Unlike the quiet and dark nights that one might expect in a rural area, the homes around Niall's house and the nearby farms kept their lights on at night. The reason for this is simple: Brook County is a coal mining county. Coal for power generation is abundant, and electricity is very cheap, so everyone can afford it.
However, this electricity is mostly just used for lighting. Items like electric fans or refrigerators are still considered too expensive for most households. When Niall arrived home, his Aunt Ginny, having wiped her hands on her apron, immediately served him a bowl of oatmeal.
"Aunt, I already ate on the way back. You don't need to make me a portion," Niall said as he pulled out a chair and sat in his usual spot.
"Eat something anyway!" Aunt Ginny insisted, placing a bowl of oatmeal in front of him, leaving no room for argument.
In this era, wasting food or leaving leftovers is considered a very shameful act, especially in farming families, where elders will scold younger ones for such behavior.
"Frederick gave me a bottle of wine. I thought it might come in handy for Christmas," Niall said, moving his bowl aside and opening his cloth bag.
The cloth bag was sturdy and had been useful for many things in the past. Niall had even used it to carry his shoes—wearing clean ones at school, and switching to durable boots when going home to feed the pigs and cows. Now, it served the purpose of carrying wine.
"Is it that boy from the Schaefer family?" Aunt Ginny knew exactly who Frederick was.
Generally, mothers tend to know the teachers and friends of their children. Since Aunt Ginny was quite similar to a mother figure to Niall, she was aware that Frederick was one of Niall's classmates.
"Yes, it's wine made by his family," Niall confirmed.
It was clear that Frederick's family didn't make wine for their own consumption; they likely either sold it or gave it away as gifts. Who would go to the trouble of growing grapes, building a wine cellar, and fermenting wine just for personal consumption?
"Do they sell this stuff?" Aunt Ginny asked as she placed the bottle on a high shelf after opening the cabinet.
Just as she was about to close the cabinet, she seemed to have had a thought and opened it again to adjust the placement of the wine, hiding it behind a few random jars.
"Debbie, this is for you," Niall said, pulling out a bottle of Coca-Cola.
He had brought two bottles of soda from Ivor, and since he had already drunk one on the way, he thought it would be nice to give the remaining one to his sister.
"Don't drink it during dinner!" Aunt Ginny immediately instructed.
"I know..." Debbie smiled at Niall, clearly just humorously acknowledging her mother's orders.
"Also, this," Niall said, as he passed Debbie the sandwich he'd had on the way back. The jam was too much, making the sandwich overwhelmingly sweet, and Niall had already cut it in half. The other half was just as sickening, so he preferred the oatmeal instead.
After giving Debbie the sandwich and a bottle of Coca-Cola, Niall picked up his spoon and stirred his oatmeal, which was still warm and difficult to eat. He decided to set the spoon down for now.
"What's wrong?" Aunt Ginny, who was busy with her own tasks, immediately noticed something was off.
"Is the compensation money from my father and Uncle's war pension still in the Westford National Bank?" Niall asked, not having thought much about the money before, but recalling it vaguely.
Aunt Ginny had planned to use the money to either fund Niall's college education or buy a few acres of land with some cows, ensuring Niall could have a livelihood. If he had land and cattle, and was willing to work, he would never starve or freeze. She even thought they could save a little money for a new dress for a bride or a pair of shoes.
In general, Aunt Ginny didn't want Niall to end up like his father, stuck in the mines. She preferred that Niall either work as a farmer at home or take a job as an accountant or clerk in the town.
By the way, Niall didn't just have $1,500. He had a bit over $2,000. His father had saved a few hundred dollars for Niall to use for his future family, and Niall himself had earned over $100 from part-time work during his two years after graduation.
Niall's original plan had been to save up $3,000 to fund his college education, even if it meant working part-time. But now, Niall felt that university could wait and that it would be better to take the money out as soon as possible.
"Do you want to go to college?" Aunt Ginny wasn't one to think that education was useless. In fact, she supported the idea of Niall going to college.
In a place like Brook County, it was almost impossible for young people to rise above their circumstances. To change one's fate, you either had to go to war and become an officer, or you had to go to school. With a degree, even though it wouldn't make you a high-ranking person, at least you could find a decent job in the city.
When she heard Niall ask about the money, Aunt Ginny immediately thought about helping him with his education. She would even be willing to take some of Uncle's war pension to fund Niall's future.
In rural families, helping a child become successful benefits the entire family. Aunt Ginny, with her strong Irish family values, understood the importance of mutual support within a family.
"No, it's just that I heard some bad news. The money might not be safe in the bank," Niall said, shaking his head and thinking about how to convince Aunt Ginny to withdraw all the money.
"How could a bank be unsafe?" To Aunt Ginny, a bank was a symbol of security. Money in the bank not only earned interest, but was also kept in a tightly guarded vault, with armed guards on duty 24 hours a day. In her mind, it was much safer than keeping money at home.
"Have you thought about the possibility that the bank might go bankrupt?" Niall asked, dropping a bombshell.
"What?" Both Aunt Ginny and Debbie, who was in eighth grade, looked at him in confusion.
"Westford National Bank might go bankrupt, and all the depositors' money would be lost!" Niall said, making the situation sound even worse.
"Where did you hear that?" Aunt Ginny put down her spoon and stopped eating, focusing intently on Niall.
"I saw in court that a coal mine in the neighboring county defaulted on a loan, and their equipment was seized and auctioned off," Niall started fabricating a story.
"So what?" Both Aunt Ginny and Debbie gave him confused looks.
"Our county and the nearby ones are all coal mining counties, with coal being sent to Chicago and Detroit. In the past, there was always more demand than supply, and the sales were excellent. But now, some coal mines can't sell their coal, which means they can't pay back their loans. What does that mean? It means factories in the Great Lakes region are cutting production!"
"As factories cut production, the demand for coal continues to fall. If the coal in our county can't be sold, then the mine owners won't be able to pay off their loans for machinery and vehicles. Right now, one person can't pay, but soon many people won't be able to pay. Eventually, the bank won't be able to collect any money and will go bankrupt!"