Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 158 - 157: We’ve Got a Carriage

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: We’ve Got a Carriage
Early in the morning, Qin Yao was still practicing in the backyard, and Da Lang and Second Lang picked up bamboo baskets and ran out the door.
Sanlang and Si Niang were howling loudly in the house, but their older brothers thought they were in the way and ran off without them. Si Niang pouted angrily all day, her little face puffed up. Qin Yao playfully flicked her nose, "You could hang an oil can on that, couldn’t you?"
The little girl let out a sound, trying to bite Qin Yao’s hand but missed. She cuddled up to Qin Yao and asked her not to talk to Da Lang and Second Lang later that night.
"Why’s that?" Qin Yao asked on purpose.
Si Niang huffed, "They won’t let me and little brother play with them!"
Qin Yao looked at her angry little face, then glanced at Sanlang sitting on the doorstep facing the cold wind, looking wistfully toward the east of the village. She nodded earnestly, "Alright then, we won’t play with them. We’ll go to the county town ourselves, how about that?"
Sanlang instantly looked over, his eyes as bright as the flames burning in the stove.
Si Niang was also taken aback, disbelief in her voice as she asked, "Is Mother really taking us to the county?"
Qin Yao nodded, glancing at the sky. It was still early, and everyone had just finished breakfast, so there was plenty of time to ride into town and return by evening.
The last order for the carriage compartment and the tiger head specimen Manager Fan arranged were ready, and she needed to collect them.
Meanwhile, she could buy some household essentials for storage, as the temperatures would drop further; it was best not to go out when unnecessary.
Winter is for hibernating; if you don’t hibernate, how can you survive the winter?
The surprise came too suddenly, so Sanlang and Si Niang hurriedly went inside to add extra layers under Qin Yao’s urging, to avoid getting cold on the way.
Qin Yao also prepared a thin quilt to shield the two little ones from the cold later; the return journey would be more comfortable with a carriage compartment to sit in.
The two guests staying at their house had already left early for the water mill factory. Qin Yao saddled the horse, locked the door, lifted the Dragon and Phoenix Twins onto the horse, and led the horse to inform the pair at the watermill, leaving them a key.
Once arrangements were made, she mounted the horse, covered the two excited children with a thin quilt in front of her, gave the reins a shake, and lightly called, "Giddy up!" Old Huang, having not galloped joyfully for days, immediately bolted forward.
The exhilarating speed made the two children on horseback cry out loud in surprise.
Qin Yao lifted the cloth scarf around her neck to shield her face, hiding the smile at the corner of her mouth.
The mother and her two children galloped all the way to Kaiyang County. Sanlang and Si Niang, initially thrilled at the start of the journey, were now even more excited.
Qin Yao glanced down at the two plump little faces peeking out from under the quilt, with eyes as big as black grapes, looking at her expectantly as if they hadn’t had enough excitement.
"Haven’t your bottoms been shaken apart yet?" Qin Yao asked with a laugh.
The siblings shook their heads, almost shouting, "More, more!"
Qin Yao instructed them to sit tight, then dismounted and led the horse into town.
Upon reaching the carriage and horses’ area, she finally carried down the two with short little legs, holding each by a hand as they walked to the carpenter’s shop.
The carriage compartment was indeed ready, built with the sturdiest wood and therefore quite heavy.
Sanlang, taking advantage of the adults discussing matters, tentatively stretched out a small hand to lift the edge of the carriage compartment. He used all his strength but couldn’t move it an inch.
Si Niang widened her eyes in amazement, eager to give it a try as well. Together, the siblings exerted their full force, yet the compartment remained immobile.
The two thought their little antics went unnoticed, not realizing the adults had long seen them, finding it adorable and amusing but leaving it unmentioned.
Qin Yao finished her discussion with the shop owner and then asked a young apprentice to help move the carriage compartment under the city gate where their vehicle was parked, and had the compartment mounted.
Old Huang was not used to it, stamping uneasily with his hooves, disliking the heavy addition to his back.
However, he eventually calmed down under Qin Yao’s reassurance, cooperating with the young apprentice to saddle the harness.
Qin Yao looked at the brand-new carriage and nodded repeatedly, "Not bad, not bad."
The young apprentice completed the task and left first.
Qin Yao took Sanlang and Si Niang onto the carriage to try it out; the interior was small, less than two square meters.
Three sides had seats, with the back seat fixed and offering storage space. The seats on the left and right sides were unfixed, with two right-angle panels that could be folded up and secured to the carriage arms, making the compartment appear more spacious.
If there were more people, laying a mat could provide more seating with crossed legs.
In the middle of the compartment was a specialized fixed storage table Qin Yao had requested.
Like the right-angle panels on the sides, it could be folded away, creating a rise of only five centimeters in the middle section, not affecting the use of the entire flat surface.
If unfolded, it became a small square table, thirty centimeters in length and width. Opening the top cover could store quite a number of small items inside.
The craftsman added a base, suitable for placing a charcoal stove. The side panels were decorated with hollow carvings, allowing heat dissipation and ensuring some measure of fire safety.
The more Qin Yao looked, the more she loved it. She folded away the middle hollow table and the side seats and lay down. Including the length of the cart shaft, it was just enough for her to lie flat.
"Sanlang, Si Niang, how is it? Do you like it?" Qin Yao asked with a smile.
The two imitated her, rolling around on the floor of the compartment, which was covered with a thin quilt, nodding excitedly with "Mm-hmm," expressing their love for it!
Hearing Qin Yao say this carriage would be used next year to send her brothers to school, Si Niang felt envious, hugging her mother’s arm and pouting like a little adult with a sigh, "Why can’t Si Niang go to school too?"
Qin Yao’s smile froze momentarily.
Indeed, why can’t women take the imperial exams?
"Cough, cough!" Qin Yao coughed twice to divert the little girl’s attention. "Let’s go; we’ll get the tiger head. Didn’t you always clamor to see it?"
Children’s attention is quickly diverted. Si Niang was immediately excited, grabbing her little brother’s hand, following their mother to retrieve the tiger head.
Qin Yao had never seen an animal specimen of this era and dared not hope much.
But Manager Fan gave her a surprise.
The tiger head she handed over to Manager Fan was returned exactly the way it was, looking less like a specimen and more like a freshly decapitated tiger head, lifelike.
Except for the neck and the sliced part of the head, the specimen was sealed with a special wax, with a wooden base added at the bottom, allowing it to stand directly on a flat surface.
Sanlang and Si Niang, seeing a tiger head larger than both their heads combined for the first time, felt both scared and amazed, hiding behind Qin Yao and not daring to approach.
Qin Yao encouraged them to come up and touch it, but Sanlang violently shook his head like a rattle, nearly in tears.
Si Niang was a bit braver but only dared to get close to have a look, not touch.
This ’mischievous’ Manager Fan intentionally made a sound, startling the little girl into a furious shiver, retreating to hide behind her mother, face pressed to her butt, trembling.
Qin Yao shot Manager Fan an annoyed look, while he sheepishly touched his nose. "I’ll get you a bag to cover it, so as not to scare people on the way."
But before turning around, he couldn’t resist asking, "Are you sure you don’t want to sell this tiger head? Someone’s offering a good price if you’d let it go."
Qin Yao was resolute, "Not for sale."
Manager Fan sighed regretfully, "Alright then."