Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 51 - 50: Bandit Raid (Part 3)

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Bandit Raid (Part 3)
"Mother, do people in the city paste this for New Year?" Si Niang asked curiously.
Today, the children were all dressed in new red jackets, with a festive atmosphere all around.
Si Niang was also dressed in red, her plump little face akin to two red apples, making one want to take a bite.
Qin Yao explained, "This is the character ’Fu,’ which should be pasted upside down, meaning ’fortune has arrived.’
"I don’t know if city folks celebrate the New Year this way, but from now on, this is how our family will celebrate."
The Clan Leader’s son had studied for three years at the county academy and was now writing couplets at a long table in his courtyard for the villagers.
The villagers would bring two eggs or a bowl of rice, along with their prepared red paper, to ask the Clan Leader’s son to help write couplets for good luck.
Early in the morning, Qin Yao had Da Lang and Second Lang use half a bowl of fine rice to exchange for a pair of couplets, which they now pasted along with the ’Fu’ character; she also hung the pair of red lanterns she had previously bought under the eaves of the main hall, creating quite the atmosphere.
Liu Ji stood at the door, reviewing the couplets on either side, and snorted, "These characters aren’t much better than mine."
He did indeed make tofu. Early in the morning, when Qin Yao sent Da Lang and Second Lang to write the couplets, she also sent two pounds of white flour to the old house as a New Year’s greeting for the elderly couple.
In the afternoon, Jinbao and Jinhua brought over a bowl of freshly made tofu.
Qin Yao wanted to give them some soybeans, but they refused, so she ended up giving each of them two copper coins as anti-evil money, watching the siblings run happily back home.
There was still snow on the road, and they fell several times halfway, but they didn’t seem hurt, as their joyful laughter traveled far.
"Time to eat!" Liu Ji shouted from the main hall.
Qin Yao closed the courtyard gate, pushed open the tightly closed door of the main hall, and went inside. A brazier burned brightly, with an iron pot on top. Inside, meat, tofu, bean sprouts, and the family’s last cabbage were stewing.
The pot was so full, with steam rising, that just looking at it made the room feel warm.
The four children couldn’t wait. Seeing Qin Yao sit down, Liu Ji asked expectantly, "Shall we eat?"
Qin Yao nodded, "Go ahead and eat."
The children, joyful, picked up their bowls and chopsticks. Those who could reach the food served themselves, while Sanlang and Si Niang sought help from their parents.
There’s a saying that the impatient can’t eat hot tofu, and Da Lang and Second Lang were breathing out the steam from the heat.
Qin Yao told them to spit it out, but the two, with tears in their eyes from the heat, stubbornly shook their heads, not wanting to waste the food.
Besides, the tofu had been simmering for quite a while, soaking up the flavor of the broth, making it delicious.
With no other choice, Qin Yao got up, fetched a pot of cold boiled water from the kitchen, and told them to sip it if their mouths got too hot.
She was just admonishing the children when it was her turn, and she too was breathing out from the heat, filling the room with sounds of suppressed laughter.
Amidst the good atmosphere, a sudden cry of "Bandits!" was heard.
Qin Yao’s eyes darkened, and she put down her chopsticks.
She knew this New Year’s Eve dinner wouldn’t be enjoyed peacefully!
"What happened?"
Liu Ji, unable to put down his bowl and chopsticks in time, stood up nervously, "Why do I hear hoofbeats?"
He rushed out to check and within half a minute returned in a panic, putting down his bowl and chopsticks, and moving a chair to take down the two high-hung red lanterns.
While doing so, he said in a controlled voice, "Bandits have entered the village to steal things! Quickly, hide!"
The four children were scared stiff upon hearing this.
Liu Ji tossed the lanterns onto the main hall table, only to realize Qin Yao was not in the room. He hurried to her bedroom and found her there, as expected.
"Bandits are here!" he shouted, fearing she didn’t know.
Qin Yao stuffed the money bag into her breast, quickly changed into convenient leather boots, tucked a dagger and slingshot at her waist, slung an arrow tube over her shoulder, drew the long knife from the table with one hand, and took the bow and arrow hanging on the wall with the other, striding outside.
Seeing Liu Ji, she glanced at him first. "Why are you shouting? I’ve heard it already."
But now wasn’t the time to be angry; she calmly instructed him, "We don’t have a cellar to hide in, so we must rely on this newly built wall to defend ourselves and keep them out."
"First, take the four kids back to the house. I’ll find something to barricade the doors; since we live on the edge, they might not come over."
Saying so, she slung the bow and arrow over her shoulder, placed the long knife on the wash basin, and went to the woodpile to find large pieces of wood to block the two doors.
Liu Ji was only momentarily stunned, but quickly reacted. Seeing her composed, he felt a lot calmer himself, chasing the frightened four children back into the house, instructing them to lock the doors and windows and hide well inside.
Nobody expected the bandits to come at this time, thinking the heavy snow would impede their steps.
But recalling the frozen bodies the village chief and others had buried this morning, it was easy to guess the bandits were at their wits’ end.
They couldn’t wait for the snow to melt and rushed down as soon as the sky cleared.
Faced with such evil spirits, it’s hard to say they wouldn’t kill.
"Heh~" Qin Yao suddenly laughed self-mockingly. What "hard to say," they would definitely kill!
In the end times, anyone starving saw everything as food.
Seeing Liu Ji lock the house door and settle the kids, heading toward her, she directed him to bring the ladder, using it to check the situation below the mountain.
Their side was high and unobstructed in the front, allowing her to see a large group of people and horses loudly charging into the village, splitting into four groups at the village well and heading in different directions.
The villagers’ terrified screams echoed throughout the village. In places with low walls, bandits rode their horses to jump in and ransack anything of value within the courtyards.
If nothing valuable was found, two or three would break through the door, enter the house, stuffing villagers’ New Year meals into their mouths with one hand while threatening with a knife in the other, demanding valuables from the homeowners.
Some resisted, only to be stabbed by the bandits!
The screams of women and the helpless cries of children filled the air.
Qin Yao’s brows furrowed tightly, watching two bandits ride their horses excitedly toward their house, quickly pulling out her bow and arrow, and fitting an arrow from her back.
"Are they coming at us?" Liu Ji asked fearfully from below the ladder.
The door was tightly barricaded by Qin Yao, leaving no gaps. He couldn’t see anything, only hear the chaotic sounds from the village, imagining all sorts of scary scenarios, scaring himself.
Qin Yao replied with a hum, "Two people are riding towards our house with bows and arrows and knives in their hands."
Liu Ji shivered and quickly asked, "Can you handle it?"
Qin Yao nodded.
At that moment, Liu Ji found her standing on the wall, calmly drawing the bow, looking incredibly beautiful.
"W-What should I do?" he asked, swallowing nervously.
Run?
He hadn’t even given it a thought!
In the house, with the fierce Qin Yao, there was no place safer than being by her side in the entire village.
Qin Yao said softly, "I’ll call you if I need you; if you’re afraid, you can take the knife from the wash basin."
Liu Ji responded quickly, going to find Qin Yao’s knife, grabbing it as soon as he found it.
His hands grew heavy, with Qin Yao’s custom heavy knife. He held it with both hands, managing to wield it.
But this weight also provided a great sense of security.
Liu Ji took a deep breath and stood by the door.
The sound of hoofbeats grew closer, the "da-da-da" noise becoming clearer, finally stopping due to the slippery snow.
Liu Ji was so nervous he forgot to breathe, his face flushed red; with Qin Yao’s soft whisper, "They are already in range," his heart leaped into his throat.