What happens in the begining of the book?

Avi’s novel Crispin: The Cross of Lead is the first book in a trilogy that follows a youth on a variety of adventures in 14th century England. The book begins in Stromford, a fictional English village, in the year 1377.
The opening chapter of the novel introduces Asta’s Son, a young boy whose full name is never revealed. Asta’s Son is a devout Christian and has recently lost his mother and is left alone without surviving relatives. The opening scenes narrate how Asta’s Son wraps his mother’s body in a grey shroud and buries her in the village cemetery, with the help of the local priest.
Upon exiting the cemetery, Asta’s Son meets John Aycliffe, the steward of the Manor House and one of the primary antagonists. Aycliffe cruelly tells Asta's Son that he will need to forfeit his ox as a death tax for his mother. The ox is Asta’s Son’s most valuable possession, and he is understandably angry at the injustice of Aycliffe’s request. After running into a nearby forest to escape and ponder his situation, Asta’s Son trips. He smashes his head on a rock and is knocked unconscious. This ends the plot of the first chapter of Crispin: The Cross of Lead. I hope this helps!