Chapter Four

Morning soon arrived. Celius got up from his bed and went to wash his face in a water basin. He changed into light-colored clothes since he was going to be in the sun all day. Picking up Rislia gently, he walked into Alura and Elrith's room, and silently placed her between the two. Entering the living room, he picked up the bark plate which had the fish and other creatures from yesterday. He took them out and quickly cooked a few of the fish and clams.

Eating a bit himself, he left the rest for his siblings for when they would wake up, plus there was enough for his grandpa as well. After getting everything sorted, he left the house. His ax was left home this time since he was hopefully going to start working on the field.

Unlike other kids his age who would wake up early and go to the cultivation classes, Celius didn't have the time for that, plus he was going to drop the classes anyways. He couldn't afford them. Even if he could later on, with the fielding job, he would have little to no time to attend them.

As he walked towards the center of the village, he saw young men and women rushing to the training fields with either excitement or annoyance. Other older people were walking towards the center of the village as well.

Before he could start working in the field, he needed to talk to the manager of the fields and see if there were any plots that they could allocate to him. Everyone had their own plots to take care of. They would receive seeds for essence herbs and would be told to care for them. Not only that, but they would have to remove the weeds and other annoying essence herbs from the fields. It was an exhausting job because some of the annoying essence herbs and weeds would grow back as quickly as they were pulled.

Plus, animals would sometimes invade the fields and eat the herbs, often resulting in the field workers being attacked and injured. The task was hard and long. Not many enjoyed doing it, even with the hefty pay. It was too taxing on the body, and many other jobs paid about the same and didn't require as much effort.

Eventually, he reached the center of the village and in front of him was a large building. There was a sign on the top showing a hoe and ax. It was the place where jobs were allocated. He had come here many times to look for work. It was also how he got his tree cutting job.

Entering the building, it was filled with people running back and forth. Most of the runners were workers of the building, but there were a few who were looking for work just like him.

Mining job available. Mine Green Iron and earn twenty silver a month!

Tree Cutting job available. Cut three Lily Trees a day and earn ten silver bi-weekly!

Field Workers needed! Five new fields need workers, twenty silver bi-weekly!

Instructors needed! Instruct the next generation on cultivation, five silver a week!

Miners needed! Yellow Rubies and Icy Gold need mining, one silver every kilogram!

A job listing board came into sight. There were many openings, and the pay was very good. His eyes were set on the third listing; field work. It was what he came for. The pay was more than four times his own, but seeing that the listings were for new fields, he felt worried.

New fields required much more work than old ones. Not only were there more weeds and other unnecessary plants, but he would also need to cut down trees, plow the land, and set up a watering area before starting.

'Just do it. The pay is high, plus I will only be doing it for a year at most. I'm going to leave after that anyways.' Resolving his heart, he walked to the area where he could meet the field manager.

He arrived at one of the corners of the building. There were about ten people around him. A few were enlisters, while some were people looking for jobs.

"Celius? What are you here for?" A voice came from beside him. Celius looked over and saw a young woman around the age of twenty walking over to him. She had long chocolate hair and her eyes looked like pools of honey. She was another one of his very distant cousins, Ennie Illeaf.

Unlike Pax, who always taunted and humiliated him, Ennie was much nicer. She didn't look badly at him or even bring up anything about his parents. She was very reasonable and easy to talk to.

Celius nodded his head towards her and smiled gently. "I'm looking for work. What about you? You don't need to work, do you?" Unlike him, most of the kids wouldn't work. Even after they turned into adults, many would continue cultivating, depending on their parents' income.

Ennie was one of these people. It wasn't a bad thing, just different from Celius' life. She was three years older than him, but he had to slave away to survive, while she only needed to cultivate peacefully. "Work? What kind are you looking for? Tree cutting? Fishing?"

"Fielding." he answered calmly.

She was shocked. Her eyes widened as she looked at Celius. "What? You're trying to work in the fields? Are you trying to kill yourself?" She didn't find it shocking that Celius worked since almost everyone knew of his situation but working in the fields would be suicide for him.

Waving his hand, Celius stopped her. "It's fine. I don't think it will be too hard. Ignore me for now, what about you? Why are you here? Are your mom and dad here as well?" Usually, everyone would refer to each other as cousins, uncles, aunts, or grandparents, but Celius didn't do that. To him, the people of the clan were strangers, except a select few. Even Ennie, who never harmed nor helped him, was more of a passerby than a cousin to him. Since that was the case, he didn't refer to her parents as uncle or aunt.

Ennie didn't get mad at Celius as she was used to his way of speaking. "No, mom is at home with my little sister, while my dad is meeting with someone. I tagged along since I was bored." She wanted to talk about the field issue, but she could see that it wasn't something Celius wanted to converse about, so she didn't bring it up.

He nodded his head at her and smiled. "Well, I won't hold you back then." With that, he turned around and walked towards one of the enlisters. Ennie looked at his back and thought for a moment, before following him.

"Let me come with you." Ennie smiled sweetly.

"Why? I am not doing anything fun." He was a little confused as he looked at her.

Ennie continued smiling before patting his shoulder. "I am older than you by three years, plus you aren't even an adult yet. Maybe I can help you get a good place."

"I don't need support with such matters. If I want to do something, I don't need others to help me." He got slightly annoyed at her. He and his grandpa had been depending on each other to survive, where was the help then? Sure, it was never too late for many cases, but to Celius, he didn't want any help from outsiders.

Seeing him act like that, Ennie pouted a little. "Alright alright, I won't interfere. Jeez, who is the adult here, you or me?" She laughed it off.

"Celius, I heard you were looking to work in the fields?" Celius met with an old enlister, who was also a cultivations instructor. He was acquainted with Grandpa Amlenor, and although they weren't great friends, they also didn't have any issues.

"Grandpa talked to you already I presume?" The old instructor nodded his head, showing an indifferent expression to Celius. When he saw Ennie, however, he smiled at her gently.

"Little Ennie, how are your parents?" Celius didn't mind such actions. He wasn't close to the old man, so he didn't expect any warmth coming his way. Ennie, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable and awkward seeing the difference in attitude.

"They're fine, gramps." She forced a smile while also shooting glances at Celius who just stood on the side and waited patiently.

The old man nodded his head and pulled out a beast parchment. "Alright, there are a few fields where you can work. Even though you have low strength, I can't change the rules for you. There is a plot in the north which grow Frost Roses, another in the east which grows Dry Water Leaves. We also have five new plots which will begin to grow White Boulder Flowers and other new herbs. Of course, these new plots pay the highest." He listed a few of the many plots which grew different herbs. Each herb was different, and the environment of the plot would vary depending on the type of herbs, for instance, the Frost Roses needed to be grown on land that was colder than the rest.

Celius already knew that he was going to pick the one that had the greatest pay. Even if it was the hardest, there were many benefits. It was a new herb in the market, so he could sell his share for a higher price, getting more than just the bi-weekly salary.

"Let me sign for the new plot." When his words came out, Ennie and the old man were both shocked. They assumed that he would pick one of the old fields since they were much easier to manage, and the pay was still very good.

"Are you sure? Once you sign, you can't change your field. Think hard.�� The old man asked once again. He knew the new fields would have more benefits, but even then, no one wanted them. The workload was just too high.

Celius shook his head. "I am set on this. I will work on the new fields."

"Alright then. Which herb do you want to grow?" There were a few new ones. Other than the White Boulder Flowers, which were the most important to the clan, there were also Spiky Vines and Fang Fruits.

Looking at the value of each fruit and the time they took to grow, he began to ponder. The hardest to grow were the Spiky Vines but they were also highly valued. Each vine would be worth around thirty silvers. The White Boulder Flowers came in as second with then being worth ten silver a flower, but their growth period was only five days. The easiest to grow were the Fang Fruits. They were sold for five silver each.

"I will pick the White Boulder Flowers." The reason behind this was because of their low growth time and high pay. Although they were a little difficult, they would grow very quickly, and he would get paid a good amount. he would earn more in the short term with White Boulder Flowers rather than the other two which had longer growth periods.

Writing down the information, he passed the parchment to Celius. "Here is the contract. We get ninety percent of your produce including the best ones, plus rights over your field. Although you can do whatever in the field if we feel you are not producing enough or might cause damage, the field will be taken away and you will pay us depending on the damage. Also, if you break this contract before paying us our herbs, then you will have to pay a single gold. This will cover the damage done to the field, you are wasting resources, and us having to hire new workers on short notice." Celius nodded his head as he listened patiently. "Of course, you don't lose out either. Ten percent of produce will belong to you, plus every two weeks you will receive a salary of twenty silver. You can arrange the plants in any way you'd like, but keep in mind that you must provide us with at least nine flowers every two weeks. If this demand is not met, your salary will be deducted accordingly. If you understand, then sign here."

After reading the contract and making sure there was nothing fishy about it, he nodded his head. It was simple. He would receive a payment if he met their demands and he couldn't ruin the land or else there would be problems. The worker kept ten percent of produce, but the clan got the best ninety percent.

"Alright then." He signed the contract using the old man's quill. He also signed another contract with the same information. One was for him, and the other was for the managers.

"Follow me to get the supplies. Ennie, will you be joining us?" The old man looked at the astonished Ennie with a smile. She was still frozen because of everything that just happened. Her reaction was very slow, but she pulled herself together and looked at Celius helplessly.

'He went and did it. This is just too crazy.' She turned her head and looked at the old man. "Sure, I can tag along."

The old man took the two through a back door. Entering the door led them to a large greenhouse. "Celius, grab what I tell you and don't take anything else." The latter nodded his head and began to grab every item needed.

There was a four tined hoe, a general hoe, a spade, a shovel, and a trowel. He also got a bucket, a small basket filled with White Boulder Flower seeds, and a manual describing the characteristics, habitat, and more about the said flower.

It was a lot of stuff to carry for one person and was also somewhat heavy, but Celius found no issue with the supplies. This shocked the old man a little since many people would struggle holding the items. Of course, he didn't say anything since it didn't matter to him.

"This is all that you need. Here is a map of the five fields. Choose which one you want to work on. You can then head over there and begin. We will come to check on you every week." Celius nodded his head and picked the most isolated one of the five, which was also close to his house. A few small ponds were near the land, which was a bonus, but it was covered with lots of trees.

Nodding his head, the old man got everything sorted and had the two leave.

"Celius, this is a lot of stuff, do you want help carrying them home?" Ennie looked at Celius who was holding enough items to cover his body. "Also, don't say things like I will do it myself. I just want to help you carry some of the things." She laughed a little as she spoke.

Seeing that she wanted to help him and didn't want to get declined, he gave her the bucket, the basket, the trowel, and the flower manual. "Thank you."

Ennie held the stuff happily as she walked out of the building with Celius. "Wait, what about your dad? Aren't you here with him?" Celius thought for a second before asking her.

"It's alright. I told him that I would go home myself. Plus, I am an adult now, I can go anywhere I want." A wry smile appeared on Celius' face as he heard her words.

Both of them talked along the way about different things. Although it was mostly Ennie talking and Celius listening, neither of them got bored.

"Celius." They reached Celius' house and the first person they saw was his grandpa. "Ennie? What brings you here? Let me get that for you." Grandpa Amlenor grabbed the supplies from Ennie before putting them by the side of the house. Celius also dropped the things on the ground beside his house.

"Hello, Grandpa Amlenor. I met Celius at the Jobs' Building and decided to tag along with him on his adventure, hehe." She giggled lightly while speaking. Grandpa Amlenor raised an eyebrow before smiling and thanking her.

"Brother!" The same three voices resounded in Celius' ears. He faintly smirked and looked at his little siblings running at him.

"Alura, Elrith, Rislia, why aren't you guys fully dressed?" Seeing his topless siblings made him speechless. What was even worse was that Rislia only had her underwear on. "Grandpa?" He looked at grandpa Amlenor who laughed heartily.

"Sorry, I was changing their clothes since they got dirty from mud. I didn't quite finish when I heard your footsteps." Celius shook his head and looked at the three before picking Rislia and Alura up.

"Alright, let's go and get you three changed. We have a guest over, and these are your appearances?" The three kids laughed loudly. Elrith, who was on the ground looked at Ennie with a confused expression. He pointed his stick at her and asked happily.

"Are you the guest?" Grandpa Amlenor and Celius looked at the shirtless boy who was trying to put on a heroic front.

Ennie looked at Elrith and then at the two girls, her face couldn't help but blossom into a smile. "Look at you three, you grew up so much. So cute!" She walked over and looked at Elrith before pinching his cheeks. "Yes, I'm your guest. You can call me Ennie."

Elrith moved his sword down and nodded his head. ��Elrith, stop trying to be cool, you're just weird." Alura looked at her brother and said with a disappointed look.

"Alura, don't be such a brat. Hero Elrith, hurry in the house to change or else I will make sure the demons get you." When Elrith heard this, a smug smile appeared on his face as he pointed his sword to the sky.

"Demons? I'll destroy all demons, let them come." He patted his chest, causing Celius to almost fall. Grandpa Amlenor walked behind him and tapped his buttocks with his foot.

"What if I take your sword away? If you want to keep your sword, then go in and change." Hearing this really frightened Elrith. He hugged his stick tightly before rushing into the house.

"Weirdo." Alura pouted as she spoke.

"Ennie, I will be right back. Let me go and change these three." The latter nodded her head as she watched Celius walk into the house.

Ennie silently waited outside with Grandpa Amlenor. She then turned her gaze towards him and asked suspiciously. "Grandpa Amlenor, why are you letting Celius do fieldwork? You know that it's dangerous for someone as weak as him. What kind of problem would force him to do such dangerous work?"

"Too many problems. You know he's raising his siblings alone. Even with my full support, he still has to manage the day to day expenses." He didn't say too much as it was a private matter that shouldn't involve outsiders. "When you have kids one day, you'll understand the struggles of raising them. He is young, but those three are more like his own children than his siblings. You will understand in the future."

Hearing his words, Ennie pouted somewhat. 'I am an adult, I can understand. Also, kids?' Thinking up to this point, her face heated up slightly. She knew that marriage was right around the corner. She was one of the oldest single people in the clan. Most girls her age were already married, and some even had kids. 'I wonder what my kids will be like?' The more she thought about such things, the redder her face got.

Like many others, she wanted to have kids, but she just wasn't mentally ready. Her mind was focused on cultivation and nothing else. She would get embarrassed by such talks at times, but she didn't want to have kids too soon.

She looked at the house where Celius entered and could see him changing the three kids. Elrith was running around and causing problems, while Alura was mocking him. Rislia just laid on the ground as Celius dressed her. Ennie sighed a little seeing such a scene.

'He really does treat them well. Who could ever tell that they are his siblings?' She shook her head and watched as Celius brought the three out.

"Alright, these guys are changed. Grandpa, I have to go and check out the new field and see how much needs to be done. Would you mind taking the three elsewhere?" Grandpa Amlenor nodded his head.

"No, I want to play with brother!" Rislia tightly held on to Celius' neck, not letting go. "Yeah, brother. Can you stay home today? Please!" Elrith and Alura also held onto each of his legs, not letting go.

"Come on you three. I have to go. Tell you what, if you let me go, I'll bring you guys lots of candies when I come back. How about it?" He looked at the three and spoke gently.

"No!" Rislia didn't care too much about candies and only ate them because of her siblings. She continued to hold onto Celius' neck. "No! You get us candies every day, but you always have to go. Stay and play for a while, please!" Alura looked at Celius with her watery eyes.

"Alright let's play a game of hide and seek. I will count to ten, all of you go and hide." This was his most famous trick. He would begin this game and then when they hid, he would escape to work.

The three always fell for it. "Alright! Hehe, let's go Rislia, hide with me." Elrith grabbed Rislia once Celius placed her on the ground. The two ran in one direction, while Alura chased after them. "Wait for me too."

Seeing them finally run into the house to hide, Celius sighed in relief. "Alright grandpa, take care of them for me, please. You know what to do when they cry, right?" Grandpa Amlenor nodded his head with a smile.

"Go ahead and do what you need. Leave these three to me." Celius picked up his ax, the basic hoe, and the manual on the flower, before walking in the direction of the field. Ennie followed him from behind.

She watched his back for a while before quickening her speed and walking beside him. "Why don't you just leave the work until tomorrow? After all, they come only once a week, so you have time."

"I can't do that. The earlier I start, then the more flowers I can produce. They take five days to grow, correct? So, if I can clear the land in two days, then I will have more time to plant, grow, harvest, and repeat the process. With more produce, I will have more for myself." He explained his thoughts patiently.

"Still, shouldn't you try and spend more time with your siblings? They really want you to." Ennie still didn't understand his way of thinking. A single day was not going to put him too far behind.

Shaking his head, Celius looked at Ennie as he continued walking. "If I could spend more time with them, of course, I would, but I know that what I am doing is the best option. If I can make their lives easier and less stressful, then I will. My grandpa is there to play with them, which is equal to me being there. Just one of us needs to be there for those three to be happy."

"Is that what you really think? We both can tell that they are way more attached to you and seem to--" Celius stopped walking all of sudden.

"Ennie, you don't have kids, do you?" Ennie shook her head. "Then it is difficult for you to understand. Let me ask you a question, was your dad home more often, or your mom?"

"Well, dad always had work, so my mom." She spoke cautiously.

"My siblings have a slightly different situation. They have only me and my grandpa. My grandpa can only act as their grandfather, but I have to choose between mother and father since I cannot do both. If I choose the mother, they will starve and not get good clothes, but I can still play with them. If I choose father, not only will they be able to eat good meals every day and get the clothing and needs they want, they will still get to spend time with my grandpa. Plus, I will be able to still care and play with them, albeit not as much. Tell me, which option is better? Let them starve, but allow them to play with me more, or let them eat a good meal while letting them play with my grandpa and even me sometimes?" His question hit Ennie deeply. She looked at Celius with a somewhat shocked expression. After pondering his question for a few minutes, she sighed.

"You are right, the second option is better for them, but what about you? Don't you get tired, what about resting and having your fun? You're still a kid as well." Her words made Celius laugh.

"Being an older sibling comes before being a kid." After saying those words, he continued to walk.

Ennie stood still in her spot as she thought hard about his statement. Her eyes sparkled a little as she looked at Celius' back which seemed a lot larger and protective than before. "Celius, I am going to go home now. Fun talking with you. I will see you later." As he watched her leave, Celius shook his head and continued on his way.

After listening to what Celius and Grandpa Amlenor said, Ennie began to ponder some things deeply as she made her way home. 'Being an older sibling comes before being a kid, huh?' The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was a really good thought process, but also something really difficult to do.

She was an older sister, but her relationship with her younger sister was more of friends than what she saw with Celius and his siblings. 'Am I not considered a good older sister?' This thought couldn't help but appear in her mind. What did it take to be an older sibling?

"You're home, Ennie? What about your dad?" Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a gentle voice. Looking up, she saw her mother smiling at her. Her mother was holding the hand of her younger sister.

"Yeah, I left before telling dad, but he should be home soon. I was helping a friend carry some things home." The mother nodded her head and smiled. "Hey mom, I have a question for you."

Her mother looked up questionably. "Hmm?"

"Am I considered a good older sister?" Being asked such a weird question made the mother look suspiciously at her daughter.

"Why do you ask? Did something happen?" Ennie shook her head and explained.

"No, it's just that I was with Celius a little while ago and after talking to him, I noticed that he treats his brother and sisters the same way you and dad treat us. Even though he is their older brother, he acts more like a parent. I found it very different from how I treat her." Ennie looked at her younger sister who was younger than even Rislia.

Listening to her daughters' explanation, Ennie's mother frowned a little before sighing heavily. "You cannot compare yourself with him. His life is different from yours, so he will treat his siblings different from you. One cannot deny that he is truly a fantastic older brother, one that others would dream to have, but that doesn't mean that you're a bad older sister." Her mother picked up the little girl before walking towards Ennie and stroking her hair. "Ennie, an older sibling just has to care for their younger ones and protect them from others. That doesn't mean you must be a parent to them. You're their older sibling, not their parent. Just be a good role model."

"But then, Celius is…" Ennie was still a little confused.

"Again, you can't compare yourself with him. Not only is he the older brother, but he also has to care for his siblings on his own. His life is just too different from yours so one cannot use him as a good comparison." Explaining these things to Ennie, even she couldn't help but sigh. "He is such a pitiful child. He is being pressured to care for his siblings, bring money home, face the consequences of his family, and many more things all on his own. Such a tragedy." Giving her daughter one more glance, the mother turned around and walked into the house.

Ennie stood in her spot and became a little sad. Of course, she knew about the cold shoulder and glares that people gave Celius. A lot of people even mistreated him very badly. There were a few that pitied him, but that was all. No one would interact with him, all because of something his dad and uncle did in the past. 'What did they do?'