I really don't want to be a novelist

Chapter 365 Howth's decision

Because before he died, Gus still said,

Aunt Varina, that is, the Burton family, was the most devout believer in the village, and besides him, the most faithful lamb of the Lord.

After Gus died, Burton naturally replaced Gus as the authority who best understood the oracle and the will of the church.

Other than that, nothing seemed to have changed in the village.

From the beginning of Gerrit's memory, the residents and everything in the village seem to have never changed much.

Residents in the village repeat their daily life in the past, facing the sun in the fields, sweating,

Harvesting barely enough food to last until the second year, living a difficult life.

Originally, for Gerrit, this should be a common thing.

But from the time he started attending school, the teachers who came from bigger cities told him,
The owner of this land changed more than ten years ago. It was he who asked to build schools in various places, so that Gerrit had the opportunity to go to school.

After going to school in the town for almost a year, Gerrit felt that some changes were taking place in the town, and these changes radiated from the larger city.

But it stopped abruptly just after reaching the town, and nothing changed in the village.

This split is another question for Gerrit.

"...Greet, come in for dinner. After dinner, come with me to see your mother and grandfather."

Gerrit propped his chin up and looked at Yun by the door, thinking about the many doubts in his heart,
His father Hoss was in the house, having served dinner.

Grandma Milia also greeted him with a smile,
"It's supper, little Gerrit."

"Oh."

Gerrit looked at his father, he was a little stubborn about the previous things,

But he still answered and ran over to have dinner.

During dinner, Howth did not speak.

Only Melia spoke to little Gerrit from time to time.

"Little Gretel, have you learned anything in school recently?"

"After learning about geography, it turns out that our kingdom and our world are far wider than we seem."

Little Gerrit said with some enthusiasm.

Holden made a move and raised his head, listening to his child's narration.

They were silent until they finished listening, then lowered their heads and continued to eat dinner.

"Hurry up, Gerrit, and we'll go when we're done."

"Go see your grandfather and your mother."

"Oh……"

Gerrit stopped abruptly, answered, and continued eating dinner.

Milia looked at Little Gerrit and smiled, then turned her head and looked at Hoss, without saying anything.

……

"Take these things and let's go."

"Is Grandma Milia not going?"

"Grandma Milia has other things at home."

Little Gerrit carried a basket with something in it,
Followed his father Hoss towards the cemetery in the village, while Milia stayed at home.

Little Gerrit's mother,
Once a resident of the village, she married Howth.

But when Gerrit was born, he died of dystocia and was buried in the village cemetery.

Gerrit never met his mother.

As for his grandfather, he has never seen him, he only knows that his father passed away when he was young,
Because he offended the gods and the knights of the church, he was buried in the wasteland some distance from the village cemetery after his death, standing there alone.

Go all the way.

Gerrit first followed his father Hoss to his mother's grave.

The wooden frame standing in front of the grave is engraved with the mother's name.

"...If you want to talk to your mother, just do it."

Hoss stood in front of the tombstone, looking at the grave, just silent for a while, then turned his head and said something to Gerrit, and walked away.

Gerrit looked at his father, as his father always did, when he came to visit his father and grandfather, he always said very little.

Waiting for Hoss to leave, Gerrit stepped forward, facing his mother's tombstone.

"...Mother, I may not be able to continue school after this year is over...I know my father will work hard for me to continue my studies, but what I have learned tells me,

Five denarii a year are in vain when we are in debt. "

"Mother... I have a lot of questions in my mind, and I can't figure out many things... It's like I don't know why my grandfather Medioc died. Did I offend the gods? Did the gods send divine punishment?"

"The school also has teachers who teach the scriptures and stories of our church...but there are many things in the stories that I can't understand."

"Why are women not allowed to go out to work? Is it just God's division of labor between men and women? What if there are only women left in the house? Is it because you are not devout enough to God?"

Gerrit confides his doubts to his mother's grave,
He knew that it was impossible for his mother to reply to him, and even if his mother was still there, she might not be able to answer his questions.

Just like a father, when he asked these questions, his father was silent most of the time.

Maybe my father didn't understand either.

I have been talking for a long time,

Gerrit had just finished these words,

Looking up to the side, his father Hoss had already stepped aside.

"Have you finished talking to your mother?"

"Ah."

"Then let's go see your grandfather again."

Following his father, Gerrit walked to the lonely grave next to the cemetery.

In front of the tomb, there is no tombstone like the others.

"...Father, how did grandfather die?"

"Offended the Lord and the gods, and was punished for being impious to the Lord."

Facing the grave without a tombstone, Father Hoss was silent for the whole time, and replied to Gerrit.

"Did the Lord send divine punishment?"

Gerrit asked.

"Perhaps so."

"Father, what kind of divine punishment?"

Gerrit asked deeply, he wanted to know the answer to the question,

At least solve one doubt in his mind.

If the Lord really had to send divine punishment, then what kind of divine punishment would it be like?

Under Gerrit's gaze, Hoss paused for an extra long time this time,
But Gerrit was unwilling to give up, still waiting for the answer from his father Hoss.

"Because he offended the gods and the church, he was condemned by the knights of the church as a sinner who betrayed the Lord."

"In the end, amidst the constant prayers of the people around me, I passed away slowly, even if I died, I couldn't return to the kingdom of heaven."

Hoss said this, with fear in his eyes, as if he heard the constant prayers and confessions surrounding him.

But Gerrit did not solve his doubts because of this, and could only continue to ask,

"Then how did grandfather offend the gods and the church?"

"He collided with the knights of the church, blocked the path forward of the knights of the church, and was given the harshest sentence by the angry knights."

"Grandfather was killed by a church knight?"

Gerrit asked directly.

Hoss didn't answer any more, just looked at the grave without a tombstone.

Gerrit, on the other hand, seems to have got the answer to the question, but seems to have more questions.

Some of the church laws learned in school told him that when the knights of the church were out to perform their duties, if someone obstructed and bumped into the knights, they would be severely fined and punished.

The fine was one silver coin, and the penalty was three lashes.But if the person who hit the knight was killed, there should be no additional punishment.

But their family owed a debt of seven silver coins because of this, and they have not yet paid it off.

Thinking of this, Gerrit had another question.

His eligibility to go to school made his father spend half of his life savings of ten silver coins,

But if the money was used to pay Mr. Raleigh directly, the money owed to Mr. Raleigh should be paid off.

Is it because my father is anxious to let me go to school to study?

but……

The doubts in Gerrit's heart piled up.

……

"Grit, you know what?"

"When we have paid off our debts and our sins for your grandfather Medioc, a tombstone can be erected in front of his tombstone, and his soul can return to heaven again."

Hoss looked at the unmarked grave, then spoke to Gerrit again.

Gerrit was still puzzled, raised his head,

"But, father, why can't we erect the tombstone that belongs to our grandfather now? We just need to find a piece of wood that is strong enough, engrave Medioc's name on it, and place it here."

Hoss was silent and didn't speak again.

"Is there anything you want to communicate with your grandfather? If not, we will go back."

"Um……"

Gerrit followed his father Hoss back to the village,
Before leaving the grandfather's tomb, he looked back.

On the way back, Gerrit was still full of doubts, and his father Hoss didn't speak.

The two fell silent.

just walk on the road,

Howth and Gerrit met someone,
"Grandma Varina?"

Gerrit shouted,
"Ah, it's our little Gerrit. Did you follow your father to visit your mother?"

Valina smiled and agreed.

"Grandma Valina, where are you going?"

"Well...to see your Uncle Walker. He's buried in the village cemetery too."

Valina responded aloud.

Then he said hello to Hoss, and walked past Hoss and Gerrit with a basket in his hand.

"Father...Uncle Walker...Grandma Valina seems to go to the cemetery a lot."

"Grandma Valina and Uncle Walker have a deep relationship. How did Uncle Walker die?"

"Sick and dead."

"Did he die of illness? Did he die of illness a few years ago? Why haven't I seen Uncle Walker?"

"Walker died before you were born, and I haven't seen much of it."

"Grandma Navarina must have been very sad."

Gerrit turned his head, and looked back at Varinna who was walking towards the village cemetery.

His father Hoss said nothing more.

Gerrit felt a little strange, and looked back and forth again.

"...Grandma Milia, Milia, we are back!"

Back in the house, Gerrit shouted,

But he didn't see Milia's figure,
"Father, Grandma Milia doesn't seem to be at home, I don't know where she went."

"I know, she has something to do. You don't have to wait for her, you go to wash and sleep, and go to school early tomorrow morning."

Gretel nodded and went back to bed.

Father Hoss appears to be still in the living room.

Hoss looked towards the dark sky outside, wondering what he was thinking.

……

"call……"

Ordinary writer Ochino looked at the story of the great chapter,
If the great chapter is the first half of this work, then when he reads it, he will probably have many of the same doubts as Gerrit,
But with the content of ordinary chapters, let’s look at great chapters now,

Ochino felt extremely depressed, and the depression spread from the book, lingering in his heart.

In the midst of Gerrit's questions, the entire world in the book is like a cage with heavy shackles.
People can't straighten their backs and can't breathe.

In addition,

What is not fully explained in the ordinary chapters, there seems to be another secret behind the death of Valina's child and Walker?

What Hoss got at the beginning was,

Walker had a sudden illness, and after being sent to the doctor to no avail, he invited Gus to see him.
Gus said Walker was bewitched because of his ungodliness to the Lord,

Finally died on this too.

Probably didn't die of illness... But it seems that there are still some secrets that haven't been mentioned.

"call……"

Take another long breath,

Ochino continued to hold the book and read it carefully.
Immediately afterwards, the words described by the author were easily pulled into the world of the book,

Immerse yourself in it.

In the text,

The plot of the story continues to develop continuously.

The ordinaryness of ordinary chapters is the unchangeable life and destiny of Howth in ordinary chapters.
The greatness of the great chapter seems to be the question that little Gerrit can never stop in the great chapter.

the next day,
Gerrit went to the school in the town full of doubts,
His father Hoss also accompanied him.

After entering the town, the two separated,

Gerrit walked in the direction of the school, while Hawes walked the other way.

When Gerrit came to school,
When the teacher who came to a bigger city asked the biggest question in his mind,
"Teacher, why does the church say that women can't go out to work, but can only be busy at home?"

"This is God's division of labor between men and women. Women are careful and can be busy with some meticulous home work, while men are strong and can be busy with more labor-intensive tasks."

The teacher's words did not answer Gerrit's doubts, but made Gerrit more doubtful.

"Then besides the family, is there no other meticulous work outside? In the family, are there no things that require strength?"

The teacher didn't give him an answer anymore, but just told him that studying and studying more might be able to find the answer to this question.

Gerrit continued to study at school with doubts in his heart.

And on the other side,
Hawes arrived at the door of Mr. Raleigh's house.

With hesitation on his tanned and rough face, he paced back and forth at the yard gate of Mr. Raleigh's house,

He is hesitating.

He listened carefully to what Gerrit said to him last night,

He understood everything Gerrit said,
But he knew that Gerrit's approach would not work,

But at this moment, he is still standing here,

Because at least one thing, Gerrit was right,
If Gerrit continued to go to school, Hoss would not be able to afford the annual fee of five silver coins.

Especially in the current situation.

After hesitating for a while, Hawes still knocked on the door of Mr. Raleigh's house.

After entering,

Hoss mustered up his courage and told Mr. Raleigh about Gerrit's previous proposal,
The Hawess are no longer paying Mr. Raleigh's debts,

Let Mr. Raleigh take away the mortgaged field.

But Mr. Raleigh refused,

He just smiled and told Hoss that if the family can't afford to repay the interest and principal this year, he can wait for another year.
It's just that this year's interest has to be added to the second year's principal.

Hawes had known Mr. Raleigh would refuse.

because,

When enough silver was available before Hoth,
He wanted to pay off Mr. Raleigh's debt in one lump sum, but was also rejected.

The person who came to collect the debt told Huoss that he could not repay the principal more than five hundred copper coins a year, which was agreed.

……

"..."

Seeing this, Ochino couldn't hide his anger,
The emotions that have been suppressed for a long time are vented towards the damn Mr. Raleigh in the book.

I can't wait to stretch out my hand and strangle that damn bastard in the book to death,
Somewhat angrily, Ochino cursed several times,

Then gradually fell silent again.

If so,
What will Hoss, who wants Gerrit to continue studying, do?
What can he do?
Ochino continued to read, and then immersed himself in the story.

Outside the window of his study,

The weather is from early morning to noon, and from noon to evening.

He was still yawning when he got up in the morning,

Then I watched "The Ordinary and the Great" in the study all day, but I didn't feel sleepy.

Time flowed by his side like running water, and he was immersed in the story without realizing it.

until finally,

It was night, and before it was completely dark in the study,

Ochino finally read the story of the great chapter of "The Ordinary and the Great",

Also read the whole book.

After reading,
Ochino sat for a long time in the darkened study room with the book turned to the last page,

Just let out a sigh of relief,

"It's a really good book..."

(End of this chapter)