An entire goat's worth of meat—thanks to Clara's formidable appetite—was polished off by the six of them without a trace.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, red lanterns were hung up, and the whole family lounged in chairs, stomachs round and full, resting and keeping vigil through the night.
During the first half of the night, there were various snacks to tide them through—it wasn't too hard to stay up.
But come the second half, Chad and Deb couldn't hold on any longer and went to bed.
Adam was in the house practicing a new set of moves Clara had just taught him. Ben and Lester were each holding a book, both surprisingly diligent.
Clara glanced at herself—snacking on roasted soybeans while spacing out—and seriously debated for three seconds whether to join them.
Three seconds later, she gave up. After a year of constant hustle, she finally had a break. Time to unapologetically slack off!
Around 3 a.m., Ben also couldn't hold on and called it a night.
That left Adam, Clara, and Lester sitting at the table, eyes locked on each other.
Lester's eyes were sore from all the reading. He yawned continuously.
But since he hadn't made it through the vigil last year, he was determined to succeed this time. Otherwise, it might bring bad luck—just like the previous year, which had been nothing but hardship.
Unusually superstitious, Lester pinched himself every time he dozed off to stay awake. Finally, when the first rays of light peeked over the horizon, he leapt up in excitement. "This year, luck is definitely on my side!"
After this self-pep talk, he yawned and turned to look at Clara and Adam, assuming they'd be as tired as he was.
To his surprise, young Adam was still full of energy after an all-nighter and wanted to head to the backyard for morning training.
Clara quickly stopped him and sent him off to bed. The boy reluctantly shuffled off to sleep.
"I'm going to nap," Clara announced with a wave as she returned to her room to catch up on sleep.
Lester couldn't hold out any longer either. Without saying a word, he shut all the doors and windows, buried the embers in ash, double-checked the cured meats hanging in the corridor, and then rushed back into the room to collapse into bed.
The whole family slept in until noon. When they woke, the entire village was quiet—it was perhaps the only time in the year when everyone could sleep in. Every household stayed tucked away indoors.
It wasn't until the second day of the New Year that the village buzzed back to life.
With no relatives to visit, Clara's family enjoyed their lazy days at home, feasting and resting through the festive season.
By the time the New Year's holiday ended, all six members of the family had visibly plumped up. That's winter for you—eating more, moving less, and naturally gaining weight.
On the eighth day of the new year, the market reopened, and many villagers planned to head into town together.
Kate had finished her postpartum recovery. Caleb came over the day before to ask Clara if they were planning to go into town. If they were, everyone hoped to catch a ride with them.
Knowing Lester wasn't one to make decisions, Caleb went straight to Clara.
"How many of you?" Clara asked.
"Me, my wife, Ryder and Rosie, and Dad. Three adults, two kids."
With the baby's one-month celebration coming up, Martha and Old Walter Liew had decided to host a banquet—such joyous events were rare for the family. Caleb and Doreen needed to head to town to shop for supplies.
Old Walter also wanted to replace some farm tools. The selection in the county town was better and often cheaper.
As for the two kids—they were only coming because they wouldn't stop whining.
If Clara wasn't going, Caleb said they wouldn't bring the children either.
Clara thought for a moment and agreed. "We were thinking of buying a pony anyway, so let's go together."
Caleb was overjoyed and rushed home to prepare.
After seeing him off, Clara and Lester turned back—only to find Adam, Ben, Chad, and Deb all standing at the entrance of the main hall, staring at them with wide eyes.
The couple exchanged a glance: Should we bring them too?
After all, there wasn't enough room in the cart for everyone. If they brought the four kids along, they could ride while the adults walked. Leaving early would ensure they returned before dark.
In rare agreement, the couple nodded simultaneously.
The children nearly burst into cheers.
On the morning of the eighth day, both families were up early preparing.
After a simple breakfast, Clara and Lester lit torches and led the cart to the old house to pick everyone up.
Adam and his siblings poked their heads out of the windows in pairs. When Ryder and Rosie saw them, they eagerly climbed into the cart. With six kids chattering away, Clara wished she had earplugs.
Thankfully, it was Old Walter driving the cart, not her. If she had to listen to that racket up close, her head would explode.
In contrast, Old Walter loved the lively noise—he was at that age where such energy was a joy. Cheerfully and a bit clumsily, he asked Clara and Lester as he drove:
"You two going into town to look at a new horse? But we already have Old Yeller—what do we need another horse for? A good ox is more useful—it can plow and pull a cart!"
Lester explained, "Dad, Adam and Ben are going to the Ding Clan Academy in the second month. The journey is far, so my wife thought we could get them a pony for the commute."
"What?" The three adults from the old house were stunned.
That one line was packed with information—going to the Ding Clan Academy? Buying a pony for the kids?
Old Walter froze for a second before blurting out, "The Ding Clan Academy is accepting Adam and Ben?!"
Lester realized he hadn't mentioned anything about the Dings to the old house yet. He nodded. "Yes, my wife and I put in a lot of effort. We finally got the Ding family matriarch to agree."
Doreen got excited. "What effort? Teach us! Maybe your big brother and I can try for Ryder too. You're his uncle, you can't forget your nephew!"
Lester immediately held up five fingers. "Sister-in-law, you give me this amount, and I'll swallow my pride and help our nephew get in too!"
Doreen asked hopefully, "Five hundred coins?"
Before Lester could say his frugal "five taels," Clara cut in with a deadpan tone, "Fifty taels per child."
Lester's pupils contracted. Damn, she really went for it!
The others gasped. "Fifty taels each?" Doreen pointed toward the cart. "Adam and Ben—two kids—that's a hundred taels!"
That number left Old Walter and Caleb breathless.
Clara and Lester both nodded. "That's right!"
They weren't lying—just the wild deer and rabbits were worth quite a bit, not to mention the soap formula.
The Ding family had accepted the formula but showed no intent to produce it themselves.
Big families liked hoarding valuable recipes to keep their perceived worth high.
They'd use it for favors and connections, reaping benefits far beyond what money could buy.
Realizing this, Lester felt that even a hundred taels might have been underselling it.
But had they quoted more, Doreen and the others wouldn't have believed it. A hundred was the sweet spot—scary enough to shut down any requests.
Truth be told, if Master Ding had been home, Clara wouldn't have tried to intimidate her sister-in-law.
But alas, the old matriarch and Clara didn't see eye to eye—and Clara wasn't about to go crawling to her.
(End of Chapter)
Enjoying the story? Get early access to new chapters on my Patreon: patreon.com/c/TinaWriterXD
Thank you for your support! 💛