Chapter 27

“What good stuff is that?” Wu Hua curiously ran into the main hall. Just as Uncle Changfa put down two packs of candy, Wu Hua immediately grabbed one, tore it open with a whoosh, and exclaimed, “Wow! Gold coin chocolates!”

“You little rascal, wait a bit before eating.” But before the words were fully out, Wu Hua had already grabbed two pieces. He unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth, happily munching away. The other, he peeled and held up to feed Wu Xiaoxiao. “Sis, here, eat this!”

Wu Xiaoxiao smiled and dodged. “I don’t need it, you eat it. There’s only a little bit, and yet you’re trying to share it. It’s all for you.”

“No way, no way! Sis must have some too!” Wu Hua insisted, stubbornly pressing the chocolate to Wu Xiaoxiao’s lips. Seeing no way out, she had to open her mouth and eat it.

Back in those days, gold coin chocolate was really just sweet candy and didn’t taste particularly great. But Wu Hua’s enthusiasm made it feel especially delicious.

As they chatted, Changxi and Changle carried in four large pesticide tanks. “These two are the ones we usually use, and the other two sprayers aren’t working well. But we washed them anyway—shouldn’t be a problem to swap between them for efficiency.”

“Smart thinking, you two. Now, find a scale. This time, we need to measure the exact dosage before adding it in. Xiaoxiao, you do it. You spent so much time calculating yesterday, you know the formula best.”

Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t hesitate. She opened the pesticide bags and carefully measured the exact proportions.

“These pesticides are specifically mixed to treat the aphids on the peach trees. They feed on the leaves. We’ll spray them first today. I also noticed a few trees have scale insects, which are more damaging. These bugs attach themselves to the trunk and suck the sap, blending in so well they look like bark from a distance.”

She pointed to several affected trees. “Actually, a few of our older peach trees are already suffering. It’s best to treat them today too. We might not have time to spray the others, so we’ll continue tomorrow morning.”

As she spoke, she carefully poured the correctly measured pesticide into the tanks.

Changxi and Changle had already hauled several large buckets of water and helped mix the chemicals. Soon, all the pesticide solutions were ready.

Wu Xiaoxiao glanced at the two broken sprayers. “We don’t have time today, but we should check these later. If we can buy replacement parts from Xiao Wu’s shop, we can fix them. That way, spraying pesticides will be faster next time.”

“Sounds good, we’ll give it a shot next time.”

Uncle Changfa was thoroughly impressed. Xiaoxiao seemed to know everything—reading books, mixing pesticides, even fixing machines!

Wu Hua, full of curiosity, asked, “Sis, did you learn all this from books?”

Wu Xiaoxiao nodded. “Yep. Books explain things, and then I figure them out by testing and experimenting.”

Wu Hua looked at his sister with admiration. She could learn so much from books—truly amazing! If books had this much knowledge, then he really needed to study harder instead of just thinking about playing all the time.

With the pesticide ready, Wu Xiaoxiao prepared to carry a tank on her back, but Changxi and Changle wouldn’t let her do the heavy lifting. Each of them grabbed a sprayer and headed out. “We’ll spray the peach trees first. Xiaoxiao, take a break. You’ve been working all day.”

But she couldn’t just rest. While these pesticides were somewhat effective against aphids, they weren’t a complete solution. Ideally, the treatment should have started when the trees bloomed. Spraying now wouldn’t fully eradicate the pests—it was time for her special ability to step in.

Since they wouldn’t let her carry the sprayer, she used the excuse of looking for missing herbal ingredients and followed them up the mountain.

Changxi and Changle sprayed each tree with care. Meanwhile, Wu Xiaoxiao used her ability, letting tiny strands of energy weave into the peach trees, strengthening their internal defenses.

Many trees naturally have pest resistance. When attacked, they can release odors or toxic substances to deter insects—just like how humans have immune systems. However, severe infestations weaken their defenses.

What Wu Xiaoxiao was doing now was boosting the trees’ immunity. This way, the trees could better resist pests on their own, while the sprayed pesticides provided external support.

Though no visible change occurred immediately, she could feel the trees responding to her energy, growing stronger. It was as if they were thanking her.

Feeling this connection with the trees brought Wu Xiaoxiao a deep sense of relaxation. Since arriving at the orchard, she had met the kind-hearted Changfa family, the hardworking Changxi and Changle, and now she shared a special bond with these trees. It felt wonderful.

She continued channeling her energy into the trees until she had exhausted her powers. Though physically drained, she felt mentally refreshed. Later that night, as her energy recovered, her abilities would grow even stronger.

Meanwhile, Changxi and Changle had made several trips across the mountain, spraying nearly all the peach trees. They paid extra attention to the older ones that Wu Xiaoxiao had pointed out.

Before, they had only noticed the aphids swarming the leaves, thinking they were the biggest threat. But after her warning, they realized that parts of the tree trunks—what they had assumed was rough bark—were actually covered in thick layers of scale insects. It was unsettling.

After scraping off some of the insects, they saw the bark underneath was badly damaged. Wu Xiaoxiao had been right—these pests were even more harmful than aphids. The brothers worked diligently, spraying and scraping off the bugs, then stomping them underfoot. It took a long time to clean up just a few trees.

Having worked on the orchard for years, they had grown attached to these trees. Seeing them so badly damaged made them feel awful.

Uncle Changfa reassured them, “Don’t worry! Now that we know, we can fix it. The trees will recover quickly!”

Wu Xiaoxiao added, “Trust me. After the treatment, they’ll be fine in no time. These old peach trees are strong—they won’t be taken down so easily!”

Although the brothers still felt a bit upset, they were grateful to Wu Xiaoxiao. Without her sharp eyes and knowledge, they wouldn’t have noticed the scale insects in time.

“I also found some useful herbs on the mountain,” Wu Xiaoxiao said. “I dug up a few samples. Uncle Changfa, you and the others can help collect more. Let’s try making our own organic pesticide!”