The Maelstrom of Stardew
Year 1 (Summer)
Chapter 50: The Weekend Grind
Saturday, the 13th of Summer, 2017
[Quest Announcement] - Gamer Ability/Notification
[LOAD GAME]
…
[LOADING QUICKSAVE DATA.]
[GAME LOADED. WELCOME BACK!]
Taeko found that no time had passed since he left his club. He had [Fast Traveled] to Shadow Farm to find it was still a little after six in the morning. He had gotten the go ahead from Kyu that he could return to his farm and its safehouse status was reinstated. Kyu even had the fences all replaced. Taeko found himself out of a farmhand given he gave Elly May the weekend off and he had no intent to call her back to it given the circumstances.
He did decide to call up Rei on the matter, and she reminded him that he could summon his captures to his safehouse's bedroom if he was alone before hanging up. The question was who to summon as he brought up the list. Those he visited today and those already assigned were already off the table. He whittled down his choices and ultimately settled on Baby 5. She was summoned and he went to his room to find her in her full costume.
"Need your help…you good with farming?" Taeko asked as her eyes lit up.
"Yes, absolutely." She insisted.
He took her outside to show her the farm.
"I'll handle the barn, the greenhouse, and the cave nearby. You can handle the crops out there, the coop, and gather any debris." Taeko said as she nodded.
She was about to go off to do it but he stopped her by tugging on her apron string.
"Not yet. Strip first." Taeko said before producing the collar. "For now, you'll wear nothing but this collar."
Baby 5's apron hit the floor. If it was something that Taeko found most valuable in her was her devotion to being needed. It made 'training' her far easier than the others…and he realized something.
"I could use command to have her only listen to me or Rei. Maybe she is probably already set for that. I can have her as a good retainer." He thought before checking her status. "Oh, that is her setting. Good."
He came out of his musing when he saw all of her clothes were on the ground and he enjoyed the sight of her. He made sure to give her the collar to put on.
"Now go on ahead." Taeko said before letting her go to get to work.
He wanted to watch her, but he knew his own work to do so he was off to the greenhouse. In total, he collected and made a list of the haul: five [Pineapples], three [Mangos], four [Bananas], fifteen bunches [Hops], ten bunches of [Grapes], eight bunches of [Cranberries], seventeen [Ancient Fruits], and eight [Tomatoes].
All of the [Hops], [Ancient Fruits], [Pineapples], [Mangos] went straight into the [Kegs]. The [Grapes], [Bananas], and some of the [Tomatoes] which to the [Preserves Jars]. What was leftover would go straight to the fridge. He came out of the farmhouse to see Baby 5 hard at work and bent over to get a crop.
"Man, Sai's a lucky man in canon." He said to himself before going to the barn.
Most of the products from the barn went to the [Cheese Press]. He held onto the leftovers intending to put them in the Yelenhelm selling bin for more profit. Lastly, there was the farm cave. To his surprise, while all of the fallen fruit, there was an abundance of mushrooms.
"I guess they didn't take any…good." Taeko said.
He found up getting 28 [Common Mushrooms], five [Red Mushrooms], a [Purple Mushroom], three [Chanterelles], and three [Morels] totaling 40 mushrooms. He made a [Life Elixir] to add to his [Inventory] before setting sights on his new project, a [Dehydrator]. When he checked out what he needed, he made a call to the Lemoncarbs to ask them something.
"[Fire Quartz], Taeko?" Lynda asked. "I know a mineral dealer…how many would you need?"
"A dozen." Taeko stated.
"Consider it done, they'll be delivered to your place for a trade. Say about 25 tubs of your ice cream." Lynda said.
"Done. I'll be waiting at my farmhouse in ten minutes."
He hung up and called out to Baby 5 who was bringing in the haul.
"Put it inside. You will be returned to your cell…"
Once she was inside and put the haul down, she was returned to her cell…her clothes gone with her. He looked over what was gathered: 24 [Hot Peppers], 12 ears of [Corn], 12 [Tomatoes], six bunches of [Blueberries], a pair of [Tea Leaves], fifteen bottles of [Poppy Honey]...and plenty of eggs. There was even about nearly 300 [Wood] that she collected. Some went to the [Mayo Machine], but the rest he'd sell in his Yelenhelm selling bin. He'd use the warp to [Fast Travel] leaving the rest of the haul behind for now.
He went to the Sunshade Farm's [Selling Bin] to put in some things.
"It just hit me that I never had breakfast." Taeko said as he found Thyme nearby. "Thyme. Chisa."
"Yes, master?." Thyme said.
"I'd like breakfast." Taeko remarked as they went inside.
"Do you have a preference?" She asked.
"A [Complete Breakfast] with bacon would do…" Taeko said. "I'd also like [Coffee]."
"I can do that." Thyme said as she went to the kitchen.
He sat back in his chair simply taking a breather as he Chisa came in wheeling in the morning haul.
"Taeko, you're here." She squeaked.
"Yes, that the morning haul?" Taeko asked as she nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She said before leaving.
She nodded before leaving. Next to the Sunshade haul, materialized the haul from Shara much to Taeko relief. He'd visit Pamela later as he was looking over the net haul. The [Kegs] were filled with [Honey] and the [Pop Makers] with [Peaches] and [Oranges]. The [Hops], [Blueberries], and all the [Cloth] was put in the [Selling Bin] as he could see Lynda's car pull up.
"Well hello…Duke." Lynda teased as he got out. "I heard the party was a lowkey event."
"As it should, I'm not up for massive parties…often." Taeko said before getting the ice cream.
He returned with the twenty tubs of ice cream to be put in her cooler in the trunk of her car.
"Mostly cookies 'n' cream along with some chocolate." Taeko said as Lynda handled over a bag full of them. "I asked for a dozen."
"Well, that dealer wanted some parking fines to be taken off his record. And I agreed to put word to the police chief." Lynda remarked with a sincere look. "Hope you don't mind."
"Actually…no. Fuck it, as long as it was parking tickets and shit…worth it. Just ask me first." Taeko said, taking the bag.
"Don't forget that me, my sister, and Odalia are your nobles…and basically your vassals. In a way, you and your clan have ascended to the edge of royalty. Don't forget that and hold a meeting to manage your empire." Lynda said chipperly. "And I do have to say that I do respect what you did with Odalia and that justice was brought to her name. Honestly, her bum of an ex-husband is lucky she's not being vindictive because of the children."
"It's not all his fault. She's partly to blame…and she knows it." Taeko said as Lynda got in the car. "What he did was messed up."
Lynda drove off as he looked in the back. Putting it in his [Inventory] totaled three dozen of them. He returned inside to get the [Mead] and popsicles. The dozen [Mead] went straight into the selling bin after he put the popsicles in the freezer. Breakfast would be waiting for him…and he sat to eat it.
"Thank you, Thyme. I'll be heading back to the mainland, so you may go." Taeko said as Thyme took her leave.
Thyme could not complain. She found her master odd, but pretty reasonable. She could admire his work ethic. If anything, it made her workload rather light. Really, she mostly found herself helping his concubine and her friends. She had it made on the outside, a cushy job and shelter. Thyme knew it was only a matter of time until her human master's desire came towards her…and she wasn't wholly against it as much as she was in the beginning. With his breakfast eaten and coffee drank, Taeko returned to [Shadow Farm].
He walked up to the [Crystalarium] that was producing [Aquamarines] and yanked it out to replace it with a [Fire Quartz]. Those produced gems went into the [Selling Bin] before he put his focus on his newest project. His phone buzzed, interrupting him with a text from Kyu.
'Just wanted to let you know that I placed a [Dehydrator] in your farm cave. In the base game you're supposed to get one if you have mushrooms growing in there. Also fixed a coding error with your Randy Ranch Hand perk so now honey counts as animal product so sales of it are doubled. Your House Husband perk should also work properly.'
"Oh. Well, that's nice." Taeko said before looking through his things. "Ok, I got enough."
Using most of the wood Baby 5 had gotten, he used it, several chunks of [Clay], and several [Fire Quartzes] to make at least 19 [Dehydrators] which all went in the farm cave with the first one to make twenty. He also had a new chest to store items in it to which he put the rest of [Mushrooms] he didn't put in the [Dehydrators]. The remaining [Fire Quartzes] were kept in the house.
"Ok, the first batch of Shadowy Desire's dried mushrooms is on its way." Taeko mused to himself.
Though he remembered that Ginger Island was something he could access now that he ousted Joja. He called up Willy to ask him something.
"Yeah, I never exactly told you that I had an old boat. A pet project. Yeah, it's stable but needs repairs to be fully seaworthy. 200 [Hardwood] for the hull, five [Iridium Bars] for the anchor, and the five [Battery Packs]. I'll also need a second employee for the shop. You help me with all four of those…and you'll be able to get the town more revenue." Willy stated. "I'm trying to figure out a way to pay you back. I know a recipe for a machine that you might have useful to your business."
"Consider it done." Taeko said eagerly. "I'll talk to some people, but you want to take a chance to mail-order a bride from Yelenhelm."
"If I didn't see what one did to Clint, I'd call ye a smartarse." Willy snarked. "I'll think about it, but maybe not for a while."
"Don't worry, I have plenty of people I can call." Taeko said before hanging up.
He made a call to Hitomi.
"I know a guy who's passionate about fishing, he just graduated high school. He always comes by my bookstore to buy books on it. And he hates his shitty retail job at Joja. So how soon can I tell Buck?" Hitomi asked.
"Monday. Have him at your bookstore to host the interview and I'll see Willy there." Taeko said before hanging up.
He did have to call Willy to explain the plan and he was all for it. The first of four tasks was settled and he moved on to get back to work. The [Pale Ale], bottles of [Wine], and the cheeses all went in the casks to be aged to a higher quality. Taeko had found that Baby 5 missed some [Bee Houses] but he simply put those bottles of honey towards making [Mead] before putting the jelly, pickled tomatoes, and mayo in the selling bin. The [Mead] would join them in the bin after a brief swap around with the casks. He made a tub of [Strawberry Ice Cream] figuring he'd give Abia a gift. The haul of [Dried Mushrooms] came out to which he used [Observe] on.
[Dried Mushroom - Artisan Good - A package of dried gourmet mushrooms. - (Sell Prices - |Common Mushroom - 325g | Chanterelle - 1,225g | Purple Mushroom - 1,900g | Morel - 1,150g)]
Having a [Starfruit] on hand, he put it in one of the [Dehydrators]. He dropped off the [Dried Mushrooms] in the bin to sell. He decided to go for a walk into town eyeing the damage to the town himself. It was ironic that out of the places that weren't damaged…was the abandoned JojaMart.
"The door's open…" Taeko said finding the board that prevented entry on the ground.
He noticed that a package was delivered here and he took it up as he went inside to open it. Taeko felt no issue in stealing Morris's mail and opened it up to a new item.
[Joja Furniture Catalogue - Catalogue - Grants one (1) lifetime subscription to the Official Joja THRIVE Collection, featuring 40 exclusive furniture pieces! - Can't be Sold]
He'd keep it. Free furnishings on Joja's dime was something he'd be more than happy to take. It was clear the construction crew likely raided the place, but he found the [Missing Bundle] that the game had mentioned.
[The Missing Bundle]
Silver or higher quality [Wine]
[Dinosaur Mayonnaise]
[Prismatic Shard]
5 Gold quality or higher [Ancient Fruit]
Gold Quality or higher [Void Salmon]
[Caviar]
He was able to do most of the bundle easier bar the last two which he decided to do later as he returned back to his farm to get his [Dried Fruits]
[Dried Fruits - Artisan Goods - Chewy pieces of dried fruit. - (3 × base Fruits Energy/Health restoration) (Sell Price: 7.5 × Fruit Base Price + 25g)]
He was also informed that doing this would make [Ancient Fruits], [Coconuts], and [Rhubarb] edible. Taeko took one look at that formula…the healing power and value of this alone put the [Life Elixirs] to shame.
"Maybe if I find the time I could make some gummy candy out of this." Taeko said before leaving.
[Fast Traveling] to Forjado, he appeared in his hotel suite right as the hotel maid had left. He slipped out before checking his map. He had missions, one at the Doherty garage and one at the dealership. He went to the garage first to get to the matter.
[GTAZ - Double Tap]
Several cars were at the garage as he walked into it to see his team at work. He bid good morning as Maria ushered himself into the office where Lin, Chan, and Xiaobo were waiting for him.
"Morning. I hope you're not too salty over the loss of the property." Taeko said as Xiaobo put the pictures up on the wall.
"I'll live." Lin snarked.
"They put me up to speed, I can't believe we're dealing with another gang." Maria said. "It's like ol' times. Who are these clowns on the wall?"
"They're a Saudi criminal organization, Al-Aziz." Taeko remarked. "The one with the stoic look is Fareed, the second in command and the man I'm currently cucking."
Maria looked shocked and so did the others.
"He's asexual and he's hid that from his soon to be ex-wife." Taeko explained. "I ain't one for infidelity…but that wasn't a marriage. Just one on meaningless paper."
"Damn." Chan said impressed. "She hot?"
"Smokin'." Taeko said flatly. "And she's the reason I got the intel of the meet in the first place. He ruined relationships for her…doubt she'll ever get in one again."
"So he doesn't have any sex drive at all?" Maria asked.
"Apparently none, but it does explain why the gay community isn't raising a stink about the increase of Saudis." Taeko explained. "She did point one of them out to be a pimp. But who's the third one? He's clearly not Arab."
Lin scowled angrily at the photo and so did Xiaobo.
"He's not. He used to be one of us…that's Xiaoming. Looks like he is leading that sect of Purple Dragons now, so the old leader's out of the picture. They're small-time and they're normally not stupid enough to fuck with us." Lin said bitterly. "Why I oug-"
"To be nothing." Maria interrupted. "If you make it clear you know he's in bed with the Saudi, he'll take action. He needs to think everything is smooth sailing. Especially if he's muscle."
"And he is. Xiaoming is the black sheep of our family. Me and Xiaojin hate our youngest brother for being a treacherous jackal." Xiaobo cited. "The best bet is the pimp. Not only because he doesn't trust Xiaoming for good reason, but he prefers to hire 'independent contractors' to do his dirty work. Easier for him to get rid of."
"Then he my way in." Taeko remarked.
"I'll go with-"
"No. Someone like him is probably a total sexist piece of shit, so I'll go alone. Don't go after Xiaoming and don't do anything stupid to blow my cover." Taeko said calmly. "This has to be handled carefully."
Lin protested.
"Lin, he's got experience in this over you." Chan remarked. "It would be better to follow his lead on this."
"There is something you can do. Case out Xiaoming's operation to get more intel, but don't be seen and don't engage. The less he knows, the better." Taeko remarked before leaving.
Taeko left already having the location of the Double Dome. He went straight to his apartment to change to the [Buckaroo Set] from his FusionFall wares, giving him a green cowboy look along with the [Buckaroo Hat] to complete it. With a green bandana to cover his mouth along with a pair of dark aviators, he was ready. The next step was going to the nearest barber to get his hair done to cornrows. He would have dyed it back, but he was already wearing the hat. He had a cab drop him off at the place.
"So a Saudi version of Jizzy…" Taeko mumbled to himself as he got out. "Let's do it."
He went in expecting a Middle Eastern brothel vibe, and he was not surprised by it all. What he did not expect was Ahmeed to look far too much like the Sultan from Aladdin if he was a pimp. Even Taeko had to calm himself down so he wouldn't laugh at the dwarf-sized pimp.
"Who's this guy? Brokeback Mountain ain't here."
"I'm not a gay cowboy. I'm here to seek work for you as I heard you're hiring contractors. As you can see, I get shit done." Taeko mused. "The name's Isom. New in town and it'd be an honor to work for a man like you."
Taeko made sure to give a bit of Western twang to his voice. Ahmed smirked as he dismissed the hookers around himself.
"Now that you mention it, I do have slight problems. Something a little dumb muscle like yourself might be able to fix given I don't trust those chinks my partners allied themself with. Cause you see me, I'm an intellectual. But look, some incel or something has been fucking with my girls. Piece of shit assaulted three yesterday." Ahmed mused. "But before you do that, there's a girl in a car ready to be dropped off at her client at the hotel Downtown. Do that and call me on the car phone inside it."
He wasted no time and left to get in the car which was a beige Albany [Hermes]. He got in and raced off to get to the hotel. However, he noticed the girl he was driving looked a bit young. It didn't help her nervous behavior either. Not wanting to risk it, he dropped her off without a word before calling Ahmed.
"Got a little errand for you to run before you deal with that problem I was just talking about. Some young buck thinks he can undercut me, trying to peel my girls over in Hashbury. Now one of my girls over there just eyeballed the punk. I want you to get your ass over there and ice that pretender!"
Taeko hung up and got to it. That 'pimp' never saw it coming because Taeko simply ran him over. Even the hooker looked mortified but Taeko didn't care. He was on business and he called Ahmed again to let him know it was done.
"One of my girls hasn't called back…Foster Valley, go check it out."
Taeko drove over to see some guy assaulting a hooker. He lowered the window, stuck out his [GDHC .50], and domed the guy before driving away. He called Ahmed up again to let him know it's done.
"Either you're a bad luck charm or you're playing me, that girl you dropped off wants out of the game and her sugar daddy is taking her away. Go back there and ice them all to make an example out of them!"
Taeko returned back to the hotel to see the limo leaving. Consuming a [Spicy Eel], he followed them until they were stopped at a red light. Taeko got out and ran up to the driver's side before shooting the driver dead. The 'sugar daddy' got out only to be domed as well. The girl in question came out with her hands out in surrender looking shaken. She expected him to shoot her, but instead he went to the carphone to let him know it was all clear.
"Oh, Isom. You're a real player's right hand but that car came out on an APB. Keep it, dump it, whatever…just don't bring it around me or my club."
[Mission Complete! + 3,000 Gold, + Respect, + [Hermes] added to your garage]
The moment Ahmed hung up, he disabled the car phone as sirens were getting louder.
"You're not going to shoot me?" She asked.
He dropped the Western tint in his voice.
"No, and I don't think you want to end up in the hands of the cops." Taeko said as she got in his car without question.
He used his [AR-50]'s grenade launcher to blow up the limo before getting in his car to drive away.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because you clearly weren't going to fight me and I doubt you'll go back to him." Taeko remarked.
She was just barely enough to be five feet tall, very slender, and had a youthful appearance. Her short dark hair was short, being chin length. She had a slight tan to her skin tone making Taeko wonder if she was Latina given from the hazel eyes. She wore an oversized blue sweater that is slanted to show her shoulder, a pair of pale pink shorts with accents and drawstrings; and a pair of basic white sneakers. A subtle use of [Observe] revealed her name to be Antonella.
"I wasn't. He lied to Ahmed because he could try to use me as a bargaining chip. That man you just killed was a lawyer, a district attorney." Antonella said.
Taeko was already out of town using the highway to evade police. He was not surprised and pulled into the Angel Pine Junkyard to get the car in an empty warehouse. Unlike the scrapyard in town, this one was a ways out of the small town and isolated. Both took a sigh of relief evading the police for the time being as they got out of the car.
"You're not going to kill me…" Antonella asked as he lifted her chin.
"If I wanted you dead, I would have just blown up the limo with you inside. Would have been easier." Taeko remarked. "But if I'm going to kill someone, they normally either have it coming or they did something against me. Two things you haven't done. Of course, saving you complicates my plan."
She did not exactly have money, but she knew a way to get him to consider keeping her around as her dainty heads got to his belt.
"Then let me make it a real simple cowboy." Antonella said as she opened up his pants. "And I see…you got a big gun there."
She rubbed his length over his leopard skin briefs.
"Don't worry, I'm old enough…" Antonella said. "You actually got me the best 18th birthday present a girl like me could ask for. Now let me thank you."
She sucked him off right then and there. He'd give her credit that she managed to get to unload in her and that she'd swallowed the whole thing.
He zipped up his pants.
"I got an offer. I own some property…up in a little town called Angel Pine. You can stay there…because I fully intend to make Ahmed and his friends a smear on the pavement." Taeko said getting in the car. "Come on."
It was a short drive to the place. He would have taken her to the trailer park, but decided against it as the less people saw her, the better. He showed in and got her a few extra pieces of clothing before he left. Antonella realized she never got his name, but she shrugged knowing he'd come back soon enough. As far as she was concerned, she'd enjoy her vacation and the bottle of wine he left for her birthday.
"Azorium wine?" Antonella said, looking at the bottle. "And it's aged, this thing's worth a good bit of cash. Hell of a gift, he's defensively getting laid when he comes back."
Taeko had already driven over to the trailer park and called up Lin to give her the details while he was changing back to the clothes he wore before.
"Look, so I got a plan about Xiaoming. So come by the betting shop." Lin remarked. "I think you'll like this one."
[GAME PAUSED? WOULD YOU LIKE TO QUICK SAVE?]
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[GAME QUICKSAVED! Hurry back.]
(A/N: Think of Antonella as a short hair, more petite Chel from the Road to El Dorado. Since Taeko isn't going to use the captures on the trailer park, I figured a bit character to fill that role instead and she'd fit right in with Rosemary and the others. Can't believe it's been 50 chapters, and just to note that chapters: 28, 30, and 40-45 were fixed for spelling, grammar, and such. And we're only barely halfway through the Summer.)