Chapter 17: The Next Day

“What do you mean we need to reseal the tunnel, father? Aren’t we trying to take care of the grain harvest?”

It was the following day as Ivan told his son the news that the tunnel needed to be taken care of.

“I know we need to take care of the grain harvest, but we have a big hole underneath the house that needs to be closed up. I can’t risk critters getting underneath there to eat up the home from underneath us. I can take care of resealing it while you focus on the harvest, it’s all...”

“I will take care of sealing it up, father,” his son interrupted him. There was much regret in his eyes.

Ivan took careful note of his son’s reaction. He could see that he was suppressing a response towards his orders. “Heh, I have never seen you flustered over a chore as that one. It is not a difficult task my son. I proposed that we cut out a part of the floor board to reach underneath the household and dump the dirt inside it. Getting through the floor boards will be the hardest part, but otherwise, it should work.”

“I will take care of it, father. Is it alright that I simply reseal it from the side instead?

His father sighed as he looked outside the open door. It was a clear, beautiful day outside as the sun glowed over the non harvested wheat that sat in the fields. He was in apparent thought.

“To be honest, I really have no idea how rodents could have gotten down there in the first place even though you had to tunnel in there. There was no way that they could have gotten down there in the first place. There were no other entrances that led into it. It seems that whatever was causing that noise these couple of weeks has stopped, but ... I swore I thought I heard something down there last night as if I heard somebody talking. It was probably just commotion from neighbors outside coming through the floor boards.”

He looked back at his son and sighed. “Alright ... you win. With this grain harvest taking our priority above all else, you can go ahead and seal it from the side instead of sealing it from atop. It will be quicker, and it will mean having you help out with the harvest instead of shoveling dirt for a while. We will still need to look into completely sealing it in the months ahead. I hate leaving a hole underneath the home. We will need to look into cutting a hole access from here instead of tunneling like you did.”

Feliks smiled as he acknowledged his father’s wishes. They both walked out of the cabin as they took a look at the farm.

“Father ... I think I want to get into being a woodcutter instead of a farmer. There are plenty of trees around here, and I like cutting wood.”

“Really? You always enjoy chopping up wood for the stove. Hmm ... I can see with talking to some of the villagers in the next couple of days in trying to get you more jobs with cutting trees. The catch is that I need to have you here helping out with the farm. We are nearing the end of the harvest season, though. It might be possible that I can see about sending you with the other villagers in harvesting wood for the village, but I can’t promise you that. Are you sure that is what you want, son?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation.

“You will definitely get strong doing that, that is for sure. I will see what I can do. For now, go ahead and seal the side entrance to the home and once you are done, go join me in the field.”

Feliks turned to look at the entrance that led underneath the house. There was nothing more he could do. He had to reseal the opening to his friend...

It was another long day out in the field but a productive one for Ivan and Feliks. Some of the grain was taken and put into the carts to be sent off to the market. Both were exhausted and tired.

Feliks walked back into the household as he took a look at the work he did in sealing the entrance. He walked into the home so they could have dinner again. The dinner was the same as it was before, consisting of bread with meat mixed in and soup of beans and peas.

Time passed as they both sat at the table and ate together. They both had their normal conversation as they ate.

“You did well with today, son. You not only sealed that entrance but got a lot of the harvesting taken care of. I think we are ahead of schedule. With that being the case, I went ahead and spoke to the cart driver. They are planning on sending some villages to begin cutting an area of the nearby forest for wood. I told them that you were interested in working with lumber. They would be happy to have you a part of the group.”

There was a slight smile that appeared on his face. “I would be happy to do so, father.”

“Have you put into any thought with Taya?”

He shook his head. “No, father, I just don’t like her. There are plenty of other girls out there.” His head turned to the floor as his eyes looked at the wooden panels that below it had somebody only he knew. He shook off his thoughts as he went back to his food.

“Alright ... perhaps you are right.”

“Father, I was wondering if you knew anything about our family history. I wanted to learn more about my past.”

His eyes gave a questioning look as Ivan thought about it for a moment.

“Your grandfather from my side came from the Northern side of China. I had a chance to talk to him once, and he spoke about how he wanted to live further and further north. To him, he was tired of having to live under the Qing Dynasty. It was strange, but he was so tired of the Chinese name that he adopted a new name in Russian to avoid persecution. You know that relations with the Chinese have never been good, and if there was a way for him to establish space between China and Russia, then he would do it.”

“What was his name before he moved?” the young teen asked.

“Zhú, I believe. I think from what he told me was the word for bamboo in Chinese. From what I believe, you are partially descended from China itself. Your mother, on the other hand, was born north of Irkutsk. Some of her family come straight from Moscow, too that runs in your genes. Make sure that you don’t tell people of your family history, son. From what I know, you and I are the last of the Zhú bloodline. The fact is that the Russians are looking at the Chinese as enemies. Since most of the population around here is blended from both environments, it helps you out, but since the Russians and Chinese have not been in good relations, for now, it is best not to tell them that you are partially Chinese.”

“I understand, father,” Feliks responded.

“Have you considered the possibility of joining the army?”

The young teen thought about it for a little bit. He shook his head. “No, father, I haven’t. Maybe it is because we are too far away from Moscow. Maybe it is because ... to be honest, father, I don’t know.”

“It is still too early for me to ask you that anyway. I picture you becoming a protector for Russia. Even if we are far from the heart of Russia, we are still a part of it. Siberia, we learn to take care of ourselves from threats, but Moscow is still the brain.”