Chapter 15 - There Are No Customers in Dubai

Hari had just finished polishing his Golden Shovel of Cultivation™ (again) when he heard the sound of sandals crunching through sand.

Visitors.

Real, living, non-camel humans.

He ran to the front gate of Mango Oasis™, kicking up dust and mango peels in his haste. Sure enough, a small group of curious strangers were standing just outside the mango-carved welcome arch.

There were three of them:

A grumpy-looking old man with a suspicious mustache,

A young woman with a clipboard and eyebrows permanently arched in disbelief,

And a skinny guy who looked like he'd only come for the free samples.

"Welcome!" Hari beamed. "To the one and only mango plantation in this world!"

The three exchanged glances.

The clipboard woman cleared her throat. "We saw your flyers. They were... bold."

The flyer had said:

✨"Taste the forbidden fruit! Behold the Mango!"✨Now with only minor side effects.

The old man squinted. "Are you running a cult?"

Hari blinked. "No, sir. Just a plantation. With a mascot."

Mango-chan poked her head out from behind a mango bush, wearing a mango costume on top of her already mango-themed outfit.

"Would a cult have this?" she chirped, throwing confetti that smelled like ripe mangoes.

The visitors looked deeply unsure.

The First Bite

To win them over, Hari summoned his best camels to carry out a tray of perfectly ripe, golden-orange mango slices. The camels wore little bowties. It was a moment.

Clipboard Lady inspected a slice like she was holding an alien artifact.

"This isn't from this world," she said.

"Exactly," Hari replied with a grin.

Old Mustache Guy sniffed his slice, licked it once, then cautiously took a full bite.

Then he froze.

There was a long pause.

"…This is ridiculous," he whispered. "It tastes like sunshine. And childhood. And... why am I crying?"

Skinny Free Sample Guy had already eaten four.

"Sir," he said with reverence, "do you sell in bulk?"

Skepticism Begins to Crack

The system dinged in Hari's mind.

[System Notification: First 3 Common Customers Acquired!]Skepticism Level: 71% → 42%Reward: "Starter Mango Marketing Kit"– Includes: 3 mango-themed banners, 1 loudspeaker, and a talking signboard that says "TRY A MANGO, COWARD."

Hari felt a sense of pride he hadn't felt in ages. Not the "I-inherited-an-empire" pride. This was the "I-convinced-skeptical-strangers-to-eat-a-fruit" kind of pride.

He placed a hand over his heart. "This… this is only the beginning."

"Sir," asked Clipboard Lady, now chewing thoughtfully, "do you have any mango smoothies?"

Hari's eyes sparkled.

"No. But I will."