Chapter 6: The First Pot of Gold

A tractor?

Nice!

Amy grew even more excited. She had never ridden a tractor before.

Ryan opened the passenger-side door and gestured for her to get in. Amy hopped up, fastened the seatbelt—if not for worrying about being impolite, she would have loved to sit right on the roof of the tractor.

“Hold on tight!” For some reason, Ryan also looked unusually thrilled.

“Vroom—” The tractor roared to life.

The vehicle sped forward quickly, but neither of them rolled up the windows. The morning breeze rushed in, making Amy’s hair whip around wildly. For a moment, she felt as if she were riding a motorcycle through country lanes.

She could feel freedom in the wind.

Ryan, gripping the steering wheel, shouted gleefully, “What a wind! This feels amazing!”

Amy glanced sideways at him. “It’s not your first time driving a tractor, so why are you as excited as me?”

“What?” The wind was too loud. Ryan could only see her lips moving and couldn’t hear a word.

Amy had no choice but to shout the words again.

“Oh, that.” Ryan explained, “Eric never lets me floor the gas pedal when I drive the tractor, so this is my first time going this fast!”

“What—your first time?!”

Amy immediately lost the dreamy sense of freedom she had just felt. She quickly reminded him, “Slow down! Watch the road! Keep your eyes on the road!”

“I heard you, I heard you! Both ears heard you—no need to yell so loud!”

The tractor thundered along and finally arrived at the Parsley Garden Farm.

At their destination, Amy shakily unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the tractor, still rattled.

She swore she would never ride with Ryan again until he had properly mastered driving!

Ryan, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed. He had barely set foot inside the farm when he exclaimed, “Your farm is huge!”

“It’s just a bit messy… no, not a bit—really messy.” Ryan glanced around and continued, “A farm this big must be tough to manage alone. How about this—when I’m free at the shop, I’ll come help you clear weeds and such. Don’t worry, I won’t charge you a thing. Just think of it as a gift to my new neighbor.”

Free weeding?

Amy was tempted.

But after thinking it through, she shook her head. “There’s so much work at the shop. You’d better focus on helping Eric. The farm is big, but I can still manage. I really do appreciate your kindness, though.”

Amy was being sincere. Apart from not wanting to trouble him, there was another reason: she needed to upgrade her tools.

Upgrading tools required proficiency. To build proficiency, she had to do the work herself—chopping trees, pulling weeds, watering. She couldn’t let someone else do it.

Seeing her determination, Ryan couldn’t insist any further. Logically, not having to do free labor should have been good news, but somehow he looked disappointed, as though a pair of invisible puppy ears drooped on his head. “All right then.”

Thinking of his reckless speeding earlier, Amy couldn’t help but add, “You need to listen to Eric. Don’t drive so fast next time, understand?”

“Got it.” Ryan nodded obediently.

Amy found his meek, scolded look amusing and casually asked, “How old are you?”

Ryan blinked, surprised by the sudden question. “I’m an adult.”

Amy nodded.

Still just a kid.

She didn’t press further and instead changed the subject. “Let’s check the wood.”

Although Ryan had been unreliable with the tractor, when it came to professional matters, he was quite convincing.

Amy watched as he pulled out something that looked like an electronic scale. He carefully weighed each bundle of chopped logs, then spent a long time calculating with his pocket calculator.

“Altogether, 853 gold.”

That much?!

Amy was stunned.

She had expected maybe around 500 gold at most, but it turned out to be over 800! It wasn’t anywhere near “overnight riches,” but it was enough to push her savings past the 1,000 gold mark.

She quickly did the math in her head: starting funds, 500 gold. Seeds, 70. Salad, 78. Selling wood earned 853. After all the additions and subtractions, she still had 1,205 gold.

A fishing rod was finally within reach.

Amy suddenly narrowed her eyes at Ryan. “You didn’t inflate the price, did you?”

“What? Are you saying I gave you too much?” Ryan looked wronged. “The red cedar wood from your farm is really high quality. No matter where you sold it, you’d get this price. I didn’t overpay you just because you’re my friend. Besides…”

“Besides, if I really gave you extra, Eric would kill me.” Ryan muttered under his breath.

Good.

Amy preferred keeping their wood business cold and professional.

She didn’t want to be overcharged because she was familiar, nor undercharged because of sympathy.

“You just said my red cedar wood was high quality and worth a lot. What about maple wood?”

By chance, there was a maple tree nearby. Ryan tapped the trunk twice and shook his head. “This is sugar maple. It’s not used as building material, so it won’t fetch much.”

Amy nodded without disappointment.

She had never expected maple to sell like cedar. If it had, she would’ve chopped the maple trees first—the farm had more sugar maples than cedars.

Selling cedar wasn’t a long-term plan. There weren’t many left to cut.

She needed to think carefully about future ways to earn money.

Amy stayed silent, the air turning heavy. Seeing her expression, Ryan decided to break the quiet. “You just said we’re friends now. As a friend, I advise you not to chop those maple trees. It’s a waste of time and effort, and you won’t get much for them.”

Amy smiled gently. “I wasn’t planning on selling maple wood. I’m keeping the sugar maples to make maple syrup.”

“Maple syrup?” Ryan perked up, eyes shining. “I love maple syrup!”

“You like it?”

“Almost every household in town keeps maple syrup. It’s nothing rare. But Eric doesn’t like it, so I hardly ever get to have any…”

Poor kid.

Amy couldn’t help saying, “If you dare floor the tractor pedal behind Eric’s back, sneaking some sweets shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I already sneak some.”

Amy: “…All right then.”

“When I make maple syrup, I’ll give you a few bottles. Consider it… a gift for my new neighbor.”

“Thanks, Amy.” Ryan beamed, showing two sharp little canine teeth.

Ryan drove off with the tractor.

Amy stood at the farm gate for a while. The noise wasn’t nearly as deafening as when he arrived. He must have slowed down.

She relaxed.

Back inside, she stored her newly earned money, then took 200 gold in loose change and left the farm, heading down the path toward the general store.

After today’s wood-selling, she understood more clearly how difficult it was to make money in the early stages of the game.

Originally, she had thought she would treat herself to a fancy meal at the restaurant after earning her first pot of gold. But now she decided against it.

Too extravagant.

Better to buy some vegetables at the general store and cook for herself at home.