Kino no Tabi:Volume5 Chapter3

A Vendor's Tale ~For Sale~

Store Journal - Volume 25 Written by the store manager

Store log - Day 3094 (Sunny)
There were no customers again today.
The customer that came a while ago left some seeds. The "pumpkin" vegetables that came from the seeds have finally become edible. I tried cutting it up and boiling it while being careful of the thick rind that the customer warned me about.
It tasted sweet and was pretty good. I should try to grow more of them. They seem like they would be good fried as well.

Store log - Day 3095 (Sunny, then cloudy)
There were no customers again today.
Without doing anything in particular, I read a book and tended to the store.
I finished reading "The Melancholy of Ulericks". It was funny.

Store log - Day 3096 (Rainy)
There were no customers again today.
The weather was bad all day. I couldn't do the laundry.
The pumpkin in the pot went bad. It spoils fast.

Store log - Day 3097 (Sunny)
There were no customers again today.
The weather cleared up and it was a good day.
I hung the laundry out to dry. I accidentally dropped a shirt and it got covered in mud. Now I'll have to wash it again.
I thought about putting concrete just under the drying area but I stopped in consideration of the moles and earthworms.

Store log - Day 3098 (Sunny)
There were no customers again today.
I did the product inspection as usual. Everything was without problems. Whenever someone does buy something, it'll work properly. I feel a bit happier.
Afterward, I resumed reading.

Store log - Day 3099 (Cloudy, then sunny)
There were no customers again today.
In the afternoon I hung the "Ring bell for service" sign and went fishing by the river out back.
I caught five fish, some large and some small. I let the small ones go.
For dinner I had meuniere for the first time in ages.

Store log - Day 3100 (Cloudy)
There were no customers again today.
Something's been wrong with the power generator since this morning. I fixed it.
I cleaned the store as usual. I always strive for a tidy interior.
I was thinking about smoking the remaining fish, but didn't since there was only a little left. I ate it for dinner.

Store log - Day 3101 (Cloudy)
There were no customers again today.
I did the periodic inspection of my measuring equipment. It had a slight tendency toward lower measurements, but all were within the acceptable margin of error. I'll re-examine them in another 40 days.
I unpacked one cut of meat from the freezer .

Store log - Day 3102 (Sunny)
A customer came today. It's the first time in 79 days. For the first time in a long time, I'll have a long journal entry.

The weather was very good since the morning.
With high spirits I hung out the sheets to dry and opened the store.
Now that I think about it, I had a feeling that maybe someone would come today, or something like that.
Since I had that feeling, I thought I might have something like a sixth sense. I thought I might try to measure it this time.

When the customer came it was a shortly before noon.
Just as I was wondering what to have for lunch, I heard the sound of an engine coming closer so I hurried outside.
The customer was a young traveler on a motorrad who happened to be passing by the store when I called out to stop them in a loud voice and, showing interest, they stopped.