Chương 30: Work, Work, Work

Day 19 Dydd Gwener (Monday) Ebril 28 It was finally time to head to Weston for militia training. I looked out at what we'd accomplished in less than three weeks. We'd spent most of the previous ten days working on a mix of cutting logs and digging ditch. I had the ditch fully dug, and I had cut and built enough sluice boxes to go into the ditch so I could control water flow into my field. I hadn't actually engineered anything to bring water into my ditch from the river yet.

That would come some time after I got back from militia training and got my corn planted. We had another downpour a week after the first, so my potatoes and wheat were in great shape. It was almost suspicious how timely the rain had been. We spent the first week out at the hill with the downed logs, cutting all the timber for my cabin, as well as my irrigation boxes.

After that, we'd decided we should just keep cutting lumber since it was so nice having a good source of already seasoned logs that were large enough to provide a bunch of boards per log. Colin and I had done some real bonding when we'd spent three full days out at the site. We camped out to save trips and fuel. I was down to half a tank of diesel, and I wanted to conserve fuel until I knew I could make biodiesel.

My alchemical attempts at biodiesel would require corn, so it would be fall before I could even attempt that process. I had some other plans to make wood alcohol to level up, once we had some time this summer, but that was a few months away. We got all the logs for my cabin cut, then cut an additional four hundred two by six, twenty-foot long boards. Those would go into building a barn or making something for the animals.

We had a little issue in that we didn't have seasoned poles for the barn that were as thick as I would prefer, but we would worry about that later. Just the day before, we'd brought all the cut lumber back to the homestead and stacked it up neatly so it didn't warp. I had also spent considerable time collecting enough flat stones for a good base for my log cabin. We didn't want to lay non-treated lumber down on the ground, because it would quickly rot. The garden, which was mostly Emily's work, was looking great.

We used some of the seeds I'd been given, but most of the plants were from things they'd already planted before I arrived. The wheat field was several inches tall now. I'd always loved how a wheat field looked when it had just come up. For all the images in the media of rows of golden stalks ready to harvest, I enjoyed looking at it the most when the shoots were still young. Young wheat stalks were such a vibrant green, it almost felt like it should hurt your eyes to look at on a sunny day. It screamed life to me.

Even my dad and brothers, who practiced being "manly" men, had agreed with me that there was just something beautiful about looking at a new wheat field. My potato plants had just barely broken through the soil, and the field looked properly green. For all that they had been my family's lifeblood for so many generations now, potato plants had never inspired the same feeling of hope and inspiration that wheat had as it first sprouted from the ground.

The plants weren't all that beautiful, there was no carpet of green. But they were growing, and everything looked healthy, so I wouldn't complain that they didn't inspire me visually. Despite Emily's mild protests, Colin would accompany me to Weston for this first trip. He'd made his way to the Newton's one afternoon to see if I could ride into town with Brendan. Brendan said that it would be a good idea to bring the boy with us.

Now that I was here, and with Brendan vouching for me, it would be good to have Colin seen as 'legitimately' on my land by the rest of the townsfolk. There was a System Priest in town who ran the local temple. Brendan said he was a lot more flexible than the bishop. If I could show that Colin had my tacit approval of being on the land, it should help his chances of being given the Homesteader class, and hopefully, a militia class as well.

Bhealtaine would also be celebrated in town the day after militia training ended. That was why we would actually train mid-week, instead of on the weekend like my contract stated. There were some area-wide bonuses that we'd be granted based on the percentage of people who took part in the Bhealtaine ritual. Emily would head to the Newtons and have a small celebration with Mrs Newton. Over the last ten days, Buck and Spot had brought two more coyotes, three foxes, and two stoats to the house to be skinned.

Each time the animal had been killed with minimal damage to the pelt. Even Emily and Colin had begun to believe there was something going on with those two. System tag or not, they seemed way too smart to be normal bunnies. They had also done a wonderful job of bringing the birds back to the barnyard area every evening to ensure they were safer. The pigs and goats learned the routine fairly quickly on their own. Both types of animals had proven fairly smart, and had been easy to train, regardless.

There weren't any predators on our side of the river large enough to endanger either type of animal, but it was still best not to tempt something larger that would be unlikely to attack close to the smell of humans. It was remarkable how much better my mental health had become in such a short time. My divorce had been hard on me, but things hadn't been good for several years. I was at least partially relieved when Sarah had told me she was moving back to Seattle.

I still had my family at my back, or so I thought, and with them, and work to keep me occupied, plus alcohol and dating apps… I had at least muddled on through it. But with the family stuff added in, that had just felt like too much effort. My self-loathing was too strong. The outburst the morning that I was portaled in wasn't the first. All in all, I was pretty damned pleased with myself. I had arrived here confused, and in a state of depression and anger.

As I stood now, I felt like I was building a true life here. If this was a coma, and I ever woke up from it, I was going to be downright pissed off. This was MY land now as far as I was concerned. Well, our land. I already considered Colin and Emily to be my partners in this endeavor. Colin was smart and full of energy and optimism. Even though Emily was still reserved toward me, I could now join them in the cabin for dinner every evening, and we regularly chatted. There had been no talk of marriage.

Colin may have made a joke or two, but we'd both resolutely ignored his comments. The tone of his jokes made it seem like he would approve of a union, but my power imbalance thoughts were still there. Emily certainly wasn't flirting with me, or showing any signs that she had any desire to marry me. I still cringed every time I thought about my marriage joke the day I met the two of them. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I broke out of my musings when Colin came out of the cabin. I looked at him as he made his way to me. Over the last month, he and his mom had each gained back a few pounds. We were all working too hard for them to gain much in such a short time, but we had all enjoyed full meals. We'd even eaten a few elk steaks. Even after washing them, they were still saltier than I would have preferred, but that was to be expected.

I think they would have been better in a stew than eaten on their own, but Emily hadn't let me do any cooking yet, and I'd quickly found she didn't even like my input on what she cooked. The stove was her domain. While Colin and Emily had gained a few pounds each, I had lost close to ten pounds by my estimation. I weighed close to two hundred and thirty pounds when I came here. If the tightened notch in my belt was any indication, I was closer to two-twenty now. I hoped I could eventually get closer to two hundred.

That would still make me a large man in this world. Emily said that the average height for a man was five foot eight, and it was about five foot five for a woman. Poor nutrition had been the likely culprit there. We got the chores done while Emily made us breakfast and gave us food for lunch. We could get dinner in town. There was a single inn in town, and I would stay there tonight before staying in the barracks tomorrow and on Bhealtaine.

I was worried about Emily being alone by herself out on the frontier for a few days, but she assured me she'd be okay.

"Well John, you ready to see Weston for the first time?" Colin asked me with a grin.

"I suppose so," I said.

"I have my gun, and a spare change of clothes. Thanks for lending me that extra pack. I'll need to buy one shortly." Colin nodded and replied.

"You bet. Don't worry about buying a new one. It was my Pa's. My ma won't use it, and leather will just crack if it isn't taken care of and used. He wouldn't want that." I nodded solemnly and smiled at him.

"Well thanks again." He just looked at the ground, letting his hair hide any emotion he was feeling. He didn't kick the ground, at least. After the forty-odd times I had to tell him to stop, he rarely kicked at the ground anymore. I would be unhappy if I had to buy him new boots unless he'd simply outgrown them.

"Well, let's get going then," I said. Then I had a thought. I looked at the two rabbits who were standing near us and said, "You two keep Emily safe while we're gone, you hear me?" They both looked at me and made their barking, chuffing noises a few times.

"I'm going to take that as confirmation." Then I petted them for a minute before we got going. Emily and Colin just smiled and shook their heads. As we walked towards the Newtons' farm, we idly chatted about the weather, and our various tasks on the farm. Our pleasant conversation and the beautiful weather made the three-mile walk feel like nothing. When we made it to the Newtons' homestead, I was impressed. They truly had done well for themselves over the last year.

They still only had one plot of land, but 80 acres were dedicated to their animals. They had to grow a wheat crop for the crown, but aside from that, they had everything partitioned to help move their animals from pasture to pasture. This helped ensure that the goats didn't destroy the grass in any one section. They had sturdy fences of split-log, and barbed wire. I could see at least fifty goats in one of the fenced-in areas. They also had two large mastiff-like dogs, who came up to us barking loudly.

They weren't hostile, but they were letting us know they patrolled this homestead. We stood still and let the dogs sniff us for a minute, before Brendan yelled at them to let us through. After that, they were more interested in getting some good scratches. The Newtons had made some big improvements to their barnyard area for sure. They had a large barn that looked every bit as impressive as something the Amish would have made back on Earth. Their entire goat herd would easily fit inside.

So would the pigs and the ten head of cattle that I noticed in a separate fenced-in area. The cows were reddish-white and looked like dual-purpose animals. They had short horns and kind of reminded me of a mix between an Angus and a Jersey. A quick ID said they were called a milking shorthorn. I wasn't an expert on ranching in any world, but I knew that even with bonuses, they had to be getting close to the limit of animals they could sustain on one plot of land.

Their house was also much more than just a simple cabin. It looked like they'd made the official upgrade that I'd seen in the almanac. Their house was now two stories tall. If it was the same as I had seen in the guild store, which cost 700 gold, then there were four bedrooms upstairs, and then the kitchen and living room areas, along with an official office, on the main floor.

The building didn't give any actual bonuses until you bought a second plot, but it was necessary to add a second plot, then it gave a whole slew of benefits to both plots of ground. The game-like elements definitely felt weird to me, but I understood how they worked from playing builder video games in the past. Once I was at a point that they could affect me more, I would put more thought into the intricacies of how each building helped a farm grow. As he approached, Brendan yelled out.

"Well met, is it! How're you lot this fine mornin', then?" Colin and I both greeted him back and told him we were doing well.

"Fancy a quick look 'round the place, do you?" Brendan asked.

"It's nine now. We ain't got much time, see. It'll take us eight, maybe nine hours t'get to Weston at a nice easy pace for the horses, like. But we've got a few minutes, leastways."

"Sure," I said. I was definitely interested in getting a tour of the place. Brendan smiled and showed us the barn, which was partitioned to keep the goats, cows, and pigs apart. He said they all spent a fair amount of time in the barn during the winter months. The body heat from all the animals kept the building from getting too cold. It was still chilly, but was much warmer than outside.

He showed us how he built the fences, and how he and his family moved the animals from pen to pen, setting everything up for efficiency. Finally, he showed us his Herd Leader goat before we left. He was a magnificent beast named Magnus. The normal goats were already much larger than I was used to. But Magnus had to weigh over four hundred pounds. His hooves were the size of a cow, and his four horns were massive. I had no doubt he could take a wolf down with little worry.

The most unsettling thing about him, though, was his eyes. There was more than just animal intelligence there. While his eyes differed from my rabbits, I was more convinced than ever that my rabbits were more than just smart normal animals. They had the same look in their eyes that Magnus had. As we walked out to look at them, Brendan said, "Ho Magnus, how are we today?" Magnus simply dipped his head in acknowledgement and looked out over his herd.

"Tidy beast, innit he?" Brendan said, looking at me to gauge my reaction.

"He truly is," I said.

"Just how smart is he?"

"Well now, he'll follow any command I give 'im when he feels like it, mind." Brendan barked out with a laugh. After that, we went and helped get his two draft horses hooked up to the wagon, and after some small talk with Ginny, Brendan's oldest son Aiden, Colin, and I all loaded up in the wagon to make our way to town. Aiden and Colin would get some shopping done in town, and then would stay in the room I planned on renting for the weekend for Colin.

I was told it was 10 silver a night for a room, which included dinner, and we would turn in enough pelts for 5 gold. Colin was the one who had cut and prepared the pelts after all, he deserved a few meals in town.