The Legendary Junkmaster

Harry grumbled a lot as he rattled off the offers for cooperation that had been brought to him. He could not find the appropriate words to express his dissatisfaction at having been forced to endure the crowd independently. With a heavy sigh, he collapsed in the armchair as he stared at Jason's pensive expression.

"Ok, I've decided." Jason nodded. "We'll work with all the stores that deal in junk metal and other items, the stores dealing in wood and every clothing store!"

Harry gasped in shock as this would add up to more than half of the stores on their street! "Why clothing stores? I can understand the other ones, but clothing? It doesn't make sense!"

Jason chuckled for a bit before he decided to respond. "It's quite simple. Clothing can be used for the internals of any armour I make, so having good quality craftsmen on our side can only help. It'll be better for us if we can offer single pieces of armour for our customers to use how they want or a full custom set with sturdy material filling any gaps."

"You've already thought that far ahead?" Harry hissed in excitement. Anything that involved making money could get his blood pumping.

"Of course, now go ahead and inform them all. Ah, did the butcher next door not ask for a partnership?" Jason thought it would be pretty strange if they had not. There were plenty of things that he could make that could help out that sort of business.

"Well, yeah. But what's the point? We would just end up drowning in meat. It's so cheap compared to your own stuff there's practically no value in it." Harry shrugged his shoulders as if it was the most rational decision that he could have made.

"You idiot!" Jason slapped his forehead in disbelief. "Make sure you go there first and tell him that I agree to his offer! Be sure to state that I hope he can also remove the raw materials I need from complete carcasses. He can keep the meat from those as payment."

"Ah, right. Didn't think of that." Harry rudder his chin thoughtfully while looking embarrassed. "I'll just rest for five minutes, then I'll get right on it."

"Rest my ass! Get moving, Gramps! We still have other things to get done today! Do you think money grows on trees!" Jason yelled at the shocked old man, who quickly jolted out of his seat and scurried off. Harry was fine when he was the one doing the nagging, but it felt strange to have his own grandson giving him a taste of his own medicine! It was with a proud smile on Harry's face that he dove in next door.

Jason disappeared into his workshop and spotted Syssie laughing while sitting with her legs crossed on his workbench. "Has nobody ever told you that you should respect your seniors?"

Jason could only laugh in response. He knew she was simply cracking a joke since she already knew what his relationship was like with his Gramps throughout the years. To be honest, Jason even felt good at being able to get back at the geezer in such a way.

"Hopefully, he can finish up soon. We need to head out and collect the plants we need so that we have new products to sell." Jason said, with a broad smile on his face. "Hey, Syssie? Are you able to open a folder for a long term project? You know, where you can store my notes and the like?"

"Sure, but why do you need something like that?" Syssie replied with a curious gaze as she slid off the workbench and sorted her cocktail dress.

"Hm, you know that we're going to have to travel at some point to deal with our problem, right?"

"Of course." Syssie nodded her head in response.

"Well, we can't do that safely unless I can come up with gear for myself that would make me threatening to deal with." Jason had a serious look in his eyes. "Whenever I have a thought or speak out loud about something that might be useful for myself, I want you to record it. That way, when it's time, I can review the notes and decide what would be best for me."

"Sounds good to me!" Syssie replied with a radiant smile. "But don't you think it would be a good idea to make something as soon as possible? Even if it's not the final version you want before leaving here. After all, you still have to go out into the wilds to find things you'll need right now."

"You might be right there." Jason stared absentmindedly at the wall as he considered that issue. "There are so many dangers in even the areas slightly outside of what's considered the safe zones. Not to mention groups usually take days or weeks in some of those expeditions. We'll need to come up with a way to deal with supplies and other things."

"Hm, then you'll probably want to make a start on the Mechanics and Engineering skill trees then. Although there should be something in the Science skill tree that could solve your supply problem." Syssie tapped her cheek as if she were deep in thought.

"We still have time yet before we worry about that. First, I want to work on some personal armour and weapons. There's no point in better supplies if I'm just going to die at the first hurdle." Jason sighed as he furrowed his brows. "It might be a good idea to make sure I can't be recognised in it either. It won't do us any good to draw attention to ourselves."

"True, you'll probably want to focus on a ranged weapon as well. Let's face it, kid. You're no fighter. So you're pretty much screwed when it comes to dealing with people and beasts who have physical superiority until you come up with something that can level the playing field." Syssie replied with a hint of concern in her tone.

"So, I need to come up with something lightweight instead of full armour. If I'm going to use ranged weapons as my main offensive, it would be best if I don't get weighed down." Jason nodded as he considered a few possibilities. The only problem for him right now would be a powerful enough ranged weapon.

'Hm, there's only bows and slingshots in general circulation. I've heard stories of how some Guardians use something called a gun, but I've never seen one. I wouldn't even know where to start when making one.' Jason stared at the parts around his workshop in resignation. 'I'll definitely have to see what skills I'll need to make something powerful.'

'Shouldn't Gramps be back by now?' Jason inwardly complained when he realised that he had nothing else that he could do for now. There was still a few days until the store opened, so the most important thing right now was to create the Healing Salves and other items for sale. Of course, he would also make a few copies of his Primal weapon and the Multitool.

"Why do I feel like you're complaining about me in that head of yours, boy?" Harry complained as he suddenly appeared in the workshop.

Jason was so startled that he jumped with fright, causing him to slam his elbow on the workbench. Jason cursed the old geezer under his breath as he tried to calm down his beating heart. It was so loud in his chest that Jason struggled to hear anything apart from Syssie's boisterous laughter.

"Damn it, Gramps! Don't startle me like that? What if I was working on something? Would you compensate me if I lost a finger or something?" Jason's voice only had a hint of anger mixed with embarrassment as he rounded on the old man.

"It's not my fault you have your head in the clouds!" Harry snorted as if he did not see any issue with what he had done. "Anyway, that's the deals all set. I hope you've got a decent plan cause we're definitely going to be busy as soon as we open!"

"Of course, I have a plan! Where do you know that would have a lot of plants? We're not looking for junk or anything, but I need somewhere that has a lot of variety in flowers and weeds." Jason looked at Harry with a hopeful expression. After all, if this veteran had no idea where to find a place like that, then they would be stuck gathering small amounts from anywhere that they went.

"Plants? How the fuck are plants to make us any money?" Harry roared furiously before remembering what happened the last time he got mad at Jason. "Ah, never mind. Let me think."

Jason laughed at how quickly Harry's attitude changed mid-complaint. He could guess what the cause of that was, so he limited himself to staying quiet while waiting for Harry to search his memories. Jason did not have to wait long before Harry seemed to come up with an answer. However, his Gramps had a severe expression on his face as if he did not like the answer that he came up with.

"I can think of somewhere that fits the bill, but to be honest, I'm reluctant to go there. Do you really need a bunch of plants?" Harry gazed at Jason with a hopeful expression. Clearly, he wanted Jason to deny it so that they did not have to go there at all.

"Our future depends on it!" Jason replied resolutely, even while being slightly scared since Harry hardly ever had such a reaction.

"Right, well. You might want to invite Dani along. Some plants in this place are hard to reach. Plus, we definitely need someone that can act as bait without much risk of getting caught!"