The first month on Rian’s expanded farm passed faster than he had expected. What had once been three hectares of empty farmland was now a sea of green. Rows of Kaisar Chilies stood beside enormous tomatoes, carrots, cabbages, spinach, cucumbers, and several other vegetables that Rian had carefully selected for the market. Twenty workers moved between the rows from early morning until late afternoon. They watered, harvested, sorted, packed, and transported the produce according to the schedules Rian had established. Despite the size of the farm, Rian still inspected almost everything himself. He checked the leaves. He checked the soil. He checked the irrigation. And most importantly, he checked the tank containing the diluted magical serum before anyone else could touch it. To the workers, it was simply water mixed with Rian’s “special treatment.” To Rian, it was the most valuable secret on the entire farm. One morning, Rian stood beside Jojo near the storage shed, watching the workers harvest another enormous batch of chilies. “They're getting faster,” Rian murmured. Jojo sat beside a wooden crate, his tail curling lazily around his paws. “Of course they are. You hired twenty people. If they were still slow, I would recommend replacing them with twenty chickens.” Rian glanced at him. “Chickens?” “They have excellent work ethic when food is involved.” Rian covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing. “You're impossible.” “I prefer ‘management-oriented.’” Rian shook his head and returned his attention to the workers. The farm had changed dramatically. So had his financial situation. But with twenty employees depending on him, Rian could no longer afford to think like the struggling young man who had once counted every thousand-rupiah note before buying instant noodles. He had become a businessman. And businessmen had payrolls. --- The Numbers By the end of the first week, Rian had already received the first payment from Pak Agus. Because Ria Jaya Market had requested three times the original supply, Rian was now delivering approximately 60 kilograms of each major vegetable every week. The quantities were still limited compared with a normal large farm, but Rian's produce was premium enough that Pak Agus had agreed to the revised prices. The Kaisar Chili was the most expensive. Kaisar Chili: Rp240,000 per kilogram. Other vegetables were priced according to their quality and rarity: Carrots — Rp160,000/kg Tomatoes — Rp140,000/kg Cucumbers — Rp120,000/kg Cabbage — Rp120,000/kg Spinach and leafy greens — Rp100,000/kg Rian's numbers quickly became absurd compared with ordinary vegetables. But the quality was absurd too. The vegetables were enormous, fresh, crisp, and flavorful. More importantly, customers kept coming back. During the first week alone, the expanded supply brought in roughly Rp105 million in revenue from Ria Jaya Market. The following weeks were similar, provided Rian could maintain the requested volume. But revenue wasn't the same as profit. Rian still had to pay wages, transportation, packaging, seeds, land expenses, electricity, equipment maintenance, and other operating costs. He spent several nights sitting at the kitchen table with a calculator in one hand and a notebook in the other. The numbers slowly became clearer. After expenses, Rian estimated that the farm had generated around Rp55–60 million in net profit during the first week. The figure made him stare at the calculator for several seconds. He pressed the buttons again. Same result. He calculated it one more time. Still the same. Rian leaned back in his chair. “Jojo.” “Yes?” “I think we're actually making money.” Jojo, who had been grooming himself on the sofa, didn't even look up. “I was under the impression that was the objective.” “No, I mean real money.” “That is generally how profit works.” Rian grabbed his hair. “You could at least pretend to be impressed!” Jojo finally looked at him. “I am impressed.” A pause. “Mostly that you managed to calculate it correctly.” Rian stared at him. Then he laughed. For the first time, he wasn't laughing because life was ridiculous. He was laughing because, somehow, his ridiculous life was actually working. --- Four New Restaurants The success of Ria Jaya Market also opened another door. Restaurants had begun noticing Rian's vegetables. Within several weeks, four restaurants contacted him about potential supply agreements. The first was Savana Garden Restaurant, managed by Ms. Lestari. She was interested in Rian's tomatoes and leafy greens. The second was Kota Lama Bistro, whose manager, Mr. Fajar, wanted his premium cucumbers and carrots. The third was Nusantara Heritage Kitchen, managed by Ms. Maya, who was particularly interested in the Kaisar Chili. The fourth was Arunika Restaurant, managed by Mr. Reza, who wanted a mixture of Rian's premium vegetables for his kitchen. Rian met each manager personally. The meetings were surprisingly exhausting. Every chef wanted consistent quality. Every manager wanted reliable delivery. And almost all of them wanted lower prices. Rian couldn't blame them. He was asking premium prices for vegetables that were several times larger than ordinary produce. But one restaurant manager was different. His name was Dimas, the head manager of Savana Garden Restaurant. Their first meeting had started with a disagreement over price. Their second meeting ended with Dimas asking whether Rian had eaten lunch. Their third meeting ended with the two of them sitting at a roadside food stall, arguing about which sambal was better. By the fourth meeting, they were practically friends. “You're difficult to negotiate with,” Dimas told him one afternoon. Rian grinned. “You're the one who keeps asking for discounts.” “Because your prices are crazy.” “Your restaurant charges crazy prices too.” Dimas laughed. “Fair enough.” The two shook hands. Savana Garden agreed to begin with a smaller weekly order while Rian stabilized production. It wasn't a massive contract yet, but it was another reliable customer. For Rian, that mattered more than having ten restaurants suddenly ordering huge quantities. He was beginning to understand something important. Growth wasn't about selling as much as possible. It was about making sure he could keep delivering tomorrow. --- Payday Then came the day the workers had been waiting for. Payday. Twenty workers gathered near the storage building after the afternoon harvest. Some looked nervous. Some were excited. A few whispered among themselves, wondering how much Rian would actually pay them. Rian stood in front of them with a notebook in his hand. He looked at the twenty faces staring back at him. These people had trusted him. They had left other jobs, taken a chance on a young farmer, and worked under the blazing Semarang sun. Their skin had darkened. Their hands had hardened. And the farm would never have expanded this quickly without them. Rian took a breath. “Everyone worked hard this month.” The workers became silent. “I promised that if this farm succeeded, you would benefit from it too.” He began handing out the envelopes. One by one. When the workers opened them, their expressions changed. Their monthly wages were Rp4.5 million each, comfortably above Semarang's current minimum wage. A murmur spread through the group. “Four and a half million?” “For one month?” “Seriously?” Rian smiled. “Yes. That's your basic monthly salary. If the farm continues growing and our profits remain strong, there will be room for bonuses as well.” One of the older workers, Pak Joko, stared at his envelope for several seconds. “Boss…” His voice became slightly rough. “This is more than I expected.” Rian smiled awkwardly. “You earned it.” The atmosphere suddenly became lighter. Some workers laughed. Others immediately started calculating what they could pay for at home. One young worker whispered excitedly about sending money to his parents. Rian watched them quietly. For years, he had known what it felt like to worry about money. Now he was finally in a position where he could reduce someone else's worry. That feeling was worth more than the numbers in his notebook. --- That evening, Rian sat alone beside the farmhouse. The twenty workers had already gone home. The fields were quiet beneath the fading sunlight. He opened his notebook. Revenue. Expenses. Wages. Land. Transportation. Orders. Everything was written down. The numbers were growing. So was the farm. So was the responsibility. Rian looked across the three hectares of farmland. “This is getting serious.” Jojo sat beside him, licking one paw. “It became serious when you hired twenty humans.” Rian smiled. Then his expression slowly became thoughtful. The name Wandra appeared in the back of his mind. The man who had been behind the person caught watching the farm. The strange interest in his business. The questions about his produce. Rian hadn't forgotten. He simply wasn't ready to deal with it yet. There were twenty families depending on him now. He couldn't afford reckless decisions. “Jojo,” he whispered. “Yes?” “We need to be careful.” Jojo stopped grooming himself. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the dark road beyond the fields. “For once, human, we agree completely.” A cool breeze moved through the crops. The leaves rustled softly. Everything appeared peaceful.

Chapter 17 — The First Payday