A few days had passed since then, and I started noticing something strange about the vegetables grown in my field.
「Are these really safe to eat?」
「They look fine, but if we get sick, I’m not sure whose responsibility it is, grandma.」
I was debating whether to eat the tomato in front of me.
I had dropped the harvested tomato and forgotten to put it in the refrigerator. This time of year, with temperatures steadily rising, a tomato left out in the house should have spoiled or rotted by now.
Yet, the tomato sitting before me looked perfectly fresh, as if it had just been picked.
「What do you think, Dori? Is it okay to eat?」
「Yeah!」
With that bright smile, it felt like I had no choice but to give it a try.
I carefully ran a knife through the tomato, and its juicy insides spilled out immediately. I’d heard that slicing quickly with a sharp knife was the best way to handle ripe tomatoes, but apparently, that wasn’t enough for these.
The other day, when I handed one to Dori, she just took a big bite out of it. By the time she finished, her clothes were stained a vibrant red.
Nervously, I took a small bite of the sliced tomato.
「Areh? This is really good.」
The flavor hadn’t diminished at all, and despite sitting out for days, the tomato was still remarkably juicy.
「That’s impossible… Wait, this is delicious.」
Even Grandma, though skeptical at first, couldn’t deny it after trying some herself. It seemed the vegetables from that field were a bit different from ordinary ones.
「Excuse meee!」
Amid this discovery, someone called out from the front door. Grandma went to answer and then called for me.
Standing at the entrance was a man in a suit. His neat and polished appearance felt oddly out of place in our rural setting, almost like he didn’t belong here.
「What can I do for you?」
「I’m here to ask about the vegetables distributed through the Explorer’s Guild recently.」
He was likely referring to the tomatoes and lettuce I’d handed out. So far, the only people who’d received my vegetables were folks at the guild and Gramps Kojima from the poultry farm.
Perhaps someone connected to the guild or a viewer had spread the word about the vegetables.
「Let me get straight to the point: Are you interested in selling them?」
His proposal made Grandma happy. Of course, I wasn’t entirely indifferent to the idea of selling our vegetables either.
However, a problem had just surfaced.
The vegetables grown in our field, where Dori had played a role, seemed to have an unusually long shelf life.
Selling these mysterious, untested vegetables could lead to unforeseen issues. What if they caused stomach problems hours after consumption?
Until we investigated further, there was no way we could sell them.
「Sorry, but these are still in the experimental stage. We can’t sell them just yet.」
「I see… That’s unfortunate. The Explorer’s Guild directly commissioned us wholesalers to handle this, you know.」
「Haa…」
When I declined, his previously polite expression quickly soured. His once-gentle demeanor was replaced by one of visible irritation, and I felt an unspoken pressure emanating from him.
Having worked in wholesale myself, I’d never seen such a shift in attitude.
Wholesalers exist because of producers, not the other way around.
「You do understand the importance of cooperating with the Explorer’s Guild, don’t you? Or is it because this is the countryside, and you’re just ignorant?」
There wasn’t even a shred of gratitude in his words toward us, the producers.
「Hey, are you looking down on country folk?」
At that moment, Grandpa, who had been listening from the back, stormed into the entryway, visibly enraged. As a former producer himself, his anger boiled over.
「The orders from the Explorer’s Guild are absolute, you know. Refusing them? That’s unpatriotic—」
It’s true that the government has urged citizens to cooperate with requests from the Explorer’s Guild for the sake of national defense.
But did that really justify this kind of overbearing behavior?
「Hey, that’s out of line! How dare someone like you, working in wholesale, insult producers like that?」
Before my own anger could explode, Grandpa was already there, letting loose.
「You old geezer—」
「I don’t care about selling my vegetables, but if you’re going to insult my grandpa, there’s no way I’m doing business with you. Leave. Now.」
「Get out of here!」
I shoved him out the door and slammed it shut.
Even Dori, clearly upset, was stomping her tiny feet and pouting furiously.
Watching her tantrum, our own anger gradually melted away. Even when she’s mad, Dori is just adorable.
I need to go directly to the Explorer’s Guild to confirm what’s going on.
「Alright, take a break, then head back to the fields.」
With that, we took a moment to rest before getting back to work.
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