Is That All? Amano Writing Club

“Is that all?!”
A woman's voice echoed through the evening shopping street.

“Ma'am, even if you say that...”
The man replied, looking troubled.

“Gunma Cabbage: 150 yen”
“Miyazaki Cucumbers: 3 for 180 yen”
Pieces of cardboard with prices like these written on them were lined up.
Next to the cabbage, there was also a piece of cardboard with “Delicious!” written in large red marker.

“I have an elderly bedridden mother and hungry children waiting for me at home!”
The woman pressed the man, as if to corner him.

“Even if you tell me that, this is a business, you know.”
The shopkeeper said this and looked at the woman's appearance.

She had pulled-back hair, no makeup, and was wearing an old sweatshirt and skirt.
She was carrying a slightly frayed shopping basket.
To be honest, she didn't look like she had much money to spare.

“I can't give you any more discounts. Besides, ma'am, you're only buying three carrots, aren't you?”
“That may be true, but couldn't you give me a little more of a discount? I have a lazy, alcoholic husband at home and...”
“Alright, alright. Just wait a second.”
The shopkeeper cut the woman off and brought out some slightly wilted eggplants and komatsuna from the back of the shop.

“They're leftovers so they're a bit old, but will these do?”
“Thank you so much!”
The woman bowed deeply and left the shop.

“You know, if you don't stop this, you're going to have a hard time later.”
“Even so, I can't just be too cold to them, can I?”
“I don't know anything about that.”
“My wife is scary, isn't she?”
As he said this, the shopkeeper vaguely followed the woman with his eyes.

After leaving the greengrocer, the woman left the shopping street and entered a private house.
“I'm home.”

“Oh, how did it go?”
A man lying down replied.
“It wasn't very good today. Yesterday was better.”
The woman replied.
“I managed to get some sashimi from the fishmonger's wife.”
“I see. I wonder if it's better to look wealthy than to look poor after all.”
“That might be true.”
The man, who was wearing a suit made of expensive-looking fabric, replied as he sat up.

“Then, let's record today's results.”
The man said this and picked up a device from the low table.

“Earthlings are kinder to wealthy people than to poor people, check.”
“Also, the reaction was good when we went with the faces of beautiful men and women.”
“Oh yes, we have to record that too.”

Before they knew it, the man and woman's faces had turned into gray, featureless faces.
Their upturned black eyes reflected the light.

“Negotiating with Earthlings is difficult, isn't it?”
“I wonder. We don't have to examine their contents, so isn't it easy?”

The man was silent for a while, then nodded.
“Let's have the next group bring a fashion magazine with them.”

I participated in the following project.

Thank you for reading until the end.