Chapter Twenty-Six: Ah, What a Beautiful Tree

“One kilogram for forty. You can pick them up yourself or have them delivered by courier, but the shipping cost is on you.” He quickly typed into the input box and hit send.

He didn’t know who the person was, but if they needed eggs, they were a customer. And toward customers, one had to be accommodating. There were plenty of odd customers like this.

“So you finally bothered to reply? What a money-minded young man.”
“Prepare a ton of eggs for me, then send me the location. I’ll arrange someone to pick them up.”

Just as he was about to close the chat, the other party sent a message. After reading it, Zhong Di’s eyelid twitched. Forty yuan per kilogram, no haggling, and they wanted a ton?

“I don’t have that many. If you only need a few kilos, I can provide them.”
He sent the location after replying. It seemed he needed to expand his operation.

“All right, reserve whatever you have for me. I’ll come pick them up in a couple of days.”
“No problem. But you’d best come as soon as possible—these eggs won’t keep.”

After sending the message, Zhong Di put his phone away. He glanced at the time: in a little over an hour, Uncle Zhang and the others would arrive to prune the trees. He’d best catch some sleep while he could.

He slept until the alarm rang, then woke and busied himself with chores. Before long, Uncle Zhang and his crew arrived.

“Uncle Zhang, let me help you prune the trees!” Zhong Di said, considering his current workload. If he thought about it, there wasn’t much that absolutely required his own hands. He wanted to learn pruning from Uncle Zhang and see how the information he’d gathered compared to the skills of these seasoned workers.

It would be good to understand his abilities better.

“No need. That won’t do. You’ve paid us—how can we let you do the work?”
Uncle Zhang refused before Zhong Di had finished, insisting it wasn’t proper.

“Uncle Zhang, I mainly want to learn pruning from you. It’s like stealing your skills—I’m the one getting the benefit here.”
Without waiting for a reply, Zhong Di started working on the trees.

“Well, all right then. Don’t rush into it—I’ll explain first.”
Seeing Zhong Di already at work, Uncle Zhang couldn’t refuse. And Zhong Di had a point—he wasn’t really taking advantage. As for technical matters, Uncle Zhang had never kept secrets in all his years; whenever someone asked, he would teach them.

To him, keeping his skills to himself meant no interaction with the world, and sooner or later, he’d be obsolete.

Thinking it through, Uncle Zhang stopped and watched the tree in front of Zhong Di.

“Pruning trees is mainly a three-step process. Step one: observation.”
“The worst mistake is to start pruning without looking. That leads to unsatisfactory results.”
“We must assess the overall shape of the tree, then form an idea in our minds of how to shape it.”
“For example, this tree here, the main trunk branches out into five forks—three strong, two weak. That’s the tree’s state.”
“Step one isn’t just that. Before pruning, you must decide how you want the tree to look—how to ensure yield for this year and adjust the shape.”

As Uncle Zhang spoke, Zhong Di sized up the tree, quickly forming a rough idea in his mind. Comparing Uncle Zhang’s words to his own information, he found many similarities.

Or rather, this method suited the tree perfectly. Uncle Zhang and his crew might lack his special abilities, but they had decades of experience. He couldn’t guarantee absolute correctness, but it would be close enough.

Zhong Di picked up the pruning shears and snipped off a fork on the southern side. He glanced at Uncle Zhang, seeking feedback—his aim was to compare his own information with Uncle Zhang’s reaction.

“Yes, that’s the right call. Generally, with trees lacking a distinct main trunk and having many forks, the natural open-center form is best.”
“You pruned the southern branch—southern exposure gets sunlight. Unless there’s a special need, never leave those branches; they block light and have low utility.”

Zhong Di didn’t say anything, just listened quietly. He was looking for differences, not showing off his skills.

“The natural open-center form keeps three main branches. The ideal angles are north, southwest, and southeast, each at a hundred and twenty degrees. But perfection is impossible—approximate is enough.”
“Now, let me ask: why did you keep that branch?”

Uncle Zhang pointed to a clearly weak and unsuitable branch, pondering whether his guess was correct.

“This branch is at the lowest point on the tree, fifty centimeters from the base, slightly northwest. Its position isn’t right, but it doesn’t affect the whole, and as time passes, it’ll weaken and eventually be eliminated.”
“If a tree has too few branches, its yield is low. I think it should stay. Besides, removing two large branches at once is like major surgery—hurts the tree. Even if you want to remove it, you can do so next year or the year after.”

“Earlier, you said we must consider both tree shape and annual yield,” Zhong Di quickly recited the information he’d seen, organizing it into words. If Uncle Zhang hadn’t asked, he wouldn’t have explained, but since he did, it was a good chance to confirm.

“Yes, I feel I have nothing more to teach you. Can you tell me your next steps?”
Uncle Zhang’s expression grew serious. He’d thought of severely shortening or removing that branch altogether. But seeing Zhong Di keep it, he reconsidered. On hearing Zhong Di’s reasoning, he felt enlightened.

What did this mean? Zhong Di’s skill exceeded his own—there was truly nothing left to teach. His question was mainly to confirm.

“Then I’ll give it a try!”
With that, Zhong Di began his work.

“This northern branch is weak—its angle should be reduced. The southwestern branch is strong—its angle should be widened.”
He spoke as he worked, shaping the jujube tree. Soon, the basic form emerged.

“Remove the short branches above the jujube base, and clean up any remaining fruit stalks.”

When Zhong Di put down the shears, the tree was finished.

“That’s a fine job—look at the jujube base, just right. Didn’t expect you to be such an expert.”
This time, it wasn’t Uncle Zhang but someone else who spoke.

“Looks like the title for best jujube pruner in this area should go to you.”
Uncle Zhang grinned as he spoke.

A well-pruned jujube tree is judged first by its shape, second by its overall look. If an outsider sees a well-pruned tree, they’ll always think:

“Ah... what a beautiful tree.”