Chapter 16 pt. 1: [What happened to Ingo and Ella afterwards]

Author note:

Before too much time passes, we’ll talk about that couple. We will return to the main story in the next installment.

***

“Honey, warm up some goat’s milk.”

“Oh, okay.”

　At Ella’s request, Ingo heated some freshly milked goat’s milk in a pot.

　It has been a few months since Ingo and Ella moved into their son and daughter-in-law’s house. Their second grandchild is growing up nicely. Their daughter-in-law, Limone, has recovered enough to take a break and do the housework, but she is in no condition to take care of their two-year-old who moves around every waking moment.

　Ella checked to make sure the older child’s diaper was not wet, and Ingo brought over some goat's milk that had been cooled to body temperature. Limone bowed her head as she accepted the goat’s milk and gently spooned it into the baby’s mouth.

“Sorry for everything, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law.”

“No problem. I’m having fun taking care of my cute grandchild.”

“Yes, Limone. I feel rejuvenated by the energy they give me.”

　Limone’s heart was warmed by the kind words of her parents-in-law.

　Working in the fields, doing all the housework, and raising children must be a lot of work for her parents-in-law, who  are all in their fifties. But her husband’s parents have never once complained.

　In society, most people think that “wives are meant to be used and made to work,” so she thinks to herself, “How blessed I am. I must repay this kindness someday.”

　Limone’s husband, Gins, came back for lunch, and Ella heated up some barley rice porridge mixed with vegetables. While the four adults and one toddler were eating the barley porridge with many ingredients, Ingo began to talk with a nostalgic expression on his face.

“Mai was good at throwing stones to kill birds. As long as she was around, we got to eat meat every day.”

“Huh? Is that the noble looking young lady?”

“Yes. Yes, she was probably a lady from a good family, but when I found her in the field, she was as skinny as skin and bones. It was a pitiful sight.”

Gins gave a confused look.

“It’s strange that a young lady from a good family can hunt birds by throwing stones.”

“Oh, but she really didn’t get any tools. Mai didn’t know how to butcher a bird or make a fire. At first,  Even fetching water from the well seemed unusual to her. She must have been raised in a very good home, and it was a pity that she was sent away like that. She was a very kind girl.”

“Speaking of which.”

　Ingo began to talk with a reminiscent laugh.

“When she left for the royal capital, she gave me a beautiful stone. She said it was a thank you for all we have done for her. Isn’t that cute?　If we had more money in our pockets, we would have given her money for the trip. I wonder where she is now. I hope she’s doing well.”

“Are they beautiful stones? I’d like to see them.”

　As Limone said this, Ingo, who was eating, got up and brought something wrapped in a handkerchief from their room.

“Here it is. Maybe it’s a stone from the region where Mai’s parents live.”

“Oh my, it’s beautiful. I didn’t know such a beautiful stone existed.”

“Let me take a look.”

　Gins opened the handkerchief Ingo handed him and looked at its contents. Ten spherical stones of slightly different sizes. Blue, green, and red intertwined in a pattern. The stones were even more beautiful when he stood up and looked at them in the bright light by the window.

“This isn’t a stone. Well, it is a stone, but I think it is a jewel. There’s no way you’d find such a perfectly round, beautiful stone lying around somewhere. I think it’s been polished by a craftsman.”

“Jewelry?　No way. The girl was lying there with nothing but her clothes on, you know?　She must have done something wrong and been kicked out of the house. I’m sure her parents would have given her something more reasonable to carry instead of jewels.”

　Ella nods at Ingo’s words, while Limone is distracted wiping the baby’s mouth. Gins is the only one who can’t accept that this is just a stone.

“Dad, can I borrow this the next time I go to buy medicine for Limone?　Just one. I’ll ask the antique dealer to take a look.”

“Suit yourself.”

　Several times a week, Gins goes to a large nearby town to buy medicine for Limone after selling vegetables.

　A few days later, after going out to sell vegetables, Gins entered a secondhand store in a large town for the first time.

“Excuse me, I have something I’d like you to take a look at.”

“Yes, yes. Where is it.”

　There was a wooden fence between the shopkeeper and Gins to protect him from robbers, and Gins pushed a round stone on a wooden plate through a hole in the fence.

　The antique dealer puts his monocle over his right eye and looks at the stone carefully. After looking at the stone from various angles for a while, the owner looked up at Gins.

“Are you selling this?”

“No, it belongs to my father so I can’t sell it right now. I was just wondering how much it would be worth. Sorry to bother you when you're busy."

“I see. It’s a very high quality opal, so if you ever want to sell it, please bring it to our store. Well, I would be happy to buy this item for about this much.”

　The owner wrote the price on a small piece of paper and presented it to him.

　It is much larger than the amount of money Gins earns from selling vegetables for a year. He’s  stunned.

(Don't be hasty. They’ll end up seeing your feet.)

　Sweat began to drip down his back, but he nonchalantly wrapped the opal that had been returned to him in a handkerchief and put it in his breast pocket.

“I’ll talk to my father about it.”

“Understood. Thank you very much.”

　Gins rushed home and ran over to Ingo, who was taking care of the chickens.

"Dad, don't be surprised when you hear this . As I thought, this stone was a gemstone. They said it was an opal. He said he would buy one of these for almost twice what I make in a year."

“Is that the only place you looked at?”

“Yes.”

“I wonder. If it’s something that expensive, I think it would be best to have it looked at in the royal capital.”

“The royal capital, huh? I guess so. If the smallest one costs that much, how much is the biggest one?　Father, I knew the lady was the daughter of a nobleman.”

“I told you so from the beginning.”

　Gins then ran to Limone.

“Limone, that stone fathers gave me, it’s an opal. I had an antique dealer look at it today.”

“Opal?　You mean a gemstone?”

“Yes!”

　Limone looked at the round stone before her and thought for a moment.

“ Father-in-law and mother-in-law saved the woman and received it as a gift for helping her, right?　You wouldn’t sell it without asking, would you?”

“I’m not going to sell it without permission. I’ll only sell it after getting my father’s permission.”

“It’s up to him and mother to decide if they want to sell it or not. It’s not yours.”

“Well, we live together…”

　Limone shook her head slowly. In her arms, the baby was sleeping with a happy look on its face.

“Even though we live together, what belongs to them isn’t ours. I’m grateful every day for the help they gave me when I was sick, so please don’t do that. It’s not like we can’t get by now. We should be the ones to thank them, but selling the things they gave us and using them for ourselves…I don’t know. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“Well, yeah, I guess. if you put it that way, I certainly didn’t think it through.”

　That night, Ingo, who had been told Limone’s words, smiled and spread out the handkerchief on the table., 

“Let’s start with the big ones. That’s fine. They were originally given to me.”

　Ingo picks out four of the larger ones and gives them to Gins. Then they picked two for themselves, leaving four left.

"You can do whatever you want with your shares. Why don't you sell the remaining four and save them for an emergency?"

“Father, I feel bad.”

“No, don’t feel bad. We are happy with this. But still, I wonder what kind of family Mai came from.”

“I wonder why she was thrown out. She was a good, honest, hardworking girl.”

　The opal was not immediately sold.

The peace of mind that “if push came to shove, I’d have that opal,” made Gins think, “I can sell it anytime, so it’s okay for now.”

　One night, Ella spoke to Ingo in bed.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? How could Mai, who was so weak, have such jewels in her possession?”

“I find that strange too. If she had sold the opals, she could have gone to the royal capital and made a much better living than she did at home.”

“Maybe God was testing us?”

“Are you trying to tell me that Mai is God’s messenger?　 That can't be true.”

"I don't think she was an angel of God, but I think that maybe God brought us into this situation. Maybe he was testing us to see if we could be kind to a girl in need."

“Hmmm. When you put it that way, it does seem that way.”

　After a while, she heard Ingo’s voice, thinking he had already fallen asleep.

“I’m glad you’re my wife. If you had been a greedy wife, you would have kicked me out as soon as I brought the child home. Besides, it was you, Ella, who kindly took care of Mai, who was so thin it looked like she was having trouble even walking.”

(What is this man, who despite having back pain, in a desperate attempt to help the unconscious Mai brought her home, saying?)

　

　Ella didn’t reply, but she smiled happily.

TL Note: 

To one’s feet- take advantage of someone’s weak position.

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