Summary

In Chapter 49, Dell winds up having to run the Rototiller by himself but when he is finished, Willow finds the soil has perfect acidity. Willow tries to describe soil acidity in terms of sour and sweet. When Dell asks her if she tasted the soil, Quang-ha laughs but then makes a comment about hydrogen ions that surprises both he and Willow. Mai reminds Willow that her favorite number is 7, the same number assigned to perfect acidity.

Willow looks forward to the planting the following day but when they wake, a Santa Ann wind has blown the freshly tilled dirt all over the ground floor apartments. Dell tears down his building rep sign and wraps himself in a blanket. Mai, however, puts up a sign apologizing for the mess. She gets her mother to take her and Willow to the rental store where they...