Chapter 303: Chapter 303: Blooming
Maphario pointed at the customer, then at the watermelon in the sand pit, and finally at Shen Yibin’s phone, gesturing for him to find the song. Shen Yibin had no choice but to comply. A moment later, Maphario began circling the watermelon to the tune of "Little Apple."
"Shi Xuan, what do you think a watermelon that listens to ’Little Apple’ every day will taste like when it’s ripe? You don’t think the flesh inside will be apple-flavored, do you?" Shen Yibin mused, stroking his chin. ’If that’s the case, that would be incredible.’
"I’d prefer it to be strawberry-flavored. Why don’t I look for some strawberry-themed songs?" Xia Shixuan’s imagination also ran wild. "Or maybe grape-flavored would be good too? I think I remember a song called ’The Grapes Are Ripe’?"
"Starting tomorrow, let’s play ’Egg Fried Rice’ for it. If this watermelon can grow a belly full of egg fried rice, I’ll be seriously impressed!" The thought of cutting open the watermelon and having egg fried rice spill all over the table left Shen Yibin speechless.
"HMM! HMM!" Hah’Er kept grunting at the side, perhaps wondering what song could make a watermelon grow bamboo shoots or beer inside.
After making its rounds, Maphario had finally tended to all the plants. The tour had clearly exhausted it. The little creature flopped onto the ground, panting heavily. Feeling sorry for it, Hah’Er quickly came over to give it some water and pulled sunflower seeds and peanuts from its pocket to feed Maphario.
"Boss, look! The morning glories seem to be growing really fast!" Xia Shixuan suddenly exclaimed in delight. Following her finger, Shen Yibin saw that the leaves of the morning glory had already taken on a mature color. The fine hairs on the vines seemed to be hardening, and the twisting vines, now over twenty centimeters long, crept along the ground, with only the tender shoots at their tips reaching upward.
’I thought morning glories sprouted in the Spring and bloomed in the summer? It should take at least three or four months from seed to flower, so how has it gotten this big in just over half a month? I’ve been so focused on the plants’ poor condition these past few days that I haven’t noticed their growth. Now that I look, the plants Maphario planted are growing much faster than their ordinary counterparts.’
"Since they’ve grown this long, shouldn’t we build a trellis for them?" Morning glories are climbing plants; they need to twine around something to grow upward and thrive. If left to creep on the ground, their stems and leaves would soon wither and die.
If even Shen Yibin could spot the problem, Maphario certainly wouldn’t miss it. After a short rest and a snack to regain its strength, it deftly scurried over to the bamboo grove, shimmied up a stalk, found a branch of suitable thickness and length, and began to GNAW GNAW at its base. Before long, the bamboo branch was chewed through and fell to the ground. Then, it climbed toward its next target.
After a few trips back and forth, Maphario had gathered enough material for the trellis. Back on the ground, it bunched the bamboo branches together, stripped off the leaves, and then... gathered all the leaves and presented them to Hah’Er. Heh, the little guy hadn’t forgotten Hah’Er’s favorite snack.
Hah’Er gleefully accepted the bamboo leaves, rolled them into a bundle, and began to eat with great relish. Afterward, it helped Maphario insert the bamboo branches into the soil near the roots of the morning glories. Maphario then carefully wound the vines onto the makeshift trellis.
Maphario had already considered the morning glories’ future growth when it first planted the seeds, leaving enough space for the trellises. The frames were all spaced a certain distance apart so that even as the morning glories grew, they wouldn’t interfere with the neighboring plants. Shen Yibin was silently impressed.
’At this rate, it won’t be long before they bloom, right?’ He glanced at the nearby cinerarias, asters, and other grasses. Their growth rate also seemed much faster than usual. ’Maybe by next month, Maphario’s Happy Farm will be covered in flowers. It’ll be a beautiful sight.’
"Mmm-hmm! Boss, can I ask you for a favor?" Xia Shixuan suddenly grabbed Shen Yibin’s arm and began to wheedle, startling him.
"What do you want?" Shen Yibin quickly pulled her hand away and asked warily. ’This can’t be good.’
"Could you let Maphario come take a look at my garden at home? The roses I planted are all droopy, and I’ve tried everything but nothing’s worked," Xia Shixuan said in a syrupy-sweet voice.
’Her villa?’ Shen Yibin remembered what had happened at her front door last time. ’I can’t just walk right into a trap.’ He refused Xia Shixuan’s request without a moment’s hesitation. "Maphario is already exhausted just taking care of this little patch. I couldn’t bear to work it that hard. You should probably just hire some gardeners to take a look."
It was the truth, too. The garden patch might be small, but Maphario was even smaller. It was up and busy at the crack of dawn every day—watering, fertilizing, dealing with pests, and playing music for the plants. It hardly had any time to rest. Xia Shixuan’s family garden was bound to be huge. If Maphario went to help, there was no telling how exhausted it would get.
Xia Shixuan pouted but said no more. She had seen how hard Maphario worked and felt too bad to ask for more. Once Xia Shixuan got up to go back to helping customers, Shen Yibin picked up his phone and compiled all the recently played music into a single playlist. From now on, he could just tap the playlist to play the songs directly instead of searching for them one by one. It would also save Maphario the trouble of running back and forth each time.
And so, every day, Maphario used Shen Yibin’s phone to play music for the plants, counteracting the effects of the renovation noise and nurturing them to grow strong.
The plants did not disappoint. Every morning, Shen Yibin would wake up to see they had grown taller and their leaves had become lusher than the day before. Gradually, the once-empty farm and sand pit were covered in green. The various plants grew with all their might, adding a fresh splash of vibrant color to Shen Yibin’s pet shop.
Many customers who came to buy pets were also drawn to the small garden. They flocked over to take pictures, and the photos they posted on their social media feeds attracted even more new customers, giving business at Shen Yibin’s shop another boost.
Another half a month passed in the blink of an eye. The garden and the sand pit grew even more lush and green. One morning, after finishing his usual routine, Shen Yibin went to the edge of the garden to check on the plants. The morning glories gave him an unexpected surprise—the buds nestled among the leaves had opened. The garden was finally in bloom.
