A fruit that sold for 550,000 yuan per piece, once nearly cut down entirely, only the wealthy could afford to eat it

The vast majority of people love eating fruit, and sweet fruit in particular has no shortage of fans. Our country is vast and rich in resources, with plenty of fruit resources of every kind. With the development of modern logistics and transportation, the super-sweet fruits of the south can also be shipped to every part of the country, letting people savor their deliciousness. Advanced logistics has also indirectly lowered fruit prices. Apart from some imported fruits that are very expensive, basically all domestically grown fruit in our country can be bought and afforded by anyone. But there are some exceptions, such as the fruit to be discussed next: a single fruit once sold for the sky-high price of 550,000 yuan, which ordinary people could not afford to eat.

At first glance this fruit looks no different from other lychees, but those in the know understand the price gap. Its real name is "Gualv", and it is indeed a type of lychee. Connoisseurs can verify its authenticity by the ring of green line on the lychee. Its biggest difference from ordinary lychees is that only one mother tree of this Gualv lychee remains in all of China. Logically, such a precious variety should have been preserved and planted in large quantities, so why is only one mother tree left? Originally, China had many Gualv lychees, and they were once a main source of income for farmers, but it was precisely because the Gualv lychee was too famous that it brought about a disaster.

During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, according to the records of the Zengcheng County Gazetteer, the Gualv lychee had already been "crowned king" and was included as tribute exclusively for the imperial family to enjoy. Later, during the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor, the farmers could no longer bear the endless oppression and extortion of the officials and angrily cut down all the Gualv trees. Only one small tree escaped disaster, and this tree is the Gualv mother tree now protected in Zengcheng Square. This tree has a history of several hundred years, survived thanks to people's rescue efforts, and from it some second-generation Gualv trees were cultivated and planted near Zengcheng.

The Gualv mother tree has a very low yield, but its fruit is the sweetest and carries very special historical significance. Just think, if you could eat fruit from the same tree as the Qianlong Emperor, how thrilling would that be! The fruit from this tree is generally used for auctions, and the high price of 550,000 yuan per piece was exactly the result of an auction in 2002, which caused a sensation locally at the time. The proceeds were mainly used to protect the mother tree and to research the cultivation and development of the Gualv lychee. Although the mother tree's lychees cannot be bought on the market now, the propagated Gualv variety can still be purchased, at several times the price of ordinary lychees, exclusively for the wealthy.

As for how this precious lychee tastes, the author has not eaten it anyway. It is said to be quite crisp, refreshing and sweet, and it will not spoil even after being picked and left for 3 days. I wonder whether any of the readers here have tried it?