Tom stared.
Another driver climbed out.
“Where do I weigh?”
Claire pointed.
“Back truck onto the pad.”
A third farmer approached.
“Any chance you have extra?”
Claire shook her head.
“Not today.”
“I’ll pay ten percent more.”
“No.”
“Fifteen.”
“No.”
Tom looked more confused by the refusal than by the customers.
The farmer sighed.
“When?”
“Next Tuesday if the new batch tests.”
“Put me down.”
Claire nodded.
“I already did.”
The man smiled.
Trucks continued arriving.
Tom stood beside the road.
Nobody asked his opinion.
Claire supervised loading.
She checked weights.
Signed tickets.
Repeated feeding instructions.
One driver joked:
“You should put up a sign.”
Claire looked toward the road.
“Garbage Field?”
The man laughed.
“Maybe.”
Tom heard.
His face reddened.
He climbed into his truck and left.
That should have been the end.
It was not.
Success brought new problems.
The first was cash flow.
Claire needed equipment.
Chopper.
Mixer.
Better storage.
Testing.
Insurance.
A proper scale.
Customers paid, but expansion consumed money faster than sales generated it.
The banker returned.
Same kitchen.
Same chair.
Different conversation.
He looked through Claire’s contracts.
“You did this in three months?”
“Mostly.”
He looked toward the window.
“Are those trucks waiting?”
“Yes.”
“How many customers?”
“Fourteen active.”
“More inquiries?”
“Thirty-one.”
The banker removed his glasses.
“Claire.”
“Yes?”
“You understand you’ve accidentally started another business.”
She smiled.
“I noticed.”
He looked at the debt schedule.
Then the farm books.
“I think we can restructure.”
Claire leaned forward.
“Without selling east ground?”
He smiled.
“Without selling east ground.”
She closed her eyes for one second.
Samuel’s land stayed.
That mattered more than profit.
The second problem was regulation.
Selling feed was not the same as feeding your own cattle.
Claire learned quickly.
Labels.
Records.
Testing.
Storage requirements.
State rules.