Chapter 180: Peaches and Plans

Simon's natural charm and enthusiasm worked wonders. He weaved through the crowd like a seasoned salesman, his smile as bright as the summer sun. Each interaction ended with a satisfied customer clutching a bag of peaches, and Mariana's basket steadily emptied. The production crew, initially skeptical of their laid-back approach, watched in astonishment as the last peach was handed over. Their planned competition timeline had been thrown into disarray by this unexpected success. Mariana, ever the methodical one, diligently counted the earnings, her brow furrowing in concentration as she double-checked their profit margin. Simon, still buzzing with the high of their achievement, approached one of the crew members, his voice tinged with hopeful excitement. "Hey there! That went swimmingly, wouldn't you say? Do you think there's any chance we could grab a few more peaches?" The crew member, a young woman with a clipboard and a walkie-talkie perpetually attached to her hip, hesitated.