Chapter 112 - 110 — A Little Garden for Little Hands

Chapter 112: Chapter 110 — A Little Garden for Little Hands

The morning after the Harvest Fair began with a promise.

A very important promise.

A promise Shen Rui intended to keep.

"Today," he announced, placing two cups of warm tea on the table, "we are going out."

Lin Yue looked up from the gardening notes she had been reading.

"Out?"

"Out."

"Outside the estate?"

"Yes."

"Without checking the irrigation channels?"

"Yes."

"Without inspecting the bakery?"

Shen Rui paused.

Lin Yue narrowed her eyes.

"Shen Rui."

"The bakery has Aster."

"And Lumi?"

"He has Aster."

"That is not quite the same thing."

From somewhere near the kitchen came a tiny offended voice.

"I HEARD THAT!"

A golden spark popped above the doorway.

Lumi appeared, wearing a little blue scarf and carrying a small basket.

"I am perfectly capable of managing my own bakery!"

Aster’s projection appeared beside him.

"Yesterday, you attempted to use a cake as a doorstop."

"It was a very sturdy cake!"

"It was also sold to a customer."

Lumi froze.

Lin Yue slowly turned toward her husband.

Shen Rui sighed.

"Our outing is already in danger."

Lin Yue laughed and reached for her tea.

"Perhaps we should postpone it."

"No."

His answer came so quickly that she blinked.

Shen Rui calmly took her hand.

"We have postponed it enough times. Today, even if the entire village decides to grow a forest in our courtyard, we are going out."

A small smile appeared on Lin Yue’s face.

"Very determined, aren’t you?"

"I married a woman who can turn a neglected courtyard into a kingdom. I have learned that if I do not make plans in advance, I may never see my wife outside a gardening discussion."

"That sounds like a complaint."

"It is a request for more romantic attention."

Lin Yue nearly choked on her tea.

Before she could reply, someone knocked.

Three quick knocks.

Then a fourth.

Then a voice shouted through the door.

"LIN YUE! WE NEED YOUR HELP!"

Shen Rui closed his eyes.

Lin Yue set down her cup.

"Perhaps the kingdom has arrived."

"I am beginning to regret building it."

The trouble was not an emergency.

It was a delegation.

A very small, very enthusiastic delegation.

Mei stood at the front, holding a rolled piece of paper. Jun stood beside her with a wooden shovel over his shoulder. Jun’s younger sister held a basket of seeds, while two other apprentices were accompanied by six children from Willowbank.

The youngest child was carrying a watering can almost as large as her body.

Mei bowed.

"We have a proposal."

Jun lifted his shovel.

"We want to build a garden!"

One of the children immediately corrected him.

"Not just a garden! A children’s garden!"

Another child raised both hands.

"With a pond!"

"And a vegetable maze!"

"And flowers!"

"And a place for rabbits!"

"And a mountain!"

Lin Yue blinked.

"A mountain?"

The little boy nodded seriously.

"For climbing."

Shen Rui looked at the proposed garden site.

Then at the boy.

Then back at the site.

"How large a mountain?"

The boy stretched his arms as wide as possible.

"Very large."

Shen Rui nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. We shall begin by finding a smaller mountain."

The children giggled.

Mei unrolled her paper on the table.

"We thought the empty patch beside the peach tree would be suitable. It receives sunlight in the morning, and the ground is fairly level."

Lin Yue studied the drawing.

It was surprisingly detailed.

There were small vegetable beds, flower borders, a winding path, a pond, a wooden bridge, and something that appeared to be a tower.

"What is this?" she asked, pointing to the tower.

Jun puffed out his chest.

"A watchtower."

"For what?"

"To watch the vegetables."

His younger sister sighed.

"Vegetables do not run away, Jun."

"They might if someone steals them."

Lin Yue pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing.

Shen Rui leaned over her shoulder.

"I think we should keep the watchtower."

She turned to him.

"You do?"

"Certainly. Someone must watch over the radishes."

Jun looked delighted.

His sister looked betrayed.

Lin Yue shook her head.

"Very well. But before we build anything, we need to decide what this garden is actually for."

She crouched so she could speak to the children at their level.

"A garden is not only a place where we grow vegetables. It is a place where we learn to take care of something. What do you want to learn?"

The answers came immediately.

"How to grow sweet potatoes!"

"How to make flowers bloom!"

"How to grow the biggest cabbage!"

"How to make a tree grow faster!"

"How to keep bugs away!"

The youngest girl lifted her watering can.

"I want to grow something taller than me."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Then we shall plant sunflowers."

The little girl gasped.

"Really?"

"Really."

The children began talking all at once.

Shen Rui leaned closer to Lin Yue.

"You have just made several lifelong promises."

"Only several?"

"I counted at least twelve."

She smiled sweetly.

"You can help me build the beds."

"I suspected that was coming."

The first obstacle arrived before they had even finished discussing the layout.

It had four legs, a white patch on its forehead, and an expression suggesting that the entire world existed for its personal entertainment.

A small goat.

It walked directly into the proposed garden site, sniffed the rolled drawing, and promptly began eating one corner.

"HEY!"

Jun rushed forward.

The goat lifted its head.

The drawing remained in its mouth.

"That’s our plan!"

The goat chewed.

Mei stared in horror.

"My measurements!"

The goat swallowed.

Lin Yue covered her mouth.

Shen Rui looked at the animal.

The animal looked back.

There was a long silence.

Then Shen Rui said, "It appears we have received our first garden inspector."

The goat bleated.

"Inspector Pepper!" Jun announced.

"Pepper?" Lin Yue asked.

"He likes to eat everything," Jun explained. "His owner says he is as troublesome as pepper in the nose."

Pepper apparently considered this a compliment.

He trotted toward the basket of seeds.

Mei quickly lifted it out of reach.

"Not these!"

Pepper turned toward Shen Rui.

The goat stared at him.

Shen Rui stared back.

Then Pepper walked forward and began chewing the end of Shen Rui’s measuring cord.

Lin Yue burst into laughter.

"Your inspector seems to have chosen you."

Shen Rui gently rescued the cord.

"I believe he is questioning my qualifications."

"Perhaps he wants to see whether you can build a fence."

"Then he will be disappointed. I build fences. I do not negotiate with goats."

Pepper bleated again.

Lin Yue patted his head.

"Let’s make sure he has something better to eat before he destroys our entire plan."

By midmorning, the garden had a proper design.

Lin Yue divided the area into several small sections.

There would be raised vegetable beds for easy planting and harvesting, a flower border for butterflies, a herb corner, and a little open space where the children could sit and learn.

The pond was replaced with a shallow stone birdbath surrounded by smooth pebbles.

The children were initially disappointed.

"But we wanted a bridge!" one boy protested.

"You can have a little wooden bridge over the dry pebble path," Shen Rui suggested.

The boy considered this.

"Can I pretend it crosses a river?"

"Certainly."

"Can I be the river guardian?"

Shen Rui nodded.

"That sounds like an important position."

The boy stood straighter.

"I will protect it!"

Lin Yue laughed.

The vegetable maze was also adjusted.

Instead of tall walls that might hide the children from view, Shen Rui suggested low-growing vegetables arranged in gentle curves. The children could walk between the rows without getting lost.

The youngest girl chose the sunflower corner.

Mei volunteered to keep the planting record.

Jun declared himself the official giant-vegetable supervisor.

His sister immediately appointed herself his assistant.

"You cannot supervise vegetables if you forget to water them," she said.

"I never forget!"

"You forgot the pumpkin yesterday."

"That was because it was rolling!"

Lin Yue looked at Shen Rui.

He looked at her.

Neither of them could find a reasonable response.

The building began after lunch.

Shen Rui and two Willowbank carpenters worked on the raised beds and low wooden fencing. The apprentices helped carry soil, smooth the paths, and arrange the stones around the birdbath.

Lin Yue showed the children how to mix compost with garden soil.

She explained why plants needed sunlight, water, air, and healthy soil.

The children listened with varying degrees of concentration.

One boy was particularly interested in the compost.

"Does this mean old leaves become food?"

"Not directly," Lin Yue explained. "They break down and become part of the soil, helping plants grow."

The boy stared at the compost pile.

"So leaves become useful again?"

"Exactly."

He nodded solemnly.

"I shall never throw away a leaf without thinking about its future."

Jun immediately picked up a dry leaf.

"I think this one wants to become a cabbage."

His sister rolled her eyes.

Pepper, meanwhile, had discovered the newly delivered wooden fence.

He tested it with his nose.

Then he tested it with his teeth.

Then he attempted to squeeze through a gap.

Shen Rui watched him.

"That gap is too small."

Pepper disagreed.

He pushed harder.

The fence creaked.

Shen Rui placed one hand on his forehead.

"Do not make me rebuild this before it is finished."

Pepper bleated directly into his face.

Lin Yue laughed so hard she had to lean against a raised bed.

"You have finally met someone more stubborn than you."

Shen Rui looked at her.

"I was under the impression that I married that person."

Lin Yue raised an eyebrow.

"Are you calling me stubborn?"

"I would never."

"Wise answer."

He smiled and brushed a speck of soil from her cheek.

"But you are very beautiful when you are planning something."

Her expression softened.

Then she noticed the children watching them.

One little girl covered her mouth and whispered loudly to another.

"They are being sweet again."

Lin Yue’s cheeks warmed.

Shen Rui, however, looked entirely untroubled.

"Being sweet is not forbidden in a garden," he said.

The children burst into giggles.

By late afternoon, the garden was beginning to take shape.

The raised beds were filled.

The wooden fence stood firmly around the planting area.

The birdbath sparkled in the sunlight.

Small signs had been placed beside the different sections, each painted by one of the children.

There was a sign for vegetables.

One for flowers.

One for herbs.

And one that simply read:

PEPPER’S WATCHTOWER.

Lin Yue stared at it.

"Who made this?"

Jun raised his hand.

"He is the inspector. He deserves an office."

Shen Rui looked at the sign.

"Does the inspector know about his appointment?"

Pepper answered by eating the corner of the sign.

Jun gasped.

"He approves!"

The children laughed.

Lin Yue shook her head.

"Very well. But Pepper’s office will be outside the fence."

Pepper bleated.

He did not look pleased.

The children gathered around the first vegetable bed.

Lin Yue handed each of them a small handful of seeds.

"Today, we plant radishes, lettuce, peas, and a few herbs. We will also plant marigolds around the edges to bring colour and attract helpful insects."

The youngest girl held her sunflower seeds carefully.

"Will mine really grow taller than me?"

"With enough sunshine, water, and patience, it might."

"How long?"

"A little while."

The girl sighed.

"Growing takes too long."

Shen Rui crouched beside her.

"Some things are worth waiting for."

She looked at him.

"Like sunflowers?"

He glanced at Lin Yue.

"Like sunflowers. And other important things."

Lin Yue caught his meaning.

She smiled and slipped her hand into his.

The little girl looked between them.

"Are you waiting for something too?"

Shen Rui squeezed Lin Yue’s hand.

"I already found what I was waiting for."

Lin Yue’s face grew warm.

"Shen Rui."

"What?"

"Children are listening."

"Then they are learning something important."

The girl nodded thoughtfully.

"I think I understand."

Jun leaned over.

"What do you understand?"

"That sunflowers need patience."

Jun looked confused.

Then he shrugged.

"That’s true."

Lin Yue laughed quietly.

Sometimes, children understood more than adults expected.

When the last seeds had been planted, Mei brought out a small wooden board.

"We still need a name."

The children immediately began shouting suggestions.

"Sunshine Garden!"

"Little Vegetable Kingdom!"

"Peach Tree Garden!"

"Pepper’s Kingdom!"

Pepper bleated.

"Absolutely not," Jun’s sister said.

Lin Yue looked at the little hands covered in soil, the carefully planted rows, and the bright sunflower seeds waiting beneath the earth.

"What about Little Hands Garden?"

The children fell silent.

Then the youngest girl smiled.

"Because we planted everything with our little hands?"

"Exactly."

Mei wrote the name on the board.

LITTLE HANDS GARDEN.

Shen Rui helped her fix it beside the entrance.

The children applauded.

A garden had been born.

Not a grand garden.

Not a garden filled with rare flowers or expensive trees.

Just a small patch of earth, a few wooden beds, and a group of children who had decided that something beautiful could grow if they cared for it together.

Lin Yue looked at Shen Rui.

"Do you think it will last?"

He followed her gaze.

"The children will take care of it."

"And if they forget?"

"Mei will remind them."

"And if Mei forgets?"

"Her younger assistants will remind her."

"And if everyone forgets?"

Shen Rui leaned closer.

"Then I shall bring you here, and we will remind them together."

She smiled.

"That sounds like another responsibility."

He shook his head.

"No. This time, we are only visitors."

The sun was beginning to lower when Shen Rui finally collected his wife.

He handed Lin Yue a small basket.

Inside were two peach-honey cakes, a flask of tea, and a folded cloth.

She looked at the basket.

"What’s this?"

"Our outing."

Lin Yue blinked.

"You prepared food?"

"I asked Lumi to make two cakes."

"Only two?"

"I specifically told him not to prepare a travel bakery."

A distant voice called from the courtyard.

"IT WAS A VERY SMALL TRAVEL BAKERY!"

Shen Rui closed his eyes.

Lin Yue laughed.

"Where are we going?"

"The tea hill."

She looked at him in surprise.

"The quiet place?"

"Yes. I thought we might finally use the two-cup tea set without someone asking us to inspect a water channel."

"That would be wonderful."

Shen Rui offered his hand.

Lin Yue took it.

They walked along the path beyond the orchard, leaving the busy courtyard behind.

The afternoon breeze moved gently through the trees. A few fallen peach leaves drifted across the path, and somewhere in the distance, children were still arguing over who should be responsible for watering the sunflowers.

For once, no one called after them.

No one needed a fence repaired.

No one had lost a sign.

No giant pumpkin was rolling downhill.

Lin Yue breathed deeply.

"This is nice."

Shen Rui glanced at her.

"Only nice?"

"Very nice."

"Better?"

She laughed.

"You are unusually demanding today."

"I have waited a long time for this outing."

She looked at him with a playful smile.

"Then perhaps you should make the most of it."

He stopped walking.

"Is that permission?"

Lin Yue pretended to consider.

"Perhaps."

Shen Rui gently drew her closer and kissed her forehead.

"Then I shall begin here."

She tilted her head.

"That was only my forehead."

His eyes warmed with amusement.

"I was being polite."

"Are you always this polite when we are alone?"

"Would you prefer otherwise?"

Lin Yue smiled and tugged lightly at his sleeve.

"I think you already know the answer."

He leaned down and kissed her properly.

It was a quiet kiss beneath the late afternoon sky, with the scent of peach leaves in the air and no one demanding their attention.

When they finally separated, Shen Rui rested his forehead against hers.

"I think we should take more days like this."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Agreed."

"Perhaps once every seven days."

"Ambitious."

"Once every ten days?"

"More reasonable."

"Once every month?"

She pretended to think.

"Now you are bargaining against yourself."

He laughed.

"Then let us begin with today."

The tea hill was just as peaceful as they remembered.

The two-cup wooden tea set waited beneath the little shelter, and the plaque still read:

A PLACE TO REST, FOR THOSE WHO MADE ROOM FOR OTHERS.

Shen Rui spread the cloth and poured the tea.

Lin Yue sat beside him, resting her head briefly against his shoulder.

For a while, they simply watched the sun sink behind the distant hills.

Then she spoke.

"Do you think the children will really manage the garden?"

"I think they will surprise us."

"Jun will probably try to grow a pumpkin larger than yesterday’s."

"Then we shall need a stronger platform."

"And his sister will probably measure it every morning."

"Then we shall need a second measuring cord."

Lin Yue laughed.

"What about Pepper?"

Shen Rui sighed.

"I am considering building him a separate kingdom."

"With a proper fence?"

"Several fences."

"And a sign?"

He looked at her.

"NO GOATS ALLOWED."

She laughed so brightly that he found himself smiling more than he had all afternoon.

He reached for her hand.

"Lin Yue."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For building a place where people can grow without being afraid to make mistakes."

Her smile softened.

"You helped build it too."

"I know."

"Then you should thank yourself."

He brought her hand to his lips.

"I would rather thank my wife."

Lin Yue looked away, pretending to be interested in the distant trees.

"You have become very good at saying such things."

"I have an excellent teacher."

"Who?"

"The woman who keeps stealing my heart and pretending she has done nothing."

She laughed and leaned against him again.

The tea grew cool.

The sun disappeared.

And for once, the evening belonged entirely to them.

Unfortunately, the peacefulness lasted only until they returned home.

The moment they stepped into the courtyard, Mei came running.

"Lin Yue! Shen Rui!"

Shen Rui looked at his wife.

Lin Yue looked at her husband.

Neither spoke.

Mei stopped in front of them, trying to catch her breath.

"Something happened in Little Hands Garden!"

Shen Rui closed his eyes.

"Of course."

"Pepper escaped!"

Lin Yue blinked.

"Again?"

"He didn’t just escape," Mei continued. "He took Jun’s little wooden sign, ran through the orchard, and led the children somewhere."

"Where?" Lin Yue asked.

Mei pointed toward the old peach trees.

"We found him beside a patch of wild strawberries!"

Lin Yue’s eyes brightened.

"Wild strawberries?"

Mei nodded.

"And there are hundreds of them."

Jun appeared behind her, looking extremely excited.

"We think Pepper discovered a secret garden!"

His younger sister crossed her arms.

"Or he was simply looking for something to eat."

Jun ignored her.

"But there is something else!"

Lin Yue looked at him.

"What is it?"

Jun held up a small basket.

Inside were several tiny red strawberries.

And beside them lay a single unfamiliar seedling with delicate silver-green leaves.

Aster’s projection appeared above the basket.

Its expression was unusually thoughtful.

"Interesting."

Lin Yue leaned closer.

"What is it?"

"I cannot identify the plant from this specimen alone."

Shen Rui glanced at the seedling.

"Is that a problem?"

"Not necessarily," Aster replied. "But it appears to be growing in a place where no one remembers planting anything."

Lin Yue exchanged a glance with Shen Rui.

The little garden had been open for less than a day.

And already, it had discovered something unexpected.

From the far end of the courtyard came a familiar bleat.

Pepper trotted into view, proudly carrying the missing wooden sign in his mouth.

Jun pointed at him.

"THERE’S THE GARDEN INSPECTOR!"

Lin Yue laughed.

Shen Rui took her hand.

"I believe our next day off will require a stronger fence."

She squeezed his fingers.

"Perhaps we should build Pepper his own garden."

"Only if it is on the other side of the village."

And with that, their peaceful afternoon ended with a new mystery, a basket of wild strawberries, and one very pleased goat.

Little Hands Garden had officially begun its first adventure.