Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 149 - 148: Father, Please Save Your Son

Chapter 149: Chapter 148: Father, Please Save Your Son
Da Lang and Second Lang slightly furrowed their brows.
Both of them were a bit older and had experienced the panic brought by the turmoil in recent years.
Various conscription orders, bridge and road construction labor, and strange and bizarre taxes - every time the bell tolled, the village was filled with a sense of mourning.
Therefore, the grain-transporting conscripted labor could never be as leisurely as auntie put it.
Da Lang tentatively asked, "Then does our family need to send someone as well?"
Qin Yao calmly poured herself a cup of water and nodded, "Yes, your father is going."
Her tone was relaxed, as if it was a very normal thing, with no need for excessive anxiety.
Da Lang’s heart sank suddenly, hesitantly glancing at Qin Yao. He was tugged hard on the sleeve by Second Lang, finally taking a deep breath, saying nothing, and filling her cup with water.
"Once the grain is delivered, will Dad be able to come back?" Si Niang asked curiously.
Qin Yao patted her chubby little cheek, "Yes, once the task is completed, he can come back. Maybe he can even make it back in time for the New Year."
The premise is completing the task!
Si Niang nodded, understanding but not fully, glancing at her brother and then at Mother, feeling something was odd, something wasn’t right.
But seeing Mother still smiling and testing her brothers on their studies, she completely let her heart relax. If Mother said it was fine, then it must be fine~
They washed their faces and feet with hot water and each went back to their rooms to sleep.
It was still raining at night, the rain alternating between heavy and light, with a chill seeping in. Luckily, they had changed the bedding to new, soft straw under the bed, and the quilt was thicker.
In the middle of the night, listening to the rain falling outside, just as they were sleeping soundly, the courtyard gate was suddenly banged on heavily.
Qin Yao and the four children in the next room were startled awake.
Qin Yao got up and shouted towards the courtyard, "Who is it!"
"It’s me, wife, I am back home!"
It was actually Liu Ji.
Qin Yao thought while getting dressed, is today a holiday?
But he came just in time, saving her the trouble of going to town to bring him back for labor service.
Qin Yao opened the door and immediately stepped back under the eaves of the main room to avoid the rain.
Da Lang and Second Lang also opened their room door, sticking their heads out to see the person standing miserably in the rain, hesitantly calling out, "Dad?"
Liu Ji closed the courtyard gate, responding with an "uh-huh," quickly running into the main room, taking off his hat which served little purpose, revealing a face drenched in rain.
His wet hair was stuck to his face, his long robe splattered with mud, and his cloth shoes were worse, soaked through with muddy water, unrecognizable.
Da Lang pushed Second Lang back into the room, dressed himself, headed straight to the kitchen, lit a fire to boil water, and heated a bowl of ginger tea to hand to Liu Ji, "Dad, have some ginger tea to warm up."
Liu Ji felt a warmth in his heart, reached out wanting to pat the kid’s head, but seeing his hands full of mud, awkwardly withdrew, taking the bowl to drink the ginger tea in one go.
When he came, it was dark and rainy, the road muddy and slippery, and just as he made it to the village entrance, he had slipped near his own doorstep, getting covered in mud and water.
Father and son spent a good while tidying up, while Qin Yao watched the moving shadows in the kitchen and bathroom with a dark, unreadable expression on her face from under the corridor.
After washing his hair and bathing, Liu Ji changed into clean hemp clothing and walked out of the bathroom.
As soon as he looked up, he met those indifferent eyes, causing his heart to tighten instantly.
"Wife, I’m fine now, you should go back to rest," Liu Ji said tenderly. "I will wash the clothes clean and then sleep."
Qin Yao nodded, waving a hand to Da Lang who was still busy in the kitchen cooking porridge for Liu Ji, "Let him do it himself, you go back to sleep."
Staying up is not good for a child’s health.
Da Lang responded with an "oh," but still couldn’t feel at ease and advised his father for a while before going back to sleep.
Facing the stove alone, Liu Ji watched the white porridge in the pot boiling and steaming, glanced back at the bedroom ahead, instinctively leaning closer to the stove, dispelling the cold from his body, while the chill in his heart grew deeper.
He was now sure that the hurried figure he saw passing by the restaurant entrance at dusk was indeed Qin Yao.
She saw him, but had no reaction at all?
This was even more frightening than if she had rushed over to beat him up!
Due to the unease in his heart coupled with a lack of living expenses being sent over, and none of the four letters sent were replied to, Liu Ji borrowed a classmate’s hat after finishing the evening lessons and returned overnight.
It was late at night and there were no ox carts or horse carriages on the road, so he walked all the way back home.
He walked for three whole hours, from dusk to nightfall, and from nightfall to the dead of night, until he returned home.
As the door opened, Liu Ji had been mentally prepared for a storm-like confrontation, almost ready to explain.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the door opened, the person retreated to outside the main room, giving him no chance to speak.
And after that, she continued watching his every move with that indifferent look.
While bathing in the bathroom earlier, he couldn’t help but touch the back of his neck several times, always feeling like there was a knife hovering over his head.
The porridge in the pot was done, the fragrance of rice permeated the air; Liu Ji rubbed his belly, decided to fill up first, as tomorrow is another day to be a hero!
What did Da Lang say earlier? Oh right, there was still half a bowl of pork fat fried sauerkraut in the second layer of the cupboard.
Liu Ji took out the leftover food, mixed it into the white porridge, and stuffed himself.
After eating, he cleaned the stove and the dirty clothes; even the chickens in the courtyard started crowing.
Liu Ji extinguished the oil lamp, yawned, and pushed open the bedroom door, collapsing onto the fragrant soft bedding without thinking of anything, and fell into a happy sleep.
He slept directly till the afternoon.
No one at home called him, overly considerate.
So from coming home at midnight until the afternoon, he didn’t hear a word about the court conscripting laborers.
Until he leisurely went out, wandering around the village, seeing everyone anxious and hurried, did he notice something was off.
"Hey! Where are you all going?" Liu Ji asked suspiciously. "What’s happening, why does everyone look so gloomy?"
The cousin whom he stopped asked in surprise, "You still don’t know?"
Liu Ji shook his head. Should he know?
The cousin saw his expression, enviously sighed, "Your wife must have already secured a substitute for you, so the court’s conscription for grain transport has nothing to do with you this time."
Saying this, he hurried to leave, not wanting to stay with him longer for fear of being consumed with jealousy.
Liu Ji called out a few times but couldn’t stop him. Standing there, he mulled over the cousin’s words again and again, suddenly opening his eyes wide.
The court’s conscription of laborers?
More conscripted service?
Somehow, the unease he had suppressed suddenly rushed up.
Thinking again of Qin Yao’s indifferent attitude towards him yesterday, Liu Ji’s face changed dramatically, and he hurried to the village head’s house.
Flipping through the conscription list, Liu Ji’s name was prominently listed.
"Finished, finished!"
A basin of ice water poured from head to toe, Liu Ji shivered all over, under the village head’s surprised gaze, turned around and dashed towards the old house:
"Dad! Please save your son!"