Chapter 9: The Basics

Two people were standing in front of their house. One had a familiar red hat, and the other was a new face.

"Good morning, Pete and Claire!" Thomas greeted them with a welcoming smile.

"Mayor Thomas?" Pete's eyes widened in surprise. They didn't expect to see him first thing in the morning.

"It's good to see you two have settled in." Thomas tipped his hat. "I know we had a rough start yesterday, but I would like to officially welcome you as residents of Mineral Town!"

"Oh, thank you." Pete and Claire exchanged glances with each other. They smiled at the mayor. Start of our life in Mineral Town, huh?

"And Claire." Thomas gave her a pouch full of gold. "As promised, here's your refund from MT Realtor. I deeply apologize for the inconveniences that were the result of my carelessness."

"Mayor Thomas…" Claire accepted the pouch and stared into its contents. How did he manage to get the refund in such a short amount of time? It surprised her.

"Isn't that great, Claire?" Pete gently patted her shoulder.

"Thank you so much!" Claire bowed her head, visibly grateful. "And, uh… I'm sorry for almost trying to… hurt you. I wasn't in the right state of mind yesterday…"

"It's all water under the bridge now." Thomas waved his hands. That was what drove him to try his hardest in acquiring the refund. The crazy things I can do when my life is potentially on the line.

"Did you come here just to greet us and return her gold?" Pete asked. "I hope it's not a bother."

"It's simply my responsibility as the mayor," Thomas answered. "And you two must be new to farm life, so I'd like to explain a few things!"

Thomas explained some basics to them. He said that the old man's equipment was in the chest (or more accurately, the toolbox) which Pete found out yesterday. There were also various shops spread around the town which they could buy items from as long as they were open.

"Ultimately, the farm is in your hands, and you can do whatever you'd like with it."

"Hmmm, we haven't decided what we're going to do." Pete folded his arms.

"May I recommend focusing on earning a little money first to make life a touch easier? Thomas suggested. "There are many things in the forest you can forage and ship for a little pocket change, for example."

With the 10,000 gold Claire has on hand, money wouldn't be a big issue for now. Though they would have to figure out how to build a steady source of income.

"And once you're free for the day, I suggest taking a stroll around the town and meeting the local residents." Thomas turned to the farm's entrance. "If you follow the road from the farm to your right, you'll find several of your neighbors. I'm sure they'd be eager to chat or give advice."

"Thanks for the tip, Mayor Thomas." Pete gave a thumbs up.

"We'll be sure to explore what Mineral Town has to offer!" Claire smiled.

"Great! That ought to do for today, then!" Thomas clapped his hands. "I'll drop by to see how you're doing again soon. Zack here will continue on my behalf. Good luck!"

Thomas turned around in a hurry and left the farm. The Zack person approached them. He was quite muscular with well-defined arms, further accentuated by his short-sleeved white shirt. His brown flattop haircut and thick eyebrows stood out and his height towered over the two newcomers.

"Yo, I'm Zack!" He grinned and waved. "I handle all the shippin' 'round these parts! Nice t'meet ya!"

"Hi, Zack." Pete offered his hand. He's huge. "My name's Pete."

"I'm Claire!" She waved with a smile forming her lips. "It's nice to meet you, too."

"Huh, there's two of ya?" Zack gave Pete a painful, firm handshake. "I thought only one newcomer was movin' here."

"It's… a long story." Pete pulled his reddened hand away. Ouch, his grip is something else.

"I bet it is!" Zack crossed his arms, curious. He gave them suggestive looks. "Are ya two lovebirds or something?"

"Wha-…" Pete and Claire began blushing furiously.

"We're not lovers! We barely know each other!" Claire threw her hands down, visibly embarrassed. "We're housemates! Housemates! We're just stuck together!"

"No need ta get 'riled up, missy." Zack laughed out loud. It's the first time he's heard of two residents moving into the same house as strangers. A spicy story!

"A-Anyway…!" Pete tried to shift the topic. We just stepped out of the house. "You mentioned something about shipping? What's that?"

"When you're farmin', there's one big thing ya gotta remember, yeah?" Zack cleared his throat. "Here, I'll show ya."

Zack turned around and led them to a small bin beside the field that was directly south of their house.

"See this?" Zack pointed at the bin. "This is your shipping bin. Don't forget about it."

"Huh, a shipping bin?" Pete stroked his chin. I think my old man showed me this before.

"What's it used for?" Claire asked.

"If ya wanna sell somethin', ya put in in the shipping bin." Zack patted the bin and raised his palm to them. "I come by at 5:00 PM every day an' pick up whatever's in there."

"Oh, I see." Pete nodded. He nudged Claire's elbow. "I guess that's how we make money here."

"When I do pick 'em up, I'll automatically add your cut of the sale t' this slot here." He opened the bin's cover to demonstrate. "Nifty, right?"

"That's quite convenient." Claire bobbed her head. This is easier than my part-time jobs. She used to get paid on a monthly basis.

"Oh, but I don't come by t' collect on holidays or festival days." He folded his arms, a huge smile appearing on his lips. "Ya wanna know why?"

"… Why?" Pete asked, raising a brow. It's like he wanted them to ask. I feel like the answer's obvious–…

"CUZ I WANT DAYS OFF TOO, DARN IT! HYAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Pete and Claire stared at him in dead silence, neither of them joining in on the fun.

"Ah… ah… ah." Zack coughed into his shoulder and shrugged it off. "Anyway, this ain't your only shipping bin." He pointed at the two farm structures in the east and south directions. "There's one inside the coop an' barn, too!"

"Good to know." Pete hummed. We haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

"Ya can sell crops you've harvested or stuff ya foraged from the mountain." Zack continued. "Oh, an' stuff like eggs, milk an' wool can go in there too. Ya get the idea, right?"

"There's a lot of things we can ship, huh?" Claire's eyes sparkled. The perks of being a farmer, I never knew!

"Oh, of course!" Zack nodded repeatedly and then walked in between them. "But ya know what I would ship the most?"

"What would that be, Zack?" Pete asked.

"Why, it's ya two!" Zack wrapped his arms around them. "Your relationship is the most valuable!"

"W-What… does that even mean?" Pete blinked, genuinely confused. Shipping us…?

"I'm not going to sell myself!" Claire fumed. "I just got here yester–…"

"Now listen up! This is important." Zack stood in front of them and jerked his head back, a serious expression adorning his face. His eyes were stern. "Workin' hard is great an' all, but don't overdo it."

"E-Eh…?!" They flinched back. Why's he shouting at us all of a sudden?! Claire hid behind Pete and peeked over his shoulder. He's scaring me!

"If your face starts goin' blue, that's a sign you're about t' keel over." Zack shook his head as if he were scolding children. "You don't want that."

Pete and Claire exchanged a glance. "We'll keep that in mind…?"

"When ya get that bad, don't push it. Just go an' rest, all right?" Zack sighed, looking off to the side, appearing sullen. "Nobody wants a vacation to the clinic."

Though his delivery of speech came off as harsh, they didn't sense any bad intentions behind his words. Zack was expressing his concern for the two newcomers.

"Got all that?" I'll be stoppin' by at 5:00 PM, then." A grin replaced the sad look on his face. He turned away and began leaving the farm. "See ya."

Pete and Claire stared at the man as he left through the north exit. Claire stopped hiding and stood beside Pete. They turned to each other and broke into smiles.

"… He's a delightful character, isn't he?" Pete chuckled into his fist. First, Mayor Thomas, and now Zack.

"Are all the residents like that?" Claire giggled sweetly. "The town must be colorful with them around."

"We'll explore the town soon enough, Claire." Pete smiled. He turned around and faced the southern exit. "Want to continue onto the hot springs?"

"Of course!" Claire beamed. "A girl needs her morning bath, after all!"

...

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I just had to put that shipping pun there. Might be OOC of Zack, but he seems the kind of character to say that lol.

To address a review by RoBlueKiran321, ahah, that's actually a fun idea! I don't know how far I'll continue this fanfic, but if I ever get to a point where Pete and Claire have children (that could probably be beyond chapter 50, maybe even farther), I'll keep that idea in the back of my head.