Chapter 19

It has been a year since Chana and Isabelle first came to our home.

Chana and I are ten years old, Hakim is fourteen, and Ethan is eight.

Currently, many mulberry trees are growing in a place hidden from the entrance of the farm. The silkworms have also increased significantly. We have accumulated quite a bit of silk thread.

According to Isabelle,

"The thread spun from cocoons must be gently washed with soap to remove the sticky components; otherwise, it won't have its true luster."

Raising, boiling, spinning, and washing.

"If it takes this much effort, no wonder it's so expensive."

"That's right. The price of silk is the price of the labor involved."

It took a year to increase the number of mulberry trees and silkworms, and to accumulate silk thread bit by bit. Finally, Isabelle gave us permission to weave the thread into fabric.

"Let's see. With this much thread, we can start weaving fabric."

Father had already procured the weaving tools. The loom was narrower than I expected.

"Isabelle, how wide can the fabric be with this?"

"About forty centimeters, I think."

"Oh, I see..."

"Are you disappointed?"

"No! I thought it would be about twice as wide."

Isabelle smiled wryly.

"It's your first time weaving. Starting with a width like this is good."

I hooked many, many warp threads onto the loom and set the weft threads, ready to start weaving. But there was an unexpected volunteer—Chana.

Chana has gradually gained strength. It has been a year since she first came to our home, and now she almost always walks to our place with Hakim.

From the slums at the edge of the capital to our home is about two and a half kilometers, a round trip of five kilometers. She can now walk this distance and even helps with the chickens and silkworms. Of course, we pay her for her work. Hakim's mother is happy, saying, "We no longer need medicine, and our income has increased. Life has become easier."

"Can I try weaving?"

"Chana? I thought it would be a lot of work."

"I think I can do it. Please let me try. I can't do much on the farm yet, so I want to be of some help!"

The fairy-like girl looked at me with teary eyes. Anyone who could turn her down must be a monster.

"Sure, go ahead. I'll let you."

"Thank you!"

Chana started weaving as she was taught, thump, thump, swoosh. Watching her, I realized that everyone has their place in this world.

She pressed the weft threads down with the same force each time, rhythmically passing them from right to left. The silk fabric was being woven bit by bit. It was a beautiful, lustrous fabric. The beautiful girl's movements were graceful. Ethan was entranced, and to everyone, it looked like he was shouting, "I love this girl!" with his whole body.

Incidentally, Chana hasn't noticed Ethan's passionate feelings. Keep it up, Ethan.

Meanwhile, I am delighted that we can harvest mulberries all year round.

They are good to eat fresh, as jam, and in baking. If we take them to the market, the fruit vendors buy them at a good price. Father has contracts with other stores for fruits other than mulberries, but I have opened up my own sales channels.

Today, I filled a large sieve with mulberries and got two small silver coins. I was surprised. The amount is not much different from Hakim's daily wage. I was worried that our wages were too low.

The fruit vendor said,

"Your mulberries are highly praised. They are sweet, juicy, and have no insect damage. Mulberries are hard to come by in this country. The other day, a cook from the royal palace tasted them and said, 'Give me all you have.' Alesia, I will raise the purchase price a bit, so please don't sell to other fruit vendors. It helps a lot to have a deal with the palace."

Overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, I replied, "Okay, I won't sell to other stores," and was later scolded by Hakim.

"Alesia, in such situations, you should negotiate to get a higher purchase price. You shouldn't agree so quickly."

"Really? I failed. I'll do better next time. Still, why does having a deal with the palace help?"

Hakim explained, prefacing his words with "Probably."

"The palace pays in cash every time, not on credit. Other vendors might buy on credit and pay at the end of the month, but during that time, you don't get paid, and if their business doesn't go well, you might not get paid at all."

"Wow, that's a good lesson."

Hakim chuckled when I was impressed.

"You teach me reading and arithmetic, but you don't know these things. Alesia, you are a lady."

"I'm not a lady. I'm just a girl from a well-off farming family."

"Ahaha, I see."

It has been three weeks since Chana started weaving. The silk fabric she completed by commuting to our place is so lustrous and beautiful that it's hard to believe it was woven by a ten-year-old girl. It feels cool but is actually warm to the touch.

I took the fabric to Isabelle's house. She spread it on her lap, put on her reading glasses, and examined it carefully, saying, "Wow, what a surprise."

"Isabelle, is it not good because it was made by an amateur?"

"No, it's of exceptional quality. This can be sold to nobles for two small silver coins. How did this happen? It's the first time the children have raised silkworms and woven silk, and the result is top-notch!"

The amount of two small silver coins was a shock to me, who had been happy selling mulberries for small silver coins.

"Two small silver coins can buy a trained young camel! I was just making a little money from mulberries. Two small silver coins?"

"Alesia, please calm down."

I was so excited that Chana was a bit scared. "Sorry, sorry," I said, but I couldn't stop smiling. I had a strong feeling that we would make a lot of money from silk fabric. That night, I went to bed with a smile.

While I was sleeping, the rain that I could control was gradually spreading. According to my father, it has grown to about two kilometers in diameter.

I still haven't found a way to control the rain at will, but for now, my life is going well.

However, after that.

Isabelle said the silk fabric could be sold for two small silver coins, but something incredible happened.