Chapter 14: Trouble came to the door
Chapter 14
Upon hearing the woman's anxious question, Alex remained unresponsive for a while, focusing on carefully examining the manure. The woman became a little scared and impatient, urging Alex to say a few words.
After a brief pause, Alex finally broke his silence and took the initiative to speak, "There is no problem with the fertilizers themselves. However, I noticed that some of the fertilizers are not organic, and others seem to be mixed in, significantly reducing their efficacy."
The woman was immediately shocked and couldn't believe how an ordinary person could detect such subtleties, almost like sophisticated equipment in a lab.
Nonetheless, she quickly asked for permission to summon her boss, "Excuse me, sir, I need a moment to contact my boss."
"Sure, go ahead," Alex replied nonchalantly, continuing his inspection.
A middle-aged man, who appeared slightly older, was sitting in the office typing and doing some paperwork. He had a neat and honest appearance, not too flashy but professional. As he continued his work, he suddenly heard a young woman's voice calling out urgently.
"Forest, Forest!"
Frowning in uncertainty, the slightly plump man responded, "Come in."
The door opened, revealing a woman in a hurry.
"What's the matter? Why are you so excited?" the boss asked, curious about the reason for his employee's panic.
"Well, boss, I have something important to report!"
"Important? What is it?" the boss inquired, wondering what could be causing such agitation.
"There was a man earlier who wanted to buy organic fertilizer, and I took him to the temporary warehouse. After looking around, he claimed that most of our fertilizers are not genuine!"
"Not genuine?" the middle-aged boss questioned, slightly disbelieving.
"Yes, he said some of our organic fertilizers were not organic, and there were also mixed organic fertilizers with nutrients that didn't match what was claimed."
Hearing this, the boss hesitated for a moment and immediately decided to go and see for himself.
"Alright, take me to this person. I want to see what exactly happened."
With this, the woman led the way, and they approached Alex, who was sniffing the fertilizers.
"Sir, this is Mr. Martin Greenthumb, the boss of this station," she introduced.
"Yes, I'm Martin Greenthumb. May I know your name?" Mr. Greenthumb asked politely.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Greenthumb, my name is Russell Greenfield."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Greenfield. I would like to ask if what you mentioned is true. Are many of these fertilizers counterfeit?"
"Counterfeit goods? If what you mean, Mr. Greenthumb is that some of the fertilizers are not genuinely organic and others are mixed, then yes."
"Uh, yes. Do you have any evidence to support your accusations?" the boss asked with a hint of wariness.
"Hahahah, I'm just a farmer who knows his goods. Where would I have evidence from? But I suggest that the station boss immediately investigate this matter. If this issue becomes public, it could seriously damage the reputation of the station. Regretting it later won't do any good."
The boss nodded in response to Alex's advice.
"Oh, yes, thank you, Mr. Greenfield, for the advice. Greenthumb is very grateful for this valuable information. If you wish to see more, I can arrange for a demonstration."
"Ah, please don't be so formal. There's no need for a big demonstration. I just need 20 tons of organic cow manure and compost from Sunshine."
"Well, since Mr. Greenfield has been so helpful, I will give you a discount."
"Ah, no, Mr. Greenthumb, I can't accept that. Just give me the usual price."
The two of them negotiated back and forth before Alex finally took his leave.
"Okay, Mr. Greenfield, take care on the road. I will contact you once the fertilizer has been delivered to your farm."
"Ah, yes, good, thank you."
After Alex left, the woman next to Martin asked curiously, "Boss, is what he said true?"
Martin was also a little puzzled. "I don't know for sure, but what's certain is that the fertilizer he selected is not problematic. So if a customer asks about organic fertilizer, just recommend that one."
"Really, boss? Was he just playing around?"
"Yeah, I thought so too, but we need to be cautious until we do the testing. It seems that these manufacturers are getting more dishonest every day!"
Unaware of the situation, Alex continued his day by visiting the seed shop.
"Good morning! Are you a seed seller?" he greeted.
"Good morning! Yes, I'm a seed seller. How may I assist you?"
"I'm interested in buying seeds to grow vegetables in my garden. What are the best seeds you have?"
"We have various types of high-quality vegetable seeds. To determine the right ones, what vegetables do you want to grow in your garden?"
"I want to grow tomatoes, chilies, cucumbers, and carrots."
"Great, we have several options suitable for these vegetables. For tomatoes, we have cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, and beefsteak tomatoes. For chilies, there are red chilies and cayenne peppers. For cucumbers, we offer standard cucumbers and hybrid cucumbers. And for carrots, we have sweet and colorful varieties."
"Hmm, sounds interesting! How much do the seeds cost?" Alex asked curiously.
"The price varies depending on the type and variety. However, I can offer you a special deal. Are you interested in buying in large quantities or just a few packets?" the shop owner replied.
"I want to start with a small quantity for now. How much is each packet of seeds?" Alex inquired further.
"Tomato and chili seeds are around $5 per pack, cucumber seeds cost around $4 per pack, and carrot seeds are around $3 per pack."
"Alright, I'll take some packets of cherry tomato and red chili seeds to begin with. And also a pack of carrot seeds."
After making his selections, Alex glanced around the shop and asked, "Oh, do you have any grass seeds available here?"
The shop owner eagerly explained the different types of grass seeds they had, ranging from decorative grass to grass suitable for livestock. Alex carefully listened and ended up purchasing various grass seeds.
With his shopping complete, Alex paid for all the items, and it turned out to be a smaller expense than before, totaling only 500 dollars.
"Thank you for the seeds," Alex expressed his gratitude.
"You're welcome! I hope your farm thrives and prospers," the shop owner replied.
"Hahaha, thank you!" Alex smiled as he left the seed shop, ready to embark on his new gardening adventure.
After his shopping spree, Alex didn't head straight home. Instead, he purchased a variety of random items, including sugar, rice, meat, measuring cups, test tubes, vats of water, and even women's underwear. He stored all the random items in the room within the ring. As for the other items, he placed them in the co-pilot seat of his pickup truck.
The shopping took several hours, and Alex found himself surprisingly enjoying the experience. He realized that shopping could be quite fun, and he understood why women enjoyed it so much. Lost in time, he suddenly noticed that it was already noon.
"Huh, time flies when you're having fun. No wonder people enjoy shopping. I didn't even realize it was already lunchtime!" Alex remarked.
He decided to stop for lunch at a restaurant and then packed some food to take home and store in the room within the ring.
However, after the shopping spree, Alex spent a significant amount of money. He had less than $15,000 left in his account. If his family knew about his extravagant spending, they would scold and admonish him.
"What village kid spends $35,000 in just a few hours? This is so extravagant!" Alex chuckled to himself, aware of how his family would react if they knew.
Nonetheless, he was in a happy mood and eventually made his way back home.
…
At Alex's old house, Lilith had just come home from school and was looking forward to having a simple lunch. However, as she was about to take her food, she heard a voice calling from the front of the house. Curious, Lilith stopped what she was doing and went to see who was calling.
When she came out, Lilith was taken aback by the sight in front of her house. There were about a dozen burly men dressed in black standing there. One of the men, who stood out from the rest, asked if this was Russel's residence.
Hesitant but feeling compelled to answer, Lilith weakly replied, "Yes, uncle, this is my father's house."
The man seemed pleased with the confirmation and continued questioning, "Where is your father now?"
"My mom said my dad went to sell vegetables," Lilith replied, still feeling uneasy.
Upon hearing this, the man's smile turned into a frown, clearly not satisfied with the answer.
One of the other men not dressed in black then asked, "Hey Aaron, what do we do now?"
Aaron, seemingly unsure himself, replied, "If you're asking me, then who should I ask?"
The final man, known as Baka, interjected, "Why don't we just cause a scene? He'll come out eventually. I bet this little boy already arranged to say that before we got here."
The other two men expressed their reluctance and urged Baka not to stir up trouble.
Unfazed, Baka continued, "Come on, don't be cowards. We're not here for trouble."
Lilith's mother, Lily, arrived anxiously at that moment, having been informed about the suspicious strangers at her house. She was worried about her daughter's safety.
Upon seeing Lily, Baka wasted no time in explaining their presence, "We're here to wait for Russell. He owes us a debt, and it's well over 3 million dollars. Don't try to hide from us, or you'll all be in trouble!"
Lily was shocked and bewildered by this revelation. She couldn't fathom how her husband had incurred such a massive debt. Never having seen even 1000 dollars in her life, she couldn't comprehend the scale of the debt.
"It's too much! How could he have such a huge debt?" Lily exclaimed, feeling overwhelmed.
"Blame your husband for getting into debt. Don't try to play innocent; we won't fall for it!" Baka retorted, didn't displaying little sympathy for Lily's distress.
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