As Clara entered through the wide open gate, the Liew family had already heard her coming. Mdm Zhang waved her over from beneath the eaves of the main hall.
"Come sit, Clara. Why are you out and about at noon? Shouldn't you be resting at home?"
Clara wasn't the type to let good labor go to waste. With Carpenter Liew handling the waterwheel, she had to manage the two millstones and a stone roller herself. One person alone couldn't get it all done.
Standing under the eaves, Clara didn't sit down. She propped up her carrying pole and got straight to the point.
"Carpenter Liew and I are building a water-powered mill for Riverbend Village. I'm short on hands. Big Brother, Second Brother, Little Brother—any of you free the next few days to help me quarry some stone?"
She added, "Thirty-five copper coins a day, no meals included. It's hard labor. I figured I'd ask family first. If you're not available, I'll look elsewhere."
The Liew cousins from Uncle Joss's side were also good workers—last time during the house construction, they pitched in wholeheartedly.
The three brothers looked slightly embarrassed, but Doreen and Kate were already beaming with delight.
Doreen quickly said, "They're free! There's nothing going on in the fields right now. Let Big Brother go with you!"
Kate gave Caleb a light nudge. He scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I'll go too."
Logan didn't even wait to be asked—he was already rummaging through the tool shed for a hammer and carrying pole. Fully geared up, he called out from the courtyard, "Third Sister-in-law, where are we hauling the stone from?"
Only now did Old Walter Liew realize that the thirty-five copper a day rate was actually quite generous. He quickly said, "We're all family—no need to talk about money. Just feed them and they'll work."
Brandon and Caleb echoed, "Food's enough." Only to be discreetly pinched in the side by their wives.
Clara chuckled and looked to Old Walter. "Father, fair pay for honest work—even among brothers. Time's short, so we'll head out now. Today counts as a half day."
She had Brandon and Caleb grab their tools, then led the three brothers off.
Logan grinned like a fool. "Third Sister-in-law, I might not look big, but I've got strength. Don't go easy on me—I'll give it my all."
Caleb still felt guilty for questioning Clara's rice-planting method the last time, so she took the initiative to ask, "Second Brother, do you know where we can find the biggest stones around here?"
Caleb let out a sigh of relief and pointed solemnly toward a distant hill. "There's not much in the river, we'll need to go up the mountain to quarry."
"Great. You know the way—you lead." Clara promptly handed him the lead position.
Caleb took the front with confident strides. Brandon walked beside him, the two discussing which hill would be best.
Quarrying the stone wasn't the hard part—it was getting it back. The closer to the road, the better.
Brandon, more detail-minded, suggested, "The quarry spots near Riverbend Village aren't far. Hauling the stones all the way back to our village is a hassle. Why don't we build a simple shelter by the roadside and grind them there? Then we can deliver them straight to Riverbend. Save ourselves some effort."
Plus, millstones were so heavy, no one would bother stealing them.
Who in their right mind would go steal a millstone? Too heavy, and unless you need one, it's just a giant nuisance.
That was Clara's original plan anyway. She nodded in agreement.
It took about half an hour to walk from Liew Clan Village toward Riverbend. Soon, they arrived at the quarry.
It was a stony hill, barren at the top, with broken rocks scattered at the base from wind and rain.
There were clear signs of previous quarrying—this was where villagers from nearby towns came for stone.
The quality was decent—more than sufficient for millstones.
Clara needed two 80 cm diameter round millstones and one 60 cm diameter, one-meter-long cylindrical roller.
They spent the afternoon scouting materials, marking promising sections with colored pebbles from the river.
There wasn't time to quarry today. Once they'd selected the spots, Brandon and Logan chopped branches for building, while Clara and Caleb carried them to the roadside and assembled a makeshift shelter to block sun and rain.
With the work shelter finished, the four returned home as the sun was setting.
After a night's rest, Logan showed up at Clara's door at dawn, knocking and calling her out.
Seeing how energetic the young man was, Clara munched on a meat bun Lester had made the night before and carried a small ceramic pot filled with buns and pickled veggies.
She shook her head with a sigh. "So full of energy."
Doreen and Kate had gotten up early to prepare breakfast and pack lunches for the three brothers.
Still, even the combined portions of all three couldn't compare to Clara's small ceramic jar.
They'd eaten together before, but no one had paid much attention to portion sizes. Today, seeing that jar, their eyes practically popped out.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Is it that shocking?" Clara asked, lifting the pot and arching a brow.
The three brothers all nodded in unison—yes, it was shocking!
But once they arrived at the quarry and saw Clara swing a pickaxe and strike over ten centimeters deep in one blow, her appetite suddenly made perfect sense.
The mountain echoed all day with the rhythmic clang of stone on metal—strangely musical.
Every time Clara glanced up and saw the Liew brothers, their arms bulging with muscle and working hard, she couldn't help but wonder: Same father, yet how were the sons so different?
Was Lester adopted?
No, definitely not. Though the four weren't all from the same mother, Old Walter's genes were strong—the boys shared similar features.
Maybe Lester just resembled his mother more, hence the extra handsome face.
On closer inspection, Brandon and Caleb were fairly good-looking too. Logan was a bit plainer, but on his own, still a decent-looking guy.
Her mind wandered with all sorts of thoughts, but it didn't slow her down. She was the first to quarry a large stone, then went over to help Logan.
He might look lean, but he had strength. Still, quarrying stone required more technique than brute force. Being young, Logan was prone to getting frustrated and ended up hammering the rock in a huff.
With Clara's help, he found the right rhythm. Before sunset, they had another full block of stone.
Brandon and Caleb were working on a larger piece and only managed to complete half. One more day, and it would be done.
In two days, they successfully carved out one massive stone, two medium-sized ones, and one smaller extra piece.
Only three were needed, so the extra was just in case.
The four heavy stones were rolled out using two logs as a base and one for traction. They heaved the stones up in stages, rolling them to the roadside and finally hoisting them onto the main path with ropes.
Compared to quarrying, this part was easier—thanks to Clara, the powerhouse.
She could even lift the small spare stone—nearly 500 kg—on her own and carry it up the hill like a breeze, casually tossing it onto the road.
The three Liew brothers were stunned speechless.
In that moment, they suddenly understood why their Third Brother had become so obedient.
(End of chapter)
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