Harvest Moon:
Seasons of Harmony
by
JamesPicard_007
Chapter 2: A New Life
Jeff's Supermarket was a quaint shop. Immediately James noticed the varieties of products the store had to offer. Seeds, groceries, small tools, magazines and some clothing were a sample of what the Supermarket had to offer. Being that he was on a farm he decided it would be best if he picked up some seeds first that way he could gather some income. Walking over to a small display were the seeds where James saw a sign that had been hung by the owner.
Attention all customers: Due to the fact the produce grown from our fine selection of seeds will only develop in certain seasons we will only sell vegetable seeds in the season they may be properly grown. Please see the information cards included with your seed purchase for more details. The Management.
On the display were seed packets for turnips, potatoes, cucumbers and grass. Instantly he ruled out buying grass since it wouldn't profit him and the fact that it would take up most of what he had and he needed to hold onto everything he could. Looking at the other packets he saw that turnips and potatoes were a one time crop, but they grew relatively fast. Cucumbers took longer to grow, but as long as they were constantly watered they would keep producing for the rest of the season.
After a bit of thought James decided that a few packets of turnips and a packet of cucumbers would be best for right now. Then, in the grocery section, James picked up some bread, cheese and a few apples With his selections he made his way to the register where a man who seemed to be in his early forties was waiting.
"Good morning. Did you find everything alright?" The man asked.
"Yeah." James replied. He noticed the man had thin, black hair, a matching mustache, wore a white shirt with a bow tie and pants to match his hair.
"Can't I say I've seen you around here before. Are you passing through, on vacation or something? If you don't mind my asking."
"Actually I just moved in to the area yesterday."
"Is that so? Well I wasn't aware of any new homes being built recently so, if you don't mind my prying, where are you living?"
"Down at the Legends farm."
"Really? I didn't know anybody had bought that property."
"I... didn't buy it. I inherited the place from Walter. He left it to me in his will."
"Well then... I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Jeff, owner of the Supermarket as you can probably guess."
"James."
"A pleasure to... Uhhh." Jeff began to say as he suddenly hunched over.
"Are you alright?" James asked worriedly.
"I'll be.. fine..." Jeff said as he reached under the counter, pulled out a prescription bottle, got a few pills from within and swallowed them with a bit of water he had nearby.
"Are you sure I shouldn't get the Doctor or something?"
"Yeah... It's a... condition I have. I'll be fine in a few minutes."
Even though he seemed to still be in pain Jeff placed the entirety of James' purchases in a few sacks. James hesitated for a second to pick up the bags, but Jeff seemed to be doing better after taking his medication so he grabbed them and walked out the door, looking back at Jeff until he was hidden from James' sight. Now back on the streets he decided it would be best to head back to the farm and start the heavy work.
As soon as he got home he placed the groceries in the cooler Thomas had provided. Then he decided to tackle the issue of clearing the once famous field. James surveyed the field to figure out his plan of attack. In the end he thought it would be best to clear the area nearest to the shipping box so his work would be slightly more efficient.
"I think... that this job calls for the... axe, scythe and... maybe the hammer." James said to himself.
After gathering the tools from inside James got to work. The weeds were quite thick despite the fact they had been dead for a while. The rust covered tools didn't help matters much either. He soon discovered that in their current state the tools wouldn't be able to break up the larger rocks and stumps. However he found that the smaller rocks and weeds could just be dumped into the nearby stream while the branches could just be trimmed and thrown into the wood shed.
"That was a job well done." James said as he clapped his hands together after clearing his intended spot.
King just stared up at James.
"Well then... I guess I should get those seeds growing if I wanna make some moolah."
The pup scratched his ears while James returned to the tools back to the house. Soon he came back armed with the hoe, the watering can and a turnip packet. Sitting at the edge of the field he read the back of the packet to see how he should go about planting.
Thank you for purchasing Raines Quality Seeds. We work hard to bring you a top quality product your whole family can enjoy.
Instructions: A single pack of Raines Quality Turnips will produce nine turnips maximum. Seeds must be planted 1/4" into the ground. Turnips will take four days to ripen. The seeds need to be watered once a day. Overwatering will have no effect on growth although it may drown your plant(s). Once more we thank you for purchasing Raines Quality Seeds.
James decided that a three by three plot would be best. He tilled the necessary amount of soil he needed, planted the seeds, drew some water from the nearby pond and sprinkled the newly created mounds of dirt. He repeated these steps for the rest of his seeds until everything had been planted and watered. Then with some small sticks from the apple tree and some paper James marked the plots.
The planting had taken little time and lunch was still some time away. James decided to pass away the time by clearing up more of the field so that it could reclaim some of its former majesty. The work was hard and tedious, but it helped to pass the time and soon it was lunch.
It was a small meal again mainly because he didn't have a lot of money and needed to conserve everything he had. Once more it was a simple sandwich and drink for James while King chewed on the remnants of the bone Thomas had given to him. Normally he wasn't a money minded person, but he had spent most of his money at the Supermarket and unless he could keep food on the table he wasn't going to last long out here. The herbs sitting the in the shipping bin would help to recharge his wallet, but it was most unlikely they would keep him afloat for long.
Then his thoughts turned to the events of the morning. He remembered the hot spring. How soothing it had been. The waterfall, the pool, the mine...
James' mind snapped to attention at thoughts of the mine. Suddenly the carpenter's words came back to him. The mines were filled with ore that could be sold off. Immediately he scrambled for the tool box where he grabbed the hammer and ran as quick as he could to the mine.
As could be expected the mine was dark. James ended up running back to the farm so that he could have his lantern to brighten his path. The mine itself was unusually rounded. A memory from past days when Mineral Town had been a mining center. Dripping water could be heard from within the depths of the cave. James chose a spot relatively close to the entrance of the cave and wielded his hammer and an iron stake he was using as an impromptu pick.
He set the stake on a spot on the side of the wall and slowly pounded away with the hammer. Slowly the rock cracked and soon chips began to fall away. Eventually areas of the stone became discolored signifying areas where ore was. He chipped away at them and placed the chunks of ore into his rucksack so that he could rush home and sell them.
It wasn't before long that James' watch began to beep once more. He had set it to go off so that he could make it back to the farm in time to dump his work into the shipping bin. He gathered up everything he had and raced back to the farm where he just dumped the ore into the bin as Zack arrived.
"Hey, James. You look like you've been working hard today." Zack said as he climbed out of his truck.
"I've been keeping busy." James replied as he wiped sweat off his forehead.
"Looks like you've got a nice bit of stuff in here. Let's count that up shall we?"
"Let's do it!"
"Alright. Let's see here... You've got three green herbs in here. Those are worth a hundred a piece. You've also got a bit of ore in here."
"Yeah. Just got back from digging that out as you probably saw when you drove up."
"Yeah... Well I don't know how to break this to you so I'll just flat out say it. This is junk ore."
"Come again?"
"Junk ore. The stuff is quite common down in the mine. In fact that's the reason they shut down the mining operation out here. They kept digging up more and more of the stuff every day. Soon it wasn't worth keeping the operation going so they packed up and left. Don't worry though I'll still buy this off of you, but it's only a gold piece an ounce."
"Wha?"
"Yup. Now I figure you've got a pound in here so that'd be sixteen gold pieces for that so your grand total for today would be three hundred and sixteen gold pieces."
"Lovely..."
"Well it's not bad for your first day. I'll get this stuff loaded onto the truck then I've got to make my other rounds. See ya later."
"Bye."
As Zack drove off James thought for a minute. While he hadn't made as much money as he had hoped to he still had about recovered everything he spent today. All in all a small victory. However his body was sticky with sweat from the day so he headed inside where he got a change of clothes and went to the hot spring and bathed since the farmhouse didn't have a working bathtub. Afterwards he fixed supper for himself and King.
"You know... I should head over to the local library tomorrow," James said to himself. "Pick up a few books on ore and such."
King just chewed on his food. Quite soon James felt the work of the day finally get to him and he laid down to sleep. Even though he was very tired somehow he felt quite good...
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the comments so far. They're really appreciated as they let me know my fic is enjoyed which gives me the motivation to write more. Look for the next chapter to come out soon.
Seasons of Harmony
by
JamesPicard_007
Chapter 2: A New Life
Jeff's Supermarket was a quaint shop. Immediately James noticed the varieties of products the store had to offer. Seeds, groceries, small tools, magazines and some clothing were a sample of what the Supermarket had to offer. Being that he was on a farm he decided it would be best if he picked up some seeds first that way he could gather some income. Walking over to a small display were the seeds where James saw a sign that had been hung by the owner.
Attention all customers: Due to the fact the produce grown from our fine selection of seeds will only develop in certain seasons we will only sell vegetable seeds in the season they may be properly grown. Please see the information cards included with your seed purchase for more details. The Management.
On the display were seed packets for turnips, potatoes, cucumbers and grass. Instantly he ruled out buying grass since it wouldn't profit him and the fact that it would take up most of what he had and he needed to hold onto everything he could. Looking at the other packets he saw that turnips and potatoes were a one time crop, but they grew relatively fast. Cucumbers took longer to grow, but as long as they were constantly watered they would keep producing for the rest of the season.
After a bit of thought James decided that a few packets of turnips and a packet of cucumbers would be best for right now. Then, in the grocery section, James picked up some bread, cheese and a few apples With his selections he made his way to the register where a man who seemed to be in his early forties was waiting.
"Good morning. Did you find everything alright?" The man asked.
"Yeah." James replied. He noticed the man had thin, black hair, a matching mustache, wore a white shirt with a bow tie and pants to match his hair.
"Can't I say I've seen you around here before. Are you passing through, on vacation or something? If you don't mind my asking."
"Actually I just moved in to the area yesterday."
"Is that so? Well I wasn't aware of any new homes being built recently so, if you don't mind my prying, where are you living?"
"Down at the Legends farm."
"Really? I didn't know anybody had bought that property."
"I... didn't buy it. I inherited the place from Walter. He left it to me in his will."
"Well then... I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Jeff, owner of the Supermarket as you can probably guess."
"James."
"A pleasure to... Uhhh." Jeff began to say as he suddenly hunched over.
"Are you alright?" James asked worriedly.
"I'll be.. fine..." Jeff said as he reached under the counter, pulled out a prescription bottle, got a few pills from within and swallowed them with a bit of water he had nearby.
"Are you sure I shouldn't get the Doctor or something?"
"Yeah... It's a... condition I have. I'll be fine in a few minutes."
Even though he seemed to still be in pain Jeff placed the entirety of James' purchases in a few sacks. James hesitated for a second to pick up the bags, but Jeff seemed to be doing better after taking his medication so he grabbed them and walked out the door, looking back at Jeff until he was hidden from James' sight. Now back on the streets he decided it would be best to head back to the farm and start the heavy work.
As soon as he got home he placed the groceries in the cooler Thomas had provided. Then he decided to tackle the issue of clearing the once famous field. James surveyed the field to figure out his plan of attack. In the end he thought it would be best to clear the area nearest to the shipping box so his work would be slightly more efficient.
"I think... that this job calls for the... axe, scythe and... maybe the hammer." James said to himself.
After gathering the tools from inside James got to work. The weeds were quite thick despite the fact they had been dead for a while. The rust covered tools didn't help matters much either. He soon discovered that in their current state the tools wouldn't be able to break up the larger rocks and stumps. However he found that the smaller rocks and weeds could just be dumped into the nearby stream while the branches could just be trimmed and thrown into the wood shed.
"That was a job well done." James said as he clapped his hands together after clearing his intended spot.
King just stared up at James.
"Well then... I guess I should get those seeds growing if I wanna make some moolah."
The pup scratched his ears while James returned to the tools back to the house. Soon he came back armed with the hoe, the watering can and a turnip packet. Sitting at the edge of the field he read the back of the packet to see how he should go about planting.
Thank you for purchasing Raines Quality Seeds. We work hard to bring you a top quality product your whole family can enjoy.
Instructions: A single pack of Raines Quality Turnips will produce nine turnips maximum. Seeds must be planted 1/4" into the ground. Turnips will take four days to ripen. The seeds need to be watered once a day. Overwatering will have no effect on growth although it may drown your plant(s). Once more we thank you for purchasing Raines Quality Seeds.
James decided that a three by three plot would be best. He tilled the necessary amount of soil he needed, planted the seeds, drew some water from the nearby pond and sprinkled the newly created mounds of dirt. He repeated these steps for the rest of his seeds until everything had been planted and watered. Then with some small sticks from the apple tree and some paper James marked the plots.
The planting had taken little time and lunch was still some time away. James decided to pass away the time by clearing up more of the field so that it could reclaim some of its former majesty. The work was hard and tedious, but it helped to pass the time and soon it was lunch.
It was a small meal again mainly because he didn't have a lot of money and needed to conserve everything he had. Once more it was a simple sandwich and drink for James while King chewed on the remnants of the bone Thomas had given to him. Normally he wasn't a money minded person, but he had spent most of his money at the Supermarket and unless he could keep food on the table he wasn't going to last long out here. The herbs sitting the in the shipping bin would help to recharge his wallet, but it was most unlikely they would keep him afloat for long.
Then his thoughts turned to the events of the morning. He remembered the hot spring. How soothing it had been. The waterfall, the pool, the mine...
James' mind snapped to attention at thoughts of the mine. Suddenly the carpenter's words came back to him. The mines were filled with ore that could be sold off. Immediately he scrambled for the tool box where he grabbed the hammer and ran as quick as he could to the mine.
As could be expected the mine was dark. James ended up running back to the farm so that he could have his lantern to brighten his path. The mine itself was unusually rounded. A memory from past days when Mineral Town had been a mining center. Dripping water could be heard from within the depths of the cave. James chose a spot relatively close to the entrance of the cave and wielded his hammer and an iron stake he was using as an impromptu pick.
He set the stake on a spot on the side of the wall and slowly pounded away with the hammer. Slowly the rock cracked and soon chips began to fall away. Eventually areas of the stone became discolored signifying areas where ore was. He chipped away at them and placed the chunks of ore into his rucksack so that he could rush home and sell them.
It wasn't before long that James' watch began to beep once more. He had set it to go off so that he could make it back to the farm in time to dump his work into the shipping bin. He gathered up everything he had and raced back to the farm where he just dumped the ore into the bin as Zack arrived.
"Hey, James. You look like you've been working hard today." Zack said as he climbed out of his truck.
"I've been keeping busy." James replied as he wiped sweat off his forehead.
"Looks like you've got a nice bit of stuff in here. Let's count that up shall we?"
"Let's do it!"
"Alright. Let's see here... You've got three green herbs in here. Those are worth a hundred a piece. You've also got a bit of ore in here."
"Yeah. Just got back from digging that out as you probably saw when you drove up."
"Yeah... Well I don't know how to break this to you so I'll just flat out say it. This is junk ore."
"Come again?"
"Junk ore. The stuff is quite common down in the mine. In fact that's the reason they shut down the mining operation out here. They kept digging up more and more of the stuff every day. Soon it wasn't worth keeping the operation going so they packed up and left. Don't worry though I'll still buy this off of you, but it's only a gold piece an ounce."
"Wha?"
"Yup. Now I figure you've got a pound in here so that'd be sixteen gold pieces for that so your grand total for today would be three hundred and sixteen gold pieces."
"Lovely..."
"Well it's not bad for your first day. I'll get this stuff loaded onto the truck then I've got to make my other rounds. See ya later."
"Bye."
As Zack drove off James thought for a minute. While he hadn't made as much money as he had hoped to he still had about recovered everything he spent today. All in all a small victory. However his body was sticky with sweat from the day so he headed inside where he got a change of clothes and went to the hot spring and bathed since the farmhouse didn't have a working bathtub. Afterwards he fixed supper for himself and King.
"You know... I should head over to the local library tomorrow," James said to himself. "Pick up a few books on ore and such."
King just chewed on his food. Quite soon James felt the work of the day finally get to him and he laid down to sleep. Even though he was very tired somehow he felt quite good...
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the comments so far. They're really appreciated as they let me know my fic is enjoyed which gives me the motivation to write more. Look for the next chapter to come out soon.