The early summer sun was warming up Nanjiang Town. Cicadas buzzed in the trees, and the air carried the scent of dust and dried grass. On this particularly lazy afternoon, Lin Mu sat on a wooden bench outside his family's small shop, sipping cold barley tea and organizing the labels for his next batch of jasmine mint tea.
It had become a routine now — harvest in the portable world, dry herbs, package them into kraft paper pouches, and deliver them quietly to the local shop or café. Every week, he sold a few dozen, just enough to earn modest pocket money.
Life was simple, and that suited Lin Mu just fine.
He was not in a hurry to be rich. His only goal was to build something of his own — steady, private, and completely within his control.
He was reviewing the designs for new labels on his phone when a quiet voice broke the silence.
"Excuse me… is this the shop that sells the jasmine mint tea?"
Lin Mu looked up.
A girl stood there, her long black hair tied loosely in a braid over one shoulder, a plain white shirt tucked into light denim overalls. She held a canvas tote bag printed with a minimalist ink painting of plum blossoms.
She looked… clean. Not in the makeup-heavy, city-girl way — but in a way that felt like spring water. Fresh. Real.
"Yes," Lin Mu said, standing. "That's from our small garden. We make it ourselves."
"You're the one who makes it?" she asked, sounding surprised.
He nodded.
"I bought a pack from the gift shop last week," she said. "It helped me sleep… I've been having a hard time falling asleep lately."
Her voice dropped as she added, "I'm preparing for the teacher's certification exam."
Lin Mu smiled softly. "Then you need calm, not caffeine."
She chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Exactly."
"I have a few new pouches ready. Want to take a look?"
He led her inside the store. It wasn't fancy — shelves lined with household goods, some dried snacks in plastic jars, and a small wooden stand near the counter where his teas sat in a handwoven basket.
She picked up a pouch, gently running her fingers across the label.
"'Lin's Garden'," she read aloud. "It sounds like a story."
Lin Mu scratched the back of his neck. "I just thought it sounded peaceful."
She smiled. "It is."
She bought three pouches and handed him the money. As she did, she hesitated, then asked, "Do you take custom orders? For gifts, maybe?"
Lin Mu thought for a second. "I could… what do you have in mind?"
"I'm making care packages for a few classmates," she said. "Something simple but thoughtful. I was thinking tea, and maybe… some dried fruits?"
Lin Mu's mind lit up.
The portable world had just yielded its first peaches. Soft, fragrant, golden-fleshed. He had dried a batch under the system's sun, and the result was sweet, chewy, and more flavorful than anything available locally.
"I have something," he said. "Come back in two days?"
She nodded. "Sure. My name's Xu Qingling, by the way."
"Lin Mu."
They exchanged a brief smile before she turned and left, her canvas bag swaying gently against her back as she disappeared down the street.
---
That night, back in the portable world, Lin Mu gently peeled the peach skins and laid the slices on woven bamboo trays. The system offered a gentle heat-drying function that mimicked the slow warmth of a summer afternoon — preserving the color and taste.
A few hours inside the space, and the peaches were ready. Their fragrance was subtle but irresistible.
The system chimed:
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[Product Created: Sun-Dried Peach Slices]
• Grade: Premium
• Notes: Naturally sweet, excellent for gift boxes or health snacks
→ Would you like to design packaging?
→ Yes / No
---
Lin Mu tapped Yes.
He chose a simple design — kraft paper bags with a round seal in faded ink brush style. It read:
"Summer's Sweetness – Handpicked, Sun-Dried"
He made four small packs, each with a slightly different hand-drawn seal: a peach blossom, a sprig of mint, a teacup, and a mountain range.
It felt… personal.
By the time he returned to the real world, the sun was just rising.
---
Two days later, Xu Qingling returned, exactly as promised.
Lin Mu handed her a paper bag with her order — three tea pouches and three snack packs, each carefully wrapped in tissue and tied with hemp twine.
She opened one and sniffed the peach slices. "Smells like a garden after rain," she said.
Then she paused, as if noticing something deeper.
"Did you… draw these little seals yourself?"
Lin Mu looked a bit embarrassed. "Yeah. Just a hobby."
"They're beautiful," she said. "I love quiet things like this."
Her gaze met his — soft, thoughtful, and sincere.
She placed the bag gently into her tote and smiled. "Thank you, Lin Mu. I'll be back again soon."
---
After she left, Lin Mu stood for a moment under the shade of the persimmon tree in front of his house.
He wasn't sure why, but his heart felt… a little lighter.
He returned to the portable world and began planting more peach saplings. He expanded the herb garden and even started experimenting with lemon balm and chamomile.
In the evenings, he sat on the porch with his mother, sipping tea as she told him stories from when she was young.
Nanjiang Town remained slow and peaceful — the kind of place where people still talked face-to-face instead of messaging, where you could hear your own thoughts when walking by the river.
And in the quiet center of that rhythm, Lin Mu's small, hidden world continued to grow — just like him.
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End of Chapter 4