Randall almost missed the signs that his crops were growing the next morning when he went out to water them. He started with the flower pots on the porch, which of course hadn’t had enough time to sprout as it had been less than a day. The potatoes and cabbages likewise had nothing to show yet either, so when he finally made it to the row of strawberry plants, he wasn’t paying much attention.
Since he hadn’t seen anything up to that point, he was merely making sure the water landed in the right place. He was surprised halfway down the row by a tiny dot of green poking up through the soil at his feet and stopped to stare. While he was gawking, the water formed a little puddle where it leaked out of the watering can. He continued on, finishing the rest of the row before coming back to get a closer look.
A thin stem with two round leaves poked out of the ground. The stream of water had washed the dirt off the tiny leaves, and they stretched out in opposite directions from the stem in the middle. Now that he knew what to look for, he could see other bits of green obscured by the heavy soil they were in the process of breaking through. Few of them had made it fully upright like the one that had caught his attention at first, but they were trying.
#
New Quest: Grow Your First Crops
Your first plants have started making their way up into the sunlight. Take care of them until you can harvest their produce, then sell the crops to the store in town.
#
The quest prompt startled him as he hadn’t been expecting it. He smiled at the little green shoots coming up out of the soil. They were the first sign of his success, but he had a long way to go. The field was still mostly covered by weeds, so there would be plenty more space for him to expand once he had a little money and could buy new sets of seeds. He could always prepare the ground now, so when he did purchase more seeds, he could plant them right away.
He retrieved the hoe and shovel from the barn and started clearing the next row of the weeds that clogged it. For the rest of that week, he would water the plants in the morning and spend the afternoon expanding the prepared ground in the garden. At first he could only do two or three rows at a time before feeling exhaustion setting in. He would eat some of the vegetable soup, which dwindled with each passing day, and he could do some more work in the garden.
Every morning when he came out, the plants in his garden were a little bit bigger and more robust. The potatoes and cabbages poked their first sprouts up a couple days after the strawberries. The strawberries put out small flowers that turned into tiny green bulbs. They expanded out over time, turning pale then gradually gaining a bit of red color that spread across their skin.
#
A week after Randall arrived on the island, he came outside to do his daily morning routine of watering the plants but stopped once he saw the garden. The strawberries, which had been slowly changing color, were now a vibrant red. They’d grown in size until the stems they were attached to could barely hold them up. Now they practically glowed in the morning sun, and Randall assumed that was the game’s way of telling him they were ready to be harvested.
While clearing out the hay from the loft in the barn, he’d discovered a stack of old wicker baskets. He carried them out to the garden and started collecting strawberries. The fruit pulled away easily, another sign they must be ripe. He piled them up until his basket was filled and swapped it out for an empty one. After forty minutes, he’d harvested all the strawberries and ended up with eight full baskets.
Randall carried them two on each arm out to the collection box near the road. When he had brought the second set of baskets, he decided to take one into town himself. This was the first thing he’d been able to harvest, and he wanted to share his good news with someone. He placed the other baskets inside the collection box before walking down the road in the direction of town.
Several people were outside the front of the store, and when he got close enough, he could make out Kate’s bright red hair. He was almost to the steps leading to the porch that wrapped around the front of the store by the time she finally noticed him. She started to say something, but then her eyes widened and she squealed in excitement.
“Strawberries!” she yelled as she ran down to meet him. She looked more closely into his basket. “These are much bigger than what we normally get.”
Randall picked out one that was plump and deep red in color and held it out to her. “Would you like to try one?”
Kate grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask me that.” She took the strawberry and bit into it, her eyes closing as she chewed. “I must have died and gone to heaven.”
Randall laughed. “Are they that good?”
“Absolutely.” She took another bite before asking, “Didn’t you try one?”
“No, I was so excited to share my news with someone, I forgot.”
Kate pointed at a berry in the basket and said, “I’ll bet that one is really good.”
Randall picked up the one she’d chosen and bit into it. The sweet taste filled his mouth as the soft flesh of the strawberry melted away. “Wow, that’s the best strawberry I’ve ever tasted.”
“I told you.” Kate finished the last bite of hers then stared longingly at the basket.
“Would you like another?”
“I’m not going to turn it down.” She took a moment to decide on one, then said, “I helped plant a whole row when we brought supplies out to the farm. Were these all that grew?” She bit into the second strawberry. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“There were eight baskets in total,” said Randall. “I left the rest in the collection box because it would have been hard for me to bring them all this way on my own. I was hoping I could get the money for them today so I could buy some more seeds.”
“Normally Liam brings the crops they’ve grown in the evening after they’ve picked them.” Kate looked at the other people she’d been standing with on the porch of the store. “My dad does the purchasing, and he usually doesn’t do advances, preferring to see the produce before giving a price. But for strawberries like these, I’ll get him to make an exception.”
They waited until the customers wrapped up their conversation and walked off, leaving behind the man in the apron who had been outside the store when Randall had come here on his first day. Kate went up the stairs first.
“Daddy, you have to try these strawberries,” she said.
Randall presented the basket, and Kate’s father looked over the berries before taking one. He turned the strawberry over in his hand, examining it from each side before tasting it.
“Very nice,” he said. “The size of the berry is quite large but without losing any of the flavor. Often when fruit grows bigger, it doesn’t have much taste. What kind of fertilizer did you use?”
“No fertilizer,” said Randall.
“If you have some proprietary method, then I won’t pry, but I can’t believe strawberries like these didn’t have any fertilizer.”
Kate said, “Daddy, they came from Uncle Jack’s farm. As long as those fields have laid fallow, it’s no surprise they’d produce such good strawberries.”
“Oh!” Kate’s father held out his hand to shake. “You must be Randall. I’m Hank, owner of the general store. My wife told me all about how you’re fixing up Jack’s old farmhouse. I think it’s great somebody is taking that place on again. Those fields produced the most delicious vegetables ever to be found on this island. Such a shame they were empty for so long.”
Unsure how to respond, Randall merely said, “Thank you, sir.”
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Kate covered for him by saying, “He’s got eight whole baskets of those delicious strawberries. They’re so good I told him you’d pay in advance.”
Hank shook his head. “Kate, you know I don’t make an offer without seeing what I’m buying first.”
Kate planted her hands on her hips. “You gave Liam an advance this year when his brother needed seeds for the spring planting.”
“The Grant family has been farming on Haven since before I was born,” said Hank. “The dry weather last year killed some of their crops, but I know they’ll turn it around. Since Walter took over from his parents, they’ve always paid up whenever I’ve floated them a little credit.”
Rather than respond, with hands still on her hips, Kate raised a single eyebrow.
Hank sighed and addressed Randall. “You say you’ve got eight baskets, but are they all as nice as these?”
“As far as I can tell,” said Randall. “They were all large in size and a deep red color.”
“Standard price for fresh strawberries is twenty bits per basket.”
“Daddy,” Kate interrupted. “You know these are good enough to charge a premium price.”
Hank winced and said, “Whose side are you on?” When she didn’t respond, he added, “Fine, the premium price is twenty-five a basket, but that’s the best I can do. Considering this whole basket is almost certainly going to end up in our kitchen, I’ll be lucky to make a profit on the rest.”
Kate rolled her eyes.
“That sounds like a fair price.”
They shook on the deal and Randall handed over the basket of strawberries. Kate took them and immediately walked over to the alley that led to the house behind the store. Shortly after, her voice could be heard calling to her mother.
“Mom,” Kate said, “you will not believe how good the strawberries Randall just delivered to us are!”
Hank chuckled. “If we could get strawberries year round, that girl would put me out of business.” Returning his attention to Randall, he said, “Come inside and I’ll get your bits.”
“Actually,” Randall said as they stepped into the store, “I’ll be needing more seeds and perhaps some other things.”
“Of course! Grab whatever you need, and I’ll take it out of the 200 bits you’re owed for the strawberries.”
“Will do.”
Randall walked around the store, cataloging the different items he saw that might be useful on the farm. The front of the store was dedicated to food, both fresh produce and prepared items in cans and boxes. Sacks of corn, flour, and other bulk ingredients sat on shelves near the floor, while items like pasta and cans of various soups and sauces were arranged at eye level. An open area on the rightmost side of the store was filled with crates of fresh fruits and vegetables.
He still had a bit of the vegetable soup left, so rather than buy any food items, he headed to the back of the store. This area reminded him a little of superstores he’d been to in the real world, although on a smaller scale. The shelves were filled with clothes, household goods, and hygiene products. Small signs on the end of each aisle listed what could be found there.
He turned down the aisle with a sign saying, “Farming Supplies.” The first thing he came to was a display with all different kinds of seeds. They were separated by season, so he checked the section for spring plants. Along with the potatoes, cabbages, and strawberries he’d already planted were a couple different ones he considered. He grabbed packages of seeds for cauliflower and cucumbers, along with some more strawberry seeds. Next to the vegetables was a different display for flowers. He wasn’t sure if he could sell the flowers, but he picked up an envelope labeled as violets. He thought perhaps he could use them when he entered the competition for the flower festival.
Only after he’d selected the seeds he wanted did he notice a sign saying packets of seeds were 40 bits apiece. With four different types of seeds, he was looking at spending almost all the money he would be making from the strawberries. He decided to put the flower seeds back. He wanted to have a little bit of money left over in case he needed it later.
The rest of the aisle was almost completely empty. Signs listed prices for hoes, shovels, and other farming tools, but there were none in sight. The only items left were bags of fertilizer, which at 100 bits per bag was out of his price range. He’d hoped to find a cheap watering can, but there were none in sight.
He carried the seeds to a desk at the front of the store where Hank sat next to a cash register that looked like those Randall had seen in movies from the early 1900s. It had rows of individual buttons for each number between one and ten, divided into columns for each multiple of ten up to ten thousand bits.
Randall placed his purchases on the counter and waited while Hank punched numbers into the register. He pulled out a brown paper bag, but Randall stopped him from putting the seeds inside.
“That’s all right,” said Randall. “I can carry them here.” He placed the packets of seeds into the large pocket on the front of his overalls.
Hank nodded and pressed one last button which caused the tray on the bottom of the register to pop open. He picked out coins from a couple different partitions in the tray and counted them into Randall’s hand.
“So you had 200 bits for the strawberries, minus 120 bits for the seeds you purchased. That leaves 80 bits in change.”
“Thanks, Hank.” Randall pocketed the money. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare watering can in the back somewhere would you? The one I’ve been using has several holes in the bottom.”
“Sorry, but we’re all out. When word got around about the ferry being out of service, a lot of the townsfolk became very interested in gardening. Everything in that section sold out in a day or two, and we won’t be getting any new deliveries from the mainland until the ferry is fixed.”
“You mean I’m going to have to use that old damaged watering can the whole time?” asked Randall.
Hank shook his head. “Not necessarily. There is a smithy in town, so you might be able to get it repaired. Or failing that, maybe they could fabricate a new one. Although, that probably won’t be cheap.”
Randall patted the pocket holding the coins he’d just received. “Somehow I doubt 80 bits will be enough.”
“Probably not, but if you get a few more good crops in, it’d save you a lot of time and energy to commission a new set of tools. Nothing wears you down faster than tools that aren’t fit for the job.”
“I’ll have to save that for another time.” He started to leave but thought he should at least ask how to get to the smithy. “When I am ready, where is the smithy located?”
“The main road out here meets another one on the eastern edge of town. Follow that road north until it crosses a bridge, and the smithy will be on your right. Look for the smoke rising up from the forge and follow the sound of hammering. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks for everything,” said Randall.
“You’re welcome,” said Hank. “Come back and see us.”
Randall walked outside but stopped when a message popped up.
#
Quest Completed: Grow Your First Crops
Your first step of many, so keep up the hard work. Before long, you’ll be raking in the bits. But in the meantime, keep your eyes open for other opportunities. Farming isn’t the only way to make money.
#
No new quest opened immediately, so he assumed he’d have to do a little exploration to figure out the meaning behind the cryptic hint in the last sentence.
The sound of creaking drew his attention to a rocking chair on the porch next to him. Kate stood up and joined him by the stairs.
“Congratulations on making your first sale,” said Kate.
“Thanks,” he replied.
“What would you say to a celebratory brunch? My treat.”
“You don’t have to do that. It was just just a couple strawberries.”
“From a person who considers herself a strawberry connoisseur, I think you’re being a bit too modest.” Kate held up a small coin purse. “Besides, Mom offered to pay. She said that if you were like most other young bachelors she’s known, you’ve only eaten vegetable soup for the last four days.”
Randall’s stuttered denial did little more than elicit giggles.
“I thought so.” Kate started down the stairs. “Come on, the cafe across the street has an extensive breakfast menu.”
* * *