"Now tell me, is what I said true or not, about the lies our ancestors told regarding the creatures of the water?" John asked, looking around at everyone, feeling assured that they were starting to believe his words.
Seeing the shock on everyone's faces, Clara asked, "Then why were we told that the water creatures are poisonous? What did they gain by lying?"
"I don't know yet, Aunt Clara, but they definitely lied about the water creatures," John replied to Clara.
"But my father died because of a water creature, right before my eyes," Clara said sadly, recalling her father's death.
"There could be another reason, Aunt Clara, for why your father died," John said, glancing at his four brothers.
Just then, Dylan looked at John and asked, "John, If we tell this to all our Dreg brothers, they won't go hungry anymore."
Dylan, who usually spoke little and with thought, had become certain after eating a piece of the Glowfin snapper that the water creatures were not poisonous. He pushed aside the question of why their ancestors lied about the water creatures and began to think ahead.
He realized that if other Dregs started eating these water creatures, they could have a full meal. With this in mind, he asked John. But...
"No, Dylan, we can't do that," John said firmly, a clear and resounding 'no.'
"Why, John?" Dylan asked in confusion. He couldn't understand why John refused, knowing that if they shared this knowledge, the Dregs wouldn't have to starve.
"Because if this information spreads, it could create a huge problem for the Dregs," John replied in a serious tone.
"What do you mean, John?" Victor asked. He had also found Dylan's suggestion appealing but was now puzzled by John's response, so he questioned him.
"There must be a significant reason why our ancestors lied about the water creatures. And maybe, something very dangerous is hidden, something connected to the Patricians. These are just my guesses, but nothing is confirmed. If this truth gets out, it could cause a massive upheaval among the Patricians in our Capital ," John explained his doubts, guesses, and the possible consequences.
Hearing John's words, fear spread across everyone's faces. They realized that what they had thought was a minor problem was, in fact, like waking a sleeping volcano. The thought of it sent chills down their spines.
Uncle Tom, who was very serious and scared, started recalling the words of his grandfather from when he was young. His grandfather used to always say,
"Tomson, come here... cough... cough... come closer." An old man, looking around 80 years old, was lying on a wooden cot.
"Yes, Grandpa, what is it?" 10-year-old Tomson asked with a smile as he sat down next to his grandfather.
"Tomson, never touch the creatures of the water, and don't even think about eating them... cough... cough... because they're poisonous. That's why my two sons, my five brothers, and their wives all died from poison in the water... cough... Now, you're the only one left... cough... cough..." His grandfather said, coughing heavily.
"Yessss, Grandpa, I won't touch the water creatures, and I won't even think about eating them. But please, stop telling me this same thing over and over again. You've told me this 1004 times now!" Tomson said, feeling irritated by his grandfather's constant repetition of the warning. Over time, he grew more and more afraid of the water creatures whenever he heard this, and a deep fear settled in his heart.
Present...
As Uncle Tom remembered this, tears welled up in his eyes. He now realized how serious his grandfather had been, and even though he had taken his words seriously, recalling his grandfather brought tears to his eyes.
John noticed Uncle Tom with tears in his eyes and asked, "What happened, Uncle Tom?" As soon as John asked, everyone turned to look at Uncle Tom.
Uncle Tom, a bit startled by John's sudden question, quickly tried to compose himself. He feared that John had seen the tears in his eyes. Rubbing his eyes, Uncle Tom replied, "Oh, it's nothing. Just some dust got into my eyes from the wind, and it made my eyes water." He made up an excuse to avoid more questions, and everyone accepted it without much concern.
"Oh, I see," John said, looking around at everyone. "Does anyone else have any questions?"
"Yes, I do!" Brody immediately spoke up.
"Go ahead," John said.
"I wanted to ask if you could teach me how to catch those water creatures," Brody asked hesitantly.
Hearing Brody's question, everyone's attention shifted to him, glaring at him with frustration. They had just learned such a huge truth, and here Brody was, talking about catching the creatures. It seemed he was thinking differently than everyone else.
"Yes, I'll teach you, but for now, we have a lot of work that needs to be done today, no matter what," John responded, reminding everyone of the tasks at hand.
After answering Brody, John turned to Blake and Derek and asked, "And what about you two? Do you have any questions?"
"No, nothing to ask," Blake and Derek replied in unison. After hearing everything, they had already gotten their answers. John's reply had left them both stunned, and they didn't feel like asking anything further.
"Alright then, let's get started on our work," John said, looking around at everyone before standing up to begin.
As John finished speaking, everyone began to get up and prepare to head out when Victor stopped them by saying, "Wait a minute."
Everyone turned to look at Victor, and John asked, "What is it, Uncle Victor?"
"I need to go and bring my son. He's arriving in Oakville today," Victor explained, looking around at everyone.
"Oh... Leo is coming today? I had forgotten. My mom mentioned it," Derek said as he recalled Victor's words.
"Yes, he's coming today. I'll bring him here by evening," Victor confirmed.
"Alright, Victor. When you go, bring Leo and my mom along with you," Clara added, looking at Victor.
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Victor said, expressing his agreement with Clara's reminder.
"Uncle Victor, make sure no one finds out about this place when you're coming back," John cautioned Victor, looking at him seriously.
"Yes, John, I know," Victor replied, understanding the importance of keeping their location secret. He was already aware that revealing this place could be dangerous for them, so he planned to be careful.
"Alright then, I'll get going," Victor said as he stood up to leave.
"Take care and be cautious," Clara called out to Victor as she watched him leave.
"Of course, Clara," Victor replied, turning back to give her a reassuring look before continuing on his way.
Everyone watched Victor for a moment as he left, and once he was out of sight, John spoke up, "Let's head to the potato field." With that, he started walking, and one by one, everyone followed behind him.
After a while, everyone followed John and reached the potato field, looking at the small plants growing there.
"So, this is what the heaven food plant looks like?" Clara said excitedly as she crouched down, gently touching the potato plants.
"Yes, Aunt Clara, but what you see here isn't ready for harvest yet. If we move a little further, we'll find the spot where we can start harvesting the potatoes," John explained.
"Hmm... Alright then, since it still needs time, I'll make sure to keep an eye on these," Clara said as she stood up and began walking with John toward the harvesting area.
"We need to harvest potatoes from here all the way to over there," John said, pointing out the area to everyone.
"What... We have to uproot that many heaven food plants?" Derek exclaimed in shock, looking at the vast area.
"Yes, that's right," John confirmed.
"Alright, John, let's start uprooting them then," Uncle Tom said, bending down to begin the task.
Seeing Uncle Tom, John nodded and started pulling up the potato plants. Clara stood by, watching them work for a while.
After a few moments, as they saw how it was done, the four brothers and Clara bent down and began helping to uproot the potato plants too.
Everyone continued working, some bending over, some sitting, and some alternating between sitting and standing as they pulled up the potato plants. As they worked, the sun reached its peak, and the midday heat became unbearable.
"Huff... damn... The sun is really harsh today," Blake said as he stood up, holding his back in discomfort.
"Yeah... The heat and the sun are both too much," Derek added, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Come on, come on... Faster! There's still a lot left to uproot," Derek reminded them, trying to keep everyone focused.
"Ahh... my back... I need to take a little rest," Brody groaned in pain, feeling the strain.
"Take a rest if you need to, but just remember, a portion of your dinner might get cut," Clara teased, a playful smile on her face.
"No...!! No one can take my heaven food!" Brody exclaimed in shock, quickly getting back up and resuming the task of uprooting the potato plants with renewed determination.
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Next Chapter [ The Storage Solution ]