[Shout out to Alexis L. and Matthew!]
"The man who wants to buy our land is a foreigner. He says he wants to build a resort."
Dagupan was near the sea. Many resorts are being built in the area.
"But I'm not really sure. I think he wants to build a fish, shrimp, or crawfish farm. He has already bought the other fields. With his money, he can dig a tunnel to the sea to get salt water. I don't know, it's just hearsay."
It might be physically possible, but tunneling would cost a lot of money. Maybe it all depends on the buyer.
"Father and mother want to retire, they are getting old. I told them they could raise ducks, chickens, and goats instead. At least it's not as tiring as plowing land."
He chopped more logs as I nodded. Goats, chickens, and ducks would be profitable.
A few minutes later, we returned to the kitchen and they were already cooking rice.
Tonight the family decided to cook their three ducks. Penelope's siblings would return to the house. They have a lot of stomachs to feed.
"Honey, can you take Roman and Sophia to their room?" I looked at my wife.
"Okay. I also need to change Sophia's diaper."
Corazon joined them in the room.
Killing ducks in front of the kids might be bad. I know Sophia would cry if she saw the ducks die. Fortunately, Penelope understood what I was saying.
"Keith, hold the duck."
Alberto is already holding a sharp knife.
I followed his order and held the duck. I will not describe it faithfully. Let's just say that Alberto cut the duck's neck and let it bloodlet.
We repeated this process on the two other ducks. We soaked them in hot water for a few minutes.
Then we pulled out their feathers and cleaned them. After that, the process was easy. We just cut them into pieces and stew them.
"Grandpa, it smells good!" Sophia returned more enthusiastically.
"It does. Would you like to take a sip?"
Sophia was adapting easily to her grandparents. And now she was acting cute in front of them.
Her clothes were new and clean. It was good that she had slept on the bus earlier. So she had enough energy to stay awake even though it was past 5 pm.
"How about you Roman?"
"You can tell me if you want anything, don't be shy."
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Roman doesn't talk much, but he is very attentive. He is also a mature child.
"Dad, can I play Snake?"
I chuckled and gave him my phone. In this era, Nokia overtook the market because of Snake and Space Impact.
I'm not even kidding. People love to play those games.
For a third-world country, PSP, Gameboy, and Xbox are just for rich kids. But Nokia phones are versatile. You can use them for calls, texts, and games!
That's why Nokia is the best brand at this time.
Unfortunately, Nokia fucked up. The company failed to adapt to the smartphone era. In the next two decades, their brand would lose its beauty.
"Snake? What are you talking about? Keith, you need to tell your son that playing with a snake is dangerous."
Alberto looked worried as he cooked the duck stew. He didn't have an idea about games. I guess he used Simeon's phone to contact us.
"It's a game, Father."
Penelope giggled when she realized her father had misunderstood.
"Grandpa, would you like to watch me play? I'm good at it."
This time Roman was excited. He was proud to say that he had beaten his best records a dozen times.
"This looks interesting, let me see. Simeon, keep cooking."
"I can help Father." Penelope tried to join in, but Alberto stopped her.
"No, let your brother do it. Tch, your brother is already 43 years old and still single. He needs to work hard to get a wife. Teaching him how to cook will help him."
Simeon almost choked on his father's banter.
That's right, Simeon is 47 years old and he's the second child...
Now that I think about it. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are in their 60s. That means that Simeon was conceived when they were in their early 20s at best...
People in those days got married at a young age, before their 20s. If I'm not mistaken, my in-laws married before they were 18.
That might be a normal situation back then, especially in the 50s and 60s. People get married at a young age.
Hell, even my grandparents were married before they were 20. It is what it is.
All I can say to Simeon is, "Let him cook!"
"Mom! We're here! Where's the food?"
Suddenly, our little conversation was interrupted when we heard a certain voice.
Corazon frowned, while Alberto and Simeon shook their heads. As for Penelope, she had a complicated look on her face.
The envious woman is here...
"Señorita, you've come. How are you?"
"Ah, exhausting as always. I only sold a few cabbages. To hell with that customer! Also, my son ate my lunch. So I can't control myself and pinched him."
"Watch your language."
"Bah! Anyway, what about the food? We're going to be rich anyway, might as well kill the goat!"
"The goat will be cooked tomorrow for Christmas Eve."
Alberto sighed. As if this scene happened more than once.
"Today, tomorrow, who cares? By the way, my husband will be back later, leave him some food."
The woman had dark skin, but her hair was also pink.
"Mom, I want to eat. I'm hungry."
The little boy next to her asked her for food.
"Shut up, you just ate my lunch and you are still hungry? You will not eat dinner."
"That's because you didn't give me breakfast..."
"Ah, now you're talking back. This child..." She grabbed her slipper to slap him, but Corazon stopped her.
"Señorita, don't talk to your son like that. Billy, come on, I have some sweet potatoes."
"Thank you, Grandma."
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