**Morning, 8:30 AM, Oakville.**
John, Uncle Tom, and Victor were facing a big problem. They needed a trustworthy person, but in this world, it seemed almost impossible. Here, people would lie for just 5 copper SOL, sell their children into slavery for 50 copper SOL, and even be ready to kill someone for 1 silver SOL. They would even betray their own close ones if necessary.
All three of them knew these circumstances well, so they felt that finding a trustworthy person was like searching for a needle in a desert's sand.
" Maybe I have the answer," Aunt Clara said, looking at their sad faces.
As soon as they heard Aunt Clara's words, the three of them looked at her with joy and surprise.
"Do you have a solution for this, Clara?" Victor asked with a hopeful expression because whenever Clara spoke, she only did so when she had a solution.
"Yes, Victor," Aunt Clara replied with a gentle smile. That smile created small dimples on her cheeks, making her look even more pleasant.
"Tell me, Aunt Clara, I want to hear what you have to say," John said with growing excitement, as if he didn't have any time to waste.
" I will tell you, just have a little patience," Aunt Clara said with a smile to John.
John, who had stood up eagerly to listen, sat back down in his place.
"Victor, did you forget about my brothers?" Aunt Clara said, looking at Victor.
Victor, who was sitting, suddenly stood up in shock when Clara reminded him about her brothers.
"Oh, how could I forget? " Victor replied, looking at Clara.
"Yes, you do forget about my family whenever I bring it up. You don't pay much attention," Aunt Clara said with a slightly crooked smile.
"Okay, sorry, dear. From now on, I'll pay more attention to what you say," Victor said with a smile, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Excuse me, but I didn't understand what you both were talking about. Can you help me break down your code language ?" John said, looking at both of them.
"Haha... sorry, John, I forgot to explain it to you," Victor said, scratching his head with a shy smile and letting out a light laugh.
"Okay, fine, Uncle, let's move forward with this problem. I really want to hear it now," John said, looking a bit serious as he spoke to both of them.
Seeing John's expression, they all understood that he was running out of patience and couldn't wait any longer.
"My wife has four brothers, and I can confidently say that we can trust them without a doubt," Victor said seriously and confidently to John.
"Oh right, those are your two sets of twin brothers," Uncle Tom said, recalling the details.
"What do you mean by two sets of twins, Uncle Tom?" John asked, looking at Uncle Tom in confusion.
"Well, it's like this: my mother had twin boys every year for two consecutive years after me, so they're now 25 and 26 years old," Aunt Clara explained.
Aunt Clara looked at both of them and then explained to John.
"What... here people can't even get enough food to fill their stomachs, and these folks had five children? How did their parents manage to feed them?" John thought to himself in shock while looking at Aunt Clara's face.
Clara's brothers live in the same Oakville village, but John doesn't know Clara's brothers because they mostly stay at the factory to support their family. The six twin brothers only return home for a day every six months, and John hasn't met them yet. The stress of just trying to survive in the village keeps people so focused on their own families that they hardly get to know anyone else.
Clara's house was just a short distance from John's, so over time, John had gotten to know his neighbors a bit. He knew Victor, Clara, their son Leo, and of course, Uncle Tom, who had been looking after John since he was just 6 years old. Despite the challenges in the village, these were the people who had become familiar to him.
"I know what you're thinking, but my family was very large. They raised my brothers by sharing the responsibility, feeding us until we were capable of working. Now that we are, my brothers earn and provide for the family," Aunt Clara calmly explained to John.
"Sorry, Aunt Clara, I was just a bit surprised when you mentioned your brothers," John apologized to Aunt Clara.
"Oh, it's no big deal. Whenever I talk about my brothers, people tend to think the same as you did," Aunt Clara replied with a laugh.
"Yes, whenever my wife talks about her brothers, others usually get shocked," Victor added with a smile, placing his hand on Clara's shoulder.
John remained silent, simply watching the two of them. Then Uncle Tom, looking at Victor and Clara, asked, "So, can we trust them?"
"Yes, we can definitely trust them. When it comes to family, they are willing to give their lives, and since they consider us family, they wouldn't even dream of betraying us, Brother Tom," Victor said with confidence and seriousness.
"But Your brothers work at Red Thread Mills, right? So they must be in Milltown right now," Uncle Tom asked Clara, knowing that they usually come home only once every six months to support their family. He assumed they were likely in Milltown.
"No, they all came home yesterday. My mother called them," Aunt Clara replied, looking at Uncle Tom.
"Why?" Uncle Tom asked, a bit surprised.
"Nothing major, it's just that they've grown up now, so my mother called them to look for a bride," Aunt Clara explained.
"Oh, so we'll get to celebrate with sweets soon!" Uncle Tom said, excitedly, as his mouth watered at the thought.
In this region, marriages are arranged within the village. If a girl marries someone from another village, the man might sell his wife to the Patricians for a few SOLs. On the other hand, if a boy marries a girl from another village, her family might exploit him by making him work day and night. Due to these reasons, people prefer marriages within their village, as it ensures safety for their children and helps grow families, just like Aunt Clara's.
"Alright, I'll go and bring my brothers-in-law. They should be home now. Wait here until I return," Victor said to everyone as he started walking out.
.
"So, whose daughters has your mother chosen for your brothers?" Uncle Tom asked Clara after Victor left, as he kept a close watch on everyone in the village. He knew that only three or four girls were of marriageable age.
"When I visited my mother's house a couple of days ago, she told me my brothers were coming back for marriage. I was so happy that I completely forgot to ask which girls she had in mind," Aunt Clara said, laughing as she finished speaking.
Victor had been gone for a while, and during that time, Uncle Tom and Aunt Clara continued to chat and laugh together, talking about various things. John, on the other hand, remained silent, simply listening to the conversation of the older folks. He didn't know much about the villagers, so he stayed out of the discussion.
Just then, Victor returned with the twins. Each of them stood nearly 6 feet tall, with dark complexions and sturdy builds. Their clothes were worn and tattered, with visible patches and tears, giving the impression of a hard life at the factory.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," Victor said as he approached everyone, with Clara's brothers following behind him.
"Oh, no, you actually came back sooner than I expected. I thought it might take a bit longer," Uncle Tom replied with a smile, looking at Victor.
"When it comes to this kind of work, I don't waste any time," Victor said as he sat down near everyone.
"You understand the situation well, Uncle Victor," John, who had been silent until now, said, looking at Victor.
"Yes, John, this is about my family's future " Victor responded seriously .
As Victor spoke, John turned his gaze towards the twins, who indeed looked very similar, despite the slight differences in age. Clara had mentioned that they were born as twins two years in a row, making them 25, 26 age , .
"Looks like I'm going to get confused with these twins from now on," John thought to himself, feeling a bit overwhelmed as he realized that each pair of twins looked nearly identical. It was hard to tell them apart, especially with how similar they were in appearance.
"Anyway, let's leave that aside for now. John, meet my brothers-in-law. This is Brody and Blake, both 25 years old."
"And here in the right side Dylan and Derek, 26 years old." Victor introduced the twins to John, pointing at each pair as he spoke.
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"Are you getting confused? You'll just need to wait a bit because this is just the start—there's a much larger world hidden ahead. And Please leave a comment on how you're finding the story."
" See... Yaa.. Next Chapter
[ The Small Man's Fate ]