After the bath, Raeleigh helped find some of Xanthos' clothes for Jepherson to put on first. Then, they went up to the attic.
As they walked up the stairs, Raeleigh pondered how she should explain Jepherson's presence to Xanthos.
But when she arrived, Xanthos and the others were sleeping peacefully. No one seemed to notice them.
Raeleigh led Jepherson to where she had been sleeping, then motioned for him to lie down next to her. There was only one quilt, so they had to share.
Santiago had been sleeping next to Raeleigh before Jepherson came. But now, Jepherson lay down between them, separating the two of them with ease.
After lying down, Raeleigh whispered, "Let's sleep."
Jepherson turned over and hugged her from behind, then fell asleep not long after.
On the contrary, Raeleigh had a fitful night's sleep. Raeleigh was worried that Jepherson would fall ill after trudging all that way through the thick snow, and she woke up to check on him several times.
The next morning, Raeleigh and Jepherson continued sleeping after everyone else had woken up.
Xanthus sat and watched them for a while. Then, he got up and went to the window to look at the snow outside. It could well have been the heaviest snowfall they had had that year, with the snow already knee-deep.
However, it stopped snowing soon after Jepherson arrived. Xanthus went to the door and stared in the direction Jepherson came from the previous night. He could still see the trail Jepherson left, leading from the door to far away in the distance.
"Look at all that snow!" Jacky exclaimed as he came and joined Xanthus, all bundled up. Standing at the door, he could not help but sigh. "Heavy snow indicates a good harvest for the coming year."
Xanthus looked at him. "You know about farming as well?"
Jacky replied, "I was born in Waverly Village and grew up here, so why wouldn't I know? I was a teen when I first started farming with a bunch of people. The produce here is as profitable as it is popular. Although we're just a poor and rural village, many people from Capital City sign contracts to buy our produce every year. The Moore family is one of them. However, they go through appointed agents as they usually buy in bulk, so we only know the agents but have never seen the family members.
"My family also has a manor where they've cultivated a large area of land just for farming. My parents are also particularly fond of planting."
Xanthus looked around. "If my parents saw such beautiful snow, I don't know what they'd think. Would they want to have a piece of land here?"
"No way. You can buy real estate here, but you can't have the land here. There is and will never be any trading of land here," Jacky replied.
"Why? Have you monopolized it?" Xanthus joked. Jacky merely said, "The farmers depend on the land to make a living. Although they'd make a lot of money if they sold their land, a stable and continuous income will still be a better option."
Jacky continued, "If they run out of money, I'll think of something to help them. They can become easily swayed by money at times, but I can't be like that."
After putting on a pair of gloves and a hat, Jacky took out a shovel and began to clear the snow at the door.
Xanthus also wrapped himself up warmly and went to help. Santiago took much longer to get ready in the mornings. By the time he came out, there were already many people hard at work clearing the snow. They did not clear all the snow in front of the door, only clearing a path for walking. According to Jacky, when the sun came out and melted the snow, the water would seep into the ground and contribute to the soil's moisture.
When Raeleigh woke up, she was alone in the attic. She even touched the spot beside her on purpose. If it were not for the lingering warmth under the quilt, she would have thought everything that happened the previous night had been a dream.
Since Jepherson was not in the attic, Raeleigh climbed down the attic stairs. Halfway down, she saw the boys through a window making their way back to the house.
When they saw Raeleigh, they took off their coats and went to wash their hands. Someone had brought breakfast for them. Raeleigh glanced at Jepherson, then went to set the table.
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