The Protagonist System

242 Farming For Fun And Profit

“I'd like to buy a farm, please.” I said to the woman behind the desk and handed her my entire worked out business plan for the farm, the projected crop plantings, the potential sales I expected, and I also accounted for droughts and slumps in the market.

Miss Margaret Jessome was the main loan officer for the entire district I lived in. If she didn't approve of my plan, no one would. She looked a little surprised to see the pile of papers before she gained a determined look in her eyes as she started reading.

I sat there and waited her out, because I knew if she didn't think it was a sound plan, I was going nowhere with my ideas. Unfortunately, my backup plan of compulsion charms wouldn't work on her, because she was locally known as a hardass and ridiculously difficult to convince. However, if you did have her backing, she was behind you 110%.

Margaret finished reading and sat there for several minutes as she stared at me. Her gaze didn't waver, and neither did mine. Since I wasn't an idiot, I let her be the one to dictate when she would speak. If I tried to rush her, I knew she would rule against me on pure principle. Telepathy for the win!

“This plan might work.” Margaret said, both raising my hopes and dashing them at the same time. “If you put it to use at a different location.”

I didn't ask her where that was, because she was going to tell me anyway.

“Your father's farm runs parallel to two other farms, one of which you include in this plan.” Margaret said and tapped her finger onto the survey papers I had for both the family farm and the neighbor's farm. “The problem is, these crops will not be viable for long in the same area.” She moved the survey papers aside and put a blank sheet of paper on her desk.

I leaned forward because she expected me to.

“On the other side of Johnathan's farm, behind what you call the back 40, is pretty much a waste of space.” Margaret said and drew out a skewed plot that was like a parallelogram with two offset front and back faces. “As you can see, the odd shape pretty much ruins it for classic farming techniques.”

Oh, I get it. I thought and smiled slightly.

Margaret saw that and frowned. “Don't misunderstand me.”

“I'm not, Miss Jessome.” I said, my tone firm. “If I change my base plan from a full farm with existing structures to one that needs to be sectioned off to function, the odd shaped remains can be used for other things, like building a barn and perhaps a modest house.”

Margaret gave me a squinted-eyed look for a moment and then nodded. “Your greenhouse project should fit here, here, and here.” She said and drew three almost perfect rectangles inside the parallelogram and left two large triangles at either end. “You can have large deep wells dug here and here, both for irrigation and for household use.”

I nodded at her marking the centers of both triangles, one of which I would be using the well excuse to dig out the space for my hidden factory as I 'looked' for a good spot for the well.

“If you put the house in the back of the lot, your access road has to be here, along this edge.” Margaret said and drew a line all along the left-most side of the lot. “From the front, it's your choice. I suggest the same side, however. The gradient will keep it dry during the fall and spring months.”

I mentally agreed that the runoff would work in that direction and would plan accordingly. I also noticed the size of the lot and the size of the neighbor's farm. “It's barely half the size of what I wanted.”

Margaret inclined her head in acknowledgement. It was still a risk she was taking, only not as huge of one like it would be if I bought the much larger plot of land. Despite the numbers I provided, it really was a huge risk for her and the bank to take, especially in the current economy.

“I'll take it.” I said in confirmation.

Margaret let out a cute little sigh of relief that I liked. She must have seen something on my face, because she frowned at me. “I hope you don't have any ideas that I wouldn't approve of.”

I had to smile at that qualification. “Only if you don't mind dating a slightly younger man.”

Margaret blinked her eyes several times and then blushed. “I'm married.”

I glanced down at her hand and didn't see a ring there.

“Jessome is my maiden name and I kept it for my career.” Margaret said, her face red. “I don't wear the wedding band because I'm allergic to gold.”

Ah, that makes sense and is also disappointing. “Then I apologize for assuming wrongly.”

Margaret nodded and we started in on the paperwork. We stayed there for quite some time working out the details for the smaller plot of land, the payment plans, how big of a loan I wanted and for how long, and a few other things.

I had also allocated part of the money for vehicles, both for the farm and for personal use, and Margaret signed off on it with a look of approval. Planning ahead was apparently a huge turn-on for her and I was again disappointed that I couldn't take advantage of that. This time, she looked a little disappointed that I couldn't, too.

I left the bank with the deed to my property, some cash in my hand, and ideas in my head that I was eager to get started on. I just had to tell my parents that my entry into the family business was happening about a decade before it should have happened naturally, as in taking over the Kent Farm.

The thing was, I was still going to help out, especially when I let my dad borrow my new farm equipment. Yes, it was a sneaky way around buying him the equipment outright, bypassing his view of it being charity. Borrowing was not the same as giving and he would begrudgingly accept the offer, even if I had to bring my mom into the conversation to convince him.

I went to the various stores that I needed to visit and placed my orders, just as my plan called for. It would set into motion my complete renovation of that plot of land and would be the perfect cover for what I really wanted to do, which was revolutionizing the tech industry years before it was supposed to.

The biggest purchase was the full size tractor, with the wide front scoop and the rear backhoe, making it a versatile piece of equipment that would be crucial for my plans. I already had the training and certifications to operate heavy machinery, since they were required for operating farming vehicles, and I arranged for the delivery to my oddly-shaped plot of land.

Next were the supplies for building the giant greenhouses and putting a down payment on a large double-wide trailer, something I would need to live in until I earned enough spare money to build an actual house. For now, all I could do was dig out a basement for it and buy the supplies to build that base structure.

The best part? I could call on all the local farmers to come over to help, since we were a tightly-knit community and Johnathan had made huge inroads with every other family by being so nice and accommodating whenever anyone asked him for help. I could also offer to pay them a fair wage, thanks to them not being the selfless goody-two-shoes that my dad was.

Plus, every farm hand loved to raise a barn from scratch. It was a huge accomplishment and their families always showed up and brought drinks and food, making it like a party. It was always a good time that everyone enjoyed and I was sure raising my barn was going to be the same.

I would need to wait for that until after the planting was done this month on everyone else's farms, though. I wasn't going to disrupt anyone's livelihood, just to get my own started. The potential that new equipment brought to the area would be quite the incentive to help, too. It wasn't like I could use them much after I put up the greenhouses.

You needed a lot of area to turn those large vehicles around to plow, plant, and harvest, and that was not happening inside of a building I was going to fill to the walls with crops. Everyone was going to assume I was still using them, especially when I put large garage-like doors in the greenhouses to allow the passage of shipping trucks and farm vehicles.

By the time I made it back home to the Kent Farm, I had everything on its way and let my mom know. She looked both proud and worried, so I hugged her and kissed her cheek, then I reassured her that I knew what I was doing. I was also going to let dad borrow my new equipment until I could have a barn raised and that made her face light up. Martha loved a good barn raising, too.

Not surprisingly, a few of the farmers politely asked to borrow my new farming machines. It delayed their own plowing and planting by a day or two, as they waited for the previous farmer to finish using it. I went along as well, since I had so much experience with both the new equipment and helping out on the farm. My college diploma showed I was an expert, too.

I had a lot of very interested looks from the local girls once they heard that and everyone showed up to raise the large barn on my property. Even Lana Lang seemed to give me a lot more attention, as did her friends and their friends, if their giggling every time I passed by was any indication.

I was a big strapping young man as well, so they were seeing a lot more potential in me than they did with the other guys in the town. They also knew I owned the small farm we were currently on and that had them all thinking about the future. I wasn't going to fall for any of them, though.

Despite being horny and needing a good screwing, I refrained for now, because my accumulated powers were getting back to their previous strengths and I couldn't expose a normal girl to them. I was tempted to grant them powers, except none of them had the right mindset to accept becoming so different from everyone around them.

Needless to say, the barn raising party was a huge success and was considered the biggest social event of the summer. School was going to start next week and everyone had a great time, even all the teenagers that were going to high school.

Quite a few of them, mostly the girls, said they regretted that I couldn't go there with them. I responded that I would have enjoyed it as well, and I would have, only not for the reasons they would assume. Constant and easy access to so many girls was like a dream come true, as my time in the last world proved. I doubted I could get away with being such a player here, though.

After everyone left, my parents left as well to put my sister to bed. I cleaned up the mess from the party and moved the farm equipment to store it inside the large brand new barn. I closed it up and locked it, using both magic and a physical lock, then I spent the next hour under the cover of night as I set out the ward stones to protect the property.

I felt a magic ripple near me after the wards activated and I didn't feel my danger sense go off. I walked over to the slight distortion and felt time slow down as an olive-skinned woman stepped out of it. She had slightly Asian features and smiled at me.

“Congratulations on passing your entrance exam, Clark.” The woman informed me.

I chuckled. “I didn't know I was being tested, Doctor Rose Psychic.”

“How did you...” Rose stopped talking and huffed as she crossed her arms. “You knew I was coming.”

“Nope. Knowing people's names is a trick I learned a long time ago.” I said and she smiled.

“Then you haven't ruined the surprise! Excellent.” She said and held a hand out to me. “Come along, we have to get you to your dorm room and settled in.”

I looked down at her offered hand and back up at her face. “Why exactly would I do that?”

“You're going to learn magic, of course!” Rose said and wagged her hand at me. “Before you complain about being taken away from your dreams or something, I have full control over my chronokinesis and no discernible time will pass, not even inside the pocket dimension where the university is.”

I glanced around at my new property and gave her a raised eyebrow.

“No one will know you left, except you.” Rose said. “None of what you're worrying about will come to pass. I promise.”

I didn't have any other objections besides those, so I took her hand and the distortion appeared behind her. She pulled me inside and we stepped out onto a college campus. I could feel the time distortion and she technically lied. Time still passed, only it was at very tiny increments that most people wouldn't notice.

“Welcome to Mystik University, Clark Kent.” Rose said, proudly.

A whoosh of air passed over us and I looked up to see a huge dragon flying by and there was someone on a flying carpet passing over the quad. The pilgrim statue with an owl familiar on it was a nice touch, considering the pilgrims burned the witches they found and anyone accused as a witch.

Rose saw me looking at it and chuckled. “Yes, the irony. I know.”

I chuckled again and motioned at the huge castle-like building and at the groups of people seemingly lounging around. There were all kinds of beings of different shapes and sizes, including the legendary Sasquatch, a Yeti, an orc-giant, a whole bunch of humans dressed in various styles, and animals of all kinds. Some of them were sentient, too.

“You're a psychic type?” A very excited tiny green Faerie asked as she flew over to me. She wore a cute blouse and skirt combo that showed off her little legs.

“Technically.” I said and held my left hand up for her to land on.

She landed on my palm and gasped, moaned like a cheap whore, and collapsed to her knees as she shook from pleasure. Both Rose and I stared at the small puddle of fruity-smelling liquid that formed on my palm underneath her.

“M-m-marry me.” The green Faerie whispered and gave me a look full of love and desire.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“We just met, Absinthe.” I said with a smile.

“You know my true name, too.” Absinthe said and shuddered. “Please, please take me.”

“He can hardly avail himself of your flat ass in your fairy form.” A pretty young woman said as she walked over to us. She had short dark hair, wore a little black dress and fishnet stockings under a trenchcoat, and had an overlarge pistol strapped to her hip.

“Oh, right. Hold on.” Absinthe said and hopped off of my hand and a greenish glitter formed around her and she grew to stand at close to my own height. She was also very thin, almost skeletal. “Hi, bitchy bitch.”

The trenchcoat girl gave her a smug smile. “You're playing with fire, plague-breath.”

Rose stepped between them and held a hand up to both of them. “I'm trying to bring a new student to his dorm.” She said and both girls stepped back from each other. “Can you save the drama until later? I have someone else I need to pick up.”

“I only came over to warn her.” Trenchcoat girl said and looked at me. “This one is well acquainted with Death.”

I smirked at her. “I'm not sure Death appreciates a blabbermouth, Lisa Drake.”

She looked surprised for a moment and then smirked back. “Yeah, good luck asking her about that.” She said with a soft chuckle at my still raised left hand. “I can't wait to see your face after you find out how boring it is to have sex with a fairy that gets off on just touching you.”

“Hey! I wasn't prepared for how good that felt.” Absinthe said and gave me a longing look. “Also, can you call me Green Fairy from now on? I don't want anyone I don't trust to have my true name.”

“Sure thing.” I said and held my right hand out for her to shake. “You can call me Atlas.”

Green Fairy looked down at my hand and blushed. “Give me a minute or two.”

Both I and Lisa chuckled at her reaction. Rose checked her watch and gave me a pointed look.

“I'll stay right here and won't go off wandering around.” I promised, even though I wondered why she would have a watch when her main power was to control time.

Rose nodded as the distortion appeared behind her. “I'll be right back with your classmate.”

I watched as she disappeared and turned back to the two young women in front of me. “So, does tasting a fairy's fluids count as accepting food or drink from a fairy?”

Both young women looked at the small puddle on my still raised palm and blushed.

“It's best to not risk it, even though there's been no precedent like that set.” Lisa warned me and turned her head away as she whispered. “Now I have more research to do about my own fairy bloodline.”

I didn't let her know I heard her and pretended to pull a napkin from my pocket to wipe off my hand. I transfigured part of it into a vial and scooped up the fluid to save it, just in case it might have some magical properties, and then tucked it back into my pocket as I stored it.

“How long do you think...” I started to ask when the distortion appeared right where it had the last time and Rose and a very familiarly dressed young woman stepped out of it.

“Welcome to Mystik University, Zatanna Zatara.” Rose said, proudly.