Sharing experience

"Sure." Tong Hua agreed. It was pouring outside, after all. He couldn't just send her packing.

"Yay!"

Jessica bounded into the kitchen in a few steps and sat down without ceremony. She even pulled a leather canteen from her bag, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"Min..." Naturally, Minccino was the most upset by this turn of events.

Two Celebi had shown up just a couple of days ago, and now there was a blonde, blue-eyed woman, too...

Minccino's little paws clutched Tong Hua's pant leg, while its tail swished irritably back and forth. Clearly, it was deeply unhappy with this unexpected guest who had barged into their home.

Noticing the little Pokémon's mood, Tong Hua crouched down and gently rubbed its head. "It's all right. Jessica's only here to shelter from the rain."

Minccino pouted and reluctantly nodded, but its eyes remained wary. When Jessica grinned at it, even the fur on its tail bristled a little.

"Oh, does this little one not like me?" Jessica tilted her head, smiling at Minccino, then fished a beautifully wrapped Berry candy out of her bag. "Here, this is for you. Do you like sweets?"

Minccino stared at the candy, its nose twitching slightly.

Mm, it smelled sweet. Its favorite kind of smell. But...

"Min!" It abruptly turned away, refusing to give in to temptation, though the tip of its tail betrayed it with a little wag.

Jessica's smile widened. She deliberately waved the candy around. "You really don't want it? Then I'll give it to Turtwig."

"Min, min!" Minccino immediately panicked. It launched itself from beside Tong Hua's feet, snatched the candy, and darted back behind him. Still on guard, it unwrapped the candy and popped it into its mouth.

"Pfft..." Jessica couldn't help laughing. "You're such an easy little thing to read."

Tong Hua shook his head helplessly. It felt just like watching a goofy relative tease his kid.

Still, having the place this lively for the first time in ages wasn't bad at all.

Outside, the rain grew heavier, drumming noisily against the roof and window frames.

"Speaking of which..." Tong Hua suddenly took the farming notebook from his bedside table.

Every night before bed, he would read it for a while, then record his income, expenses, and a brief diary entry on the blank pages included at the back.

Over the past few days, after subtracting his spending on ingredients and adding the income from Miltank's Moomoo Milk, Tong Hua's savings had climbed back to over 120,000 League Coins.

The money he had originally expected to spend building the Pokémon Cottage and repairing the fence had also dropped to zero, since he had gathered the wood and done the work himself.

At this point, the things most likely to cost him money were buying new animals and Pokémon, along with modernizing the cabin by installing running water and electricity.

Selling the grass carp in the Pond might add a few thousand more to his savings.

"This notebook is amazingly detailed. Did you really make it all by yourself, Jessica?"

Tong Hua still found it hard to believe that the seemingly carefree woman before him could have made something so meticulous.

"What do you mean by that, Tong Hua?" Jessica suddenly poked her head out from behind him, her chin almost resting on his shoulder. He was so startled that he nearly threw the notebook.

"J-Jessica!" Tong Hua edged aside, the tips of his ears turning slightly red. "How do you walk without making a sound?"

Jessica burst out laughing and snatched the notebook. "What, don't I look like someone who could make something this detailed?"

She opened it and casually flipped through a few pages.

"But I made this a few years ago. Looking at it now is kind of embarrassing..."

It was like rereading a diary from your school days as an adult-a feeling of having all your embarrassing memories put on public display.

"Back then, I worked in the fields with Grandpa every day before dawn. Watering and farming alongside the Pokémon was so much fun."

Jessica's gaze softened, and her whole demeanor changed with it.

Her usual carefree manner now gave way to a quiet steadiness.

Tong Hua watched her silently. Her healthy, sun-kissed complexion, well-proportioned figure, and the muscle definition faintly visible beneath her clothes made her look like a perfectly sculpted statue.

It reminded him of an old saying: serene at rest, swift as a fleeing hare. There was no better description for Jessica, with her combination of strength and beauty.

Only after a long while did Jessica close the notebook, and Tong Hua finally looked away.

"By the way, Tong Hua, what have you planted so far? Let me take a look and see how it's growing."

"Uh..." Tong Hua walked to the window and pointed at the fields outside.

"Potatoes and cabbages. Not much, only about two bags of seeds."

Jessica came over and looked out. A broad stretch of lush green farmland lay right behind the cabin.

She narrowed her eyes, peering at the field through the misty rain, then suddenly let out a surprised little sound.

"Tong Hua, didn't you only move in here four or five days ago? How long ago did you plant these seeds?"

"This is their fourth day. Why? Did I do something wrong?"

Tong Hua followed Jessica's gaze. Everything in the field looked perfectly normal to him.

The half-meter-tall potato plants stood in neat rows. The cabbages near the window had glossy, full leaves that looked especially vibrant as the rain washed over them.

"Normally, potatoes and cabbages should take a week to mature. You've only had these planted for four days, so why do they look ripe already?

Did you use some special fertilizer?"

As Jessica spoke, she glanced at Turtwig, who was clutching her canteen and drinking from it, then at Bounsweet, who was asleep beside Miltank on the bed.

Tong Hua paused, then understanding dawned on him. "Maybe it's thanks to Turtwig and Bounsweet.

They help me water the fields every day. They've been helping ever since I started clearing the land, and they spend more time out there than I do.

Oh, right. I also borrowed an Orthworm to help when I was clearing the fields. Grandpa Yang from Sunshine Ranch said the soil Orthworm eats becomes more fertile after it passes through its body.

I guess those must be the reasons."

After hearing Tong Hua's explanation, Jessica nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. Then that makes sense.

No chemical fertilizer, just Pokémon abilities to grow everything. That's such a natural approach.

I didn't expect you to get the hang of it so quickly. You're every bit the rancher Grandpa believed you could be."

Jessica opened the window and poked her head outside.

"Hey, Jessica! The rain's going to blow in..."

Before Tong Hua could finish,

her next move left him staring in astonishment.

Bracing one hand on the window frame, she vaulted out in one smooth motion and landed firmly on the muddy ridge between the fields.

The rain instantly soaked her blonde hair, but she merely wiped her face without a care and crouched down to inspect the crops.

"Jessica! Wait!" Tong Hua hastily grabbed the umbrella by the door and rushed outside.

Minccino hopped anxiously, grabbed the new raincoat Tong Hua had left beside the bed, and darted into the rain after him.

"Min, min!"

Seeing this, Turtwig quickly put the canteen down and pattered after them on its short little legs.

By the time Tong Hua reached the field with his umbrella, Jessica had already picked a cabbage and was weighing it in her hand.

Rain dripped from her chin, and her shirt and jacket clung to her body, yet her smile was positively radiant.

"Look, Tong Hua!" She raised the plump cabbage. "Thick leaves, well-developed roots-quality like this will sell like hotcakes!"

Tong Hua was about to speak when he suddenly felt a weight on his back. Minccino nimbly climbed onto his shoulder and draped the raincoat over his head with an indignant huff.

"Thanks." Tong Hua rubbed the little Pokémon's head, then turned and called to Jessica, "Let's get back inside first!"

Only then did Jessica notice that Tong Hua was already half-soaked. She sheepishly stuck out her tongue. Just as she began to stand, her foot slipped.

"Watch out!"

At the last possible moment, Turtwig shot out several Vine Whips, wrapping them firmly around Jessica's wrist. Tong Hua abandoned his umbrella and lunged forward to grab her arm.

Splash!

All three still tumbled into a heap, but fortunately, none of them fell into the planted beds.

Tong Hua's clothes were utterly ruined. The muddy water splattered all over them would probably be very hard to wash out.

Turtwig, on the other hand, was in its element. Even though it couldn't right itself, it still insisted on rolling in the mud. Meanwhile, Minccino clung desperately to the cabbage, floating in a puddle as though it were a life ring.

"Pfft, hahaha!" Jessica suddenly burst out laughing and patted Tong Hua's shoulder with a mud-covered hand. "Now this is what farming should look like!"

Tong Hua looked down at his own mud-soaked state, then at the equally bedraggled Pokémon in his arms, and suddenly couldn't help laughing, too.

"Min! Min, min!" Minccino furiously waved its little paws, only to pause when it saw Tong Hua's smile. Finally, as though giving up altogether, it balanced the cabbage on its head as an umbrella.

They laughed and played in the rain for a while before returning to the cabin.