After waiting and waiting, the day finally arrived—the 24th of Fall.
Penny had deliberately gotten up early that day, and so had Pam.
Because they were building a house here, the trailer had to be moved from this spot to next to Robin's house. Once the new house was completed, this trailer they had lived in for so many years would officially be disposed of.
To speak of reluctance—yes, there was some, after all, it was a place they had lived in for so many years.
But more than that was the joy of moving to a new home—soon, they would have a real home.
Pam had just finished washing up. Yesterday, she had specifically borrowed Lewis's truck so she could tow the trailer to the mountains.
Because it had been idle and unused for so many years, the trailer could no longer move on its own.
Fortunately, once the tires were inflated, dragging it to the back mountains was no problem.
Having made all preparations, connecting the two vehicles with a tow hook, Pam got in the driver's seat and signaled Penny to sit in the passenger seat.
It was just dawn. Penny exhaled, instantly forming a cloud of white mist in the cold air.
Penny's hand trembled slightly as she reached for the truck door handle, then pulled it open and sat in the truck.
Because most people weren't awake yet, Pam drove somewhat carefully, the truck slowly moving toward the mountains.
Penny leaned against the window, staring intently at the scenery outside.
Like a heavy stone in her heart about to drop, she curved her eyes into a smile, waiting for the truck to stop at the carpenter's shop entrance.
Robin had been waiting at the door early in the morning, waving vigorously at the two of them: "Just park here!"
Once the trailer was parked at the carpenter's shop, Robin had Machop push the trailer slightly to the side to avoid blocking passersby. Then she greeted Penny, who stood waiting at ease.
"How is it? Very excited, aren't you?"
Maru came out of the house at this moment, handing out two cups of hot tea. Robin took one and passed the other to Penny.
Since it was on the way, Robin had Pam return the truck and bring the wood along as well.
Watching Machop place the chest of stored wood onto the truck, Penny stared at the chest for a moment, then suddenly asked: "That chest—is that from the farm?"
Indeedee had made distinctions for each chest, painting pictures on them indicating what they were used for, making them especially easy to identify.
Robin was first startled, then realized that Ron probably hadn't mentioned the funding and wood to Penny yet. She wasn't sure if Ron wanted Penny to know, so she thought for a moment and said: "Mm, building the new house requires 950 wood. The farm said they had plenty of this stuff stored, so they had me bring it over."
Penny paused. "If we were to buy this wood, approximately how much would it cost?"
"Less than 10,000g." Robin paused.
Seeing Penny's troubled expression, she couldn't help but pat Penny's head: "Don't think too much about it, dear. The farm really does have plenty of this stuff."
To the point where even the carpenter's shop found the storage quantity somewhat exaggerated.
"Then—thank him so much." Penny paused.
Watching the truck drive away, Robin stretched her body and walked with Penny toward Pelican Town Square.
Lewis's truck only seated two people. Leaving Robin behind to walk back alone didn't seem appropriate, so Penny had specifically stayed to walk with Robin.
The sun had just risen at this moment, its rays shining upon the quiet square of Pelican Town.
Penny had never gone out at this hour before. She took a deep breath, feeling her steps become much lighter.
"Oh right, dear." Robin remembered and handed a stack of papers to Penny: "I drew some design drafts for bookshelves and lounge chairs. Take a look and see which ones you like."
Penny quickly took them, flipping through them continuously in her hands.
The bookshelf designs weren't too flashy or elaborate. Because Penny wanted bookshelves, obviously she wouldn't be like others who just placed them there as decoration, not even dusting the books or flipping through them.
Therefore, capacity and convenience were the top priorities.
The more Penny looked, the more she liked them. "Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it." Robin said, smiling at Penny, then walked over to the truck in a few steps, helping Pam unload the chests from the vehicle.
She then immediately got busy without stopping.
Today was Wednesday.
Though she originally had classes to teach, Jodi and Marnie, thinking of Penny building her new home, had given the children a day off.
Penny was endlessly grateful for this. She always felt that even if she were sitting in the library teaching, her heart might have run off to the construction site instead.
Although she didn't usually do much physical labor, she still went up to help Robin.
Robin didn't refuse either, generously directing Penny to help out where she could manage.
Not far away, at 1 River Road.
The construction sounds had woken George from his bed. Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Evelyn hastily sat up from the bedside and helped George into his wheelchair.
Seeing Evelyn's exhausted face, he snorted, but after a while softened his tone and said: "Go rest for a while. I'll watch some TV in the room by myself."
George's legs hurt at night. Evelyn usually wouldn't go to bed either, just sitting quietly nearby, dozing off against the table. Only during the day would she rest in bed for a while.
Hearing this, Evelyn nodded.
"There's milk in the refrigerator. Remember to drink it."
Whether it was Evelyn's imagination or not, she always felt that since they started buying Moomoo Milk for George to drink, his legs had improved quite a bit. The number of times he woke up at night from leg pain had also decreased significantly.
Thinking this, she yawned, pulled up the covers, and fell asleep.
George wheeled his chair over to the window.
From afar, he could see Robin busy working in that empty lot.
He had practically watched Penny grow up. She was a remarkably kind child. Though sometimes her kindness would touch his fragile pride, causing him to involuntarily speak harshly to her.
But in reality, he quite liked this child.
Now watching their lives getting better and better, George smiled after a while.
Meanwhile, Ron.
Today was George's birthday. Yesterday, he went to the Pokémon Center. The workshop had added some craftable items during this time.
Among them was—the [Flame Orb]
It was a mysterious orb that generated its own heat. Originally a battle item, but Ron discovered that after wrapping it in cloth, it could surprisingly be used as a hand warmer.
Ron placed it into the pouch he had asked Leah to sew yesterday, then left the farm.
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