The vehicle’s tires crushed the gravel spread over the farm entrance with a dull crunch.
Then it came to a stop beside the huge man walking ahead.
Screeech!
“Why are you walking?”
Jacob turned his head, grimaced at the dust, and spoke toward the open window.
“Dad said he needed the car in a hurry, so he only dropped me off at the entrance.”
“Get in!”
Jacob climbed into the car, and when his head touched the ceiling, he slid his hips forward and asked,
“So what’s going on? Chloe just told me to come, no explanation.”
“Actually, I’m the one who called you.”
“You called me, Brian?”
“Yeah. I figured we might need some muscle.”
“...Well, that I can do.”
Jacob, who had once seemed like the vanguard of racism itself, had become as docile as a sheep after admitting his mistake. Of course, in terms of size, he was less sheep and more bear.
Just then, a playful voice came from the back seat.
“But why are you so eager to get involved in Chloe’s problem?”
Armando stuck his head forward. I pushed it back and said,
“She asked for help. It’s not like I have a reason to refuse.”
“Is that really the reason?”
“I said it is.”
“Suuure... suspicious. Well, I guess there isn’t a guy at school who doesn’t like Chloe. I’ll acknowledge that. But Christina is off-limits.”
“You still can’t even talk to her properly...”
“I greeted her yesterday, okay?”
“You did. Hi, Christina~ The end.”
“Christy looked really busy.”
“I’m sure she did. She’s the busiest kid in school.”
As we bickered like that, we soon arrived at the storage shed where Chloe was waiting.
“Brian!”
Even from a distance, Chloe’s face as she waved did not look good. Normally, her blond hair would have shone dazzlingly under the sunlight as she smiled, but now her face was filled with dark shadows. I parked the car roughly and got out, and Chloe swept back her hair as she said,
“There are tiny bugs all over the trees and leaves.”
“When did you notice?”
“Today. I was about to call you, but then your message came right then.”
At that moment, Armando’s head popped forward again.
“You messaged her first?”
I pushed Armando’s head back and said,
“Show me.”
“Follow me.”
Chloe did not go far, leading us to the closest tree. Even as she walked, she worriedly bit at her nails.
“What if it’s already too late?”
“Let’s take a look first.”
The cherry trees Chloe anxiously led me to were shocking.
The trees, which should have been full of white and pale pink blossoms beneath the warm early-March spring sun, were withered all over in a yellowish color, and abnormal black stains were spread here and there, visible even from afar.
I approached a nearby tree and examined its leaves closely. Sticky sap like drops of honey had beaded on them, and on every tender leaf, thousands—tens of thousands—of tiny aphids clung densely like black dust, writhing.
“Cherry aphids.”
When I immediately identified them, Chloe frowned and asked,
“Cherry aphids?”
“How far have they spread?”
“I don’t know exactly. It feels like they suddenly exploded... And of all things, most of the area I’m in charge of is covered in them. I think the manager saw it while I was away from the farm for a few days and didn’t act immediately.”
I plucked a leaf and carefully pressed the aphids with the tip of my finger. The crushed aphids burst, leaving behind dark, sticky honeydew. They had already multiplied to an enormous number. If left alone, the entire tree might die.
I quickly examined the farm floor and the trees in detail. I could immediately guess what had happened over the winter. The young leaves and branches that had fallen beneath the trees were abnormally fragile and soft.
“Do you know how much fertilizer the manager applied toward the end of winter?”
Chloe shook her head with a slightly bewildered expression.
“I’m not sure. I don’t handle the fertilizer management myself...”
I knelt and dug into the ground with my hand. The soil felt sticky and murky from an excessive amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Residue from the fertilizer slid slickly between my fingers.
“Just as I thought. The manager put in too much nitrogen fertilizer. When there’s a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, protein synthesis and amino acid synthesis in the plant become more active, and the concentration of amino acids and sugars in the phloem sap...”
“Huh?”
The three of them stared with round eyes, question marks practically floating above their heads. Realizing in that instant that this was knowledge the kids couldn’t understand, I quickly simplified my answer.
“...When there’s too much nitrogen fertilizer, young leaves increase explosively. That’s exactly the food aphids love most. You could say it’s like laying out a buffet for them. In conclusion, the fertilizer was used wrong.”
Normally, increasing the nutrient concentration of sap has to be managed with great care. Aphids feed on that sap and reproduce, so nutrient-rich sap greatly raises their reproductive rate.
On top of that, excess nitrogen induces rapid leaf and new shoot growth, but the cell walls do not become thick and strong, forming weak tissues instead. When that happens, aphids can penetrate the soft tissue more easily and suck out the sap, making the leaves and new shoots even more vulnerable and creating a vicious cycle that accelerates the damage.
Chloe’s face grew even paler. I lightly patted her shoulder so she wouldn’t blame herself.
“Don’t worry. There’s still a solution. The problem is how the manager responds...”
Just then, the farm manager came running over in a fluster, and there were several people with him. Chloe spotted one of their faces, and her expression hardened even more.
The farm manager soon approached and said,
“We’ve identified what they are. They’re...”
“Cherry aphids?”
When Chloe said it first, the farm manager’s eyes widened.
“You knew?”
“My friend told me.”
Chloe pointed at me as she spoke. The farm manager glanced at my face, then looked back at Chloe and said,
“We need to carry out pest control immediately. If we don’t do it right now, this year’s harvest is gone!”
But Chloe did not answer and instead turned her head to look at me. Since her eyes were asking for an answer, I crossed my arms and said,
“If it were me, I’d be a bit hesitant... If you’ve received eco-friendly certification, it’ll be revoked, and even if you haven’t, it’ll have a negative effect on the trees in the long term... And you know, right? Neonicotinoids can cause problems if they’re used incorrectly. If you use them, you’ll have to use them properly.”
At those words, the farm manager immediately shouted.
“What do you know, running your mouth like that! Do you even know anything about cherry farming?”
But I did not get worked up and only shrugged.
“She asked for my opinion, so I answered. There’s no need to get excited. Chloe is the one who’ll decide.”
Honestly, whatever decision Chloe made, there was nothing for me to feel offended about. The only thing I would regret was not being able to get cherries at cost if Chloe lost, but it wasn’t as if that would be a massive blow to Redwood Farm.
I thought it would be much better to stay still than to get involved in someone else’s farm business and be cursed at for it.
But Chloe seemed to trust her friend’s words far more than I had expected. I didn’t know why.
“I don’t think Brian’s farming knowledge can be ignored, so I need to think about this a little more.”
At Chloe’s words, the farm manager looked back with a dumbfounded face. Then a man whose upper and lower body were both spread wide horizontally stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
He asked quite roughly, and just as I was about to answer, Chloe stepped in.
“Brian. My friend. We take classes together in the Agriscience Club.”
“So... you’re saying you’ll listen to your high school friend and not the manager? Are you insane?”
When the man criticized her in disbelief, Chloe crossed her arms and turned her head toward me.
“Brandon Harris. My older brother.”
“Ah...”
“He knows about as much farming as I do, so understand.”
At that, Brandon let out a shriek like a pig being slaughtered.
“Shut up, you stupid bitch! If you knew how much all this was worth, you’d follow Mr. Raymond’s opinion!”
“Shut up! Don’t insult me in front of my friend!”
“You deserve it! You manage things like this and expect me to say something nice? If Dad finds out, he’ll kick you out of the house right away!”
“Don’t make me laugh! You’re the one who’d do the kicking out!”
Watching the siblings fight was almost like watching a medieval dispute over the line of succession.
“This is brutal.”
Even Armando shuddered and whispered.
“Do as you’re told!”
“I said no! It’s my choice!”
“Are you planning to ruin the farm?”
“Dad entrusted it to me! I’ll handle it myself!”
As the two of them huffed without yielding an inch, I quietly asked. I was genuinely curious.
“If your farming fails, wouldn’t that actually be good for Brandon?”
At that, Chloe suddenly came to her senses and shouted at Brandon, who looked slightly flustered.
“Did you maybe pull something? Why are you so desperate to spray pesticides? Like Brian said, if I lose, all of this becomes yours, doesn’t it?”
“You idiot! You can’t win anyway! It was all mine from the start!”
“Hmph! We won’t know that until we try.”
When she sneered at her brother, Brandon suddenly turned his gaze to me and snapped,
“Then do you have a method? Are you saying all this because you actually have one?”
“It’s not like there isn’t one...”
“What is it? Say it!”
I scratched my head, then asked the farm manager, Mr. Raymond,
“But... why did you increase the amount of nitrogen fertilizer?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“The amount of nitrogen fertilizer was higher than usual. I’m asking if there was a reason for that.”
The moment Raymond looked flustered, Chloe seemed to sense something and immediately snapped at him.
“Sir! If there’s a reason, say it! Don’t make yourself look suspicious for nothing.”
“Wh-what are you talking about! Of course there was a reason. I only wanted you to win, miss... I truly never dreamed it would turn out like this.”
Just as Chloe, furious, was about to say something, I grabbed her arm.
“If that’s what he says, well... Then even if Chloe loses this time, it isn’t really her fault, is it?”
Both Raymond and Brandon were rendered speechless by the sudden conclusion. It was obvious they were each trying to figure out what answer would be most advantageous. But soon, Brandon asked, his face red as a cherry,
“That’s none of your business. Just come up with a solution!”
At his shout, I frowned and said to Chloe,
“Ugh, now I don’t want to say it. It makes me feel like I’ve become a servant.”
Seeing me irritated, Chloe shouted at Brandon,
“If you’re done here, get lost! I’ll handle it myself. I’ll tell Dad everything too. And Mr. Raymond, honestly, I’m disappointed. If this could happen, you should have told me in advance.”
“I, I...”
“That’s enough. Please go for now.”
In the end, once Brandon and his group, hurling curses at his sister, had disappeared into dots in the distance, Chloe looked at me with a pitiful expression.
“Please, I’m begging you. You saw him, right? If I can’t beat that fat pig, I’ll probably die of rage.”
“......”
“If you just help me win, I’ll give you as much as you want at cost every year, not just this year.”
“That’s not necessary...”
At that moment, Armando butted in again.
“What the heck! There really was something between you two!”
I pushed Armando’s face aside and looked at the cherry trees.
“There is a method, but...”
Chloe clasped both hands together and her eyes sparkled.
“What is it?”
“You’ll have to work pretty hard.”
“Work hard?”
“Yeah. We need to bring in and release the aphids’ natural predators, ladybugs and lacewings. Are you good at catching bugs by hand? We’ll have to release a lot of them.”
“.......”
Chloe’s face turned ashen. She hurriedly looked back, but Jacob, who was built like a mountain, and Armando quickly stepped several steps away and suddenly began talking while staring at the diseased cherry tree.
“Cherries are pretty. Maybe we should’ve grown cherry trees instead of rice.”
“Let’s visit your farm sometime. What variety of rice do you grow?”
“......”