Roots

Fall is the best season for farmers. It's the season where a year's hard work is reaped, and even I felt giddy as soon as I woke up. After making myself breakfast consisting of one egg and a piece of hard bread, I began my morning routine.

Even if I'm not going to work the fields today, I still have to stretch. Leaving the house, I eyed my empty field. I felt a sense of accomplishment from that empty field, as I puffed up my chest and started working out.

After I was done with my morning stretches, I went for a walk around the village. I live in the innermost corner of the village. Because a lot of young people moved out of the village for the city life, the village felt deserted.

Counting me, there were only five other elders in the village. Each person lived in their own houses, far from each other. It wasn't that we were on bad terms—on the contrary we were really close—but rather that not one of us wanted to move out of the houses we grew up in.

As I was jogging, I greeted the only other villager that was out. As it was slightly before sunrise, the other elders were asleep.

"Good morning Old Ma."

Old Ma was the village's blacksmith. He had a long, unmaintained beard and disheveled hair. He was on the tall side, and right now he was collecting an assortment of weapons from swords, small daggers, axes and long rods. He moved them next to a stack of everyday essentials, such as shovels and hoes.

"Good morning."

"Are you coming to the city with me today?"

Old Ma nodded his head with a smile. He wasn't a man full of words, and it wasn't rare for him to only greet you. However, because I'm used to it, it didn't really bother me at all.

"Seeing that the others aren't awake, I guess it's only the both of us this time around huh."

Old Ma nodded again.

"Well, in that case, I'll leave you on your own and go prepare the cart. Meet me at the entrance of the village when you're done."

I returned home and went to feed the oxen that'll be taking us to the city today. As I saw them eat, I went to prepare the cart. I put around half of my harvest into the cart and left enough space for Old Ma to keep his products too. After that, I walked the oxen to the cart, attached them to it, and started driving the cart to the entrance of the village just as the sun was starting to rise.

At the entrance of the village, I saw Old Ma carrying around two bags. He raised both and put them at the back of the cart, before seating himself next to me. What followed after were both of us enjoying the scenery in silence. Because, again, I was used to it, it didn't feel that awkward.

As the sun reached its apex, the city's gate started appearing. Its walls were huge, at least six meters high. Its gate, comparatively, looking a bit smaller. Around half the height of the walls. There was a short line leading the gate, where other people who wanted to enter the city waited.

We joined at the very back of the line. After waiting for a bit, and going through inspection, we paid the entrance fee and taxes incurred by the goods we were bringing in, which totaled to one gold coin to me and three gold coins to Old Ma. After that, we entered the city.

Sadly for Old Ma, because he was bringing in goods that sold for high prices, his taxes were almost triple mine. Haha, no one would request too much from a poor old farmer like me.

As we entered the bustling city, Old Ma and I separated. We both agreed to meet up at the entrance of the city at sundown. He made his way to the blacksmith district while I went to the market.

I sold all of my crops in around four hours, so I had an hour to kill before the sun sets. With that in mind, I decided to go around and buy some seeds. I made my rounds at the usual herb shops that I frequent whenever I'm at the city to compare the prices. Something you learn with age is that you can never buy something at the first store you visit, but you gotta make a few rounds at all the stores before choosing the cheapest one. A little bit of effort can save a penny.

Just as I was entering the fourth store, I saw a man bowing down to a fat individual.

"Please senior! Help me with my cultivation!"

The fat man obviously looked down on the young man. He scoffed before turning around and saying, "I don't have time to help small trash."

The young man kept his back bent, head down, and shouted again, "Please!"

Looking at the fat fellow's hands, they were smooth. His fat belly also signified that he never worked hard before. As for the young man, he was well built and his hands rough. While I was happy that young men are still seeking the life of a farmer, but how come he's asking someone like that for advice on cultivating? It's pretty obvious that he's no farmer.

A saying I like is, "The only way to know cultivating crop is to plant them yourself."

As the fat individual walked out of the store, the young man still didn't raise his head. I approached the young man, "Young man, raise your head. What problems are you facing?"

The young man raised his head and looked a bit skeptical. But in the end, he sighed and said, "Sir, I've faced an issue with my cultivation. No matter what I do, I feel that it's too weak, too frail. I can't feel any strength."

I nodded my head. It seems like the soil is too hard, thus the roots can't penetrate deep enough to absorb the nutrients it needs.

"If that's the case, the solution is easy. It seems you have an issue with your roots. Loosen your foundation, give it a bit of space to breathe and it'll grow."

The young man looked at me in contemplation, before bidding me farewell and running off on his own. Noticing that there were only a dozen or so minutes left before my promised meeting time with Old Ma, I quickly bought the seeds I was looking for and made way to the entrance of the city.

Seeing Old Ma waving his hand at me, I guided the cart towards him and he jumped to the seat next to me.

"You're so energetic despite being so old, Old Ma."

Old Ma showed off his muscles proudly, as he threw the sack of coins he earned at the back of the cart. Afterwards, he grabbed a bottle from his waist and started chugging from it. Then, he offered me a sip.

"No thanks, I'll be taking us home afterall."