Discipline in Stardew Valley

It had been three years since Dean had left his life at Joja-corp to become a farmer at his grandfather’s farm. Sometimes he still wondered how he had managed to leave the city behind and settle in this tiny town that counted barely three dozen or so members in its community.
He was used to waking up early now, with the sound of a rooster greeting the sun. After getting dressed and checking the weather report on the TV, he went outside, seeing his wife staring at the beautiful sunrise beside the small pond that bordered his fields.
The largest area was reserved for their crops, it was blueberry season currently. Yet there were also several farm-buildings that housed cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks; and of course his wife’s favorites, the rabbits. So many lives that were dependent on him, yet when he had arrived, there had just been his grandfather’s farm house.
The farm hadn’t always looked this meticulous. The grounds had been overgrown with weeds and trees, littered with rocks and dead tree-branches. It had been a lot of work to clear it all away in his first year.
That was also the year when he’d met Haley, the girl he’d eventually marry. He’d been surprised to find someone like her in a small village like Pelican town. She seemed much more like a city-girl, a bit superficial and averse to hard work.
She’d always talked about shopping and going to the mall; or hanging around on the beach to get a tan. Yet as Dean got to know her, under his influence she came to adapt to the life in a small village, she had even donated most of her clothes to charity.
Once, a long time ago, Dean had walked in on his wife-to-be while she was arguing with her sister about who should clean up their house. The thought made him smile. Since moving in with him, Haley had become a real house-wife and kept their small farm-house spotless.
She hadn’t changed completely of course. She sometimes still had throwbacks to that unhappy city-girl trapped in rural life that she’d once been. Those days, when she lazed about on the beach to the south of the village, Dean had to remind her firmly of her responsibilities and all the chores that came with owning a farm.
Dean smiled as he refilled the fodder for his animals, it was the only task he had this early in the morning. The blueberry bushes were all in range of his sprinklers. He thought back with glee to the time when he had to water them all by hand with just a single watering-can.
When he lived in the city, working a boring-desk job at a major corporation, he had never believed himself to be the kind of man he had become. He enjoyed the peace and quiet of the country life; but he also understood the need for hard work and responsibilities. While most of his work was concentrated on the farm, while Haley took care of house-work and food, he was still the master of the house and she his obedient wife. It was an old-fashioned division of roles, but one that made the both of them happy.
Yet while the farm was Dean’s responsibility, and Haley took care of the house. The only exception to this rule were the rabbits. Dean had asked the local carpenter to build a coop for these animals because his wife had nearly begged him for them. She just loved how cute those little critters were. It was thus self-evidently Haley’s responsibility to keep the coop clean and healthy.
When Dean entered the rabbit’s home to feed them however, he found that the straw floor was littered with feces and their hay was old and moldy. He didn’t usually feed the rabbits and it was evident that Haley hadn’t seen to their needs in a while either.
He shook his head and quickly replaced most of the old hay with fresh fodder before letting the animals out to roam the farm.
Dean approached his wife as she was still seated on the wooden deck beside the pond.
“Good morning, honey.” She greeted him with a smile.
“Good morning.” He replied. “When was the last time you cleaned the rabbit’s coop, honey?” He asked.
Haley bit her lip as if in thought and looked at the rising sun. “Didn’t I clean them yesterday?” She asked.
“If you did, you did a very poor job.” Dean replied. “The floor is filthy and their food hadn’t been refreshed in several days.”
“It can’t have been very long.” His wife replied. “I can distinctly remember cleaning away those tiny rabbit droppings. Probably just this Saturday.”
“It is Saturday.” Dean replied. “Are you telling me you haven’t been in their coop for a whole week? Taking care for the rabbits is your only chore on the farm, young lady.” He made it sound strict.
Haley licked her lips and looked up at her husband with a blush. Somehow she managed to look apologetic and excited at the same time. She knew she was in trouble; though Dean knew she liked a bit of trouble now and then.
“Come with me.” Dean said, offering his wife a hand and then pulling her along back to the farmhouse.