[Hyde POV]
The next morning, I went to the farm with Eric and Donna in Eric's Vista Cruiser. I picked his car instead of using mine since we would be dealing with some dirty stuff.
The two continued sleeping in the backseat while I drove us to the outskirts of town, listening to music.
I called Fez, Kelso, Donna, and Jackie to help. Only Donna picked up the phone at 4:30 in the morning. In retrospect, I should've told them yesterday.
I yawned as I drove through the dark road. The sun hadn't even come up yet.
I pulled the strawberry crowns out of my system storage. They'd been delivered two hours ago. I arranged them neatly beside the raised soil beds.
Then, I took out the plastic wrap for the soil beds. It was necessary to prevent the strawberries from touching the soil and rotting.
Donna and Eric were still cuddling in the backseat, so I set up the plastic wrap using Build mode. When it was time to plant, I would open holes in the wrap using a hot tin can, melting the plastic just enough for each plant.
Just to be safe, I also set up the irrigation system. I had already bought the pipes, so I connected them to the water supply.
Instead of sprinklers, I ran drip lines beneath the plastic wrap so the water would go directly to the roots. It would also keep the leaves dry, reducing rot and disease, and allow the strawberries to grow more consistently.
I also set up a weather detection device on a pole in the field, connected to my smartphone.
If it rained, I could just shut off the water flow.
I wore gloves and began planting the strawberries. Since it was summer, the soil wasn't hard, and I could dig holes easily.
Donna and Eric got out of the car groggily at 5:45.
"Hey, why didn't you wake us up?" Donna asked, wiping her eyes.
Eric yawned and said, "You already started planting? What should we do?"
"Why don't you two team up? One burns the holes, and the other plants the strawberry roots. Make sure they're two feet apart."
They started working without talking much. I took out my camera from my system and snapped a few pictures of them. Donna was burning the holes, and Eric was planting the strawberries.
They treated it like a date, which pissed me off a little.
"Here." Eric threw some dirt at Donna.
"Hey! Here, take them back!" Donna grabbed Eric's head and shoved it down to the dirt patch.
He slowly lifted up his head, shocked by her strength. I laughed slightly as I saw that.
Suddenly, two trucks pulled up to the farm. Eric and Donna looked surprised.
Around ten people got out of the trucks. Pam, the farmer, grinned when he saw me.
"Hey, Mr. Hyde. I brought you the workers."
"Great," I said with a grin. "Plant 3,000 plants and you'll get 50 bucks."
Everyone widened their eyes in shock.
The average farm wage was 15 to 25 dollars a day, so fifty was a huge deal.
The farmhands were mostly young people from farms around the area. They all looked like hard workers.
The weather was on our side. It wasn't too sunny or too cloudy. It was just nice.
At 8 in the morning, the first food truck came by. I had hired Randall from the cafe to bring some breakfast to the farm.
"Man, this place is hard to find." He complained as he delivered the food and the warm coffee.
Eric and Donna kept flirting around. They even chased after one another on the field.
I however, had to deal with the burly farmers asking me multiple questions at once.
"Why did you use the plastic wrapping?"
"I saw the pipe contraption. What is that for?"
"With the plastic cover, how will you add fertilizers to the crop?"
I replied to them one by one. The plastic wrapper was to keep the soil warm and prevent the fruit from rotting. Same as the drip irrigation, it was to prevent fungus on the leaves.
The feed would be channeled through the irrigation in a process called fertigation. Everyone was impressed when I answered everything calmly.
Sometimes, they asked me questions I had no knowledge of. So I just checked it on the internet.
"Hank." Farmer Pam suddenly called one of the younger farmhand who was listening intently to my description of corn farming.
"Yes Uncle?" Hank, a guy in a cowboy hat, has a couple of moles near his eyes and left cheek, also a huge mustache turned to Farmer Pam.
"Uncle?" I was taken aback.
"That's my nephew." Pam explained to me with a guffaw. "He's the runt of the litter. You told me you want someone to take care of the farm for you. He can do it."
"Oh." I turned to him and asked seriously, "I need someone who can handle the accounting, hiring, and keep the place running when I'm not around. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"
"Um…" Hank was hesitant. "I've never graduated from school. But I can read and write. Maths… that'll be hard."
Pam sighed slightly. I laughed and said, "Don't worry about math. I just need you to record the expenses. Can you handle that?"
"Yeah. I can." He said seriously.
"Good. What is your salary expectation?" I asked again, turning this fully into an interview.
"Um… I think… Five grand per year? That will be fine. It's not like there's jobs in the winter."
Pam suddenly interjected. "That's too much."
"Oh… um… four grand then?" Hank asked warily.
I raised an eyebrow. I had been prepared to offer twelve grand per year, but his motivation was low.
"What about this," I said, "I'll give you twenty percent of the profit from the farm harvest as your salary in addition to the four grand."
Hank's eyes lit up. "Really? That's generous of you!"
That was the most efficient way to make him have a personal attachment to the farm.
Pam chuckled. "That's nice, Hank. You can finally get married now that you have a job."
Hank laughed shyly. He was only twenty-two, but in a community where farmers often had kids in their teens, Hank was considered late for marriage.
After a heavy breakfast, everyone went back to work. I sat to the side, resting, while planning out the farm structure.
'I'll add some beekeeping too', I thought. 'The bees will help pollinate the strawberries, producing more uniform fruit. I can also sell honey as a farm product. And barn owls… I need them to keep the rodents down.'
The farm had once had a storage shed, but it had fallen to neglect and harsh weather.
I knew a proper shed was necessary, not just for equipment and fertilizer, but also for the irrigation system, bee supplies, and any harvested crops that needed temporary storage.
'I'll let my building company handle this.'
A solid shed would also let us keep the farm organized and protect valuable items from the elements.
Electricity wasn't available out here, but that was fine. I could set up a small generator for essential tools, lights inside the shed, and the drip irrigation pump.
'That's why I need Hank here. He needs to start the generator when it's time to water the crops. If I installed solar panels on the roof, I might not need him and just set everything up on a timer.'
I paid the farmers with cash since I was flush with it and needed to launder it anyway. I had around 400,000 dollars in cash from the bulb sales. It was the money I pretended to be giving to the supplier to get the bulbs.
I had more, but I had funnelled them into various expenses.
'I should buy laundromats.' I sighed inwardly.
…
Another batch of farmers came to the land to help with the farming in the afternoon. They were offering to work for free, but I paid them anyway.
During lunch, Eric and Donna suddenly approached me.
"You guys are done?" I asked them, already guessing what they wanted to talk about.
"Yup." Eric said, with dirt on his clothes and hands. "I'm done farming… like ever."
Donna laughed and said, "I can go on. But I need a shower. So, can we take the car?"
I was taken aback. "Wait, how do I get back home?"
"No, we will come to pick you up." Eric said hurriedly. "When do you think you'll be done?"
"I don't know. Around 5 or 6?" I replied.
"We will come back at 5." Donna promised.
"Sure."
Eric and Donna left, leaving me with the farmers. All thirty thousand of the crowns were planted in just one day.
"Here you go." I gave 50 bucks to Hank.
"Here you go." I gave another 50 to a farmer.
They were queuing in front of me to get paid. I learned a lot of their names and also advertised my auto shop at the same time.
They left in the trucks, leaving only me alone in the farm. I sat on the stool there, waiting for Eric to come pick me up.
It was already sunset… yet I was still at the farm.
"Did that son of a bitch forget about me?" I fumed slightly as I checked my watch.
It was already 7 in the evening. I was hungry, tired, and really pissed off right now.
…
It was 9 in the night. I hugged my body to provide warmth as I walked to the nearest place around here.
Luckily, there was a bar 12 miles from the farm.
Since I had direct access to Walmart using the Love Letter, I decided to buy a bike. An electric bicycle.
It has a 20 miles per charge battery, so I used that to drive it like a motorcycle to get to the bar. Thankfully, it came pre-charged.
Once I was there, I put the bike inside my system storage and went inside.
"What can I do for you?" The barkeeper asked.
"Give me a cold one. And do you have food here?"
He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Fries and burgers."
"Give me that too."
After I ordered, I went to the toilet to wash my hands and face. It was quite dirty since I worked on the farm all day.
When I came back, my food was already on the table. I ate it with gusto since I was too hungry. Some of the patrons there looked at me and laughed, but I ignored them.
I must've looked really scrappy right now after working on the farm all day.
"Is there a payphone around here?" I asked the bartender as I paid for the meal.
The bartender's gaze turned worried. "There's one in the parking lot. But be careful. There's some people hanging around there that you don't want to mess with. In fact, why don't you use my phone? I'll charge you like a payphone."
"Sure." I replied casually and called the Forman's house.
Red picked it up.
"Hey Red. Is Eric there?" I asked.
"Steven. It's ten god damn thirty. Where are you?" Red asked scoldingly.
"You should ask your son. He's supposed to pick me up at the farm at 6. I waited for him till 10. I had to walk miles to get to the nearest bar and borrowed the phone here."
Red was startled and said, "He didn't pick you up?"
"Yeah. What is he doing right now?" I asked, a little pissed off.
"He's been sleeping since the afternoon. That's it. I'm kicking his ass!" Red almost cut the call before picking it up again and asked, "Where are you?"
"Bennys. It's on the Southside. Where all the rednecks and the truckers are stopping by." I replied casually.
"I'll be right there." Red replied urgently and cut the call.
I sighed and waited around casually while drinking beer. Suddenly, a drunken patron of the bar approached me.
"Hey, you look familiar." He narrowed his eyes, hiccupping as he was clearly drunk.
"A lot of people say I look like Elvis." I smiled slightly.
He laughed and said, "That's it! Elvis!"
Then, he walked away, already getting his curiosity satiated.
The bartender asked me slightly. "You're the guy on TV, right? The Rev It Up thing."
"Yup." I replied in a slow voice.
He smiled and said, "Never has anyone famous come to the bar. I heard about the race today. Congratulations on getting first place. Your next beer will be on me."
I didn't even know the result of the race today. Since I haven't been home yet.
'Great. Spoilers.'
Red came alone twenty minutes later to pick me up and bring me home.
I almost fell asleep on the ride home. As Red parked the car, Eric rushed outside to get to his Vista Cruiser.
"H–Hyde!" Eric panicked. "I'm– I'm really sorry."
"Steven. Go inside and take a shower. Then, go to bed." Red said firmly.
I smiled at him and said, "Sure Red."
"Hyde–" Eric called out to me with a deflated tone, wanting me to stay.
"Red. I want to see you scold him." I stood there giddily.
"Fine." Red replied.
Eric was taken aback and looked pitiful.
Red looked at him angrily and said, "How could you do that to Steven? He waited for you for hours. He had to walk more than ten miles to get to the nearest phone in the dark. What if he got attacked by some beasts?"
"I'm… I didn't do it on purpose. Mom told me to visit Great Aunt Pearl. Then, when I got home, I took a nap and forgot…"
"This was the most irresponsible thing you've ever done. I'm sorry Eric, but you're grounded."
"But–"
"Red." I interjected. "How about another form of punishment? Something akin to putting your foot on his ass."
"Hyde!" Eric was startled.
"What do you have in mind?" Red asked me.
"He's going to be my little bitch for one full week." I suggested.
"No. There's no way–"
"Deal." Red and I shook hands. Eric was in disbelief as he saw it.
As Red got in, I asked Eric, "Which one do you think is better? Being grounded, not able to drive around with Donna anymore, or being my little bitch?"
"I guess… I'm your bitch." He laughed awkwardly.
"Great." I smirked slightly. "Go make me a sandwich."
"Fine." Eric sighed and went to do it. "Nutella?" He asked.
"PB and J." I said as I went to take a shower. There was a dirt line on the floor as I washed away all of the soils from the farm work.
I ate the sandwich and went to bed without doing much.
The next day at school, Jackie approached me angrily at the locker.
"You bastard! You didn't take me yesterday!" She scolded me.
"No. I called. You didn't answer." I replied, not backing down.
…
Today, we shared the gym with the sophomores, which meant Jackie was there too. We were still playing badminton since it was the final week of school, and the coach was pretty lazy.
'I still have 7 hours left. If I can do three hours today, I can finish it on Wednesday,' I thought to myself.
The students were really enjoying the badminton matches—mostly because it was really easy to play.
However, there were too many people in the gym right now. Over seventy.
Jackie grumbled, "Steven. I want to play too. Let's play together."
She was being whiny and annoying.
"Why don't you go talk with your friends?" I asked, incredulous.
She used to be pretty popular, but now she didn't have any close friends in her grade.
"Well… turns out Michael made out with most of them," Jackie said with exasperation. "I'm so humiliated. They were all laughing at me behind my back."
"Maybe if you weren't so annoying, they'd feel bad about it too," I said casually.
Jackie immediately pinched my forearm.
"Ouch. You little shit." I rubbed my arm.
I walked to the center of the gym and blew a whistle. Everyone stopped their games and turned toward me.
"Hey. I have a suggestion. Why don't we do a tournament?"
"What's the prize?" Chuck shouted from afar.
"Jackie convinced me that I shouldn't do coupons again."
Everyone exclaimed in disbelief. Some even glared at him.
"I-I've never said that—" Jackie stammered, hiding behind Donna.
"She convinced me I could get a better prize. So I'll do this—the team that wins will get $200 worth of vouchers. You can redeem it for your sports teams or use it to slash the price at my auto shop if you want to buy anything there."
Everyone clamored in surprise and excitement.
"Really?" Chuck's eyes lit up. "So I can get a paint job if I have 600 more?"
"Yeah," I replied casually.
"Great! I'll definitely win the match!" he vowed.
Some of the girls raised their hands, and I pointed at one of them.
"Um, do we separate boys and girls? If so, will girls win one voucher, boys win one… or do we split the main prize?"
"Different brackets, different prizes. Second place gets $100. Third place gets 50 bucks. Anyone who wants to register, go to Jackie and kiss her ass. Thank her too, since she made this possible."
I finished speaking and walked back to Jackie, who was frozen on the spot.
"Why… why did you do that?" Jackie asked in disbelief.
"Just trying to help. Now you're higher status than those bitches. You can make their lives miserable if they try to register."
Jackie's eyes widened slightly, then she smiled—sharp and a little dangerous.
"Thanks, Steven." She batted her eyes at me.
"You're welcome, doll." I smirked and walked toward Kelso and Fez. They were excited about the match and wanted to team up.
Jackie didn't make things difficult for the girls. She treated them normally, and that eased the isolation—some of them even started talking to her again.
Later, she told me the bitches were only faking it.
But she was faking it too.
The coach went to talk with the football team students, wanting to use the opportunity to get funding for football.
They wanted to win all of the prizes. First, second and third.
The basketball team was the same. Basically everyone's attitude towards the sport changed when there was money involved.
"I didn't expect this." I said with disbelief as I watched the tournament from the side.
I didn't participate and just rested. Eric brought me a hot chocolate poured from a thermos and served me some snacks too.
Donna rolled her eyes at Eric and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Forman's my bitch for the entire week." I explained as I ate the cake roll. Tara, my ex-girlfriend, watched me from afar. I called her with my hand, which startled her.
She sat next to me and asked, "What?"
"You want some too?" I offered her the cakes.
"Yeah. Sure." She accepted it happily. Jackie saw it while handling the tournament, fumed and stomped her way towards me.
"Steven! What are you doing?!" She asked with exasperation, her tone hushed.
"Eating." I replied casually.
"Not with your ex. People are starting to talk!" She shooed Tara away. Startled, Tara stood up and walked away in confusion.
I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Talk about what?"
Jackie froze for a bit. "Um… I might have… implied… to everyone… that we're together."
"What?" Donna heard it and walked towards me hurriedly. Eric also approached me, the thermos still in his hand.
"Why would you do that?" I asked Jackie with disbelief.
"Just… One week. Okay. Just bear with it for one week. I have to do some damage control from dating Micheal. There's a head cheerleader vote at the last day of school. If I get it, I'll be the only girl to ever be a head cheerleader in her junior year!"
"You can do that by dating Hyde?" Eric was baffled.
"He's really popular. So, yeah. It helps me too." Jackie replied to Eric before pouting slightly as she looked at me.
"Pwease? I'll tell everyone we had a wonderful summer together, and that's it. Just do me a favor and act for just one week! It can end when summer break comes."
"Hmm…" I crossed my arms together.
Donna mouthed urgently, "Help her. She's so pitiful."
Eric shook his head, sending me a completely different message, "Don't do it Hyde! It's a trap!'
"Okay." I said suddenly.
"Okay… what?" Jackie asked with confusion.
"Okay. I'll pretend to be your boyfriend for a week."
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