Chapter 111 - 109 — The First Harvest Fair and the Pumpkin That Stole the Show

Chapter 111: Chapter 109 — The First Harvest Fair and the Pumpkin That Stole the Show

The first Open Garden Harvest Fair began with a bell.

It ended with a pumpkin rolling downhill.

But nobody knew that yet.

At sunrise, Open Garden was already buzzing with activity.

Colourful ribbons fluttered between the trees. Wooden stalls lined the courtyard, decorated with fresh flowers, baskets of vegetables, jars of preserves, and handmade ornaments. A long table had been arranged beneath the peach trees, while lanterns hung from the branches, ready to glow when evening arrived.

The smell of freshly baked bread, roasted chestnuts, steamed buns, and sweet fruit filled the air.

It was beautiful.

It was lively.

It was almost perfectly organised.

Almost.

"WHO TOOK MY SIGN?"

Lumi’s voice echoed across the courtyard.

Lin Yue, who was carrying a basket of peaches, stopped walking.

Shen Rui looked at her.

"Should we ask?"

"No."

"Should we investigate?"

"Absolutely not."

They exchanged a glance.

Then another shout followed.

"MY BAKERY SIGN HAS DISAPPEARED!"

Lin Yue sighed.

"Perhaps we should investigate."

Shen Rui smiled.

"I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist."

Lumi stood beside its little bakery stall, looking devastated.

The stall itself was charming. A small wooden counter displayed rows of peach-honey cakes, fruit pastries, and tiny steamed buns. A golden cloth covered the front, and a little basket of flowers decorated one corner.

But the sign was missing.

"What happened?" Lin Yue asked.

Lumi pointed toward the empty space above the stall.

"I put it there last night."

"And this morning?"

"Gone!"

Shen Rui examined the wooden hooks.

"Perhaps the wind blew it away."

Lumi shook its head.

"No! I tied it with three knots!"

Lin Yue looked around.

"Did anyone see it?"

Jun raised his hand.

"I saw something moving near the bakery last night."

Lumi gasped.

"A thief!"

His younger sister frowned.

"What did it look like?"

"Small."

"Smaller than you?"

Jun considered this.

"Perhaps."

Lumi narrowed its eyes.

"A rival bakery owner?"

Shen Rui rubbed his forehead.

"Let’s not jump to conclusions."

Mei approached with a small wooden board.

"Is this the sign?"

Everyone turned.

She held up Lumi’s missing sign.

Lumi’s eyes sparkled.

"MY SIGN!"

Mei smiled.

"I found it beside the pumpkin frame. It must have fallen during the night."

Lumi immediately took it.

"Thank you!"

Then it looked at the sign.

A large orange smear stained one corner.

Lin Yue examined it.

"Pumpkin?"

Lumi sniffed.

"Yes."

It looked toward the giant pumpkin.

Then back at its sign.

"My bakery has been attacked."

Shen Rui chuckled.

"By a vegetable."

Lumi puffed up.

"I shall remember this."

By midmorning, the first visitors began arriving.

Willowbank villagers came carrying baskets of produce, homemade food, woven mats, and little handmade toys. Some brought their children, while others arrived to enjoy the atmosphere.

Auntie Feng was among the first.

She walked straight toward Lin Yue.

"Everything looks wonderful!"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Thank you. The apprentices worked very hard."

Auntie Feng glanced at Shen Rui.

"And you?"

"I helped with the stalls and shelter."

"Only that?"

Shen Rui raised an eyebrow.

"What else should I have done?"

"Built another pavilion, perhaps?"

Lin Yue laughed.

"Please don’t encourage him."

Auntie Feng chuckled.

"Then who will keep him busy?"

"My husband is already very busy."

Shen Rui looked at Lin Yue.

"Am I?"

She smiled sweetly.

"Very. You have the important responsibility of keeping me entertained."

Auntie Feng burst out laughing.

"Good! At least someone has given him a proper assignment."

Shen Rui shook his head, but his eyes were smiling.

He leaned closer to Lin Yue.

"I believe I have just been promoted."

"Congratulations."

"Do I receive a reward?"

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps?"

She handed him a basket.

"Carry this."

He looked at the basket.

Then at her.

"That is not quite what I had in mind."

Lin Yue laughed and walked away.

Shen Rui followed, carrying the basket without complaint.

The main attraction of the fair was undoubtedly the giant pumpkin.

It sat proudly on a reinforced wooden platform near the centre of the courtyard.

A small rope barrier surrounded it, and a sign announced:

OPEN GARDEN’S FIRST GIANT PUMPKIN CONTEST

PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB, SIT, OR ATTEMPT TO EAT THE PUMPKIN.

Beneath the warning, someone had added:

THIS INCLUDES DRAGONS.

Lumi looked offended.

"Who wrote that?"

Aster appeared beside it.

"I did."

"Why?"

"Based on previous behaviour."

Lumi crossed its little arms.

"I have never eaten a pumpkin."

Moss muttered from nearby, "You tried to bite one yesterday."

"That was quality inspection!"

Jun stood beside the pumpkin, wearing a little ribbon that read:

OFFICIAL PUMPKIN KEEPER

His younger sister adjusted the ribbon.

"Stop standing so proudly. It is crooked."

"It is supposed to be crooked."

"Why?"

"Because the pumpkin is round."

She stared at him.

Lin Yue laughed.

"Are you ready for the judging?"

Jun nodded enthusiastically.

"I measured it three times!"

Mei checked her notebook.

"Four times."

Jun blinked.

"Why four?"

"Because you forgot the first measurement."

"That was a practice measurement!"

The old Willowbank orchard keeper arrived carrying a measuring rope.

"Well, well. Let’s see what we have here."

He walked around the pumpkin.

Then around it again.

Then he whistled.

"This is quite a specimen."

Jun’s chest swelled with pride.

"I helped grow it!"

His younger sister added, "With Lin Yue’s guidance, Mei’s records, Shen Rui’s support frame, and everyone’s help."

Jun sighed.

"You always make my achievements sound like a group project."

"Because they are."

The orchard keeper laughed.

"That’s a good thing. A healthy harvest is rarely the work of one person."

Lin Yue smiled.

The giant pumpkin had become a symbol of the garden’s teamwork.

And Jun, despite his complaints, looked rather pleased.

Meanwhile, Lumi’s bakery was experiencing unexpected success.

The first batch of peach-honey cakes sold out in less than an hour.

The second batch disappeared even faster.

By noon, a queue had formed.

Lumi stood behind the counter, wearing its oversized apron and looking extremely important.

"Next customer!"

A little girl stepped forward.

"May I have one cake?"

"Certainly!"

Lumi placed a cake into a small paper wrapper.

"That will be two copper coins."

The girl handed over the money.

Lumi nodded solemnly.

"Thank you for supporting my business."

Lin Yue watched from a short distance away.

She smiled.

"Lumi seems to be doing well."

Shen Rui stood beside her.

"Very well."

"Perhaps we should help it prepare more cakes."

He looked at the growing queue.

"I suspect we should help it establish a production limit first."

Lin Yue laughed.

"Why?"

"Because it will soon promise more cakes than the kitchen can produce."

As if summoned by his words, Lumi shouted:

"EVERYONE! I WILL HAVE FIFTY MORE CAKES READY IN ONE HOUR!"

Shen Rui closed his eyes.

Lin Yue burst out laughing.

"I believe you were right."

"I usually am."

She looked at him.

"Usually?"

"Always."

"Very confident."

"Would you like me to prove it?"

"How?"

He leaned toward her.

"By predicting that you will steal another cake from the tray."

Lin Yue looked at the little cake in her hand.

She had indeed taken one without asking.

She slowly hid it behind her back.

Shen Rui smiled.

"Caught."

She took a bite.

"Too late."

He laughed.

The afternoon was bright and lively.

Children played beneath the trees, villagers exchanged recipes, and the apprentices helped visitors learn how to plant seeds in small pots.

The giant pumpkin contest was about to begin.

Jun stood beside the platform, looking extremely proud.

The judges gathered around.

Lumi flew overhead, announcing the bakery’s special discount.

Moss stood near the vegetable stalls, guarding a basket of seed cakes.

Everything was going wonderfully.

Until the wind changed.

A sudden gust swept across the courtyard.

The ribbons fluttered.

The hanging decorations swayed.

A large cloth covering one side of the pumpkin platform loosened.

Jun noticed it first.

"Oh!"

He rushed forward.

"Wait! The cloth!"

His younger sister grabbed his sleeve.

"Don’t pull it!"

But it was too late.

The cloth caught beneath the pumpkin’s wooden support.

One of the small wedges holding the platform in place shifted.

Then another.

The pumpkin moved.

Just a little.

Then a little more.

Lin Yue turned.

"Shen Rui!"

He immediately looked toward the platform.

The giant pumpkin was rolling.

Slowly at first.

Then faster.

Jun stared.

His mouth fell open.

"THE PUMPKIN!"

The crowd gasped.

Someone screamed.

Lumi flapped its wings.

"MY BAKERY!"

The enormous pumpkin rolled off the platform and began travelling down the gentle slope toward the food stalls.

For one brief moment, everyone simply stared.

Then chaos erupted.

"MOVE THE BASKETS!"

"CLEAR THE PATH!"

"GET THE CHILDREN AWAY!"

Shen Rui was already running.

Lin Yue followed.

The pumpkin rolled past the flower stall, knocked over an empty basket, and headed straight toward the long table of freshly prepared food.

Shen Rui reached the lower end of the path.

"Everyone, move aside!"

The villagers quickly cleared the way.

Lin Yue spotted a stack of empty wooden crates near the storage shed.

"Shen Rui! The crates!"

He understood immediately.

He grabbed two.

Lin Yue and the apprentices carried more.

Together, they placed them across the pumpkin’s path, creating a low barrier.

The pumpkin struck the first crate.

It bounced slightly.

Then continued rolling.

Jun shouted, "IT’S NOT STOPPING!"

Lumi suddenly flew toward it.

"STOP, YOU GIANT VEGETABLE!"

"LUMI, NO!" Lin Yue shouted.

The little dragon flapped its wings and released a small burst of golden light.

The pumpkin wobbled.

It slowed.

Then rolled directly toward the bakery stall.

Lumi froze.

"My cakes!"

Shen Rui rushed forward and caught the edge of the wooden platform as the pumpkin struck it.

The stall shook.

The cakes trembled.

One peach-honey cake flew into the air.

Lin Yue caught it.

Another landed on Shen Rui’s shoulder.

A third bounced off Lumi’s head.

Then, with one final wobble, the enormous pumpkin rolled into the soft earth beside the peach tree.

It stopped.

Silence.

Everyone stared.

Then Jun whispered:

"Did we win?"

His younger sister looked at him.

"Win what?"

"The pumpkin contest."

The old orchard keeper burst into laughter.

The pumpkin had survived.

The bakery had survived.

The food stalls had mostly survived.

Only a few baskets and decorations had been damaged.

But the entire courtyard was now laughing.

Lumi landed beside the pumpkin.

It looked at the giant vegetable.

Then at its bakery.

Then at Lin Yue.

"My bakery nearly became pumpkin filling."

Lin Yue laughed.

"Fortunately, it didn’t."

Shen Rui brushed a little dust from his sleeves.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded.

"Are you?"

He looked down at the cake on his shoulder.

"Apparently, I have become a cake stand."

Lin Yue burst out laughing.

She reached up and carefully removed the cake.

"Don’t move."

"Why?"

"You have frosting on your collar."

She wiped it away with her fingers.

Then she smiled.

"There. Much better."

Shen Rui looked at her.

"You seem to be enjoying this."

"Very much."

"I nearly had a pumpkin land on me."

"But you survived."

"Because of excellent planning."

"And a little luck."

"And my very capable wife."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Now that is a sensible statement."

He leaned closer.

"Do I receive a reward?"

She glanced around.

The villagers were busy securing the pumpkin.

The apprentices were collecting the fallen decorations.

Nobody seemed to be watching.

So she quickly kissed his cheek.

"There."

Shen Rui smiled.

"I was hoping for something a little more substantial."

"Perhaps after the fair."

He looked pleased.

"I shall hold you to that."

After the excitement settled, the judges gathered around the giant pumpkin.

The old orchard keeper examined it carefully.

"Well, it certainly deserves a prize."

Jun immediately stood straighter.

"Really?"

"Yes. Although I am not sure whether it should be awarded for size or entertainment."

The crowd laughed.

Auntie Feng suggested a special category.

"Why not give it the first-ever Most Memorable Harvest Award?"

Mei quickly wrote it down.

Jun grinned.

"I like that!"

His younger sister smiled.

"You just want a prize."

"Of course!"

The old orchard keeper nodded.

"Then it is settled."

He raised his voice.

"For growing the largest pumpkin in Open Garden’s history, and for giving everyone an unforgettable afternoon, the prize goes to Jun and his fellow apprentices!"

The children cheered.

Jun jumped into the air.

His younger sister clapped.

Mei smiled proudly.

Lin Yue handed them a small wooden medal carved in the shape of a pumpkin.

"Congratulations."

Jun held it up.

"I shall treasure this forever!"

His younger sister leaned toward him.

"Don’t forget who kept the measurements."

Jun sighed.

"I shall treasure it with you."

"Good."

Lumi flew forward.

"What about my bakery?"

Auntie Feng laughed.

"You receive the prize for the most enthusiastic business owner."

Lumi gasped.

"AN AWARD?"

Lin Yue presented it with a little ribbon.

THE GOLDEN DRAGON BAKERY — MOST ENTHUSIASTIC NEW BUSINESS

Lumi clutched the ribbon.

"I AM OFFICIALLY FAMOUS!"

Moss muttered, "Heaven help us."

As evening approached, the fair became even more beautiful.

Lanterns glowed beneath the trees.

The villagers gathered around the long tables, sharing food and stories.

The giant pumpkin had been safely moved to a more secure spot. Its unexpected adventure had become the main topic of conversation.

Some children were already asking whether next year’s pumpkin could be even bigger.

Lin Yue hoped not.

Shen Rui sat beside her beneath the peach tree.

He placed a small bowl of fruit between them.

"You haven’t eaten much."

"I have been busy."

"Then eat."

She picked up a piece of peach.

"You sound like my grandmother."

"Perhaps she was right."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Perhaps."

He poured tea into her cup.

She looked around at the gathering.

The apprentices were laughing with the villagers. Auntie Feng was telling an exaggerated version of the pumpkin incident. Madam He was sharing a recipe with the women from Willowbank.

Moss was pretending not to enjoy the attention while accepting a second helping of seed cakes.

And Lumi was standing on a little stool, proudly explaining its bakery’s future expansion plans.

Lin Yue smiled.

"Look at them."

Shen Rui followed her gaze.

"They are happy."

"They made this together."

"So did we."

She turned toward him.

"You think so?"

He gently took her hand.

"We helped plant the first seeds. They chose what to grow."

Lin Yue’s smile softened.

She rested her head against his shoulder.

For a moment, they simply listened to the laughter around them.

Then Shen Rui spoke quietly.

"I have been thinking about something."

"What?"

"Perhaps we should make this an annual event."

Lin Yue lifted her head.

"A Harvest Fair every year?"

"Yes."

She considered it.

"Then next year, we should have more stalls, more games, and perhaps a little music."

"And a smaller pumpkin?"

She laughed.

"Definitely a smaller pumpkin."

From across the courtyard, Jun shouted:

"NO! BIGGER!"

His younger sister immediately replied:

"WE ARE NOT GROWING ANOTHER ONE THAT LARGE!"

Lin Yue and Shen Rui laughed together.

Just as the evening seemed to be winding down, Aster appeared beside the couple.

"I have an announcement."

Lin Yue looked up.

"What is it?"

Aster projected a small image.

It showed a drawing of the giant pumpkin, surrounded by little stars and flowers.

Beneath it were the words:

THE FIRST OPEN GARDEN HARVEST FAIR — A SUCCESS!

Then another line appeared.

NEXT YEAR’S THEME: THE LITTLE THINGS WE GROW TOGETHER.

Lin Yue smiled.

"That is lovely."

Aster nodded.

"The apprentices suggested it."

Shen Rui looked at the image.

"Who drew the pumpkin?"

"Jun."

Lin Yue studied the drawing.

It was enormous.

Far larger than the actual pumpkin.

She laughed.

"He has made it even bigger."

Aster displayed another note.

SPECIAL REQUEST FROM THE APPRENTICES:

NEXT YEAR, WE WOULD LIKE TO BUILD A SMALL CHILDREN’S GARDEN BESIDE THE PEACH TREE.

Lin Yue looked at Shen Rui.

His expression was thoughtful.

"A children’s garden?"

She nodded.

"That sounds wonderful."

Aster continued.

"They would like to invite younger children from Willowbank to learn about planting, watering, and caring for small animals."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Then we should discuss it with them tomorrow."

Shen Rui squeezed her hand.

"Tomorrow?"

She turned toward him.

"Oh. I forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Our day off."

He smiled.

"You did."

Lin Yue looked at the bustling courtyard.

Then at the apprentices.

Then at the little dragon selling its final cakes.

She sighed dramatically.

"Perhaps we should schedule it for next week."

Shen Rui laughed.

"Perhaps."

Lumi suddenly appeared between them.

"I can come too!"

Both turned toward it.

"No," they said together.

Lumi blinked.

"Why not?"

"Because it is our day off," Shen Rui replied.

"But I am family!"

Lin Yue looked at her husband.

He looked at her.

Then both smiled.

"Fine," Lin Yue said. "You may come."

Lumi cheered.

"HOORAY!"

She raised one finger.

"On one condition."

"What?"

"No baking."

Lumi’s wings drooped.

"Can I at least bring one cake?"

Shen Rui sighed.

"One."

Lumi immediately flew away.

"ASTER! PREPARE MY TRAVEL BAKERY!"

Lin Yue burst out laughing.

Shen Rui wrapped an arm around her.

"I believe our quiet days are becoming rather crowded."

She smiled and leaned against him.

"Would you have it any other way?"

He looked at her for a moment.

Then kissed her forehead.

"No."

The lanterns swayed above them.

The villagers continued laughing.

And beneath the peach tree, Lin Yue and Shen Rui shared the last peaceful moments of the evening, knowing that tomorrow would probably bring another unexpected adventure.

After all, they had a children’s garden to plan.

A dragon bakery to supervise.

And a very ambitious group of apprentices who had already begun discussing next year’s pumpkin.

To be continued...