Ch.: 9. Deal done, Making Red Stone successfully, Farming, Food, Company opening Eve

"Wow, these products are made like joining many small cubes into one," Caren exclaimed as she looked at the exquisite products scattered throughout the room.

"I have to admit, your products have a special charm," Nelson praised, nodding thoughtfully. "So, how did you make all of these?"

"Trade secret," Manav replied with a grin.

Nelson chuckled. "Well, okay then." He scanned the products. "So you're selling lanterns, beds, glass blocks, decorated block pots, glass bottles, a small telescope without a stand, music disks… and what are these two?"

"Oh, this is a jukebox and this is a campfire," Manav explained. "You can put the music disk in the jukebox and place this special coal in the middle of the campfire. Just light it up with a matchbox or something flammable."

"So how long can the campfire stay lit?" Matt Murdoch asked, his fingers lightly tracing the smooth surface of the lantern.

"About two hours, normally," Manav answered, feeling satisfied with his answer.

"Wow, this bed is so soft!" Caren exclaimed, sitting on one of the beds. "I've never sat on anything this soft before! Your products are mostly designed for children, but I think adults would love this bed too. After a long day of work, you'd just collapse into this and fall asleep instantly!"

"Can you sell me one?" Caren asked, looking at Manav eagerly.

"I'll send one for each of you once my shop and company are successfully established," Manav reassured them with a smile.

Matt Murdoch, still inspecting the lantern, asked, "So, is this a lamp or a lantern?"

"Lantern, or lamp, however you prefer to call it," Manav said. "But I like calling it a lantern since that's what it's meant to be."

After a few dozen more minutes of inspecting the products, they all came out of the room and sat back on the sofa.

"Well, Mr. Manav, we're satisfied with your products and think we can cooperate with you in establishing your shop and company. But I have a personal question," Nelson said, leaning forward slightly. "Are these all the products, or are there more—besides the idea you proposed for making block-type houses?"

"Mr. Nelson, because some resources are still lacking, I can't create more products right now," Manav replied. "I'll try to create more by Monday. Once I've made them, I'll inform you, and you can come to check the new products."

"Okay, thanks for your answer, Mr. Manav," Nelson said with a smile. "And feel free to call me Nelson."

"You can call me Caren," Caren chimed in.

"Matt Murdoch, call me Matt," Matt Murdoch added with a nod.

"Well, since you're all being so informal, you can call me Manav," he replied, happy that the conversation was flowing so easily.

"Well, we have to leave now," Matt said as he stood up. "Thanks for reaching out to us for your business cooperation, Manav."

"By the way, Manav," Caren said, pausing at the door as if a thought just occurred to her, "I have an idea that's been on my mind. Could you maybe put some objects inside your glass blocks to make them look more aesthetic? Just an idea."

"Good idea! I'll try to make that work, thanks for the suggestion, Caren," Manav said enthusiastically. "If I can do it, I'll send you the first one as a gift."

"Looking forward to it!" Caren replied with a smile before stepping out of the door.

Once they left, Manav closed the door behind them and carried the large package that had been delivered. He easily lifted it despite its size and brought it inside.

"Now that the goods are delivered, I can try creating redstone," he said, excited by the prospect.

Manav made his way to the hole he'd just dug in his backyard and jumped down into it. He had prepared the area by placing water in the hole to cushion his fall, and as he landed in the water block, he stood up and walked over to his crafting table.

He retrieved the materials from the package: bronze, copper, magnet, iron sand, red sand, and graphene, all ready to be combined in different ways. He began working on various combinations, experimenting with pairs, triplets, and even quintuples of the materials.

The next morning, as the sun peeked through his windows, Manav's eyes widened in triumph. "Yes! I finally created redstone!" he shouted with joy as the glowing redstone hovered in front of him.

"I don't know what the exact combination was, but I think it was a mix of magnet, red sand, and iron sand," he muttered to himself. "I should write it down quickly, in case I forget it later."

Manav grabbed a diary and tore out a sheet of paper. He quickly scribbled down the formula for redstone and folded the paper into a block version, storing it in his backpack. "Oh no, I forgot to create books, paper, ink, and name tags for the company! Let me do that quickly," he thought, heading back to his hole.

But as he reached the kitchen, his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in a while. His hunger bar was bouncing frantically in front of him, and he cursed under his breath. "How could I forget about food? Without it, I'll die!"

"Fool host, your body is digital. Why not create digital or Minecraft food for yourself?" the prompt AI chimed in.

"Yes! How could I forget about farming?" Manav said, excited. "I can farm to fill my stomach and make a profit at the same time. Thank you, prompt AI! Wait, calling you 'Prompt AI' sounds a bit too scientific. I need to think of a name for you. Well, I'm not great at naming things, so I'll just look it up online."

[No need.]

Manav ignored the prompt AI's response and headed out of the house to buy seeds, hoping to purchase some bones as well to make bone meal.

Later that evening, Manav returned from the store with a small package of seeds and bones. He entered his house, closed the door behind him, and set the package on the floor. After taking off his shoes, he grabbed the packages again and made his way to his hole, where he jumped in and landed next to his crafting table.

Placing the seeds in the crafting table, he turned them into black version seeds, then processed the bones into bone meal. Manav grabbed his stone pickaxe and started mining the surrounding blocks to expand his underground space. He dug for a few minutes before placing cobblestones on the roof to prevent sand from falling on him.

He shaped the area into a linear farm field and took out a hoe. He started tilling the sand but soon realized the soil wasn't suitable for planting. He began punching the seeds in his hand onto the sand blocks, one by one. "Water and composter," he murmured, heading to his chest to grab two water buckets and an empty one.

He filled the empty bucket with water and now had three water-filled buckets. He dug out a square area to create an irrigation system, then poured the water from the buckets into the dug-out space. The water filled the area naturally, just like in the Minecraft world he remembered.

"Now I have an endless water supply!" he said, grinning. "Even if all the villains in this world teamed up, I could be richer than any of them just by selling water! Hahaha!" He laughed, pleased with his newfound resourcefulness.

After a few minutes of laughing, he filled the water buckets again and poured the water onto the farm field. The crops were ready to grow. Manav created a composter and placed it at the edge of the field, replacing a wooden block with it.

He began applying bone meal to the crops, and they grew at a rapid pace. Within minutes, they were fully grown and ready to be harvested. Manav took his harvest—potatoes—and headed to his furnace. He placed all three potatoes in the furnace and lit it.

"Baked potatoes will be ready in a few minutes," Manav said to himself, pacing around the room.

"After a few days, my company will be open, and I'll start taking orders online," he said, his mind racing with excitement.

A few minutes later, the potatoes were done. Manav took them out of the furnace and began eating. As he finished, he made a mental note to farm enough potatoes to last him for a month. He got back to work, planting more potatoes and using bone meal to speed up the growth.

In the days that followed, Manav kept working on his farm and created a variety of foods to add to his growing list of company products. As his company began to take shape, he felt increasingly confident that he was on the right path. Soon, he would be ready to launch his business to the world.