Chapter 13: Love Around the Corner
Life in the village can be described as quite leisurely.
So leisurely, in fact, that I almost believe I’m an ordinary human girl.
Every day punctually fertilizing the fields, watering the crops, and feeding the cows. At mealtime, I help Grandma Claire in the kitchen, and occasionally venture into the woods with Aili and Barry to collect some fruits or herbs, or lend a hand in the wheat fields.
Life in the countryside is pretty monotonous, especially in a remote little village like this one. Most of the time, there’s little to do, and folks gather in small groups to chat about trivial nonsense. I rarely get involved unless Aili drags me along; otherwise, I prefer to daydream by myself or find a hidden spot to practice my “skills.”
Even though people here live modestly, there’s not much pressure. No worrying about this month’s sales goals, no fretting that a slight stutter in your pace might get you kicked out, and certainly no obsession with owning a house or a car.
Everyone is pretty much the same; no one looks down on anyone else.
I think this is what life should be like.
If only the days could continue like this… it doesn’t seem too bad at all.
A couple of days ago, a merchant came to the village, a big guy with a full beard and an even bigger voice. He and his wife regularly traverse the surrounding villages and towns, collecting herbs from the villagers at reasonable prices to sell in far-off cities, using a very primitive method of doing business.
If it were me, I would take advantage of Woodward Forest’s specialties, find a master herbalist to partner with, create my own products, and build a new brand.
Then I’d negotiate with the nobility or lords for investment to set up shops and promote them. I would invest loads of time and money into R&D for new techniques that could replace existing remedies on the market. That way, I could seize larger opportunities rather than quickly fading away.
Of course, executing this is daunting, but with this plan, I’d have a pretty good chance.
The merchant’s motto is that profits he could earn should never go to others. With so many opportunities at his feet, merely selling raw materials is decidedly subpar.
But those thoughts are just what I ponder while twiddling my thumbs; I wouldn’t actually try to implement them.
I really don’t want to step back into that circle; it’s nice just being a quiet little village girl.
…………
Time flowed by, and before I knew it, harvest day had arrived.
Before dawn had the chance to stretch its light across the sky, I got up bright and early, joining Aili, Barry, and even Grandma, as the four of us pulled a cart full of tools toward the wheat fields.
“Good morning, Grandma Claire!”
Off in the distance, a fellow villager, just like us, was pushing a cart outside, greeting Grandma loud enough for the whole village to hear.
“Good morning, Mr. Doug! May the Mother God of Abundance bless us.”
“May the Mother God of Abundance bless us, indeed! This year will surely be a bountiful one, ha ha!”
Grandma Claire chuckled as she exchanged pleasantries, and I inadvertently glanced over to see the local kid leader, Ryan, among them.
Ryan spotted me and flashed a goofy grin, revealing his big yellow teeth.
I rolled my eyes at him.
Barry noticed my expression and assumed Ryan was bullying me again, immediately shouting.
“Uncle Doug, can you do something about Ryan? He’s always picking on Little Shay!”
“What! Ryan, why are you bullying her?” Uncle Doug looked furious, puffing up his cheeks.
“I didn’t bully her!” Ryan protested, defiantly sticking out his neck and glaring at Barry.
Barry wasn’t backing down either, staring right back.
The boys’ back-and-forth was quite amusing.
“If you didn’t bully her, why’s little Barry snitching on you?” Doug kicked Ryan’s backside, “I know you! You must be teasing the pretty little girl! Hmph, go apologize to her!”
“Why should I! I didn’t bully her; Barry’s lying! I’m not going!”
Doug kicked Ryan again, more forcefully this time.
“You little brat! Apologizing is a chance to talk to that girl. Look at you making a fool of yourself over this! If you like her, do it right! Don’t make an embarrassment out of yourself!”
“Alright, alright, Doug, stop kicking Ryan! He’s still a kid, still a kid!” Grandma Claire intervened.
“Still a kid at almost nineteen? Barry here’s more mature than he is…”
Hearing this, Barry flashed a smug glance at me, unable to suppress his grin.
I smiled back, causing his face to flush and his gaze to dart away.
Hehe. Just too amusing.
It didn’t take long to reach our destination.
About a kilometer northeast of the village, fields of wheat rolled into golden waves, stretching endlessly. The sturdy orange stalks were topped with fluffy heads, and the ripe wheat grains were plump.
Grandma Claire’s land was the closest to the village entrance, occupying around three or four acres.
“Little Shay, do you know how to harvest wheat?”
Once we entered the field with our tools, Grandma Claire smiled at me.
“Nope.”
I shook my head at her question.
“Come on, Grandma will teach you.” Grandma Claire bent down, picking up a sickle and demonstrating, “This tool is called a sickle; first, you need to hook it onto the wheat stalk. Then like this, take a small step and bend down, grab with your left hand, and sweep with your right… put the cut wheat to the side, don’t mess it up. Got it? Now, give it a try.”
Grandma picked up a short sickle and handed it to me. I clumsily imitated her, but after much effort, I just couldn’t get the hang of it.
“…Not quite, be careful, you need to cut at an angle, and be quick—steady with the blade.”
Following her instructions, I grabbed a handful of wheat with my left hand and swiped with my right… a little too forcefully, and the blade just brushed by my calf, sending a cold sweat down my back.
“Be careful, my little treasure… that’s dangerous, silly! Come here, let Grandma show you how…” She stepped over to guide me, “Plant your feet, bend down, left hand holds, right hand sweeps… there you go!”
Meanwhile, Aili and Barry had already harvested quite a patch and were snickering at me from the side.
A bit annoyed, I made a face at them. But Grandma’s instructions were patient, and soon I got the hang of it, speeding up my wheat-cutting.
The sun rose high, and the air grew pleasantly warm.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead but suddenly noticed a big sickle lying on the ground nearby.
“Grandma, what’s that?”
“That’s a scythe; you… shouldn’t use it.” Grandma, breathing heavily after only a little work, warned me.
“I want to try. Grandma, take a break.”
The scythe was nearly two meters long with a shiny blade. I took a couple of steps closer, picking it up and standing it on the ground. It towered over my 1.6-meter frame, yet felt surprisingly balanced—I swung it a couple of times and found it very easy to wield.
This thing… if used for something else, could be quite terrifying.
“My little ancestor, put that down! It’s too dangerous!” Grandma snatched the scythe away from me, “Stick to the sickle—if you play around, Grandma will get mad!”
“Okay. Grandma, don’t be mad.”
Seeing Grandma Claire genuinely a bit upset, I hesitantly set aside my adventurous thoughts and obediently returned to harvesting with the sickle.
“Grandma, scythe for me!” Barry chimed in suddenly from the side.
Grandma Claire handed him the scythe along with a netted cover.
“I’ll take a break; you’re not to let Little Shay play with that scythe!”
Barry nodded and swiftly placed the netting on the edge of the blade, sweeping the scythe across the field, and a large patch of wheat fell flat.
“Little Shay, you need a lot of strength to use that scythe, and it takes a lot of skill too—you’ll definitely quit after a couple of strokes. Only I can use it around here; my sister can’t even.”
Barry spoke with a hint of pride, cocking his head at me like a kid showing off candy.
“Wow, Barry! So impressive.”
I fed into his ego while my mind wandered elsewhere.
Do I need a weapon?
If one day I face those strong Church Knights again, my petite frame, if matched against theirs with swords, would leave me at a serious disadvantage.
If only I could find something that could both stab and slash and is long enough to remedy my “shortcomings”… I glanced back at the scythe in Barry’s hands.
Then I noticed Barry stealing a sideways glance at me; he swung the scythe with even more enthusiasm…
…………
The four of us worked quickly; with the scythe in the mix, we swiftly harvested three to four acres. I looked at the fallen wheat bundles in the field and dreaded the thought of having to haul them back one cartload at a time—my head started to ache.
But the sky had grown dim, and nightfall was almost upon us. No point in trying to tackle more work; it was best to leave it for tomorrow.
“Little Shay, you’re amazing! You’ve harvested more than me even though you started later this afternoon.”
On the way back, Aili stretched widely and looked at me with an astonished expression.
“Who would’ve thought you had such strength? Last night, I even bet Barry on whether you could hold out for an hour. Kudos to you!”
“Thanks to Grandma’s excellent teaching.”
Hmph, just wait till you see what else I can do.
“Don’t you feel tired? Because I sure do… Grandma, what are we having for dinner?”
Aili looked at Grandma with anticipation.
“All you ever think about is food…” Barry sighed dramatically.
“Barry! Are you not seeing eye to eye with me lately? You argue with everything I say! Do you want to fight me?” Aili’s sleeves were already rolled up, ready to brawl at a moment’s notice.
“Sis, you’re about to get married; shouldn’t you act a bit more dignified? I don’t know what Alan sees in you.”
“Mind your own business!”
“Enough bickering; the wheat’s going to spill out!”
“I want meat for dinner!”
“Giggle.”
I watched the three in front of me—one old, two young—with a smile creeping up my face, thinking, this is my journey in another world.
Life is nothing but these little mundane things, simple yet warm.
Just at that moment, as I turned my head, my expression went pale, as if I had fallen into an ice pit.
There, by the roadside, was a familiar silver figure crouching down, stroking a child’s head and saying something to him with a smile before standing up.
The white cloak billowed behind him, the same style I knew all too well.
He turned to look at me, narrowing his eyes.
