Cabbage Empire
Written for the short story contest in Avatar Nations.
“MY CABBAGES!” Yuen cried out with startled panic as out of nowhere three children dropped from the sky and plowed through his cart, sending shrapnel and leafy vegetables flying in every direction. As quick as the three had appeared, they were gone, with Earth Kingdom soldiers following not far behind. Yuen fell to the floor in a defeated heap among what remained of his life’s work.
“What did I do to deserve such a plague on my cabbages?” Yuen asked no one. The Earth Kingdom merchant sighed and picked himself up. The spirits hated him; that had to be why those children vexed him so. Everywhere he went that started to show a profit in the cabbage market, they would fly out of nowhere, destroy what he’d set up, and then run away once again. They couldn’t just go around or slightly mess things up, either. No, they had to make sure that he suffered so badly in damages that he’d have to give up his entire pay to acquire a new cart and a new bunch of cabbages. It wasn’t easy, either. Not many places grew them, and the few places that did were picky about prices.
“Maybe I should just give up,” Yuen muttered to himself, just like every time his path crossed with those children. He grumbled some more before kicking a cabbage off into the distance. He ambled along, lost in thought for a while, until slowly, his spirits picked up and an idea graced his mind. He was aiming to low, with his mercantile aspirations in the field of cabbages. This was a sign. If he couldn’t do it alone, maybe it was time to start seeking help. He’d hire other cabbage merchants, and in time, he would create his own conglomerate based on one’s cabbage needs.
“Yuen’s Cabbage Company!” He yelled out suddenly, scaring a few people nearby. “No one will be able to stop me then!” With a maniacal laugh and a skip in his step, Yuen the Cabbage Merchant walked out of Gaoling a changed man.
“MY CABBAGES!” Yuen cried out with startled panic as out of nowhere three children dropped from the sky and plowed through his cart, sending shrapnel and leafy vegetables flying in every direction. As quick as the three had appeared, they were gone, with Earth Kingdom soldiers following not far behind. Yuen fell to the floor in a defeated heap among what remained of his life’s work.
“What did I do to deserve such a plague on my cabbages?” Yuen asked no one. The Earth Kingdom merchant sighed and picked himself up. The spirits hated him; that had to be why those children vexed him so. Everywhere he went that started to show a profit in the cabbage market, they would fly out of nowhere, destroy what he’d set up, and then run away once again. They couldn’t just go around or slightly mess things up, either. No, they had to make sure that he suffered so badly in damages that he’d have to give up his entire pay to acquire a new cart and a new bunch of cabbages. It wasn’t easy, either. Not many places grew them, and the few places that did were picky about prices.
“Maybe I should just give up,” Yuen muttered to himself, just like every time his path crossed with those children. He grumbled some more before kicking a cabbage off into the distance. He ambled along, lost in thought for a while, until slowly, his spirits picked up and an idea graced his mind. He was aiming to low, with his mercantile aspirations in the field of cabbages. This was a sign. If he couldn’t do it alone, maybe it was time to start seeking help. He’d hire other cabbage merchants, and in time, he would create his own conglomerate based on one’s cabbage needs.
“Yuen’s Cabbage Company!” He yelled out suddenly, scaring a few people nearby. “No one will be able to stop me then!” With a maniacal laugh and a skip in his step, Yuen the Cabbage Merchant walked out of Gaoling a changed man.