Nong Min

A 40-year-old man was hoeing his field. He didn't have a special characteristic. He had a large nose, a wide jaw, a fierce eyebrow, and a pair of tired eyes. His hair was no longer all black like when he used to be 10 years ago. Some white hair could be found on his side.

The man wiped the sweats on his head. He saw the large field in front of him. [There is still many who I hadn't finished. I need to work harder if I wanted to pay this season tax.] He continued to slam his hoe into the field.

"Clang." It was another rock. The man gathered his strength and slammed his hoe into another part. He took his time to find a huge rock in his field. He took some time to rest his body. He wasn't as powerful as he used to be.

He put his hoe into an empty space next to him. [There should be no rock here.] He found it was strange since he believed he had cleared every weed, wild grass, and small rock. Yet he missed this big rock. He needed to remove this rock since it was disturbing his way to complete his work. He gathered his strength and took that rock into the dirt street next to his field.

His name was Nong Min. He was an orphan born in a small village called Novantura. He lost his father when he was 10 years old. His mother followed his father 2 years later. Only through the help of his neighbor, he managed to reach adulthood.

"Baam!" He threw the rock next to the street. He saw on the rock to catch his breath. [I am no longer my younger self.]

He continued to hoe his field. As a commoner grew in Novantura, he worked as many other commoners did. He worked as a farmer for a local landlord. The local landlord was a former Garrison Commander who was given a small territory in Novantura 30 years ago.

The young Nong Min managed to get the responsibility to farm in a small parcel of the local landlord's land. Actually, the land used to be his father's responsibility. His birth country was the Penwith Kingdom, however, it lost the war to the Drumossie Empire. The Drumossie Emperor decided to share the new territory with his loyal subject.

This didn't bring any change for commoners. They only had a different landlord. The former farmer who farmed this land fallen ill. So, the new local landlord decided to find a new replacement. Nong Min was still 20 years old and very healthy. He won the right to cultivate the field.

Nong Min continued to hammer his hoe into the land. 3 hours later, he went to the small river near his field and send some waters to his field. [I still need to plow the land.] As a common farmer, he didn't have enough money to rent a buffalo to help him plowed the land.

His dream was to have a buffalo. That would help him to plow his land in the future. It also could help him to till his field. That was the dream of all farmers. However, he could only dream. 50% of his harvest would be shared with the landlord. 10% would be used to pay the harvest tax to the country. This number was increased since Drumossie Empire needed a huge money to rebuild the devastated land. 20% of the result would be saved for the next farming season.

Nong Min could only survive using 10% of his harvest. But, he also needed to save some money in case he experienced crop failure. He always tried to save, but he lost most of his money when a bad weather happened. 2 years ago, a huge flood destroyed his fields. He and all farmers in the village lost their wealth. He still recovered from the loss.

Without sufficient money, he didn't dare to start his own family. He had a beautiful wife in mind, a daughter of a farmer in the neighbor village. However, the lady decided to marry a soldier. A soldier had more salary than a farmer.

It isn't Nong Min didn't want to become a soldier, but he couldn't cultivate. He was just a common person. The Empire only accepted people who could become a cultivator as a soldier during the peacetime. Common people like Nong Min would be drafted only when it was necessary. Of course, those drafted rarely returned.

He himself had participated in the war when the Penwith Kingdom drafted him. Luckily, his village was far from the battlefront. By the time he went 10% of the way, the kingdom already surrendered. He returned to his village and continued his life as a common farmer.

Nong Min knew that people who had the talent for cultivation could sense different thing in the air. The thing was spiritual energy. The reason why a cultivator was stronger than common people.

[If only I am a cultivator. Finishing this field wouldn't be this long.] He stopped the water. The water already filled his field.

[I will continue tomorrow.] He decided. Yet, if he managed to become a cultivator, there would be no way Nong Min would stay as a farmer. Cultivators could become a soldier and earned a lot of money from the country.

He brought his tools and returned home. He had spent 3 days to prepare the field.

He walked 2 km before he found a small settlement. It was Novanture. There were around 1.000 houses in the village. Nong Min inherited his house from his parents. It was still the same as when they left it to him, and the same as his grandfather left it for his father. He only managed to repair thing here and there with his meager income.

He went into the village's gate. A young man stood in front of it.

"Good Evening, Nong Xie." He called the young man. Everyone in the village was related to each other. There were only 3 family names in the Novanture. They were Nong family, Xi family, and Duo family. However, all three families had many intermarriages so all of them were distant relatives.

"Good Evening, Nong Min. Have you prepared your field?"

"No. Not yet. I really wish I could get a buffalo to help me." Nong Min sighed.

"A buffalo is 1 gold coin. It is very expensive." The young man said. Nong Xie was just 22 years old. He just started to help in his father's field to learn how to farm. However, he already knew the burden of being a farmer. A buffalo is a dream for everyone.

After some pleasantries, Nong Min returned to his own house. All houses in the Novanture were the same. The Village Leader had a slightly bigger one. The landlord himself lived in a small city near Novanture. He would only send some guards to collect the harvest when the harvest time.

Nong Min house was made from wood. His ancestors cut the wood from a forest nearby and build the house. It was only 1-floor building with clay roof tiles, 5 small windows, and 1 door. He didn't lock his house. There was nothing valuable inside.

He wanted to paint the house, but the money is scarce. He would rather use them for his saving. His fear was that he could no longer farm the field. He would lose his income if that happened, and it seemed his body would no longer hold. He didn't have a son or daughter so he could only depend on himself.

Inside his house, there was nothing. A single bed, a small drawer for his clothes, a simple kitchen just enough to cook simple things, and a table with some chairs where he used to eat together with his parents.

He was lonely. If only I married the Xi San next door. He lamented his decision during his youth. The girl grew with him, but Nong Min wished to be with the lady from the neighbor village. Xi San finally married another man from his village. They lived a few houses from Nong Min.

I will go to the bathroom. Nong Min prepared his clothes. The village was built near a river, and there were public bathrooms next to it. Every year, villagers needed to pay to repair the building. Nong Min took a set of clothes and his bathing necessities.

He was about to exit the door before he felt dizzy. He tried to grab the only table in his house before he fainted. He didn't know how long it was but when he opened his eyes, he saw a white ball.

"Nice to meet you Nong Min!"

"Or should I say... Nice to meet you again Red Everflame?" Master Rabbink appeared.