After a full month of continuous travel by carriage, they arrived at a village with a climate so mild it was hard to believe it was located in the North.
[ Flowahs! Flowahs!] (Flowers! Flowers!)
Astonished by the fact that flowers could actually bloom even in the North, Shushu pointed his finger at them.
[Shushu, this is Springfield. It’s the southernmost part of the North, so it’s the warmest place. Let’s live here with Mom from now on.]
[Okay.]
Asking around among the locals, his mother sought out the village head.
Introducing herself to him as a seamstress, she explained that she wanted to find a small shop.
After hearing her budget, the village head hesitated and shook his head.
[Can’t we find anything?]
[No, you can find something, but… the state of the workshop is absolute trash.]
[It’s fine. Let me take a look at it myself first before deciding.]
[Oh dear, well then, go take a look at least.]
Following the village head, they went to inspect the workshop.
As soon as his mother pushed open the old workshop’s wooden door, dust billowed out like smoke.
He had thought the workbench was draped with a grayish tablecloth, but it was just a thick layer of settled dust.
Black mold had sprouted in the cracks of the glass windows, and the glass was so cloudy you couldn’t see through it from either inside or out.
Still, the workshop still contained fabrics left behind by the previous owner, various colored sewing threads, needles, scissors, a ruler, a sewing machine, and a workbench.
Furthermore, a small living quarters was attached to the back.
Remembering that due to the nature of a seamstress’s profession requiring many all-night work sessions, a small resting space was typically built into workshops, it had certainly been worth seeking out.
After looking around the inside of the workshop, she told the village head that she would lease the place. Clicking his tongue, the head went to fetch the workshop owner.
While waiting for the owner, his mother used a handkerchief to cover Shushu’s nose and mouth.
Meeting the owner, his mother successfully concluded the sales contract.
Even though a mountain of cleaning awaited her, she spoke with the excitement of an explorer who had just discovered a treasure island.
[From now on, this is our home!]
To other people’s eyes it might have seemed like nothing special, but to Shushu, this workshop felt just as wonderful as a noble’s grand mansion.
Large, grape-sized teardrops welled up in Shushu’s wide, round eyes.
[Shushu’s so happy!]
Mother and son rolled up their sleeves in earnest.
Opening the windows wide, she swept away the heavy dust with a broom.
Shushu wiped down the workbench diligently with a dry cloth.
Thanks to his mother’s cleaning skills—honed from her time working as a maid—the workshop, which had previously been filthy enough to make one wonder if a human could even live there, transformed into an old-fashioned yet cozy and warm space.
Finishing the cleaning, his mother stripped the foul-smelling bedding from the bed, bundled it up into a large wrapping cloth, and slung it over her shoulder.
[Shushu, let’s go do laundry.]
Shushu scampered along right behind his mother.
The people of their newly moved-in village cast curious glances their way.
Following the lead of village women carrying laundry, his mother tracked them down.
Every village had a communal washing area.
A large wooden barrel was installed beneath a waterfall, operating on the principle that when water cascaded down, it spun the barrel like the drum of a washing machine.
His mother tossed the bedding she brought into the wooden barrel and sprinkled in lye powder and salt.
They would act as lye to wash away the accumulated grime from the laundry.
Squatting near the waterfall to watch the wooden barrel spin, Shushu found his thick coat growing uncomfortably warm due to the mild weather.
Shushu shoved his hands inside his woolen hat to wipe away the sweat.
Seeing this, his mother stripped off Shushu’s hat, scarf, and coat, tossing them straight into the washing barrel.
She also discarded her own dust-covered coat into the flowing river.
The village women caught sight of Shushu’s face now that his hat was off and burst into gasps of admiration.
[Oh my, how pretty.]
His mother deliberately swept Shushu’s bangs aside to make his face even more visible.
Beaming brightly, Shushu felt certain they were no longer runaways.
In his dream, Shushu’s time flowed rapidly.
After setting up the workshop, not a single customer came by for an entire week.
Displaying handkerchiefs embroidered by his mother on a rack set up in front of the shop, she sold them for 5 shillings each, but business was so sluggish that barely one or two sold a day.
No wonder the village head had looked so worried when she said she was buying this workshop.
The location was far removed from the market, and because all the surrounding shops had gone under, people rarely wandered this far out.
[Mom, Shushu’s goin’ for wild berries!]
Grabbing a basket, Shushu announced he was going to pick wild berries.
Since they couldn’t keep clinging to an enterprise that brought in no money, his mother accompanied him up the mountain to pick berries.
However, unlike their previous location, Springfield’s mild weather meant fruit prices were absurdly cheap.
Even after filling an entire basket with wild berries, it brought in virtually no income.
Just as they thought they were heading straight for total ruin, an event occurred: as his mother was walking away empty-handed from a fruit shop that offered an insultingly low price for her goods, a woman accompanied by a child approached her.
[Excuse me, where did you buy your child’s clothes?]
[Pardon? Ah, I made them myself.]
[Really? Then could I purchase just one set?]
Looking slightly bewildered, his mother answered that she could.
The mother of the child walked all the way to the out-of-the-way workshop and commissioned a duplicate set of the children’s clothing Shushu was wearing.
Thrilled, Shushu clenched his small, pale fists—tiny as pine nut kernels—and shouted out.
[Mom! Shushu wants to go to the playground!]
If he went to the playground, there were bound to be plenty of children his own age.
Holding his mother’s hand tightly, Shushu headed to the village playground.
Children were having a blast building sandcastles or riding swings, while parents sat on benches watching over them.
Shushu marched right up in front of the adults with a majestic swagger.
[My, little one. Where did you come from?]
[So cuuuuute.]
To show off the clothes his mother made to the fullest, he spun around in a circle right in front of his future customers.
[My mommy made it for me.]
Just in case, he poked his chubby, baby-fat-filled cheek with his index finger and put on an extra-cute look.
The sales pitch worked wonders.
Inquiries for children’s clothing flooded in for his mother, who had been flustered by his bizarre antics in front of total strangers.
Realizing the profound business genius behind what Shushu had done, his mother made a huge fuss over what a genius her Shushu was.
Spurred by that incident, Shushu Atelier became the most famous children’s clothing boutique in Springfield within a month.
His mother hired three employees and sewed day and night.
Whenever a new design of children’s clothing was finished, Shushu would put it on and head to the playground to host a mini fashion show.
Without fail, every single parent who saw him would visit Shushu Atelier to commission custom outfits for their own children.
As their living expenses grew affluent, Shushu became able to eat meat-filled soup three times a day.
While he was grateful for the suddenly luxurious turn their life had taken, he often felt lonely because, unlike before, he had far less time to spend with his mother.
Still, believing that his mother was only this busy for his sake, Shushu never threw tantrums demanding to play.
To make it up to him, his mother took him out to eat at the market together every single lunch hour.
That day was no exception as they walked toward a restaurant together.
Suddenly, a man rushed out of nowhere, clamped Shushu under his arm, and struck his mother, knocking her flat to the ground as she tried to block his path.
People nearby rushed at the man, but with a sweep of his leg, he sent them tumbling away like leaves caught in a fierce gale.
Terrified, the bystanders no longer dared to challenge him.
It was the first time in Shushu’s life he had ever witnessed someone possessing such immense physical strength.
Instantly, his instincts recognized this man as an “alpha.”
