area51novel Page 8
Page 8
"Grandpa was right after all."
"Guyue Bird Town is a warm and welcoming town where people and Pokémon live in harmony," Fang Gu remarked.
Blacksmith Steve, shirtless, heated the furnace by stuffing coal into the shell of a coal turtle, generating tremendous heat.
The store manager, Sen Sen, has a mongoose as his Pokémon. Whenever someone buys vegetables, it follows closely behind, opens the bag with its hands, and praises the store's fresh fruits and vegetables in monkey language that ordinary people cannot understand.
Of course, Robin also has her own Pokémon, a little Wood Spirit.
"Little Wood Spirit is my good partner. It can not only sense the specific type of wood I need, but also help me judge the quality of the wood."
"Wood~"
The little wood spirit flew around Robin once, its bright red eyes narrowing into slits with joy.
“Da na da na”.
Bulbasaur tugged at Fang Gu's trouser leg, eager for Fang Gu to introduce himself.
Fang Gu smiled indulgently, quickly squatted down, scooped up Bulbasaur, held it in his arms, and gently rubbed Bulbasaur's head with his large hand.
"Bulbasaur is my most important partner, my good helper, and the future boss of Stardew Valley Ranch."
Bulbasaur was so happy to hear Fang Gu's words about him being "the most important partner," "a good helper," and "the big sister" that it almost fainted.
Her little face turned bright red, and she snuggled into Fang Gu's arms.
Robin smiled slightly. It seemed that Bulbasaur was embarrassed by Fang Gu's empty promises.
They're so cute it's almost unfair.
Little Wood Spirit looked at Bulbasaur with admiration, its bright red eyes filled with respect.
This tiny Bulbasaur actually performs multiple roles; it's truly a role model in the Pokémon world. I must learn from it!
The little wood spirit was determined to find fifty fresh hardwood logs for Robin tonight!
Robin and Fang Gu walked and talked, and the short distance seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
Soon, Fang Gu and Robin arrived at Robin's house, which was the carpenter's shop in town.
Fang Gu watched as system pop-ups kept appearing along the way.
[Ding! Robin's favorability +1]
[Ding! Robin's favorability +2]
[Ding! Robin's favorability +5]
…………
Looking at the innocent girl in front of him, Fang Gu couldn't help but marvel at the power of language once again.
In less than a day, Fang Gu had already gained the girl's sincere friendship. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Robin, who had grown up in a happy town like Guyue Bird Town, had a warm heart towards everyone.
Robin's father, Rod, was a carpenter in the town. He looked rather thin, and Fang Gu had no idea how much strength was contained in those not-so-thick arms.
Just as Fang Gu entered the carpenter's shop, Rod was arm wrestling with his monstrous strength and seemed to be holding his own.
He now knows where Robin's superhuman strength comes from.
"Dad, we have guests! Stop it! Don't scare them away!" Robin rushed to Rod's side and pried their hands apart.
Fang Gu said it was just average, after all, he had also seen super-strong girls who fought hand-to-hand with superhuman strength.
After Robin explained Fang Gu's requirements to Rod, Rod gave his offer.
"If we include the materials, the repair cost for one house is 20,000 League Coins. For your chicken coop plus Pokémon house, it will cost 40,000 League Coins in total."
"Think about it," Rod said calmly.
Fang Gu was in a dilemma. He only had 50,000 Alliance Coins as his starting capital. Just now, he bought some miscellaneous items and food for the next week, leaving him with only 45,000 Alliance Coins. If he chose to repair everything, he would only have 5,000 Alliance Coins left.
Keep in mind that the seeds haven't even been bought yet. If the seeds are purchased, the initial capital will be completely depleted.
"Does this mean we can only activate the backup hidden funds?"
Fang Gu didn't want to touch that money unless absolutely necessary, as it was the family's last line of defense.
"How about we repair one house first? But should we repair the chicken coop first, or the elf's hut?"
Robin pursed her lips, looking at Fang Gu's troubled expression, and finally made up her mind.
She pulled Fang Gu out of the house.
Chapter 9 To get rich, first start chopping wood.
Just a second before Robin pulled him out, Fang Gu was still thinking about which house to repair first.
If Fang Gu repairs the chicken coop first, he can use the remaining money to buy a few hens to lay eggs and make a profit.
In the world of Pokémon, there are also common animals such as cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks. However, the habitats of these animals have been completely occupied by Pokémon, so they can only be raised by humans and become the main source of meat for consumption.
According to Fang Gu's observation, the chicken coops at Stardew Valley Ranch are not large, and can only house a maximum of eight hens, each of which can lay one egg per day.
The price of one egg should be fifty Alliance Coins, and the daily production is about eight eggs, which is four hundred Alliance Coins.
Keep in mind that a single Poké Ball costs 200 League Coins.
If you want to surpass Fu Ye's Grass Ranch, these are far from enough.
Moreover, Fang Xiaolu is in the stage of growing up, so Fang Gu naturally has to save a few eggs for her to make nutritious meals.
The Pokémon House, as the name suggests, is a small house used to raise Pokémon. Originally, Fang Gu's grandfather prepared this house for raising Miltank.
In the Pokémon world, there is no such thing as humans eating Pokémon. This is because the Pokémon League's laws do not allow it, and also because Pokémon are creatures that store various energies in their bodies, and consuming them would cause irreversible damage to the human body.
However, some parts of Pokémon or items they produce are permitted for use and are beneficial to the human body.
Like Farfetch'd's green onion, Slowpoke's tail, and the fish meat that fell off the Light Cod...
The most common of these is Moobuy Milk produced by the Pokémon Miltank. A bottle of Moobuy Milk sold in stores costs 600. Miltank also produces a huge amount of milk, producing five to ten liters of fresh milk at a time. According to the Guinness World Records, at the Moobuy Ranch in the Johto region, the Miltank raised by the old man Howard set a historical record of producing twenty liters of milk at a time.
Additionally, it's worth mentioning that this old man, Havad, is also the grandfather of Akane, the head of the Goldenrod Gym.
Logically speaking, if Fang Gu wants to fulfill his promise to surpass the Grass-type Ranch, he must first repair the Pokémon House, since Pokémon are the primary productive force in this world.
However, repairing the Pokémon Hut does not mean that ranch Pokémon have been introduced.
Pokémon like Miltank are practically cash cows for ranches, and no one would sell them easily. Wild Miltank are especially rare, and they are only found on Route 12 in the Kalos region. Moreover, wild Miltank are usually surrounded by hot-tempered Tauros.
"I should have gone to Judy's farm first to see what Pokémon I could buy."
Just as Fang Gu hesitated, Robin pulled him out of the carpenter's shop.
"Uh, I think I might need to go back and think about it," Fang Gu said somewhat awkwardly.
Robin seemed to notice Fang Gu's predicament and took out a piece of paper from his small pouch.
"Luckily, I didn't post that thing out."
Fang Gu was puzzled. Wait, could this be triggering some kind of plot?
"My dad just said that if we provide the raw materials, it would cost 20,000, but if you provide the raw materials yourself, the price can be reduced further."
"Perfect timing, my dad wants me to hang this up."
Fang Gu took the paper from Robin's hand.
[Carpenter's Shop Projects]
[Order Description: The carpenter's shop is currently short of timber. If anyone can provide twenty beautiful logs, I will reward you handsomely. — Rod]
Required Item: Log
[Time Limit: One Month]
[Reward: 5,000 Alliance Coins]
"What is this?" Fang Gu had a vague answer in his mind.
"This is a demand order system, created by Uncle Fu. Everyone in Guyue Bird Town, and even residents of nearby towns, can write down their needs and post them on the small board in front of Peter's grocery store. If you are confident that you can fulfill the requirements, you can peel off the demand order, register it with Peter, and complete it within the specified time. If you cannot complete it, you must return it to the small board."
This is also a small trick Foyth uses to promote interaction among neighbors in Crescent Bird Town.
“My dad originally told me to post this order on the board, but unfortunately it’s Wednesday and Peter’s shop is not open.”
"So, are you going to snatch this order?"
"If you can complete this order, I can arrange to reduce the cost of repairing a house to half."
"As for logs, logging is allowed in the forest north of our town, but you should let the forest ranger know. You should also have axes on your ranch, right?"
Robin seemed to be doing everything within his power to secure the biggest possible discount for Fang Gu, his new friend and fellow villager.
If the repair costs are reduced by half, that is, each house will only cost 10,000 Alliance Coins, then the chicken coop and Pokémon house together will only cost 20,000 Alliance Coins, which is within Fang Gu's budget.
As for the axe, it was in the spatial backpack that Foss had just given to Fang Gu.
"Then I'll accept this task."
Fang Gu smiled and put the order away.
"As expected, no matter which world you're in, you can't escape the farming principle—to get rich, you must first work the woodcutters."
Of course, all of this is thanks to Robin, a fellow countryman who was willing to believe in him, a newcomer to the ranch.
A warm feeling unconsciously rose in Fang Gu's heart, and he reached out his hand to Robin...
This has left Robin completely bewildered. What... what is this all about?
Robin awkwardly hid his hands behind his back, rubbing his fingers together, feeling the roughness of the calluses on his palms.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Robin's eyes, and he stammered, "I do manual labor all day, and my hands are covered in thick calluses. I'm a little... embarrassed."
Fang Gu's next words struck a chord with Robin: "Aren't we friends now? What's there to be embarrassed about between friends?"
"Moreover, I've heard that the scars on a body are a soldier's medals, and the calluses on a hand are also a carpenter's glory."
Robin's bowed head suddenly lifted as if sensing the sun, "You're right, this is my honor."
Robin gripped Fang Gu's hand tightly, and the cracking sound of Fang Gu's hand being pried open could be faintly heard.
[Ding! Robin's favorability +500!]
"Girl, you're way too easy to win over!" Fang Gu thought to himself, enduring the pain in his hand.