American Farmers: Facing a Cutoff at the Start

Soon, old Frank's old Nokia, which hung on his belt, rang. It was Flagg calling; it seemed he had chosen the right one.

Old Frank and Roy didn't waste any time; the two of them pushed the flatbed cart used to transport trees straight into the depths of the forest.

Before long, the two returned pushing the cart.

A Virginia pine tree, about one and a half people tall, lay horizontally on the cart. Its needles were short and dense, displaying a deep, dark green color. The trunk was straight and emitted a pleasant pine fragrance.

The Flagg family followed behind, with each of the two children holding a large pine cone.

"Come on, let's take your measurements!"

Old Frank took a measuring tape out of his pocket, had Uncle Roy hold the tree root down, and then pulled the tape to the treetop, taut it straight.

"Good heavens, it's a full eight feet tall! And the tree is well-shaped, round and full."

He put away the ruler, calculated in his mind for a moment, and pointed to the price list on the wall:

"Virginia pine, starting price fifty-five. But this one is big and in top quality, so we'll have to add a little more, eighty dollars. How about it?"

"Sure! That's a fair price!" Flag glanced at the lush, green tree and readily agreed.

Once the price was agreed upon, the next step was to pack it up.

Old Frank and Roy worked together seamlessly.

Roy lifted the tree root, while old Frank supported the treetop. The two of them, chanting in unison, laboriously stuffed the fluffy tree into the packing tube made from an old oil drum.

"Enter!"

With a shout, the two of them pushed together and then pulled outwards with a sudden jerk.

"Sizzle—"

With the sound of plastic rubbing together, the previously sprawling branches were instantly retracted.

The tree trunk was wrapped in a white diamond-shaped net, turning it into a compact and sturdy cylinder, which facilitated transportation and prevented the delicate branches from breaking.

Uncle Roy skillfully tied both ends of the net bag tightly with hemp rope; this was the final step.

Then, the group worked together to lift the heavy tree onto the roof of Flagg's station wagon and secured it tightly to the luggage rack with elastic ropes.

Flag patted the pine needles off his clothes, readily took out his wallet, counted out a few bills, and handed them to old Frank.

Fett stepped forward and handed over several cards that he had just cut out.

The front of the white cardstock has the farm's address and contact number written on it.

On the back of the card, Lyra sketched a few simple lines with colored markers: under a Christmas tree with stars hanging on it, there was a dead pig with its eyes crossed and its tongue sticking out, and next to it was a crookedly drawn hunting knife.

Although the style was naive and had a casual, graffiti-like quality, it also had a strangely cute charm.

"Uncle Flagg, this is our 'friends and family card'."

"My dad should have explained the purpose of this friend and relative card to you, Uncle."

"But remember to sign your name here before you send it out."

"That way, when this card is back in my hands, I'll know who introduced us to the business, and the $5 rebate will be credited to you next time you come."

Flagl smiled as he took the cards, casually stuffed them into his jacket pocket, and readily agreed, "Okay! I'll remember this. I'll definitely send these cards out when I get back and encourage them to come to your farm to buy Christmas trees."

After saying that, he lowered his head and reached out to ruffle the hair of the little boy who was still staring at Fett. "Alright, we should go now. Say goodbye to your brother!"

The little boy immediately straightened his chest, raised his gloved hand to his forehead, and gave a rather serious salute, his voice clear and loud:

"Goodbye, brother! When I grow up, I'll definitely be as brave as you!"

Fett smiled and waved: "Goodbye, little man."

"I believe you will. But before that, remember to listen to your parents; that's the beginning of courage."

Leila smiled, bent down, and waved to the cute little girl.

The Flagg family got into the car, and as the engine started, the Chevrolet wagon kicked up a wisp of smoke and slowly drove out the gate, carrying the beautiful Christmas tree.

Before the dust had even settled, the old Nokia phone hanging from Dad's waist started ringing again.

He answered the phone twice, hung up, turned around and smiled at Uncle Roy. The weariness in their eyes seemed to have dissipated considerably.

"Let's go! We've got work again!"

The two men pushed the flatbed cart again and headed into the depths of the woods, full of energy.

No one was idle all afternoon.

Old Frank and Roy were like tireless oxen, pushing the flatbed cart back and forth between the woods and the front yard, transporting trees, packing them, and loading them onto the truck, so busy that they didn't even have time to drink a sip of water.

Fett and Lyra became the temporary "leaders of the kids".

Many of the children who came with their parents didn't want to go into the woods to pick out a Christmas tree, but preferred to surround them and pester them to hear Fett tell the story of "The Battle of the 300-Pound Wild Boar" again.

Fett spoke over and over again until his saliva was almost dry, and he even had to use gestures to accompany his speech.

Leila was also busy, braiding the little girl's hair one minute and handing out candy to the little boy the next. The two worked together so well that they were practically kindergarten teachers.

The yard finally quieted down only after the last rays of the setting sun were swallowed by the treetops of the fir forest and the last pickup truck carrying the Christmas tree drove away.

"call--"

Leila slumped unceremoniously on the porch steps and let out a long sigh.

She casually tucked her hair, which the little girl had ruffled, behind her ear, turned her head to look at Fett, and spoke with a hint of relief at surviving a close call:

"It's finally over."

"Fett, I've made up my mind."

"I'll only have two kids at most. Any more than that, and I'll be too busy dealing with these energetic little devils to have any time for myself."

Fett paused, looking at her profile flushed red by the setting sun. Following her words, he leaned forward slightly, his voice tinged with amusement:

"Two? How about one boy and one girl?"

Without hesitation, Leila replied:

"That would be wonderful, of course, but two girls would also work. I could dress them up like dolls, and two boys..."

Leila's body stiffened abruptly. As if suddenly realizing something, her face flushed crimson.

Those big eyes blinked frantically, their gaze shifting between Fett's smiling eyes and their own toes.

She bit her lip, lowered her head, and muttered something under her breath:

"You jerk!"

"You're making fun of me again!"

"You're just teasing me!"

After saying that, she jumped up like a startled deer and ran into the house without looking back.

"Mom! Let me help!"