Hours trickled by with almost little to no luck, though that was just me being overdramatic since it was about the same as it always was; we found a few small chunks of Spirit Jade here and there, but the real money maker was - and almost always would be - the large blocks or slabs of the black stone that we were mining.
Dragging them back up to the surface to get washed off by the perpetual rain drained a lot of energy from us, but seeing each one stacked neatly on our cart gave us all a bit of a refresher since each block was two or three pounds of lean meat.
Not a lot but enough to keep us going, and with Giovanni being back we managed to get three extra slabs of stone that would pay for our celebratory dinner; it was because of that dinner that our old man insisted we work just a little bit longer and get one more slab at least just to make things better, and honestly...
Thank the Gods above that he was stubborn about it, because a few strikes in Giovanni let out a surprised shout that had our Father and I spinning to see what had happened... and in the process we got to see Giovanni's handsome - and currently grimy - face illuminated by a pale green light that could only mean one thing.
A vein of good, valuable Spirit Jade.
"Izzy quick, help yer brother with that! I'mma go ahead and start haulin' the cart to the market as quick as I can! I'll be back here in a minute, alright?"
I nodded and rushed over to Giovanni's side, taking up the smaller pick and beginning the laborious process of carving away the thick black stone around the pale green Spirit Jade so that we could wrench it free and then sell it.
For a few minutes I was just mesmerized by this seldom seen glow, my hands not moving as quick as they could as I just basked in the sight before me, but after that initial surprise faded I got to work as quick as I dared, pulling out chunk after chunk, grinning all the while.
"Have you ever seen this much Spirit Jade before?! Oh my Gods, with this we can eat good for a month! Maybe two!"
Giovanni just grunted as he continued to swing the pickaxe, and although I was a little disappointed that my older brother wasn't as verbally enthusiastic as I was I also knew that we needed to get all of this carved out as soon as we could, because otherwise these Spirit Jades might just lose their efficacy... and therefore lose some of their value.
When he finally did speak he looked down towards me and asked "Izzy, is... is this really what you want..?", his enthusiasm fading as it was replaced by a somewhat disappointed look that made my grin stiffen.
For a moment I considered playing dumb with my brother, but those brown eyes of his were gleaming with the intelligence I knew I would never match, so I just sighed and quietly said "Gio, this is what I'm good at. I'm not good with them books like you, not good with people... There ain't a bone in me that wants to fight for a livin', and my hands aren't as talented as Leo's."
Seeing his brow furrow and a spark of indignation blooming inside of his eyes, I chuckled softly and took one of the pieces of Spirit Jade, showing it to him and continuing on just as quietly "If I don't manage to get into the Sect then yeah, this is what I want to do. It ain't bad, Gio, and it'll work just like it did for Father and Mother."
"But it doesn't need to-!"
"I know, Gio, I know, but Leo can't take care of this place on his own; he's too... soft, too much of a green thumb. You'll be up there in the city, so who takes care of the mine? Takes care of Father and Mother? We ain't got anyone else..."
Giovanni swallowed down his retort and looked away from me when I grinned at him; I knew it pained him to hear me accept this fate of being a simple Spirit Jade miner, but there wasn't much else for me...
If that Sect Elder that came around for recruitment told me I wasn't good for the third time, I was just going to give it up and focus on getting things around here done, like shoring up the house's foundation or expanding that garden.
That was the problem with being on the cusp of the different 'levels of intelligence', or whatever it was that those Sect people spoke about; I was smart enough to know that there was more for me out there, but not smart enough to know how to get it...
I was smart enough to know that setting off on my own was suicide, smart enough to know that I couldn't make it out in the world with the skills I had, smart enough to know how far my own skills went...
Maybe that wasn't me being a realist and 'smart', maybe it was me just being cowardly, but... I would rather be a coward who lives this hard yet honest and 'consistent' life rather than someone who died early seeking out something better.
"It ain't so bad, Gio, so don't you go worryin' 'bout me, alright? Keep yourself focused on them books of yours, get yourself that fancy, cushioned and rich position as a City Official, find yourself a pretty girl and start yourself a family up there in the city. I'll be fine, you know that. If you wanna send me a nice chunk of ham or something every month though I definitely won't complain~!"
He snorted and gently nudged my side with his knee, getting me off balance a bit and grunting "Then you'll just end up fat and lazy.", which made me laugh rather loudly in the quiet, echoey mine, pushing away the dreadful silence that would make me think just that much more...