"Why would Aven give thirty percent of the potion profits to them?"
Peter froze for a moment. He wanted to say, Because they provided the Oran Berries, but the truth was, Aven could've just bought the berries and kept all the profits for himself.
"Aven is trying to help us," Uncle Texi sighed, slowly voicing the answer in his heart.
Peter was stunned again, then silently nodded. Honestly, he had thought the same thing.
So, this time, Aven offering a high price to purchase immature berries—was it also to help them?
Indeed, with this added income, the early winter's impact could be minimized, and the orchard farmers would be able to survive.
"Just focus on your patrol. This is the only way we can help Aven right now," Texi said, patting his son on the shoulder.
Peter took a deep breath and promised his father, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to do a good job."
Back out on patrol, Peter felt completely different. His whole body was brimming with strength.
Suddenly, he noticed a few farmers from other villages talking about something. Curious, he walked over to listen.
"You think this guy Aven... could actually be an idiot?" Pete from EastgateVillage laughed to his fellow villagers.
He had already sold his berries and was now flaunting the coins in front of his companions.
Hearing that, the others fell silent. Truthfully, most of them had been thinking the same thing.
To buy such a massive amount of unripe berries at a high cost and get nothing in return... What else could that be but foolishness?
Even though Mike was the mayor of Fruitvale Village, purchasing that many berries must have cost him all his family savings, right?
"Heh, well, whether he's an idiot or not, the coins I got are real."
Pete jingled the coins in his hand proudly, then turned around to leave.
But as soon as he turned, he found a young man standing in front of him, looking at him angrily.
Pete was startled, and before he could react, a wave of pain hit him. The next moment, he felt his body flying through the air.
Boom!
He crashed hard onto the ground. In a daze, he touched his face and found it covered in blood.
His companions quickly snapped out of their stupor and rushed to his side, worriedly checking on him. Several of his teeth had been knocked out.
"Who the hell are you?! Why would you hit someone out of nowhere?!" one of Pete's companions yelled angrily at Peter, who was still clenching his fists.
Other nearby farmers started gathering too, pointing and whispering.
"You just said... Aven is... an idiot?" Peter asked, his head lowered, body trembling with barely restrained anger, as he spoke word by word.
Everyone froze. Pete had said that just moments ago.
Now that someone had called him out, his companions also realized that maybe Pete shouldn't have said it out loud.
The rest of the villagers were silent. Even if they'd thought the same, actually saying it was a whole different matter.
"You still shouldn't have hit him," Pete's friend said, trying to defend him.
After saying that, he glanced at Peter—and suddenly noticed that this broad-shouldered young man was shaking all over, as if trying his hardest to hold something back.
Moments later, Peter suddenly roared,
"Have you really never thought about why Aven is buying those unripe berries?!"
He stormed toward a cart, grabbed a handful of green berries, and threw them to the ground, stomping them hard underfoot.
"You really think he wants these berries?!"
"He just... wants to help you all! Don't you get it?!"
After shouting that, Peter stood there gasping for air, like he had poured out every ounce of strength inside him.
The crowd fell completely silent. Everyone stood with their mouths open, at a loss for words.
"That's right. Whether it's helping us in Fruitvale Village or helping you, Aven has always been the one taking the loss. Do you really think he's just stupid?"
At that moment, a few villagers from Fruitvale Village stepped forward. They had been immersed in the joy of the harvest—but now that they thought about it, wasn't it Aven who had shared his gains with everyone else?
Everything they had now originally belonged to Aven.
"Aven is helping you…"
"That's right! If it weren't for him, you'd be in deep trouble this winter!" another villager accused.
The other farmers around them shuddered. Their earlier excitement instantly vanished, and each of them lowered their heads in shame, as if something was gripping their hearts.
Everyone suddenly realized what was really going on.
On the ground, Pete's companions stood up too. After hesitating for a moment, they quietly stepped away from Pete.
Pete opened his mouth, but no words came out. All he felt was deep regret—he wished there was a hole in the ground he could crawl into.
Glancing around in panic, Pete ducked his head and quickly squeezed out of the crowd. He just wanted to get away.
In the time that followed, order gradually returned to Fruitvale Village. But compared to before, the villagers now wore looks of genuine gratitude.
This winter, Aven had saved them. And for years to come, they would remember this winter.
"Aven… was this your goal all along?"
At the farm, Mike—who had just received the news—looked at Aven sorting berries and asked.
"This was really just an accident."
After saying that, Aven silently added in his heart:
I just wanted to build a bit of goodwill… and use the unripe berries to make fertilizer. I didn't expect it to go this well.
Moving forward, his plan for a rural cooperative would definitely go much more smoothly.
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Mass Chapters to make the start of you week great. Another Deal 1 chapter per 1 4-5 star review. The bonus chaps will be given this week or next week if I have free time to translate. 1 per account only, ok?)