After dinner, the two families gathered under the eaves, chatting while enjoying the evening breeze and discussing this year's harvest.
Clara's family had managed a miraculous yield of 250 kg per acre, especially considering that even the best of Old Walter Liew's dozens of acres barely reached 160 kg per acre.
Most of the remaining fields averaged around 140 kg, and the worst, the most barren plots furthest out, yielded barely 80 kg per acre.
There was simply no way to properly tend to so many fields.
Hearing this, Lester perked up with a little pride. "Wife, those two acres of wheat we harvested back in February weren't bad either. We didn't even do anything and still got 20kg per acre!"
Clara gave him a look of speechless disapproval and turned back to Old Walter, once again recommending the transplanting method and urging them to give it a try next year.
Old Walter had been thinking the same. In fact, all of Liew Clan Village was itching to try Clara's transplanting method.
They couldn't implement it on a large scale right away, but setting aside their best plots for a trial wouldn't hurt. Even an increase of just 10kg per acre across dozens of acres added up to several hundred kilograms overall.
And from Clara's harvest this year, it looked like the potential was much more than that.
If next year saw fair weather, having enough to eat might no longer be a fantasy for the villagers.
That thought stirred a ripple of excitement among Old Walter and the three Liew brothers. As night fell, everyone, worn out from the recent hard work, returned to their homes.
Lester heated several big pots of water so the whole family could scrub clean from head to toe before turning in for the night.
He bathed last—and took his time. He'd be leaving before dawn to return to the academy in Willowridge County. There were no showers in the dorms, so he needed to wash thoroughly to hold out for the next half-month.
Clara was heading into town to buy some meat and dropped Lester off along the main road outside Goldstone Town. From there, it would be another hour's walk to the county.
It was still early, the sky just starting to lighten. If he moved quickly, he'd arrive on time.
"Remember to bring back those past exam questions and sample answers I had you copy," Clara reminded him.
Lester nodded dully, slinging his little bundle over his shoulder and trudging off, barely able to keep his eyes open.
Clara watched him until he disappeared from view, then rode into town to the butcher's.
She bought a kg of pork ribs, a kg of pork belly, and a slab of pig liver—planning to make soup to nourish herself and the four kids at home.
But her cooking… well, her liver and greens soup always tasted oddly off. She had half a bowl and gave up, sticking to the stir-fried pork instead.
The ribs she sealed in a long bamboo tube, which she placed in a bucket of cool water in the shade. That way it could keep for an extra day. She planned to make bone broth with it the next night.
After breakfast, Clara told the four kids to spread out the grains in the yard to dry, then hurried off to Carpenter Liew's house.
His family had a lot of land too, but also a lot of hands. They'd finished harvesting most of it over five days and now had some free time.
The two of them quickly set to work recruiting labor—they needed to get the workshop up and running.
Nothing fancy at first, but they at least needed a shelter from wind and rain.
Clara had already sketched out a design. She unrolled the blueprint for Carpenter Liew, who leaned in for a closer look—it was a square compound with four enclosed rooms surrounding an open-air courtyard.
Each side had a rectangular structure with a roof and walls. Two would be for woodworking, one for drying lacquered pieces, and the last for shaping millstones.
The open central space could be used to pile stone and even set up a cooking shed for the workers' meals.
Each room was further subdivided into specific workstations: planing, sawing, assembling, lacquering, inspecting.
Each station would have a placard above it, labeled as a "workshop."
On the stone side, the process was simpler—just two steps: shaping the millstones and carving the grooves—so one room would suffice.
Carpenter Liew studied the blueprint again and again, impressed. "This is brilliant."
But one thing puzzled him. He pointed at the placards labeled "workshop."
"Why are they called 'workshops'?"
Clara blinked. "Ah… well, what do you think sounds better? Sub-divisions?"
She had simply copied modern assembly line logic wholesale, forgetting to localize the terminology. "Workshop" wasn't exactly era-appropriate.
Carpenter Liew frowned. "Sub-division sounds off too… workshop's fine then."
"Oh! This setup you talked about before—this is the 'assembly line,' right? One task per person, everyone specialized. You only need to learn your one job."
Clara nodded. "That's exactly it."
Carpenter Liew repeated "assembly line" under his breath a few times. The more he said it, the more he liked it. It just fit.
With the design in hand, he knew what materials to prepare. He led the two part-time laborers to move the stored wood from his yard to the factory site.
They set up tripods and laid the long logs across them. Then they picked up their tools and got to work prepping lumber for construction.
Meanwhile, Clara took her freshly-made recruitment sign to the village well and picked a large rock to stand on.
She placed the sign beside her and shouted, "The Watermill Workshop is hiring!"
Immediately, villagers drying grain nearby all turned to look.
They'd been eager for this moment ever since Clara had leased the grassy lot by the watermill.
So the moment she announced the number of positions and requirements, more than half the villagers scattered—rushing home or to the fields to inform the menfolk.
For the heavy labor of the stone mill section, Clara planned to hire eight men.
Four would be in charge of quarrying and transporting stone, and the other four would grind and chisel the millstones.
Stone laborers would earn 12 copper coins a day, including breakfast and lunch.
Millstone workers would earn 10 coins a day, also with breakfast and lunch.
The waterwheel section needed ten skilled artisans—men or women. They'd be paid 12 coins per day, meals included.
They also needed a cook for two meals a day, male or female, paid 300 coins per month.
The number of workers could increase or decrease later depending on the workload, but for now they were starting with 18.
Everyone focused on the wages and completely ignored the "men and women welcome" clause.
So, only two women showed up to apply.
One was Doreen. The other was Maggie, the daughter-in-law of Peddler Liew.
Doreen's eyes locked onto Maggie instantly—she just knew that woman had come to compete for the cook position.
She immediately went on the offensive. "Doesn't your little shop need you to watch it? You've got time to come cook for someone else? Look at that tiny frame of yours—can you even lift the iron pot for cooking in bulk?"
Maggie raised her hands in surrender. "Don't worry, Sister-in-law. I'm not here for the cook job. I came to apply for the woodworking position."
Doreen's jaw dropped. "You? You can do woodworking?"
Maggie nodded confidently. "My father's a carpenter. I've watched him work since I was a kid. When I lived with my parents, I helped him make tables and chairs every day."
She looked self-assured on the surface, but when the men applying for the same job turned to look, she clenched her sleeves, her breathing quickened, and a bit of panic surfaced—maybe she'd made a mistake?
She'd heard the pay was 12 coins a day with meals, and no gender restriction. She had some experience helping her father, so on impulse, she came.
Women never got work like this. If they did, it was far away in the county, usually as maids or wet nurses. Her in-laws wouldn't allow that, and she wouldn't dare anyway.
But this was right in the village—legit carpentry. She got fired up and just wanted to try!
And the reason she dared to try at all… was because it was Clara doing the hiring.
With her around, Maggie somehow just wasn't afraid.
(End of Chapter)
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