A new day is coming.
What awakened Annan was no longer the damp and cold thatched hut, but the bright sunshine shining on the bed.
Annan emerged from the old but warm quilt, and the coolness of the early morning helped him shake off his sleepiness.
The young man on the bed next to him has been sleeping since he came back last night. The sunlight coming in through the window is shining on half of his butt. It is so hot that he moves slightly, but soon he is exposed to the rising sun again.
He spent the next few minutes dodging the sun's pursuit in his sleep until he fell off the edge of the bed with a dull thud.
The young man got up as if it was an alarm clock, which made Annan, who was surprised, look very surprised.
He looked at Annan who had woken up and said something briefly. When there was no response, he patted his chest and repeated the word: "Martin."
Guessing that he was talking about his name, Annan pointed at himself and said, "Annan."
"Anna?" Martin muttered. "Sounds like a girl's name."
All he could hear was Annan correcting his pronunciation: "It's Annan."
"Shi Anna?"
It took several dozen seconds for Martin to know his name and pronounce it correctly, and then Annan followed Martin, who had put on his clothes, out of the bedroom.
When they arrived at the yard, Aunt Susan had just hung the washed pajamas on the clothesline. She was stroking the fluff of the pajamas and muttering something. Annan guessed that she was admiring the craftsmanship.
Martin, who found pleasure in teaching Annan to speak, pointed at the woman and said, "This is Aunt Susan."
"This is Aunt Susan."
Annan greeted the woman who was looking at him in surprise, and then was embraced by the broad chest and corrected his address.
Aunt Susan gently told Annan that he could live here forever. Annan didn't understand, but he could feel the kindness in her words.
In the next few days, Annan, who was unable to do anything, stayed at Aunt Susan's house, learning the language of this world and helping Aunt Susan and her family with things within his ability.
Aunt Susan was in charge of the family's finances and all household chores, Uncle Hollin was a woodcutter, he went to the woods to cut wood before sunrise and came back in the afternoon, while Martin would cut the previous firewood into firewood in the morning and sell it, then go to the tavern to work in the evening and come back late at night.
Learning a language requires frequent interaction, so Aunt Susan's family became the most suitable target.
Martin was not yet an adult, but he looked like a young man in his twenties. Healthy and strong, he inherited Aunt Susan's good bloodline, but he was not very smart... It was as if the Creator had given him too much strength when he created him, so he skimped on wisdom.
Uncle Hollin is not as silent and introverted as he looks. His relationship with Aunt Susan is much better than expected. Their body shape did not prevent them from giving birth to Martin, the fruit of their love.
Aunt Susan liked Annan, and this love even made her treat Annan better than Martin. She even worried that Annan would be robbed, and said, "Bad guys like pretty boys like you the most" while asking him to apply ashes that made his skin look rough and dull.
Survival is the best teacher.
A week had passed since Annan came to this family, but they were already able to communicate in a simple way. On this day, Annan and Martin were chopping wood in front of the woodshed, each with his own pile. However, the rough axe handle had scratched his palms in the past two days, so he chopped wood very slowly. When Aunt Susan came to check, only a small part of the chopped wood had been piled up.
"It's okay, dear. You need to rest more..." Aunt Susan blew on Annan's palm with concern, then turned around and scolded Martin, "You stupid ass! It's been so long and you still haven't done it!"
"Why are you only talking about me..."
"Annan has no experience, and you've been chopping for almost ten years!"
Fortunately, there was some old firewood, and Annan accompanied Martin to take the chopped firewood to the market to sell.
"Sometimes I feel like you're Aunt Susan's child." Martin muttered dejectedly.
"Why do you call Aunt Susan too?"
"She thinks I'm too stupid and it's embarrassing to be her son."
"Where's Uncle Hollin?"
"He didn't want to be thought by outsiders that Aunt Susan wasn't his wife."
It's a touching story of steadfast love, but a sad one for Martin.
"Are you laughing?" Martin, who was carrying firewood in front, turned around.
Annan hid his smile in time: "No, I don't understand."
Arriving at the market, Martin was standing on the street selling firewood, while Annan's attention was focused on the bustling market, taking in the customs and practices of this world.
A regular customer bought firewood, about 50 pounds of cut oak core wood sold for 20 copper coins. On the way back, Annan and Martin said: "I want to find something to do."
"Then you can come with me to the tavern and be a waiter."
Annan guessed what Martin said, and when he went back to tell Aunt Susan, she was a little worried that Annan didn't understand.
"Just serve wine and clear the table." Martin patted his chest and assured that he would take care of Annan.
"All right..."
Having one more person in the family does make spending a little tight.
That evening, Martin came back with good news: "Mr. Fast asked me to take you there tomorrow morning."
…
In the comfortable morning sunshine, the aroma of wheat wafts from the bakery on the street.
Annan followed Martin to the Dawn Tavern.
Few people in the town like to come to the pub during the day, so few pubs are open during the day.
In the dim tavern, chairs were buckled on the tables, and the smell of alcohol seeped into every piece of wood in the tavern.
"Mr. Fast, here we come!"
The man called Mr. Fast was a middle-aged man with messy long brown hair. He looked unkempt, wearing a pair of long boots and carrying a rapier at his waist.
He looked at Annan, pausing on his black hair and dark eyes: "I don't remember anyone with black hair in Pinglin Town."
"He's my distant cousin!" Martin cried.
"...snort."
Fast narrowed his amber eyes and did not expose Martin's lame lie. "From 6pm to 12pm, you get one silver coin a week. The tips from the customers belong to you. Evelyn will tell you if you come to work on other nights, or ask Martin."
"Why do I only have 70 copper coins?" Martin found that his salary was the lowest.
"You're so ugly."
Annan successfully passed the interview. To celebrate, Aunt Susan bought some meat and prepared a sumptuous lunch for him.
After a relaxing afternoon, Aunt Susan was concerned about Annan's work and patiently reminded him:
"He might make a mistake in the pub..."
"I'll take good care of him."
"If you see him stealing food or getting into an argument with a guest... tell him it's not right."
"Leave it to me."
"That's great! Thank you, little Annan."
Annan, who was highly expected, said shyly: "You are too polite."
"Ah... I'm still worried..." Aunt Susan sighed, picked up the broom and walked towards Martin who was still sweeping the table. "Martin!"
In the evening, Annan and Martin came to the Dawn Tavern.
Entering from the back door of the pub, Annan tied on his apron in the kitchen and started his first job in this world.