Clara cleared the table, pushing aside the miscellaneous clutter until only the heavy cloth bundle remained in the center. Looking seriously at the five identical faces before her—the father and his four children—she declared, "Time to copy books!"
All five blinked at her in confusion. Copy what?
She unwrapped the bundle, peeling away the oilcloth to reveal nine thick books.
Lester Liew gasped sharply and rushed to shut the main hall's doors. He turned back, aghast. "You stole this many books? Are you trying to get us all killed?!"
This was from Master Ding's household! Even the county magistrate had to address him respectfully as Scholar Ding. If anyone found out, they'd all lose their heads!
Clara shot him a frosty glare. "Who said anything about stealing? I borrowed them. They're to be returned once we're done."
At her words, Lester's heart, which had been pounding wildly, dropped back to a safe place in his chest. He let out a sheepish chuckle. "Oh… that's good. That's good. You nearly scared me to death."
"Look at you—no backbone at all." Clara snorted and rewrapped the books. "We'll eat lunch first. After that, we're having a family meeting. Attendance is mandatory. No excuses."
Adam and the others nodded earnestly. They had a hunch their stepmother was about to drop something big.
Lester glanced at the neatly bundled stack of books. If he wasn't mistaken, they were the Four Books and Five Classics—the foundation of the imperial examination system.
Could it be… this wicked woman wanted them to study for the civil service exams?
But as soon as the thought arose, he scoffed at himself. What a joke. People like them? Take the exams? Dream on.
Still thinking about Clara's recent wages, Lester sent the children off on errands—Ben to fetch a bowl of sweet fermented rice from the old house, and Adam to draw a bucket of cold water from the well.
In this scorching heat, a chilled bowl of sweet rice wine soup was just the thing to cool off.
Clara sat comfortably under the eaves, sipping from a bowl with a ladle. Facing the gate, catching the breeze, all her heat and fatigue seemed to melt away.
There really was no place like home.
Lester brought over stir-fried eggplant with pork and a light vegetable-egg soup. As he passed the door, he asked tentatively, "Darling, how much did Master Ding pay you?"
Clara didn't even lift her eyes. "Spent it all."
Lester nearly choked. Again? Just like with the logging wages! Did she not know how to save?
She caught his resentful glance and snapped, "When's lunch ready?"
He tensed up immediately and forced a grin. "Right away, I'll go serve the rice."
He waved at the kids to set the table. They brought in a big clay basin full of freshly cooked rice—three times the usual amount for their family of five.
Lester thought about Clara's monstrous appetite and counted himself lucky she could earn her own silver. He'd never be able to feed her otherwise.
While she was gone, it had felt like the rice jar would never empty. Now that she was back, it already looked dangerously low.
Thankfully, she'd brought back 75kg of rice. That should hold them over until the next harvest.
As they ate, Lester kept sneaking glances at Clara while mentally calculating the costs of everything she brought back.
Brushes, ink, paper—couldn't be less than five hundred copper coins.
The linen wasn't cheap either—another five hundred gone.
Seventy-five kilograms of mixed grains—at least one and a half taels.
That's two and a half taels spent, while her wages had only been two taels.
So not only did she spend it all—she went over budget!
Lester sulked, feeling his appetite evaporate. This woman spent money faster than he did!
Clara didn't care how he felt—she'd eaten her fill. She set down her bowl, and Adam and Ben automatically cleared the dishes and brought them to the kitchen.
Chad and Deb clung to her, chatting non-stop. Deb's little mouth could chatter endlessly as she recounted all the amusing things that had happened while Clara was gone.
Meanwhile, Lester took the cloth, the meat, and four pastries and headed to the old house.
When Ben had come asking for fermented rice, everyone had guessed Clara was back. Now they were just waiting to see if someone would show up.
Doreen and Kate kept glancing toward the gate, their thoughts unspoken but aligned.
The third sister-in-law was always generous. She'd surely brought something for them from town.
Sure enough, she didn't disappoint.
Lester arrived with half a kg of meat, making the whole household beam with joy. They warmly asked after Clara and said they'd visit in a few days once she'd had time to rest.
Doreen and Kate took the cloth and asked for the children's measurements. Kids grew fast, and last winter's clothes likely wouldn't fit anymore.
There were only four pieces of pastry. Ryder and Rosie got one each. One went to the elder couple, and the last was handed to Logan Liew.
"I'm too old for treats," Logan said modestly. "Let Ryder and Rosie have mine."
Lester immediately reached for it. "Father, I'll eat it if he won't! This mung bean cake is light and crisp—made by Master Ding's chef! You can't even buy it in town!"
Logan looked at him in disbelief. "Seriously? You're stealing treats from kids now?"
Lester grinned. "In front of our parents, aren't we all still kids?"
But Old Walter Liew didn't give him the pastry. He handed it to Brandon Liew instead, who split it between the three brothers so they could all have a taste of the fancy stuff.
As for the two sisters-in-law, their kids had already eaten theirs.
"Clara really is impressive," Martha Liew praised. "Otherwise, we'd never have a chance to try such fine things."
Lester jumped in to claim credit. "Of course! Who do you think brought her home in the first place?"
Old Walter squinted at him. "Why are you still here?"
Clara just got home. Shouldn't he be back there helping instead of loitering around?
Martha told Lester to wait, then went inside and came back with a half-jar of sweet fermented rice for Clara.
She'd overheard Lester say Clara liked it. It was easy to make—just a bit of glutinous rice—but in this summer heat, it was the perfect refreshment. She'd originally brewed extra for distilling, but the kids were about to eat it all anyway.
Might as well share it as a snack.
She also picked a full basket of fresh vegetables from the garden for him to take back.
When Lester returned carrying the basket and the jar, Clara looked at him suspiciously. "You were just supposed to deliver something—why'd you come back with all this?"
Lester set the basket and jar down with a huff. "Don't make it sound like I stole them. These are gifts from our elders."
He added, "You should've seen how happy they were when I brought everything over."
(End of Chapter)
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