bioinnovel Chapter 78 Fertile Soil
Chapter 78 Fertile Soil
Chapter 78 Fertile Soil
In July, the fertile land is lush and green, and the air is filled with the fresh scent of wildflowers, crisp yet not cloying.
Sheep, meadows, wheat fields, and honey-colored villages are the main colors here. Birds chirp in the trees, and water flows at your feet. The atmosphere is rustic yet sincere.
No wonder a Muggle journalist once said that the real British are country bumpkins.
Nestled on a verdant, gently sloping hillside, this fairytale-like town is crisscrossed by paths, where the sounds of chickens and dogs fill the air, and a stroll through it feels like walking through a fairytale kingdom.
How can a fairy tale be complete without a kind and beautiful young girl and a wicked and ugly old witch?
Hidden in the dense woods outside the town is a narrow path lined with wildflowers. At the end of the path, lush and verdant, lies a meadow like a green velvet carpet, where a honey-colored stone building sits.
The owner of this farmhouse-like, pointed-roof stone house was Cassie Black, who was not the Serpent's Embrace who swayed between the upper, middle, and lower parts of her body, but a witch born in 1915.
Just a week ago, Cassiopeia passed away at the age of 77, and the owner of the honey-colored spired stone house changed to another witch.
The new owner's name is Belvina Wolbuga Black, and she can be called Belvina Black II or affectionately Belvina.
Early that morning, as the orange sunlight streamed into the room, Belvina, who always loved to stay in bed, was already up.
She was wearing pure white pajamas and slippers, and as she shuffled downstairs, she casually tied her hair into a loose low ponytail.
Thus began the leisurely, tranquil, and slow-paced rural life that made one drowsy.
Belvina hurried into the greenhouse, grabbed a watering can, and leisurely hummed the tune of "The Lemon Tree," watering this pot of flowers and that pot of grass.
She doesn't have any special skills when watering flowers; she relies entirely on her feelings. She waters the flowers she likes more and the flowers she doesn't like less.
In just one week, the flowers in the greenhouse learned what it meant to be "some dying of drought, others dying of flooding".
Two of the best-growing plants were even given names: one with vibrant red flowers was called "Adversity Builds a Nation," and the other with buds about to bloom was called "Success Through Hardship."
After rummaging around in the former owner's favorite flower room for a while, Belvina, with a piece of bread in her mouth, strode into the spacious courtyard.
She sat imposingly at the long wooden table, leaning back in her chair, her legs naturally resting on the table, her feet crossed.
Not far away, the green carpet-like grass was dotted with white curly-wool sheep, which looked as beautiful as an oil painting against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds.
Belvina squinted, folded her hands over her navel, and listened to the occasional cute sheep bleating... If nothing unexpected happened, she would fall asleep soon.
However, barring unforeseen circumstances, that is impossible.
An unwelcome visitor arrived at the farmhouse. Led by an old Muggle, Lucius Malfoy came to the long table.
Yes, that's right. Cassiopeia Black, a staunch supporter of pure-blood supremacy, left behind a house where a Muggle lived for decades.
This Muggle was a tall, thin old man with silver hair and a beard so long that they could be tucked into his belt, which was enough to tell him that he was very old.
He always wore a pair of worn-out jeans, equally worn-out cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat that was always perpetually crookedly perched on his head.
He takes care of everything in the farmhouse: the lawn, the sheep, and even the greenhouse that's been thoroughly messed up. Every morning he makes breakfast and puts it on the table; he's more diligent and thoughtful than a house-elf.
Strangely, he never spoke a single word to Belvina, not even a single syllable escaped his lips.
Having lived under the same roof for almost a week, Belvina didn't even know his name.
Today was no different. The Muggle brought Lucius Malfoy to the long table. Instead of waking the drowsy Belvina, he tapped the table twice with his knuckles.
Belvina opened her eyes groggily, and the first thing she saw was her annoying cousin-in-law.
Mr. Malfoy was still the same as always, his long, light blond hair was meticulously styled, and his ponytail was tied with a silver ribbon, as if it had been licked by a calf.
He still maintained his old-fashioned style, carrying a finely crafted, extravagantly decorated cane in his hand, the silver snake head on the cane looking rather cumbersome no matter how you looked at it.
When the old Muggle man saw that Belvina was awake, he left without a word, whether to go to the greenhouse to save the poor flowers or to continue tending to the sheep scattered all over the ground, it was unclear.
"You're really taking it easy, Belvina." Lucius's tone was as unpleasant as he was—cold, arrogant, and always giving off a condescending vibe.
"Lucius, if you can't speak properly, I don't mind teaching you," Belvina said lazily. "I heard someone in the Ministry of Magic is giving you trouble again. Should I write them a complaint?"
Compared to the spoiled brat Draco, Lucius, though annoying, still has some skills; at least he won't blush over a single word from Belvina.
"Hopefully they'll pay you for your informant services," Lucius said. "Ah, even if they don't, it doesn't matter; you've made two windfalls lately."
Rather than a windfall, it was more like the wealth of the dead; Belvina received two inheritances in just half a month.
The Hogwarts school year had just ended, and Belvina had barely settled back into London when she received news of Signas Black's death.
The last surviving paternal member of the Black family ultimately failed to produce a son; his three daughters married Lestrange and Malfoy, respectively, and a Muggle-born Tonks.
After her uncle and cousin Signas passed away, he left Belvina an inheritance, neither too much nor too little.
Another inheritance Belvina received was this farmhouse in the Fertile Plain, left to her by Cassiopeia.
Instead of leaving it for Alaminta Melifren, it was given to Belvina. I wonder what this aunt is up to.
Belvina, who received two portions of the inheritance, was not happy at all, not because she was particularly close to the two deceased men, but because she had witnessed Blake's passing.
Now, Belvina is truly the only wizard left who still bears the surname Black.
"If you're jealous, we can trade," Belvina said. "You give me your estate, and I'll give you this farmhouse, how about that?"
Unless Lucius is a fool, he won't make the exchange with Belvina; the Malfoy family's ancestral lands are far more valuable than a small farmhouse on the Fertile Plains.
Just then, the old Muggle returned, tossed Belvina a very old-fashioned dressing gown, and then walked away without a word.
Lucius glanced at the old Muggle with disgust as he walked away and said, "Looks like you really like Muggles, you actually kept him around, a lowly and despicable Muggle."
Speaking of this, Lucius found it strange, because the Belvina he remembered was not the kind of easy-going person who would live under the same roof as a stranger.
"So what if he's a Muggle? Look how well he takes care of this farmhouse, even better than a house-elves," Belvina said nonchalantly. "Besides, wasn't that plot of land a gift from a Muggle to your family?"
What? The farmer is a Muggle, but the king isn't?
The wealthy Malfoy family, which prides itself on its pure bloodline, was once one of the wizarding families with the closest ties to Muggles.
That piece of land in Wiltshire was a gift from William the Conqueror to Armand Malfoy. Before the Act of Secrecy was enacted, the Malfoy family had already fully integrated into Muggle high society.
Lucius Malfoy I also had a passionate courtship with Elizabeth I.
Some wizarding historians believe that Her Majesty the Queen failed to marry because Lucius Malfoy I, who was rejected in his pursuit, cast a curse upon her.
Although the Malfoy family has denied this for centuries and refuses to acknowledge that they were ever very close to Muggles,
But the history of magic is there for all to see; a quick glance at it will reveal just how "pure" the Malfoy family is.
Even now, the Malfoy family allows family members to marry half-blood wizards.
If this had happened in the Blake family, their names on the tapestry would have been burned off long ago. Why leave them on for Christmas?