Going up the mountain wasn't something one could just do on a whim.
As the saying goes: To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools
The next morning, Clara didn't go to the fields. Instead, she headed up the mountain and dug up enough taro to last the family for four days.
The taro patch she had been harvesting from was nearly empty now after so many trips.
She hid the taro and her hoe in the bushes at the foot of the mountain, then grabbed her sickle and went to the area where villagers usually gathered firewood. She chopped enough to fill a full shoulder-load. With the firewood stockpiled over the past few days, they now had enough to last half a month.
By the time the sun was high in the sky, Clara returned home but didn't rest. She filled her belly with a few chunks of steamed taro, then took all the money they had—forty copper coins—and set off at a brisk pace toward the neighboring village.
This village wasn't far from Liew Family Village. It was a straight path downstream along the river, just about an hour's walk.
Clara walked fast and arrived in just over half an hour.
This village was bigger than Liew Village and called Riverbend Village. It had a blacksmith who made farming tools for villagers in the surrounding areas to make a living.
There was also a well-known hunting family here—famous across several villages. All the men in the household were hunters, and rumor had it they had once taken down a rare spotted tiger. In Goldstone Town area, their name carried some weight.
Clara first visited the blacksmith. After a round of haggling, she traded thirty copper coins for an old, worn short knife.
Thankfully, the blade was still decently sharp. The blacksmith gave it a good once-over on the whetstone, and it was barely serviceable.
For Clara, it felt a little too light. She weighed it in her hand, then gave it a few practice swings. Her wide, open moves looked like they lacked finesse, but the slicing wind they generated was enough to make one flinch.
The blacksmith gave her a surprised look. "Missus, you've got a good hand with a blade!"
Clara gave him a faint smile as she sheathed the knife. "Master, do you know where the hunters live?"
The blacksmith did, of course—same village. He pointed toward a lone house halfway up the eastern slope.
"Thank you," Clara called out, then strode off in that direction.
It was around noon. The door to the hunter's home was slightly ajar. Clara called out twice from outside before an energetic elderly woman emerged. Thinking Clara was there to buy meat, she waved her hand and said there was none left—it had all been taken to town.
Clara quickly caught on. The people she wanted to see weren't home. She tentatively asked when the men of the house would be back.
"You're not here for meat?" the old woman asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
Clara nodded. "I came to borrow some hunting tools. I'll return one-tenth of whatever I catch as payment. Would that be acceptable?"
The old woman had never heard of someone coming to borrow hunting tools before. She stared at Clara for a moment before saying she couldn't make that decision—it'd have to wait until her sons returned.
So Clara sat down under the big tree at their doorstep and used the time to get familiar with her newly acquired short knife.
She waited until the sun began to set in the west.
The hunter family's surname was Yang. Two brothers lived there—Daniel Yang and Eli Yang. Each had a son and a daughter. Apparently, they had just taken down something big the day before. The whole family had gone to town to sell it to the restaurant, and they were only now returning, heavily loaded.
As soon as they got home, Grandma Yang told her sons about Clara's request.
People in the village were always wary of outsiders. But Clara was from the neighboring Liew Village, so they were at least familiar.
The brothers approached Clara with suspicion, not outright rejecting her, but clearly concerned she might damage their gear.
More importantly, they simply didn't believe she could actually catch anything.
Sure, she offered ten percent of the haul as compensation. But if she didn't catch anything, wouldn't that just be a free loan of their hunting tools?
"If I don't catch anything, I'll compensate you for any wear or damage based on the condition of the tools," Clara said sincerely.
She mentally braced herself—if they still refused, she'd start playing the pity card to earn some sympathy.
Luckily, she seemed to be in luck. The brothers glanced at her patched-up clothes and weary look and softened. They waved her inside.
Their home was filled with all sorts of well-maintained hunting gear. As professional hunters, this was their livelihood.
Since they'd just brought in a big haul the day before, they didn't plan to head into the mountains again anytime soon. They usually waited until right before winter for their next trip, then stayed holed up through the cold months.
The mountains around here weren't like those overdeveloped tourist spots in the future. These were true wildlands—home to beasts that ate people, and crawling with venomous snakes and insects.
The forests were completely untamed. There were no trails. Without strong navigation skills, one could easily get lost and never return.
Every trip into the mountains was a gamble with death for the Yang brothers.
That's why they had also started farming a few acres of land recently. They wanted the next generation to become farmers. No matter how hard or tiring farming was, it beat dying young.
Clara picked a bow—the one usually used by Daniel Yang. It was the largest, heaviest, and most powerful of the lot.
The four children of the Yang family trailed behind Clara curiously, watching her select gear. When they saw her reach for Daniel's prized bow, they all thought she was overestimating herself.
But then, to their shock, Clara picked up the bow, pinched the string with two fingers, and drew it to full tension.
She seemed dissatisfied still. With practiced ease, she picked up a tuning tool and twisted the bowstring tighter.
When she drew the bow again, Daniel's heart nearly stopped. He was terrified she'd snap his beloved weapon.
Clara took an arrow from the quiver, nocked it, and tested her aim in the courtyard. The entire Yang family started pacing nervously around her, afraid they'd end up as unintentional targets.
Clara finally nodded in satisfaction and put away the bow and arrow. "I'll take this one."
Although they had let her choose freely, Clara still had some sense. She wouldn't go overboard.
One bow, thirty arrows, her short knife, and the ropes from home—that should do it.
"Miss Clara, were you born with divine strength?" Daniel asked curiously as he walked her out.
Clara thought for a moment, then nodded, spouting nonsense seriously, "I've always been strong since I was a kid."
The Yang brothers looked at her in astonishment, full of envy.
At the village entrance, Daniel hesitated. "It's getting dark, and the area's not very safe lately. There've been bandits around. It's dangerous for a young woman to travel alone. How about I borrow a bull from the village chief and send you back?"
Clara patted the bow and arrows on her back. "With these on me, I'll be just fine."
The brothers smiled sheepishly. Right—they were being silly.
Clara rushed back and managed to reach Liew Village just before the sky turned pitch-black.
Along the way, whether due to luck or sheer poverty, she didn't encounter a single bandit that the Yang brothers had warned about.
To be honest, she was a little disappointed. She had secretly hoped for an unexpected windfall.
Back in Liew Village, Clara didn't go straight home. She stopped by the Liew family's old house on the way.
Seeing her carrying a bow and a knife, the people there were momentarily stunned, unsure what she was up to.
When you're poor, you develop a thick skin. Clara got straight to the point: "I'm really no good at farming. Tomorrow, I plan to enter the mountains. I might be gone three to five days, maybe even up to a week. I'd like to ask the two big brothers to help plant the rest of our wheat seeds."
"And the four children at home—I'll be relying on the two sisters-in-law to help look after them while I'm away."
As she spoke, she took out the remaining ten copper coins and handed them to the stunned Sister-in-law Dorren.
"Big Sis, the food at home will only last the kids four more days. After that, I'll have to trouble you to help feed them. I know this isn't enough, so whatever extra it costs, I'll owe you and make it up later."
With that said, she turned and left decisively.
Leaving the entire old Liew household standing in stunned silence in the wind.
Madam Zhang decided to take back everything she had thought about Clara in the past few days. Now she truly believed—birds of a feather flock together. That thick-skinned new wife from Third Brother's household was exactly like him!
No—worse! The disciple had surpassed the master!
(End of Chapter)