Chapter 13
Ezekiel and his two brothers, Robert and Luke started their journey to the market at around 9 in the morning. It was an uneventful journey but considering that the road to the market was only around 30 minutes, it was expected.
When they were near the village, Ezekiel and his brothers hid in a corner where no one would see them and then he retrieved the large boar that they had killed yesterday morning and put it on top of the board that he prepared. The three brothers then dragged the boar to the butcher.
The onlookers were surprised at the huge boar that they were dragging and Ezekiel could hear comments from the villagers that they were very lucky. He also heard comments that they were in luck because it was summer and the game was plentiful in the forest.
When they arrived at the butcher’s, the three brothers were panting and were drenched in sweat.
The butcher was looking at the boar in surprise.
“You’re very lucky Boy, and you’re becoming an expert in setting up traps, managing to trap such a huge boar!” The burly butcher said.
“My name is Zeke and my brothers’ names are Robert and Luke. Since this pig is twice as huge as the one I brought you the day before yesterday, you can purchase this one for 1 silver.”
The butcher laughed and instead of giving him 1 silver coin, the man gave him 120 copper coins.
“Thanks, Sir. I’ll bring you more game once I killed them is that okay?”
“Sure Zeke,” The man said emphasizing his name, and then the butcher laughed again.
Ezekiel was a bit happy since his total coins were now 142 copper coins. The three boys then went to one of the two jewelry shops in the village.
When the person behind the counter saw the three young boys, the man directly asked what he could do for them. Ezekiel was glad that the jeweler didn’t chase them away.
“Sir, my parents left some pieces of jewelry that I want to sell,” Ezekiel told the man.
The man stared at him for a few seconds then called somebody’s name. A teenager came out from the back and the jeweler told the boy to look after the store. He then invited Ezekiel to the back.
Robert and Luke stayed in the shop sitting in a chair provided for customers. He gave some gummy candies to the kids and they waited happily munching on the candies.
At the back of the shop, Ezekiel showed the costume necklace and earrings set inside a good-looking box and the set of faux silver chains and bracelets also inside a display box.
“My mother said they’re costume pieces of jewelry that they wore during special occasions, meaning they’re not real gold or real silver. I don’t know what they’re made of though.”
“At least you know they’re not real,” The man said but then he proceeded to examine the jewelry using some sort of lens.
“I don’t know what metal they’re made of but I’m sure that the colors will fade in time. I’ll buy them from you for 1 silver for each of the sets.”
“So a total of 2 silver coins?
The man simply said yes and waited for his decision but the man didn’t need to wait long since Ezekiel agreed immediately. The jeweler then gave him 2 silver coins then they both happily went to the front.
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That transaction earned him a whopping 198 copper coins since he only purchased each set for 1 copper coin each. Ezekiel then wondered if he could do the same at the second jewelry shop in the village but he probably wouldn’t to avoid suspicion. That was the problem in staying in a village even though the village was larger than normal. Everyone knew everyone else and he couldn’t do too many scams.
Ezekiel then thought that he shouldn’t call it a scam since it was a proper transaction and he told the jeweler honestly that they were costume jewelry and not real gold and silver.
After that transaction with the jewelry shop, Ezekiel then started looking for a tutor. He was led to a modest house where an old man who used to be a teacher was living.
He knocked on the door and the old bachelor teacher opened it.
“Who are you?” The old teacher asked.
“Are you Mr. Duvon? People say that you’re willing to teach anyone to read and write for a fee?”
“Yes. I charge 2 copper coins per hour with a minimum of two hours a day but I only teach one person per session,” Mr. Duvon said when he saw Ezekiel’s brothers.
“Can we start today and will my brothers be safe roaming around the village and the market?”
“Of course, they’ll be safe! All of us in the village knew everyone. I even know who your parents were! I even heard you call yourself different names now. You can go ahead and let your brothers play in the village. But if you want, I can allow them to stay here as long as they’re quiet!”
“Here are four copper coins then,” Ezekiel handed the coins to the old teacher.
The old man then invited the three brothers inside his home. The man pointed at a small table in the garden and told Ezekiel that he could ask his brothers to stay there so he led the two young boys to the table and surreptitiously retrieved the Snakes and Ladders board game from his 4th tab and gave it to Robert.
He also retrieved one of the small blackboards that he purchased for the boys and a piece of chalk. He would use them for writing exercises.
When the old teacher saw Ezekiel carrying a small blackboard and a piece of chalk, he smiled.
“I appreciate a student who comes prepared.”
After that, they sat at small chairs placed at a small table in the living room. The old teacher then retrieved a book from one of the many bookshelves lining the walls of the room.
“This is a copy of a beginner’s book on reading and writing. You can have it for a copper coin.”
Ezekiel immediately gave the old teacher a copper coin. Then the lessons started. After a couple of hours, he already memorized the vowels and consonants and was able to write them on the blackboard. He also already memorized the alphabet.
The old teacher, Mr. Duvon was surprised at how fast he learned. After the lesson, he asked the teacher when he could come back, and Mr. Duvon said that he could return any day as long as it was before lunch.
After the lessons, the three siblings went to the village park and ate lunch there which Ezekiel retrieved from his inventory. They ate the beef stew on top of a bowl of rice that he cooked and the boys were satisfied with their lunch.
The three then spent another hour roaming the market. Ezekiel wanted to familiarize himself with the products and prices available in this village’s market. He needed an idea of which items he could sell so he could earn enough coins. He noticed that the prices of fruits were high so he thought of purchasing some from his system shopping site and selling them here but he needed to make sure that the fruits that he would sell grew in the forest so he could have an excuse that they found the fruits while roaming the forest near their shack.
The next thing that Ezekiel thought that he could sell was a set of clothes. He could purchase cheap medieval costumes from his system shopping site and sell those and inform the buyer that they were the treasured clothes his parents had left them.
He could also consider selling scented things like scented candles, scented incense, and perfumes. At least those somewhat could be made easily so he would have an excuse that he found the ingredients in the forest and the recipe was taught to him by their dead parents. If anyone persisted in asking why he was producing those things now, he would just tell them that he was foolishly hoarding the knowledge before but changed his mind when he saw himself and his brothers starving.
After roaming the market, Ezekiel and his two brothers decided to go home. On the way, Ezekiel asked Robert to lead him to the well and when they arrived there, he was glad to see that no one was there. He quickly filled the three plastic gallons with well water and then stored them immediately in the 4th tab. Then they continued on their way to their shack in the forest.
When they arrived home, Ezekiel transferred the water from plastic gallons to the water barrel and then spent a copper coin to purchase toys that could keep his brothers busy like a Rubix cube, skipping rope, a ball, and a cheap plastic badminton set.
Ezekiel spent a few minutes teaching his brothers how to play with the toys that he purchased for them and their delight and laughter warmed his heart.