Chapter 73 - 67: Little John’s Family
Chapter 73: Chapter 67: Little John’s Family
A village at the edge of the forest.
"Father, I bought this for you," Little John said, handing over a brand-new razor.
"This must have cost a pretty penny," Old John remarked. He wiped his hands on his clothes before taking it. As he felt the edge of the blade, a pleased expression appeared on his face.
"It’s nothing, Father. I’ve earned a good amount of Gold Coins," Little John said with a smile.
’A few Gold Coins wasn’t a huge amount, but it was money he’d saved up in just over half a month. He was already quite content.’
"Where’s Viller?" Little John asked, taking a few items wrapped in yellowish wax paper from his bag and glancing inside the wooden house.
"Off running wild outside," Old John boomed with laughter. His second son was like a little monkey; when he wasn’t helping with chores, he was always darting all over the village, ’adventuring,’ as he called it.
"Well, in that case, I guess we’ll just have to split these pieces of candy ourselves," Little John called out loudly.
"Coming, I’m coming!" A boyish voice sounded from outside the wooden house, and a teenager burst into the room, shouting, "Brother, where’s the candy?"
Smiling, Little John placed the candies in front of his younger brother. Though there were only a few pieces, it was enough to keep the "little monkey" happy for quite some time.
"Brother, is being an Adventurer really cool?" Viller asked as he quickly unwrapped a yellowish piece of candy. He offered it to Old John first. "Father, have some candy."
Old John smiled, took it, and popped it into his mouth. It was very sweet.
"No, it’s not cool. It’s actually very dangerous." Little John knew what his brother was really asking. He calmly explained the reality of being an Adventurer.
"But I heard..." Viller mumbled, stuffing a piece of candy into his mouth in confusion.
"That Adventurers are incredible, defeating several Magical Beasts single-handedly? That they make tons of money and feast every day?" Little John walked over to his brother, crouched down, and looked him straight in the eye. "They don’t tell you that defeating that Magical Beast cost him all his teammates. They don’t tell you he only ate one expensive meal that week, and the rest of the time it was just smoked fish over rice."
Little John put his arm on his brother’s shoulder, his tone growing serious. "Going to school and learning a trade—that’s what’s truly impressive."
Viller glanced at the bandages wrapped around his brother’s forearm, thought for a moment, and silently pushed a piece of candy into his brother’s mouth.
"This little rascal listens to you best," Old John chimed in, tattling on his younger son at the perfect moment. "After you became an Adventurer, he started running wild every day, shouting that he’s going to roam the whole forest when he grows up."
’Back then,’ Little John thought, ’if I hadn’t met Shire, I probably would have been eaten by wild beasts long ago.’ Now, seeing his brother clamoring to be an Adventurer too, he felt he had to convince him to give up the idea. He never wanted to find the half-eaten corpse of a loved one in the forest one day.
"Just focus on school. Father works so hard on the farm; you can’t let him down," Little John said earnestly.
Their mother had died from complications during Viller’s birth, leaving Old John to raise his two sons alone in their three-person family. Perhaps due to the lack of a mother’s discipline, Viller had been extremely mischievous as a child, and only listened to Little John.
"But in such a short time, you’ve already earned enough money to marry Sister Mary," Viller said with a pout.
"That’s because I was lucky enough to meet a very rare kind of employer. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t even have this candy to eat," Little John said, ruffling his brother’s hair vigorously. "Besides, if you don’t study hard, when it’s time to split money with your teammates in the future, you could get cheated and not even realize it."
Viller wriggled free and jumped aside, smoothing his messy hair. He muttered obediently, "I know, I know. I’ll go study, alright?"
Old John went into the inner room and came back a moment later, placing a dozen or so Gold Coins on the table. "This is the income left over after paying the autumn taxes this year. Take it for now, as a backup."
Little John looked at the coins on the table and asked softly, "Then what about you two?"
"I can eat whatever. It’s no big deal if Viller starts school a few years later. You know Mary’s father..."
"No, Father." Little John pushed the coins back. "Don’t worry. I’ve really saved up enough money."
He pulled a slightly rusted Pocket Watch from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying with a smile, "I met a special employer, and I’m working for him now. He’s very generous. As long as I complete his commissions diligently, money won’t be an issue."
Viller cried out in amazement and snatched up the Pocket Watch, turning it over and over in his hands. Old John had to scold him, telling him to be careful not to break the precious item.
"That Pocket Watch was a gift from my boss, for telling time," Little John explained.
Old John nodded. It seemed his eldest son was doing well for himself. Still, he couldn’t help but add a word of caution, "I’ve heard the goblins in the forest are vicious. You know our village has had trouble with goblins charging out of the forest to rob and hurt people before. When you’re working in the forest, you must be extremely careful of those goblins."
Little John nodded silently. ’If I told Father now that the employer he just approved of is a 1.3-meter-tall Green-skinned Goblin, he’d probably never believe me in a million years.’
He glanced down at his brother, who was grinning foolishly, then turned back to his father and said seriously, "You don’t need to worry about me. This money should be used for Viller’s schooling. The Basic grammar school run by the Bright Religion isn’t too expensive. Letting him learn to read and do basic arithmetic will only do him good in the future."
To spread its faith, the Four Gods Church had established some Basic grammar schools throughout the Kingdom. The tuition was low, with a curriculum of three to four years focused on literacy, scripture reading, and some basic arithmetic. Of course, the grammar schools attended by the children of nobility were much more upscale, with more High Level courses.
Old John’s wife had once been an employee of a merchant guild. She was attacked by bandits while transporting goods, and though she was lucky to escape with her life, her face was disfigured. Old John didn’t care about that and married her anyway. It was also because of her insistence that the two brothers, Little John and Viller, were able to attend school.
The family owned their farmland. After paying taxes to the King and Count Valentine, they still had a little left over. Furthermore, during the off-season, Old John would make small trinkets to sell for extra money. So, for now, their income was enough to support Viller’s education.
"Then I’ll hold onto this money for you for now. After you marry Mary, you’ll need to build your own house, and that will cost a lot too." Old John gathered the coins from the table and wrapped them up carefully.
"Don’t worry, Father. As long as I have my employer, my income is guaranteed. When the time comes, I’ll bring you both to live in Yangjiao Town." Little John took the Pocket Watch, adjusted the time, and handed it back to Viller. ’As long as I keep working with Shire,’ he thought, ’buying a house won’t be a problem. I might even be able to send my brother to a better school, or pay for him to learn a trade.’
Just as they were dreaming of a bright future, the sound of footsteps echoed from the yard outside the wooden house.
A sharp voice shouted, "Is Old John here? Tax collection!"