Chapter 15

Today, Hakim and I came to the market to buy mulberry saplings. Now we are on our way back.

"Riding a camel for the first time, but I didn’t expect it to be so bumpy."

"Hakim, you’ll get used to it soon."

Our family kept three camels as a means of transportation when we lived in the desert. Now that we live in the capital, we also use carriages, but I’ve never used one because they say, 'Alesia, you’re not confident enough to handle a horse on your own yet.'

Today, we came with two camels and bought eight large saplings. Two male trees and six female trees. I didn’t know mulberry trees had male and female varieties.

I thought about growing mulberries not just because I want to eat the fruit, but also because when Hakim said, 'Mulberry trees need a lot of water,' it made me think of selling the fruit.

The capital is advantageous for business. If you live in the capital, you should earn money when you can, and if something happens, you should have the means to escape with money in hand.

I don’t know how long I can live with my parents. For their safety, there’s a possibility that I might have to escape alone in the worst-case scenario. Money is always useful. I haven’t told my parents this, though.

"Do you really want to eat so many mulberries?"

"That’s part of it, but since we don’t lack water, I thought about growing mulberry trees and selling the fruit. If it’s hard to grow without abundant water, the fruit should sell for a high price in this country, right?"

"Ah, I see. But how long will the rain continue? It could suddenly stop, you know?"

"That’s true. If that happens, I’ll just have to accept it."

The rain will fall as long as I’m here.

"Still, I was surprised that one mulberry sapling costs five small silver coins. I was even more surprised that you bought eight of them."

"Everything requires an initial investment."

Hakim looked puzzled.

"Did I say something strange?"

"No, it’s just that you use words like an adult."

"Oh… I’ve been going to the library recently and learning difficult words. I wanted to try using them."

We walked side by side on the camels for a while, but Hakim looked like he wanted to say something. I wonder what it is.

"Hey, I have a request."

"What is it?"

"I want to learn how to read and write. When Ethan studies, can I watch him? I’ll do my job properly, of course."

"Of course, you can! Don’t just watch; let’s study together. I, well, learned to read on my own, but it’s faster to learn from someone else."

Hakim’s face lit up.

"Thank you. When I learn to read, I can teach my sister. She’s always lying around at home, and I want to buy her books to read."

It’s touching.

What a good kid. I’m glad I met Hakim. I’m grateful to have met such a pure and kind-hearted child. In my past life, would I have met such a pure young man among the nobles and royalty? ...No, I wouldn’t have. There was no one like that. And His Majesty, my fiancé… No, it’s too depressing to think about, so I’ll stop.

"Alright, when we get home, let’s plant the saplings, harvest the vegetables, take care of the chickens, and then study the letters!"

"You don’t have to work so hard, Alesia. I’ll lose my job."

"Don’t worry. There’s always work to do on the farm."

This country is hot all year round. Some countries have changing seasons, but this one is always summer. The same crops can be harvested two or three times a year. Following my father’s advice, I let vegetable scraps, chicken manure, camel manure, and horse manure decompose before plowing them into the fields, and the plants grow quickly.

"Working is great, isn’t it?"

"I started thinking that way after coming to the farm. When I was selling water, I just waited for customers, and now I realize it was tough. Farming is fun because the harder you work, the better the results."

"Right, that’s true."

We planted the saplings as soon as we got back to the farm.

Just in case, we planted them at the end of the nectar tree, where they wouldn’t be visible right away when entering the farm. No one comes to the farm, but just in case. We poured rainwater from buckets onto the roots, wishing they would grow big.

The mulberry trees grew well.

The branches extended, and the leaves grew lush. Then, insects appeared.

"Ah, Dad, there are several white caterpillars on the mulberry trees."

"Let me see. Ah, these are moth larvae. They must find the mulberry trees delicious."

Dad picked the caterpillars with his fingers and wrapped them in a sweat towel.

"W-What are you doing?"

"I’m giving them to the chickens. They’ll be delighted. The eggs will taste better too."

"Wow, caterpillars are a treat for the chickens, not just earthworms."

The mulberry trees are my responsibility. So every day, I diligently caught the caterpillars with a homemade wooden tong and fed them to the chickens.

The chickens quickly learned that I was putting caterpillars in a box, and they would rush over and make a fuss when I approached the coop with the box. Their aggressive approach is scary!

"I worked hard to catch them, so eat them carefully."

Of course, the chickens don’t understand and just swallow them whole.

The caterpillars keep appearing on the mulberry trees no matter how many I catch. It’s as if the trees are producing them. Some even turned into cocoons because I couldn’t catch them all.

"Huh? This is…."

In my past life, I remember seeing something like this when I visited a silk weaving workshop in another country.

They boiled the cocoons, spun the silk threads, and wove them into silk fabric.

The cocoons I found on our mulberry trees were almost the same.

Could I increase the number of these and produce silk threads?