Across Ranch Story: Friends of Mineral Town

"Here's the weather forecast for tomorrow! It's going to be an Indian Summer day, so it's going to be a nice, cozy day!"

"Today is Pumpkin Festival. If there are children visiting, please remember to give them delicious snacks! Starting at 6pm, there will be a Halloween costume party at Rose Square. Everyone must remember to attend on time!"

Lin Xia was eating breakfast while watching TV. The biscuits were ready. She wondered when the children would come to visit. She was also planning to go to the mountains to find suitable wood to make charcoal.

At worst, if they miss me when they come, I can just go find the wood myself and then come back to find them. There are only two kids in the whole town anyway.

After making the decision, Lin Xia hurried to finish her breakfast, checked the things in the space, and after ensuring that all the necessary food and medicines to replenish her energy were in place, she went out!

"Sister~ Today is Pumpkin Festival. We can't not give children candy and snacks on Pumpkin Festival. So, please give me some snacks! Hehe~"

As soon as she went out, she saw Mu Qi's granddaughter Mei waiting outside the door. Lin Xia smiled and said, "Okay, I have prepared snacks for you. What do you want? I have milk biscuits, chocolate biscuits, fruit cakes and milk candies!"

"Wow~ Sister has prepared so much?" Mei Keai touched the corner of her mouth with her little hand, thinking hard about what to choose.

Lin Xia couldn't bear to see such a cute little girl in trouble, so she simply said, "I'll give you one of each!"

"No, no, Grandpa said that I can only accept one gift!" Mei immediately shook her little hand and refused, "I'd better choose chocolate cookies. Usually, Grandpa doesn't let me eat too much chocolate!"

What a good child! Lin Xia immediately took out a package of chocolate biscuits and handed it to Mei, saying, "It's okay. I'll give you other snacks next time. Although the Pumpkin Festival only happens once, you can have snacks at other times!"

"Thank you, sister. I'm leaving now. Happy Pumpkin Day, sister!"

"You're welcome!" Suddenly Lin Xia remembered something and quickly called Mei, "Mei, where are you going right now?"

"I still have to go to other people's houses to ask for snacks! But the first one I went to was my sister's house, because grandpa said that my sister is the busiest every day. If I go too late, I might not be able to find my sister!"

Your grandpa really understands me!

"Your grandfather is right. So, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course, you said, Mei can definitely do it!" The little girl is so lovely!

"If you meet other kids who want snacks, please ask them to come to me first, because I have something else to do later. I'm afraid I'll miss the time and won't be able to give snacks to others!"

"No problem! I'll go now!"

"Yeah, be careful when you walk, my sister will be home before 9 o'clock!"

"Okay~"

After seeing Mei off, Lin Xia turned around and came to the five fruit trees in front of the house. All the apples on the apple trees had to be picked today, otherwise there would be none left tomorrow.

There is honey on all 5 trees today, so happy!

While I was busy picking fruits and collecting honey, a voice rang out: "Lin Xia~ are you still there?"

Lin Xia looked over and saw, hey, isn't this the little princess of the chicken farm, Bobri? Why is she here with Ellie's brother, You?

"I'm here, wait a moment!"

Lin Xia quickly put aside the tools for picking fruits and ran to the door. Before she could say anything, she heard You say, "Sister, today is Pumpkin Festival, so I came to get some candy and snacks from you!"

"No problem. Do you want candy, cookies or cake?"

"Hey, I want cake!"

Lin Xia took out the cake and handed it to You. After watching him leave, she asked Popley, "Why did you come here together?"

"Just now when You came to my house to ask for snacks, Mei also came over and said that you had to go out for something, and if we wanted to go to your house, we had to be there before 9 o'clock, so here we are!

Hey, Poplar also wants some snacks!" Poplar said slyly beside him.

"Are you a child?" Lin Xia asked deliberately.

Bobri wrinkled her nose and said, "Only children can get candy and snacks at the Pumpkin Festival. It's so unfair. So Bobri came to you to get snacks too! In a word, will you give it to me or not?"

"Haha, give it to me. I have to give it to you. Which one do you want?"

"Hey, only children make choices. Adults, of course, want them all!"

Good guy, you are a child when you ask for cookies, but you are an adult when you make choices. You have it! But Lin Xia didn't care, and gave one of each to Popley!

"Thank you, Lin Xia~ I brought you a gift too!" As she spoke, Poplar took out the cake she had prepared and gave it to Lin Xia, complaining, "Why is Poplar the only one who wants a gift? Don't you want one, Lin Xia? I wanted to ask Ellie, Mary, and Karen for some snacks, but they didn't want to. Only Poplar came. I'm really unhappy!"

"Everyone likes gifts!" Lin Xia took the cake from Poppy and stroked her hair to comfort her. "But when many people grow up, they are too embarrassed to say it directly even if they want a gift. Instead, they hope that others will take the initiative to give it to them."

"If I don't tell you, how will others know?" Bobri asked in confusion, "And even if someone gives you a gift, they may not give you the gift you want the most, right?"

"You are right. If you don't say it, sometimes you don't know. Even if you know it, it may not be the right gift. But people just like this mode. If you don't say it but it reaches your heart, you can better understand the sender's intentions, right?"

“That seems to make some sense!”

"Haha, then are you going to go somewhere else to get snacks?"

"Yes, I have made so many cakes myself. How can I give away all of them if I don't ask for them?"

Seeing the depressed expression on Popley's face, Lin Xia was overjoyed: "Okay, go ahead. Everyone will be very happy to receive your gift!"

After seeing off Popli, Lin Xia quickly packed up the tools and other items under the fruit tree and rushed to the back mountain to look for wood.

I didn’t bring Da Zhuang today, but I still brought Ah Huang. Ah Huang needs more exercise, otherwise he still has too little experience.

She went to the back mountain, checked in with the goddess and the kappa first, and then went into the mountains to look for suitable wood for smoking meat. Fruit wood and hardwood were the types of wood she wanted most. The special aroma of fruit wood and the flame retardancy of hardwood were what Lin Xia wanted.

When searching for wood, Lin Xia did not cut it blindly, but screened it. She carefully observed each tree and made choices based on their growth conditions.

Lin Xia will not hesitate to cut down trees that are too crowded and cannot get enough sunlight, because these trees have been in a highly competitive environment for a long time, often not only growing poorly themselves, but also affecting other excellent wood around them.

If these poorly grown woods were used to build houses or furniture, their quality would be difficult to guarantee. However, Lin Xia selected charcoal for smoking meat, which is more suitable.

At the same time, Lin Xia also pays special attention to trees that have been damaged by animals. If the bark or roots of a tree are bitten or damaged by animals, then the tree is likely to be on the verge of death, and the strength and durability of its wood will be greatly reduced. Even if such trees are kept, they cannot meet the needs of construction or furniture making, and may even pose a safety hazard.

Therefore, Lin Xia was very careful when selecting wood, and she also tested the trees in the mountains, leaving only the healthy and strong trees to continue growing. She knew that high-quality wood was the key to building a stable house and creating exquisite furniture, and any negligence could lead to irreversible consequences.

Therefore, she would rather spend more time and energy to ensure that she will not cut down good wood before it grows fully to make charcoal. At the same time, in the next year, after the grown wood is cut down, she must ensure that high-quality saplings are planted in time, and she must not cut down trees indiscriminately.

Otherwise, even if the mountain god doesn't look for her, Gotz will settle the score with her!

Lin Xia took Ah Huang through the woods. Through her repeated teachings, Ah Huang also understood a little about the tree species she wanted to find. Later, he would always give Lin Xia priority in exploring the way, saving her a lot of time.