Two days later, Alfred took Cole to meet Emely — his friend's childhood friend's sister — in the open space outside Fourth Middle School.
Seeing only two kids, Emely angrily turned to her brother and his friend, "Is this what you meant by high-quality berries? Bringing children to fool me?"
Kian quickly tried to calm her down, "How could I dare deceive you, Emely! Don't be angry. Since you're here, at least take a look — their berries might surprise you."
As Alfred's classmate and good friend, Kian naturally spoke up for him.
Emely considered this. She was already here, and it was her own brother who had called her over. What else could she do? Perhaps she'd just give him a beating later to vent her frustration.
Besides, she'd known Kian for over ten years — he wouldn't deceive her. Maybe these berries were actually good?
After collecting herself, Emely gave Alfred and Cole a cold look, "So you're the ones selling berries?"
Cole stepped forward with a sweet smile, "Beautiful sister, yes, that's us. I brought both berry samples and test results. Please take a look first, and if you're not satisfied, we can discuss further."
Though confident about his berries, he knew he still had to play the sales game well.
Emely's anger melted away as she noticed how charming the boy was, with his sweet way of talking.
Over the past year, Cole had grown taller, and his once-dark skin had become fairer. He was indeed a handsome young boy — the kind anyone would find endearing.
"What a sweet talker you are. Alright, I'll take a look. By the way, I'm Emely. What are your names?"
"Sister is truly beautiful and kind-hearted." Cole said with a smile, "I'm Cole, and this is my good brother Alfred. My brother is good friends with Kian. Here, please take a look."
He presented two baskets of berries, one containing Grade B berries and the other Grade C.
Emely picked one and nodded slightly, "Not bad looking — good color and shape."
Perhaps this trip wasn't wasted after all.
"Please try one." Cole offered, "I've washed all the berries."
"Alright." Emely took a small bite of the berry in her hand. Her eyes widened in amazement at its unique flavor, "This... did you really grow these berries?"
Seeing her expression, Cole knew the deal was half done. He quickly nodded, "Of course! How could I deceive you?"
Emely hurriedly said, "Didn't you say you brought test results? Let me see them quickly."
"Right away!" He quickly pulled out the prepared test results from his pocket and handed them to her.
She took them and looked — at the top of the paper was a large "Grade C" clearly written. She nodded with satisfaction, thinking: unique flavor, good energy rating, this is enough.
She hadn't expected the little fellow to have such skill — and he was good-looking too!
As Emely continued flipping through the pages, her eyes suddenly widened.
B... Grade B?
She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her and rubbed them before looking again.
No mistake — it still said Grade B.
"This must be written wrong. How could it be Grade B?" Emely pointed at the test results, hardly able to believe she had encountered Grade B berries outside.
Her brother Jaiden and his friend Kian leaned in to look, their eyes widening in disbelief.
"Grade B? This isn't a joke, right?"
"Alfred?" Kian looked at his friend with an expression that asked "what's going on?".
Alfred nodded, confirming everything his friend saw was real, while inwardly smiling bitterly — he'd had the same reaction when he first saw these test results.
Getting his friend's confirmation, Kian's expression turned to amazement. Grade B berries, cultivated by a child — could anything be more incredible?
Currently in the market, Pokémon berries are generally rated Grade D. Even the Pokéblocks and Poké Puffs in Pokémon food shops use berries of this grade.
Grade C berries are found only in specialty stores. Regular shops can't get them anymore, and when they do, it's only in small quantities for regular or premium customers.
Grade B berries are nearly impossible to find in the market — they're monopolized resources available only through special channels.
Grade A berries are special supply resources, and Grade S berries are even more restricted — ordinary people don't even qualify to access them.
"Sister, these test results are absolutely genuine — I have no reason to deceive you. Please take these two baskets as today's meeting gift. Take them home, check them out, and contact me when you're sure. I'll wait for your response, sister."
Cole spoke sweetly, smiling brightly as he pushed the baskets into her hands.
Emely thought: 'That's true — you can't fake something like this. Testing devices aren't hard to get; one test would reveal everything.'
"Little one, you're quite impressive. I like someone like you — want to come home with me? My family is very wealthy." Emely pinched his slightly chubby cheeks playfully.
A youth who could cultivate Grade B berries had limitless potential — taking him home would be worth it.
"Sister, don't joke! I'm still little!" Cole said shyly, his face reddening.
Emely said half-jokingly, "That's okay, I can wait. Or do you think I'm too old?"
She looked at him with a pretend grievance.
On the side, Alfred, Jaiden, and Kian rolled their eyes.
Alfred: ∑(o_o;)
Jaiden: (⊙▂⊙)
Kian: (●⌓●)
Cole said with a troubled expression, "Sister, my mom doesn't allow me to date early."
Hearing this, Emely stopped teasing him, "I'll take your gift then, and give you an answer tomorrow."
With that, she picked up the baskets and strode away.
"Alright, goodbye sister!" Cole waved enthusiastically.
After Emely left, Kian patted Alfred's shoulder, "Brother, you really surprised me! Who knew little Cole was hiding such talent."
If I said I just found out today too, would you believe me?
But Alfred kept this thought to himself. Instead, he casually explained, "Cole has always been talented in this area — that's why Gym Leader Ramos likes him and has taught him a lot about cultivation."
Cole was still young and couldn't protect himself yet, so Alfred felt it was better not to expose his outstanding talent too much — better to lean on others' reputations.
Besides, he wasn't lying — Ramos had indeed guided him in cultivation techniques, just not as hands-on as a teacher would.
"Gym Leader Ramos? The one from the Coumarine Gym?" Kian and Jaiden exchanged enlightened looks.
No wonder! Both of them immediately attributed Cole's Grade B berries to Ramos's guidance.
After parting with the two, on the way home, Alfred said to Cole, "Later, pack some berries to send to Grandpa Ra at the Coumarine Gym. Even though these might not mean much to him, it's still a gesture of goodwill."
Although Cole would have done this even without Alfred saying so, he was moved, especially after how Alfred had just explained things for him.
"Thank you, brother Alfred." He said sincerely.
Alfred didn't say anything, just lightly patted his shoulder.
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The next day, Emely arrived as promised, her face beaming with joy — clearly delighted with yesterday's berries.
"Little brother Cole, how many Grade B berries do you have? I want them all!" She exclaimed eagerly.
Cole replied with a troubled expression, "Only one batch has ripened now. The rest will need to wait."
"Is that so?" Emely pondered for a moment, "Then give me the ripe ones first, and contact me when the rest are ready."
"Sister is so generous!" Cole flattered, then added, "Would you like any Grade C berries? They're excellent too."
"I'll take some Grade C berries as well."
Grade B berries were rare and couldn't be used carelessly, so she needed Grade C ones too — their flavor alone made them worthwhile.
"If you like them, sister, please help spread the word among your classmates."
As a student in the Pokémon Department, if Emely brought in a few classmates, word would spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, expanding their market.
She patted Cole approvingly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely help you with this small favor."
After she placed her order, they parted ways.
As soon as Cole got home, he called out to Daisy, "Mom, time to work!"
"Garde... Gard~" — You're back, how did it go? Did it work out?
She asked eagerly.
Cole made an OK sign and said matter-of-factly, "With me in charge, of course it was an instant success!"
"Ga... Gard... Garde~" — Then... then does that mean we'll have money?
Daisy asked excitedly.
"Yes, we're going to have money!"
Cole had almost forgotten what it felt like to have money. Now that their first windfall was finally coming, his heart swelled with joy and complex emotions.
Mother and son hugged each other, jumping up and down.
Cole was happy because their life was finally going to improve, while Daisy was happy because her son's efforts hadn't been in vain.
To be honest, she had never felt their previous life on the island was hard, nor could she imagine future happiness brought by money. As long as she was with her son, nothing else mattered.
When he was happy, she was happy too.
"Alright, let's quickly pick the berries and deliver them to the customer." Cole said to her after their celebration.
So the mother-son duo got busy.
With Daisy's psychic powers, harvesting berries became a simple task.
She handled the picking, while Cole used the testing device to grade the berries, separating them into Grade B and Grade C.
After they had been working for a short while, Meili noticed their activity and brought Paul, Norman, and the others to help. Everyone pitched in — some carrying baskets, others picking fruit — and they quickly finished harvesting and packaging the berries.
Cole immediately called a car and delivered them to Emely while they were still fresh.
After confirming the berries' quality, she paid right away.
This batch included 150Kg of Grade C berries and 50Kg of Grade B berries. Cole had rounded down the odd amounts for Emely, earning her praise for his business sense and a promise to promote his products.
In the market, Grade C berries averaged P$300 per Kg, while Grade B usually went for P$600 per Kg, bringing the total to P$75,000.
{T/N: (50x600=30,000) + (150x300=45,000) = 75,000.}
At ten years old, Cole was already able to open his own savings account, so Emely transferred the money directly to him.
Seeing the string of numbers in his account, his heart trembled.
Finally had money!
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After returning home, Cole quietly went to see Meili.
Seeing him, she asked cheerfully, "How was it? Did the delivery go smoothly?"
Cole nodded and said, "Director Meili, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Meili looked puzzled, "Go ahead."
He explained that he wanted to set aside one-tenth of the berry sales income for the children.
Meili quickly protested, "How could that be? Those berries were grown through your hard work — we've all seen how much effort you put in. How could we take your money?"
Cole explained, "You and the children have helped me so much — weeding, watering, watching over things — you've all put in a lot of effort."
"We're family, what's helping out between family?" Meili still wouldn't agree.
"Then as family, what's wrong with wanting to save some money for my brothers and sisters?" He argued, "Besides, I'm using the orphanage's land to grow berries — isn't it reasonable to pay some rent?"
Meili was left speechless by his words.
Cole continued, "Director Meili, this money is for saving for the children; you don't have the right to decide for them. And there's little Claire — you don't want her to be unable to speak forever, do you? With money, she can see doctors, and maybe one day she'll be cured!"
Meili was unable to refuse and finally agreed with tears in her eyes. She hugged him, burying her head in the crook of his neck.
"You're such a good child..."
Cole couldn't see her expression at that moment, but he felt wetness spreading on his neck.
After a long while, he said softly, "Don't tell the children about this money yet. Wait until they need it in the future, then you can give it to them."
"I understand." Meili said quietly.
Afterwards, he transferred P$7,500 to her.
This season's berries had only sold their first batch; more would continue to ripen, and when they sold those, he would continue to set aside ten percent for the children.
With his newfound money, Cole decided to treat everyone to a special day out.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
The next day, he took Daisy, Charlie, Lily, Norman, Paul, and Claire to the West District for a fun outing and a nice meal.
Since there was no school, they could take their time. Alfred had been invited too, but he already had plans with classmates.
Before setting out, Cole prepared two bamboo baskets of fresh berries as gifts for Officer Jenny and Captain Sanders, who both lived in the West District.
He wasn't certain if Sanders would be around.
The Captain and his crew had rescued Cole and Daisy, while Officer Jenny had helped them find housing. Cole never forgot their kindness. Though berries weren't much, they were a heartfelt token of his gratitude.
Once everything was ready, he and Daisy led their little group out.
It was the children's first outing like this, and their excitement and anticipation showed the whole way there.
Upon reaching the West District, Cole decided to deliver the berries first — then they could enjoy themselves without worry.
This was his first time back in the West District since moving to Blue Bird Orphanage. The sight of bustling streets and towering buildings made him feel somewhat uneasy.
At the police station, Cole had the children wait in the lobby while he inquired about Officer Jenny.
"You're looking for Officer Jenny? She's out on patrol. Can I help? I'd be happy to pass along a message." The speaker was a friendly policewoman, though not Officer Jenny herself.
"Oh, I see." Cole considered briefly before handing over the basket, "Sister, please give this to Officer Jenny and tell her it's from Cole Sage at the Blue Bird Orphanage."
"Of course, I'll make sure she gets it." The policewoman said, accepting the basket of berries after noting it didn't violate any regulations.
From there, Cole led the children to Captain Sanders's research institute.
Sanders, an archaeology expert, spent much of his time at sea exploring ruins, so he wasn't often at the institute.
✲✲✲
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