Chapter 19

Yuto informs Mayor Thomas that he has earned all the money he needs to buy Mineral Town’s deed from Joja. Thomas is in shock and nearly in tears hearing the news, but he also knows that there is no time for emotions. The paperwork was processed and expedited in time to stop the deal with Joja. But even so, Joja’s men are on their way and will arrive in a day or two. The residents of Mineral Town are then gathered and informed of the changes of plans. Even though their town is safe for the time being, they are all encouraged to work together and fight for their homes.

The first day of spring arrives once again, and Joja’s men will arrive in Mineral Town’s beach later that afternoon to claim the deed. Everyone in town gathers and prepares to protest against Joja to support Yuto and Jennifer. They don’t know what will happen, but they will do what they should have done years ago when they first heard of the sale.

Before Yuto heads out to gather with the other residents, he decides to change his clothes in honor of Tony. Instead of his hoodie and jeans, he decides to wear Tony’s old farming clothes. His white shirt, overalls, work boots, and hat fits him perfectly. He feels like he was born to wear them someday. He looks into the mirror to see himself look almost like a young Tony staring back at him. He wonders if Tony is standing there with him, thanking Yuto for all the hard work he did the last three years. He then takes a deep breath, and rushes into town to join Jennifer and the rest of Mineral Town.

At the beach, Morris hops off the boat with a team of lawyers to sign the paperwork. He gasps as he sees the residents forming a wall blocking him from entering Mineral Town. Yuto and Jennifer stands in front of the crowd holding the deed they worked so hard to earn. Their gesture is symbolic, but they hope that they can make a point that they are not afraid of Joja and their lawyers.

“What is going on here?” said Morris in an irritated manner.

Mayor Thomas steps forward to approach Morris. He has practiced speech, but he decides to keep it very short. He knows that this is Yuto’s victory, not his. “Our farmer Yuto has bought the contract and paid every cent he promised three years ago. We, the people of Mineral Town has decided that we will not allow you all to tear down our homes we’ve lived in for generations. Even if you decide to outbid him, he has the support of our town. We all will work together to keep our homes safe.”

After hearing what Thomas has to say, Morris then looks at Yuto. It has been three years, but he clearly remembers Yuto’s determined face. He is amazed at what the young man has accomplished, even the town didn’t think he could do it. He passes Thomas, feeling that he is no longer important. His business is now focused on Yuto and the young girl who stands with him.

As Morris stands before Yuto face to face, he asks, “so, you came up with the ten million? All by yourself?”

Yuto clenches the deed tightly answering, “I had help, but yes! Even if the odds were against me, my farm made all the money. And we can make much more in three more years. If you want this land, we can keep this game of ping-pong going for decades!”

Morris isn’t the least bit upset. In fact, hearing Yuto speak as if he has any interest in fighting for the land causes him to laugh cheerfully. Everyone is confused at Morris’ reaction, they were expecting to be angry and threaten them with lawsuits. Everyone in Mineral Town looks at one another and whisper wondering what on earth is happening.

As soon as Morris calms down, he answers, “I like your dedication. When we came to buy this land, it was pretty cheap. In fact, it was our cheapest option to build a factory. We can build our factory anywhere else we want, we are not that interested in this town. However, we are more interested in a farmer that can make that much money in three years.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Yuto suspiciously.

“Relax,” said Morris. “I’m pretty sure that the land’s value has skyrocketed, so your homes are safe. But I am willing to make a deal with you. Selling cabbage and potatoes will interest my boss, and we all benefit. You see, our customers at Joja Mart has had a keen interest in organic foods lately. Other farms use heavy machinery and harsh chemicals in their land to grow crops fast and cheap. We’ve been looking for a more “organic” and natural alternative. So this is the deal we want to make; Joja will invest money in this town, and we will buy a percentage of your crops. We stock our shelves with your crops, and we both profit! Best part is that as long as you meet the terms of the contract, you will never have to worry about us or any other company trying to mess with you ever again.”

Morris extends his hand out to Yuto asking, “do we have a deal?”

Yuto doesn’t like the idea that he will be working with Joja. If he had it his way, he would find a way to destroy the greedy company so they don’t bother anyone else. Even so, Yuto knows that he is one person against a business monolith. Even with everyone in Mineral Town’s help, they won’t be able to touch the power of Joja Corp. He also would rather settle the matter peacefully instead of fighting. He then takes Morris’ hand to shake, “deal!”

“Smart move,” said Morris. With the deal in place, he turns around and returns to the boat. As he board, Yuto hears faintly, “write up a contract, and send it to Mineral Town’s farmer. I feel like I am about to earn a bonus or even a promotion once I tell the boss the good news!”

As quickly as they arrive, Morris and his men vanish into the horizon. As soon as they are gone, everyone in Mineral Town begins to cheer and celebrate their victory. Men, women, and children hug cheerfully knowing that their homes are safe.

There is still one question left to be answered. Mayor Thomas walks up to Yuto and Jennifer who are still holding on to the deed for Mineral Town. “So, now that you two are the legal owners of Mineral Town, what will you do?”

Yuto and Jennifer already knew what they want to do with the deed if they win. Jennifer takes the deed, and places it in the mayor’s hands. She smiles as she says, “we’ve decided to return Mineral Town to her people. Each and every person’s fair share of the land will be returned to each resident.”

After hearing their announcement, everyone claps while cheering for Yuto and Jennifer. Jennifer decides to join the crowd and cheer for Yuto. Even if it was a joint effort, she knows that Yuto did most of the hard work. She only supported him anyway she could.

Yuto looks around himself surrounded by the people of Mineral Town who are clapping and cheering his name. After three years of hard work, his new home is saved from demolition. He is so overjoyed with emotion, he could just burst. Instead, he decides to jump for joy and cheer along with the rest of town.

A few days later, Yuto leaves his house rested and relaxed. Since he is no longer in a rush to make millions in a deadline, he can take it easy for a little while. The contract will take a while before he needs to start working hard once again. He stretches his arms as he takes in the cool air and the warm sunlight of spring. After rubbing the cold out of his eyes, he notices that Mayor Thomas is in the farm speaking to Jennifer.

Yuto walks up to them saying, “hey, what’s up?”

Mayor Thomas turns to Yuto saying, “good morning Yuto! I came by this morning to invite you two to rose square. The residents of Mineral Town have a surprise for you!”

“Really? What is it?” asked Yuto.

Jennifer smiles as she says, “let us not ask questions, instead we should just go and see what they have for us!”

Yuto nods in agreement. Thomas then leads them through the roads of Mineral Town. As they walk, they take in the town’s sights for the first time in a while. As they walk, Thomas reminds them of everything they’ve accomplished since they arrived. How their actions have changed the course of Mineral Town and her people. Just before they arrive at rose square, Thomas reminds them that they were never properly welcomed to Mineral town.

Once they arrive at the square, all the residents of Mineral Town cheer and yells surprise as they welcome Yuto and Jennifer to their welcome party. “What’s going on?” asked Yuto.

“What do you think?” joked Mayor Thomas. “The entire town came to celebrate your victory. We are throwing this party in your honor!”

Suddenly, Karen and Ran rushes behind Yuto and Jennifer to push them towards the center of the square. Mayor Thomas follows close behind. When they get there, everyone clears away to give them some breathing room as they clap. Yuto and Jennifer just look around trying to figure out what is going on.

They are taken to the center of the square, then Karen and ran rushes off. Mayor Thomas then walks up to them slowly with Karen and Ran following close behind. When he gets close enough, Thomas clears his throat to start his speech, “Yuto and Jennifer. When you two arrived here in Mineral Town three years ago, we did not celebrate your arrival. We once believed that our town will be gone by now, and there will not be any need for welcomes and pleasantries. We all would like to extend our apologies. To make it up to you both, we are welcoming you to our town now!

“That is not the only reason we are celebrating today. We all recognize your hard work and dedication to the town the last three years. In a time when things seem hopeless, you came to us to bring back our joy and commitment to our community. Nothing we could ever do will be ever to express how grateful we are, but we have prepared something for the two of you.”

Karen hands a blue medal to Thomas, then he places it around Yuto’s Neck. Ran then hands Thomas a red medal to Thomas, then places it around Jennifer’s neck. Thomas continues, “for your hard work and courage, I am proud to present each of you with the Honor of Mineral Town. A medal with sapphire and ruby to represent how precious you two are to us, and your unbreaking will to our town.”

Thomas then stands back to finish, “on behalf of the residents of Mineral Town, it would be my honor to say. . . Thank you! We are all proud to have you both among us.”

Everyone claps and cheers loudly after Thomas ends his speech. Yuto and Jennifer are filled with emotion, neither of them know what to say. All they do is wave and bow, thanking everyone for the party. Once the excitement dies down a bit, the residents start calling for a few words from the guests of honor.

Jennifer pushes Yuto forward, encouraging to speak to the crowd. Yuto is nervous at first, but he finds the courage to say, “umm. . . A long time ago, I met a good man. Tony was a friend of my family. He showed me a different life than that I grew up with. How to work a farm, the strength of a community, and the peace of nature. I grew up to love his job. When he sadly passed on, he trusted the farm in my care. I may not know why he chose me, but I am glad that he did. When this town was in danger, I did whatever I could to protect it. Even if that means to risk everything. But with the help of my partner Jennifer and a few other friends, we were able to do the impossible.

“I know that I worked too hard the past few years. I’ve missed too many festivals. I didn’t spend too much time with the rest of you. But starting today, that changes. I will be a proper member of Mineral Town, and spend my days making friends and helping this community thrive. My name is Yuto, and I am the farmer of Mineral Town!”

Once again, everyone yells cheering for Yuto and Jennifer. Every last resident walks up to them shaking their hand personally thanking them for their hard work and service to Mineral Town. Once everyone gets their chance to thank them, everyone starts the party. There are tables after tables of food and drink for everyone to enjoy.

As Yuto walks around the square, he notices some young women wave and giggle at him in a flirtatious way. He smiles sheepishly, never could he ever imagine himself being popular to the girls. But even though Mineral Town has a small collection of very attractive bachelorettes, he has his mind on only one girl. He looks over at Jennifer who is helping herself to some food. As he watches her, he wonders if maybe it’s time to confess his feelings to her. After years of working together, he has fallen deeply in love with her.

With that in mind, he plans to do it tomorrow. He will go to the store to buy a preserved flower and ask her to be his girlfriend. Maybe someday, he’ll get the courage to make her his wife. He only hopes that she will accept his confession and return his feelings.