The Boy Loved by Mathematics (26)
It is after lunch on Monday.
"Aren't you going to plant morning glories and sunflowers this year?"
"That's right. I plant them every year, so I have to do it this year too. Studying the Analects all the time is tiring, after all (laughs)."
"If you're going to plant them anyway, why don't you do it with Junko-chan? If you keep an observation journal, it would make for a great summer vacation independent research project."
"You've been sharp lately (laughs). That's a great idea!"
Mariko-san enjoys a vegetable garden with Mr. Hironaka, but gardening is also one of her pleasures. Sowing seeds and making flowers bloom each season is a hobby she cherishes. Mariko-san immediately looks up how to grow "morning glories" and "sunflowers" on the internet.
"The internet really is convenient. When we switched from a communal antenna to cable television, I was against it because the usage fees would go up, but the fact that the internet can be used even in a mountain village like this is a huge benefit. I'm grateful for the neighborhood association president's wise decision. I've been growing them my own way until now, but with proper growing methods written in such detail, I won't be teaching Junko-chan anything wrong, and it's a good learning experience for me too."
Mariko-san uses multiple LLMs to learn the orthodox ways of growing "morning glories" and "sunflowers."
"What's this? You should sow morning glory seeds only after the minimum temperature reaches 15°C or higher. The temperature here has reached about 15°C, so it should be fine. The seeds are hard, so I should soak them in water overnight? I didn't know that (laughs). It's okay to give them quite a bit of water. But it makes sense that overwatering causes root rot. Watering in the cool times of the morning and evening in summer... maybe I'll have Junko-chan do the evening watering when she gets home from school? 'Too much nitrogen will cause only the leaves to grow, making it difficult for flowers to bloom,' it says... I had never thought about fertilizer. Maybe I'll try to grow some beautiful, large-flowered morning glories in earnest this year (laughs)."
"The way to grow 'sunflowers' isn't too different from my own method. But I didn't know there were so many varieties. There are large, medium, and small varieties... Tomorrow is the day I go shopping at the supermarket, so I'll stop by the home center while I'm at it (laughs)."
Mariko-san has started putting more effort into gardening, tailored to Junko-chan's educational goals.