Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 16 - 15: Farming Is Totally Impossible

Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Farming Is Totally Impossible
On the open ground, Qin Yao was tightly hugged by two children on either side.
The five of them huddled together, worriedly watching the small house in front of them as the straw flew in the strong wind, seeming ready to collapse at any moment.
Waiting and waiting.
The wind stopped.
The seemingly fragile little house surprisingly stood firm in front of them.
But looking at the straw scattered on the ground and the house with only a few beams and pieces of straw left, Qin Yao didn’t know whether to feel relieved or sad.
The house was saved, but re-roofing would surely cost a lot of money.
Looking at the remaining forty copper coins in her pocket, Qin Yao felt as if the heavens were against her!
The four little ones, unaware of her inner sadness, exclaimed with joy seeing the house still standing: "Auntie, the house is fine!"
Qin Yao glared at the excited Second Lang: "You call this fine?"
The heavy resentment made Second Lang shudder, scared enough to cover his mouth.
The sky began to brighten, revealing the mess clearly. Qin Yao rubbed her throbbing temples, signaling the four siblings to stay put and quickly headed towards the village.
Qin Yao knocked on the gate of the Liu Family’s old house.
Just after planting all the fields yesterday, the Liu family men were thinking of resting and were still asleep at this time.
Second Sister-in-law Qiu got up to relieve herself, heard the knock, and went to open the door, only to see Qin Yao standing emotionless in front of her. The sky hadn’t fully brightened yet, almost scaring her out of her wits.
"Do you...need something?" Second Sister-in-law Qiu managed to ask calmly.
Whether it was the dim light or another reason, every time she saw this new wife of the third son, she couldn’t help but get nervous.
Qin Yao said, "Second Sister-in-law, a strong wind blew last night, and my roof was blown off."
Second Sister-in-law Qiu was stunned, "Wind?"
"The wind was very strong," Qin Yao confirmed.
Second Sister-in-law Qiu was taken aback for a moment, but then she realized and asked with concern, "Is everyone alright?"
Qin Yao shook her head to indicate they were fine, and only then did Second Sister-in-law Qiu sigh with relief, hurrying inside to wake her husband.
The noise in the courtyard also woke Old Liu and Mrs. Zhang, who quickly got up and dressed.
Second Sister-in-law Qiu pointed towards the door: "Dad, the roof of the third son’s house got blown off."
Old Liu was shocked, but upon hearing from Second Sister-in-law Qiu that everyone was safe, he felt relieved, called his three sons, took the tools for repairing the roof, and rushed to Liu Ji’s family.
Qin Yao followed behind, seeing the urgency of the father and sons, and felt a corner of her long-hard heart soften.
The villagers were skilled in various crafts, and repairing a roof was no big deal for Old Liu and his sons.
Seeing the barren roof, they said nothing, just started working immediately.
Liu Fei picked up the usable straw scattered on the ground, while Liu Bai and Liu Zhong realized it wasn’t enough, and quickly ran to the riverside to cut more grass.
Old Liu carried a ladder from home, climbed up to the roof, and started laying the straw Liu Fei tossed up to him.
Within a single morning, the father and sons had repaired and reinforced the roof, placing some heavy stones at the corners to prevent it from being blown away again by strong winds.
Grateful, Qin Yao cooked all the rough rice she bought yesterday into porridge, and only after the father and sons had lunch did they leave.
Old Liu, drinking the thick rough rice porridge from the bowl, glanced at the mother and children gnawing taro in front of the stove, wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing, laid down the empty bowl, and left with Liu Bai and the others.
Before leaving, he couldn’t help but remind Qin Yao: "Better plant those two acres soon; it might rain in a couple of days."
Qin Yao acknowledged and only after seeing them off for a few steps did she return, calling Da Lang, picking up the hoe, and taking the jar of wheat seeds to plant on the two acres of land by the mountain.
Second Lang stayed home to watch the house and look after the Dragon and Phoenix Twins.
Even though everyone in the village knew each other, and their house was the innermost in the village, making it unlikely they would encounter kidnappers, Qin Yao still didn’t dare leave the four-year-old twins home alone.
With the farming guide she got from Mrs. Zhang yesterday, Qin Yao thought planting would be easy.
She didn’t realize she would be so quickly proven wrong.
Liu Ji’s family’s two acres had already been dug once by the previous occupant.
Qin Yao only needed to dig holes, spread the wheat seeds, and then cover them up.
However, working from late afternoon till evening, only one-tenth of an acre was sown!
In disbelief, Qin Yao looked at the remaining large unsown area, questioning her own eyesight.
Otherwise, how could she have worked so hard all afternoon and only planted such a small patch?
That wasn’t even the main issue. The main issue was that her body, which was just recovering a bit, was already nearing exhaustion.
Turning to look at Da Lang, who was sitting on the field ridge with a sunburnt face, the mother and son exchanged looks of despair.
This weather was cold in the morning and evening, hot during the day, and Liu Ji’s family’s land was isolated. Their two acres were the only ones in the valley, infested with pests buzzing around one’s head.
Qin Yao had come ill-prepared and could only cover her head with an outer garment, leaving just her eyes exposed.
But their exposed ankles and insteps were bitten by mosquitoes, covered in itchy bumps that they dared not scratch for fear of worsening the discomfort.
The reclaimed mountain land, even though hoed once, constantly unearthed stones or roots that had to be thrown out before sowing.
The straw sandals bogged down in the field made walking difficult, accumulating heavy mud on the soles and slowing down movement.
Farming was a repetitive process, monotonous and tiring.
In the beginning, Qin Yao wielded the hoe vigorously, even striking sparks on stones.
But as she continued hoeing, the tool became heavier, and even Qin Yao, strong as she was, felt her arms swell and ache.
Repeated sowing required bending, straightening, and bending again, and after hundreds of repetitions, her back couldn’t take it anymore.
With her face draped in clothing, she felt hot and stifled, overwhelmed with discomfort at every move, it was excruciating.
Determined not to waste the trip, Qin Yao persevered till sunset.
She thought her hard work should at least cover half the field, but in the end, it was only a small corner.
Da Lang finally couldn’t resist, gently scratching the mosquito bite on his foot and, covered in sweat, looked at Qin Yao, giving her the impression she was exploiting child labor.
Thinking about returning the next day for such extreme torment, Qin Yao almost wished she could return to the apocalyptic future.
She’d rather fight zombies or become fertilizer for mutant plants than ever farm again!
Recalling how Old Liu and his sons tended to over a hundred acres without breaks all year, Qin Yao suddenly felt profound respect for them.
The sun was nearly set, and strange bird calls echoed in the mountains. Da Lang stood up, looking fearfully at Qin Yao, "Auntie, it’s getting dark."
Too battered by farming to speak, Qin Yao waved at Da Lang, and together they walked home under the moonlight.
At the stove, Qin Yao biting Second Lang and Sanlang’s roasted taro, thought she needed to take a trip into the mountains.
Farming was not something she would ever do, not in this life!