The echoes of the copper bells still reverberated across the hillside when Mira, carrying a bamboo basket, flew up onto the trellis.
"Let's get to know the three rows on the left first!"
As the setting sun slants down through the gap in the mountain ridge, the grapevines don't change color all at once. The berries near the top of the slope turn deep red first, while the lower berries still retain a light purple hue. The ripe color only lasts for a moment, so they must be harvested sequentially according to the direction the light moves.
Lin Yuan walked into the first row of trellises and cut short the vines close to the fruit stems.
Click.
The first bunch of grapes fell into the bamboo basket without damaging a single fruit. Then, the second and third bunches fell in succession. He did not use magic to touch the grapes, but only opened a space entrance of less than half a meter when the bamboo basket was full, and delivered the whole basket to the red-patterned wooden barrel.
The workers standing in front of the wooden barrels can start filling them immediately once they receive the bamboo baskets.
"One of the bunches on the fifth plant isn't ripe yet!" Mira pointed out from above.
Lin Yuan's short scissors passed over the bunch of light purple grapes and turned to the back.
Mira flew over the trellis, judging the colors as she picked the fruits hidden by the branches and leaves. The two bamboo baskets were soon full, and instead of returning to the entrance, she tossed them directly to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan didn't even look up; the spatial entrance unfolded right in front of the bamboo basket. The bamboo basket, filled with grapes, passed through the thin black and silver light curtain and landed steadily next to the wooden barrel.
The empty basket then flew back from another entrance and was caught by Mira with one hand.
"The right side," she said.
Lin Yuan has moved to the next row.
Without discussing who would be responsible for which plant, Mira, being faster, took care of the top of the trellis and the parts hidden by the leaves first; Lin Yuan moved along the path, cutting off the fruit clusters within reach, while also taking care of carrying away the full bamboo baskets.
As the sunlight gradually moved down the hillside, the two changed their harvesting route. When the pale purple grapes that had been left behind turned deep red, Lin Yuan had already turned back. Mira landed from the air, catching the last bunch he had cut.
"A white-striped bucket." She glanced at the color.
The bunch of grapes wasn't quite fully ripe yet, which would make them suitable for adjusting the sweetness of the wine.
Lin Yuan changed the location of the entrance to the space, and the bamboo basket fell to the other side.
The two workers responsible for the lower half of the vineyard occasionally looked up. At first, I was worried that they wouldn't be able to distinguish the different fruits, but later they just kept picking. The bamboo baskets next to the wooden barrels in the upper half of the vineyard kept going back and forth, but they never piled up or were ever delivered to the wrong place.
As the sunlight passed over the last two rows of pergolas, Lyle rang the brass bell again.
Five minutes left!
The unpicked sunset grapes began to shimmer. The magic accumulated within the fruit had reached its peak; any longer and it would flow back down the stem to the vine.
Mira flew to the highest point, her gaze sweeping across the entire uphill slope.
"Two strings in the middle of the ninth row. One string at the end of the eleventh row. And three strings in the top row!"
Lin Yuan closed the short shears in his hand, and the two bunches of grapes fell at the same time. He used a spatial barrier to support the fruit and sent it away along with the bamboo basket, then directly crossed the two rows of trellises.
Mira had already picked the last bunch from the eleventh row. She flapped her wings and soared toward the top of the slope, while Lin Yuan arrived from the other side.
The last three bunches of grapes were hidden behind the overly lush vines. Mira lifted the leaves, and Lin Yuan's short scissors snapped three times in a row.
Three bunches of grapes fell into the bamboo basket in her arms at the same time.
The setting sun slid completely over the mountain ridge.
The remaining light among the vines gradually faded, and the entire vineyard fell silent once more.
Lyle, carrying a lantern, carefully inspected the area from the first row to the last. The other two workers also walked up the hillside, turning over all the vines hidden behind the leaves.
After a long while, Lyle returned to the wooden shed. He looked at the neatly arranged red and white striped barrels, and then at the empty upper half of the trellis.
Not a single one was missed.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Mira took a grape with a damaged skin from the bamboo basket beside her, "There's one more here."
"That's for making jam," Lyle quickly said. "No, no."
By the time they finished filling the barrels, it was completely dark. Lyle stamped the task sheet, then fetched a jug of freshly squeezed grape juice, insisting that the two of them finish it before leaving.
"Last year we hired four skilled harvesters, and we still missed more than a dozen bunches." He filled their wooden cups. "You two work together so well, I thought you'd always been doing tasks together."
Mira gripped the wooden cup, pausing for a moment.
"We used to spend a lot of time together?" she said.
Lin Yuan looked at her. "It can be done in the future too."
Mira didn't reply immediately, but instead took a sip of grape juice. After a while, she put down her glass, a slight smile on her lips.
There were no more carriages heading into the city on their return journey, so the two could only walk slowly back along the riverbank. Moonlight shone on the water, and the occasional call of night birds could be heard in the distance.
Mira was quieter than usual the whole way.
Just as she was about to see the lights of Magnolia, she suddenly stopped.
Lin Yuan.
"What's wrong?"
Mira looked at him, as if she had finally made a decision.
Do you have time tomorrow?