Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 146 - 145: Four Letters

Chapter 146: Chapter 145: Four Letters
Mrs. Zhang, He, and Mrs. Qiu came forward to greet them.
"Why are you home so late? Hungry, aren’t you?" Mrs. Zhang took the things from Qin Yao’s hands, placing them next to the door so she could take them home later.
Qin Yao nodded honestly, very hungry.
He immediately walked to the kitchen, took the apron hanging behind the door, lit the lamp and started the fire, saying:
"I’ll cook a dough drop soup for you two and add two eggs. Quickly put down your things and wash your face; you’re all dusty."
Mrs. Zhang led the mother and son to the water tank, and Mrs. Qiu found a clean towel and handed it to Qin Yao, "Wipe quickly."
"Thank you, Second Sister-in-law." Qin Yao smiled politely at Mrs. Qiu, telling her to go back and sit down, not needing to worry about her.
Mrs. Zhang filled the basin with water, and Qin Yao twisted the cloth with cold water, first wiping her face, then handing the cloth to Da Lang, telling him to wash his head too to avoid wasting the basin of water.
Later, they would wash with hot water at home before sleeping.
Da Lang responded with an ’okay’, and was immediately surrounded by his brothers and sisters.
Jinbao asked him, "Did you catch anything? Were there any tigers or black bears?"
Second Lang and Sanlang also eagerly asked, "Mother, did you go to the city?"
Si Niang and Jinhua squatted by the basin, looking expectantly, "Mother bought pastries; I can smell them."
Da Lang wanted to answer, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he realized he couldn’t finish answering, so he simply closed his mouth and washed his head first.
In the main room, Mrs. Zhang specially lit the oil lamp to make it brighter.
Qin Yao sat at the table, facing Old Liu and his four sons, while Mrs. Qiu sat beside her, listening to Qin Yao talk about encountering a tiger in the mountains, everyone was thrilled.
Mrs. Zhang quietly went into the room and came out a moment later with four letters, handing them to Qin Yao,
"Old Third sent them from the city; you weren’t here, so we haven’t opened them yet. He sends one every other day, maybe it’s something urgent. You better check them."
Qin Yao took the letters, glanced at the ’Dear Wife’ on the envelope, chuckled, and put the envelope aside, "No rush, I’ll look at them when I get home. We just got back from the city, he’s fine."
Hearing this, Old Liu and Mrs. Zhang were not in a hurry either and asked if the food was ready.
"Coming, coming!"
He smiled, bringing in the noodle bowls, placing two bowls, one for Qin Yao, one for Da Lang, with two fried, crispy eggs inside.
Da Lang had washed his hair, and Second Lang and Sanlang insisted on helping him dry his hair, the three brothers messed around for a while before coming inside.
Qin Yao pointed to the package of pastries by the door, telling Second Lang to bring it over for everyone to share.
Bought two pounds, it’s hard to divide, better for the whole family to finish and enjoy it.
Mrs. Zhang hurriedly said there’s no need, but the younger ones like Second Lang had already opened the oiled paper package, leaving her no choice but to sigh helplessly, "These little gluttons just can’t resist when they see something delicious."
"No wonder they’re always thinking about their third aunt," He joked too, "My Jinbao asks twice a day when third aunt will be back."
Amidst the laughter and chatter, Qin Yao and Da Lang filled their stomachs, leaving not a drop of the soup.
Qin Yao got up and went to the door, taking out the pork belly and cloth she bought, placing the cloth on the table in the main room, and took the meat to the kitchen, cutting off two pounds to place in the cupboard, skillfully covering it with a lid.
Everyone was already familiar with Qin Yao’s actions and didn’t bother with polite words. He went inside, took a ruler, and called the Da Lang brothers and sisters to measure their sizes.
"It’s getting colder, everyone needs a pair of thick-soled shoes." Qin Yao put the remaining three pounds of meat back into her own bundle and turned back to instruct.
"Your Second Sister-in-law has some free time these days, let her make them for you." He arranged naturally, and Mrs. Qiu nodded, asking Si Niang what style she wanted.
"Styles?" Si Niang looked at her second aunt in surprise.
Mrs. Qiu told her there are pointed ones, flat ones, and even patterned ones; she could embroider flowers, putting some flowers on them for her.
Si Niang had never worn such shoes before and was full of anticipation, "Then I want the ones with flowers."
Mrs. Qiu smiled and nodded, "Sure, how about we embroider two morning glory flowers?"
"Yes, yes!" Si Niang said happily, "Thank you, second aunt~"
"Ah, what are you thanking for? Just wait, second aunt will make them really pretty for you." Mrs. Qiu touched the little one’s face, feeling that Si Niang was getting cuter and more polite, bringing joy.
Jinhua pouted, "Mom, I want morning glory shoes too, just like Si Niang’s!"
Mrs. Qiu glanced at her helplessly, "Didn’t I make you some? You wore them for two days and burned a hole in the shoe. I don’t feel like making you another pair."
Jinhua hurriedly snuggled into Mrs. Qiu’s arms, all tangled like the twisted peppers in Qin Yao’s garden,
"Please make them for me, Mom. I promise I’ll cherish them this time and definitely won’t ruin them..."
Mrs. Qiu gave in and agreed.
Jinhua and Si Niang exchanged a glance, and the two cousins smiled with their eyes curved; they could wear matching shoes.
He measured the sizes for clothes, and Qin Yao called Si Niang, preparing to go home.
Before leaving, she asked Old Liu to keep an eye out for any land for sale in the village.
Old Liu was surprised, thinking she must have earned quite a bit of silver from this mountain trip.
But buying land is good; how can a farmer not have land? Renting land from others is never a long-term solution; it’s better to have their own land.
"Alright, don’t worry, if there’s news, Father will surely tell you," Old Liu solemnly promised.
Watching Qin Yao and her family leave, Mrs. Zhang and Old Liu exchanged a relieved smile; with Qin Yao around, they didn’t have to worry about Old Third’s family.
Back at her own home, Qin Yao was noticeably more relaxed, putting down her weapons, placing the meat in the kitchen since the temperature was low at night, the meat wouldn’t spoil overnight.
Qin Yao started a fire, heated several large pots of hot water, and everyone took a bath.
During her absence, there were no adults to help with water at home, and Second Lang and his brothers hadn’t bathed.
As for the old house, washing once every half month was considered diligent; He naturally hadn’t thought of these things.
After they finished bathing, it was late at night, but the children were not sleepy, lying on the bed listening to Da Lang talk about the mountain adventures, enthralled.
Qin Yao checked on the horse, giving it some night feed.
She inspected the doors and windows and reminded the children’s room to turn off the lights before going to her room, lying on the bed relaxing as she read the letters with her hair down.
This mountain trip lasted eight days, and in those short eight days, Liu Ji wrote four letters back.
Qin Yao opened the letters, sorting them by date, starting with the earliest.
The earliest letter was dated the day after she left the county last time.
The content was simple, asking why she hadn’t sent the living expense for the coachman to him.
The second letter, one day later, asked if something happened at home that prevented her from sending money, ending with asking if she was okay.
The third letter, also one day later, said he seemed to have seen her in the county before, asking if she had been to the county recently.
The fourth letter, sounded very understanding and pitiful, said he borrowed living expenses from his classmates and told her to focus on the family if there’s difficulty, not to worry about him.