’Good thing this is my godson and not my real son. Otherwise, I’d have to ask if Mr. Tattoo lived next door when you were staying at the Future Pet Shop—you know, the guy with the character for "king" tattooed on his head.’
"Gao Shu, go to the fruit and vegetable shop next door and buy some bamboo shoots and mutton. Also, see what nuts and whole grains she has, and get a little of each." Since something so interesting was happening, Shen Yibin didn’t feel like going on a long grocery run anymore. He delegated the task to Gao Shu, plopped himself down on the swing, and stared intently at the panda hamster.
Just like before, after digging a hole, the little creature gently and carefully buried the Three-Clawed Crescent Moon in the pit. It then took a big gulp of mineral water and, with a few GURGLES, sprayed it onto the plant’s roots.
Then, in a flash, it zipped over to the checkout counter and started digging up a third succulent. Xia Shixuan felt a pang of heartache with every movement. "Boss, I ran all over Yunzhong City to find specimens this good! Please don’t let it kill them!"
"I don’t think it’ll come to that, will it?" ’If it wanted to kill them, it would’ve just eaten them. The little guy can’t just be doing this because it’s bored, right?’ Shen Yibin replied, unsure. "Besides, don’t worry about it. We can just go out this afternoon and buy a few more pots." ’There were only three or four pots on the counter, not nearly enough to withstand this little guy’s meddling. Since it seems to like it, I’ll just get it a bunch more!’
"Okay, okay! I’ll go see what I should wear to go out with you later." Hearing his offer, the little knot of anxiety in Xia Shixuan’s heart instantly vanished. Humming a tune, she went upstairs.
It didn’t take long for the creature to move all four of Xia Shixuan’s succulents to the edge of the bamboo grove and bury them. Once they were planted, it circled them a few times, nibbling off any leaves or stems that were crooked, ugly, withered, or limp, as if it were pruning them to help them grow better. After nibbling, the little creature licked the cuts it had made. And strangely, once it licked them, the wounds stopped seeping sap. It was just like how applying Yunnan Baiyao to a wound can instantly stop bleeding. The effect was simply divine.
But it didn’t stop there. After finishing its work, the little creature didn’t rest. It kept running all over the room, sniffing here and there. Soon, it found a drawer in the storage room and began scratching at it, as if trying to open it.
Without waiting for Shen Yibin’s command, Hah’Er reached out a paw and pulled the drawer open. The little creature zipped inside and began rummaging around, finally grabbing a bag with its two front paws and trying to pull it out.
Its tiny frame was obviously not strong enough, but thankfully, Hah’Er was there to help. With a gentle lift, the panda took the bag in its paw. Shen Yibin looked closely and saw the words "Plant Fertilizer" printed on the bag. ’So this little guy plans on fertilizing the plants too!’
One after another, it found three bags of different kinds of fertilizer. Some had been bought by Xia Shixuan for the succulents, others were for the shop’s decorative plants like the Drip Guanyin and Lucky Bamboo, and the last was for the bamboo grove. Each fertilizer had a different formula.
’I bet if this little guy weren’t too small to move those bigger pots, it would have dug up the Drip Guanyin plants I received as grand-opening gifts and planted them by the bamboo grove just like these succulents,’ a thought occurred to Shen Yibin. ’Maybe when I go out this afternoon, I should buy it some similar small ornamental plants or seeds?’
In the time Shen Yibin was lost in thought, Hah’Er had already carried the three bags of fertilizer to the bamboo grove, helped the little creature open them, and placed them on the ground. The little one didn’t immediately start fertilizing the succulents. Instead, it fetched its food bowl from its cage and put it next to the bags. It ran to one bag, gave it a sniff, and scooped a little into its bowl. Then it ran to another bag, sniffed it, and added a little of that to the bowl as well... It did this over and over, mixing different proportions of fertilizer. Finally, the little creature poured in some water from its water dish, stirred the three types together, and sprinkled the concoction at the base of the Cyan Halo.
’Holy crap, it even mixes its own fertilizer! Bro, did you minor in biology and chemistry at the Future Pet Shop? Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Wait, if I call you Bro, doesn’t that make me a generation younger than Hah’Er?’
But what surprised Shen Yibin even more was yet to come. After it finished fertilizing the Cyan Halo, the little critter climbed into the different bags again, taking out different amounts of fertilizer from each. It once again put them in the food bowl, added water, mixed it all up, and poured the new mixture at the base of the Three-Clawed Crescent Moon. It seemed to be creating custom fertilizer blends for each plant’s specific needs. To be able to work with such precision was a real eye-opener for both Shen Yibin and Xia Shixuan.
’Looks like I’ll need to buy more kinds of fertilizer this afternoon.’ Shen Yibin’s shopping list grew longer. ’And if I’m buying fertilizer, should I also get it some measuring cups and stirring rods? I can’t let this little guy keep using its own food bowl and water dish, right? Oh, and maybe I should get Gao Shu to sew it a mini lab coat? Based on what it just did, this little fella is a full-blown scientist!’
If nothing else, the little creature’s diligence was definitely on par with a scientist’s. After it finished fertilizing the four transplanted succulents, it zipped over to the large Drip Guanyin planter—well, Hah’Er had to lift it up, or else it couldn’t have climbed the smooth pot on its own.
’I’ll have to buy a toy ladder? So it can climb up and down more easily?’ Shen Yibin continued to mentally update his list. But he soon realized a ladder alone wouldn’t be enough. The little creature squeaked a few times at Hah’Er, who immediately held it in his paws and raised it to leaf-level. The little one resumed nibbling away at the unhealthy parts of the leaves. ’To do this job by itself, it would need a stepladder.’
It shredded the nibbled-off leaves and buried them at the base of the plant. Then it dug up a few clumps of soil, sniffed them, and zipped back to the bamboo grove to continue hauling fertilizer from the bags. Only this time, the amount of fertilizer it brought out was much larger. It looked like it was planning to perform "surgery" on all the plants in Shen Yibin’s shop.
"Man, I thought Hah’Er, Shi Gaofei, and Cheeky were already amazing enough. I guess I was just too naive, too simple-minded!" Xia Shixuan said, having been stunned speechless for some time.
"I had no idea it would be like this either!" Shen Yibin was just as dumbfounded.
"Boss, what’s its name?" Xia Shixuan asked, resting her chin in her hand, a look on her face that said she wanted to take it home with her.
"Uh, are you asking for its name?" Shen Yibin pondered for a while before answering, "How about we call it Maphario?" ’Since the shop already has a Storm Brew, adding a Maphario shouldn’t be a big deal, right?’