Stardew Valley is a frequently updated farming sim full of unique NPCs that each have their own backstories and secrets that players can explore through relationships. Linus is a vagrant that lives in a tent on the outskirts of town and might be one of the most interesting characters for players to befriend. Despite constantly receiving offers of help from the other people in town, he always refuses them despite his seemingly simple lifestyle.
Linus is an interesting character that has created one of the bigger mysteries in the Stardew Valley community. Plenty of information on his way of life can be discovered by befriending him, though it doesn't paint a full picture. One possible theory is that Linus isn't as hard on his luck as he may initially seem and is actually rich.
To start explaining this theory, it's important to outline what the player learns from both talking to and befriending Linus. Something fairly easy to pick up on is that Linus has a deep love of nature. He forges for all of his food himself and will even talk about how people could "learn a lot from trees." All of these are things that Linus will talk about without requiring further friendship from the player.
A few more basic dialogue lines imply that Linus wishes that the townspeople would accept his lifestyle and that he lives in his tent alone by choice. This is a pretty important detail since it lets players know that Linus isn't someone who's as down on his luck as people may initially think. Linus' self-seclusion is actually a detail a lot of players might end up missing, despite how often he mentions this.
Later dialogue that the player has after befriending him reveals a bit more about why he chooses to live in nature. He seems to have a deep love for the outdoors and respects the kind of simple lifestyle that living in nature can bring. He doesn't seem to dislike or hate people as he laments wanting to join in on some of the festival activities and instead is convinced that the other townspeople hate or are afraid of him.
The player's friendship with Linus is more so one about the two building trust with each other. Linus eventually learns to trust the player despite his bad experiences with people in the past, and the player learns to accept that Linus has chosen his own lifestyle. All of this information is explained in-game, but many players have had questions about the kind of money Linus can offer players for certain items.
Villagers can sometimes post item requests at the general store. If the player delivers the requested item to a villager, they'll typically reward them with money for their efforts. Linus is one of the villagers that can sometimes request items, which leaves players wondering just where he gets the money. Some players have even reported seeing him ask for priceless gems that offer thousands of gold for them.
This has led many players to decide that Linus is actually rich and might even have worked for the game's evil corporation, Joja Mart. Because he worked for the company that's been slowly forcing many of the businesses in Pelican Town to close, players theorize that he's decided to live away from the town out of guilt. This theory certainly could explain why Linus has a natural distrust towards other people.
Linus being rich would explain a lot since he has a fairly large sum of gold ready to pay people with, but the Joja Mart part of the theory seems to disregard more of Linus's reasonings. He talks plenty of times about how his tent is pelted with rocks or destroyed and that the townspeople never seem to understand his explanation for living on his own. In truth, Linus is simply a misunderstood man who loves nature and is willing to take the leap to live out on his own.