The tall man named Uncle Shawn turned around and said with some surprise when he saw Yun Ge, “Hey! Little buddy, you recovered so quickly? I thought you’d need to rest for a while longer before you could get back to work! I’ve already called in other team members to temporarily take over your duties!”
Before Yun Ge could respond, Lily spoke up, “Oh! Uncle Shawn, don’t worry about it! The town chief just checked Yun Ge, and said that apart from his memory loss, there’s nothing wrong with him. So, I thought I’d bring him over to get familiar with his position, so he won’t hinder my work efficiency when he resumes work tomorrow.”
Hearing that Yun Ge’s amnesia was quite severe, Uncle Shawn expressed his concern, “Sigh! Since Yun Ge has amnesia again, he should stay home and rest. There’s no need to rush back to work.”
Yun Ge hurriedly patted his chest and assured, “It’s okay, Uncle Shawn! Actually, apart from not remembering the past, I feel quite energetic. And since I’ve lost my memory, I still feel a sense of familiarity with everything here. So, I don’t think I need to spend more time adapting to the work rhythm here.”
“In fact, I feel I can return to my post immediately! I’ll work hard and won’t be a burden,” Yun Ge added, showing his determination.
Lily sneered and said sarcastically, “Huh! I can’t trust you! You were clumsy before you lost your memory! I don’t believe that now that you’ve forgotten your work, you can suddenly become competent in a short time!”
“Hey! Why are you so sharp-tongued, girl? Collecting nectar is a delicate job that requires practice to master! Any collector with less than five years of experience is bound to be clumsy! If you’re just using this to criticize Yun Ge, that’s being unfair!” Uncle Shawn responded with a hint of reproach.
“Humph! You’ve watched me grow up, yet you always favor him! It’s not fair!” Lily, unable to find a retort, just glared at Uncle Shawn and complained.
“I’m not favoring anyone. Yun Ge has been performing well in his work. And since his condition hasn’t fully recovered, I can’t expect too much from him, can I?” Uncle Shawn’s big hand affectionately rested on Yun Ge’s shoulder, and he continued in a tone of praise.
Then, without waiting for Lily to speak again, Uncle Shawn asked first, “Hey! By the way, Lily. Didn’t you say that Luke took Yun Ge to see the town chief? Why didn’t he come with you? Is that boy playing hooky again?”
“Don’t even mention it! I heard from Yun Ge that the town chief just introduced a girlfriend to Luke! It’s said that the girl’s name is Jamei, and she’s also a survivor from outside. She currently works in the Seventh Collection Team. So, after checking Yun Ge, the town chief specially kept Luke behind. The purpose was to let them get to know each other and see if there’s a possibility for development,” Lily said with a schadenfreude smile.
“Oh? Is that so! Well, it’s about time for Luke to move on from his past sorrow! After all, there are so many good women in the world, so he doesn’t need to hang onto one tree!” Uncle Shawn said with a emotional tone.
“Uncle Shawn, rest assured. From what I’ve seen, the girl named Jamei is very gentle and likeable. I’m sure Luke would be very willing to get along with her!” Yun Ge said.
“Humph! You men are all the same! You’re all fickle when you see pretty girls! Uncle Shawn, when I see Auntie, I’m going to tell her all about this!” “Uncle Shawn, that’s not right!” Lily kicked Yun Ge angrily and then complained to Uncle Shawn.
“Hey! Don’t misunderstand! I mean, since so much time has passed, Luke should also look forward! I didn’t mean for Luke to be fickle! You mustn’t say anything to Auntie, or I’ll be in trouble!” Uncle Shawn hurriedly clarified, pushing all the blame onto Yun Ge.
“And the culprit is the one who should be held responsible. It was Yun Ge who said that the girl was cute! So, he’s the one who’s fickle! If you’re going to blame someone, blame him!” Uncle Shawn quickly shifted the blame to Yun Ge.
“Oh! Let me explain. I didn’t mean to say that the girl was gentle and cute! Although the girl is indeed very cute. What I wanted to express was that from Luke’s perspective, he would also think that the girl is gentle and cute——” Seeing Uncle Shawn shift all the blame to him, Yun Ge also hurriedly tried to explain.
“Pfft! Why are you so flustered? Why are you explaining this to me? Who are you?” Seeing Yun Ge’s face turn red as he struggled to explain, Lily also blushed and gave him a disdainful look, then asked in an indifferent tone.
“Uh——, I——”
Yes! Lily and I are just friends, and for Yun Ge, who has lost his memory again, we’re practically just acquaintances. So, why am I in such a hurry to explain to Lily and prove that I’m not attracted to the girl named Jamei? But if I don’t defend myself and Lily distances herself from me, what should I do?
Seeing Yun Ge stuttering and not knowing how to explain, and Lily clearly pretending to be angry, wanting to hear something that would satisfy her.
Uncle Shawn seemed to suddenly understand something and hurriedly walked to the middle of the two, rubbed each of their heads, and then said with a smile, “Alright! Alright! You two young people are acting like children, quarreling at the slightest disagreement! That’s enough! Let’s put an end to this matter! Lily, let’s take Yun Ge around and let him get more familiar with our work. Then tomorrow, you can bring him to join the nectar collection!”
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“Oh! Let’s hurry up with the tour! After work, we’ll go back to your house together! I’m planning to have a few cups of sweet wine with your dad tonight, and also hear about how Luke’s meeting with the girl went today,” Uncle Shawn added with a gossipy look, then led the two towards the nearby nectar collection area.
Uncle Shawn took them through the sea of flowers in the collection area, inspecting the work of the nectar collectors for the day, and let Yun Ge get a detailed understanding of the Sweetaurum flowers. To Yun Ge’s surprise, the Sweetaurum flowers were much larger than he had imagined. Especially the mature ones, which were about the size of an adult’s palm.
The petals of the Sweetaurum flowers were full and plump, shimmering like stars in the sunlight, giving off a golden glow, making them easily noticeable in the daytime forest. According to Uncle Shawn, the nectar collectors needed to use specially made straws to carefully insert into the golden spots on the petals of the Sweetaurum flowers and extract the nectar, then squeeze the nectar into specially made nectar storage boxes for preservation.
Although the size and shape of the Sweetaurum flowers were very convenient for the collectors to extract nectar, the amount of nectar in each petal was limited. Plus, to avoid damaging the flowers during collection, which could reduce the nectar production or even cause premature death, the collectors could only gently extract a fixed amount of nectar from each petal according to the growth condition of each Sweetaurum flower.
This is why, even though the residents of Candy Town sent out many people to collect nectar every day, and despite their diligent work over the years, the actual honey reserves of Candy Town were quite substantial, the candy made from the nectar of the Sweetaurum flowers was still considered a scarce and important resource.
After all, the Sweetaurum flowers could only grow wild in the forest and could not be artificially cultivated. So, in essence, Candy Town relied entirely on the natural resources of the forest to sustain life. If the ecological environment of the forest were severely damaged, their lives would inevitably suffer a heavy blow.
After visiting the collection site, Uncle Shawn also took Yun Ge through the collection area and into the deeper part of the forest. There, Yun Ge saw a small piece of land where Candy Town had set up an outdoor planting area. According to Uncle Shawn, the soil in this area was very suitable for growing a unique fiber plant, so the residents of Candy Town had fenced off some land here to grow a plant called Silkweed.
The three of them walked through the Silkweed planting area and continued deeper into the forest. After a while, Yun Ge began to see colorful ribbons tied to some of the trees around them. These ribbons were carefully tied in different ways, making Yun Ge feel as if he had entered a sacred place of prayer, filled with awe for the blessings of heaven.
“Yun Ge, do you see these warning ribbons? They’re a sign that we’re approaching the edge of Candy Town. Remember, once you see these warning ribbons, you must stop immediately. Because, once you cross this forest warning zone, it means you’ve officially entered the Lost Woods.”
“There, you’ll lose the safety zone that the town chief has set up for Candy Town. Believe me, that’s definitely not a good thing!” Uncle Shawn touched the ribbon tied to the tree trunk and warned in a tone full of reverence for the forest.
“Understood! Uncle Shawn, rest assured, I absolutely will not cross this area and enter the Lost Woods without permission!” Yun Ge also replied with a serious look. Even standing here, Yun Ge could already feel a completely different temperature from the previous forest. This coldness was not just a drop in temperature, but an indescribable chill that penetrated to the heart, making every step of Yun Ge’s accompanied by an unexplained tremble.
“Hmm! Very good! Let’s go! It’s getting late, and we need to hurry back! You know, if we can’t leave the forest before sunset, we’ll be in trouble too!” Uncle Shawn patted Yun Ge’s shoulder with satisfaction, then waved to the two and led the way back to the collection area.
After Uncle Shawn confirmed that all the collectors who had come today had returned, he ordered everyone to pack up their collection tools and, stepping on the setting sun that slanted into the forest, they lined up and returned to Candy Town. Then, after counting the day’s collection results and sending all the nectar collected today to the town hall where the town chief lived, Uncle Shawn eagerly followed Lily and Yun Ge towards their home.
Because Uncle Shawn had just inquired with the staff at the town hall, Luke had been in the medical room all day, assisting the town chief in taking care of the patients. This meant that Luke had likely spent most of his day with the girl named Jamei. So, Uncle Shawn could hardly contain his gossipy thoughts and just wanted to find Luke as soon as possible to ask if the matchmaking arranged by the town chief today had made any substantial progress.
Since Uncle Shawn often drank with Lily’s dad, he naturally knew the location of Lily’s house very well. So, Uncle Shawn, filled with gossip, eagerly led the way to Lily’s house. Yun Ge, unable to resist his curiosity, asked Lily from behind, “Hey! Why is Uncle Shawn so eager for Luke’s matchmaking today to succeed?”
“Sigh! Don’t mention it. Because my brother has never moved on from his last relationship, he’s been single all these years, unlike others who, after the baptism of time, have found new love and made it work.”
“In short, my brother’s situation is a bit special, and since he’s always been very close to women of his age, everyone has been worried about his love life and hopes he can quickly get out of the gloom, find new love, and build a happy family,” Lily said with a hint of sadness.
“Oh, I see! It seems Luke was deeply hurt by that past relationship!” Yun Ge said. Actually, hearing Lily say this, he immediately felt a strong urge to ask more about Luke’s past relationship. However, seeing the sadness and a bit of sorrow in Lily’s expression, Yun Ge gave up the idea.
But Lily sighed and said, “Sigh! It can only be said that things are impermanent! Who can predict that the beloved at this moment won’t suddenly leave you tomorrow? So, when we have a relationship, we must hold onto it tightly and enjoy the happiness it brings us! Yun Ge, don’t you think so?”
After Lily finished speaking, she looked at Yun Ge with a slightly sad look that hid an indescribable complex emotion. Yun Ge blushed under Lily’s gaze, which made him speechless for a moment, not knowing how to respond to comfort Lily.
So, Yun Ge could only scratch his head and laugh foolishly, “Haha! Right! You’re absolutely right! Especially when facing a beautiful woman like you, only a fool wouldn’t want to hold onto you and bring you happiness!”
Hearing Yun Ge say this, Lily slightly turned her beautiful face, her beautiful hair lightly covering the shy crimson on her cheeks, and she disdainfully hummed, “Humph! Men always talk a better game than they play! Who knows, when a man meets another young lady, he might also tell the same lies to deceive her feelings?!”