At dawn, Clara, who had only fallen asleep in the middle of the night, was awakened by the crowing of roosters in the village.
After a quick wash and tidy, she picked up the two blueprints she had worked on overnight and headed for the door.
Just as she was about to step out, Ben poked his head out of the bedroom. He looked around cautiously, not spotting his father, then softly called out, "Aunt Clara."
Clara turned around, puzzled. "Why are you up so early?"
He normally wasn't this eager for morning exercises.
Clearly, the little guy had something else on his mind.
He jogged over with a hand on his chest, pulled eight copper coins from his shirt pocket, and asked if she was going to Riverbend Village—could she help him buy something?
Riverbend had its own peddler, and his goods were far more varied than those of Peddler Liew in their village.
"What do you want to buy?" Clara asked, amused.
Back when she went to the Ding household, she'd left two silver coins with Ben for emergencies. It went unused, so the money remained.
When she returned, Ben had quietly tried to return it.
But Clara declined. She felt children should have a bit of pocket money. So she called the four of them together and said the two coins would become their shared allowance for now, with Ben in charge of keeping it.
She didn't interfere with how they spent it. In fact, she hoped they'd be a little braver, indulge their childish whims, buy silly things—as long as it made them happy.
But that didn't happen. Instead, Ben made up a rule requiring prior approval before using the money, carefully managing the siblings' allowance.
Two coins of silver meant fifty copper coins each. This time, all four had pitched in two coins to buy something together—it would be their first purchase.
So Ben was a bit nervous, glancing at Clara several times to make sure she wouldn't get mad before quietly asking, "Can we buy a woven bamboo kickball?"
Clara blinked. "A bamboo ball?"
Ben nodded eagerly.
"Alright. Got it." Clara accepted the money and headed out. If the kids wanted a toy, then by all means, let them have it.
As he watched her walk off, Ben stood there dazed. He'd spent half the night steeling himself, only for Clara to agree so readily—without a single "toys will ruin your future" remark.
He felt… incredibly happy!
Ben darted back into the house. Inside, Adam, Chad, and Deb all lifted their heads from their blankets in unison. Seeing Ben smile and nod, the three rolled around in their bedding, cheering quietly.
"I love Mom the most~" Deb murmured.
"Mom's the best!" Chad echoed.
Adam smiled as he watched his siblings celebrate, then grabbed Ben, who looked like he was about to dive back under the covers, got him dressed, and dragged him outside for morning practice.
Ben's eyes went wide—but before he could react, he was already hauled off to the riverbank. All the effort he spent last night fretting had been wasted!
Clara first stopped by Carpenter Liew's house to hand him the blueprint for the Riverbend waterwheel project, then made her way toward the village entrance.
From a distance, she spotted Adam and Ben darting across the ridge between their rice fields. Under the soft morning blue sky, their silhouettes ran through the lush green fields—a picture of peace and warmth.
With her brisk pace, Clara reached Riverbend Village in just over an hour.
She delivered the blueprints to York Wang, who then gathered the village carpenters. After going over the details and finalizing the plan, Clara swung by the village peddler and bought a woven bamboo ball for six copper coins—leaving two coins in change.
By the time she returned home, it was midday.
The four siblings were napping, saving up energy for afternoon studies and copywork.
Clara tiptoed into their room and placed the bamboo ball and the remaining two coins on their large shared desk. She imagined the look of surprise on their faces when they woke to find the toy, and her expression softened.
She gently shut the door behind her.
The courtyard was clean, though the four chicks—now growing fast—had pooped on the ground again after being let out of their coop.
Clara grabbed a small spade by the door, scooped the droppings, and spread them over the vegetable patch. Natural fertilizer, after all.
Afterward, she washed her hands.
From the main hall, Lester called out, "Lunch is warming on the stove."
Then, head down, he returned to copying books—so earnestly it was almost convincing.
If Clara hadn't just heard him humming a little tune outside the door, she might have believed him.
Sure enough, when she entered the kitchen, she found a pot of hot porridge on the stove, kept warm with residual heat.
He'd purposely cooked extra side dishes in the morning and saved some for lunch. With porridge, all she had to do was stir the leftovers in. To freshen the flavor, she picked a handful of greens from the courtyard, chopped them up, and tossed them in. It didn't look like much—but it smelled delicious.
Clara carried the whole pot out, grabbed two small stools—one as a table, one as a seat—and sat in the kitchen doorway to eat heartily.
The courtyard was quiet. Only the soft scratching of Lester copying books came from inside. The eaves shaded her from the blazing midday sun, casting a patch of coolness. Clara spooned porridge into her mouth, wishing she could sit like this forever.
Sadly, there was still work to do.
With her belly full, she called into the house, "Make something with meat for dinner."
Lester quickly looked up. "We're out of meat."
Clara leaned against the doorframe, unimpressed. "Then go buy some. Kitchen work is your responsibility, not mine. Figure it out."
"How about some smoked meat?"
Clara shrugged. "Up to you. But I want meat and white rice for dinner. I'm going to be busy and exhausted these next few days—meals need to be better."
Otherwise, if she worked herself to the bone only to come home to plain gruel, she'd lose it.
Lester nodded frantically. Seeing Clara pick up a rope and carrying pole like she was about to leave again, he asked, "You're going out again?"
"Where do you think I'm going?" she snapped. "To earn money! Now get back to copying your books."
Lester wiped the sweat from his brow. This woman was as moody as the weather in June.
Forget it. If he couldn't win, he'd avoid her.
He watched Clara walk out under the blazing sun with her tools in hand, then quietly thanked the heavens he could stay in the cool house and copy books instead of braving the heat.
Clara arrived at the Liew family's old courtyard home. At midday, the elders and children were all resting in the shade.
Rosie and Ryder were still full of energy, heat be damned. They were running off to play near the village well.
Upon seeing Clara, they sweetly called out, "Third Auntie!" Rosie even asked, "Where are Chad and Deb? Why don't they come out to play anymore?"
Clara smiled. "They're napping right now. You two go ahead—when they're free, they'll come find you."
Even though the kids had studies, Clara followed a seven-day schedule with two rest days on the weekend so the siblings could relax.
Adam and Ben were old enough to be in elementary school by modern standards. Clara wanted to give them as much learning as she could.
Still, they'd head out to play a little before dinner, and while they were at it, they'd catch bugs for the chickens, fetch the money box from the mill, and tally up the day's income with Lester. The siblings took great joy in it all.
(End of chapter)
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