Chapter 20

The entire orchard covers about twenty acres of mountain land, with various fruit trees planted in sections, and grapevines growing in the flat areas at the base of the mountain.

Uncle Changfa and his wife live at the foot of the mountain. Their eldest son went to join the army and is not at home, while their youngest son, Wu Hua, is of middle school age. However, he didn’t feel like school was useful, so he decided to come back and help manage the orchard.

In addition to Uncle Changfa’s family of three, there are also two brothers, Changxi and Changle, living in the orchard. With five people working together, they’re always busy in the twenty-plus acres of land.

They usually cook their own meals and manage their work on their own, without needing to report to the village or work in teams. Compared to others, their setup is more free.

As soon as Wu Xiaoxiao arrived, the others gathered around, calling her “Sister Xiaoxiao” and “Little Xiaoxiao.”

Aunt Changfa waved them aside: “Move aside, move aside. Come here, Xiaoxiao. After your uncle came back from Captain Huang’s, he thought about it day and night, wondering when he could ask you to come over. I’ve already tidied up your room. Go check if it’s suitable.”

Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t plan to stay there; it was only a few miles away, and running back and forth wasn’t difficult: “It’s fine, the room will definitely be good. I’m just a bit worried about leaving my mom alone at home.”

Wu Changfa thought for a moment and said, “It’s not impossible for you to go back home. We don’t always have work here. When you go back, you can just ride that bicycle.”

Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t immediately agree: “Uncle, isn’t that bicycle hard to get?”

Uncle Changfa grinned: “It’s indeed hard to get. This one was specially allocated. Around here, I think only the neighbor’s family got one when someone got married, and everyone else was jealous. To buy one, you need a ticket. Even with a ticket, it costs more than a hundred. If it weren’t for the village covering part of the cost, your aunt wouldn’t have agreed to buy it.”

Fearing that Wu Xiaoxiao wouldn’t want to ride it back, Uncle Changfa waved his hand generously: “It’s fine. If you want to use it, just take it. We’re always up in the mountains and don’t use it much.”

Wu Xiaoxiao smiled and agreed. In her mind, although Uncle Changfa said that, the bicycle was valuable, so she wouldn’t ride it every day—just occasionally would be enough.

As they continued talking, they walked into the orchard. As soon as Wu Xiaoxiao entered, she furrowed her brows. Something wasn’t right in the orchard!

“Uncle, what’s going on here? These pests are really bad!”

Wu Changfa sighed: “Sigh, I don’t know what’s going on this year. These woolly aphids are everywhere. I’ve sprayed three times already, but it’s not working. If these pests keep coming, we won’t have any peaches this year.”

Wu Xiaoxiao took a closer look and found that there wasn’t just one kind of pest on the trees: “Uncle, look, there are two types of pests on these trees. One is on the underside of the leaves, chewing holes in them, and the other one specifically eats the fruit. They’re mostly hiding inside the peach pits. Right now, they’re not too visible, but when the peaches start to grow, they’ll start eating from the inside out. This kind of pest is troublesome because it’s hard to reach with pesticides.”

Uncle Changfa came over to take a look, his face full of worry: “What should we do then? These peach trees are top-quality early peaches. We make a lot of money selling them at the market every year!”

“Uncle, don’t worry yet. Didn’t you borrow that agricultural book? I’ll study it first, maybe I can find a solution.”

“Oh, right. Let’s go back and read the book then,” Wu Changfa said, starting to walk back.

Wu Xiaoxiao stopped him. “Uncle, wait a minute. We just came to the orchard, right? I’ll take a look around first, get a clear idea of the condition of the fruit trees, and then we can go back and read the book to find a solution. It’ll be faster that way.”

“Ah, look at me, getting anxious. Alright, we’ll do it your way.” Wu Changfa slapped his head and turned back with Wu Xiaoxiao, showing her around the orchard as they went.

They spent most of the day going through the entire orchard. The pest infestation was worst on the peach trees. The other fruit trees weren’t in great condition either; there were insects breeding on the leaves, causing varying degrees of damage to the trees.

The grapevines were in slightly better shape, but grapes like water and fertilizer. This year, the soil lacked enough nutrients, so the grapevines hadn’t grown as well.

—-

After reviewing everything, Wu Xiaoxiao had a general understanding. After a simple lunch, she went to her room to study.

As soon as she entered the room, she could tell that Uncle Changfa and his family were eagerly waiting for her. The room they had prepared for her faced the sun, with a perfect view of the courtyard. The pillows and quilt on the bed were freshly changed, clean and neatly arranged.

It was clear that Uncle Changfa and Aunt Changfa were gentle and thoughtful people.

Wu Xiaoxiao had only been studying for a short while when a head peeked through the door.

“Xiaoxiao Jie, my mom asked me to bring you some brown sugar water.”

It was Uncle Changfa’s youngest son, Wu Hua. He carefully carried a jar of brown sugar water into the room, placed it on the desk, and smiled at Wu Xiaoxiao.

“Thank you, Xiaohua. Auntie is too kind. Would you like some too?”

At this time, brown sugar water was considered quite precious. It was only her first day there, and she hadn’t come up with any good ideas yet, so she felt a little guilty being treated so well.

Wu Hua shook his head like a rattle drum. “I don’t need any. Mom said it’s good for you to drink brown sugar water.”

“Xiaojie, what are you reading?” Wu Hua asked. He had seen his dad bring back a huge stack of books the other day. He’d read two pages and felt dizzy, just like he used to feel when he tried reading books. Thankfully, he didn’t have to study anymore—studying was too tiring.