Phoenix Revenge System-Chapter 111: PRS 14 Liona

After clearing the land that would be used to build the production house, Laus hurried off to the forest to cut down trees whose wood could be used to build the house. He walked quickly, full of enthusiasm as he imagined the production house that would soon be built.

"Where are you going, Laus?" asked Arnold, Ati’s husband, who happened to pass by on the road carrying a hoe on his shoulder.

"I’m going to the forest, Uncle. Looking for wood to build a house for chip production," replied Laus, pausing for a moment. "My kitchen is small, cramped, and hot when cooking there. I feel sorry for my wife and the women who work there, they’ll all be hot."

"Oh, I see. your business is doing quite well, it seems," said Arnold with a proud smile, seeing his neighbor, who used to be poor, now starting to prosper. "You even want to build a production house."

"Yes, Uncle, many people like the chips my wife makes. I’m grateful, the income is steady," said Laus with a hint of pride but still humble. "But you still have to work hard, Uncle. Every day from dawn until night."

"Yes, that’s good. You are indeed diligent, Laus. No wonder your business is thriving," Arnold praised sincerely. "Well then, let me help you cut down the tree. I can’t just stand by and watch you work alone."

"Eh, no need to bother, Uncle. I can do it myself," Laus declined politely, even though he was happy to have help.

"Ah, come on. Let’s go! Too much talking will make us late," said Arnold as he put his arm around Laus’s shoulder and led him up the mountain with steady steps.

With two people cutting down trees, the work of finding trees in the forest went quickly. The sound of axes splitting wood echoed among the trees.

"This one is good, the wood is strong," said Arnold, pointing to a tree.

"Yes, Uncle. This is suitable for the main pole," agreed Laus as he began to swing his axe.

While waiting for Uncle Arnold to cut down a tree large enough to make windows and doors, Laus gradually began to descend from the forest, carrying the tree he had successfully cut down and chopped, to take it to the land where he would build a wooden house. Sweat dripped down his clothes, but his enthusiasm did not waver.

"Be careful, Laus! Don’t slip!" shouted Arnold from above.

"Yes, Uncle! Don’t worry!" replied Laus as he continued to carefully descend the path.

Because the production house that Laus was going to build was quite large, it required a lot of trees to construct it, so the two of them only finished cutting and transporting everything when the sun was about to set. The sky was already orange-red, a sign that it would soon be dark.

"Phew, that was tiring, Uncle. But thank God we have enough wood," said Laus, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Yes, we cut down quite a lot today," replied Arnold, catching his breath.

"Tomorrow, if there are no obstacles, I would like to ask you to help me build the house so it can be finished quickly," said Laus hopefully. "If I do it myself, it will take a long time to finish."

Arnold seemed to think for a moment while enjoying a cigarette, accompanied by a cup of hot coffee and a plate of fried cassava served by Lura. The cigarette smoke billowed thinly in the evening air.

"Hmm... tomorrow, then," Arnold muttered as he took a drag on his cigarette. "Tomorrow, I can help, but only until noon, because after noon I have to go to Man’s house to help him build a duck pen. We agreed on it yesterday."

"Yes, that’s fine, Uncle. I am very grateful that you are still willing to help me," said Laus, feeling uncomfortable. "You’re already helping me cut down trees, and tomorrow you want to help again. I owe you a favor, Uncle."

"You’re like that with everyone..." said Arnold with a soft chuckle, patting Laus on the shoulder. "We’re neighbors, it’s only natural to help each other. Tomorrow, if I need help, you’ll help me too, right?"

"Sure, Uncle! Whenever you need help, just call me!" Laus replied confidently.

The two chatted casually while waiting for the sweat on their bodies to dry and enjoying the crispy and sweet fried cassava made by Lura.

"Wow, your wife is a great cook, Laus. Even fried cassava tastes this good," Arnold praised as he reached for another piece of cassava.

"Yes, Uncle. That’s why her business is so popular. The taste is really different," Laus replied proudly.

Before the sun completely set and the sky turned pitch black, Arnold quickly said goodbye and went home to clean himself up.

"That’s it, Arnold. I’m going home now. I’ll be back here tomorrow morning," said Arnold as he stood up.

"Yes, Uncle. Thank you very much. Be careful on the road," replied Laus, seeing him off to the front.

As soon as his neighbor disappeared behind the corn trees, Laus immediately went into the bathroom to clean himself up. His body was sticky with sweat and dust from the forest.

The next day, Arnold arrived at Laus’s house early in the morning with his carpentry tools.

"Come on, Laus! Let’s get to work!" Arnold exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Ready, Uncle! Let’s start with the foundation first," replied Laus, equally enthusiastic.

The two of them immediately laid the foundation of the house carefully. While waiting for the foundation to dry, they began cutting the wood to size with a saw. The sound of the saw cutting wood was rhythmic.

"The measurements must be accurate, Laus. If they’re not, the house will be crooked," Arnold reminded him as he measured carefully.

"Yes, Uncle. I’ll cut slowly so it’s precise," replied Laus, focusing on sawing.

Because they were working together, the wood cutting went quickly because both of them were quite skilled carpenters. Their hands were nimble and experienced.

"Uncle, did you used to work as a carpenter too?" asked Laus curiously.

"Yes, before I got married, I worked as a carpenter. That’s why I’m quite familiar with it," said Arnold while continuing to work.

As Arnold said, after lunch prepared by Lura with rice, vegetable soup, and fried fish, the man went to Iman’s house to finish the job he had been hired to do, leaving Laus who was now making windows for the house he was going to build.

"I’m leaving first, Laus. Sorry I can’t help you finish," said ARnold as he tidied up his tools.

"It’s okay, Uncle. You’ve already helped a lot. Thank you very much," replied Laus sincerely.

For two days, Laus made door and window frames while waiting for the foundation to dry. His hands skillfully shaped each corner neatly. On the third day, work on the wooden house began in earnest.

"Leo, help your father hold the wood," Laus asked his eldest son.

"Yes, Dad!" Leo replied enthusiastically.

The wooden house, which was built to produce snacks for sale, was finally completed on the seventh day with the help of his eldest son, who helped build the house after he came home from school. Even though Leo was still young, he was very diligent in helping his father.

"Thank God, it’s finally finished," said Laus with relief as he looked at the results of his work.

"It’s great, Dad! It’s so spacious!" exclaimed Leo in awe.

With the production house, the number of workers in his house began to increase. This time, Laus started looking for workers a little further from his house but still in the same village of Satarara.

He prioritized poor middle-aged women who were no longer able to do heavy work so that with the work at his house, these women could help their families’ finances every day.

"Mrs. Yanti, Mrs. Asi, would you like to work for me? Help with the chip production," Laus offered to several neighbors.

"Yes, sir! I happen to need a job," replied Mrs. Yanti happily.

Laus paid them weekly so that they could immediately spend the money to meet their urgent needs, such as food, because Laus and his family had experienced this before, before their economic situation improved slightly thanks to Liona’s advice.

"Ma’am, Liona’s event is just one week away. We need to start preparing now," Laus reminded her while sitting next to his wife, who was frying chips.

His wife, who was busy handling the production of chips and various snacks, had almost forgotten about it, so when reminded, she immediately rushed to get things ready.

"Oh my goodness! Yes, sir. I almost forgot," said Lura, slapping her forehead. "Later, I’ll make a list of everything you need to buy at the central market tomorrow, so you won’t have trouble finding ingredients for the event. At the same time, call Mr. Parto to buy a goat for the aqiqah."

"Yes, ma’am. So it won’t be last minute," agreed Laus.

Lura busily wrote down everything that was needed for the event, making sure nothing was left out.

Although poor, Laus and Lura always made sure that their children had their aqiqah after 35 days (selapan—in Javanese tradition, this is usually marked by cutting the baby’s hair and nails and praying together).

This time, in addition to holding a selapan and aqiqahan for Liona, Lura also wanted to hold a celebration for the blessings she had received after her baby girl was born, so she would make the event bigger and more festive than before because now she had the funds and wanted to share her happiness with many people.

"Sir, this time let’s make it a bit bigger. So that all the neighbors can join in the fun," suggested Lura.

"Yes, ma’am. This is a blessing from God, we must be grateful and share it," agreed Laus.

As soon as Lura gave her husband the shopping list and money for tomorrow’s shopping, Liona’s voice suddenly sounded clearly in Laus’s mind as usual.

"Father, go buy the goat this afternoon because tomorrow morning, Mr. Parto will have a misfortune. His mother will be hospitalized, and there will be a complicated family problem there, so he will have to go home and will likely not return for another month," whispered Liona’s soft voice in her father’s mind.

Liona felt that Mr. Parto’s goat was good and that he was an honest man, so she needed to warn her father not to buy a goat for the ceremony from a dishonest seller.

Laus, who heard Liona’s warning, immediately prepared to go to Mr. Parto’s house to buy a goat. He strongly believed in this inner voice, which was always right.

"Oh, Mom, tomorrow morning will be very busy, so I’m going to buy the goat this afternoon so that tomorrow I only have to go shopping at the central market," said Laus as he took his bicycle and was about to leave the house.

"Why so sudden, sir? What’s the matter?" asked Lura in surprise.

"I don’t know, ma’am. But my heart tells me to buy it now. Better to be safe than sorry," replied Laus.

Liona, who heard her father’s words, felt very relieved. "I didn’t expect that my father and I would have the same thoughts. It’s true, blood is thicker than water."

Laus, who heard—or rather felt—Liona’s words, felt embarrassed, all thanks to his beautiful baby. If it weren’t for Liona’s warning, he would have been confused about where else to find a goat that was cheap but of good quality like Mr. Parto’s.

Not wanting to waste any time, Laus immediately pedaled his bicycle, leaving his beautiful baby who had just been bathed and smelled nice.

"Bye, kid. I’m leaving now," said Laus, kissing Liona on the forehead.

After pedaling his bicycle for about thirty minutes along the winding village road, Laus arrived at Mr. Parto’s goat pen and happened to find the mustachioed man there, feeding his goats.

"Hey, Mr. Chip Maker, you’re here!" greeted Mr. Parto warmly as he approached. "What brings you here? Are you looking for goats for aqiqah?"

"Wow, Mr. Parto, you’re so kind," replied Laus with a smile. "My business is still small compared to Mr. Parto’s. It’s nothing."

"You’re so humble," said Parto with a laugh. "The important thing is to keep going. Little by little, it will grow on its own if we are patient and, most importantly, don’t compromise on quality. That’s the key, quality must be maintained!"

Parto tried to give his school friend some advice so that his business could grow.

"Yes, thank you for your advice, boss. I will remember that," said Laus, nodding. "Oh, I came here to look for a goat for Liona’s aqiqah."

"Liona? Oh, your daughter, right? Wow, time flies, she’s already a month old," said boss Parto. "I haven’t even had time to visit your house to see your baby. Sorry, I’ve been so busy lately."

"It’s okay, boss. You can come to the aqiqah later to see my daughter," Laus replied kindly. "I’ll be waiting for you."

"I’ll definitely come! When is the event?" Parto asked enthusiastically.

"Next week, God willing," Laus replied.

Seeing that it was getting dark and the sky was turning red, Mr. Parto immediately took Laus to the goat pen to choose a goat for his daughter’s aqiqah.

"Come on, let’s see the goats. Which one do you want?" said Parto as he walked towards the pen.

"The one that’s good and healthy, sir. It’s for my daughter’s aqiqah," said Laus as he followed.

"Okay, I’ll show you the best one," promised Parto as he opened the pen door.