From what they gathered, John was wealthy. Knowing that the villagers came to meet him, John quickly greeted them. He was used to dealing with all kinds of people while doing business, so he had no problem at all dealing with a bunch of simple village folk.
Meanwhile, Sophia was looking out from the window while remaining in the house, whereas John showed the elders into the house. He answered all of their questions with much decorum, which showed how polite and cultured he was. Turning around, Sophia sat on her bed. It seems that a change of plans is due. Now that John is here, I can’t stay here forever.
On the other hand, John was still speaking to the villagers when an old man came in to hold Sophia’s hand. While thanking her, he also praised John for his kindness. Sophia could only respond with an awkward expression and a dry chuckle, as she had no idea what was going on. All she could see was the other villagers in the yard were also shaking hands with John while praising him.
The elderly man led Sophia out of the house while advising her to maintain a harmonious relationship with John, and that they shouldn’t hold grudges against each other. With a frown on her face, Sophia looked toward John, who in turn looped an arm around her shoulder with a smile once he approached her. “You’re absolutely right! Don’t worry. She is the boss within the household.”
It wasn’t until some time later that the villagers left. As soon as they did leave, Sophia asked quietly, “What did you tell them to warrant all the praises that they were showering on you?”
With a smile on his face, John turned to enter the house. “It was nothing... All I did was promise to donate some money so that they could pave the roads in the village.”
What he told her startled her. The roads in the village were indeed in poor condition, as all the mountain villages had muddy roads which were hard to walk on. Due to its small size, there were no schools within the village, so the children had to leave the village on foot to go to school. While it was alright when the weather was nice, it was a bother during rainy days. Upon recalling that, Sophia told John, “You sure are being nice.”
John smiled while saying, “When I was on my way here, the roads were so bumpy that I could puke any moment.” Upon checking out the kitchen, he told her, “Since we don’t have much of anything, we can only boil some noodles.”
Sophia didn’t have much of an appetite to begin with, and John’s presence only served to muddle her thoughts and feelings. As he never used a traditional cooktop before, John had a hard time figuring it out, so Sophia had no choice but to help him start a fire.
Although a little clumsy, John still managed to boil them some noodles. After that, he went to the yard to open the boot of his car to reveal the stash of items he had in it. He retrieved a bag of items while mumbling to himself, “I rented the car to come here. After observing the area, I figured it is a little underdeveloped, so I bought some stuff from a mall just in case. With how things are, I think they might come in handy.”
The items he bought consisted of processed food such as canned food and sausages, which made for a decent meal. He placed the bag by the cooktop before rummaging through it. “Look how smart I am! I bought these for us too!” He was holding a few packets of pickled vegetables in his hand. “These go great with noodles.”
Despite her silence, Sophia admitted that she was feeling much more secure now that John was with her. Meanwhile, John poured the noodles into a bowl to be served to Sophia, then he laid out the packets of pickled vegetables. “Why don’t you see what you like better?”
Glancing at the pickled vegetables, Sophia chose to open a packet of pickled cucumbers, as she always liked them. However, as soon as she sniffed on it, she couldn’t help but cast it aside before running out of the house. She rushed into a corner before retching over there, and her action frightened John. He quickly came to pat on her back to help soothe her. “What’s wrong? Did it smell bad because it has expired?”
All Sophia could manage was wave her hand, as she could hardly speak with her stomach churning uncomfortably.
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