"Alright, so what's the plan?" Ashe demanded after welcoming her inside her house and into the kitchen. The interior was exactly what I expected of an old farmhouse, with older appliances and decades of cooked meals baked into the wood, giving the room a homey smell.
"Well, I need to know why the farm failed in the first place to avoid any potholes that might otherwise be obvious," I replied astutely as I watched Ashe walk around the kitchen, "From what I heard, this place was thriving before whatever happened went down."
I could see the muscles in Ashe's jaw clench from a distance as she reached up into a cupboard and pulled out two coffee mugs. "It was a lawsuit, some rich asshole's kid fell off during a tractor ride and broke her arm. Her father sued the farm, and it all went downhill from there. We lost the lawsuit, and it ate through a good part of our savings. My daddy had to take out a loan from the bank so that we could keep afloat. But then word got out about our supposed negligence, and just like that, people stopped coming. The whole town turned its back on us after one incident. Hmph, talk about a bad apple."
Even though Ashe's story was as somber as it was unfortunate, I wasn't that surprised. I had seen countless similar situations where a business could completely crumble once its reputation was destroyed.
"I see, well then that eliminates our option for fundraising or public shareholders," I replied after a second, scratching my chin in thought, "How much capital do you currently have?"
"You mean dollars?" Ashe slammed the two mugs down on the countertop before letting out a dark laugh, "I don't have a cent to my name. The last of my savings went to paying off the loan."
I let out a sigh of relief, "Well, that's a piece of good news."
Ashe glared at me, "How is that good news?"
"It's good news because if you were in debt, then we would be fighting an uphill battle," I answered calmly, "Working with zero in the bank is worlds easier than working with debt. Now we just need to establish an affordable and scalable production model."
Ashe glowered but didn't say anything, instead reaching under the countertop and pulling out a heavy clay jug, "Well then, I guess we're drinking to celebrate."
Before I could say a word, Ashe pulled the cork out with her teeth and proceeded to fill up both mugs to the brim with a clear golden liquid.
Ashe picked up one cup and gestured toward the other, still left on the counter. Following her example, I lifted the filled mug and glanced at the liquid inside. Bringing the cup up to take a sniff, I was immediately assaulted by the unmistakable burn of alcohol vapors, followed by the pleasant scent of sweet and crisp apples.
"Hard cider?" I asked, looking at Ashe for confirmation, to which she nodded, "My daddy's own personal brew. Used to make it with all the leftover and unmarketable apples."
Ashe saluted before raising the mug to her lips and beginning to drink. I was right behind her, taking a small sip at first, not knowing what to expect, but then immediately following with another.
The cider was smooth and sweet with a startling clarity that swept through the mouth like a refreshing fall breeze. There were also notes of pear, cinnamon, and clove that warmed my body as the cider settled in my stomach.
With an approving smack of my lips, I set down the empty mug back on the table, "My god."
"What, not a fan?" Ashe muttered, unimpressed.
"I'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who isn't a fan of that," I muttered in response, still in a slight shock. "Are all ciders this good?"
Ashe snorted, "I doubt it, my daddy spent years mastering his recipe and techniques. Won a few competitions as well."
I nodded along as an idea started to form in my mind, "Say, you wouldn't happen to have any more of this stuff, would you?"
Ashe clicked her tongue, "About six, seven barrels in the cellar. Why'd you ask?"
"Because I just figured out how we're going to get our starting capital," I replied with a broad grin spreading across my face, "Seems like I'm leaving here with a farm-to-table item after all."
"You wanna sell this at your restaurant?" Ashe muttered, surprised, "Most people don't really know about hard cider or have a taste for it."
"Well then, it will be my job to introduce it to them." I insisted, my mind running wild with ideas, "I'll only take a barrel or two to start, and come back with the profits to show you there's a market for cider."
Ashe chewed it over before shrugging, "Ah, what the hell, it ain't doing any good sitting around in the cellar. Though make sure you start thinking of a backup plan when this fails."
"Remember what I said about trust?" I repeated only for Ashe to scoff and push the countertop, "Seeing is believing, you come back with something worthwhile, then we can talk about trust."
"And here I thought we were getting somewhere, after we shared a drink," I replied dryly.
"No, that was a test," Ashe muttered, "I don't trust anybody who don't drink."
---
It was starting to get dark out when Ashe and I pulled up to the restaurant in her beat-up pickup truck that looked like it had more rust than actual metal. But it managed to make it back into town without breaking down, while hauling the precious barrel of hard cider, which was strapped down in the back.
With a squeal of worn-down brake pads, Ashe came to a stop and parked next to the curb. She then looked over at the dimmed sign hanging above my restaurant, "Ramon's Grill...why am I not surprised that you named your restaurant after yourself?"
"What can I say, I have an ego," I replied with a shrug as I opened the door and got out of the truck. Walking towards the trunk, I undid the ratchet holding the barrel.
"Here, let me help you with-" Ashe started as she got out as well, but before she could finish, I had already climbed into the bed of the truck and hefted the surprisingly light barrel up onto my shoulder.
For the first time, I watched Ashe's facial expression crack as she stared at me with slightly widened eyes, "How in the fucking hell did you do that?!"
I shrugged before adjusting the barrel so it was on one shoulder, my arm wrapped around it for support. "It's not that heavy."
"Not that heavy?!" Ashe nearly shouted, "That barrel is damn near two hundred pounds! I had to use a damn lift to get that thing in the truck!"
'Did she say four hundred?' I asked myself while trying to keep the look of shock off my own face, 'I guess this is the first time I've actually lifted anything heavy with my new body, but still, 200 pounds should feel this light.'
Luckily, Ashe didn't press the issue, instead shaking her head, "Whatever, I guess in the end it doesn't matter much anyhow. Just make sure you don't drop it, ya her'"
Without waiting for a response, Ashe hopped back in her truck and pulled off without looking back.
'Well, that was a lot for one evening,' I noted as I walked around to the back of the restaurant while looking at the notifications I had gained throughout the day.
[Profile: Elizebeth 'Ashe' Caledonia]
Status
Affection: 5/100
Lust: 0/100
Bond: Stranger
Rank: B
Bio
Personality: Dedicated, ???, ???
Kink(s): ???, ???, ???
Pact: None
[SimQuest: The Ode Farm I]
Objective(s): Restore Ode Farm to its former glory and earn the trust of a certain farm girl along the way
1. Sell a barrel's worth of Ashe's Hard Cider [0/1]
2. Raise 10,000 dollars for Ashe's Farm [0/10,000]
3. Reach the Aquantince affection rank with Ashe [5/25]
Reward(s):
1. +8 skill points
2. +8 Hex Points
3. +2 Development Point
4. +$15,000 Appliance Coupon
Opening the back door, I walked into the kitchen, and with an unnecessary grunt, I set down the barrel.
[Ingredient: Barrel of Ode Farm Hard Cider]
Count: 1000 Glasses
Category: Spirit
Quality: Gourmade
Effect(s):
1. +25% to the final quality of all recipes and dishes
'Perfect, now let's see if I can really make a profit out of this stuff.' I smiled to myself as I could practically taste the new revenue stream that would come pouring in.