"Mom, you look very fond of fish," said Hiraeth.
The young man had been watching his mother who looked happy when she ate the fish. His mother's head also swayed when she was chewing fish. It looked like a young lady had just tasted a delicious snack at the tea ceremony.
"You know, since your father died, I've never eaten fish again."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't know how to catch fish, and I didn't have enough money to buy it either. If I catch it, there will only be one, and the price will be comparable to buying one or two cups of flour. It depends on the type of fish." Irish looked excited when explained it to him.
So far, the woman had always been enthusiastic to answer questions from her son, even when she told stories too far from the topic asked, but it was quite pleasant to listen to, especially at night. It feels like a fairy tale. Irish expression in telling the story also added to the impression in the story.
"How much is the cost of this fish?" Hiraeth asked, pointing at one of the fish in the dish.
"For this kind of size, a fish might cost about five silver coins. It could depend on the season."
"How many cups of wheat flour for the five silver coins?" Hiraeth kept asking.
"About two or three cups. Wheat flour is still relatively cheap, in contrast to corn flour, which is relatively more expensive." Irish Replied.
"No wonder the woman added the amount of flour. Even the three cups were only worth one fish." Hiraeth grumbled a little annoyed when he realized that he had been fooled in terms of selling fish, so far no one had ever fooled him like this.
"No, the price is worth it. Sometimes there were some differences between bartering like you do, between flour and fish. Regarding the value of an item cannot be pegged for sure, especially when it is the same as agreed. The point is buying and selling is different from barter."
"I will bear it in my mind, mom."
"Good boy."
Although he said so, he was still upset. Rather annoyed with himself. It was because he had never been to the market or the kitchen, so he had no idea of the cost of an item that he foolishly sold three large fish just for two cups of flour. He was lucky, the woman added one more cup.
"Mom, is there any way we can store food by winter?"
"What do you want to save, my son?"
"Fish, mom. I also want to know, do you know how to process animal skins?"
"For fish, they must be processed before one day, because their meat is very perishable if it is dead. Will you allow me to take time to think of a solution?" Irish asked, seemed interested in the boy's question.
"Alright, mother."
Irish got up from her sitting position, clearing the table of the empty dishes. Tonight they sleep in a full stomach. Full in the literal sense of the word there was no longer room to feel hungry as before.
"Then for your next question, regarding animal skins, I can't really process them, because all this time it was your father who processed them before they were sold." The woman was visibly saddened when she realized that she very rarely helps her husband to process animal skins. Animal skin was easily damaged, especially hairy ones, so it required a lot of processing it.
"But I know the first stage of processing. In other words it is the processing so that the skin is not wormy or damaged. After that you can sell it, or you can also sell fresh leather to nobles or artisans. If you want a fair price, you have to sell it to nobles or artisans in the capital."
Irish remembered her experiences in the past. Her husband once sold animal skins that had gone through three processing processes, in other words, after passing through the final stage, the skin could be used. But, at that time her husband could not go to the capital to sell the leather, so she sold it to the nobles in the village of Lareh. Disappointment came to her husband, they asked for a price that was not even half in the capital. Since at that time they were in dire need of money, and could not get to the capital, the husband sold it willy-nilly.
"Do you have any friends in the city?"
"Not a lot. but why are you asking about all this?"asked Irish felt wondering. The woman sat back down at the previous place after cleaning the table they had been using to eat.
"Maybe we'll have a lot of fish and wild animals from now on."
"How come?"
"I set traps, mom. You don't have to worry, I made a place to hide from wild animals."
"You don't have to. I will work harder. Your body...."
"Mother, I want to train my body from now on. I want to help you not because I have to, I do it because I want to." Hiraeth said, "Please, allow me. I promise to be careful, and I'll be back before the sun goes down."
"Promise me you'll be home when the sky is red?"
Hiraeth, who was sad because his mother would forbid him, even though he had planned everything even though it was not perfect. But after hearing the words of the mother, Hiraeth immediately smiled then hugged his mother. "I promise mom. I'm not leaving you."
"Good. Then you can get ready to rest. I will also rest early today, while thinking about a solution for your fish."
"Alright, mom. Good night."
Good night, my dear."
Hiraeth went to his room right away, while his mother was still in the kitchen. As he got in his room, Hiraeth was instantly startled and spontaneously shouted.
"Aghhhh...."