novelraw Chapter 275: Festival Stalls
Chapter 275: Festival Stalls
After parting ways with Abigail, Leon rode his bike back to the farm.
He took a shower, washed his clothes, and went straight to bed.
When he woke up the next morning, he washed up but skipped breakfast. Instead, he went straight to watering the crops, feeding the chickens, and checking the fruit bat–mushroom cave.
The chicks had grown quite a bit. Their orange fluff was gradually giving way to brown feathers.
Inside the cave, the mushrooms were still growing rapidly. But today, aside from the mushroom cultivation trays, Leon finally spotted something different on the ground.
No, it wasn’t droppings—
It was two small clusters of bright red berries, complete with twigs and tender leaves.
They looked a bit like unpeeled lychees, with a light fuzz on their skins. A closer look revealed the flesh was made up of many small drupelets gathered together.
They were called American Giant Raspberries. And while they grew in clusters, each twig didn’t have many berries—one had only two, while the other had four.
Still, the “giant” in their name was well-earned—each berry was even bigger than a sugar tangerine.
“American Giant Raspberry (Forageable): A spring berry carrying the flavor of the forest. Enhanced in sweetness and texture by Bear’s Knowledge.”
“Huh?”Leon picked up a cluster and was surprised by the note in the System Appraisal.
He had thought Bear’s Knowledge only worked on berries he personally picked from bushes. But it seemed even these, gathered by the fruit bats and left on the cave floor for a while, still benefited from the enhancement.
That was an unexpected bonus.
Carrying the two clusters out of the cave, Leon went to the kitchen, washed them, and popped one into his mouth.
The berry’s soft flesh burst easily under his teeth, flooding his mouth with sweet, juicy nectar. There was a subtle tang to balance the sweetness, along with a refreshing forest aroma that was hard to describe.
“Delicious.”
It was Leon’s first time eating raspberries, and he couldn’t believe how unique and stunning the flavor was.
Unfortunately, there were only six berries in total. After eating one, he had five left. While he would eventually be able to harvest them himself, who knew how long it would take for the raspberry bushes to be full again?
For now, he couldn’t bring himself to eat the rest.
He stored the remaining raspberries in the System Backpack to preserve their peak flavor and freshness, then returned to the cave. He looked up at the fruit bats hanging upside down, resting.
He had no idea if they knew their find had been taken, but they seemed calm enough.
“Too bad you guys can’t talk. I’d love to ask where you found these.”
After confirming there were no other berries hidden in the cave, Leon left, hopped on his bike, and headed for town.
It was only a little past seven. In the game, festival events wouldn’t even let you enter the venue before eight. But in real life, by the time Leon arrived in Pelican Town, the square was already buzzing with activity.
At the town entrance, stalls lined the street. The first one belonged to Pierre.
The moment Pierre saw Leon, he waved enthusiastically.
“Leon! Come take a look at these special seeds!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Leon hurried over, and Pierre quickly pulled out a packet of seeds to show him.
“Top-quality strawberry seeds, fresh from a friend just a few days ago. How about planting some on your farm?” Pierre said, pushing the packet toward him.
“Strawberry Seeds (Seeds): Plant in spring. Matures in 24 days, then produces continuously.”
“How much for a packet?”
“100G for a packet. Same as always—twenty seeds in each,” Pierre explained.
“I’ll take 1,000G worth.”
Leon ordered ten packets—two hundred seeds in total.
Pierre’s face lit up as he happily took the payment and packed the seeds.
“Thank you for your business! I only prepared ten packets, and you just bought them all. That’s exciting.”
“Got anything else interesting?” Leon asked, already in a shopping mood.
“I’ve got a rabbit plush, a flamingo lawn ornament, and some potted plants. Interested?” Pierre pulled out more items, including a 1.5-meter-tall flamingo ornament that was hard to miss.
Leon wasn’t interested in any of them. He moved on to the next stall.
This one belonged to Joja Mart. The staffer was a young woman Leon didn’t recognize. She looked mature but had faint dark circles under her eyes, and while her features were attractive, she seemed tired and lacking energy.
“Hello, sir. Would you like to check out Joja’s festive special products?” she asked in a flat, almost scripted tone.
“No, thanks.” Leon declined. The stall was filled with things like toy rabbits and decorative eggs—nothing edible or plantable, so they didn’t match his needs.
“My apologies, Leon. This is our newest hire, and she’s still getting used to things. Let me serve you personally,” came a smooth voice.
Morris, the sharply dressed manager of Joja Mart in Pelican Town, walked up with a smile.
“Morris, I really don’t need any of this,” Leon said, helpless. “So don’t blame her.”
“Alright then. Claire, go help at the food stand. I’ll handle this.” Morris didn’t press further. He sent the weary-looking woman away and took her place, standing at the Joja stall while glaring at Pierre beside him.
Leon left the two rivals to their silent duel and moved on to the third stall.
This one was run by a long-haired young man with a confident smile and a refined demeanor. His stall was filled with books.
“Sir, care to take a couple of books home?” the man asked as soon as Leon approached.
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