bow.
When it was alive, Chen Zhou often placed small items into the Little Dragon Cat’s hands. After it obediently held them for a while, he would reward it with snacks.
The Little Dragon Cat was always obedient, with its crystal-clear eyes, not moving or making a sound, just holding onto the items its owner gave it, waiting for a reward.
In its passing, perhaps it grasped an imaginary small object in its claws, waiting for Chen Zhou to feed it roasted sunflower seeds.
Inexplicably caught, inexplicably living a carefree life, alongside numerous other strange furry creatures, who knew what thoughts went through the Little Dragon Cat’s small mind about its life.
Whether in loneliness or happiness, it had already forever left this world.
After its death, Chen Zhou no longer caught any dragon cats, and even ordered the protection of their habitat.
When those little spirits darting through the rocky slopes, prudently avoiding predators, retreated into their burrows, would they know of such a companion that used its life to earn them eternal peace...
...
Sitting under the corridor with Chen Zhou were Lai Fu and Xiao Huihui.
Lai Fu was indeed quite old. Its once striking golden fur had faded to a grey-white color, with its nose and mouth also turning white.
Over the past year, Lai Fu had started losing teeth, with its longest canines all fallen, and even some back carnassial teeth, used for tearing raw meat, were gone.
It exhibited signs of aging like that of an eighty-year-old person, with its posture no longer as upright as before and its hind legs growing increasingly weak.
When Chen Zhou called for it, it seemed hard of hearing, pausing for a moment before reacting, slowly rising to its feet, and gently walking over to Chen Zhou. Then, stubbornly, it raised its head, nudging its fluffy head into Chen Zhou’s hand, and extended its wet tongue to lick his arm.