There were still 7.5kg of millet, 12.5kg of soybeans, 25kg of white flour, and 5kg of polished rice at home.
Clara would be away for a month, and that was more than enough to feed the five of them in the house until she returned, with leftovers to spare.
The water mill now brought in a steady monthly income of 200 copper coins, so Clara didn't leave any extra money with Lester Liew.
There wasn't much to spend on in the countryside anyway, and the mill's earnings would cover all their daily expenses.
However, on the night before her departure, Clara pulled Ben aside and quietly handed him two silver coins for emergencies.
"No telling anyone—especially your father. This money is only to be used if something urgent comes up. You'll be in charge of it for now. Can I trust you to take care of it?"
Clara looked expectantly at the little boy, who wasn't even as tall as her chest yet.
Ben stared down at the tiny lump of silver in his palm. It was the first time he'd ever held so much money. His hands trembled slightly but clenched the silver tight with determination as he promised her,
"I'll keep it safe, Auntie Clara. I'll give it back to you when you return."
Clara patted his small shoulder, taught him where to stash the money securely, and then quizzed him once more on his arithmetic.
Ben could count from one to one hundred smoothly by now. Among the four siblings, his math skills were the best.
Simple addition and subtraction within 100 posed no problem for the little guy. He even knew to think of the two silver coins as two bundles of 100 coins, making it easier to manage and keep track of.
Satisfied, Clara waved him off and asked him to bring Adam over.
She then handed Adam the dagger she'd commissioned from the blacksmith earlier. "Keep it at home for emergencies. Just use the moves I taught you these past few days. Hopefully, you'll never need it."
As for whether he might cut himself while handling the knife, Clara didn't worry. Warnings never did much. Only personal experience taught caution.
The dagger wasn't especially sharp. Even if he cut himself, it would only be a minor injury.
Lester had been standing behind them, watching the entire exchange. He couldn't help but worry that his most filial eldest son was slowly turning into another version of Clara.
He opened his mouth to say something—only to remember that in this household, his words barely carried any weight. So he gave up.
Still uneasy, Clara gathered the four children in the main hall and gave them a firm warning: they were not allowed to go to the river, not allowed to enter the mountains, and definitely not to wander outside the village with other kids out of curiosity.
Even though Clara hadn't encountered any child abductors since arriving in this world, that didn't mean they didn't exist. She'd just been lucky so far.
Within the village limits, there were always adults working in the fields. That was enough to deter would-be kidnappers and keep the kids relatively safe.
Back when there wasn't a single adult in their home, Adam had still managed to take care of his younger siblings and survive. He already knew most of what Clara told them—but hearing her say it filled him with warmth.
Only with Clara did he truly feel like a child again. With someone to rely on, he no longer had to bear the weight of the sky falling alone. He just had to be the best kid he could be.
"Alright, that's enough. You'll forget half of it anyway. Go wash up and get to bed," Clara waved her hand. "Dismissed!"
The kids giggled and scrambled toward the washroom.
"Deb, you'll wash up with me later," Clara stopped her youngest, who was about to follow her brothers, and waved her over.
It wasn't really about gender differences—Deb was still a tiny five-year-old. Before Clara arrived, the four siblings had all shared one bed anyway.
This was more about efficiency.
With just Chad to look after, Adam and Ben could handle things much faster.
And Deb wasn't upset at all about missing out on the boys' bath time—she was thrilled to be with Clara instead.
She waddled back obediently, grabbed a corner of Clara's top, and waited patiently by her side.
Then came a nearly invisible voice from Lester: "Dear… don't you have anything to say to me?"
Clara turned and glanced at him. "Nope," she replied plainly.
A grown man—he wasn't a child. What was there to explain?
Clara sat down with Deb on the threshold of the main hall and began to undo the messy hair tie from her daughter's head.
"Adam did your hair?" she asked with a furrowed brow.
Deb shook her head and pointed toward the house. "It was Daddy. Adam and Ben are already gone by the time I wake up."
Clara let out a laugh. "No wonder it's such a tangled mess. He nearly tied a death knot!"
Lester couldn't argue. Whether he did something or didn't, he got scolded either way. He just turned and went to the kitchen to heat water, too tired to retort.
Clara was surprised by his silence—it was out of character.
She gently pinched Deb's soft cheeks, set aside the unraveled hair tie, and started taking down her own hair.
Her hairstyle was simple: a ponytail secured with a scarf—easy to take down.
The original Clara had thick, black hair, though dry and frizzy. With no shampoo or conditioner in this era, Clara used a tea seed cake gifted by her second sister-in-law, Kate, to wash her hair. Supposedly, it would make her hair soft and shiny again after some time, though she had no idea if that was true.
It was easy to take care of herself at home, but she wasn't sure how things would be at the Ding household. She might not even get to bathe properly.
In the whole village, only her family bathed and washed their hair regularly. Over at the old Liew house, folks bathed once every two weeks, and only when it was hot.
In the winter, people might go the entire season without bathing—just wiping themselves with a cloth when it became unbearable.
Hair-washing wasn't any more frequent. Doreen and Kate kept their hair in buns wrapped tightly in scarves that glistened with grease.
Every household kept a fine-toothed comb to pick out lice.
Thinking of that, Clara went back to her room and packed a piece of tea seed cake and a washcloth into her bundle.
Just then, Adam, Ben, and Chad finished bathing. Clara took Deb into the washroom, and the two washed up together.
Lester, who was in charge of heating the water, ended up last in line—his position in the household crystal clear.
At the end of April, with everything arranged, Clara picked up her packed belongings, bid her reluctant family goodbye, and walked for two and a half hours to the Ding residence.
She arrived around 11 a.m., just as Master Ding's household was having lunch.
In wealthier households, breakfast and lunch were usually light—some pickled vegetables, porridge, or noodles. Dinner was the main meal and much more substantial.
Butler Hugh first took Clara to her temporary residence for the month to drop off her luggage, then led her to the flower hall to meet Master Ding.
Clara brought all her gear with her: a heavy saber, a bow and quiver of arrows, and a slingshot with steel pellets she always kept on her.
The moment Butler Hugh saw her gear at the front gate, he was visibly stunned.
He had assumed she was just a peasant woman with some unusual skills—he hadn't expected her to look so… professional.
That saber, simply wrapped in cloth, radiated menace.
And the bow on her back looked like no toy. The quiver held more than twenty arrows—clearly, she was an expert.
(End of Chapter)
Enjoying the story? Get early access to new chapters on my Patreon: patreon.com/c/TinaWriterXD
Thank you for your support! 💛