The idea was beautiful—but the execution left much to be desired.
When Clara got up, what greeted her on the table wasn't steamed buns or noodles.
It was a bowl of plain, watery dumpling soup.
She took a tiny sip—so salty!
The good mood she had built up with such effort the night before was instantly crushed.
If not for the fact that the four siblings had gobbled up their own portions with great enthusiasm, Clara would've grabbed Lester Liew by the collar and demanded, "Can you even cook or not?!"
Lester forced down a mouthful of the failed dough lumps, head lowered in shame, trying to earn some pity with his pitiful look—as if to say, "I really tried my best."
The hired hands had already arrived for work. Clara let him off the hook for now, greeted Uncle Joss and the others, and got on with the day's work.
Perhaps trying to redeem himself, Lester took all the fish Clara had caught the day before and cooked them in a stew.
Before cooking, he almost threw the whole fish into the pot intact—if not for Adam catching it just in time and reminding him that the fish had to be cleaned first, which probably saved him from another disaster.
Fish broth is naturally flavorful and doesn't need much work to taste good. So for lunch, they had porridge with fish soup, and everyone even got two to three pieces of fish.
Uncle Joss was especially pleased and even praised Lester, "Son, you're improving quickly with your cooking! With a bit more practice, maybe you'll land a job as a chef at a town restaurant one day!"
Lester puffed up with pride, slung an empty basket over his arm, and headed out—on the lookout for someone else's garden he could "borrow" some vegetables from for dinner.
They rested for half an hour after lunch, chatting idly at the worksite.
Soon, a few children came running to Clara, their eyes bright with expectation. Clara looked up and saw Ryder and Logan Liew watching her eagerly, albeit a bit nervously.
These boys were waiting for her to teach them how to fish.
Clara locked up the house, informed Uncle Joss, and, surrounded by a troop of kids, brought a machete and headed for the riverside.
"Sister-in-law," Logan called out awkwardly.
He didn't like Lester one bit, but he deeply admired Clara. That's the only reason he had taken the initiative to help out this time.
Old Walter Liew had said there was no need to fuss over pay when helping family, and that Logan didn't need the two coins of daily wage.
Logan also refused to eat lunch at Clara's house. Just the thought of eating something Lester cooked made him feel sick. He ran home at noon and scrounged up a quick bite instead.
His eldest sister-in-law grumbled a bit about it but knew his temper, so she'd always leave him an extra half-bowl of food in the morning for him to reheat at noon.
Three meals a day—this was a luxury for most common folk. The Liew family's old house only had two meals daily.
Clara's household served lunch only because of the physical labor, and Old Walter had asked her to make something to fill the workers' stomachs.
Clearly, Logan wasn't full—and he was counting on catching fish to supplement his meal.
If he brought fish home, surely his sister-in-law wouldn't complain anymore. Fish meant meat—and meat was gold!
There were many ways to catch fish—using rods, nets, spears, traps, or bare hands.
But no matter the method, they all followed one principle: steady, accurate, fast.
Clara looked around, headed into the grove by the river, chopped three tree branches, and sharpened one end of each into a makeshift fish spear.
Logan, Ryder, and Adam were all eager to try. Clara handed them the spears.
"Step one is finding your target. The place I fished yesterday had plenty of fish. Now, what did I base that on? Come, take a look—"
Clara didn't just talk about teaching—she really taught them. No secrets held back. She started from the basics of finding fish.
Once the theory was covered, she brought the kids to practice.
The younger ones could only stand on the riverbank to watch. Ben stood with his younger siblings, eyes filled with envy as he watched his older brother and uncles step into the river.
He could only hope their turn came quickly.
His stepmother had promised—she'd teach him too.
"When you spot a fish, the next step is to approach. This is the most important part. You have to stay steady—steady heart, steady hands, steady breathing. Think of yourself as part of the surroundings."
"Alright, Logan, you go first. Use the technique I showed you just now from the bank."
Clara gestured. Logan gripped the sharpened branch, took a deep breath, eyes locked onto a fish resting in the weeds barely a meter away. He raised the spear high with both hands, aimed carefully, and drove it down hard!
Splash! Water sprayed everywhere. Logan had put all his strength into the strike and nearly lost his balance from the force.
"I got it!" he shouted with excitement.
Adam and Ryder leaned in, only to find the water had settled—and the only things left were the spear sticking in the riverbed and a couple of stray fish scales. No fish in sight.
Worse still, the commotion had scared away the rest of the fish lurking nearby.
Ryder immediately groaned, "Uncle, you shouted too loud! You scared all the fish off—how are we supposed to catch anything now?"
As he complained, Clara—who had been quietly observing from behind—acted without hesitation. With a sharp motion, she flung her spear into the water.
The fish that had escaped Logan's earlier attack was instantly skewered, and it floated to the surface.
The three boys gasped in awe and looked at Clara with admiration.
Clara picked up the spear with the fish still wriggling on it and tossed it onto the riverbank.
Ben and the younger ones immediately ran over to collect it, thrilled.
Clara turned back to the dejected Logan, her tone calm and composed as always: "Remember this one word—steady. Hunting takes patience. You can't rush it."
Seeing the workers already back at the site near her home, Clara passed on another tip before leaving:
Think like the prey. Predict how it'll react when it senses a predator—and prepare in advance.
It's the same principle when facing enemies.
But Clara didn't say that last part aloud. She didn't want to frighten the children.
The three boys watched her leave, exchanged glances, and nodded in mutual encouragement before spreading out to practice again.
Logan and Ryder both swore silently: We're not going home until we catch at least one fish.
Adam, meanwhile, stood quietly, not moving just yet. He replayed Clara's words over and over in his mind.
Hunting requires patience. Never rush. If you miss the opportunity because of haste, the next one may take a long time to come.
And—think like the prey.
Adam stared blankly at the rippling water, imagining himself as a fish…
Clara didn't need to pick stones today. She was off to buy lumber.
Uncle Jiu said the foundation for the courtyard wall would be ready by the end of the day. By tomorrow, the foundation for the new house could be dug, and by the day after, construction could begin.
Earthen houses went up fast. Clara needed to haul the timber back within the next two days.
Old Walter had mentioned a family in the village that had timber. Clara went there with money in hand and bought the beams she needed for four taels of silver.
The homeowner was willing to help her carry them. Together, the two of them spent the afternoon hauling all the timber back and neatly stacked it on the empty space in front of her house.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the workers left, Lester had already finished preparing dinner.
Clara called the children to eat—only to realize Adam wasn't back yet.
(End of Chapter)