Chapter 29

The brother's house was located in the outskirts of the village, at the very end of the main road, with the river and mountains at their backs. Some patches of land from some villagers were around the area; the last and worse patches of land, including theirs.

Truthfully, the only ones who cultivated in that bad land were the brothers, as it was the only land available for them. The only one they possessed, as their family was new to the village and were only allowed to possess that patch of bad land.

All the fertile land around the village was already occupied by the residents, or was full of tall trees and shrubbery nobody wanted to get due to its layout.

That was always the problem in mountainous lands; if one wanted to get new land to plant, they needed to cut down the trees and cut all the shrubbery. It was hard work that the tight economy of most village dwellers couldn't afford.

Even those with a stable income didn't bother with the acquisition of new land.

Joseph had always wanted the patch right beside their house because the soil, although loamy, was better for planting than their current patch due to the accumulated mulch from the trees and bushes.

Though, lately he was thinking it would be better for raising animals. Rabbits spread fast, and with the rooster and hens Lucas brought, he had an idea of what his brother was planning. Raising other animals wouldn't be so bad either.

Last year, when he thought he had hit the jackpot with a woman who was willing to be his Wife, he had gone to ask the village Chief for the price of that patch. He almost cursed out loud in front of the respectable old man. 60 coins! The patch was 60 coins.

After the shock, Joseph thought it was reasonable. After all, that patch was larger than the patch they owned. He also believed the trees were being sold. Those trees were a good source of wood. Wood could be sold to make furniture. If it was good wood, no matter the price, it could be sold.

But back then, they had only 6 coins saved in the public account. Although personal savings were never used for plans like buying land, Joseph was sure it wouldn't be enough to buy the patch if put together. Though, he didn't know how much money each had saved.

Anyway, the matter crumbled apart not once but twice. First, for the lack of money; and second, because the woman left to marry another man. Joseph was aware that any woman who married them would suffer.

He just thought she was different.

She had claimed so.

Oh well, better not think about past matters.

When Joseph arrived at their patch, he proudly looked at the lush greens coming out of the ground from the beets, onions, potatoes, carrots and parsnip.

This year, the harvest would be very abundant as the winter was not that harsh, only killing a few parsnips and onions. It was better than past years or even when they began planting. Those were really dark years. They luckily got all their planting vegetables from the neighbors, but only that.

Nobody had time to teach orphan children how to sow.

Food, back then, was brought by Ethan from the income he would get for a day's work. If he got no job, then they would skip meals to give the leftovers from the previous day to Felix as he was a baby. There were many days the older brothers starved to feed the youngest.

Planting started when they were very young. Ethan was in town looking for jobs, or working if he got one; Lucas and Joseph had to stay at home to take care of baby Felix. Joseph had scattered memories of that time.

He only remembered he once followed Lucas with Felix on his back and visited each house in the village.

At that moment, the third brother had no idea what was going on, only that the neighbors either closed their door on them after saying some harsh words, or sent them off with an old vegetable.

Back at home, Joseph thought those vegetables would be for eating, but the truth was that they were for planting. Ethan had swallowed the meager pride he had as a 10-year-old and told Lucas to ask the neighbors for help.

Most importantly, to ask for things that could be planted to secure their sustenance in the future.

After that, the stay-at-home trio spent some days looking at the neighbors working the land, with Lucas sometimes being asked to help in exchange of a few vegetables.

Their home also had some tools their mother used to sow in a small space in the patch, and that was what Lucas used to dig, then plant all the vegetables he was given; as simple as that. He didn't forget to water them, though.

Needless to say his experience was insufficient and his messy planting bore almost no fruits, only a few potatoes miraculously grew.

They spent almost a year like that, relying on the potatoes and what Ethan brought back.

It wasn't until the new Chief in the village was elected that their lives took a turn for the better.

The brothers still lived alone, fending for themselves, but the old man carefully taught the older boys, Lucas and Joseph, how to sow, what to do, what not to do, what to be careful of, how to harvest.

Everything they knew was learned from him. All the planting materials were given by him, too. That's why they hold great respect for their Chief.

Of course, the man was busy with other matters and couldn't focus on them the whole time. But, his little help was enough for the brothers to survive.

With Lucas and Joseph having more experience, it wasn't that hard to pick up the planting business. The only problem was that they couldn't plant in the whole land, only using a quarter of it since they were kids who tired easily.

It still took a burden off their hardworking eldest brother, who could finally focus on buying medicine for their sickly Felix who suffered those years.

With time, they expanded the sowing to all their patch.

And when Lucas turned twelve, he started hunting, leaving ten-year-old Joseph to plant together with young and sickly Felix.

It has been more than 10 years of hard work for Joseph, so he was very happy to see the results of his efforts in those green leaves.

"Go back, Felix. I'll finish the work. Lucas returned, go help 'im." Joseph said as he took the bucket in Felix's hand. The youngest red face from the sun and the exertion made Joseph feel bad for him.

He would actually never leave all the work to Felix if it wasn't because he was busy with the herbs. But with that matter done, he could occupy himself with what he was good at: taking care of their patch of land.

Seeing his job was taken away from him, Felix stood there panting. Watering was very tiring for him, but it wasn't less satisfying for him than it was for Joseph to see the results of his labor.

Specially, when his labor was limited due to his fragile body. And it was his fragile body that made him remain there fidgeting.

"Say, Joseph… I… um…" Felix stuttered, not knowing how to voice his question.

"What's the matter? You're too tired to go back? You've been eating well these days, you can't be this weak." Joseph slightly teased after he poured the bucket of water on the beets. He crouched and noticed they could soon be harvested.

Probably in a few days.

Felix shook his head, denying his brother's question. "I… it's just… my body…"

"Hm? You feeling unwell? Hurt somewhere? Dizzy? You want to throw up?" It almost was like a reflex. Whenever Felix mentioned something about his body, not only Joseph, but the other brothers also were instantly on him, asking him all sort of questions.

Felix turned red, but his upset expression revealed he was frustrated more than anything. "No! I wanna know if I'm actually attractive! You and Ethan have muscles even if you're thin, and Lucas… well, Lucas always looks good. But I'm just thin and weak and… and just not manly enough… maybe Belle won't like me like this." The teen said in a loud voice.

Joseph remained motionless for a couple of seconds after hearing Felix's tirade. Then, he paid close attention to his brother's frame; it was true that he was very thin. More so, because it seemed Felix was going to be as tall as Lucas despite not eating much in his childhood.

He was already as tall as Joseph, who was actually the shortest of the brothers. So, Felix, being a growing teen, looked lanky and awkward at best; probably not his best age to be called attractive. Joseph just never thought Felix had started paying attention to that.

Granted, at that age, Joseph was already rolling on the sheets with married women. But, that was another matter. The point here was that Felix wanted to look good for his future Wife: Isabelle. Asking for his own time to spend with her gave him more pressure than he let on last night.

And seeing today that Isabelle was very attentive to Lucas, then maybe Felix became self-conscious by comparing himself with his second brother. Joseph considered that comparing oneself with Lucas was just asking to die out of shame.

"You're thinkin' too much. D'ya think Isabelle is that superficial to only pay attention to yer looks? You're thin, yes, but Ethan and I ain't that better off, so don't go around spouting that you look unattractive because of that. That's the same as saying I'm ugly. Am I ugly, Felix?" Joseph asked with a threatening tone.

"Well, a bit…" Felix trailed off because he started running away from his chasing brother. The teen laughed at Joseph who couldn't catch him and returned to the house with a big smile on his face.

He was unknowingly in a good mood thanks to his third brother.