Early the next morning, Yushu was woken by a knock at the door.
Still groggy, he glanced at the alarm clock beside his bed.
Seven thirty in the morning.
Yushu felt utterly miserable.
He had been busy until two in the morning before going to bed last night, which meant he had only slept for five and a half hours.
For someone used to getting up at eight, seven thirty was practically torture.
Who was here this early? Had that guy Kurokawa come to mooch another meal?
No, that lazy bum never got up before nine.
"Coming, coming..."
He rubbed his eyes, shuffled to the door in his slippers, and opened it.
Aili and Shuren stood outside, both looking full of energy.
"Good morning, boss!"
They spoke in unison, their voices strong and clear.
Yushu froze for a moment and instinctively looked down at himself.
His hair was a bird's nest, his pajamas were rumpled, and he had a pair of flip-flops on his feet.
"You're... here so early?"
Aili grinned. "The early bird catches the worm! It's our first day at work, so of course we wanted to make a good impression on the boss!"
A good... impression...
The corner of Yushu's mouth twitched. "Wait here a moment. I'll get changed."
He shut the door, leaned against it, and tilted his head back with a long sigh.
It's over. The boss's image has come crashing down.
Outside, Aili and Shuren exchanged looks.
Aili asked quietly, "Were we being a bit presumptuous?"
Shuren nodded. "We definitely were. It looks like the boss wasn't up yet."
"Then what do we do?"
"We've already knocked. Just wait."
Ten minutes later, Yushu finished washing up, changed into clean clothes, and opened the door again.
"Come in."
Aili and Shuren followed him inside, looking around curiously.
The house was very tidy, with some tools hanging on the walls and some Berries and materials on the table.
The most eye-catching thing was the Berry machine in the corner. For a ranch, the mere presence of this machine spoke to its owner's professionalism.
Yushu asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
"We have!"
Both nodded quickly.
"All right, I'll start by showing you what you'll be doing today."
Yushu took Aili to the feed room first.
The feed room was piled high with all kinds of Berries and grains, their mingled fragrances filling the air.
"This is the current feed formula. Just follow it when you mix the feed."
Aili stepped closer to take a look. She had thought what she had learned would be enough, but when she saw Yushu's formula, she found it much more precise than those in her textbooks.
It included not only the usual grain ratios, but also specific proportions of Berry powder and Pokéblock crumbs.
She couldn't help asking, "Boss, where did you learn this formula? Which textbook is it from?"
Yushu answered casually, "I developed it myself."
Aili exclaimed in surprise, "You developed it yourself? That's amazing!"
This boss really knew his stuff. He wasn't the type to just coast along.
Yushu looked composed, but in truth, he could no longer keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.
Hmph, did I have to tell you I had a cheat, too?
He left Aili to study it and went to work in the Berry orchard with Shuren.
He found that the Berries were growing extremely well.
The leaves were glossy, the fruit plump, and the roots well developed. There were no signs of pests or disease at all, and even weeds were a rare sight.
Shuren asked curiously, "Boss, what fertilizer do you use?"
He had studied plant care at the Eterna Gym and knew that fertilizer was the key to growing good Berries.
But the soil in Yushu's Berry orchard didn't look as though much chemical fertilizer had been applied.
Yushu pointed at Torterra, who was basking in the sun in the distance.
"Him."
Shuren followed his finger and saw a huge Torterra lying on the ground, dozing.
"Tor... Torterra?"
Shuren's voice was full of confusion.
He couldn't figure out what a Torterra had to do with fertilizer. Was Yushu using Torterra's droppings as fertilizer?
How much would he have to poop?!
Look at him, so little experience of the world... Yushu shook his head and called over:
"Torterra, show him!"
"Tor!"
Torterra slowly opened his eyes, then raised a foreleg and gently tapped the ground.
In an instant, green light spread outward from him in every direction.
The light rippled out, covering the entire Berry orchard.
The Berry plants' roots stretched through the soil, and their leaves grew even brighter.
Grassy Terrain!
Immediately afterward, Torterra turned slightly, and a great swath of Razor Leaf shot from his body.
The leaves sliced precisely through the roots of the weeds, cutting down every weed that had grown a little too tall, then scattering evenly over the ground.
Yushu explained from beside him, "Grass clippings are the best natural fertilizer, and after being treated with Torterra's energy, they're even easier for plants to absorb."
"This way, we clear the weeds and enrich the soil at the same time. Two birds with one stone."
Shuren stared, dumbfounded.
Using Pokémon moves to fertilize the soil? What kind of god-tier play was this?
No wonder there weren't any weeds. Razor Leaf cut them down the moment they poked their heads out. They didn't even get a chance to struggle.
There was only one thought in his mind:
Coming here was the right choice. I could learn something real here.
Before long, it was lunchtime.
Aili had brought a packed lunch of rolled omelets, which looked quite appetizing.
Shuren had brought rice balls with plums inside.
The two were just about to find somewhere to eat their lunches when Yushu came over for a look. Aili's was edible, but he would pass on Shuren's plum rice balls.
Those things were salty and sour. He didn't even want to touch them.
Without another word, Yushu swept a hand through the air.
"Don't eat those. I'll make you something good today."
Aili looked a little surprised. "You can cook too, boss?"
Shuren was rather optimistic. "I think it should be pretty good. He's got Pokémon food down pat, so food for people should be no problem... right?"
Yushu walked into the kitchen, tied on an apron, and got to work.
Chopping vegetables, adding them to the pan, stir-frying, seasoning-his movements flowed effortlessly.
Half an hour later, four dishes and a soup were on the table.
Braised pork ribs, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, broccoli with minced garlic, and a bowl of seaweed egg drop soup.
They had color, aroma, and flavor, and looked as though they had been lifted straight from a restaurant menu.
Both of them were left staring.
Wait, boss, you really could cook.
"What are you staring at? Eat."
Yushu ate some egg and gestured to the two, who were still dumbstruck.
"Oh, right."
They quickly found seats and started digging in.
Aili tasted a bite of braised pork ribs, and her eyes instantly lit up. "This is so good! I feel like my dad's cooking is practically dark cuisine compared to this!"
She had barely ever eaten any of these dishes before.
She thought that if Yushu opened a restaurant, business would definitely be better than at the ranch.
Shuren said nothing, because he had no time to speak. His mouth was already stuffed with food.
This kid was the shrewdest of all. He knew that one more sentence meant one less bite.
Invisible, Uxie snickered nearby. That guy Yushu was winning people over with good food again.
Still, it really did smell delicious.
It looked down at the half-eaten Berry in its hands and suddenly found it tasteless.
Maybe... it should have Yushu make it a little something special tonight, too?