บท 66: An unforeseen answer, but a correct one
Lena grabbed out the present and handed to her grandmother.
"I got you a present but forgot to give it to you yesterday."
"What is it?" Grandma Shen reached for the box.
"Open it."
Grandma Shen gently opened the box. Neatly placed in the long red box was a traditional tassel. It was simple but delicate. "Did you make this?" She asked.
"I did."
The tassel was red and the top was like a flower with a diamond-shaped center. The center had a beautiful golden thread, creating a more detailed flower.
"It is pretty. I'll be sure to wear it during the New Years."
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The next morning, Henry came and pick up Lena and James early. They had a four-hour drive before they reach the other farm location. Henry had one of the experienced workers drive because he knew the roads of the hills and countryside.
James sat in front with the driver and Lena and Henry were at the back.
"Are we going to the farm?" Lena asked.
"We will be going to the lab. We had collected samples from all three contaminated sites and had been working on identifying the cause of the disease to take preventative measures."
Lena turned and looked out the window. Henry felt that Lena had been silent and uncheerful like her usual self since she left the main house.
"I am sure we will find a solution soon." He assured her.
When they reach the lab, they had to wear proper lab gears. The lab was where they experiment with winemaking, taste, and testing with plant breeding.
Henry led Lena and James to the main testing room. When they arrived, Lena saw a hardworking team of scientists working together to solve the situation.
"How are the results so far?" Henry asked.
"Not so good." The head biologist Sam replied.
"What do you mean?"
Sam pressed a button to show the results onto a screen. "We tried several ways to stop the disease from spreading." He clicked the control for it to go to the next results. "We also tried killing it too."
"What do you know so far about this disease?" Lena asked.
"The disease starts from the roots. We at first thought that they are spreading by water but that theory was scratch off because the irrigation of the three farms doesn't use the same system. We had also tested for natural and groundwater and found no result of the disease."
Lena inserted herself forward and look at all the testing they had done for far in the last few days. She was surprised that they were able to get this much data in a short time.
"What about the soil?" She asked.
"We did similar testing with the soil. Negative too." Sam responded.
Lena pondered a bit about the situation and what she researched on. The disease can spread by water, air, carriers or hosts.
"Is it possible that the point of infection is not the root?" Lena asked.
"What do you mean?" A different scientist spoke.
"I am not an expert. I am only looking at this situation from attack and infiltration type of strategy, so I am not sure what I am saying is even plausible. But, what if the infection's first contact is the top of the plant. And as it travels down, it only becomes lethal due to something from the roots or soil?"
"That's impossible…" The scientist spoke but then paused and thought more about it. "Or maybe it is."
The 5 scientists looked at each other. They looked back at the data to see if it was a plausible situation.
"There is a bacteria in the roots that help the growth of the grape vines. It is possible that another bacteria is infecting the microbiome of the roots. We will have to look into this more." Sam spoke.
"We are thankful to have Miss. Shen here with us today!" Several other scientists complimented Lena.
"No, my family and I are thankful for each of you for your hard work and positive performances."
Lena and Henry continued to stay and observe their continued change of research. Everyone took a short food breaks but diligently came back to work. By their happy cheer and snarky comments, Lena could tell that they were getting more positive results.
Lena sat down to relax her legs since she had been standing for most of the day.
"You have been yawning for a while now, we should leave soon." Henry told Lena.
"The lab has bedrooms, don't they? We can just stay here." Lena replied.
Henry was pulled back a bit from her response. Did she know that the beds here are not as comfortable? Lena yawned again and blinked her eyes a few times.
"I know what you are thinking." Lena stared at Henry sleepily. "I won't break my back from one night. I am sleepy to wait for us to go to the house."
The house Lena was talking about was a Bed and Breakfast Mansion in the town near the farm here. Their family did not have their own house far out here and spend most of their time at the Bed and Breakfast Stay instead.
This option provides business to the local town and a sense of community that the Shen Family cherished.
"Alright then." Henry accepted her choice. He just hoped she doesn't regret it the next morning.
He led Lena to her private bed quarters in the area while James went back to the car to get her stuff.
"The bathroom is down the hallway." Henry told her. The bathroom was not connected to the bedroom like a master bedroom.
Lena's room had a larger bed than the others she saw as they passed down the hallway. The mattress or comforter was about 10-13cm. At this point though, Lena was so tired, she plopped herself onto the bed and dozed off. She didn't even bother for a shower.
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