Chapter 7

The Past

As evening fell, several burly men with the most intimidating faces… gathered in front of her house. There were twenty of them, all there to help harvest the durians in her orchard.

Manfah observed their robust physiques, truly impressive.

Uncle Pai eagerly directed them into the orchard.

Uncle Phin didn't miss the chance to help with the harvest either. Additionally, Mafueang and Mafai, who had just finished school, came to assist her as well. As for her, the hostess, she didn't need to lend a hand.

Manfah headed into the kitchen to prepare food. Today, she planned to make papaya salad, grilled chicken, spicy minced pork salad, and steamed sticky rice to ensure everyone was well-fed. With everyone in the orchard, she could bring out supplies from her dimension.

Manfah chopped four chickens into pieces, marinated them with sauce, and set them aside. Then she prepared the papaya strands and ingredients for the salad. Next, she got the ingredients for the spicy minced pork salad ready and minced the pork.

Manfah walked to the orchard and watched everyone picking durians. "Looks like it's going to take a while."

She laid out five mats and set up two stoves. Then she brought everything outside.

Cooking outside would be better, enjoying the atmosphere too.

Seeing her preparing, Mafueang came over to help.

"You grill the chicken, Mafueang. I'll handle the spicy minced pork salad."

"I'll go tell Dad to bring Mom here to eat too, so she won't be waiting in vain."

“Alright, hurry up.”

After Mafueang informed Uncle Phin, she returned to grilling the chicken.

The aroma of the spicy minced pork salad was so enticing that Mafueang swallowed hard several times.

“It smells amazing, Man.”

“Doesn't it?” Manfah raised an eyebrow at Mafueang.

Well, everything came from her dimension, so the quality was naturally superior in every aspect.

Including the fragrance when cooking.

Once all the dishes were prepared, she arranged them on plates and called everyone over to eat together.

“Delicious, delicious!” Mafueang exclaimed while biting into a chicken wing.

“Little Man’s cooking skills are truly exceptional.”

Aunt Kwan praised while savoring the papaya salad with gusto. Uncle Phin simply nodded, eating quietly.

Uncle Pai and his twenty workers ate heartily, chatting loudly and continuously complimenting the flavors of each dish.

“Little Man is really talented. She's just a little girl, yet she's great at gardening and cooking delicious food.”

“If you keep praising me, Uncle Pai, I'll float away, even if it's true.”

The group laughed heartily, and Mafueang gave a thumbs-up for her boldness. Praising oneself like this was rare, Uncle Pai remarked.

“I think you should hire workers to help harvest the fruit in the orchard, Little Man. It's too much for a little girl to handle alone. If you get sick from working too hard, it'll be troublesome.”

“Yes, yes, I agree with Uncle Pai, Little Man.”

Taking care of everything alone like this is really strange, isn't it? Sigh...

"Then I'll hire people to pick the fruit on Mondays and Tuesdays. But where can I find them?"

"Most of the people in the village are elderly. The young ones have gone to the city or moved there for school."

Uncle Phin scratched his head. Hiring the elderly wouldn't work.

"I'll find some for you. Not everyone in the city can find work, you know. But... the problem is about accommodation."

"It seems like your business is growing bigger and bigger. So, I'll buy more land to build houses for the workers."

"With the income from selling durians this time, it should be enough to build houses."

Uncle Pai slapped his knee loudly. "More than enough! Little Man, haha... Your durians seem like I'll have to come and pick them every day."

"That's right." She loved durians so much that she planted a lot, combined with the fertilizer and water from her dimension.

Oh! They bore fruit more abundantly than anything. Uncle Pai wondered how she managed to grow them so well, but it seemed Uncle Pai didn't pry into her affairs. After all, he only benefited as long as the fruits and vegetables had good yields. Whatever it was, he got it all.

"I want to lay water pipes for watering the orchard too. Walking around watering is tiring."

"That's right. I'll find a technician to do it, but it'll be a bit expensive. That's how the foreigners do it in their gardens."

"Really? Can foreigners buy land in our country?"

"No, they can only lease it, unless they have a Siamese wife," Uncle Phin explained.

Uncle Pai added, "But they can't grow as well as your garden."

Mafueang chimed in, "Manfah is the best, even better than the foreigners."

"Thanks, Mafueang."

"Foreign countries are more developed than ours. Not many people farm there. Even though they look down on farming, they still need to eat. It's strange when you think about it."

"Our country is the same, looking down on manual labor," Uncle Phin added.

"So, it's the same everywhere, isn't it? They look down on jobs that don't pay much. I think people are the same everywhere; the values aren't that different."

Mafai spoke up, "But I like being a farmer. At least when we don't have money, we have fruits and vegetables from our garden. City folks don't have that."

Uncle Phin beamed with pride at his son. "Mafai, you’re a good kid."

"Hehe, this is my father's birthplace. He loves it here. He became the village headman because he didn't want the villagers to go hungry like before. I know my father tries to encourage people to keep farming. It might not make them rich, but they won't starve."

Aunt Kwan was surprised. "Since when did our son know about these things?"

Manfah laughed, "Even though we're young, we can still understand, Aunt Kwan."

"That's right. I'm glad Mafai inherited some of your intelligence, Little Man."

Mafai puffed out his cheeks. "Mom, don't you think I'm smart already? I do well in all my subjects. I'm even more diligent than Mafueang."

Mafueang retorted, "Diligent, huh? I'm the one who reminds you about homework every time you forget."

Uncle Pai turned to her. "About building the guesthouse, I know some good contractors. There are three construction companies in Singkhon Province."

"That's so few," Manfah remarked.

"This province is mainly agricultural. Most construction is for worker housing or factories, but there aren't many projects. One of the three companies is run by a friend of mine. He's not from our village; his home is in the provincial town."

"Everyone you know is so talented, Uncle Pai."

"Your father was very talented too. He was a great pride to our village back in the day."

Uncle Pai looked at her and thought of Pipop.

"You and Uncle Phin were very close to my father, weren't you?"

Uncle Phin spoke up, "We studied together all the way through university, though we were in different faculties."

"Oh... My dad must have had a lot of girls after him," she recalled her father being very handsome.

Uncle Pai smiled. "Yes, but it was only Jitlada who really captured his heart. After that, your father was smitten and couldn't go anywhere else."

Uncle Phin looked up at the sky. "Back then, your father brought Mrs. Jitlada here when she was two months pregnant. Even though they faced hardships, they were very happy. The villagers were delighted to see Pipop return, especially with a wife who was the daughter of a Phraya. Everyone in the village teased him about being a real man."

The villagers truly adored her father; he was considered a local celebrity.

"The people here really loved your dad."

"He was charming since he was a kid. Every household doted on him; he was the best at winning hearts," Uncle Pai added.

Uncle Pai's tone was filled with a hint of envy, she thought.

Manfah's parents died in an accident. Her father worked in construction, and her mother was bringing him food when a steel beam fell. Her father ran to shield her mother, but the beam was too large and heavy, crushing them both instantly. The company he worked for only paid for the funeral and never took any further responsibility.

Mafueang noticed her friend had gone quiet and nudged her out of concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just... miss them."

The adults were immediately engulfed in a wave of sadness.

"But still, they're gone now. At least I know they loved me very much. Even though it's sad, I won't let them down. I'm going to be rich, rich, and rich. Haha."

Uncle Pai, Uncle Phin, Aunt Kwan, Mafueang, Mafai, and twenty of Uncle Pai's workers nodded in agreement with what Manfah said.

Mafueang encouraged her friend, "I'm sure Uncle Pipop and Aunt Jitlada are watching over you. Maybe they're even helping out. The fruits and vegetables from your garden have been producing amazingly well."

"Yes, yes," Uncle Pai nodded enthusiastically. "Perhaps it could be their blessing."

Well, let them think that way.

After finishing their meal, Uncle Pai took thirty baskets of durians back with him. He promised to bring the money in the morning, so get ready to receive your earnings tomorrow!