The next day;
In Mrs Willis home, 5:30 am,
Mrs Willis and her husband got up to get ready for the farm. Baby Asher was still asleep. So, they put pillows at the edge of their bed and went outside.
The two of them went to brush their teeth first. Afterwards, Mrs Willis went into the kitchen to light fire under the stove. While her husband, Mr Willis, headed outside to the garden to get ingredients for their breakfast.
After he came back, the fire was already lit with a pot of water set on the stove to heat for their bath.
While they waited for the water to heat up, they began preparing the ingredients for their breakfast. The breakfast was simple, just palm kernel oil dry rice. prepared with palm kernel oil, bitter-bitter balls, fresh pepper, okra and dry bony fish.
After they removed the stems and caps of the pepper, bitter-bitter balls, and okra, Mrs Willis washed them clean. After that, she began to prepare the rice water. For the rice water, she seasoned it with little salt and one Vita-Cube, and lastly added the dry bony fish her husband had peeled and cut into tiny pieces.
Then her husband removed the pot of water from on the stove and set the rice water on it. After that, he emptied the water into the bathing bucket and carried it into the bathroom to bathe.
After her husband left, Mrs Willis headed to the store room to measure the rice for their breakfast and lunch separately. Then she headed back into the kitchen. By that time, the rice water was boiling. She then washed the rice, put it into the pot, and added the pepper, bitter-bitter balls, and okra. Afterwards, she stirred the rice and closed the pot.
some time later....
The water in the rice was almost dry. Mrs Willis then opened the pot, put two Vita-Cubes on top of the rice, closed the pot, and set the rice on low heat. After a few minutes, the rice was perfectly cooked. She then blended the okra, pepper, bitter-bitter balls and vita cubes. Then she portioned the rice into two bowls. One is going to the farm, and the other is for their breakfast.
Afterwards, she went to bathe.
When she came from the bathroom after taking her bath, baby Asher was up. His father was bathing him in the living room in his tub.
After fifteen minutes, the family of three was done with their breakfast and was on their way to the farm.
At that time, it was just 7:05 in the morning.
...
In the Hopeson family compound;
Inside Chloe's house, she was warning Joseph to behave on the farm.
"That farm you're going on today, if I see you climbing trees and stepping on my rice, in the name of helping me chase birds away. That farm will be small for the two of us. You hear me?"
"Mama, you just like spoiling my name. The last time, I clearly weeded grass. But after you saw it, you started running behind me," Joseph complained.
"After you reach on that farm, you will not climb trees, and run among my rice. Yes or no?" Chloe repeated. Her eyes narrowed, with a slipper in her hand.
"Yes!" Joseph answered
Chloe then nodded and turned away from him.
"Let's go," she added and walked out.
.....
In Patricia's house, she was pleading with her granddaughter, Faith, to behave on the farm that day.
"Mama, please, today on that farm, you should behave yourself. No climbing trees, no going near the fire to cook. I will do the cooking. And also, that my rice on the farm, please, feel sorry for them, please. Okay?"
"Okay, Grandma," Faith nodded her head. Looking well-behaved.
Aww, my cute grandbaby, come hug your granny. The two hugged, then Patricia lifted her granddaughter and walked outside.
...
Mrs Willis's farm; 7:35 am
After they arrived on their farm, Mr Willis first went to check the traps around the farm. When he returned, his hands were full of groundhogs that got caught in his traps.
After he entered the hut, he dropped the groundhogs to the ground and headed to the inner part of the hut.
"Huni, how was it?" Mrs Willis asked after he entered.
Mr Willis then reported his findings.
"Sigh...."
"The other side of the fence, going down to the small stream way. The groundhogs dug three big big holes in it. The rice on that side of the fence, most of them are damaged."
Mr Willis said, feeling frustrated.
"But thankfully, the traps I set stopped them from reaching too far into our farm. The traps around our farm caught fifteen groundhogs."
Mr Willis continued.
"That many? It seems like you need to set up more traps,or else, our farm will be emptied before the rice is ripe," Mrs Willis said worriedly.
"Yeah, my whole focus will be on that side today. I will fix the places where the holes are, then tomorrow I will reinforce the fence with more traps. After I bring the rest of the groundhogs, I will go cut sticks outside our farm to fix that side," Mr Willis laid out his plans to his wife.
"Let's go together, lemme see the rice on that side," Mrs Willis said.
Then, the duo went outside and headed to the damaged side of the farm with baby Asher in tow.
...
The damaged side of the farm;
Standing among the ruined rice, Mrs Willis was truly heartbroken. The groundhogs levelled down half an acre of rice.
They trampled on some, gnawed on some, and the rest they just cut them down.
She stood among the rice for a while.
Took a deep breath, then she asked her husband.
"Where are the rest of the groundhogs?"
Mr Willis then pointed to a spot.
"I kept them in a kenja under that big dry tree,"
"Okay, take the kenja, let's go. Then we can return to start working. Today, for lunch and dinner, we will eat groundhog meat."
She said, then started walking ahead with baby Asher lying on her shoulders.
Mr Willis looked at the dead groundhogs lying in the kenja, almost feeling sorry for them but he quickly shook that feeling away.
...
In the hut;
After they entered the hut, they piled the groundhogs in one corner.
Then Mrs Willis went into the inner room of the hut to get baby Asher's sun hat. After she placed it on his head, the three of them returned to the damaged side of the farm to start working.
....
On the Hopeson family farm;
They were facing the same problem. But theirs was a little bit worse. The groundhogs created holes in the fence at the farther end of the farm and damaged one and a half acres of rice.
Fortunately, there were traps around the farm. The traps caught twenty-six groundhogs from around the twelve acres of rice farm.
Everybody in the family was working that day. The three brothers, Leo, Thomas, and Walter, went outside the farm to cut sticks to reinforce the fence.
Then the older children from the three branches, Shane, Bobby, Liam, Lawrence, and Kai, were assigned to patrol the farm.
Oliver, Joseph, and Faith were assigned to assist the women to pick up the ruined rice.
Just like that, everybody got busy.
Author note: Kenja is a kind of basket used for holding thing. E.g, firewood, bushmeat, rice etc