The crooked r shaped man with the green beanie looked down on Jim who was still sitting on the floor beside his bundle of branches as he said

"This powder is called dirt. Any more questions about it?"

Jim then looked at the man before saying

"What does this dirt do?"

The man gave a small grin before saying

"It's something you can smoke to feel real good."

Jim then started thinking about both the risks and rewards of actually selling the powder, it was obviously a drug of some king and from the man's words Jim could easily tell it can get people addicted. Jim then said

"What is it made out of?"

The crooked man gave a wide grin showing a smile with a shocking lack of teeth as he only had a total of three if you excluded his bright golden molar tooth near the back, the man then said.

"I don't make the dirt , my job is to sell the product to merchants, but I know it is a combination of over twenty different ingredients ranging from poisonous berries to the most basic looking of plants."

Jim gave a small eyebrow raise as if questioning the product only for the man to quickly say

"If you don't believe that it works you should try some instead."

Jim then instantly declined without thinking, he knew very well that people who sell addicting products always try making you try it for just one time but after you do it will be stuck both in your mind and tastebuds for weeks maybe even months afterword. Jim then said

"How much does it cost?"

The man then tossed the bag he was holding down to the ground directly in front of Jim. The man then snickered as he said

"The only thing more addicting then using the product is being the bastard selling it. The first pack is free and however much you make will decide how expensive the next batch is, and before you ask at minimum I want a quarter interest."

The man then paused before saying

"If you don't know how much a quarter is then I recommend finding out before I take a little extra."

The man then walked away with a slight limp that Jim hadn't noticed before. Jim then looked down at the powder the man dropped only to look up to see his friend still standing above him. Jim was about to speak only for Jake to quickly say

"Alright , alright... alright. Imma be honest, I may OR may not have lost even more money during a card game."

Jim looked straight at Jacob without changing his facial expression, almost as if this wasn't a maybe but more of a common occurence. Jake then continued at a breakneck speed as if his life was on the line

"But the one who beat me at that card game was that man from just now, he hasn't told me his named but I call him Big Bean. Anyways I got sidetracked but uhm uhm oh yeah I lost the card game only for him to 0ver me to sell that dust to pay back his debt but as you know Jim I am not the best at that so I uhm brought him here."

Jim sighed as he looked at the bag of dirt once again. Jim then said

"Don't do that again."

Jake then gave a small grin as if to play the words off as a joke. Jim then grabbed a stick and threw it at Jake's head. Jim then said

"So how much money did you lose?"

Jake casually said

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Not much just three pounds."

Jim almost puked, he yelled out

"Three pounds! that is sixty shillings! that is seven hundred twenty pence! even a noble wouldn't spend that much gambling, what did you get us , no me into?"

Jake gave a silent nod before trying to speak only for Jim to say

"Nope, what ever you are about to say, close it."

Jake looked like a sad puppy that just got scolded despite what he just did. Jim took a deep breath before saying

"Did he wave the dept for forcing me into this?"

Jake stayed silent as if he was afraid to speak , Jim looked straight at Jake which put even more pressure on Jake who eventually said

"He uhm well he uhm... he removed a pound."

Jim took a deep breath as he looked at the ground before saying

"I'm sorry Jake."

Jake then asked

"Uhm why?"

Jim then looked directly at Jake with a stare full of sadness

"You may have to become a prostitute."

Jake yelled out

"Hold up! I'm not in that much debt!"

Jim then tuned out Jake as he thought to himself, "Alright I removed his tension and I understand the basics but honestly what did Jake get me in to?" Jim then said

"Listen I will not be able to help you with that debt but if you help me with selling then I can pay you a bit."

Jake gave a big nod of gratitude before saying

"Alright so what's first?"

Jim sighed as he said

"First I need to go talk to my father"

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Jim's father, named Levi Stone, a middle class merchant who was well known for his talents. He had hundreds of books about both the buying and selling of goods as well as the psychology of men but despite this he fell in love to a poor and blind woman who entranced him with her music.

They lived a life of joy and luxury as the man who wanted to let his love see the beauty of the world spent hundreds of pounds trying desperately to fix her eyes but to no avail. Eventually he and her settled down as lower middle class workers, but this all changed one singular day.

The woman named Sarah Rose but now named Sarah Stone was pregnant and was with her husband at the doctors as her child was finally being born. They both experienced what could only be called true happiness as the child was born but that didn't last long as only one minute later Sarah died as she made a single wish to her son that she named Jim

"Please grow up rich and happy unlike me."

Levi could never answer the question on why she said that single sentence, he who thought she was the happiest person alive just like him wondered if she had the same dreams as every poor person, to be rich. Levi after he heard these words felt terrible as if he had failed to make Sarah happy but that didn't matter, Levi looked down at his dead wife as he felt like a failure. Levi cried as he held his wife's hand as he completely neglected the child in her lap.

Levi became a drunkard using his leftover wealth to buy bottle after bottle of alcohol almost every day leaving his child to grow up by himself. Eventually he sold his house and gave up on being a merchant with the only thing he still owned was the large beautiful piano he bought for his wife days before their child was born.

----------------------------------------

Jim opened the door to his home, the old door creaked open as it almost fell of it's singular hinge. His father was laying on the floor beside bottles of alcohol. Jim asked a simple question to the old man who seemed unconscious

"What is a quarter?"

Levi instantly responded as if from muscle memory

"What ever is one fourth of the whole."

Jim then asked

"Can I get an example"

Levi sat up and said

"Sure , twenty divided by four is five, so five is a quarter of twenty"

Jim didn't even say thanks as he closed the door as if repulsed by his own father. Jim knew his father was smart but that didn't mean he respected him.

Jim then took out the bag of dirt from his pocket and looked at the powder. He thought about both where and how he could sell this obvious drug. He then looked directly beside his house to see Jake sitting on a small stump smoking a cigar. Jim casually said

"You are already in enough debt, you should be trying to sell those not use them yourself you bloody child."

Jake yelled back

"I am not a child, I am an eighteen year old who is responsible with their own body."

Jim casually said

"You aren't responsible for your money though."

Jim then heard an "Eh!" from Jake which he ignored as he said

"Listen in order to sell this there is only one place I think we can go to"

Jake piped up

"The Noble district?"

Jim threw a rock at Jake before saying

"No you dipshit, we need to go to the middle class district."

Jake was about to speak before Jim interrupted

"As for why that is the best option, it is simple. Everyone down here in the slums can't even think about buying drugs aside from tobacco obviously and even if they did they might not even get addicted due to how much other stuff they already use. The King's district is obviously way to risky due to only knights of the king and his family living there. Finally the Noble district may have the most money to give but almost every noble is to busy being cooped up in their home making money or are to busy taking hard drugs anyways, and even if we did find one out and about they will easily be smart enough to not even try the dirt."

Jake then gave a simple

"Welp let's go to the middle class district then."

Jake was use to Jim giving long essays about his plans, Jake after all was just a poor kid in the slums but truthfully Jim had a the genes of a merchant inside of him and Jake was happy to help out in selling a product because he trusted Jim's plans absolutely due to them never failing.