Chapter 54: School

Ivan opened the door and hung his coat on the hook behind it.

He sniffed and a smile appeared on his slightly tired face.

"What delicious food did you make?"

In the kitchen, the girl poked her head out. There was a smear of dust on her face and her hair was tied up messily behind her. She smiled when she saw Ivan.

"Father, you're back. Where's Ken?"

"He's picking some fruit on the way." Ivan glanced at the kitchen, where fish was bubbling in the pot.

"Where did the fish come from? Aren't we not allowed to go out to sea recently?"

"I picked them up from the beach this morning. There were quite a few clams. I made some soup. By the way!"

She turned around and brought back a wooden bowl from the house, which contained four round eggs.

Ivan glanced into the bowl and said, "Gaia, you climbed up the tree to take the bird eggs again."

The girl opened her eyes wide: "How could it be! I picked it up from the beach!"

Ivan sighed pretentiously: "You are not young anymore. Who would want to marry a girl who climbs trees all day long?"

"I'm only fifteen!" The girl retorted loudly with her hands on her hips. Just as she was about to say a few more words, she raised her eyes and caught a glimpse of the smile on Ivan's lips. She stomped her feet in annoyance and turned back to the kitchen.

The door of the house opened again. Ivan turned around and saw a young man pushing the door open sideways. He was holding his coat in his hand, which was full of fruits.

"Dad, look how much I picked!"

Ivan looked at the grass leaves in the boy's hair. He wanted to put on a stern face and say a few more words in a serious manner, but he couldn't suppress the smile on the corner of his mouth.

Looking at these two children, Ivan always felt that no matter how tiring life was, it was not so bad.

He took the clothes from the boy, went to the kitchen, scooped out some clean water and started washing them.

"How's the work going lately?" Gaia glanced at him.

"Very good. I don't know what the new lord has done. He demolished those wine-making workshops and built new ones. I will do some odd jobs with him. I can earn two Rios a day."

"Two Leos," Gaia exclaimed longingly.

Old Ivan used to be a fisherman. Apart from exchanging the fish he caught for food for his family, he would sell the rest at the market, and could hardly save a few rios in a week.

Now he and Ken both work on the construction site, and the two of them can actually earn four rios a day.

This is a top-notch job. According to the manager of the construction site, workers in the Rhineland only get this much pay, and it’s a big city.

A few days ago, the lord sent people to forbid the fishermen to go out to sea. Ivan was a little worried at first, but if he could make a few rios every day, it didn’t matter whether he could go out to sea or not.

Ivan threw the fruit into the pot. This is the traditional way of eating in Castel. The sweetness of the fruit mixed with the deliciousness of the fish will make all the fatigue of the day disappear after eating it.

"Father, your workshop is almost finished, right? I heard that the construction site is no longer hiring new people."

"Don't worry, there will be no shortage of work in the future."

What old Ivan was most confident about was his vision. When they were still living on the mainland, there were rumors of a famine. Although they still had some food at home, Ivan still brought his whole family to the small island of Castel without hesitation.

As expected, famine and plague came again and again, and few families survived in their village. Old Ivan raised his two children by fishing and eating fruits from the mountains.

Now, many people working on the construction site are beginning to worry that they will be fired after the workshop is built. Ivan has no such worries at all. He has figured it out long ago:

The lord has built so many workshops, but there are only a few craftsmen, so he will definitely need to recruit more in the future.

Craftsman, that is a profitable business, whether it is brewing or blacksmithing, both are good, much better than fishing.

Ivan has always been very skillful, but he has no channels to learn some skills. This time he will sign up for the recruitment of craftsmen, and Ken can also follow him in as an apprentice. He is almost at the age where he needs to get married, so having a skill is never a bad thing.

As for Gaia

Old Ivan hesitated.

He knew Gaia wanted to go to school.

A few days ago, the steward went door to door to inform every household that the school was about to open and all the lord's employees and their families could attend for free.

Free admission is good, but he asked someone and heard that students need to buy some paper and pens, and textbooks also need to be bought. The prices of those things are not completely unaffordable, but he has never heard of anyone's daughter going to school.

Girls always have to get married. If they cannot save up a dowry in time, they may never find a good family. If they wait until they are old, they may have to marry old men.

Instead of letting her go to school, it would be better to keep the money as a dowry, so that she might be happier in the second half of her life.

Besides, he has a son, Ken.

The three of them sat around the table and finished their dinner. Ken and Gaia were chatting and joking, but somehow, old Ivan didn't have much appetite.

".The olive trees are not short, but they are not very tall either. Most of them can be reached with just a hand, and the ones that are close can also be reached with a stick."

"What are we going to do with these olives? Eat them?"

"I've eaten it, and the taste is far worse than sweet fruit. It's said that it's used to extract oil."

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"Wow." Gaia exclaimed, "If only I could see it."

"I'll bring you a handful tomorrow. The stuff is all over the valley. I heard the method of extracting oil is not complicated. You can get some and use it to fry fish later."

"Then I'll go to the beach tomorrow and bring back more fish!"

“.”

“.”

The room suddenly became quiet, and the bustle just now seemed to have slipped away up the chimney.

Gaia was a little at a loss. She looked at the two silent people and didn't understand what was going on.

"Gaia, go to school."

Ken lowered his head and spoke in a muffled voice.

Old Ivan glanced at him.

"My father and I went to the construction site to continue working. We also had four days a day. The construction site provided lunch at noon. I picked some fruits in the evening so that we would have something to eat the next morning."

Gaia opened her mouth, lifted up her skirt which was curled up by friction, and stood up in a panic.

"No, you don't have to. I was just saying it. Then I thought about it. Even if I studied, I wouldn't be able to find a job in Castres. I mean, I don't really want to study."

She looked at Old Ivan: "Still."

"Gaia, you are smarter than me. It is useless for me to study. It is better for me to learn some craftsmanship. I will not starve to death." Ken smiled reluctantly: "Maybe you will need my help in the future."

Gaia was a little anxious. Her face flushed and she said something in a hurry, but Ken stiffened his neck and refused to agree.

Old Ivan was a little dazed, and suddenly he remembered when he first decided to come to Castel. At that time, the mother of the two children was still there, and the two of them were also arguing at home.

That was many years ago.

When he came to his senses, Old Ivan looked at the two children on his left and right and the empty table across from him, and sighed.

"Stop arguing, both of you, go to school."

(End of this chapter)