Banished Prince Charming

Chapter 86 - Work Hard, Eat Harder...!

We sat around at the dining table, as our wives served hot clay bowls of steaming thick broth. Our dinner was prepared by the ladies that consisted of soft and crunchy wild boar ribs and spine, with potatoes, celery, onions and garlic. Soft, white, plain baked wheat bread was served instead of gruel tonight and the taste was simply out of this world...!

The soft wild boar ribs coupled by the whole spine and meat that was chopped and fried on a large clay wok with some pepper and some water to bring out the animal fat was then mixed with the soup.

The whole mixture was then brought to a boil until the bones became soft that could be bitten and swallowed whole, of one, has a full set of teeth, of course... This was one of Kayla's recipe to make a rather thick broth that was both nutritious and delish...!

The 700 pounds wild boar had quite large chunks of meat left and after it had been fully roasted the night before, there was still balances and these were carefully wrapped with banana leaves and was secured on all corners so that ants and bugs would not try to carry it off when we are not watching...!

Kayla discovered the usage of banana leaves that could be extended as it could be turned to fashion a bowl or a plate as well as wrappings for food. Not only does it prevents spoilage but it also makes the food even fresher with a natural 'preservatives' on it.

Sir Blackie was not left out either as it had its share of bones taken from the upper t.h.i.g.h. The meat was scrapped and added into the thick broth as the citizens all shared each bowl of the thick broth while dunking their endless servings of sliced bread.

The joys of having meals together, eating solemnly as they fed their children sitting alongside them, sipping spoonfuls of the thick, tasteful broth and chewing those juicy, crunchy ribs... What more could one ask for the simple joys of life?

Sir Blackie was whimpering at me and pawed my t.h.i.g.h as I looked at it and I whispered to it with a very low voice. "No... You've already had 4 trotters last night, where did you bury those bones? You had half a lung earlier today, go ask Mama Kayla and see if she got spare for you which I think you do. Those were boiled and preserved with brine. Go... Ask Mama Kayla."

Sir Blackie understood the word Mama Kayla as it walked over and nudged Kayla on the sides of her t.h.i.g.hs. Kayla laughed and went over to retrieve a large chunk of wild boar's lung, washed it in clear water before she cut it in slices for Sir Blackie. It seemed Sir Blackie was truly overjoyed as it pranced on its hind legs and raise its body and kind of twirled like a ballerina.

I looked stupendously at Sir Blackie as I thought when do dogs ever do that? Not to a huge dog like Sir Blackie though...!

Well, it's quite normed for us not to speak during mealtimes unless it was absolutely necessary and everyone kept at it as a sign of the food that was presented before them. Although we were not staunch believers, and rarely said grave before food, at least we all waited for everyone to be settled d down before consuming our food.

As usual, after dinner, as the bowls were cleared, the dining table had been wiped down and everyone had at least 3 bowls of thick broth and heaps of sliced bread, we tested at the courtyard after setting the dining tables aside and set benches before us as the engineers carried the 'bamboo throne' to face the citizens.

"I hope everyone enjoyed your meal today. It was nice to have meat like this once in a while as to reward for the hard work that everyone had put in. Also, I would like to thank those who had made this meal and every meal to come."

Everyone nodded their heads approvingly as some of them had patted their stomachs. The lady under house arrest was not entirely forgotten as her comrades had brought her a large bowl of broth with ample meat and potatoes together with a loaf of bread.

Well, one thing for sure is that, the harder we work, the more we eat.

"Alright, first thing first... Let us get you thinking for a while. What happens if, in the months to come, your wives would contribute to cooking in the courtyard for breakfast and dinner? They would take whatever they need from the sheds and make more than enough for everyone to have at least 3 helpings along with your children?"

"The reason is that we all could taste each others cooking, what do you think?" I ended my proposal to find out if the citizens would partake in this discussion or not.

Edinburgh was the first to spoke up, "Sir, does this mean that no ration would be distributed or collected by the citizens?"

"That's right, your spouses would come and take the necessary ingredients and prepare breakfast and dinner for everyone here. There is no limit breakfast should last till lunch, while dinner could have some spares for supper. I am sure some of you would like to have supper when your stomach starts to growl in the middle of the night... Hahaha."

Edinburgh nodded as he understands the situation.

Hereford was the next to ask, "Sir, would that creates an imbalance for those who can eat more and for those who can't?"

"There is no worry for that, for those who can't eat more, the one who could eat would eat their shares. Normally, the midday meal would not so heavy since breakfast is highly recommended to be taken more since it is the start of the day and you men have a strenuous day ahead to chop trees, carry logs, and the works."

'Breakfast is crucial as you know that eating too much during lunch would make one feel sleepy instead."

"Thank you, sir, that is all. Although I would like to eat others share if they can't eat that much though. Hahahaha." Hereford laughed at the idea of eating someone's share just because he is a small ester. Truthfully, there are no small eaters in GraceHaven besides children.

Burns was the next to speak up, "Pardon me for my impudence, may I ask how about the tokens? Would it be in effect or just something that would be implemented not so soon in the future?"

"Well, for this moment it would be set aside first. The most important is to build up our village, make it grow more prosperous, have more food than we could possibly eat in a week and last but not least, you will be happy and satisfied. Regardless of these factors, anyone is cordially invited to seek me for any suggestions or problems you meet during your residency here."

Everyone nodded and I moved to another s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e topic. "There would be some nomads heading towards here to take a look at GraceHaven. When the first heard of us, GraceHaven was but a small settlement with only 4 families and a dog. As time goes by, Ashworths and Burns families came along and a short while later, 6 miners and their families along with 10 engineers take up their residence here."

"If we take a look at us on a different angle, we seemed to be nomads too. Seeking new pastures to build our lands, our future, our dreams and our hopes. Why would the 6 miners' families moved out from their homes, leaving everything behind, get bitten by a wolf and putting their lives and fate into the hands of others?"

Chadwell raised his hand and then he stood up, "We did this because we have belief and faith towards the one that would lead us from our predicament."

Innes raised his hand and he and his wife stood up and added, "We make the move because we believe in opportunities and these opportunities would only come once in our lives."

Jennings raised her hand as she pulled her husband and daughters up and remarked, "I d.e.s.i.r.e a brighter future for my daughters. Both were unskilled before they come here. But before the baking oven is up, they had learnt a lot of life skills that would be useful for them in the future."

Kensington was the last to conclude as he raised his hands and finally stood up, "I wished for my families to have a brighter future as well. It may be a slow start but its definitely better than learning nothing."

"My daughter is 9 years old but she is now able to learn not only how to read and count but she is also able to make some dolls that she could play with other children around her age using some woven materials and some hay."

"My wife, from being unskilled and jobless in town finally able to learn and be fully deployed as a baker. Even if we are working for GraceHaven and had no coins in return, but we are truly thankful for what had been returned to us and that had been two to three-fold...! "

Ashworths raised his hand and stood up, "Sir, as far as the nomads are concerned, it is likely a high chance that none will decide to stay here. They would normally be hopping from one place to another to perform some kind of trade, perform some kind services such as minor repair work, tend to their livestock and also be foraging the lands. At most these nomads would be here to check things out and move onwards within one foot of a shadow's length."

"Alright, everyone has their reason to move on and build their future here in GraceHaven. I do not know how many families would there be or how interested are they to stay and takes residency here. Besides, they are so used being to roam from one place to another, most probably we would give them one month's trial to observe how we operate as a village."

"There would no forms of persuasion or whatsoever since we need people to come here on their own free will. We could explain to those who are interested and we just let them decide if they want to stay or not."

"Other than that, what we would like to do now is to increase our population so that work could be divided equally and our miners would head back to the mines just twice a month for at least about 3 to 5 days worth."

"The miners would be gathering at least a ration of three 50 pounds sack of ores to one 50 pounds of coal and they would be required to gather six sacks of ores to two sack of coals every time."

"There is no need to gather so much and force yourself to work so many days but as long as you are able to complete those quantities, you could simply move out once every fortnight."

'You are needed here, so we take these ores and coals as part of reserves that our Domestic Affairs Minister could forge them into useful everyday items. We won't be using clay bowls and bamboo spoons forever right?"

I let their thoughts sink in and they decided that my proposal seemed ideal. Besides, a horse-drawn wagon would be provided to travel to and fro the mines and they could even encourage those renegade miners to actually migrate their families over here in search of more prosperity.

Furthermore, miners do sometimes think alike so just a single strong voice is all they need to start things rolling.

When everything had been said and done, I concluded the conference and send everyone off to bed early as there's another hard day's work ahead of us tomorrow. Everyone then clapped their hands, appreciating one another who had contributed to the conference tonight and cleared the courtyard as they stacked away the benches.

Well, the future has yet to come for the nomads to finally settle down in one spot and not to move around anywhere as they mingled and socialise with the rest of the citizens, that is, if they have any d.e.s.i.r.e to do so.

If not, then we have to look for other opportunities and choices then. I went over to the cauldron and lifted its cover and found that we still have over a quarter of broth left and a generous amount of ribs and spine inside it.

I took a bowl and scooped some of the bones and sat down at the 'throne' while I slowly munch on the bones as I lay my feet on Sir Blackie's thick fur with Heather beside me as she pulled the table and updated the journal in her scrawly, barely illegible handwriting.