Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 54 Going to school
Ivan opened the door and hung his coat on the hook behind it.

He sniffed and a smile appeared on his slightly tired face.

"What delicious food did you make?"

In the kitchen, the girl poked her head out. There was a smear of dust on her face and her hair was tied back in a mess. She smiled when she saw Ivan.

"Father, you're back. Where's Ken?"

"He's picking some fruit on the way." Ivan glanced at the kitchen, where fish was bubbling in the pot.

"Where did the fish come from? Aren't we not allowed to go out to sea recently?"

"I picked them up from the beach this morning. There were still quite a few clams. I made some soup. By the way!"

She turned around and brought back a wooden bowl from the house, which contained four round eggs.

Ivan glanced into the bowl and said, "Gaia, you've climbed up the tree to steal bird eggs again."

The girl opened her eyes wide: "How could it be! I picked this up from the beach!"

Ivan sighed pretentiously: "You are not young anymore. Who would want to marry a girl who climbs trees all day long?"

"I'm only fifteen!" The girl retorted loudly with her hands on her hips. Just as she was about to say a few more words, she looked up and caught a glimpse of the smile on Ivan's lips. She stomped her feet in annoyance and turned back to the kitchen.

The door of the house opened again. Ivan turned around and saw a young man pushing the door open sideways. He was holding his coat in his hand, and the pocket inside was full of a bunch of fruits.

"Dad, look how much I picked!"

Ivan looked at the grass in the boy's hair and wanted to put on a stern face and say a few words in a serious manner, but he couldn't suppress the smile on the corner of his mouth.

Looking at these two children, Ivan always felt that no matter how tiring life was, it was not that bad.

He took the clothes from the boy, went to the kitchen, scooped out some clean water and started washing them.

"How's the work going lately?" Gaia glanced at him.

"Very good. The new lord has gone crazy and demolished those wine-making workshops and built new ones. I'm going to help him do some odd jobs. I earn two Rios a day."

"Two Leos," Gaia sighed longingly.

Old Ivan used to be a fisherman. Apart from exchanging the fish he caught for food for his family, he would sell the rest at the market and could hardly earn a few rios in a week.

Now he and Ken both go to work on the construction site, and the two of them can earn four rios a day.

This is a great job. According to the foreman on the construction site, workers in Rhineland only get this much money, and it's a big city.

A few days ago, the lord sent people to forbid the fishermen from going out to sea. Ivan was a little worried at first, but if he could make a few rios every day, it didn’t matter whether he could go out to sea or not.

Ivan threw the fruit into the pot. This is the traditional way of eating in Castel. The sweetness of the fruit mixed with the deliciousness of the fish will make all the fatigue of the day disappear after eating it.

"Father, your workshop is almost finished, right? I heard they're no longer hiring new people."

"Don't worry, there will be no shortage of work in the future."

What Old Ivan was most confident about was his vision. When they were still living on the mainland, there were rumors of a famine. Although they still had some food at home, Ivan still brought his whole family to the small island of Castel without hesitation.

As expected, famine and plague came again and again, and few families survived in their village. Old Ivan raised his two children by fishing and eating fruits from the mountains.

Now, many people working on the construction site are beginning to worry about being fired after the workshop is completed. Ivan has no such worries at all. He has figured it out long ago:

The lord has built so many workshops, but there are only a few craftsmen, so he will definitely need to recruit more in the future.

Craftsman, that is a profitable profession, whether it is brewing or blacksmithing, both are good, much better than fishing.

Ivan has always been very skillful, but he just didn't have the opportunity to learn some skills. This time he will sign up for the job of a craftsman, and Ken can also go in as an apprentice. He is also about to reach the age where he needs to get married, so having a skill is not a bad thing. As for Gaia
Old Ivan hesitated.

He knew Gaia wanted to go to school.

A few days ago, the steward went door to door to inform everyone that the school was about to open and all the lord's employees and their families could attend for free.

Free admission is good, but he asked someone and learned that students need to buy some paper and pens, and textbooks also need money. The prices of those things are not completely unaffordable, but
He had never heard of anyone's daughter going to school.

Girls always have to get married. If they cannot save up a dowry in time, they may never find a good family. If they delay until they are older, they may have to marry old men.

Instead of letting her go to school, it would be better to keep the money as a dowry, so that she might be happier in the second half of her life.

Besides, he has a son, Ken.

The three of them sat around the table and finished their dinner. Ken and Gaia were chatting and joking, but for some reason, old Ivan didn't have much of an appetite.

"Those olive trees aren't short, but they're not very tall either. Most of them are within arm's reach, and the ones that are closer can be reached with a stick."

"What are we going to do with these olives? Eat them?"

"I've eaten it, and it tastes far worse than sweet fruit. I heard it's used to extract oil."

"Wow." Gaia exclaimed, "If only I could see it."

"I'll bring you a handful tomorrow. They're all over the valley. I heard the oil extraction process isn't complicated. You can get some and use it to fry fish later."

"Then I'll go to the beach tomorrow and bring back more fish!"

"."

"."

The room suddenly became quiet, and the bustle just now seemed to have slipped away from the chimney.

Gaia was a little at a loss. She looked at the two silent people and didn't understand what was going on.

"Gaia, go to school."

Ken lowered his head and spoke in a muffled voice.

Old Ivan glanced at him.

"My father and I went to the construction site to continue working. We also had four Rios a day. The construction site provided lunch at noon, and I picked some fruit in the evening so that we would have something to eat the next morning."

Gaia opened her mouth, lifted up her skirt that was curled up from being worn, and stood up in a panic.

"No, that's not necessary. I was just saying it, but then I thought about it and realized that even if I studied, I wouldn't be able to find a job in Castres. I mean, I don't really want to study that much."

She looked at Old Ivan: "Still."

"Gaia, you're smarter than me. It's useless for me to study. I might as well learn some crafts. I won't starve to death." Ken smiled reluctantly. "Perhaps you'll need my help in the future."

Gaia was a little anxious. Her face flushed and she said something in a hurry. Ken stiffened his neck and refused to agree.

Old Ivan was a little dazed, and suddenly he remembered when he had just decided to come to Castel. At that time, the mother of the two children was still there, and the two of them were also arguing at home.

That was many years ago.

When he came to his senses, Old Ivan looked at the two children on his left and right, and the empty table across from him, and sighed.

"Stop arguing, both of you, and go to school."

(End of this chapter)