Chapter 2142

On the mountain east of the orchard.

Jin Chen suddenly appeared behind the tree, leaning against the trunk watching Qin Zong jump down the slope, then walked further into the deeper area.

Hope Village has many mountains, not high but deep; the innermost parts are rarely visited by anyone.

Jin Chen followed, hiding his presence in nature, and Qin Zong did not notice him.

But after observing for over ten minutes, Qin Zong, besides guarding the streamside practicing his fists and using a tree stump as a sparring partner, really had no other actions.

So boring.

Jin Chen looked up at the sky, doubting his own feeling.

Soon after, Jin Chen sat in the tree, plucked a fruit and threw it down, mixed with a bit of magic, making its falling speed extremely fast.

Immediately after, Qin Zong, because his punch was unsteady, staggered sideways and dodged the falling fruit.

Hey.

Jin Chen then tried two more in succession.

When the third fruit fell, Qin Zong, who had dodged all of them, finally grew suspicious and looked up at the tree.

Jin Chen hastily concealed himself, only the leaves rustling.

Qin Zong didn't investigate further, jumping into the stream to wash up and cool down.

Jin Chen didn't want to look, turned his gaze to the ground, watching the fist-sized pits made by the three fruits.

Hmm, indeed there is a bit of a problem.

After a moment's thought, Jin Chen folded two leaves into tiny eye-like sprites and threw them into the stream out of thin air.

Soon they appeared on Qin Zong's shoulder, then crawled into his hair and vanished.

Jin Chen turned and vanished into the tree trunk, without lingering at all.

I still need to hurry back to have lunch with my wife.

——

Qin Zong naturally hadn't noticed any of this.

He only felt that during this period, there was a pent-up force inside him that could never be released.

It started from being able to hear the black cat speak.

And that day, going to the Harvest Farm with A Ji, the closer they got to that strangely growing grass, the more obvious that force became.

Out of instinct, Qin Zong felt this wasn't a bad thing.

There are many strange things in this world, and after arriving at Hope Village, even more are encountered; Qin Zong doesn't want to be unable to help Jiang Ji, nor does he want to be outdone by that strange-looking man.

Coming down from the mountain, Qin Zong saw several vehicles on the hillside road that rarely appeared in town or the village; looking through his binoculars, the passenger seat of the lead car was none other than Boss Song.

Thinking about what happened at the gathering, Qin Zong's eyes darkened, and he followed from the hillside.

"Dad, slow down." Boss Song said helplessly; his Western suit was out of place against the village's coarseness.

The Old Master shook off his hand, trembling as he pointed at the orchard: "This is it! My old friend's son must be here!"

"Your old friend didn't even leave a photo—I'm starting to think you've misremembered..." Boss Song muttered, but the Old Master gave him a glare.

"What do you know!" the Old Master coughed twice, his withered hand gripping his cane, "I can tell their fruit with just one bite! The fruit at that stall is exactly that flavor!"

His hoarse voice suddenly rose: "I still owe them money! I have to pay, I have to..."

"Here we go again!" Boss Song tugged at his tie in frustration, feeling utterly helpless.

"You've forgotten their names, but you remember owing them money?"

"My old friend is gone, leaving only this old geezer—I still remember." the Old Master muttered, straining to recall.

But the memories of getting along with his old comrades just won't stay; over time, even their names fade along with those extraordinary experiences.

Sometimes, looking at his old diary, even he feels dazed.

The Old Master fell silent, just stubbornly staring at the orchard.

Suddenly, footsteps came from behind the fence; Jiang Ji walked over holding a bamboo basket, inside were freshly picked cherries.

The Old Master's eyes lit up, he stumbled forward and grabbed Jiang Ji's arm: "It's you! Did you grow these fruits?"

Jiang Ji blinked, caught sight of Boss Song's name-brand watch, and immediately put on an obsequious smile.

"It's me, it's me! Boss Song, we've met again—do you want to talk cooperation?"

"Dad, look, they've admitted it." Boss Song let out a sigh of relief.

"That day I picked a bit of your fruit; my dad loves it, we want to order a few batches—price is negotiable, but we need consistent quality."

"No problem!" Jiang Ji nodded eagerly, delighted: "My orchard uses all the latest technology—"

"Wrong!" the Old Master suddenly interrupted, popping a cherry into his mouth, brows furrowed: "This flavor's off! Before, it clearly had... a sweet note!"

Jiang Ji's smile froze on his face.

Boss Song yanked his father forward with an "ouch," saying, "Whose fruit has no sweetness, Dad?"

On the old locust tree behind the fence, Qin Zong crouched among the branches, taking it all in.

He bit a blade of grass, his gaze sweeping over the Old Master's excited face before landing on Jiang Ji's whitened knuckles from tension.

"Damn." Qin Zong muttered, spitting out the chewed grass.

He figured it out: Jiang Ji simply couldn't grow the fruit the Old Master wanted; those were clearly planted by Lin Mian.

But the Old Master was muddled—he'd tasted Lin Mian's strawberries and mistaken them for Jiang Ji's produce, which is why he came rushing to the orchard to talk cooperation.

If exposed, the deal Jiang Ji had in hand would likely fly away.

Qin Zong pulled out his phone and messaged Jiang Ji: "Hold them off, I'll be there soon."

——

Farm.

Jin Chen and Lin Mian were in the farthest corner of the small grove, pruning the lateral branches of the fruit trees in their growing season.

Lin Mian was flipping through the fruit-tree pruning manual left by Ms. Lin Yao, pruning accordingly, and the gardening shears in her hand clicked.

"Leave nothing on the south side above, nothing on the north side below…"

Click click.

"Remove the coarse, keep the fine; remove the straight, keep the slanted…"

Click click.

Jin Chen watched the side branches piling up on the ground, gradually fell silent, staring as Lin Mian continued to cut the bare branches.

"Leave nothing low on the east, nothing high on the west."

Jin Chen couldn't help interjecting: "Just bare."

The clicking stopped abruptly.

Lin Mian tapped Jin Chen's forehead, leaving a few gray handprints, and said, "What are you saying?"

"Hmm, is this really okay?" Jin Chen said earnestly, "It's about to be bald from your pruning."

"That's how it is." Lin Mian wiped the dust off his forehead again, explaining, "Fruit trees aren't like ornamental ones; too many side branches affect fruit growth."

After considering the emissary's status, Lin Mian added specially: "Limited to planting in the human world; it has no reference value in the elf realm."

Jin Chen indeed fell silent: "Oh."

The afternoon sun was harsh; Jin Chen also wiped Lin Mian's sweat, his fingertip twitching.

The mature giant tree beside them slowly leaned left, moving its canopy above them.

Jin Chen casually plucked a cherry to eat, then wiped it on his clothes and fed it to Lin Mian.

Lin Mian, now accustomed to these movements, rolled up her sleeves to continue pruning, but couldn't help smiling secretly, thinking he was like a child.

After hearing it a few times, Jin Chen also learned, picking up another pair of shears to join Lin Mian in the work.