Chapter 42 The Housed Homeless

When Rene and his family left, five among those ten housed homeless took over in tilling the vacant lot that enabled Rene and Nerissa to save more than what they had expected.

They were; Roque, Ramon, Nick, Merly and Chelsy. They were in their adult stage of their lives. Like any other people, they too, began to dream making the Solis-Britton family their models. Each of these five shared their hidden sentiments and aspirations. They wanted to be progressive in life. They dreamed to be freed from being homeless and poor. They should not leave any stone unturned for them to attain it.

It was not only in cultivating the vacant lot that they devoted their time. They also spent their time tending those swines, chicken, ducks, and fish. Having learned that the rabbits' manure was also a good fertilizer, they bought five pairs, one pair for each of them. They had their own man made spaceous burrow for them which they enclosed with a chicken wire. They had no problem in feeding them since they had their own plantation in their man made swamp a water spinach or watercress (Kangkong). Around the large swamp, they had an abundant healthy spring onions or green onions.

Making a prosperous harvest, Chelsy and Merly requested Juan to research for them the most effective ways in raising animals and plants, in using the animals' manure as organic fertilizer & in pruning perennial plants like eggplants.

Unknown to them, Juan passed the research work to Arm, the oldest child of Sydney to Pearl Ace. Arm would translate them to Filipino language. Knowing that it made those five farming enthusiasts dependent, she requested from her parents to provide them a desktop computer and be taught how to be a computer literate.

Her request was granted. Juan was given extra fee in training the five young adults to be computer literate. An Internet connection was also installed to the desktop computer. There and then, those five dreamers had to schedule a routine who should be taught on a certain day and who's next.

The learning of those five was simultaneously occurring in browsing and surfing, farming and animal raising. They were so determined in learning as they wanted to have an abundant harvest and a pond teeming with fish in fresh water.

When those forty-five chicken they raised were almost ready to be sold, they had to learn the marketing technique and find a marketing outlet. Although Roque & Ramon were hesitant to communicate with the manager of a fast food restaurant, still they tried to talk with them about the chicken that they would be supplying them. When they closed the deal, their hesitation was replaced with their sudden newly gained self-confidence. The raising of the chicken was no longer unstoppable.

The next that they should learn to market was the swines they raised. They had to look for their market outlet for the swine that they would be butchering. Fortunately, Ramon and Roque successfully able to find buyers and all the five neophyte business enthusiasts were overjoyed that urged them a non stop swine raising.

They did not go for high price because they wanted to be the regular suppliers of the loyal customers they had a close deal with. For them a meager profit is alright provided they had it regularly every week. If gathered together, the profits they had from all their farm products, then they could have their savings individually which were fairly shared.

Days, weeks, months and years were gone and come, these five homeless individuals were becoming more and more aggressive in gardening and raising animals.

They could even share to their neighbours but most of all to the other five homeless who were their housemates. They even encouraged them to do what they were doing.

Behind their back, Sydney and Pearl Ace were monitoring their progress not only as good farmers but also as decisive agricultural businessmen. They were always ready to protect them whoever would cheat on them. To be sure that these once homeless people would not be driven away from where they were planting, Sydney and Pearl Ace bought that vacant lot for them. As there was still another fertile unoccupied lot adjacent to it, the kind-hearted Pearl Ace suggested to her husband to buy it for them to have spaceous lots for planting and raising animals. However, they did not tell them about it.

"Ramon, you can tell your colleagues that you can expand your garden in this lot." Sydney told him while roaming around the lot to show its protruding landmark.

Ramon and his four partners were so excited that they told their other five housemates to start weeding for them to till.

They were so helpful in giving them temporary support as they were not that determined to be self-reliant & soon to be total independent from the ever- supportive Solis-Britton family.

After five years of hard work and determination, Roque and his companion were able to have their own house and lot they purchased from a known low-cost housing project.

At long last, they were no longer homeless. What was so admirable with Chelsy and her other four partners was when they purchased another house and lot for another business outlet. They made it a mini supermarket where they sold the vegetables from their garden, pork and dressed chicken from their tiny farm. They were lucky enough as the subdivision was really densely populated. Besides, they were the first one to put up a mini supermarket.

As it was a partnership, Merly and Chelsy were assigned to run their supermarket while Roque, Nick, and Ramon were busy planting and taking care of the animals they were raising. Having been the store keepers, Chelsy and Merly decided to sell cold cuts which they made themselves. Out of pity, both of them sought the service of the other two female housemates from Solis-Britton apartment whose name were Inday and Nina. Although they were already in their fifties of age, still they were willing to help them.

Inday lived with Chelsy while Nina resided with Merly. Both of them treated Inday and Nina kindly that they provided them with their needs. They even opened a bank account for them to learn how to save. Also, they monthly paid their life insurance. It was because if Inday was 'nanay' to Chelsy, Nina was 'mudra' to Merly. (mudra is mother while nanay is mama) Both ladies had them as their adopted mother as they had none.

Nick, Ramon, and Roque had their only chance to meet their two lady partners on Fridays whenever some supplies were to be delivered in their mini supermarket. These three men chose to stay in each cozy abode during weekends knowing that they could had already trusted their three male housemates in that memorable apartment where they learned to be independent and fulfilled their dreams.

Meanwhile, Sydney and Pearl Ace had no plan to drive away the three men as they were already in their late fifties, just like Inday and Nina. If by chance Nick, Ramon, and Roque would decide to permanently leave their apartment, the benevolent couple was more than willing to encourage them to go on planting and raising some animals according to their capability as they were already aged. However, The sensibility of Nick ang his two male partners made them decide to monthly pay for the life insurance of their three male aged housemates. Like Merly and Chelsy, they, too, were better providers to them with their needs including multi- vitamins. Oftentimes, they would remind them not to wear anymore their shabby clothes as they were buying them new ones. If their two lady partners treated Inday and Nina their own mothers, Nick, Ramon, and Roque treated these three aged men their own uncles. If they were 'tata' to Ramon, the three men were 'tiyo' to Nick while to Roque, they were his 'tito'. (The three terms means uncle in English language.) Thus, the old men were the entrusted uncles of these three young gentlemen that was why they could have their day off during week ends. Eventually, upon their return on week days, they gave them Monday and Tuesday as their day off, too.

After a year, they had expanded their mini supermarket urging them to purchase the adjacent house and lot that was still unsold. It was time for them to hire at least two sales clerk to attend to the goods that should be displayed. Merly and Chelsy were the cashier while Inday & Nina were the watchwomen at the doors. The expansion was not as big as the supermarkets at the malls but it was no longer the mini supermarket that they originally put up. The daily sale was thrice the sale when it was still a mini mart as it offered their customers dry and wet goods.

A monthly meeting was held every last week end of the month for Merly and Chelsy to report on the profit they were earning. Aside from their intent analysis, it was also their time to have a conversation on random topics. On that day of their conference, Merly who was the most religious among them was able to express her thoughts.

One of them was her opinion about the saying that "God helps those who really help themselves." According to her, they became homeless and impoverished because they did not help themselves at all. All her four partners agreed.

Then Chelsy also shared the adage words that she knew. "Do your best and God will do the rest."

"Have we done our best?" Ramon asked.

"Yes!" Nick answered.

"Does God do the rest for us?" Merly asked them, too.

"Yes, He does. God's tool or instrument to do the rest was our mentors, Sir Sydney and his family plus Juan." Roque quipped.

"What should we give them as our heartfelt gratitude?" Chelsy asked them inquisitively.

Silence...

Then Ramon suddenly broke the quietness of their office.

He said, "On the day of their wedding anniversary, it is nice to surprise them with a party that would be hosted by us."

"Let us then plan for that party." The four chorused.

"I should ask the date and month of our mentors' wedding anniversary." Roque said.