The door to the market garden opened, making the bell hanging behind it chime while letting in the hubbub from outside. The noise there had multiplied now that spring had arrived and it was slowly getting warmer, luring the people back out of their houses and onto the streets.

Ying Tao raised his head, looking past the plants to the person that had come in. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see save for a pair of cargo pants at the bottom and a big hat on top. He pursed his lips and turned to the side, swaying up and down. "Big sister Ping Guo! What do you think that person wants?"

Ping Guo who was lying on one of the branches of the tree next to Ying Tao with her arms and legs hanging down on both sides only tiredly glanced at the person that had come in. "Probably some of the flowers." Then, she closed her eyes again and continued to lie on the branch.

Ying Tao gave a hum and continued to look. The bells would ring out regularly in the market garden, and each time, he would curiously watch everything that happened, wondering what the people coming in might want. In any case, he hadn’t been here for long, just a few days, so everything was new. Save for big sister Ping Guo he didn’t know the others well yet and he didn’t have anything to do either so there was nothing else he could amuse himself with.

The man that had just entered the garden market talked with the clerk at the front who waved at one of the other workers further in the back of the store. The woman rushed forward and then nodded at the customer with a bright smile, motioning for him to follow her.

Ying Tao curiously watched the two of them come closer to his section. He fluttered his wings a few times, lifting off the leaf where he had been sitting, and craned his neck to get a better look at the two people. He had already seen all the humans that were working in the market garden but the customers would look different each time. It was more interesting to observe them.

The employee and the customer stopped just a few meters away so Ying Tao sat on his leaf again, watching with interest how things would unfold.

"You’re lucky!" This was the first thing he heard the woman tell the customer. "We just got a few new saplings a few days ago. Do you have a special kind of tree in mind?"

The man shook his head. "No, I think any kind of fruit tree would be alright. But we have three orange trees at the back of the garden already so it would be nice to get something different. My wife likes to cook and we have two young children. So I thought maybe it would be best if I got something that all of them would be happy about."

The employee nodded and then motioned for the man to follow her. "Well, we have quite an assortment of fruit trees here, you can just have your pick according to your family’s taste. There are pear trees, apple trees, cherry trees, and also peach trees. Children usually aren’t that picky if they already grow up eating fruits and vegetables and you can use the fruits for all kinds of dishes. I guess apples and cherries might be the most versatile but if your wife likes cooking, then I am sure she would be able to create something amazing with any kind of fruit. Maybe one of your family members has a fruit they especially like? Then I would recommend taking the corresponding tree."

The man nodded and rubbed his chin, looking at the trees. Finally, he motioned at the one that Ying Tao was sitting on. "How about that one? I think it looks good and my daughter likes cherries quite a lot, even though she isn’t a picky eater in general."

The employee nodded. "But of course. That is one of the cherry trees that was just delivered a couple days ago. I am sure that you will have a bountiful harvest with this one." She smiled brightly, already feeling like this purchase was as good as done. For good measure, she added a few more sentences though. "This kind of cherry is very sweet. I’m sure that especially the children will love it a lot. Who knows if your wife will even get to cook much with them? They might all be eaten just like that." She laughed a little and the man joined in, clearly happy when he thought of the day they’d get to eat their own cherries.

Meanwhile, Ying Tao tilted his head, wondering what exactly they wanted to do with his tree. He looked over at Ping Guo but she wasn’t paying any attention to the two people as if she couldn’t care less. Ying Tao pursed his lips and then flapped his wings to rise into the air again, retreating to one of the higher-hanging branches. He didn’t know that much about humans but from this place, he was able to see them better. No matter what they did, he would find out immediately.

Ying Tao didn’t need to wait long to find out what exactly the humans intended to do. The woman went to get a cart, picked up his little tree, and placed it on top. The whole tree shook, making Ying Tao hold onto the leaf he had just sat on for dear life.

"Help! Sister Ping Guo, what are they doing with the tree?!" Ying Tao stared over with wide eyes, not understanding what was going on. He still remembered that his tree had been brought in here in a similar manner but at that time, he had still been very small and hadn’t registered much. Most of the time, he had even been asleep. By now, this memory was already very faint, he could hardly recall it.

This time, Ping Guo actually flapped her wings and rose into the air, looking at the scene with alarm. "Oh, no! I’m afraid they’re going to take it away." She furrowed her brows, but she knew that there was nothing she could do. Other fairies had also vanished like this. When she came here, there had been another apple fairy standing in the spot right next to her. But then, he had been carted off after a few days. She herself wasn’t clear on how long she would be able to stay here. But she had heard from the grapevine that these plants would be brought somewhere else to be planted and their fairies could only follow along.

She sighed but then shook her head. "Don’t worry too much. They aren’t going to do anything bad. They’ll just bring it to another place. When you are there, you’ll have to make new friends. I’m sorry for not being able to accompany you any longer. But I’m sure you’ll have a good life in the future!" She smiled and waved at him while Ying Tao was still staring at her with big eyes.

"I don’t want to go! I want to stay here!" Don’t even mention sister Ping Guo, there were other fairies around that he still wanted to get to know better. He absolutely didn’t want to leave!

But no matter what Ying Tao wanted, it was already too late. The man had followed the employee over to the cash register, and soon enough, Ying Tao’s tree was carted outside, stuffed into a car, and the man drove off with the two of them.

Ying Tao was scared silly. He didn’t even bother holding onto the leaf again, and instead just directly hugged the trunk of the tree. Tears gathered in his eyes while he looked around wildly. He still remembered vaguely how he got into the market garden but he couldn’t recall the world outside because it had been dark most of the time on the way there. Seeing the other cars on the streets, the many humans walking on the sidewalks, and the shimmering lights of the stores with all their colorful advertisements strewn in-between, he felt like he was going crazy.

Ah, he was just a little fruit fairy! He absolutely didn’t want to go out into the big world. It would be much nicer to stay in a small place like the market garden where he could play with other fairies. Where was this man bringing him? Would there really be other fairies around like big sister Ping Guo had said? Or could it be that he would be all alone?

Ying Tao fretted by himself but that couldn’t stop the car from slowly approaching its destination. By the time they arrived, Ying Tao had tired himself out with all his crying. In fact, the little fruit fairy was already fast asleep. Thus, he didn’t notice at all when the car stopped and the man got out, opening the trunk to take out the tree. He looked at it with a bright smile and put it down on the ground next to him before locking the car. Then, he picked up the little sapling and carried it inside with elated steps.