Chapter 12: Seed Shop
Chapter 12: Seed Shop
Chapter 12: The Seed Shop
"Create fishing net?"
"Fishing net created successfully!"
The little mushroom [Little Mushroom] shook its mycelium, one strand turning into three, and instantly hand-crafted a fishing net, made-to-order, fresh on the spot.
"Social"
"Smoked Fish King Wannabe [The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King]": Hahaha (laughing emoji)
"Got Nothing Better to Do?": Man, how are you back in the game already? So happy.
"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": I bought a fishing net! Luck is through the roof!
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] and the blond kid [Little Blond] completed a transaction right in front of the shopkeeper [General Store Owner]. Smoked Fish King Wannabe was clearly thrilled to get the net and immediately ran to the social channel to brag.
"Sleep at Two": Fishing net? Where'd you buy it? The fishing supply store?
"Got Nothing Better to Do?": Must be the general store.
"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": Neither! It was Mushroom Stew who sold it to me! Only 500 rupees [Rupees], 50 cheaper than the general store's 550!
"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": I ran into Mushroom Stew, what a lifesaver!
"Sleep at Two": 500! Really? I want one too!
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] had just opened the social channel when the system panel vibrated slightly—someone was DMing him.
"Sleep at Two": Hey hey! Got any more nets? I wanna buy one too!
"Mushroom Stew": Yeah, I do. 500 rupees [Rupees] each.
"Sleep at Two": I want it!!!
Buzz—
The control panel vibrated slightly again.
"The Stone-Faced Succubus Pig Farmer [The Cold-Faced Pig-Raising Succubus]": Hi, do you still have fishing nets?
"Mushroom Stew": Yep, yep, 500 rupees [Rupees] each.
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] hadn't expected business to roll in so fast—two people already wanted to buy nets from him.
The materials needed to make a net were simple: three strands of mycelium. At least for a little mushroom [Little Mushroom], it was effortless—he could crank out a net in less than a second.
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] replied to each one, then completed the trades one by one.
"Sell fishing net x1?"
"+500 rupees [Rupees]."
"Sell fishing net x1?"
"+500 rupees [Rupees]."
In two minutes, Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] was 1,500 rupees [Rupees] richer. Adding that to the previous 1,066 rupees [Rupees], he now had 2,566 rupees [Rupees] in total.
"Folks."
The shopkeeper [General Store Owner] adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, his face stiff and somewhat displeased. "Folks, you're blocking the shelves, which makes it inconvenient for other customers to browse. If you wanna chat, I suggest you head to the town's central park—the environment's nice there, and the air's fresher."
Smoked Fish King Wannabe reached up and scratched his blond hair [Little Blond], saying, "Why you gotta be so snarky? Besides us, who else is even in your shop?"
Indeed, the only people in the shop were Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] and the blond kid [Little Blond]. The blond kid [Little Blond] had almost bought a net earlier, but Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] had scuttled that deal.
"Well then, this customer," the shopkeeper [General Store Owner] said, "would you like to buy something?"
The blond kid [Little Blond] patted his pouch—it was empty and flat, not a single rupee [Rupee] to his name.
The little mushroom [Little Mushroom] took a step forward, and Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] said, "I wanna buy a copper hoe [Copper Hoe]."
The shopkeeper [General Store Owner] hadn't expected Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] to actually make a purchase. His attitude shifted instantly, and he forced a smile and said, "You want a hoe, customer? Buying one from me's the right choice—cheap, sturdy, and the only one in town."
The copper hoe [Copper Hoe] cost 600 rupees [Rupees]. After buying it, Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] would still have 1,966 rupees [Rupees] left, which should be enough for seeds.
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] ran the numbers, paid, and placed the copper hoe [Copper Hoe] into his inventory [Item Bar].
He left the general store together with Smoked Fish King Wannabe.
The blond kid [Little Blond] glanced back and said, "That owner, he's no good. I don't like him."
Next, Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] needed to go to the seed shop to buy seeds, while Smoked Fish King Wannabe wanted to find a spot to try out his new net. The two parted ways at the fork in the road.
The blond kid [Little Blond] waved at him and said, "Mushroom, let's hang out again sometime! I'm off!"
The mushroom shook its mycelium, then turned and waddled off toward the south of town.
The most affordable seed shop in town was on a street near the southern side. The south bordered the residential area, where there were noticeably fewer shops and the atmosphere was much quieter.
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] strolled along, stopping now and then, and soon spotted a small house with a worn and weathered red roof.
A wooden fence ringed the house, and from outside he could see a patch of field in front, where something was planted—little green sprouts poking out of the soil, tender and green.
Near the corner of the yard sat a big water jar. The clear surface glittered in the sunlight, and when he leaned in for a look, he saw it wasn't just water—cucumbers, apples, and tomatoes were floating in it, all chilled.
It was spring, but the sun was intense around noon. By the time he reached this spot, Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] was indeed starting to sweat a little. Seeing the chilled veggies and fruit made his throat even more parched.
Cool and crisp, they must be delicious...
He had just reached the fence when an old woman happened to push open the door, nodded and smiled at him, and waved him over.
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] walked in, crossed the yard, and entered the wooden house. Inside was just as neat and tidy as the yard. The counter was lined with small pouches, surely filled with all kinds of seeds—unfortunately, Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] couldn't tell one from another.
The counter also had a price list on it. The old woman handed him one and smiled at him again.
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] looked down at the price list and noticed a row of fine print at the top. He blinked, surprised.
The old woman was the owner of this seed shop, lived here by herself.
She was an old woman who couldn't speak. To make communication easier, she'd written down all the prices and instructions in the shop.
The old woman reached under the counter and pulled out a small pink box, handed it to Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye], and made a couple of gestures.
The mayor had already told them ahead of time that a newcomer was arriving in town, and the old woman had a gift ready for Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] as well.
Jiang Ye [Jiang Ye] accepted the gift box with both hands and hurried to thank her, saying, "Thank you."
The old lady waved a hand.
The gift box was really light, and Jiang Ye couldn't help wondering what was inside.
The shop had a decent selection of seeds—veggie seeds, fruit seeds, even some tree seeds. To be honest, Jiang Ye was a total newbie farmer with zero farming experience, and staring at all these flashy options, he had no clue what to buy.
The old lady recommended a few options.
Jiang Ye mulled it over and finally went with lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, and strawberries.
"Lettuce seeds"
"Ready in 10 days, keeps producing after that."
Cost: 100 rupees a pop.
"Potato seeds"
"Ready in 6 days, and you can harvest seeds from the potatoes when they're done."
Cost: 50 rupees a pop.
"Tomato seeds"
"Ready in 10 days, keeps producing after that."
Cost: 50 rupees a pop.
"Strawberry seeds"
"Ready in 8 days, keeps producing after that."
Cost: 100 rupees a pop.
Jiang Ye's seed-picking strategy was simple—he wanted stuff that kept producing after the first harvest!
That way, he only had to plant once and could keep harvesting all spring without burning energy on replanting.
Potatoes were the exception, though. They didn't keep producing, but at least he wouldn't have to buy more seeds.
Jiang Ye muttered softly, "I really want to eat a potato-shrimp egg bake..."
On the way over, the idea of a potato-shrimp egg bake had randomly popped into his head—smelling amazing, piping hot, with cheese sprinkled on right before it came out of the oven. He'd nearly been drooling. If he could grow his own potatoes, he wouldn't have to worry about going hungry every day.
Jiang Ye paid up—5 of each of the four seed types, 1,300 rupees total, leaving him with 666 rupees in his pocket.
With his current stamina and cash, trying to farm more land probably wasn't realistic.
The old lady packed the seeds into little paper bags, stuck an instruction sheet in each one, handed them over, and walked him to the door.
Jiang Ye said goodbye to the old lady, wondering where to head next.
It was starting to get late.
"14:20"
The little mushroom was slower than a regular person, so he'd need to head back to the farm soon. But heading home this early felt kind of lame.
Jiang Ye hesitated, then opened up the social feed to see what everyone else was doing.
"Sleep at 2 AM": Moved, so moved.
"Sleep at 2 AM": After two days of starving, I finally got some grilled fish.
"Smoked Fish King Wannabe": You got grilled fish too?
"Sleep at 2 AM": Yeah, I grabbed a net from Mushroom Soup, and it's super easy. Wait a sec and you've got a fish.
"Cold-Faced Pig-Raising Succubus": Where are you fishing? There are too few fish here.
"Sleep at 2 AM": Just outside town, there's this shrine thing with a sign on the road. Right next to it is a big pond with a ton of fish.
"Ooh, grilled fish!"
Jiang Ye's mouth started watering the second he saw that.
He'd bought a pretzel bun from the bakery. If he could snag a fish on the way back and grab a few big apples, he'd have a solid meal tonight—just thinking about it felt good.
Jiang Ye decided to head to the spot "Sleep at 2 AM" mentioned to try his luck with a net.
"Social"
"Got Nothing Better to Do": The pond by the shrine? That place is dangerous.
"Sleep at 2 AM": Huh?
"Got Nothing Better to Do": I just swung by the town library and found a book about the shrine's legend.
According to the book, a long time ago, Sun Town got hit with a drought—no rain for ten years straight. All the crops in town dried up and died. The townsfolk tried everything they could think of and finally had to think about packing up and leaving.
Just then, a god happened to pass through, and the mayor begged it to stay and protect the town.
But the god flat-out refused, all high and mighty.
The mayor rounded up some adventurers, and they used a hero's sword to chop off the god's head. They put the head in the shrine next to town, sealing it up with some mysterious power.
The god lost its head but didn't die. But since its head was stuck there, it had to stay and bless the land with good harvests every year.
After that, Sun Town never had a drought again. Wild trees along the road were loaded with fruit, and it never went bad no matter how long it sat. Just like the people here—who never aged, never grew, and never died.