RDD 37

Chapter 37

We waited for the sweet potatoes to cool down before eating them. While waiting, Sophia and Roman returned their attention to their toys to waste time. 

"Guys, I think we can eat them now." I touched the sweet potatoes and confirmed that they were not hot anymore. 

"Yay!"

Roman helped Sophia to stand up. They approached the table where I was peeling off the skin of sweet dreams. 

"Here's for my little daughter." 

I gave a small piece to Sophia since I knew that she would not eat all of it. She already ate chocolate earlier and her stomach was full. 

"Thank you Jajjy."

"Here's for Roman."

"Thanks, Dad."

The two started munching the sweet potatoes. 

Of course, I ate them too. They were new harvest and tasted good and sweet. Unlike the sweet potatoes in the city, these potatoes were big and fresh. 

We were eating when we suddenly heard the kids yelling happily.

"Hm?"

It caught our attention and we looked out of the window. 

"Mommy!"

Then, we realized that Penelope and the others returned. It seemed that they were carrying a few sacks. 

The kids became excited. I carried Sophia and Roman followed behind me. 

When we went out of the house, we saw their spouses and kids welcoming the family. 

Based on their faces, it seemed that the negotiation succeeded. 

"Mommy!" Sophia giggled and wanted to hug her mother. It was a good thing that I exercised, or else I would lose my strength because my daughter moved too much. 

I brought the two children to their mother. Penelope was holding a basket filled with corn and potatoes. 

"I helped Mother and Father to carry ingredients for tomorrow Christmas Eve."

So that was the reason why they were carrying sacks. When I looked at the sacks, I realized that most of them were dry woods. They would probably use it as firewood. 

We exchanged what we were carrying. I carried the basket, which was surprisingly heavy while Penelope carried Sophia."

"Aww, how's my cute little girl? Did you miss Mommy?" 

"Yes, I miss Mommy a lot!"

"How about you Roman?"

"En." Roman nodded and stood next to her. 

Looking around, I could see the other families greeting the returnees. Everyone was smiling, probably because they knew that money had come. 

"I will bring the basket to the kitchen," I said and moved forward. 

"Don't push yourself hard."

Oh come on Honey, it's just a basket. I could carry two or more baskets if I had to. 

As I went to the kitchen, the other males followed me, and one by one we put the items in the kitchen. These things and ingredients would be used tomorrow Christmas Eve. 

I even heard that Alberto would kill three goats to celebrate Christmas. 

The house was lively, almost 50 people combined were in the house whispering excitedly. 

All I can say is this family is huge as fuck. The three generations can fit a classroom. 

"Everyone, listen. We already talked earlier. The money was already divided and I gave every family a hundred thousand. The Village Captain witnessed everything and nothing bad happened."

It seemed that they already counted and divided the money. Perhaps that was the reason it took them long to return. 

I glanced at my wife and she nodded at me. 

For a moment, both of us smiled. It could not be helped, our family needed money and these 100 thousand pesos were important to us. 

"Now, you can check it again once you return to your room. We will wake up early tomorrow to kill the goats. Simeon will go to the city early in the morning to buy more ingredients." 

Everyone agreed and returned to their room. When we entered the room, Penelope pulled out an envelope and sat on the chair. 

I sat next to her, watching her recounting the money. 100 pieces of 1 thousand pesos, exactly. 

We have 20 thousand in the bank, 19 thousand in the luggage, and 100 thousand...

"Honey, I think we can really start a business." Penelope sighed in relief and hugged me.

"Yeah, 139 thousand. We have to use it properly."

Life was rough for us. No, life was rough for everyone. Perhaps only a few people had it better. Maybe only 10 percent of the whole population were living their lives to the fullest without having fear of hunger, disease, and poverty. 

For me, all I wanted was to make my family feel safe and sound. So I want my family to be part of that 10 percent. 

"Let's follow Simeon to the city and put the money in the bank. You have your BDO ATM card right?" She said and rubbed her face against my chest. 

"Yeah, I have my ID and birth certificate too."

Carrying a big amount of money might be dangerous so it was better to put it in a safe place, which was the bank. 

To be honest, I didn't feel safe leaving the money in our room. 100 thousand was a huge amount and someone might be possessed by the devil and try to steal it from us. 

'There's Señorita too. I don't know what she will do.'

We promised to stay in the province and spend our Christmas and New Year here. We were going to meet Señorita whether we like it or not.

I rubbed her hair and we stayed like that for a few seconds until Sophia joined us. 

"Mommy, Jajjy, me too! I want a hug too!"

"Come here, sweetheart." 

"Hehe." She giggled as joined and hugged her.

"..."

"Roman, join us too." Penelope offered.

"Because you asked me, then I will reluctantly join." 

We both laughed upon hearing Roman's reply. Having the two children between us, we embraced like there was no other day.