"Oh, so you're mages from Fairy Tail..."
Mr. Puxi Meng climbed down from the tree, looking at the task sheet in Wendy's hand, "I did post this commission, but..."
Wendy asked curiously, "Is there something wrong?"
"No, nothing."
Puxi Meng actually wanted to ask why they sent a child, although Rhode was there, it seemed that everything revolved around Wendy. He could roughly guess the reason.
The main worker would probably be this little girl.
Puxi Meng felt a bit disappointed, but considering the reward he offered wasn't that high, he couldn't be picky.
Besides, you can't judge a mage child by common standards, right?
Wendy felt she might be underestimated, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she continued, "Please tell us what specifically we need to do."
"Alright, first, there's the pruning work I've just done. After that, gather the fallen leaves in the orchard; I need them for compost."
Puxi Meng pointed to the direction they had just entered and said, "I've already pruned part of it, and I'll continue doing it with you. If there's no problem, I'll teach you how to cut now."
Wendy looked at Rhode; she had nothing to ask and was ready to start working.
Rhode asked, "Do you usually manage such a big orchard by yourself?"
"No, actually, I originally hired some workers from the village to the south. But after they finished picking the persimmons, I gave them a break with an agreement to return and continue working the day before yesterday...
"But after they went back, they never returned. Recently I heard something happened in that village, and those workers disappeared."
"Disappeared? What happened?"
"Who knows, something strange happened, and I didn't dare to go check it out. Besides, I need to go away for a while and won't be back until next year. If we don't quickly get the orchard in order, it'll be too late, so I have to rely on you."
Puxi Meng was quite troubled; if there were skilled workers, who would want to hire temporary workers? Besides, the mage's pay, even discounted, would be slightly higher than ordinary workers' wages.
Rhode frowned; someone going missing wasn't a trivial matter. His first thought was that organizations like the Black Magic Sect or the Dark Guild were involved.
But guessing wouldn't reveal anything. He would need to check if there were any related commissions back at their guild.
After asking everything necessary and confirming the payment was fine, Puxi Meng took them to get the tools.
They had aprons like his, sleeves, pruning shears, small hand saws, and step ladders.
What surprised Puxi Meng was that the little white cat that wore clothes and could talk also asked for tools, and it could fly.
No wonder it's a mage's cat.
Wendy tied her long hair up, felt it wasn't tidy enough, so she coiled it on top of her head and put on a hat.
She put on the apron, slipped on the sleeve covers, picked up the scissors, and a cute little fruit farmer appeared.
Puxi Meng envied Wendy's parents; having such an adorable daughter must be a blessing.
But that she was out working to make money at such a young age was something Puxi Meng didn't want to think about negatively.
"Look here, this is a tree I've pruned, and this is a fruit tree that needs pruning, you should be able to see the noticeable difference, right?"
Puxi Meng talked as if it were simple, but the three outsiders could only see that one tree had cut branches, and the branches seemed sparse in comparison. They couldn't see anything else.
You can't just decide how much to cut based on feeling, right?
Seeing the three faces filled with confusion, Puxi Meng had to continue explaining, "Imagine in summer, the trees will be full of leaves. The sun will rise from the east, move to the south, and then set in the west. With the sun's shifting angles, many branches will be blocked, affecting the yield. This tree, after pruning, will be much better."
Oh~~~ The two people and the cat showed expressions of understanding and non-understanding.
Rhode was thinking if it's really okay to leave a task that could affect next year's harvest to three outsider temporary workers?
"Next, I'll go up and demonstrate for you." Puxi Meng set up the ladder, climbed up three steps, and pointed to a few areas, "Look here, and here, there are many crisscrossing branches that need trimming."
He raised the scissors and neatly snipped off the thin branches. For the thicker, more stubborn ones, he used the small saw.
He then pointed out how to differentiate between aged branches and diseased ones, and further explained what a bud eye is and what undercutting is and how to deal with them...
Wendy and Carla paid close attention and took notes, while Rhode listened carefully, feeling that the knowledge about the apical dominance from high school biology was reviving.
After demonstratively handling one tree, Puxi Meng let them practice under his supervision and correction.
After each of them pruned a few trees, Puxi Meng felt they got the hang of it and let each person go to work.
He himself was also working, only occasionally checking the places Rhode and Wendy had pruned.
Occasionally, he would marvel at how fast young people learn.
Rhode climbed up and down like an ordinary fruit farmer, pruning and snipping. Once he fully mastered the skill, he pondered if there were any magical creatures that could help.
The result of his pondering was no; if only a Void Worm could be precisely controlled, with a little time, he could have more worms than trees. Forget the orchard, he alone could trim an entire mountain.
Unfortunately, the worms weren't smart enough, and releasing them would mean the end for the orchard.
"Ah—"
"Warm!"
Hearing Wendy's exclamation, Rhode swiftly responded, and Warm appeared instantly under a tree nearby.
Wendy bounced off the soft body of Warm, not getting hurt.
"Wendy, are you okay?" Carla flew over to check.
"I'm fine." Wendy lay on Warm's back, gently stroking its fur, "Thank you, Warm. And thank you, Brother Rhode."
"Hoolulu~" Warm hadn't quite figured out what happened. It was enjoying snacks and being cute at the guild, and suddenly it was here.
Rhode nodded in satisfaction; wasn't this a magical creature helping?
Puxi Meng also came over for a look, finding the additional strange creature intriguing but said nothing, only reminding, "Remember to be careful."
With this, Wendy gained a walking cushion, and with Puxi Meng's permission, started picking the leftover persimmons from the branches for Warm to eat.
In fact, those were subpar fruits, still unripe, tasting astringent when eaten directly.
But Warm didn't mind; as long as there was food, it didn't care. Eating too much might cause stones in humans, but eating too much for Warm meant it would just want more.
Even the small branches Wendy pruned off, it would take into its mouth, chew, and spit out only after confirming they weren't food, with the bark completely gone in its mouth.
With the company of a gourmand, work became a bit more interesting. Wendy went up and down, working while feeding.
Carla flew up and down, occasionally picking a persimmon to feed Warm.
Rhode slowly started admiring Wendy, thinking that such a tedious task should be left to Troy; he would rather investigate the missing persons' case.