Chapter 34: Picking in the Orchard

An Songyu’s reflections did not last long. She had barely returned to her small building and hadn't even had a chance to put down her luggage when Yuan Qionghua, who was coming down from the upper floor, spotted her.

Yuan Qionghua’s eyes lit up, and she hurried over in a few quick strides. After taking the luggage from An Songyu’s hands, she immediately said, "Ah Yu, I’m so glad you’re here. Your room is still the one next to the stairs on the first floor; I’ll take your bags in for you. You should hurry over to your family’s orchard! We’ve had a lot of guests in the village lately who want to help pick fruit. Your father said that as long as the guests don’t damage the fruit or the trees, and don’t pick recklessly, they can pick as much as they want. Plus, they don’t have to take it all with them."

Yuan Qionghua felt quite impressed by this policy, though this wasn't the place to chat. After all, the village was currently teeming with guests. Specifically, because Jiang Village’s rates were very reasonable, many families with children—and even some with elderly relatives—would come to stay for a week or two at a time. As a result, many of the village’s farmstays were already fully booked.

The several houses owned by the An family had originally been intended for only partial, temporary use, as most of the rooms lacked proper furniture. However, the guests who couldn't find accommodation elsewhere refused to leave and discovered these newly built houses. Seeing that the design and layout were clearly intended for guests, they asked the local farmstay owners they were familiar with to inquire on their behalf. The villagers, having no other choice, called An Jianping. After consulting with his wife, he told the villagers to let the guests move in if they liked the rooms; if not, there was nothing to be done.

Although they had tried their best to match the old furniture into sets, it did look a bit out of place compared to the new houses. Fortunately, Bi Lizhu was meticulous. Even with the old furniture, she had carefully sorted it before moving it upstairs. Items that were still in good condition were cleaned thoroughly and paired up before being placed in the rooms. Items that were not in perfect shape were given simple repairs. If something could be fixed, she fixed it, and then she would repaint those pieces along with others that just needed a fresh coat. Surprisingly, they ended up looking better than the original pieces. It was just quite a lot of work! Fortunately, the An family was not in a rush. By now, the rooms were at least somewhat decent.

Strictly speaking, the old furniture brought back from the city was not necessarily inferior to what most families in Jiang Village had. After all, people generally kept using whatever they had. Very few families in the village frequently updated their decor or furniture. It was only because the An family’s houses were newly built that the old furniture felt mismatched. The guests, however, didn't care about the age of the furniture as long as it was clean and comfortable.

Just like that, not long into the summer vacation, many of the rooms in the An family’s houses were already occupied. Normally, not only Yuan Qionghua, but any villager who had arranged for guests would come by frequently to attend to them and help clean the common areas. This allowed the houses to function smoothly even while An Songyu was temporarily unable to manage them herself.

An Songyu didn't even have time to take a sip of water before she hurried to the orchard. Sure enough, the entire orchard was filled with adults and children. There were even people wandering around the banana trees on the outskirts that weren't yet ripe, though it was unclear what they were looking at. An Songyu didn't bother to go over and observe. In any case, there were warnings posted before entering the orchard: while minor, accidental damage to fruit trees during normal picking might be handled leniently, any damage caused by other behaviors would require compensation at full price. Therefore, the people in the orchard were relatively well-behaved.

She hadn't been there long before a group of guests arrived, carrying baskets and crates. Seeing the various fruits in their containers, she couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth. Had they picked every type of fruit available in the orchard? Could they even eat all of this? She thought this, and naturally, she asked. The family, which included several members, heard the young owner’s overly honest question and laughed.

"It’s fine, we’re heading back to the city today. Don't let the quantity fool you; once we get back and share it around, it will be gone in no time."

"Dad, you can't share it all!" a child, watching the fruit being bagged with wide eyes, chimed in, sounding displeased.

"Don't worry, we won't share it all. We’ll save what you picked just for you!"

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Hearing their conversation, An Songyu didn't say anything more. She charged them a price slightly higher than the wholesale rate. The family left the orchard, laden with bags and baskets, lamenting how affordable and fresh everything was.

Starting with that family, An Songyu didn't have a moment to rest for a long time. It wasn't until the sky began to grow dark that the visitors—whether they were there for the picking experience or just to eat the fruit—finally left. An Songyu stretched her aching arms and, looking at the row of crates filled with fruit, resigned herself to riding the tricycle to get to work.

The fruit had to be taken to her uncle’s courtyard for processing. Everything had to be sorted by variety, and she also had to check for any damage. The tourists were actually quite discerning and rarely picked fruit of poor quality. It was just that they weren't very skilled at picking, and since most of them were with children, there was more damage to the fruit. If these pieces were picked out promptly, they were still edible, but if they were left, they would spoil quickly.

Once that was finished, An Songyu grabbed a quick, simple meal with her uncle’s family and left with her younger cousin, who wanted to stay at her house.

At night, Jiang Village was lit only by the moonlight, save for the streetlights on the main road and those outside each home. Looking up, one could see the sky filled with stars. An Songyu sighed in admiration as she walked. An Songyue laughed, amused. As a child raised in the countryside, while she loved the starry sky, she had never found it particularly rare.

An Songyu just smiled without a word. Her young cousin had never left home, so naturally, she didn't realize how precious such common sights were elsewhere. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but play the villain: "Ah Yue, your college entrance exam results are out, right? Did you pass?"

An Songyue was speechless. "I just got access to check my scores; I haven't even filled out my preferences yet!"

An Songyu paused slightly; she had forgotten that this year, one had to check scores before filling out preferences. "Then, will you be able to get into your ideal school?" she quickly changed the subject.

An Songyue fell silent. After a while, she let out a long sigh: "Sister, why is studying so hard?"

"What’s wrong? Did you do poorly? Are you planning to go to college directly, or are you thinking of repeating a year?" An Songyu asked, surprised. She seemed to recall that before she had come back, none of her siblings had ever repeated a year.

"Of course I’m going to college directly!" An Songyue replied firmly. She couldn't bear the thought of going through the exam again. "Besides, if my grades aren't good enough, how would repeating a year change that?"

Amused by her cousin’s mournful expression, An Songyu grew curious. "Then which school were you planning to apply to?"

Come to think of it, An Songyue had lived in their house throughout her high school years. Yet, An Songyu realized she knew nothing about this. It wasn't that she didn't care about her cousin, but back then, An Songyu had been studying in the south, and she could rarely return home throughout the year. Often, the times she did return were when An Songyue was back in Jiang Village to reunite with the family.

Hearing the question, An Songyue looked even more aggrieved. She stared at An Songyu’s face, as if she had asked something absolutely forbidden.