A Second Chance to Save My Daughter

Chapter 009

Frank's eyes lit up.

A few simple words from the vegetable vendor had suddenly opened his mind to an entirely new possibility.

Right now, Frank didn't just want to make money.

He wanted to make it fast.

Wholesale markets. Off-season vegetables. Specialty produce from the South...

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

Of course.

Scarcity created value.

Vegetables that were everywhere in the South could easily become rare commodities in the North.

And this wasn't more than twenty years in the future, when modern logistics and online shopping had made almost anything easy to obtain.

Seeing the smile spreading across Frank's face, the vendor chuckled.

"Other people have thought of it too," he said with a sigh. "The problem is, Riverside County isn't exactly wealthy. Most people around here don't have the money or resources to travel that far just to buy produce."

"If you've got a reliable source, though, you should seriously think about it."

The vendor gave Frank a pat on the shoulder, then lit himself a cigarette.

Just then, a man in a leather jacket hurried into the market, his eyes scanning the stalls anxiously.

"Well, Mr. King! What brings you here?"

The vegetable vendor immediately broke into a wide smile.

"I've got everything you ordered ready. It's all loaded outside. Just have a driver take it back."

Mr. King wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"The restaurant came up with a new spinach meatball soup, but it's the middle of winter and we haven't been able to find any decent spinach anywhere."

"I heard yesterday that someone here was selling fresh spinach, and people said it tasted incredible. So I came early hoping I'd get lucky."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. King's attention shifted toward Frank.

More precisely, toward the vegetables arranged in front of him.

The bamboo shoots were incredibly fresh, each one nearly as thick as a grown man's forearm.

Beside them sat bright red tomatoes so large that some needed two hands to hold.

Even without tasting them, the produce looked so fresh and appetizing that it practically made a person's mouth water.

Mr. King stepped closer and stared.

How could vegetables this fresh possibly appear in impoverished Riverside County?

The vendor grinned and pointed at Frank.

"Mr. King, your timing couldn't be better."

"This is the guy who sold the spinach yesterday. He doesn't have any spinach today, but he's got plenty of other good stuff."

As he spoke, he gave Frank a meaningful look.

Frank immediately understood.

"Mr. King, why don't you take a look at these bamboo shoots and tomatoes?"

He smiled.

"No pesticides, no chemical fertilizer. They'll look great on the plate, and I guarantee they'll taste even better."

Frank picked up one of the tomatoes, sliced off a piece with a small knife, and handed it over.

"Why don't you try it?"

Mr. King's gaze fell on the freshly cut tomato.

It was nearly half the size of a small watermelon, and the moment Frank cut into it, juice spilled everywhere, running down his fingers.

For some reason, Mr. King felt certain it would taste incredible.

He quickly took the slice and put it into his mouth.

His expression changed instantly.

The first thing he tasted was an intense freshness, followed by the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. It immediately stimulated his appetite.

Ordinary tomatoes usually had thin skin, but it could still interfere with the texture.

Frank's tomatoes were different.

The skin was so delicate it was almost impossible to notice.

After just one bite, Mr. King felt completely refreshed.

He looked at Frank in surprise.

"How much of this do you have? I'll take all of it!"

Frank froze.

His eyes swept over the dozens of sacks in front of him.

This wasn't ten or twenty pounds.

There were hundreds of pounds of vegetables here.

And Mr. King wanted all of them at once?

The vendor laughed.

"You don't know who you're dealing with, do you? This is Mr. King from Paradise Village!"

Frank's heart skipped a beat.

Paradise Village.

That name was very familiar to him.

In his previous life, a resort by that name had emerged from Riverside County.

At first, it had only been locally famous.

But over time, Paradise Village expanded across the country.

They built vacation villas and resorts in scenic mountain areas, eventually establishing locations nationwide.

Later, the company entered real estate and became one of the country's best-known corporations.

But right now, Paradise Village was still only in the early stages of its growth.

Frank thought for a moment before saying, "I've got about two hundred pounds of bamboo shoots and one hundred pounds of tomatoes."

Mr. King glanced at the handwritten price sign.

"Five dollars a pound for the bamboo shoots and three for the tomatoes. It's expensive, but with quality like this, it's worth it."

He opened his wallet, counted out several hundred-dollar bills, and handed them to Frank.

Then he asked eagerly, "Do you have any more spinach? The chef is desperate for it."

Seeing the expectation on Mr. King's face, Frank rubbed the bills between his fingers.

After a brief pause, he nodded.

"I still have some, but not much."

"If you want it, I can bring some tomorrow."

He didn't actually have any spinach left right now.

But if he planted some tonight, wouldn't there be plenty by tomorrow morning?

Mr. King's face immediately brightened.

"Perfect! Don't worry about the price. I won't shortchange you."

He pulled out a business card and handed it to Frank.

"If you get your hands on any other fresh or unusual vegetables, call me first."

With that, Mr. King waved over the men who had come with him.

They quickly carried all of Frank's bamboo shoots and tomatoes out to the pickup truck waiting outside.

Watching them come and go, the vegetable vendor grinned.

"See, kid? Told you this kind of connection could make money."

Frank nodded.

Then he picked up the few pounds of bamboo shoots he had left and pushed them into the vendor's hands.

"This is all I've got left."

He smiled.

"If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have sold everything this quickly."

"Take them home and try them."

The vendor stared at him in surprise.

These were bamboo shoots.

At five dollars a pound, they cost almost as much as meat.

But seeing the sincerity on Frank's face, the man eventually accepted them.

Even Frank hadn't expected that barely half an hour after arriving at the market, he would already be completely sold out.

The sky outside was only beginning to brighten, and he had no intention of going home yet.

Instead, he wandered slowly through the market, specifically looking for unusual vegetables.

Riverside County might have been poor, but it sat along a major transportation route connecting several neighboring regions.

Because of that, the market occasionally attracted merchants carrying rare produce from far away.

Unfortunately, Frank soon discovered one problem.

None of those vegetables still had their roots.

"Damn."

Frank sighed and headed toward the exit.

It seemed he wasn't going to find anything useful today.

Just then, shouting broke out from a seed shop nearby.

"You've got some nerve coming back here!"

The shop owner was a broad, burly man. He shook his fist angrily at another man standing in front of him.

"Last time you told me these were lotus root seeds and that I'd make a fortune selling them!"

"I've had them sitting here for an entire year, and I haven't sold a damn thing!"

"Take your junk and get the hell out of my shop!"

Frank's eyes immediately lit up.

He hurried toward them.

Lotus root!

That was good stuff.

It could be simmered in soup, stir-fried, or even used in desserts.

If he could grow lotus root inside the Pocket Dimension...

Frank's heart began pounding with excitement.