RDD 38

Chapter 38

December 24, 1999. 

It was early in the morning but everyone was moving. Busy with preparing for Christmas Eve. It was 4 am and the sun was still not shining, yet people were already making noise. 

Just like the other families, we woke up early too. Even the kids who were not used to waking up early were wide awake. They felt the changes and excitement yesterday. 

All they knew was that Penelope received money and everyone was happy. They didn't have an idea how big 100 thousand pesos was, to be honest. 

Last night at the dinner, everyone was talking merrily and no one talked about what happened last night. It seemed that they forget about it. Even Señorita was behaving well. Although it was clear that she didn't like Penelope with her glares. 

Anyway, we didn't give a fuck. 

We had a sumptuous meal. The vegetables and meat were eaten. Even the chocolates that we brought were feasted over. 

I went to the old water pump to get water for the kids. The kids wanted to go to the city. 

We decided to take them to see the city and buy some stuff. The kids were clearly excited, perhaps that was the reason why they woke up early. 

"How's your night, Brother-in-law?" 

I found Santiago pumping the water. He was the youngest child in the family and he just finished high school this year. 

"It's alright. We slept well."

"You didn't get bitten by mosquitoes, right? You know that mosquitoes are everywhere."

"We used mosquito repelling incense." I yawned and stretched my arms up. It was kinda cold to be honest. Well, December was a cold month. 

"That's good."

"What about you? What are you going to do after this? I heard you just finished high school."

Santiago was still young and he could take it slow. No, I advise him to take it slow. 

"You're still young. You have the time to think about it."

"Hm, I'm actually thinking of going to college next year. It's already late to enroll now, hehe." He said and pushed down the lever of the old water pump. 

"That's good. A college degree is important."

In the next two decades, companies would still ask for a college degree. On top of that, they would ask if the student had two years of work experience... 

However, it was still 1999. In this era, companies took the importance of college degrees. Let's just say that they have biased opinions about non-college graduates. 

'If you didn't get a college degree, then you're nothing but trash.'

Kinda prejudice if you ask me. 

"So what course are you going to take?"

"Well, I'm thinking of Engineering. Perhaps Civil Engineering or Electrical Engineering."

"If you work hard, you will do it," I said to motivate him. 

Unlike me who didn't finish college cause I hooked up with Penelope's panties. I didn't regret it, actually. 

At that time, I didn't take importance of college because I would inherit my parents' properties. Maybe I would have a position in one of the companies that my father owned.

'Technically, one of the companies was from my Grandfather. I think Grandfather still holds 25 percent of the construction company.' 

"What about you Brother-in-law? What will you do with the money?"

"I want to start a business. Not that big, maybe an eatery or bakery."

"I heard eatery can have a big profit."

"It depends. If the dishes are always bought, then it would not be a problem."

As a taxi driver, I saw a lot of business on the roadside. Many eateries earned money because eating food is a must. However, I saw a few eateries that closed down after a few months because they failed to generate profit. 

'Eatery needs a lot of factors to generate a big profit. There are two important factors in my opinion. The location is very important and the taste of the food should be great. If one of these factors didn't meet the criteria, then the business might fail.'

"Then, see you later brother-in-law."

"Okay."

Santiago carried two gallons of water and went back to the house. 

I took over the water pump and filled the basin. There was no water station close to the village so villagers could only use water well, rivers, ponds, and water pump. Fortunately, the rivers and ponds were clean and not affected by industrialization. 

Once the new century came in, most of the rivers in the country would be contaminated... 

I shook my head thinking of it. 

Everyone knows that it would happen but no one actually tried to prevent it. Organizations that push Environment Protection would only rise up once everything was too late. 

Why did I know that? Because that's what happened in the near future. 

Pasig river was an important river that connects Laguna Bay and Manila Bay. They only cleaned it when the river turned unhabitable to fishes, and the smell of the river became appalling. 

In my opinion, it was too late to fix the Pasig river. The water was already contaminated. 

'However, I respect the fact that people joined in and worked hard to clean the river. It was a commendable act.'

Finishing my thoughts about the environment, I realized that basin was already full. I stopped pumping and carried the basin back to the room.

When I returned, I realized that Penelope and the children already had breakfast.

"Honey, I have bread and coffee here."

"Thanks." I nodded and sat down after I put the basin in the corner of the room. 

"Kids, come here. I'll wash your face first."

"Mommy, me!" Sophia raised her two hands and waved them. She wanted to finish the preparation early so that they could go to the city fast. 

"Okay, sweetheart."

Penelope slightly grunted when she carried Sophia. It seemed that our litter girl was getting heavier. 

While I was eating, Penelope started washing the kids' faces. Sophia was moving around, she could not sit still. 

"Sophia, baby. Please stay still. Don't waste the water. Do you want Daddy to go outside again and carry water again?"

"Yes, Mommy. I will stay still."