Thorin already had an idea of what he should do, the ax in front of him would be barely enough to complete the job, but he preferred that to have to get into trouble with the villagers who lived near his hut, in his memory, he had a thing or two to say about them, as he had both good and bad experiences with them.
"It is better to avoid misunderstandings, I can borrow a big ax for logs from them, but use it afternoon? Not to think about it, as they are communal they would soon want to take possession of what I get" Thorin shook his head.
He knew well how self-correct they could become when it came to a benefit, if they lent you something and you got money from it, they would not leave you alone and would continue to bother you, that is why they did not stop being peasants and townspeople for generations.
"Well, it's time for you to become my strength and nutrients, it was a short relationship between chicken and master we had, but I appreciate your sacrifice, may the gods be with you..." Thorin put his hands together as the old hen looked at him cautiously.
but this could do little, because in Thorin's eyes a green light of greed seemed to shine and his sinful hands went to the delicate neck of the hen, in a single movement and without letting out a single sound, the hen had lost his life.
Thorin plucked the bird and took out its entrails, he did not know if any of these were edible so he put them in a vase to use as bait in the nearby stream, he prepared the fire and the salt as well as a little rye, this He had no vegetables in his shack, so it would be chicken on rye and salt.
in little more than 1 hour the smell of chicken permeated the front of his hut and reached the huts of the villagers who lived not far from his hut, Thorin licked his lips of the desire to take some meat to his stomach, barely He put up with his craving and when he lifted the lid of the clay pot and received the sweet aroma of the chicken, he couldn't stand it anymore and put his spoon and knife into the pot, the heat and the delicate flavor of the chicken made him suffer and enjoy at the same time.
"mmmmm, I never thought I could enjoy a chicken so much, it's even better than any commercial chain chicken, your sacrifice was not in vain lady hen." Thorin couldn't stop once he had started but he had to force himself to, he couldn't remember the last time this body had had meat and fat, it would be a joke to die of diarrhea.
"So it's you who prepares chicken, Thorin, is it that you don't plan to invite us? Why so far away from me? I well remember that you used to help me split firewood every morning last year" a middle-aged man with a high receding hairline on his forehead smiled sincerely at him.
but Thorin's memories made him know that sincerity was only on his face, Toms, who not even his parents had managed to put the 'a' in his name, was someone quite mean, and with a limited vision, he only knew what was bad what others did to him and not how bad he did others, he had had Thorin working for him without pay, promising him that at the end of the season he would give him extra money.
Well, the extra money that Toms was talking about was the money that the village leader gave to the orphans and the homeless, it was just 3 large copper coins and in the end, Toms only gave him 1 for being an outsider, since then Thorin had only had contact with 3 families of the more than 20 that lived in the village.
"hehe, of course, I plan to invite the one who gave me such a warm welcome in the community, that's why I only ate 2 chicken legs and thighs, while the rest I leave to Granpa Chuyi, Big Sis Farine, and the family Michonne, after all, I owe them a lot, don't you think Toms?" Thorin smiled as he continued to spoon the rye into his mouth.
"I don't think... you're forgetting someone, right? What about me? Your uncle Toms, you're always welcome to cut wood with me, didn't we have a good time before?" Toms put on a serious face and more and more to see how Thorin did not stop eating the rye.
"Of course, we had a good time! But it's just that I already promised Granpa Chuyi that I would help him with the firewood, after all, he is the oldest man in the village, and he deserves our contribution and respect, you agree with me, don't you? " Thorin got up and using an empty sack took the ears from the pot as he made his way to the village.
"Wait thorin! don't you think your behavior is too rough with me? besides you are just a child, an abandoned one... you should be careful without the protection of your parents, you know?" Toms said in a serious tone and the threat was palpable, to which Thorin just smiled.
"I have it more than clear! That is why I am going to invite Granpa Chuyin to eat, what better shelter than the village leader?" Thorin did not stop walking and went to the village.
"Snort, damn disrespectful kid, do you think that old geezer is going to last forever? He doesn't even have living sons or grandchildren, just a useless old man, and a widowed granddaughter, you'll see how I'll clean you and that mouthy bitch" Toms said in a low voice with a face increasingly somber and full of contained rage, as he walked and went to his hut with his wife who already had the soup of wild vegetables and porridge prepared.
.....
knock Knock knock
"uh? who is it? forget it let me open it to see who it is" an elderly man with all of his gray hair said, leaving the book he had in his hands on the table in front of him.
"Ah, but if it's not little Thorin, who brings you here and... is that chicken!? What are you doing with it, kid? Don't you know that if you don't have the money you shouldn't spend it, God, but what nonsense you do..." the old man looked at him reproaching him for his expense without letting him speak.
"Granpa Chuyi don't bother, money comes and goes, besides there is no way to attract money if you don't spend money, I came with the good intention of inviting you a part of this chicken, it is that perhaps you will reject my gesture of thanks for the help these last 2 years? Thorin smiled and raised the pot to the old man.
He looked at him somewhat upset, old Chuyi wanted to continue scolding him and tell him to take his chicken that he didn't need, but the sweet aroma of meat and salt that his body needed so much prevented him, for a few seconds he hesitated, sigh, and He walked to the chair in front of the table shaking his head.
"Come in kid, sigh, I can't refuse your gesture of thanks, I don't have many years left to live, and 1 less of these occasions is a great loss for this old man, temptation is stronger than my will, sigh, I'll see how I'll pay you, kid... well, you're not a kid anymore, although you're barely 11 years old, you've been forced to mature before everyone else, besides, with this height, you're ready to get married, haha, I'll take care of that myself as a return for your thanks!" the Chuyi village head said as he reached over and took a bowl from the middle of the table.
Thorin did not take him seriously, although he liked the proposal, it was ridiculous to marry at 11, not to mention that there would be no betrothal for a destitute who lived in the middle of the forest, but the idea itself was not bad, he had remained single for more than 30 years, the sooner that record ends, the better!
'uhh, thinking about it that goes against my idea of becoming rich, if I marry a peasant I will end up turning over the land and planting crops which will have a leonine tax of at least 50%' Thorin denied old Chuyi's idea outright.
"hehe, that's a bad idea Granpa Chuyi, I barely have a place to live and eat, I bumped into Toms and he invited me to help him with the firewood, but I think it would be better to help you Granpa chuyi with the firewood, what do you say? " Thorin smiled as he sliced the butt off the chicken and served it to the old man.
the old man's eyes shone and he began to eat with pleasure without giving much importance to thorin's words, but when he heard about Toms he became furious and hit the table.
"Of course, you should help me! I can barely stand, much less move the ax through the woods and drag the wood, Farine does this but you know she's busy with the forge, sigh, poor my Farine, she barely has 19 years old and she is already a widow, at least I had the fortune to meet the 4th generation, my great-granddaughter Maccy, hehe you should see how she runs, she is only 1 year old and already wants to climb trees." old Chuyi calmed down after an episode of fury because his health did not allow him to have frights.
"as for the distribution of mon..."
"50-50, I would give you more, after all, how much can an old man like me need?, but you know the rest of the village if they know that I give you more than that... sigh, that damn Toms, encouraging the other villagers to take advantage of what they can, nothing good will come of it, one of these days it will be expensive for them to behave like this." Old Chuyi shook his head because his more than 70 years of life had not been in vain.
"Then I'll come tomorrow to help you with the firewood Granpa Chuyi, I still have to go thank Farina and Michonne's family," Thorin said goodbye and left with his saucepan.
"sigh, you shouldn't have spent the money like that Thorin... you shouldn't have..." old Chuyi sighed between spoonfuls of rye and chicken.
.....
"Michonne! how are you doing, I've come to invite you to the chicken I prepared, I hope you like it!" Thorin said with a big smile as he saw the girl in front of him and heard the cries of a baby in the back of the hut.
"Ugh, you shouldn't have bothered, besides, where did you get the money to buy chicken? Don't you know that a chicken costs more than a silver coin! I don't want to believe that you have stolen it but if not, your savings..." Michonne seemed annoyed at how to reprimand Thorin but a warm feeling filled her chest.
"Don't worry, I have a plan in mind to generate enough money to eat chicken whenever I feel like it! Of course, I will invite you and your family who have helped me so much these last 2 years." Thorin presented the pot with a smile.
Michonne stood in the doorway looking at Thorin in an internal struggle of whether to take what he offered her or not.
"You can take half, the rest is for sister Farine, after all, she has helped me as much as the village leader and your family"
"ugh ok I'll take it but only because my mom needs to recover after giving birth, sigh, I was just going to reprimand you for going up climbing trees looking for those weird mushrooms, last time you almost cracked your head open" Michonne he said with some anger.
Thorin remembered what had happened before waking up in this world, in Thorin's memories he had climbed a tree to cut the carbocara mushrooms that were on top and had a foot slip when stepping on the moss of the branch, he fell from a height of more than 8 meters hitting his back and neck, he was lucky that the ground was full of more moss and mud.
"You don't need to tell me, but after all, it's the only way I have to survive, besides I can't steal from you wild vegetables when I accompany you to the forest, it wouldn't be enough for your family and me if I do that" Thorin denied knowing the difficult situation of Michonne's family.
Michonne was already 16 years old but she was only 5'1" tall and her brown hair was brittle, her father was the village hunter but the fact that she had 5 younger brothers and sisters and her mother who had had a difficult birth, made things more complicated for her.
"I'll accept it for now, but let me exchange it for some vegetables, besides! Don't forget to come early tomorrow, if you're fit enough to walk around, you can accompany me to the forest, yes, no climbing trees to reach the mushrooms !" Michonne warned him as she was carrying the pot into the house, her brothers' murmurs could be heard asking her what she was carrying.
moments later Michonne returned with the pan lighter than before and some vegetables in a sack.
"Don't forget to bring the bag early tomorrow" Michonne said dismissing him with some annoyance because her brothers surrounded the chicken sniffing it and salivating, although knowing the current state of their mother they didn't dare to eat it.
"Of course, it'll be tomorrow, I still have to go with Sister Farine, see you tomorrow Michonne" Thorin turned around and said goodbye to her.
.....
Thorin went to the north end of the village where Farina's forge was located, more than a forge it could be called a bowl of fire because it did not have a furnace were to refine iron of good quality, the most she could do was collect iron-encrusted stones, crudely refining it and selling it to blacksmiths in the center of Sicoal city, this was one of the main activities in the region.
"Is she here or is she gathering materials…" Thorin wondered quietly with his hands busy on the still-warm pot and the bag of vegetables, but his question was resolved in the next moment.
a woman with long blonde hair came out from the bushes, she was tall, at least 5'8" tall, with a slim complexion but a toned body, in her hands and shoulders she held a cane that carried 2 sacks on each side of the ends, they must have weighed at least 60 pounds each and behind her, he could hear a thin little giggle.
"Big Sis Farine! Look what I brought you" Thorin said no more and opened the pot.
"Um? Thorin, good to see you, did you? Smells pretty good" Farine replied with a smile and a calm voice, she didn't hesitate and wiped her hand on her clothes, took the chicken's back, and proceeded to eat it, Her eyes sparkled at the taste of chicken enhanced by salt and rye.
"Don't forget to give Maccy some, she is already at the most critical age of growth" Thorin smiled at the little girl who was tangled in a quilt behind Farine to which the little girl laughed even more happily.
"You're right about that, now that she's over 1 year old, 2 breasts aren't enough for her, I would need to be a cow with 4 udders to be able to fill her belly" Farine didn't pay attention to Thorin and concentrated on spooning the rye and then take the broth to the mouth and drink with pleasure.
"hum?" Thorin just gave a sound of doubt and gulped at hearing Farine speak so freely.
He did not realize that he was just an 11-year-old boy and they did not take him much into account, besides Farine was so free in his character and the fact that she was physically strong made her have an equally strong and argumentative character, Not for nothing was she hated by Toms who always sought to denigrate others to have more prestige.
"hehe, Big Sis Farine as always with her language so frank and direct of her" Thorin smiled somewhat forced.
"Is there a problem with it?" Farine looked at him doubtfully with a strong, spirited gaze.
"Of course not! If it wasn't for your character, how many times would Granpa Chuyi and I have been bullied?" Thorin quickly shook his head at which Farine snorted and continued eating.
'so says Farine but Maccy certainly doesn't have to worry about eating...' Thorin thought to himself as Farine devoured what was left of the chicken and broth, at the same time looking at the graceful pair of Farine's curves on his chest, unfortunately, he was a skinny young man who could only appreciate the beauty in front of him.