Phoenix Revenge System-Chapter 117: PRS 18 Liona

Time flew by quickly, and before they knew it, Liona was already four months old and the brick house they had built was ready to be occupied. Moving into their new home was a happy moment for the Laus family.

"Mom, our house is so beautiful! And it’s big too!" exclaimed Lano with sparkling eyes when he first entered the new house.

"Yes, son. This is all the result of our hard work together. Be grateful," replied Lura with a happy smile.

"Dad, which room is mine?" asked Leo enthusiastically.

"I’ll show you later. You all have your own rooms," replied Laus proudly.

Unlike the previous plan, because they had enough money, the floor of their house was no longer plastered but covered with clean white tiles so that Liona, who had just started crawling, could roam freely around the house without fear of getting dirty. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Mom, the floor is cold and slippery! It feels so good!" said Lan while lying on the tile floor.

"Be careful not to fall, it’s still slippery," warned Lura as she watched her children running around the new house.

Although her speech was not yet clear, Liona could already call her father "mo" and "da". The four-month-old baby could also call her three older siblings "mas".

"Mo...m..." called Liona as she crawled towards her mother.

"Wow, Liona is smart! She can already call me ’mom’!" exclaimed Lura happily as she carried her youngest daughter.

"Liona, call your brother! Brother Leo!" coaxed Leo as he squatted in front of his sister.

"Bro...bro..." said Liona with a big smile.

"My little sister is so smart!" Leo praised, kissing Liona’s cheek.

In addition to her motor skills development, Liona, who had started eating, was very greedy, causing her weight to increase significantly each month, making her cheeks even chubbier and her body plump and adorable.

"Oh my, Liona eats so much! Her cheeks are chubby!" Lan said affectionately as she pinched her sister’s cheeks.

"Don’t pinch her, you’ll leave a mark!" Lura scolded, laughing at her children’s antics.

Their production facility had expanded because Laus had converted almost all of his fields into production sites to meet the growing market demand that had spread beyond the city.

"Sir, we have another large order from the city! Fifty sacks of chips!" one of the workers reported to Laus.

"Great! Let’s increase production. Call the other women to help!" Laus ordered enthusiastically.

Now, he also has several regular customers at the central market who buy cassava, sweet potatoes, and corn from him. Because Laus buys in such large quantities, he gets a lower price than the market rate.

"Mr. Laus, for such a large purchase, I’ll give you a special price. Five hundred rupiah per sack reduced to four hundred fifty rupiah," offered the merchant at the central market.

"Wow, thank you, sir. We’ve been regular customers for a long time, haven’t we?" said Laus as he shook hands.

Laus also accepts sales of cassava, sweet potatoes, and corn from his neighbors if the results are good and satisfactory.

"Mr. Laus, I want to sell my cassava. The quality is good, would you like to see it?" offered his neighbor.

"Okay, I’ll check it first. If it’s good, I’ll definitely buy it at a fair price," Laus replied kindly.

Now, it’s not just cassava that is made into chips, but also sweet potatoes and corn, which are made into various flavors of corn snacks that also happen to have their own market share, so their snack production has more and more varieties and flavors.

Lura’s delicious dry cakes are also sold. The canteen lady, as their first distributor, now uses her canteen only as a side business because her main focus is marketing the snacks Laus makes, as the results are very profitable.

"Mrs. Lura, your dry cakes are selling like hotcakes! The kids all love them! I’ll order five more jars, okay!" said the canteen lady with a beaming face.

"Sure, ma’am. I’ll deliver them tomorrow," Lura replied happily.

"Now that the family business is doing well, why doesn’t Dad buy a motorcycle? It doesn’t have to be new, but it would be convenient for Dad to get around because, honestly, having to go back and forth on public transportation is not only inconvenient but also time-consuming. If Dad had his own motorcycle, it would be easier to go to the central market, and he could also deliver orders directly to customers without having to wait for them to come and pick them up themselves. This way, the customers Dad serves will be satisfied and will definitely buy more in the future or recommend Dad’s products to their friends or relatives. Isn’t that more profitable?" Liona thought to herself as she watched her father, who looked tired after returning home on the colt.

Laus, who happened to be accompanying Liona while she played, listened to all her baby talk as she sat playing with her toys, unaware that her family could hear her inner thoughts.

"What is Liona saying in her heart? She looks very serious," Laus muttered with a smile as he looked at his daughter’s serious face.

Lano, who was also listening to Liona’s words, looked very excited. "Dad, don’t you want to buy a motorcycle? Even if it’s not new, at least it will make it easier for you to go anywhere. You must be tired of riding the colt all the time, right?" asked Lano with sparkling eyes full of hope.

"Yes, sir! If we have a motorcycle, it will be nice, we can go anywhere anytime!" added Lan enthusiastically.

"Motorcycles are great, Dad! Many of my friends’ fathers have motorcycles!" exclaimed Leo.

Seeing the cunning in the eyes of his third child, Laus could only shake his head because he knew very well that Lano really wanted to be taken for a ride on a motorcycle like some of his friends. Unfortunately, their life used to be so poor that they couldn’t even afford to buy a motorcycle, let alone buy gasoline to borrow a neighbor’s motorcycle. Laus considered the money that would be spent on gasoline could be used to buy food or side dishes, so this small wish was never realized.

"Back when we were struggling, I didn’t even dare to think about buying a motorcycle. But now, thank God, our business is doing pretty well," said Laus as he stroked his children’s heads.

"So you want to buy a motorcycle, Dad?" asked Lano hopefully.

"Dad has thought about it too. Let me discuss it with mom first, okay? This is a big decision, it has to be planned well," said Laus, stroking Lano’s head affectionately.

"Promise, Dad! You have to discuss it with mom!" asked Lano, holding up his pinky finger.

"Yes, I promise!" replied Laus, hooking his pinky finger with his son’s.

Hearing her father’s promise, even though it was not yet certain, seeing Liona’s prediction, she was very confident that her wish to ride around on a motorcycle would soon come true.

Laus, who saw that Liona had yawned several times, immediately picked her up and gave her to Lura to breastfeed and put to sleep.

"Liona is sleepy, Mom. Breastfeed her first," said Laus as he handed Liona over.

"Yes, sir. Come on, Liona, let’s sleep first," said Lura as she took Liona to the bedroom.

"After tidying up your toys, Lano, take a nap too. Don’t play first, you’ll get tired," said Laus before his silhouette disappeared behind the bedroom curtain.

"Okay, Dad! I’ll tidy up first!" replied Lano cheerfully.

Lano, who was already imagining going for a ride with his father on a motorcycle soon, tidied up his toys enthusiastically. After washing his hands and feet, he immediately went into his room to take a nap.

In this new house, everyone had their own room, even Liona, who was still a baby, had her own room, which was currently left empty, only furnished with a bed as a guest room and would only be prepared later when the baby girl was ready to sleep on her own.

"Let’s paint Liona’s room pink, Mom," suggested Leo, peeking into his sister’s room.

"Yes, that’s a good idea. We’ll decorate it nicely," agreed Lura.

Laus and Lura had planned everything well. They even made the bathroom and toilet inside the house, unlike before when they were outside the house and open to the elements.

This made it easier for their children to go to the bathroom at night, even though the well was still outside the house, where there was only a hole to fill the bathroom with water using pipes.

"Sir, the system is working. The water is flowing into the house," reported the plumber who installed the pipes.

"Great! Thank you, sir. Here’s your payment," said Laus as he handed over the money.

This also applies to the kitchen and production house, so that when they need water, they don’t have to run to the well. One person just needs to draw water from the well while the others wait for the water to flow through the pipes, which is very efficient and saves energy.

Unfortunately, electricity has not yet reached the village. If there were electricity, life would be easier for the community.

"When will electricity come to our village? I want to have a refrigerator," Lura hoped, looking up at the sky.

"Be patient, Ma’am. The village chief said it might come next year," Laus comforted her.

All these ideas were initiated by Liona, combined with Laus’s skills and understanding in fulfilling every desire of his young daughter, who truly wanted her family to be better off.

The next day, after discussing it with his wife the night before, Laus and Lura decided to go to a motorcycle dealer in the city of T.

"Honey, are you sure you want to buy a motorcycle?" asked Laus over breakfast.

"Yes, dear. It’s about time. We need our own vehicle," replied Lura firmly.

"All right then. Let’s leave early in the morning so we don’t arrive too late," said Laus.

Because the distance was quite far and it would take about two and a half hours by public transportation, Laus and Lura decided to leave after dawn prayers, hitching a ride on a pickup truck that was delivering fresh vegetables to the city.

"Mr. Suparman, can we hitch a ride? I want to go to the city," Laus asked the pickup driver he usually rode with.

"Sure, Mr. Laus. I happen to be leaving early tomorrow. What do you want to bring?" asked Suparman.

"I’m bringing my wife and my baby. Is that okay?"

"Oh, sure, sure. Sit in the front so you’ll be comfortable," Suparman offered kindly.

It happened to be Sunday, so production was closed and the children were off from school, which meant Laus and Lura only had to prepare breakfast for them before leaving and tell them not to play too far away before they both returned home.

"Leo, Lan, Lano, mom and dad are leaving now. Take good care of the house. Don’t forget to eat lunch. I’ve prepared it on the table," said Lura as she put on her headscarf.

"Yes, Mom. We understand," replied Leo.

"Don’t make any noise! Take good care of your little brother!" added Laus.

"Yes, Mom!" the three boys replied in unison.

Even though it was their first time traveling far away, Laus, who was afraid that her baby would be fussy, was forced to lobby Suparman, the pickup driver who usually went to the city every week to deliver fresh vegetables belonging to his boss, by paying him a fee that was actually much more expensive than taking public transportation, but for Liona’s comfort, Laus was willing to pay the extra cost.

"Mr. Suparman, here is the fare. It’s more than enough, thank you for taking us," said Laus as he handed over the money.

"Wow, this is too much, sir," Suparman refused.

"It’s okay, sir. Just consider it my treat. You’ve gone to the trouble of taking us," said Laus sincerely.

Since they were carrying a baby, Lura sat in the front with the driver, while Laus and Suparman’s assistant, Nandar, sat in the back with dozens of kilograms of neatly packed vegetables that were to be taken to the city.

Liona, who was leaving the house for the first time, was quite happy and throughout the trip she really enjoyed the green expanse of trees growing on the mountains.

"Wow, the view is so beautiful! Everything is green!" Liona murmured to herself as she looked out the window.

The beautiful baby took a deep breath of fresh, pollution-free air and smiled cheerfully, making Lura, who was sitting with her on her lap, feel happy.

"Are you happy to go to the city, Liona?" asked Lura curiously as she kissed her daughter’s head.

"Happy... Liona happy..." she said haltingly with a small laugh.

Suparman, who was sitting next to Lura, was a little surprised to hear that the baby could already talk, even though she was not yet fluent.

"Your baby can talk, Lura? Isn’t she only four months old? She’s developing so fast!" he asked curiously, glancing occasionally at Liona.

"In another week, Liona will be five months old. Yes, Liona’s development is a little faster than her older siblings. I don’t know why, it’s just the way it is," replied Lura cautiously.

Sometimes she was confused about how to explain it to people because, honestly, Liona’s development was very fast. Babies her age could only roll over and were just starting to crawl. Meanwhile, Liona could already sit up and sometimes even stand, although not for very long. Anyone who knew about it would definitely be surprised.

Suparman, who was used to going back and forth to the city and seeing many strange things and developments outside, was surprised but not too surprised, like most villagers.

"Your baby’s nutrition seems to be very well taken care of, so she can have better development and intelligence than other children her age. In the city, there are also many babies like this. Their parents give them nutritious food," said Suparman, making Lura feel a little relieved.

"Oh, is that so, sir? Thank God for that," said Lura with a relieved smile.

Suparman then told her about many things he had encountered in the city, especially how city dwellers treated their babies.

"In the city, people are very attentive to their babies. Some buy expensive imported milk, some give them special vitamins," said Suparman.

"Wow, that must be very expensive, sir?" asked Lura curiously.

According to what the man had seen and heard, the food and milk consumed by babies greatly affected their development. Some wealthy families in the city were even willing to buy milk from larger cities, which was very expensive, in order to have intelligent children.

"Yes, some cost hundreds of thousands of rupiah per can of milk. But they say that for the sake of their children, they are willing to do anything," continued Suparman.

"A parent’s love is truly boundless, sir," commented Lura as she hugged Liona tighter.

Hearing that, Lura no longer felt awkward when Liona chattered away or did things that often surprised others during the journey—at least not for Suparman, who was already accustomed to seeing things outside the norm of the village.