Chapter 3: Chapter 3 – What kind of game are you playing?

'It's not difficult, but it's not easy to finish everything at the same time either...'

First, I did what seemed easier. Using one instant harvest, I collected five corns, then sowed carrot in its place, which take 9 hours to harvest. Then, I bought cucumber, lettuce and pumpkin seeds. Now there are four tasks left. I tried to put one pen inside the storage, but this system didn't accept it.

"Sigh... what do you want?" I said exasperated, before remembering to not look like I'm crazy to the world and began talking with it in my mind.

'Isn't it a product?'

The word 'new' began to shine in red. I narrowed my eyes and looked around, there was an ice cream shop nearby. I walked and bought two, one to eat and another ice cream in styrofoam to go, putting it in my backpack and moving it in the storage with my mind. This time, it worked.

Where to barter, haggle and sell is the problem... I walked to my car and drove to a nearby marketplace.

There I took out my tomatoes from inside the storage, to try to use them...

"Wow, such perfect tomatoes... It must be yummy, right?" I could feel my belly protesting.

"I should test before giving, no, trading it with someone… The better seller is the one that uses his own products, since he will have confidence they're good."

Telling myself I wasn't just being greedy, I took a bite. It was delicious, sweet and with a bit of an acid taste on top, just the right proportions. They are big, so I was stuffed after finishing it. I cleaned my hands with a tissue and put fourteen tomatoes in a bag, got down and headed to an old woman who was looking at vegetables in a stall.

"Hello, madam. Do you want tomatoes? I have some from my vegetable garden that I want to sell."

She looked at me and seemed ready to give me a negative answer, but she changed her words when she looked at my bag that I opened to show.

"I don’t really need tomatoes... but yours are really nice, maybe some? how much is it?" She frowned with uncertainty.

"I don't have a way to weigh it, but I'm selling them for fifty cents each. Look, they are big, you can choose too." I smiled at her, confidently, sure that this price is nice enough, I have tasted its sweetness after all. I got my first fall there, always put your price with room to haggle.

She began to haggle with me.

"I'm not sure… how many are there?" She counted them and looked at each one, before continuing, "I could take all of them for six bucks, if you want to sell…?"

"Look, they are the best tasting and sweetest tomatoes you can find here, I'm sure of it! Just look how fresh they are... besides it's totally natural, without pesticides..."

"You don’t even have a stall here… I'm not sure about what you're telling me, it's a bit risky…"

I looked at her and at my tomatoes, I'm sure they are worth way more and I'm a bit unwilling to have their price go down, like this. But I have to bite the bullet this time, there was no need to continue reasoning because of a dollar.

"There is no risk ma’am, you just need to look at they… but it's a deal."

We finished the trade and the old woman walked away happy. Back to my car, I brought out my five corns this time, they look great too, I will try to use them for bartering later.

I walked around in the market and observed many buyers haggling, choosing the seller that seemed more open to it and said with a smile.

"Hi, how much are those bananas?"

"U$1,60 per kilogram, miss."

"Humm... I want four kilograms, but I only have six bucks, can you sell it?"

He sized me up, discreetly. I complemented with a troubled face:

"Otherwise, I will keep looking around, 'cause I need the four kilograms..."

"Alright, miss, I can let it be that much for you!"

He soon agreed. I paid and now I have more than thirty bananas that I don't really need, but with that I didn’t spend a cent of my own money.

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Maybe I can achieve self-sufficiency with this?

I imagined a bright future, before snapping back.

Forget that for now, there is still the bartering left.

I'm troubled.

'Should I just reach out and ask if any of them would want corn or what? And for a merchant, not more, not less...'

I walked for one hour, before seeing an old man closing his stall, putting away some lettuce and cucumber to take back. I walked his way, thinking that maybe since he didn't sell it, he could trade it somehow.

"Hi, sir, is everything alright? I just saw you couldn't sell everything and are going back..."

"Yeah, are you interested in anything?"

"Would you like to make a deal? I have some corn here and wanted to trade for other things, if you would?"

I showed him the five corns and he seemed to be weighing his options. He picked one corn and checked on all sides.

"I can trade it for two lettuce and two cucumbers."

He said, but didn't put the corn back. I looked at the time, there was fifteen minutes left. But I still looked at him troubled and raised my hand as if to take back the corn. He then said:

"Okay, three cucumbers. Take it or leave."

"Alright, let's do it like that."

I finished the deal, anyway, I just need the points. Besides, I didn't have any trouble growing the vegetables, I kept telling myself it wasn't a pity to sell them like that.

Back in my car, I asked the system to open the shop farm for me.

There were four tabs, one for machines, one for products, one for seeds and one for special items with how many points I have in the top, right side.

"Eh? Wait… I wasn't counting before, but I think I should have less points? Maybe…"

I picked my phone and began counting…

"Yeah, there is more, right? System, where did those points come from?"

There were 200 points, but shouldn’t it be 180? I waited for an answer. After a long 'silence', I called again:

"System? I know you're there, answer me."

No answer.

'Okay, since you want to act as if you're not here, I will too. I won't continue doing the tutorial.'

There was a fast answer this time.

 

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