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Chapter 3: Buying Seeds
A young girl came to open the door.
She was tall—Amy herself was considered tall, but in front of this girl, she had to tilt her head slightly upward.
The girl glanced at her and asked, “You’re the new farmer girl, right?”
Amy nodded. “Yes. Hello, my name is Amy. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Leslie told me you’re an expert in animal husbandry and fishing. I’m very interested in those things, so I hope you can teach me.”
“You like farming? That’s unusual. I thought pretty girls like you didn’t enjoy this kind of dirty, backbreaking work.”
Amy’s tone carried firm disagreement. “You’re also a pretty girl, and you like doing it, don’t you?”
Nancy raised her brows slightly and gave a small laugh.
“Since you’ve mentioned Leslie, I guess you’ve already spoken to her. Then you should know my name, so I won’t waste time introducing myself. Come in, don’t just stand outside.”
Amy stepped inside.
She looked around and said sincerely, “Your house is huge.”
From the outside, Nancy’s stone house looked small and unimpressive compared to the dazzling animal pens around it. But inside, it felt as big as a castle.
Household appliances were fully equipped, and the counters were covered with goods of every kind. There were indoor plants everywhere—red-leaf reed grass, monstera, dracaena marginata—and a huge aquarium with colorful angelfish swimming inside.
And this was just the first floor. A staircase led up to a loft, and from Amy’s angle, she could see only a rosewood bed, presumably Nancy’s bedroom.
Compared to this, Amy’s place really was like a little goblin’s hut in a fairy tale.
—Though not forever. If she remembered correctly, the house could be upgraded. She would just need to pay and have the carpenter Eric help.
But that would all have to wait until she had money.
“For business, of course I need a bigger house. Otherwise there wouldn’t be enough room to put everything. You haven’t been to old Charlie’s general store yet, have you? His place is truly enormous. Compared to his, my house is nothing.”
Nancy had dark brown curly hair, and perhaps from years of living by the sea, her skin was a healthy wheat color, dotted with freckles on her cheeks. When she reached over the counter, Amy noticed the faint but well-shaped muscles on her arms.
Amy’s mind filled with envy.
Such strong, beautiful muscles… maybe after she farmed for a while, she could have them too.
“You said you wanted to buy seeds?”
Nancy’s words broke Amy’s lovely daydream about muscles. She came back to her senses. “Yes, I want to buy some vegetable seeds to plant.”
“Do you have planting experience?”
Planting experience… only in games.
Amy replied, “No.”
Nancy didn’t press further. She briskly pulled out several bags of seeds and spread them on the counter.
“It’s spring now. These are all good spring crops—easy to grow, with short growth cycles. Perfect for beginners like you.”
Amy thanked her and carefully examined the cute seed packets.
From the outside, they didn’t look much different, but thankfully Nancy had labeled them.
…
Amy quickly skimmed through them, feeling that a few of these vegetables didn’t quite belong to spring crops. But considering she had already transmigrated into a game, what did little details matter anymore?
—Still, the prices in Hot Spring Town were steep. A tiny packet of seeds could go for up to 100 gold.
It seemed her decision to be frugal and avoid wasteful spending was correct.
After some thought, Amy bought one packet of tomato seeds and one packet of lettuce seeds, spending a total of 70 gold.
“Want to take a look at fruit seeds too?” Nancy asked.
Amy refused instantly. “No, I’ll pass this time.” Spending 70 gold already hurt. Fruit seeds were basically luxury goods.
Nancy seemed to sense her empty purse and didn’t press the matter. She simply gave a few tips about planting.
“Every so often, a traveling merchant comes to town to buy goods. You can sell your crops to him—or keep them for yourself.”
“Traveling merchant?” Amy mused. “He buys everything?”
“In theory, yes,” Nancy said. “But Simon—that’s the merchant—doesn’t like certain things. For example, wood is Eric’s favorite. If you sell wood to Simon, you won’t make much. The advantage of selling to him is convenience. You don’t have to haul heavy logs all the way to Eric’s.”
“I see.” Amy nodded. “Thank you, Nancy.”
“It’s nothing,” Nancy replied calmly, as if she didn’t need thanks.
Amy’s gaze shifted to the row of glittering fishing rods behind the counter, remembering that “Fishing” was also on her game panel.
Like the seeds, each rod was clearly labeled:
Amy: …Never mind.
She couldn’t even afford the cheapest reed rod.
True to its name, the reed rod was made of reeds, with poor elasticity, making it hard for beginners to use. Bamboo rods were slightly better, but still tough for catching fish.
Amy knew the fiberglass rod was the best choice for beginners—it was easier to handle.
She would need to earn money to buy one.
Carrying her two seed packets, Amy left Nancy’s shop. Not far away, she locked eyes with the roosters again.
If only her farm could raise such proud birds too. And hens—imagine picking up fresh eggs every day.
Stepping out reignited her desire to buy things.
She wanted the best fishing rod and bait, wanted dozens of seed packets to fill her farm, wanted a flock of healthy, adorable animals so she could gather eggs, milk cows, and shear sheep every morning…
“I must earn money,” Amy thought.
By the time she headed back, it was 11 a.m. The town was getting livelier, and as a new face, she drew plenty of attention. Several friendly, bored townsfolk stopped to chat.
On the way, she met Mike, who worked at the cinema; Leslie’s youngest daughter, Ophelia; and Carlos, a resident planning to buy a lamb from Nancy.
Strangely, except for Ophelia, no matter how she chatted with the others, their affection meters didn’t budge. In fact, the row of black hearts didn’t even appear.
Amy guessed this was another game mechanic: only important NPCs had visible affection levels.
Ophelia was clearly one of them.
She was nine years old, full of innocence and energy. After a short conversation, Amy realized the girl loved food—just like herself. A few minutes of chatting and she had already gained half a heart of affection.
Checking her game panel, Amy was surprised to see half a heart with Nancy too.
But Nancy hadn’t shown much reaction to her at all. Amy had thought she didn’t like her.
Strange. How did that affection increase?
Amy pondered briefly, found no answer, and decided to stop thinking about it. She returned to the farm and planted her precious new seeds.
Since she had already tilled and watered the land, sowing didn’t use much stamina. After finishing, she still had 22 points left.
She washed her hands, then took two croissants from the paper bag.
But without comparison, there would be no disappointment. After smelling the bread at the restaurant earlier, her standards had risen. Now, the croissants in her hands no longer seemed like the best in the world.
After finishing the simple lunch, drowsiness swept over her. With nothing important to do in the afternoon, she lay on the bed, closed her eyes, and fell fast asleep.
She slept for more than an hour.
When she woke, it was already 2 p.m. Sitting up, she was pleasantly surprised to see her stamina had recovered by 49 points—now 71/100.
Amy jotted it down: sleeping restores stamina.
With so much energy, she couldn’t sit idle. She grabbed the axe and began chopping trees again.
This time she paced herself: chopping a little, resting a little, spacing it out with water breaks. By the time she had chopped down four or five redwoods, she still had 32 stamina left. Much more efficient than in the morning.
She wiped sweat from her forehead and tied the chopped wood into neat bundles with rope, planning to have Eric collect them the next day.
Originally, she had thought of delivering them herself, since selling directly to Eric paid better. But that would mean three trips hauling heavy bundles, and Eric’s place in the forest wasn’t close. It would take all day.
Amy sat at the door, resting her chin in her hand as she admired the pink sunset.
It was already late.
She had chopped from around 2 until nearly 6.
How strange. In the real world, working this long would have been torture. Yet here, the time flew by, and she even enjoyed it.
That must be the magic of farming.
After watching the sunset for a while, the sky grew darker. Amy went inside, planning to eat the last two croissants, but stopped just as she was about to open the bag.
She wasn’t a morning person. Cooking breakfast would be hard. Better to save the croissants for tomorrow—convenient and time-saving.
She rewrapped the bag more tightly than before.
So what would she eat tonight?
She stepped out toward town.
There was a restaurant right there. She wasn’t picky. The cheapest option would do.
Evening was the liveliest time in town. People who had worked all day came out to enjoy the cool night air and ease their fatigue.
“Amy, good evening!” Leslie greeted her, holding her younger daughter’s hand. “So, how was your first day in Hot Spring Town?”
“I’m doing great.” Amy smiled and recounted her day. “I bought seeds and chopped down several redwoods.”
Leslie’s praise came right on time. “That’s wonderful!”
“Amy!” Ophelia let go of her mother with one hand and grabbed Amy’s with the other. Looking up curiously, she asked, “Do you know my mom?”
“Of course. Your mom is my friend.” Amy patted the girl’s soft hair. “Just call me Amy, no need to call me sister.”
Ophelia beamed. “Okay. Then since you’re my mom’s friend, you’re my friend too.”
“That’s right. We’re all good friends. Amy, it looks like Ophelia really likes you. I’m sure Clara will get along well with you too,” Leslie said.
Amy tilted her head. “Clara?”
Who was that?
Ophelia jumped in to explain. “Clara is my sister!”
Amy was surprised. “You have a sister?”
“Yes. I have two daughters,” Leslie explained. “The older one is Clara, the younger one is Ophelia. They’re ten years apart. Clara is nineteen, about your age. She’s a bit mischievous—who knows where she’s off playing now.”
“Clara… I’ll remember that. I think we’ll be friends too.” Amy smiled, then added apologetically, “Leslie, Ophelia, I’d love to chat more, but I’m getting hungry…”
“You haven’t had dinner yet? Poor child. After working all day, you must fill your stomach. You’re going to the restaurant, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re in luck. The Seagull Restaurant is wonderful. I guarantee even in big cities like Ascaria, you won’t find food this good! Gabriel’s creamy salmon pasta is my favorite. You must try it—you’ll love it.”
“You’ll love it, Amy,” Ophelia repeated earnestly.
Amy nodded with a smile, though inwardly she thought: creamy salmon pasta? That sounded far out of her budget.
Still, she decided to go and see.
She waved goodbye to the friendly mother and daughter, then headed toward the restaurant.
Miumi[Translator]
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 I’ll try to release 2 or more chapters daily and unlock 2 chapters every Sunday. Support me at https://ko-fi.com/miumisakura For any questions or concerns, DM me on Discord at psychereader/miumi.