After buying the beer, Charlie walked over to Shane.
“Hey, buddy.
Want one?” he asked, holding out the drink.
Shane accepted it naturally.
“Thanks, buddy.
I love beer.”
He picked up the glass and started drinking.
Charlie sat beside him and watched for a moment.
“You don’t look like you actually enjoy it.
I don’t see any happiness on your face.”
Shane paused at that.
He turned his head slightly and glanced over.
When he realized Charlie was actually waiting for an answer, he set the beer down.
“Maybe you’re right.
But drinking is one of the few things that helps me blow off some stress.”
Seeing him like that, Charlie understood a little.
His father used to drink and smoke often, too.
Once, when Charlie had asked why he liked those things so much, the answer had stayed with him.
To Charlie, they had never seemed good at all.
They tasted bad and damaged your body.
But his father had said:
“Kiddo, I don’t like the taste, and I’m not trying to hurt myself.
I’m just under a lot of stress, and this helps me unwind a little.”
Looking at Shane now, Charlie couldn’t help thinking he was probably the same.
Life had put a lot of pressure on him.
…
It wasn’t until eleven at night that Charlie helped a drunk Shane back home.
He was worried that if Shane kept drinking, something might actually happen to him.
They passed two houses before reaching the end of the road, where a ranch came into view.
There were cows nearby.
Charlie kept Shane steady until they reached the door, then knocked.
Before long, it opened, and a woman poked her head out.
“Hello, my name is Charlie.
I’m the new farmer here.”
“I brought Shane home.”
The woman nodded.
“I’m Marnie.
Leave Shane to me!”
Once Shane was safely inside, Charlie stood at the door in a daze for a while.
It was already past midnight.
He looked at the roads ahead.
One path continued upward, another led straight on, and of course, he could always go back the way he had come.
In the end, he chose to head upward.
The path took him past quite a few stones and through a small grove.
Then, to his surprise, he found his own house.
Yes.
He was home.
…
Thursday, Day 4.
After waking up, Charlie checked his balance.
1,315 – 800 = 515 gold
He had actually spent 800 gold yesterday.
So today would be for making money.
But before that, he planned to go check on Shane.
After getting dressed, he looked at the TV.
“Huh, there’s a new show today.”
“Livin’ Off The Land?
Driven by curiosity, he opened it.
[Welcome to Livin’ Off The Land.
We’re back with another little tip for you.
Listen up.
Here’s a tip for Stardew Valley residents.
Check for Spring Onions growing southwest of town, where the river meets the ocean.
You can sometimes find clusters of them sprouting from the soil.]
Charlie watched the broadcast.
“So that means there’s something to forage south of town.”
What he cared about now was whether it could be sold for money.
After checking the fortune and seeing good luck again, Charlie wondered if the spirits had seen him do something good yesterday and given him more luck.
Then he happily pushed open the door.
He was just about to water the crops when he realized they were ready to harvest.
The moment he touched them, information popped up.
[Parsnip (Normal): A spring tuber closely related to the carrot.
It has an earthy taste and is full of nutrients.]
After harvesting them all, he counted them.
12 Normal, 2 Silver, and 1 Gold.
Yes, one Gold.
Charlie hadn’t expected a gold-quality crop at all.
It was probably the spirits’ good luck at work.
After collecting the 100g reward for the Getting Started quest, he went to the shipping bin.
“Lewis said that if I put things here, he’ll help me sell them, right?” Charlie recalled what had happened on the first day.
Then he put the twelve Normal Parsnips and one Silver Parsnip inside, keeping only one Gold and one Silver for gifts.
Once that was done, he planned to chop some wood and make a Chest for storing things.
After that, he headed down to Shane’s place to check on him.
By the time he finished all that and reached Marnie’s Ranch, it was already 9:30.
He pushed open the door and walked in.
As soon as he entered, he saw Marnie standing at the counter.
“Hi there, farm boy.”
“Hello, Marnie.”
They exchanged a few greetings, and then Charlie got to the point.
“Has Shane gone to work?”
Marnie nodded.
“Where does he work?”
“At JojaMart,” she said.
“Joja?”
Just hearing that name made him feel like he understood why Shane was in so much pain.
“Alright, Marnie.
I’ll be going, then.”
After getting the information he wanted, he was about to leave and find Shane.
But Marnie called out to him.
“I sell poultry and animal care products here at my ranch.
Stop by when you have time.”
Listening to her, Charlie understood that quest.
“So the Raising Animals quest means buying chickens from Marnie.”
But when he had checked it that morning, it said he needed to buy a Coop from Robin’s house up north, and he had been there once before.
“Alright.
I’ll come buy some in a few days.”
After leaving, he followed the road he and Shane had taken the night before and soon arrived in town.
The first two houses he saw were Jodi’s and Emily’s.
He went into Jodi’s house and greeted her and Vincent.
The second house belonged to Emily.
From her, he learned she had a younger sister.
After leaving, he kept walking and soon spotted Penny under that same tree again.
This time, he didn’t stay long.
He gave her a Gold Parsnip and moved on.
She seemed to like it very much.
There, beside the shelves, Shane was standing in his work uniform, focused on his job.
“Hey, are you okay?” Charlie went up and greeted him.
Shane heard his voice and looked up.
“Charlie.
Thanks for taking me home yesterday.”
“But I’m working right now.
Let’s talk after my shift.”
That was a clear rejection, so Charlie didn’t push it.
He was about to head south and gather the Spring Onions from the morning broadcast to make some money when someone called out to him near the entrance.
“Hey there, sir.
Would you be interested in taking a look at our company’s new membership?”
The man wore glasses, and everything about him screamed corporate salesman.
Charlie ignored him and walked straight out.
After leaving JojaMart, he crossed the stone bridge and arrived at Pierre’s General Store.
This time, it wasn’t closed.
He stepped inside.
Judging by the interior, it was clearly a shop.
A middle-aged man in brown clothes stood behind the counter.
He wore glasses, and his face looked a little worried.
This must be Pierre.
Charlie stepped up.
“Hi, I’m the new farmer here.”
“My name is Charlie.”
Pierre smiled back.
“I’m Pierre, owner of Pierre’s General Store.”
“If you want seeds, you’ve come to the right place.”
“I promise you’ll get friendlier service here than at JojaMart.”
Charlie listened while looking over the shelves.
“Parsnip Seeds, Bean Starter, Cauliflower Seeds, Potato Seeds…”
There were plenty of options, but after looking them over, he settled on Potatoes and Cauliflower.
“Two Potato Seeds and five Cauliflower Seeds, please.”
Pierre was delighted to hear that.
He quickly packed up the seeds and handed them over.
“Here you are.
That’ll be 500g.”
“Alright.” Charlie nodded.
Now he had only 115 gold left.
Just as he was paying, a girl suddenly pushed open a door and came out.
She had waist-length purple hair, with a cute hairclip on her head.
Paired with her big, bright eyes, she was very pretty.
When Pierre saw her, he immediately introduced her.
“Oh, right, let me introduce you.”
“This is my daughter.
Her name is Abigail.”
“She likes running around and causing trouble near your place, so I imagine you two will get along well.”
After listening to Pierre’s introduction, Charlie stepped forward to greet her.
“Hello, Abigail.
I’m Charlie, the new farmer.”
But what happened next was not what he expected.
Abigail didn’t have the same shy, girlish air Penny had.
Instead, she looked at him with open curiosity.
“Oh!
Do you like adventures?”
“Have you been to the Wizard’s Tower in the southwest?
I heard a wizard lives there.”
“Want to go take a look together?”