On July 28th, thanks to the hard work of Carpenter Liew and his crew, a courtyard-style wooden workshop rose from the once-barren weedy plot.
A simple wooden gate now proudly bore the sign: "Liew Clan Village Watermill Manufacturing Factory."
Someone in the village had borrowed red cloth, and skilled village women fashioned it into festive rosettes, which they hung on either side of the factory gate, adding a joyful flair.
Clara returned with two rolls of firecrackers. The loud crackling rang for a good fifteen minutes. Together with Carpenter Liew and all the workers, she formally announced: The Liew Clan Village Watermill Manufacturing Factory is officially open for business!
Though the workshop was plain and humble, the villagers saw spacious, orderly sheds where everyone worked diligently and in harmony.
For someone like Frank Liew, who had seen the outside world, it was clear that beneath these modest sheds lay real ingenuity.
From this day forward, anyone coming to Liew Clan Village would pass by this factory first.
After the simple opening ceremony, Clara and Carpenter Liew led the workers straight into full production.
Heavy stone slabs were hauled in cartloads and stacked in the central courtyard.
Timber was brought down from the mountain and arranged neatly in a reserved space next to the factory, propped on tripods to dry for a full month before use.
The first batch of prepared wood had already been turned into evenly cut planks under the woodworkers' blades.
Some were tasked with cutting those planks into waterwheel paddles. Others shaped long rods for the rotating shafts. After that, another team handled assembly, and finally, painting and drying.
Maggie was placed in the painting crew. Thanks to her prior experience, she was promoted on the first day to team lead of the painters.
Carpenter Liew had initially worried that having a woman in the crew might be inconvenient, but once he saw how capable she was, he realized gender was irrelevant—doing good, efficient work was all that mattered.
Moreover, Maggie wasn't a burden at all. Her mother-in-law helped care for her young child at home, and every evening, Peddler Liew would come pick her up, sometimes bringing snacks for everyone and asking them to look after her.
What reassured Carpenter Liew most was Maggie's attention to detail. She had a sharp eye and could spot the tiniest imperfections on any wooden surface, ensuring issues were corrected before a single flawed piece left the factory.
Progress in the waterwheel department was going smoothly. But Clara's millstone department was a different story.
The group of men was constantly hammering and chiseling, which inevitably led to arguments every few days.
One would accidentally hit another's hand, or someone would chip a rock that flew into someone's forehead—chaos.
Fortunately, Clara had anticipated this and stayed on-site for the first few days. Otherwise, real fights might've broken out.
But constantly acting as a peacemaker wasn't sustainable. Clara knew she needed a long-term solution.
Rules. There had to be rules.
That was the advice given by the old village chief when Clara went to consult him.
"These rough country folk never went to school. Talking about morality or propriety won't work—they don't even know what those are," he said.
What they needed was a straightforward reward-and-punishment system. The chief told Clara to write down the rules, read them aloud to the workers, have them memorize them by heart, and then pick a couple of offenders to make an example of. After that, everyone would behave.
Of course, when Clara was present, no one dared act up. One shout from her and the village men would tremble.
But the point of the system was to ensure order even when Clara wasn't around—something Uncle Joss, as team leader, could rely on.
Clara gave the chief a big thumbs-up. Experience really does come with age!
That night, back home, she stayed up late drafting the factory's reward-and-punishment system and worksite safety guidelines. She mandated that workers recite these out loud every morning before work began.
She called it: "Our company culture!"
The Liew brothers nodded in excitement. They were officially cultured people now!
Clara looked at their enthusiastic faces and guessed they'd misunderstood her phrasing—but that wasn't important. What mattered was she could finally trust them to handle the quarry work on their own.
With autumn harvest drawing to a close in Liew Clan Village, Clara made time for a trip to Goldstone Town to seek out more orders.
After all, once Gavin White's fifty waterwheel sets were done, they couldn't just shut the factory down.
The mill at Manager Wu's place was now packed during harvest season. So many bundles of rice were waiting in line that the queue stretched from the riverside all the way to the main road.
It happened to be market day, and the road outside Goldstone Town was lined with small vendors selling trinkets and snacks.
Clara stopped at one such snack stall, tied up Old Yeller to a roadside post, and paid three coins for a bowl of chilled sweet soup.
It was a refreshing mix of fermented rice balls soaked in well-chilled water—both thirst-quenching and filling.
Clara pointed toward the mill down the road. "Boss, I'll take the bowl over there and bring it back in a bit."
The stall owners—a young couple—cheerfully agreed, saying it was fine, since they weren't that busy and had extra bowls anyway.
So Clara strolled over to the sweat-drenched Manager Wu, sipping her cool drink and enjoying the riverside breeze.
Three waterwheels were spinning nonstop. One was overworked and had just been fixed by Manager Wu, who was drenched in sweat.
When he looked up, he saw Clara leisurely sipping her drink in the breeze—calm and relaxed.
"Well now! Lady Clara, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit to my ramshackle mill?" Manager Wu wiped sweat with one hand, fanned himself with the other, and motioned her toward a quieter spot. Clara followed.
"Told you so. I said three mills wouldn't be enough, and you didn't believe me. Now look—people are lined up to the main road. I bet folks from all around the area are here, huh?" Clara said with a laugh.
Manager Wu gave a proud grin. "More than that! A matron from the Ding Family Estate sent someone to ask if they could reserve the mill exclusively for a whole month!"
He didn't say whether he agreed or refused—but Clara could guess.
If he'd accepted, he'd have offended the regular folk completely.
The Dings were wealthy enough to only need the mill once. They had servants to pound rice by hand anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.
But ordinary folks couldn't afford such luxuries. They needed the mill every day. If Manager Wu wanted his business to last, he had to make hard choices.
Clara saw the regret in his eyes and gently reminded him, "If not this year, are you planning to miss the spring harvest too?"
She meant the wheat harvest—the one that really needed mills. Shelling and grinding wheat took twice as long as rice.
Manager Wu realized right away Clara wasn't just here for a chat. He sighed.
"I heard your village took on a massive order. No way you can spare stock for any smaller orders before November. I need it now. You can't deliver, and if I wait until November, I'll be left with nothing."
(End of Chapter)
Enjoying the story? Get early access to new chapters on my Patreon: patreon.com/c/TinaWriterXD
Thank you for your support! 💛