None of this had much to do with Leon, so after a brief grumble in his heart, he tossed the matter aside and turned to Abigail.
“By the way, Abigail, do you know much about your father’s business?”
“What kind of business?” Abigail asked in return.
“Besides seeds and everyday groceries, does Mr. Pierre have other ventures?” Leon paused after asking.
“Uh, no.” Abigail realized she’d just asked a silly question, stuck out her tongue in embarrassnt, and added, “If you an the business at my dad’s general store, I don’t know much. Why? Do you need help with sothing?”
“I wanted to know how I could buy high-quality seeds from Pierre—real high-quality seeds,” Leon replied.
“Aren’t all seeds about the sa? My dad gets his stock from the city, sa as Joja Mart. The only difference is that his prices are a bit cheaper than Joja’s.” Abigail looked at Leon in puzzlent.
“Alright, got it.”
Once he’d cleared up that question, Leon said goodbye to Abigail. “I’ve got to buy so seeds. There’s still a lot of work on the farm. Go get your checkup, and rember—if you find out you’re pregnant, tell . I’ll bring you a gift.”
“Ugh, you’re impossible. Get lost.” Abigail flipped him the middle finger before heading into the clinic, while Leon hopped back on his bike and rode to Pierre’s General Store.
He arrived just as Pierre was opening the door. Spotting Leon, Pierre called out cheerfully, “Oh, look who’s here—Pelican Town’s new farr. Welco.”
“Mr. Pierre, I’m here for so seeds,” Leon said with a polite nod. In his mind, though, Pierre was already filed away in the sa category as Morris—top-tier sly rchants.
“No problem. Pierre’s General Store always provides the best seeds.” Pierre puffed up with pride, boasting about his seed quality. Leon, knowing the truth, had plenty of sarcastic remarks ready but kept quiet for the sake of future business.
Inside, Leon bought two packs—forty seeds in total—of cauliflower. Back at the farm, he planted them in the vacant plots, then began the overdue watering.
After finishing, Leon stretched to ease the stiffness from bending over. That reminded him of the semi-automatic irrigation idea he’d been considering. Maru could probably make a water pump. Maybe he should ask her about it today.
While at it, he could check with Maru’s father, Detrius, about when the fruit bat–mushroom cave project would start. The sooner that cave was renovated, the sooner it would bring in inco.
If the guy tried to brush him off, Leon figured he might have to work on Maru’s favorability—and maybe flirt with her right in front of her father.
Before heading to see Maru, Leon went inside to check his daily fortune. It was neither good nor bad. Shutting off the TV, he hopped back on his bike toward Pelican Town.
He stopped first at Harvey’s Clinic and stepped inside. Instead of finding Maru in her nurse’s uniform, he saw a bespectacled man with a gentle deanor.
“Hello, do you need dical services?” the man asked imdiately.
“You’re Dr. Harvey?” Leon hadn’t t him before, but it wasn’t hard to guess the owner of the clinic.
“Yes, and you must be Leon, the new farr,” Harvey said with a nod. “I’ve heard about you from Maru. Unfortunately, last ti you ca in, I was in the back cleaning equipnt, so I didn’t greet you. My apologies.”
“No problem. I’m here to see Maru. Is she working today?” Leon asked.
“She is, but she’s giving Miss Abigail a checkup right now. You might need to wait a bit,” Harvey replied.
“Oh, then I’ll just wait.” Leon found a chair in the waiting area and sat down, not in the mood for small talk.
The two sat in silence—Harvey awkwardly shuffling papers to look busy, Leon idly studying the health posters on the wall.
Half an hour later, Maru and Abigail erged from the back, hand in hand. Abigail looked cheerful, and Maru was speaking to her about sothing.
“In such a good mood—did you find out you’re having a baby?” Leon teased.
To his surprise, Abigail shot back without hesitation, “Yeah, the baby’s doing great. Aren’t you excited to be a dad?”
“Huh?!” Maru exclaid, startled, while Harvey, who had been pretending to work, adjusted his glasses and looked at them oddly.
“Cough, cough—don’t take her seriously. I was just joking.” Leon waved his hands in embarrassnt, explaining to the two onlookers.
“Boring,” Abigail said with a smirk, rolling her eyes.
Maru let out a relieved breath. “You scared . I thought there was sothing wrong with my examination results. I didn’t detect any signs of pregnancy in Abigail, and she’s never had any se—”
Before she could finish, Abigail clamped a hand over her mouth. Maru realized she had nearly revealed that Abigail had been single all her life and shut her mouth.
“Go on, sex what?” Leon prodded, amused. Abigail’s sharp retort earlier had left him itching for payback, and this was too good an opening to pass up.
But Maru only shook her head vehently. “I can’t disclose patient information. That would violate dical confidentiality.”
Abigail, anwhile, was glaring at Leon, fists clenched, ready to pounce if he pushed further.
Seeing her expression, Leon quickly backed off. A joke was fine, but push her too far and she might really lose her temper. That would be trouble.
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