A young woman with a white headband was washing clothes by the river in Maple Village, Dor, Cardoj's domain, Maple Village.
Although it was late autumn, Cardoj's domain was located in the south, so the temperature wasn't too cold yet. So, it was reasonable for the woman to be washing clothes at this time. Even though her hands had already turned white from the cold.
"Lia, Tia wants you to come home for dinner!" a middle-aged woman with a headscarf shouted from the village entrance in the distance.
"Got it, Aunt Mary," the woman replied and quickly put away the washed clothes. She also put the unwashed ones aside and planned to wash them tomorrow when she had time.
After she was done, she found Aunt Mary still waiting for her at the village entrance. She quickly took her things and ran over.
"Aunt Mary, let's go." The woman carried the wooden basin of clothes in one hand and held Aunt Mary's arm with the other.
"Ah, Tia really has a good daughter. I'm so jealous," Aunt Mary praised.
"Aunt Mary, Hank and the others are good too. We have to thank your family for helping us with the fields this year," said the woman.
"Those brats, other than giving me a few mouths to eat, what other abilities do they have!" Aunt Mary had always been so shrewish.
"Hehe." The woman covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Your brother is the most promising in our village. He's already a squad jarl in just a few years. How good will he be in the future?" Aunt Mary exclaimed.
Perhaps thinking of her brother, who she hadn't seen for a few years, the woman paused for a moment and smiled. "Hank is pretty good too. He's a third-rate soldier. Everyone in the village praises him."
"That kid has to rely on your brother. I've always thought that he's smart since he was young." Aunt Mary was very happy to hear the woman praise her son.
The two walked in the village together, and the villagers who passed by greeted them warmly. Most of the parents in the village were elderly, and most of the young adults had joined the army.
After walking to a courtyard in the west of the village, Aunt Mary chatted with the woman for a while and then left. Her house was next door, so it wasn't far.
The woman waved her hand and watched Aunt Mary enter her courtyard before pushing the door open and entering the house. The door was made of ordinary wood, but it looked quite new. It had probably been repaired not long ago.
"Mother, I'm back," the woman shouted.
The woman was Lia, Locke's sister, and this courtyard was Locke's home for 14 years.
"Oh, my daughter is back." A grey-haired old man was squatting on a wooden block in the courtyard, smoking a pipe as he greeted them. This was Lok Sr., Lok and Leah's father.
Commoners did not have surnames. They only had first names, such as Locke and Suzie. If there was only one son in a less educated family, the child would inherit his father's name. For example, Locke inherited his father's name. The villagers who knew him would call them Locke Sr. and Locke Jr.
Of course, Locke was now a young man with a high status. Everyone no longer called him Junior Locke, but Locke.
Nobles were different. Every noble had their own surname, family, and clan emblem. These three criteria were the most important criteria for judging the strength of the nobles. On the other hand, outsiders usually called nobles by their surnames. For example, Cardoj was a surname, and the surname represented the face of the nobles. Among the nobles, only the head of the family was qualified to be called by his surname.
For example, there was only one Baron Cardoj. Although Master Sauron's surname was also Cardoj, others only called him Sauron.
"Father, how many times have I told you not to smoke all the time?" Leah was a sensible and well-behaved girl, but she always disagreed with her father on the fact that he liked to smoke.
"Ahem … I don't have many years left to live anyway, so I might as well smoke before I die." Locke Sr. coughed twice, put out the pipe, and tied it to his back. He still listened to his daughter.
Leah put the clothes and the wooden basin back into the house. She moved a small stool out, sat behind Locke Sr., and started to massage his back.
"Daughters are the best!" Locke Sr. stretched and sighed comfortably. Locke Sr. believed that the two most successful things he had done in his life were adopting his sister's daughter and giving birth to a good son like Locke. Of course, only he, his wife, and some of the elders in the village knew that Leah wasn't his biological daughter.
Not long after, the smell of food wafted over and a middle-aged woman came out of the house with a bowl. The woman with wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and white hair was Tia, the mother of Locke and Leah.
There was only bread and a few corncobs in the bowl, but it was still a rare delicacy. If it wasn't for the fact that they had a younger brother who had been taking care of them for the past two years, they might not even be able to eat this.
Tia put the bowl on a wooden stool and went back to the house to bring out a big bowl of soup. The soup was water that had been boiled with corncobs. She added a few wild vegetables to the water, so that the soup had the sweetness of corn and the freshness of wild vegetables. A simple dinner was the norm for most commoners in this world.
The three of them carried a small stool and sat around the wooden block, starting to eat dinner. Although Cardoj's territory was located in the south, they couldn't help but shiver when the north wind blew in the late autumn. Since the temperature was low, they sped up their meal.
It wasn't that they didn't want to eat in the house, but Locke's wooden house was only 20 square metres. The small space was divided into three parts: the kitchen, Locke Sr. and Tia's room, and Lia and Locke's room. There wasn't any extra furniture in the house except for the stove and two beds. Locke's family ate and Lia's handicrafts were all done in the yard outside the house.
It wasn't just Locke's family. Most families in a small village like Maple Village did the same. It was too crowded to stand in the house, let alone sit around and eat.
The three of them ate quietly at the dining table. There was an empty spot on the wooden stool that used to be Locke's seat. Locke Sr. was an honest person, while Lia's character was similar to her mother's. She was also a hardworking and down-to-earth woman. When the family ate together, they would always be reminded of the old Locke. Although they chatted at the dining table, it wasn't much.
Locke Sr. grabbed a piece of corn and started eating. From time to time, he would lower his head and take a sip of soup. Lia followed her mother's example, taking small bites of the flatbread gently.
"The price of food in town has gone up again," said Tia as she ate. Unlike Hans's house, Locke's family didn't have any strong young men. The two acres of land at home depended on Locke Sr. and his mother. The food they grew wasn't enough at all. They could only ensure that they wouldn't starve to death. If they wanted to fill their stomachs, they had to buy food.
"Let it go. Nobody has surplus food these days," said Locke Sr. as he ate. "How much money do we have left from the money Locke sent back last month?" asked Locke Sr.
"Half of the money we sent back last month. We still have 30 copper thalers left," said Tia.
"That's enough. I think the baron's caravan will be back in two days." Locke Sr. didn't say anything else after that. It was true that the baron's caravan was back, but there was no guarantee that their children would be able to send back the money. They had seen too many young people in the village go out and never come back. They only came back with compensation and bad news. They were too afraid to receive news of their children's death one day. Like most villagers, they had mixed feelings about the baron's caravan coming back, but they also hoped that it wouldn't.
"Don't think about bad news." Tia knew what her husband was thinking and said, "I've saved a lot of money from the money Locke sent back over the past few years. Plus, he became a squad jarl last year, so he sent back even more. We have enough for our family. Is it time to find a wife for Locke?" Tia was very concerned about Locke's marriage. He was now 18 years old, which was long enough for him to get married and have children.
"Yes, Locke has been doing well in the baron's army these years. It's time to find him a good wife." Locke Sr. nodded in agreement. He agreed with his wife's wish to find a wife for Locke.
After the meal, Lia and Tia cleaned up the dishes. Locke Sr. hunched his back, he checked to see if the door in the courtyard was closed, put away the farming tools and other items in the yard, and finally returned to the house with the three small stools used for eating.
It was late autumn, and the sky always darkened especially quickly. Locke's family wasn't the only one; most people had already gone to bed.
After cleaning up the dishes, Lia greeted her parents and went back to the house. It was a small room of seven or eight square meters. There were only two thin wooden beds and a small cupboard half a meter high. This was not only Rheia's wardrobe, but also a box for Rheia to keep some of her trinkets, such as a silk scarf for her hair, a handkerchief that she had knitted herself.
Lia untied the white silk scarf from her hair and carefully placed it in the cupboard. Other than the white silk scarf, there was also a green one in the cupboard. Lia had bought both of them this year because her brother at the frontline had asked the merchant to pass on a message to her. Lia caressed the silk scarf, her mind wandering somewhere. When she came back to her senses, she blushed and put the scarf back in its original place.
Lia lay on her bed and looked at the empty bed next to her. Her heart felt empty. She thought of her brother, Locke, the mischievous and sensible little boy. Perhaps she thought of the times when she hugged Locke to sleep when they were young. Lia wrapped her arms around the air and thought of Locke.
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