Chapter 5 My Vegetables
933 Words
I stood in my garden, staring at the lifeless vegetables scattered across the ground, feeling both angry and heartbroken. Before I realized it, tears started rolling down my face.
"What happened?"
I turned around to see a woman passing by my front gate. She wore a light blue T-shirt, red casual pants, and matching red combat boots with her short brown hair.
"I'm Amanda, your neighbor," she introduced herself. "Do you need help?"
Amanda lived alone and had a vegetable garden of her own. Seeing my distress, she kindly offered me some of her crops, bringing over a handful of fruits and vegetables, blueberries, tomatoes, and limes.
I was truly grateful to Amanda, secretly making a mental note to return the favor once I managed to grow some decent vegetables of my own.
I decided to try using the mysterious liquid on every single fruit and vegetable she gave me, but there wasn't enough of it. In a moment of desperation, I diluted it with some water and poured it over the plants, but nothing happened. Disappointed, I waited until late into the night, eventually falling asleep from exhaustion.
The next morning, to my surprise, the watered-down liquid had worked! The vegetables were thriving again, and the fruits looked as fresh as if they had just been picked!
Overjoyed, I gathered some blueberries and rushed to share them with Amanda.
"Wow, these blueberries smell amazing! I feel like eating them right now!" Amanda exclaimed, grabbing one and taking a big bite. "Oh my God, they're so tasty!"
Taking the opportunity, I asked Amanda about the local vegetable market. She told me, "Harbor Town relies heavily on imports for vegetables, so the prices are high and the produce isn't always fresh, and Ameloria vegetables are already pricey. That's why a lot of us prefer growing our own, but as you can see from my garden, it's not easy to grow anything decent."
I followed Amanda's finger direction and saw that the vegetables in her garden looked a bit wilted and were struggling to grow.
Her words lit a fire of determination in me. 'Growing vegetables and fruits seems like the perfect job for me!'
With renewed hope, I headed to the town's only seed store to buy seeds and start my journey.
The store was packed with rows of seed packets, and the sheer variety overwhelmed me. After consulting with the shop assistant, I decided to go for something simple to start with, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and onions.
But when I saw the price tags, I couldn't help but gasp. "Why are these seeds so expensive?"
All were eight-ounce each package of seeds. Fifteen dollars for a pack of spinach and onion seeds, and even the radishes and lettuce were priced at thirteen dollars per pack.
"These seeds are top quality, selected from the best crops grown at the Feretah University Agricultural Research Center," the assistant explained, noticing my shock.
I hesitated for a moment but eventually gave in, even though buying the seeds drained most of the money I had left.
I walked out of the store quickly, afraid that if I stayed any longer, I'd end up losing even more of my hard-earned cash. I didn't hear the assistant mutter behind me, "What good is a city woman at gardening? Buying so many seeds is a waste!"
When I got home, Olivia was waiting for me by the door.
"Alice, where did you get those vegetables you gave to Amanda?"
I shot her an annoyed glare. "I grew them myself. Didn't you pick them out of the ground yourself?"
"You don't have any proof that it was me," Olivia said smugly. "But I know for sure you must've used something illegal to grow them. There's no other way they could've turned out that well."
I responded cautiously, "What are you talking about? My vegetables grew naturally, without any illegal additives."
"Oh, really? Then why is Amanda feeling sick after eating them? She thinks it's because of something you added."
Amanda appeared as soon as Olivia finished speaking, her face pale and her body weak. Even her voice was faint. "Alice, I... I'm really not feeling well. Could it be... the vegetables you gave me?"
Her words seemed to validate Olivia's accusation!
I swallowed my panic and walked over to Amanda, my voice calm but full of concern. "Amanda, where exactly do you feel unwell?"
"I... I've been feeling dizzy, nauseous, and my stomach's been hurting..." Amanda clutched her abdomen in discomfort. "Olivia mentioned it might be because of the vegetables you gave me..."
"No way! Amanda, my vegetables are fresh and healthy!" I declared confidently. After all, I had eaten them myself, and I felt perfectly fine.
Olivia, not missing a beat, chimed in, "Alice, stop lying. Across all of Feretah, there's no way vegetables could grow that fast and look that good without something unnatural. Your veggies are definitely poisonous!"
Ignoring her, I turned back to Amanda. "Amanda, think carefully. Besides my vegetables, did you eat anything else?"
Amanda seemed to hesitate, her eyes clouded with thought. Olivia quickly interrupted, trying to steer her back to her side. "Amanda, stop thinking about it. It was definitely her vegetables!"
"It wasn't!" I insisted, giving Amanda a reassuring look. "Amanda, do you remember what happened this afternoon? Tell me, what else did you eat?"
Amanda muttered, "This afternoon... Olivia came over for a visit. Oh, right! She brought her homemade drink for me, and I drank it!"
It hit me like a ton of bricks. I turned to Olivia with a piercing glare.
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