Six a.m. sharp. Jovi crept out of bed and dressed in the same overalls from yesterday. She figured they hadn't gotten particularly dirty, since she was at the Harvest Goddess Spring for the majority of the day. Jovi was now ravenously hungry, so she decided, before attempting to start a garden, to find somewhere to eat. She lifted Finn in her arms and went outside. She assumed that Finn would stick around the general area of the house, seeing as he was more than happy sniffing about the shipping box and barking at squirrels. Jovi took out her map. She had a feeling it would come in handy more than a few times. Scanning the map, she spotted a building with a loaf of bread marking it. Anticipating a full, hot meal, Jovi stuffed the map inside her front pocket and began skipping down the road. Before long, she came upon a nice, clean-looking building with the same little picture of the loaf of bread. She bolted inside.
It was nice; spacious, with tables and chairs and a bar. The furniture, walls, and floor were wooden, as was just about everything in Flower Bud Village, and the room smelled of pine. At the register, a man in a sweater vest smiled.
"Welcome," he addressed Jovi. "Are you in need of a room for the night?"
Jovi shook her head. "I have my own ranch. I was just really hungry and I saw the bread sign and so I thought that I might find something to eat here."
The man chuckled.
"You've come to the right place." That one sentence made Jovi the happiest girl on Earth. "This is the Perch Inn. My niece, Gwen, is an excellent cook. Gwen! We have a hungry customer!" He called into the back room.
A girl with stunning red eyes and blonde hair pulled up in a spiky ponytail rounded the corner and stood beside her uncle.
"Hi, Hungry Customer, I'm Gwen, and this is my uncle, Doug." She produced a pad of paper and a pencil from one of the many pockets on her jean vest. "What can I do you for?"
"Well, anything works right now." Jovi's mouth was watering. "What do you have?"
Gwen listed, by heart, a spectacular menu that Jovi could almost taste just hearing the names of the dishes. She chose a cheese omelet, and it was placed before her in record time. Gwen and Doug watched as Jovi dug in, her empty stomach happily accepting the warm cooked egg. When she was finished, Gwen took her plate and Jovi stood up and thanked them for the meal.
Opening her wallet, Jovi asked, "How much was that?" She had saved over seven hundred Gs before her arrival in Flower Bud.
"Six hundred Gs," Doug replied. Jovi payed for the food, thanked the inn owners, and started off into the morning.
Peering back into the wallet as she walked, she sighed. She had a little less than two hundred Gs left. She hoped that seeds wouldn't be expensive. Bringing out her map once more, she spied the house with a turnip sign. She followed the path until she saw it. Anxious to see if she had enough money, she entered the ranch.
This house was also spacious, with stone flooring instead of wood. It was a subtle change, but nice. Behind the counter on which an array of colorful packets with little pictures of vegetables on the front were spread, a woman with purpley-pink hair and a green ribbon holding it back smiled.
"Welcome to Spring Farm," she said as Jovi approached the counter.
"Hello," Jovi replied warmly. She wanted to make as many friends as she could in this new place.
"Oh," the woman chuckled, but not a make-fun-of chuckle, a happy chuckle of realization. "Are you the new farmer from the Exciting Ranch Plan?"
"I am. My name's Jovi."
"My name is Liz. It's very nice to meet you, Jovi. How can I help you?"
"I was looking to buy some seeds. I need to start things growing."
"Ah, yes. We only sell the seeds for this season, so you don't have to worry about buying the right ones. We also sell grass seed and tree saplings. As a sign of friendship, please take these."
Liz handed Jovi two packets of turnip seeds.
"That's great! Thank you!" The new farmer marveled at the kindness shown by the woman.
"It's really no problem. I hope things aren't too difficult for you," said Liz.
"So far, it's not," Jovi assured. "Do you live her alone?" She looked about, noticing how quiet the Spring Farm was.
"Oh, no. My daughter lives here as well." The woman stepped lightly to a door to the back part of her house. "Nina, dear, come meet the new farmer."
She returned to the counter with a small girl with bright eyes and pink, curly hair. She looked like her mother.
"Hello there, I'm Nina!" Nina said.
"I'm Jovi. A pleasure to meet you." Jovi found meeting so many new faces a bit confusing.
"Likewise. Hey, Jovi, I want you to have this." The girl handed her a small book. She read the title. It read simply Crops. "It's a notebook on crops. If you ever have trouble with planting things, you can take a look at that, and all your questions will be answered."
Hugging the book to her chest, Jovi said, "Thanks, this helps a lot!"
Jovi asked for two more packets of the turnip seeds, which was just under two hundred Gs, much to her delight. The mother and daughter wished her luck as she left. Jovi skipped on home, watching the setting sun in the sky and trying not to get too distracted by the cute wild animals that played at the base of the trees. Finally, she made it home, after taking two wrong turns and ending up back at Spring Farm once. Finn scampered towards her, barking and panting, happy to see her again. She scratched the top of his head and continued on inside. Digging in the toolbox, she discovered an iron hoe and a watering can.
"Handy dandy," she smirked, carrying the tools outside.
First, Jovi pulled up weeds, throwing them away in the garbage can near her house. She hated weeds, especially dandelions that gave off the illusion of being a pretty flower. After she threw away her twentieth clump of weeds, the sparkling sensation rose up in her again and another note twinkled in her hand.
"Throw garbage in the garbage can. It's an important rule to protect the beautiful surrounding," said the little note.
In high spirits, now, she then set to tilling the soil in two long rows. As expected, the soil was very fertile and it was cool and a bit damp to the touch. She saw a worm and screeched, thinking it was a human finger. But it was not, and she laughed at her stupidity and picked the squirming thing up, and transferred it safely to another patch of dirt off of her property.
The tilling done, she opened the packages of seeds and sprinkled them about. She had to shoo Finn away from licking the seeds up off the ground. Finally, she filled her watering can and evenly watered each square of tilled earth. Done, Jovi straightened, wiping sweat off of her brow, and looked at her finished work. The sun had set, and darkness had snuck in. Bugs were beginning to sing their high-pitched chorus. Jovi found Finn lying under the mailbox, fast asleep. She picked him up and brought him inside. After changing and washing her overalls and her face, she turned on the TV, learning that it was going to be sunny tomorrow, perfect weather for the Egg Festival the day after tomorrow. After checking her calendar and affirming that the Egg Festival was indeed two days away, she slipped into bed and grabbed her diary. Oh, how she loved that diary.
Dear Diary,
It seems that I am running short on money. I might have to scrounge around for things that I can sell. I mean, I have to eat, right? While we're on the matter of food, I had the most amazing cheese omelet today. It was cooked by Gwen, Doug's niece, at the Perch Inn. I might have to go there again.
Later, I bought some turnip seeds from Spring Farm, and the owners, Liz and her daughter, Nina, were nice enough to give me two seed packets and a notebook on crops, free of charge. I'm beginning to like it around here, even more than when I first set food in this town, if at all possible. It's so quaint and kind-hearted. Much nicer than the city. I'm glad I decided to do this Exciting Ranch Plan.
Going a bit off-topic here, I haven't seen Jamie all day. He lives nearby, so I assumed I would see him often, but I didn't. Perhaps he was sulking, muttering curse words under his breath directed toward me. I wish he'd give me a chance. We're both in this 'Free the Harvest Goddess' deal together, so wouldn't it be better if we teamed up? Oh well. Perhaps I'll see him tomorrow. I'll talk to him about it.
Goodnight, Diary. We shall see what tomorrow holds (hopefully some turnip sprouts).
~Jovi
Jovi yawned. She was tired and tomorrow would be a busy day, tending to her new crops. She also needed a perimeter around her property. She had seen others using wooden stakes and she had also spotted some of them lying on unused land, so it would probably be okay if she took them. Rubbing her blue eyes, Jovi set the book on the nightstand and pulled the covers up to her chin.
"Night night, Finn," she called to her puppy. She received a doggy snore in return. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep.