Before leaving, Silas still had quite a few matters to take care of.
For example, right now, one Indeedee walked on each side of him. The three of them moved slowly through the ranch together, and Silas carefully explained each responsibility and every task in detail to the Indeedee siblings.
The older brother Indeedee took out a small notebook and diligently wrote down the daily duties one by one, afraid that after Silas left, they might forget something important.
When they reached the wheat and corn fields, Silas stopped.
"Water the wheat once every three days. The corn is the same. If it rains, remember to clear the drainage ditches along the edges of the fields so water doesn't accumulate."
"Indee!"
The older brother recorded everything seriously.
After that, they went to inspect the fruit and vegetable plots.
"From tomorrow onward, there will be ripe produce every day. Remember to call the three Meowth to help with the harvest. Keep a portion for yourselves to eat, and put the rest into the collection box."
"And if you want to eat something else, write it down in advance and put the note in the collection box too. When Gario comes to collect the goods, he'll bring the items over for you."
Later, Silas would also have to personally ask Gario to look after things a bit more.
This was the first time he was leaving all the Pokémon alone at the ranch. No matter what, he still felt a little worried.
After finishing the matters in the fields, Silas walked with them toward the orchard.
The berry grove that had been cleared earlier had, without anyone noticing, become overgrown with weeds again.
One of Silas's purposes for going out this time was to search in the wild for a Pokémon that could help take care of the berry trees.
"Meow!"
He caught Litten in his arms, his palm gently stroking along its back.
"Litten is now responsible for security in the orchard. There are also two Butterfree helping inside. You met them yesterday."
The younger sister Indeedee took the initiative to release a wave of goodwill, waving her small hand at Litten in greeting.
"Meow."
Litten glanced at her and responded in a lukewarm manner.
"You can't be so impolite. Indeedee is family too."
Silas lightly tapped the top of Litten's head with his finger. Its tail swayed slightly. Although it still did not move closer on its own, it rubbed gently against Silas's palm, expressing a bit of friendliness.
Seeing this, the younger sister Indeedee's eyes lit up. She took out the little snacks she had made together with Silas.
Litten hesitated for two seconds, then lowered its head and picked up the snack. It let out a soft "meow" toward her before darting into the orchard in a flash.
Silas smiled and rubbed the younger Indeedee's head.
"That's just Litten's personality. If you spend more time together, you'll get familiar."
"Indee~!"
(I will work hard, Silas!)
The younger sister clenched her tiny fists. She now had a new mission, to win Litten's favor.
After they left, Litten reappeared, followed by the two Butterfree.
"Meow."
(This is for you.)
The Butterfree were stunned.
The one on the left whispered, (Boss wasn't like this before. He always ate the snacks himself.)
The one on the right chimed in, (Yeah, yeah. Did he take the wrong medicine today?)
The two Butterfree muttered among themselves, completely failing to notice that the temperature behind them was rising higher and higher.
Smack, smack.
Two swift slaps landed. The Butterfree fell to the ground in response, shrinking back in flinching fear.
Litten snorted and turned away.
(That foolish human went out without bringing it along. Hmph.)
One task after another was assigned, and page after page of the older Indeedee's little notebook was filled.
In the end, they walked out of the greenhouse. The younger sister Indeedee waved goodbye to the Flabébé.
"That's roughly how everything should be handled. I'll be gone for a few days, so I'm counting on you to take care of the ranch. Cyclizar will also help out, so don't worry about not doing a good job."
The Indeedee siblings raised their hands together. "Indee!"
"Just do your best."
Silas patted the two well behaved Pokémon and glanced at his watch.
Before he realized it, it was already time for Gario to arrive and collect the goods.
First, he and Indeedee placed today's products into the collection box.
"If you're busy, just put the harvested items straight into the collection box. You don't have to wait until collection time."
"Indee."
The older brother indicated that he understood, while the younger sister pointed forward. Gario was driving over in his small delivery truck.
Gario stepped out alone. Diggersby was nowhere in sight.
No way. Could it really be that fast?
Driven by curiosity, Silas asked, "Where's Diggersby, Gario?"
It would have been better if he had not asked. The moment he did, Gario let out a long sigh. He scratched the back of his head helplessly.
"The bottle of wine you gave me yesterday was secretly drunk by Diggersby. It… sigh…"
Well then. Last time it was street racing. This time it was drunk driving.
"License revoked again?"
"Not just revoked. It's not even allowed to retake the test. It has to attend classes every day now, and I have to accompany it."
"Doesn't that mean you won't have any spare time? I was hoping to trouble you to deliver some food to the ranch every day while I'm away for a week. Looks like I'll have to ask someone else."
As they talked, their hands kept moving, weighing and loading the produce into the truck.
Before Silas even finished speaking, Gario quickly waved his hands.
"No, no, you can't trouble someone else. It's a small matter. I can handle it easily. Besides, who knows prices better than I do? It won't delay anything."
Seeing Gario's insistence, Silas said, "I'll have the older brother Indeedee write a detailed shopping list to make it easier for you."
"Alright. It's settled then."
Gario very much wanted to maintain a good relationship. With the various top quality ingredients supplied by Silas's ranch, his status at the company had risen rapidly.
To Gario, Silas was practically a golden patron.
After completing the transaction, Silas handed over the shopping list the older Indeedee had just written.
"That's all you need? I'll deliver them tomorrow at the same time. If the Indeedee siblings isn't around, I'll put them in the collection box."
After watching Gario drive away, Silas and the others returned to the cabin.
In the kitchen, younger sister Indeedee was busy working, while Silas stood there thinking about whether there was anything else he needed to explain.
"Min!"
Just as he was about to speak, Minccino popped a blueberry into his mouth.
One after another, until Silas's speech became intermittent.
Smiling brightly, Silas looked at Minccino.
"You eat. You eat."
A sweet little padded jacket really was wonderful, unlike the two smelly boys beside them who only cared about eating for themselves.
"Min."
(It fell on the ground. Silas eat.)
Silas fell silent.
Well. This little padded jacket had a bit of a draft.
After saying nearly everything he needed to say, Silas placed his large hand over Minccino's head and gave it a firm rub.
"You finish the rest yourself. I'm going to cook."
Silas got up and ran off. Minccino looked at the plate of blueberries beside her.
Then she trotted over to regular Meowth and Galarian Meowth, feeding each of them a blueberry in each hand.
"Min~"
(Can't waste food. These are all for the Meowth big brothers~)
As for why there was no Alolan Meowth, the clever Meowth would not be fooled by a little mouse.
"Min~"
Minccino looked at the small number of blueberries left, raised them high above her head, and blinked her sparkling eyes.
Alolan Meowth thought to itself, if a dog won't eat it, a cat will.
Seeing the plate empty, Minccino cried out happily and ran to the refrigerator to take out something else to eat.
Silas had said food must not be wasted. She could not finish it all by herself, so she could only ask the Meowth brothers to help eat it.
Hehe.
(End of Chapter)