Part 2: The Looooong First Week
Jack woke up the next morning and looked around the room. For a second there he forgot where he was. This was going to take some time to get used to.
He looked at the time. It was six o'clock in the morning. He couldn't remeber the last time he got up that early. Jack got out of his new bed and put on his clothes. "Time to get to work," He mumbled to himself and walked outside.
Waiting outside for Jack was a tall guy with brown hair. Jack blinked his eyes a few times to make sure that he wasn't imagining this guy in front of him.
"Hey I'm Zack the shipper," the man said to Jack. "I will be shipping all of your produce for you. You can put it in the bin over there." He points the the shipping bin next to Jack's house. "You can ship things such as vegetables, milk, eggs, and wool in there. Oh yeh, if you are running low on cash I suggest you ship things you find on the back hill such as fruits and grasses. You can make quite a bit of money doing that. I come to pick up any produce you put in the bins at five o'clock sharp. Also I don't ship things on festival days, I like to take days off too! Well I guess I will see you at five. Bye!" Zack walked off before Jack could even say anything.
Jack's puppy comes running over to him. "Hello Koro, good boy. I think I am going to go into town today. I'll be back later." He looked around the farm. This is gunna be a lot of work, I wish I knew what I was getting myself into before, Jack thought to himself. He took one last glance at the farm and walked towards town.
Jack wanted to go to the grocery store, mainly to see Karen, but to also by seeds. The only problem was that he couldn't remember where it was. He looked around but couldn't find anyone to ask for directions. So he walked into the first building he saw, which happened to be the building next door to his farm.
Inside sat Saibara and his grandson Gray. Jack went into the Blacksmith's shop!
"Hey what can I do for ya?" Siabara asked.
"Ummm nothing," Jack turned around and walked out.
"Well he's an odd one," Siabara said to Gray, who wasn't paying attention at all.
Jack walked back outside and groaned. His first full day and he already made a fool of himself. How was he ever going to find anything in this darn town?
Just then a goofy looking tall man approached Jack. He was wearing a blue hat, and he had an usually large nose.
"Hey there! You must be Jack. I'm Harris, the local police force. Hey, you look a little lost. Is something wrong?"
"Hey Harris," Jack replied. "I'm looking for the grocery store, could you tell me how to get there?"
"Sure! I'll take you right there." Jack and Harris walk down the road and straight to the grocery store. "Here it is,"
"Thanks." Jack walked in through the front door and looked around the whole store. The only person who was there was Jeff, and he was half asleep behind the counter. Karen wasn't there. I'll have to come back later, Jack thought to himself and walked back outside.
Harris was still standing there, but that wasn't what Jack was looking at. Next to the grocery store was Karen talking with Rick. Rick held a bottle of wine in his hand.
"I bought this for you Karen," Rick said to her and her face turned bright red.
"Thank you so much Rick! I love wine!" She took the bottle and gave Rick a hug.
That gives me an idea, Jack thought to himself. He turned back to Harris. "On second thought, why don't you show me where the winery is?"
Harris gave Jack a funny look. "You like to drink Jack? Hmm well okay, it's right this way..."
As they were walking to the winery they came across a little boy who was laying on the ground crying.
"Hey little guy what's wrong?" Jack asked.
"I fell down," He cried.
"Oh here," Jack pulled out the bandaid that he got from Elli and handed it to the little boy. "Put this on your cut,"
"Thank you." The boy put it on his cut and smiled a little. "I'm Stu."
Just then Elli walked up to everyone, looking very concerned. "What happened Stu? Boys shouldn't cry like that. Oh hello Jack! Did you help my little brother? Why didn't you use that bandaid I gave you?"
"Oh well the cut wasn't that bad. It's a good thing I didn't use it, because Stu needed it more." Jack smiled.
"Thank you Jack. Did you say thank you to the nice man Stu?"
"Yeah."
"Then you better go home now Stu. I'll talk to you later Jack!" Elli walked off towards the clinic and Stu went into his house.
Harris and Jack continued on to the winery, which happened to be right next door to the blacksmith's shop. "Well here it is. I gotta get back to work, I'll see you around Jack!" Harris walked off.
Jack walked into the winery to find Duke getting ready for work. "Hey there Jack! If you want to buy something you should go talk to my wife, Manna. She's in this room." Duke opened the door and Jack walked inside.
"Well hello!" Duke's wife said. She was a short woman, with shoulder length black hair. "You must be Jack! Duke has mentioned your name a few times around here. It's so great to finally meet you! (Jack: Uhh I've only been here for a day..) It must be really hard working on that farm. (Jack: I haven't even started yet...) I've heard it's a mess! But I think your grandfather would be really proud of you. To think, you are so young, yet you took up the responsibility to work on that farm all by yourself, with no help at all! (Jack: Does this woman ever stop talking?!) Oh dear, I started babbling again haven't I?? Well then, you obviously came here looking for wine! What can I do for you?"
Finally! I didn't think she would ever stop talking, Jack thought to himself. "Well I was wondering how much wine was here?"
"Oh! Wine is 300 G and grape juice is 200 G!"
Jack looked in his pocket. He had 500 G, and he still needed seeds. If you are running low on cash I suggest you ship things you find on the back hill such as fruits and grasses. That's it! He could go to Mother's Hill and ship some of that fruit and stuff that Zack was telling him about this morning. What a great idea! Now he could get his seeds and a nice present for Karen...
"I'll be back tomorrow!" Jack turned around and ran out of the winery.
Jack spent the rest of the day wandering around the back hill searching for different things he could sell in the shipping bin. He found bamboo shoots and blue grass. "I wonder how much this stuff is worth?" Jack said outloud to himself, as he examined what was in his hands.
"The blue grass is worth 100 G, and the bamboo shoots are 50 G a peice." Jack looked up, and standing there was a tall man with brown hair and a busy brown beard.
"Are you the woodcutter?" Jack asked.
"Yes I am. The name's Gotz, you must be Jack. Nice to meet you." Gotz looked at his watch. "Well if you are going to be shipping that stuff, I would hurry. It's almost five o'clock!"
"Thanks Gotz!" Jack carefully put everything in his rucksack and ran back to his farm. He placed everything in the shipping bin just as Zack was approaching the farm.
"Taking advantage of my suggestion eh? Well here ya go, 350 G for two blue grass and three bamboo shoots."
Jack took the money and smiled. "Thanks Zack!" He placed the money in his pocket with his other 500 G. Zack left the farm and Jack walked into his house. It was still pretty early, but seeing as he had to get up early again tomorrow he decided to go to bed...
Jack's third day on the farm started out just like the day before. He woke up early, six o'clock. He got up and changing into his overalls and turned out the TV. Tomorrow we will see a few spring showers... He flipped the TV off. Time to get to work..
Jack walked outside to see Harris walking up to his house. "Hey Jack. There has been a suspicious looking man wandering around town today. He is wearing a yellow jacket and sunglasses. Watch out for him." Harris quickly left the farm before Jack could say anything.
He shrugged, and decided to go up to the hill to find some more stuff to ship. He cut across his farm and started across the bridge when a man wearing a yellow jacket and sunglasses approached him.
"Hello, I am a traveling salesman. My name's Won. Could I rest here for a little while?"
"Uh I guess so," Jack looked around. Could he really trust this guy?
"Don't worry. I will not disturb you. I just need to rest before I find a decent place to sell my items." Won continued walking and sat down next to on of the trees.
Jack spent the morning gathering things on the hill to ship at the shipping bin. Around lunch time he walked back to his farm with his goods. Won was gone and the farm seemed fine. He placed the goods in the shipping bin and walked into the town.
Just as he was walking up towards the winery Manna walked out. "Oh hello Jack! Did you come to buy something? We are only open between 9AM-12 because afterwards I like to take my afternoon walk and talk to the other woman of the town.
"I didn't know that. Manna can you please sell me a bottle of wine before you leave? I really need it now." Jack said.
"I guess I could. I hope your not a raging alcoholic! Because if you are you know I'm not allowed to sell you any wine!"
"I'm not! It was going to be a present..."
"For Karen!!" Manna quickly said before Jack could even finish.
"How did you know?" Jack asked curiously.
"Well she is the only girl in town who likes wine. Well then, I'll be right back." Manna walked into the store, but came quickly back out carrying a bottle of wine. "That will be 300 G." Jack handed her the money. "I think that is so cute! You are already trying to woo a girl to marry you! (Jack: Wait a sec...) I remember when Duke was trying to woo me to marry him. It feels like it was just yesterday! Why he would bring me a bottle of his homemade wine almost everyday and then we would go out for walks. At night he would take me out to the inn. Back then Doug's wife was still alive and she used to make the best food! We would go there to eat dinner, and socialize with the other young people of the town... (Jack: If I don't leave now, I'll be here all day)
"Well I better get going. Thank you Manna!" Jack ran off in the direction of the grocery store.
"Oh dear, was I babbling again??"
Jack walked into the grocery store, and walking around the back was Karen. Jack smiled and slowly approached her.
"Hi. Can I help you?" She asked.
"Well, uh... I... I got this... for you.." Jack brought out the bottle of wine and handed it to her.
"Wow, thank you. I like this very much." Her face was bright red.
Jack smiled, his face was also a little red. "Ummm well I'm glad you like it.... "
Karen smiled a little. "Do you like wine too?" Jack nodded. "Well every Tuesday and Sunday I go to the inn at nights for a drink. You should join me sometime when you get the chance."
"Okay, maybe I'll go tonight..." Jack fixed his hat. "Uhhh could you tell me where the seeds are?"
"Yes. They are on that table in the middle." Karen pointed to it.
"Thanks." Jack walked over to the table and looked at the seeds. There were cucumber, potato, turnip, and grass seeds. Jack picked up a couple bags of each and walked to the counter where Jeff was standing. Jack handed him the money and Jeff looked surprised.
"Wow! Someone is paying upfront!" Jeff cried. Karen looked over and smiled.
"I'll never buy on credit. Bye Jeff, bye Karen," Jack's face was still red when he left the grocery store.
Jack wandered around the town, still trying to figure out where he was going. He ended up in the middle of Rose Square, where Harris was standing. Jack approached him.
"Hey Harris, there was some strange guy at my farm this morning..."
"Wearing yellow clothing, sunglasses, and carrying a bag?!"
"Yeah that's him." Jack replied.
"Well I better go catch him!" Harris ran off in the direction of Jack's farm. Just then Won walked up to Jack.
"I just wanted to thank you for letting me rest at your farm. I don't think this town is the right place for me to be. I must rest again." He sat down on the bench that was next to Jack. Jack ran off after Harris.
Once again Jack got lost, and found himself near Mother's Hill. He continued walking until he found Gotz's house. Standing outside was Harris. Jack walked up to him.
"Hey Jack, that guy wasn't at your farm..."
"That's because he is at Rose Square." Jack replied.
"Then I must go find him!" Harris started to walk off in the direction of Rose Square when Won once again approached Jack.
"We keep running into each other. I am so lost..." Harris noticed Won talking to Jack.
"Hey! You! Your the suspicious man with the yellow clothing." Harris walked over and grabbed his bag. "I must inspect this bag at once!"
"Hey! I'm not a bad guy here. I'm just a peddler!." Won cried.
Harris finished looking through his bag. "It's just seeds..."
"See I told you! I'm just a wandering salesman, I'm trying to find a place to sell my items."
"I'm very sorry," Harris apologized. "Why don't you go to the inn? I'm sure Doug would let you sell your things there. And to show that I am truly sorry for suspecting you I should buy something. You sell flower seeds right?"
"Yes I do. How would you like to buy this apple for 500G???"
"Maybe I should take you in..." Harris grumbled.
"I was only kidding! Thank you for everything," Won walked off.
When Jack finally returned to his farm, he began to clear away the area around the shipping bin. That would probably be the best place to start planting his crops, that way he would not have to walk far when he was putting his produce in the shipping bin.
Jack continued working until after sunset. He was able to get the area cleared and hoed, his crops planted and watered. He looked at his watch. It was almost seven o'clock. Time to go see Karen!
Jack cleaned himself off a little bit to make sure he was presentable, then he walked to the inn. Just as he was getting there a crowd of people were going in. He walked inside behind everyone.
When he walked in and standing right near the door was Ann. "Welcome, welcome!" She said cheerfully. "If you would like to order something please talk to my dad."
Jack turned to see Karen standing at the counter. She had a drink in front of her. Jack slowly walked over to her and smiled. "Hi Karen."
"Oh Hello Jack. Are you drinking tonight?" She asked.
"Probably..." Jack walked over to Doug. "How much are the drinks?" He asked.
"Wine is 500 G and water is free.
Jack looked his pocket. He spent all his money on seeds. "Umm can I just get a water?" Doug handed him a glass of water and Jack walked back over to Karen.
Karen laughed when she looked in his cup. "Water??"
"Yeah well I spent all my money at your dad's store." Jack replied.
"I see..."
Rick walked in just then, and Karen walked over to him. "Hello Rick!"
"Hey Karen. You want me to buy you a drink?"
"Oh Rick... I already got one!"
Jack rolled his eyes and went to sit down at one of the empty tables. Ann noticed this and walked to the table and sat down next to Jack.
"Hey... Jack.." She smiled, hopeing she got his name right.
"Hey Ann...."
"I haven't seen you come to the inn at night before, what's the occasion?" She asked.
"Just felt like getting a drink," Jack replied.
"Oh that's good. Well I have to get back to work. Bye Jack!" Ann got up and walked back over to the counter. Jack sighed and got up. He walked over and gave Doug his empty glass and left the inn.
Two days later Jack was still a little depressed about what happened at the inn. He got up early again, and went to work watering his crops. When he was all done he decided to check out the prices of the livestock at the poultry farm and Yodel Farm.
His first stop was the Poultry Farm. Standing outside was Karen and Rick. They looked like they were having a fight. Jack moved so that they would not see him, but so that he could hear what they were talking about.
"Me and Popuri got in a fight again today," Rick said.
"Was it about Kai again? You shouldn't interfere in her life."
"Well dad went out looking for a rare medicine for Mom, so I'm the only one around here that can take care of Popuri! And I don't want her around him ever!"
"You should give Kai a chance," Karen replied.
"Hey! I have an idea. What do you think of Jack? Maybe we could get Jack and Popuri together so that she can forget about that loser Kai..."
"Rick! I don't think you should go interfering in Popuri's life like that. Kai isn't someone you need to worry about."
"Well then, if Kai's so great then why don't YOU go with him!" Rick grumbled.
"Oh you cad!" Karen turned around and walked away.
"Oh now Kai's the good guy and I'm the cad..."
Jack moved out of his hiding spot and walked over to Rick. "Hey Rick, could you tell me how much you guys are selling chickens for?"
"One thousand G." Rick mumbled and walked back into his house.
"Okay, thanks man, " Jack said sarcastically, and continued on the the Yodel Farm.
Standing outside was Barley, the owner of the farm, and his granddaughter May. They were examining a pony that still looked very young.
"It doesn't look happy," Barley said.
"It's still a pony." May replied.
"I guess your right. But I can't take care of it. I have all those other animals to take care of."
"I can take care of it!"
"Oh May, that's kind of you, but you are still too young." Barley looked up and saw Jack standing there watching them. "Hey Jack! Come over here." Jack walked over. "You have a horse?" Jack shook his head. "Well then, do you think you could take care of this one for us? We don't have enough room for it. If you take care of it, I'll find some way to pay you back."
"Alright." Jack replied.
"Thank you Jack! Please name him!" May cried.
"I think I'll name him... Charlie."
"That's a nice name." May said.
"Okay Jack, I'll take him to your farm." Barley took the horse and left.
"Hey May, how much are the livestock here?" Jack asked.
May replied, "Well the cows are 6,000 G, and the sheep are 4,000 G."
"Okay thanks May!" Jack left the farm.
Jack decided his next stop would be the beach. He hadn't been there at all. When Jack got there, no one was on the beach, but he could see a man sitting at the end of the dock. He approached the man at the end of the dock. He was an older man, with dark skin and gray hair.
"Hello there," the man said to him. "I'm Greg the fisherman. Who might you be?"
"I'm Jack."
"Well nice to meet you Jack. Do you like to fish?"
"Yeah it's kinda fun." Jack replied.
"It's nice to find another person who likes fishing like I do. I want you to have this," Greg hands him a fishing pole. "It's my extra one. It's not that great, but you can catch some decent size fish with it.
"Thanks!" Jack smiled and looked at his new fishing pole.
"Hey why don't you fish with me. I get lonely fishing out here by myself all the time."
"Alright." Jack sat down and started fishing. He spent the rest of the day fishing with Greg. He even caught a few fish. He took those back to the shipping bin to sell. When Jack was all finished he went into his house and laid down on his bed.
This is going to be a long three years....