New Life
Tommy, his mother, and his sister Sarah returned to the dilapidated but finally vibrant stone house.
As soon as they entered the house, Mother and Sarah habitually headed towards the simple earthen stove to prepare dinner.
"Mom, Sarah, let me help." Tommy put down his bag, rolled up his sleeves, and joined in.
However, when he saw his mother scooping out grain from the nearly empty rice jar in the corner, along with the ingredients she was preparing to cook, his heart clenched painfully.
Dinner was heartbreakingly simple: a few pieces of dry, hard, and Black Bread, clearly left out for some time; my mother was washing a few small, thin turnips, preparing to throw them into a pot to boil; and a small bowl of shriveled peas—that was all.
There was no oil or grease, let alone meat.
"Mom, is this all you usually eat?" Tommy's voice was a little hoarse.
A hint of embarrassment and helplessness appeared on the mother's face. She forced a smile and said, "Sigh, it's good enough to have enough to eat. Life is tough these days, so let's just make do with what we have."
Tommy didn't say anything more. He silently opened his bag and took out something wrapped tightly in oil paper.
Unwrapping the oil paper revealed a large piece of dark red, smoky dried meat.
He bought this with his saved military pay while he was in Carnford, and he hadn't been able to finish it, so he brought it back specifically for this purpose.
"Brother! It's meat!" Sarah's eyes lit up instantly, and she couldn't help but swallow hard.
Seeing this, the mother quickly waved her hand, saying, "Oh dear, you child! This meat is so precious! You should keep it for yourself, or sell it for some money! We can eat this at home..."
She habitually wanted to save money and wanted to leave the best for her son.
Without a word, Tommy deftly sliced the meat into thick pieces, placed them in a worn earthenware dish, and set it up to heat by the stove.
"Mom, stop talking. I brought this back for the family to eat. From now on, we won't have to eat this every meal." His tone was firm and unwavering.
Looking at her son's determined profile and the sizzling meat slices, the mother's eyes welled up with tears again. She finally didn't refuse, only murmuring, "Okay, okay... you seem to be doing quite well in... Carnford?"
She tried to change the subject, with a hint of curiosity and relief.
The aroma of meat gradually filled the small room, dispelling the usual chill.
Tommy, while turning the meat slices, replied, "Yes, Mom, Lord Karl is a very good man. He's fair in his rewards and punishments. As long as someone is brave on the battlefield and works hard in ordinary times, he will reward them according to their merits. He never mistreats his men."
A hint of pride appeared on his face. "I can eat meat two or three times a week there! And because I performed well in the last siege, I've been promoted to a regular soldier! Starting next month, I'll be receiving my official military pay—one Silver coin and fifty copper coins a month!"
"One Silver coin and fifty copper coins?" Sarah exclaimed, her little face filled with incredulous excitement. "My goodness! Brother, you earn more in a month than I do washing clothes for others for half a year!"
She usually washes a large basin of clothes and can earn at most one or two copper coins.
Hearing this, the mother finally showed a genuine and gratified smile, her wrinkles smoothing out a bit. "Good, good... My child has made something of himself, earning such a decent salary, I'm relieved." She looked at Tommy, her eyes filled with pride.
Soon, a simple dinner was prepared.
The three sat around the crooked wooden table, on which sat a bowl of bland boiled turnips and peas, a few pieces of Black Bread, and a plate of particularly eye-catching, fragrant smoked meat in the center. This was probably the most "sumptuous" meal the family had had in the past six months.
Tommy added extra slices of meat to his mother's and sister's bread, urging them to eat more.
He ate as he ate, but his gaze involuntarily swept over his surroundings: the crooked walls, the dilapidated doors and windows, the empty corners...
He couldn't help but ask, "Mother, I remember when I left, didn't the Count give me a settlement allowance? It was a considerable sum, which should have been enough to last for a while, so why is the house still... without any new purchases? And why are we living such a frugal life?"
In his memory, that resettlement allowance was a huge sum of money for his family at the time.
The mother slowed her chewing, put down the rough wooden spoon, sighed softly, and looked at him with a weary and thoughtful expression, saying, "Child, that money can't be used lightly."
She looked at Tommy, her voice low and realistic. "Your father is gone, and you've gone to serve the Lord in the army. It's just Sarah and me left at home. Without a man to support the household, if we squander that money, we'll run out of money. How will we survive in the future? I have to be careful with the money and make sure it's enough to last."
She paused, her voice softening slightly, yet carrying a heavy weight. "Besides... we have to save some money. When you return from the army, you'll need to settle down and start a family... Sarah will need a decent dowry when she gets married... None of this requires money. Mom has to plan for your future..."
His mother's words weighed heavily on Tommy's heart like a stone.
Looking at his mother's haggard face and his sister's little hands, red from the cold, a long-held thought could no longer be suppressed and blurted out:
"Mom, Sarah," his voice was filled with unprecedented fervor and determination, "Why don't you come with me to Carnford?"
His mother and Sarah were both stunned, staring at him in surprise.
Tommy grew more and more excited as he spoke, as if he could see a bright future. "The battle is over in Carnford, and there are so many empty plots of land now! The Lord is encouraging people to clear the land and build houses! We can use my military pay and savings to hire people to build a new house there that's bigger, sturdier, and warmer than this one! We'll never have to live in this leaky, dilapidated house again!"
The mother instinctively looked around the dilapidated house where she had lived for most of her life. "Go to Carnford? This... how can this be? This house, and these belongings... besides, this is our hometown..."
"No matter how good our hometown is, it's not as important as family reunion!" Tommy's voice was earnest. "In Carnford, our family can live together, and I can take care of you more easily."
"When we reunite in Carnford and move into our new house, I can find Sarah an easier job in the castle or at the market, so she won't have to suffer washing clothes in the freezing cold anymore!"
As he spoke, he grabbed his sister Sarah's hand and held up her small, red, swollen hands, covered in chilblains and calluses, to his mother. "Mother! Look! Look at Sarah's hands! How old is she? Can you bear to let her spend her whole life in this freezing water? Let's go to Carnford together and start a new life, wouldn't that be better?"