My Pokémon Story of Seasons

"I was going to ask why the structure of Sunshine Ranch is so similar to that of the Ether Foundation. Oh well, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Tong Hua walked through Chicory Village, searching for the location of the woodworking shop.

The roads in the village are better than the muddy roads leading to the pasture; at least they are paved with cement and are very smooth.

Walking on it is no different from walking on a city road, except that most of the vehicles coming and going are wooden carts driven by vehicles like the Kentaro.

Most of the villagers know each other, and you can see many children playing together along the way.

"Hurry, hurry!"

Several children chased a Pichu as it sped past. Tong Hua watched them and unconsciously thought of her own past.

Since her parents divorced when she was ten years old, Tong Hua has never left home.

He lives with his mother in a villa on an island, spending most of his time alone in the three-story mansion that spans several hundred square meters.

Although there are many ways to pass the time, no matter how much I communicate with friends online, the loneliness deep in my heart can never be shaken off.

"not bad."

The children's figures receded into the distance, and Tong Hua's memories gradually faded...

……

Carpentry shops are usually located near rivers.

This is because, ever since the craftsmen invented the first waterwheel long ago, they have been inseparable from it.

Using the power of water flow to drive sawmills is both labor-saving and efficient. To this day, waterwheels remain an indispensable piece of equipment in woodworking workshops.

Tong Hua walked along the village road toward the river and could hear the creaking sound of the waterwheel turning in the distance.

After turning the last corner, a distinctive wooden structure came into view. Various wooden signs hung from the sturdy log frame.

The most eye-catching thing is a huge wooden sculpture standing at the entrance. It is a lifelike circle bear, more than two meters tall, with even the texture of its fur carved in a fine and detailed manner.

"Is anyone home?" Tong Hua gently pushed open the half-closed shop door, and the bell rang crisply.

The store is very bright, and you can see the second-floor corridor directly from the entrance. The first floor has no ceiling, but is directly connected to the roof by a wooden beam structure.

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the skylight high above, forming beams of light in the air filled with flying sawdust, and the fragrance of pine permeated the air.

Various semi-finished furniture pieces were neatly stacked against the wall on the first floor, while sawdust and tools were scattered on the worktable.

"Strange, is nobody home?"

Tong Hua looked around the store but didn't find anyone.

"Screech." The foam squirrel jumped off Tong Hua's shoulder and used its tail to clean up the wood shavings scattered on the ground.

It couldn't take it anymore and had to clean this place up!

Just then, someone else pushed the door open and entered.

"what?"

The person who came in was a young man with green hair and a youthful face, who looked even younger than Tong Hua.

"Guests have arrived? Where's the chef?"

The green-haired young man ignored Tong Hua and went straight up to the second floor.

After a while, a noisy commotion came from upstairs.

"Master, you stayed up late again last night, didn't you?"

"What's it to you, kid? I can sleep whenever I want!"

"We have guests coming downstairs!"

"Huh?" A flurry of activity came from the second floor, followed by the sound of a wooden chair overturning.

A middle-aged man with a silver, messy hairstyle and a face covered in sawdust rushed downstairs in a panic, almost tripping over the loose strap of his apron.

Welcome to Chicory Wood Hall!

As he tied his apron, he wiped his face with his sleeve, ending up with sawdust all over his face. "I'm Acorn, the shop owner. Do you need custom furniture or farm tool repairs?"

Suddenly, the Turtwig on Tong Hua's head let out a "Game!" The shop owner then noticed the Pokémon above his head, his eyes lighting up: "Wow, this Turtwig is really well-bred!"

"Wait... this face..."

Acorn picked up the monocle hanging around his neck and used it as a magnifying glass to carefully examine Tong Hua's face.

"Could it be that you are Master Tong's grandson?"

No doubt about it, they're exactly the same!

Acorn's voice suddenly rose a lot, startling the green-haired boy who was still on the stairs, causing him to slip and fall on his backside all the way down to the first floor...

"Oh my, it's been so long! You've grown so much in just a few years."

Seeing that Xiangshi acted like a familiar friend, Tong Hua searched through the original owner's memories and remembered some things about this person.

Acorn, a carpenter's apprentice from the Hoenn region, once learned carpentry from Tonghua's grandfather for a period of time.

Many years ago, after Tong Hua's grandfather retired from carpentry and focused on wood carving, this acorn took over and contracted all the carpentry work in the village.

He was someone who had close ties with the original owner's family.

Since returning to the Almia region, the original owner of this body had been staying at home and refusing to leave. The last time she met Acorn was more than a decade ago.

"Mr. Acorn is still the same as before, always with a smile on his face."

"Really? Well, there's nothing I can do. You have to greet customers with a smile in business; that's what Master Tong always said. I'll never forget it..."

"But you look quite energetic. The village chief told me everything; you wanted to repair the ranch fence and the Pokémon house, right?"

Upon hearing this, Tong Hua nodded and then spoke.

"In addition, I hope to learn some woodworking techniques from Mr. Acorn."

That way, if any problems arise in the future, I can fix them myself.

Upon hearing Tong Hua's words, Xiang Shi, who had been grinning the whole time, suddenly froze.

"What? You want to learn... carpentry from me?"

Didn't Master Tong teach you that?

Seeing Tong Hua continue to nod, Xiang Shi's lips twitched slightly, as if he saw a fool throwing away a table full of delicacies instead of eating them, insisting on trying something new at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

The green-haired boy who had just stood up rubbed his butt and came over: "What? You want to become my master's disciple? Then I, as the senior brother, have to give you some serious advice..."

"Get lost." Acorn spat out a single word, and the green-haired boy slunk away with Foam Chipmunk to clean up the store.

"Please excuse me. That guy's name is Mumu. He's an apprentice I took on a few months ago. He's a complete idiot; he still can't even use a handsaw properly."

Acorn's face was full of helplessness, but after all, he was his apprentice, so he could only endure the disgust and continue teaching.

Anyway, there's no salary, and no room or board provided. How much Mumu learns depends entirely on how much effort she puts in. In short, Xiangshi has done a truly conscientious job as a mentor.

"In short, you can learn carpentry if you want, but forget about becoming an apprentice."

Even if it's my mentor's grandson, I won't take him on as an apprentice if he can't fully dedicate himself to the woodworking industry.

This was a rule passed down by Master Tong when he took me as his apprentice.

Tong Hua nodded again, without saying anything more.

Seeing Tong Hua's reaction, Xiang Shi sighed softly. Just as he was about to say something more, the door suddenly opened again.

A man wearing overalls covered in mud rushed in.

"Boss! Didn't you say you'd be coming to fix my cowshed today? Why aren't you here yet...?"

The man was speaking when he suddenly noticed there were still customers in the shop. He quickly stopped himself, "Ah, sorry, did I come at a bad time?"

Acorn waved his hand: "It's alright, sir. We're just getting ready to leave."

He turned to Tong Hua, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "By the way, Tong Hua, are you free now? You can come with us to the site and start learning right away."

Tong Hua nodded: "Okay, thank you for your help."

"Mumu! Bring out the tool cart!" Acorn yelled at Mumu, who was cleaning, then turned to Mr. Big and said, "You go back and get ready, we'll be there shortly."

After the man surnamed Da nodded and left in a hurry, Mu Mu dragged a four-wheeled cart into the backyard, which was loaded with various tools such as saws, hammers, and nails.

"Master, everything's ready!" Mu Mu wiped the sweat from her forehead, and when she saw Tong Hua was still there, she paused for a moment, "Oh, are you going too?"

Acorn had already quickly put on his work jacket: "Tong Hua wants to learn some woodworking skills, so I'll take him to see what it's like. You can be considered his senior, so remember to take care of him when we get there."

Mu Mu immediately straightened her back: "Yes! Senior Brother guarantees to complete the mission!" As she spoke, she winked at Tong Hua.