Terdin
Farmer
My ability to write has returned. And for whatever reason, my mind kept on going through versions of the ending chapters for this novel throughout the depression. 
So I guess I'd better get to it, or my imagination won't leave me alone.
Summer 1
Woke up feeling great. Without checking the cards, I suspected it was the fishing I’d done yesterday. Went to check the TV instead.
Weather forecast thunderstorm. Luck poor. Livin’ Off The Land talking about the new seeds and specifically mentioning hops. At least I wouldn’t need to water my plants tomorrow, but I could only hope lightning wouldn’t strike anywhere on my farm.
I left to prepare for planting. Only the coffee bush remained of the spring crops. After some effort I had the grid laid down and planted the starfruit, melon, and summer squash seeds. While watering, I took part of the remaining grid before remembering that it might be in vain if the ground dried up before I returned from buying seeds.
Just over 1800 G from the fish. I made ten tea saplings to supplement that, and brought along the silver quality strawberries to ensure I’d be able to buy enough seeds.
I scanned the bus stop as I walked past, and made a detour when I saw a berry that had ripened early. In picking it up, I saw something behind the bus, which proved to be a bunch of grapes. Looking around gave me no clue as to where the grapes had come from. No vines in sight. Were the bats in my cave responsible for dropping it? Still musing about it I continued towards town.
Before I could talk to Pierre about what seeds I wanted, the door opened behind me with more force than I’d heard before. Morris entered and looked around at the townspeople browsing the goods. Pierre’s scowl deepened as Morris offered coupons for JojaMart and his other customers took the bait and left.
“But I can’t compete with that. I’d be selling at a loss.” Pierre stifled a moan as Morris approached.
“Isn’t it sad to find out that your customers have no loyalty,” Morris gloated. He extended a coupon to me. “Here, I have one half-off coupon for you too, my dear. You look like you need a decent meal in you. Wouldn’t you like getting more than twice as much to eat than you could afford at this grimy place?”
Pierre grit his teeth, restraining himself from doing or saying something that could make Morris take legal action against him. Then a bated breath when he realized I hadn’t taken the coupon yet.
“Aren’t those coupons only for those that have membership at JojaMart?” I asked. “I wouldn’t be able to afford to buy that, so that coupon would do me no good.” I didn’t want to reveal that I had worked for Joja.
“As the manager, I could override it for you, my dear,” Morris said with oily sweetness.
I took the offered coupon, noting Pierre’s pained breath of lost hope behind me. His anguish mirrored in Morris’ widening grin of triumph.
“That ‘my dear’ just lost you any chance of winning me over.” I tore the coupon into pieces and let them fall to the floor.
Morris’ face clouded. “I’ll make you regret doing that.” He seemed to be on the verge of saying something more, but then he stormed out of the shop.
Several emotions played over Pierre’s face as I turned to him again, relief being the foremost.
“I thought I’d lost my last customer this morning,” Pierre finally said. “But you should beware of making an enemy of them, as much as I appreciate what you did. He might sue you out of your farm and into life-long debt if you so much as lay a finger on him after this. I have to say that he may have been right in one thing though. You do look like you’re starving.”
“Probably because I haven’t eaten anything since afternoon yesterday,” I admitted. “And I can’t remember if I’ve eaten a cooked meal since coming here... Oh, I did have something hot. The tea Caroline offered to me. Don’t look like that. I have eaten, mainly raw fish and stuff I’ve found in the wild.”
While I could’ve included the Wizard’s brew into the category of warm and cooked, it hadn't been tasty enough to count as soup.
“But still... I’m surprised that you were able to turn him down. I’d have found it difficult if I’d been given that offer after a morning of hard work on an empty stomach.” His gaze went to the fresh stains of sweat and dirt on my shirt and hands.
“I ate more than enough of that kind of food while I lived in the city and my low-wage job made it the only choice if I wanted to be able to keep a roof over my head. Now... I’d like to get some seeds.”
“I’d recommend the blueberries. While each berry is worth less than the seeds, you get multiple berries per harvest, and several harvests. Hops, corn, tomatoes, and hot peppers also give more than one harvest. If you want something tasty to eat that will fill you up, you can’t do better than corn. Just roast it over an open fire, and it’s done.”
Once I’d bought what I needed to grow eight each of hops, hot peppers, and tomatoes, the money from selling the fish was almost gone. Pierre reluctantly bought the tea saplings from me, then a handful of strawberries. His hesitation vanished when he realized I used the money gained to buy more seeds. Twenty-four blueberry seeds, eight corn seeds, and one surprisingly expensive sunflower seed.
Finally I bought as many wheat seeds as I could afford when I noticed they only took four days to mature. Surely I’d get at least three more rainy days this season apart from tomorrow. If not, I’d be able to water them in the last few days of Summer even if over sixty seeds would have me running back and forth with the watering can.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Pierre asked as I put away my few remaining coins. “It will take some time before any of your crops are ready to harvest.”
No doubt relief of having earned more than his expenses battling the worries of letting an ally starve. Well, an ally for now. I didn’t know enough about him to be able to claim I’d always be that.
“I’ve got crops left from Spring. I can eat those,” I said to ease his worries.
The reminder of the many seeds I’d bought in Spring and how few crops I’d sold to him made him nod. “Or you could sell some of it and buy yourself dinner at the Saloon some time,” Pierre said.
Rather than trying to come up with more courses of action I could take, I nodded and left.
I paused right outside the door. I had two items requested by the Junimo and had promised them to give them the items as soon as I could get them. I’d better keep that promise.
On my way through the park, I spotted another new forageable and picked up a sweet pea flower. I smiled at the scent even as I tried to remember what might be the fourth forageable item of Summer. Filling all but one spot would make things more difficult for me, but it couldn’t be helped. I went to face anticipating tension of the Junimo.
No. There were just three slots to the bundle. I had all of the forageables.
There was a release of the brief increase in tension, and I slumped near the scroll as I picked up the return gift of 30 wild summer seeds. As the Junimo carried my gifts away, I looked at what remained.
Couldn’t do much about the Fall and Winter forage, until those seasons unless I had more windfalls or unexpected monster drops. I still didn’t know how or where to get moss, and I’d need more than just what the bundle demanded. I’d be able to grow the hops for the Wild Medicine bundle, but where I’d get fern or purple mushrooms for it was a different matter.
A look at the Summer Crop bundle in the pantry reassured me that I had the seeds I needed to complete that. I’d even get corn for the Fall Crop bundle... wasn’t there another bundle that required corn? I hurried to the old bulletin board despite the tension from the fish tank scroll. Ten more for the Spirits Eve bundle. Looking around at the other bundles there made me pause. I needed a tapper for the maple syrup. Blueberry and sunflower would be on its way now, but I had forgotten to buy a poppy seed. Had to get one later.
“I’d better go and plant my seeds, or I won’t be able to harvest them,” I told the Junimo before I left.
I met Harvey as I took a shortcut through the park.
“I saw you coming out of there. No rat bites?” Harvey asked.
I held up my hands to show him. “Nothing’s bit me so far today,” I reassured him. “No rat trap mishaps either. Though I might get blisters from farm work before nightfall. Nothing caught in the traps yet,” I added.
“You should eat more. Your eyes are shadowed from not eating nearly enough and from not sleeping enough. Keep in mind that farm work requires you to eat more than you did back when you lived in the city. Eat when you’re hungry, and at regular meal times. Don’t try to stick to some kind of diet,” Harvey lectured. “Losing any more weight could be bad for your health.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I promised. “I’ll try to sleep more too,” I added.
I ate a handful of salmonberries before planting any of the seeds. I needed the energy, and more, even if the extra areas I'd watered hadn't dried out just yet. Watering the regrowing crops, and adding a line for the hops that would ensure their trellises wouldn’t be too much in the way, took all of it. I had to eat more, including some left-over spring onions for bulk, before making a second scarecrow and hoeing an area near the ruin of the greenhouse for the wheat. Tending to the furnaces too.
By the time I’d planted the last of the wheat, night had fallen. I only noticed it when I started to look further than the small area lit by my glowstone ring. Out of habit I brought out the watering can before remembering that I’d decided to let the rain do all the watering. I crafted three tappers, brought them to the bus stop and fitted them to the trees in front of the bus. Since I passed through there often enough, I'd see when they were ready for harvest without missing too many days. Sure, it was just one maple and two oaks, but I felt pretty certain I'd need oak resin at some point too. If not, I should be able to sell it.
I had some energy left, and enough time to cut down a tree or two, but decided to take Dr. Harvey's advice to heart and got to bed half an hour earlier than yesterday.
So I guess I'd better get to it, or my imagination won't leave me alone.Summer 1
Woke up feeling great. Without checking the cards, I suspected it was the fishing I’d done yesterday. Went to check the TV instead.
Weather forecast thunderstorm. Luck poor. Livin’ Off The Land talking about the new seeds and specifically mentioning hops. At least I wouldn’t need to water my plants tomorrow, but I could only hope lightning wouldn’t strike anywhere on my farm.
I left to prepare for planting. Only the coffee bush remained of the spring crops. After some effort I had the grid laid down and planted the starfruit, melon, and summer squash seeds. While watering, I took part of the remaining grid before remembering that it might be in vain if the ground dried up before I returned from buying seeds.
Just over 1800 G from the fish. I made ten tea saplings to supplement that, and brought along the silver quality strawberries to ensure I’d be able to buy enough seeds.
I scanned the bus stop as I walked past, and made a detour when I saw a berry that had ripened early. In picking it up, I saw something behind the bus, which proved to be a bunch of grapes. Looking around gave me no clue as to where the grapes had come from. No vines in sight. Were the bats in my cave responsible for dropping it? Still musing about it I continued towards town.
Before I could talk to Pierre about what seeds I wanted, the door opened behind me with more force than I’d heard before. Morris entered and looked around at the townspeople browsing the goods. Pierre’s scowl deepened as Morris offered coupons for JojaMart and his other customers took the bait and left.
“But I can’t compete with that. I’d be selling at a loss.” Pierre stifled a moan as Morris approached.
“Isn’t it sad to find out that your customers have no loyalty,” Morris gloated. He extended a coupon to me. “Here, I have one half-off coupon for you too, my dear. You look like you need a decent meal in you. Wouldn’t you like getting more than twice as much to eat than you could afford at this grimy place?”
Pierre grit his teeth, restraining himself from doing or saying something that could make Morris take legal action against him. Then a bated breath when he realized I hadn’t taken the coupon yet.
“Aren’t those coupons only for those that have membership at JojaMart?” I asked. “I wouldn’t be able to afford to buy that, so that coupon would do me no good.” I didn’t want to reveal that I had worked for Joja.
“As the manager, I could override it for you, my dear,” Morris said with oily sweetness.
I took the offered coupon, noting Pierre’s pained breath of lost hope behind me. His anguish mirrored in Morris’ widening grin of triumph.
“That ‘my dear’ just lost you any chance of winning me over.” I tore the coupon into pieces and let them fall to the floor.
Morris’ face clouded. “I’ll make you regret doing that.” He seemed to be on the verge of saying something more, but then he stormed out of the shop.
Several emotions played over Pierre’s face as I turned to him again, relief being the foremost.
“I thought I’d lost my last customer this morning,” Pierre finally said. “But you should beware of making an enemy of them, as much as I appreciate what you did. He might sue you out of your farm and into life-long debt if you so much as lay a finger on him after this. I have to say that he may have been right in one thing though. You do look like you’re starving.”
“Probably because I haven’t eaten anything since afternoon yesterday,” I admitted. “And I can’t remember if I’ve eaten a cooked meal since coming here... Oh, I did have something hot. The tea Caroline offered to me. Don’t look like that. I have eaten, mainly raw fish and stuff I’ve found in the wild.”
While I could’ve included the Wizard’s brew into the category of warm and cooked, it hadn't been tasty enough to count as soup.
“But still... I’m surprised that you were able to turn him down. I’d have found it difficult if I’d been given that offer after a morning of hard work on an empty stomach.” His gaze went to the fresh stains of sweat and dirt on my shirt and hands.
“I ate more than enough of that kind of food while I lived in the city and my low-wage job made it the only choice if I wanted to be able to keep a roof over my head. Now... I’d like to get some seeds.”
“I’d recommend the blueberries. While each berry is worth less than the seeds, you get multiple berries per harvest, and several harvests. Hops, corn, tomatoes, and hot peppers also give more than one harvest. If you want something tasty to eat that will fill you up, you can’t do better than corn. Just roast it over an open fire, and it’s done.”
Once I’d bought what I needed to grow eight each of hops, hot peppers, and tomatoes, the money from selling the fish was almost gone. Pierre reluctantly bought the tea saplings from me, then a handful of strawberries. His hesitation vanished when he realized I used the money gained to buy more seeds. Twenty-four blueberry seeds, eight corn seeds, and one surprisingly expensive sunflower seed.
Finally I bought as many wheat seeds as I could afford when I noticed they only took four days to mature. Surely I’d get at least three more rainy days this season apart from tomorrow. If not, I’d be able to water them in the last few days of Summer even if over sixty seeds would have me running back and forth with the watering can.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Pierre asked as I put away my few remaining coins. “It will take some time before any of your crops are ready to harvest.”
No doubt relief of having earned more than his expenses battling the worries of letting an ally starve. Well, an ally for now. I didn’t know enough about him to be able to claim I’d always be that.
“I’ve got crops left from Spring. I can eat those,” I said to ease his worries.
The reminder of the many seeds I’d bought in Spring and how few crops I’d sold to him made him nod. “Or you could sell some of it and buy yourself dinner at the Saloon some time,” Pierre said.
Rather than trying to come up with more courses of action I could take, I nodded and left.
I paused right outside the door. I had two items requested by the Junimo and had promised them to give them the items as soon as I could get them. I’d better keep that promise.
On my way through the park, I spotted another new forageable and picked up a sweet pea flower. I smiled at the scent even as I tried to remember what might be the fourth forageable item of Summer. Filling all but one spot would make things more difficult for me, but it couldn’t be helped. I went to face anticipating tension of the Junimo.
No. There were just three slots to the bundle. I had all of the forageables.
There was a release of the brief increase in tension, and I slumped near the scroll as I picked up the return gift of 30 wild summer seeds. As the Junimo carried my gifts away, I looked at what remained.
Couldn’t do much about the Fall and Winter forage, until those seasons unless I had more windfalls or unexpected monster drops. I still didn’t know how or where to get moss, and I’d need more than just what the bundle demanded. I’d be able to grow the hops for the Wild Medicine bundle, but where I’d get fern or purple mushrooms for it was a different matter.
A look at the Summer Crop bundle in the pantry reassured me that I had the seeds I needed to complete that. I’d even get corn for the Fall Crop bundle... wasn’t there another bundle that required corn? I hurried to the old bulletin board despite the tension from the fish tank scroll. Ten more for the Spirits Eve bundle. Looking around at the other bundles there made me pause. I needed a tapper for the maple syrup. Blueberry and sunflower would be on its way now, but I had forgotten to buy a poppy seed. Had to get one later.
“I’d better go and plant my seeds, or I won’t be able to harvest them,” I told the Junimo before I left.
I met Harvey as I took a shortcut through the park.
“I saw you coming out of there. No rat bites?” Harvey asked.
I held up my hands to show him. “Nothing’s bit me so far today,” I reassured him. “No rat trap mishaps either. Though I might get blisters from farm work before nightfall. Nothing caught in the traps yet,” I added.
“You should eat more. Your eyes are shadowed from not eating nearly enough and from not sleeping enough. Keep in mind that farm work requires you to eat more than you did back when you lived in the city. Eat when you’re hungry, and at regular meal times. Don’t try to stick to some kind of diet,” Harvey lectured. “Losing any more weight could be bad for your health.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I promised. “I’ll try to sleep more too,” I added.
I ate a handful of salmonberries before planting any of the seeds. I needed the energy, and more, even if the extra areas I'd watered hadn't dried out just yet. Watering the regrowing crops, and adding a line for the hops that would ensure their trellises wouldn’t be too much in the way, took all of it. I had to eat more, including some left-over spring onions for bulk, before making a second scarecrow and hoeing an area near the ruin of the greenhouse for the wheat. Tending to the furnaces too.
By the time I’d planted the last of the wheat, night had fallen. I only noticed it when I started to look further than the small area lit by my glowstone ring. Out of habit I brought out the watering can before remembering that I’d decided to let the rain do all the watering. I crafted three tappers, brought them to the bus stop and fitted them to the trees in front of the bus. Since I passed through there often enough, I'd see when they were ready for harvest without missing too many days. Sure, it was just one maple and two oaks, but I felt pretty certain I'd need oak resin at some point too. If not, I should be able to sell it.
I had some energy left, and enough time to cut down a tree or two, but decided to take Dr. Harvey's advice to heart and got to bed half an hour earlier than yesterday.
