Seeing Ron look at her, she opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed her words about the Flower Dance back down.
The next day.
Early in the morning at Marnie's Ranch, Jas was excitedly making preparations for her stall today.
Having made a bet with Vincent and Leo over who could earn the most Calico Eggs today, Jas brought out her most treasured possessions—a Magic Rock Candy that she couldn't even bear to eat herself, plus her favorite Ancient Doll!
Aside from that, she also prepared some Fairy Rose seeds, as well as a few pieces of pretty wallpaper.
Thinking about how she would claim first place for the day's stall when the totals were calculated, Jas couldn't help but reveal a victorious smile in advance.
Meanwhile, at Vincent's house.
"Are you really planning to sell these?" Sam looked at the junk Vincent had carried out, pinching the clay that was about to mix with the bug meat, and disgustedly pushed the unidentifiable bone to the side.
"These are all my treasures!" Vincent hugged the pile of junk and said, "There's bound to be someone who can appreciate their charm!"
"..." Sam fell silent looking at these things that, if discovered by Jodi, would immediately end up in the trash. After a long while, he sighed and confirmed, "You guys didn't bet anything, right?"
—
Seeing Vincent refuse to answer, Sam felt his eyebrow twitch. "What did you bet?"
"...If I lose, I'll let them take care of that egg for a day." Vincent pointed at the egg on the table not far away and said.
Sam didn't say another word and immediately gave Vincent a knock on the head.
"But I'm not going to lose!" Vincent said hastily.
Sam took a deep breath, held back his nausea, and opened Vincent's bundle. Inside, the bones were now stuck to the clay, and even that piece of still-squirming bug meat had gotten quite a bit of clay stuck to it, looking exceptionally disgusting.
"...Never mind, if it's just for a day, it shouldn't cause any trouble," Sam thought, then said, "Only at the Community Center. I'll ask Miss Joy to keep an eye on you guys."
"What makes you think I'll lose?" Vincent said indignantly. "If anyone's going to lose, it's Leo!"
He at least had these things; Leo wouldn't be able to come up with anything!
Sam didn't say a word and left the house in silence.
Vincent indignantly packed up his bundle, and only then carried it to the Bus Stop.
"..."
Meanwhile, in the Mountains.
Leo came down from his treehouse early in the morning. He really couldn't think of anything he could sell at a stall, so he had to ask the birds on Ginger Island to bring him back some local specialties.
Carrying a bag of Taro Roots, plus a few Pineapples and Coconuts, Leo excitedly arrived in front of Linus's tent.
Having accompanied Leo at the Desert Festival until late yesterday, Linus walked out of the tent yawning.
"Is this what you're preparing to sell?" Linus asked.
"Yeah." Leo nodded, then asked Linus to bring out his cooking pot.
After scooping some water from the nearby lake, Leo hung the pot over the campfire.
Linus naturally took out a small knife and helped Leo prep the ingredients.
"I'm going to make Poi with this," Leo introduced. "And this will be used for Tropical Curry."
Aside from these, there was only a Banana Sapling brought over by the birds, which might come in handy.
Leo was still a bit unfamiliar with cooking. When he was on Ginger Island, he rarely ate hot food; most of the time, he ate those delicious nuts with the birds, and occasionally some fruit.
Even the hot meals were made for him by the old woman named Birdie. He wasn't very familiar with the specific preparation methods, only knowing how to do it based on his memories of Birdie.
"Will it taste good?" Linus asked uncertainly.
"It should; what Birdie made was really delicious." Leo said, then remembered something, and couldn't help but shove the Taro Root in his hand into Linus's. "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be right back."
"Alright."
Linus didn't ask what Leo was going to do; he just nodded and quietly continued his work.
Leo jogged all the way to the Community Center. Joy was currently busy packing things up, preparing to head to the Desert Festival later. Seeing Leo run in, she gave him a wave.
"Can I—" Leo took out a few Calico Eggs somewhat hesitantly. "Trade these for some Hot Peppers with you? I'll bring you a portion of the Tropical Curry I make later, too."
"Hot Peppers?" Joy glanced toward the vegetable section. "I happen to have some. It's fine, just treat it as a gift from me."
Feeling that saying it like this wasn't quite appropriate, Joy changed her wording. "Let's just call it a thank-you gift for the curry. By the way, are you the one making the curry?"
Seeing Leo nod, Joy couldn't help but recall the way she looked during her first journey when she was young. She took some Hot Peppers and handed them to Leo, saying softly, "Then I'm really looking forward to it."
"Thank you." Leo thanked her a bit stiffly, then said, "See you at the Bus Stop later."
"See you at the Bus Stop later."
Taking the Hot Peppers all the way back to the tent, Linus had already helped start boiling the Taro Roots. These were all wild Taro Roots from Ginger Island, specially picked by the birds. Even though no seasonings had been added yet, they were already emitting a rich, sweet aroma.
"Smells pretty good," Linus said, stirring the pot. "I also have a portable stove inside, should I bring it out?"
Leo's eyes lit up at these words.
Completely unaware of the bustling cooking scene on the other side, Vincent—holding onto the thought that even if he was slightly inferior to Jas, he wouldn't be in last place—carried his junk and was the first to arrive at the Bus Stop.
Seeing that neither of the two had arrived after waiting for a long time, Vincent started to feel a bit anxious.
"Do they have that much stuff to prepare?"
Vincent pondered, and turning his head, he noticed a strange bulge in the ground not far away.
After a moment's thought, he found a sturdy branch nearby and started digging at the ground.
Before long, a Chipped Amphora revealed itself.
"This—" Vincent muttered as he wiped the pot. "Could it be a legendary Artifact?"
Thinking this, Vincent examined the pot over and over for a while.
He didn't have much knowledge of the market value of Artifacts, but it should be able to fetch some money, right?
Thinking this, Vincent's heart slowly stabilized a bit.
Just then, Joy walked over. Seeing Vincent, she remembered what Sam had just told her, and couldn't help but smile at him.
"Sam said you and Jas are competing for today's sales?"
Vincent nodded.
Recalling how certain Sam was that Vincent would lose, Joy thought for a moment and asked, "Then what did you prepare?"
"..."
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