Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 55 - 54: The Government Officer Arrives

Chapter 55: Chapter 54: The Government Officer Arrives
Qin Yao received a bag of high-quality golden millet, weighing fifty pounds, which could be worth half a tael of silver when converted to money.
The five members of Liu Ji’s family all brightened up at this sight. Qin Yao handed over the millet, and Liu Ji immediately reached out to take it, not forgetting to praise her: "My dear, without a beautiful and kind-hearted person like you, how would this family manage?"
Qin Yao didn’t even bother to roll her eyes at him, signaling the four children to follow her, then walked on.
Liu Bai and Liu Fei each carried a fifty-pound bag of rice, making it a total of one hundred pounds. Even after being husked, there would still be more than half left, which made others green with envy.
The two brothers caught up but couldn’t walk fast with the grain on their backs, so they could only shout, "Sister-in-law, wait for us!"
The two families were on the same route, making for good company as they walked together.
Qin Yao stopped, and Liu Ji also paused. He had heard that today his elder brother and little brother Liu Fei had also taken up weapons and driven off the bandits. He raised an eyebrow in surprise and sized them both up, teasingly saying:
"I never expected you, elder brother, to have such a heroic moment. I always thought our Second Brother had a more fiery temperament, but today he turned out to be the timid one."
Liu Bai knew his temperament and didn’t argue with him.
Liu Fei wouldn’t let it slide, scoffing: "If it weren’t for my third sister-in-law, Liu Laosan, you would probably have wet your pants! And you dare talk about my Second Brother, do you have no shame...?"
"Isn’t your Second Brother my Second Brother too? We’re one family. Look at this kid, talking about family matters like it’s two separate households." Liu Ji smiled at Qin Yao with an air of mature indifference as if he wouldn’t stoop to bickering with a child.
He even leaned toward Liu Fei, touched the grain bag on his shoulder, discovering it was rice, and became even more smug.
He patted his own shoulder, "Millet, golden, husked."
Liu Fei couldn’t take his teasing, angrily looked at his elder brother, "Big Brother, aren’t you going to do something about him!"
"Enough!" Liu Bai also grew annoyed, "Everyone shut up!"
Only then did Liu Ji speed up a few steps, distancing himself from Liu Fei.
Qin Yao asked, "Was all the grain taken from home recovered?"
Liu Bai responded with a nod, "It was all retrieved, except we lost one of the four hens. It’s unclear if it was taken by the bandits or picked up and eaten by someone."
"Mother said the remaining three hens were so scared, she fears they won’t lay eggs."
"Oh, by the way, Father and Mother wanted me to tell you to come over for breakfast tomorrow. Mother wants to kill a chicken for cooking."
They said it was to fight poison with poison, hoping to scare the remaining two hens, so maybe they’ll start laying eggs again.
Qin Yao agreed.
When they arrived at the old house’s gate, Qin Yao’s family didn’t go in but headed straight home.
The red lantern that should have been joyously hung under the eaves was instead held in Qin Yao’s hand, lighting the way.
From afar, the sight of red light moving in the dark appeared somewhat eerie.
The four children walked hand in hand between their parents, a family of six trudged through the wet snow in front of the doorway, finally returning home.
Liu Ji placed the millet in the pantry by the stove and instinctively busied himself in the kitchen, lighting a fire to boil a large pot of hot water.
The family gathered around the stove, drinking hot water to warm themselves up before returning to their rooms to rest.
This day had been exhausting, leaving everyone mentally drained and quickly falling into a deep sleep.
At dawn, before the sky brightened, a large group of officials donned in government uniforms rode high horses with torches, entering the valley, forming a line resembling a dragon of fire along the winding paths.
Qin Yao was initially awakened by the sound of hooves, then heard noises from the ancestral hall, guessing that the officials had arrived, and turned over to meet Zhou Gong again.
By the time she awoke, the officers had already left, leaving only two minor clerks at the ancestral hall to learn about details from the villagers.
Liu Ji called the four children to wake, dressed them in warm cotton clothes, and after quickly finishing their washing up, urged Qin Yao to go out.
He was eager to join in the commotion, still keen to go to the old house to drink chicken soup.
The five of them sprinted along the icy roads formed from melting snow, with Qin Yao watching as one after another they fell on their butts, feeling no emotion at the sight, and even finding it a bit amusing.
Second Lang blamed Sanlang, Sanlang meekly said it was the elder brother’s fault, and Da Lang angrily glared at their father, the true culprit.
Si Niang shouted, "I’m not playing with you anymore!"
She got up and dusted her pants, standing pitifully waiting for Qin Yao, choosing to follow her mother instead.
The horses and bodies left by the bandits had all been taken away by the officials.
When they reached the ancestral hall, Qin Yao and the others learned that before coming to Liu Family Village, the bandits had earlier ransacked a nearby village called Wangjia Ao.
That village had a similar population to Liu Family Village, but lacking someone like Qin Yao to lead them, they couldn’t resist at all, losing their grain, livestock, silver coins, women, and children.
As the bandits left, they set a fire, burning down the ancestral hall in Wangjia Ao.
Such atrocious acts struck terror into everyone’s hearts.
But what was truly terrifying lay ahead, as the bandits that came to Liu Family Village yesterday were merely a small squad.
This bandit group comprised over a hundred members, a somewhat organized looting crew.
The main group had retreated to their mountain camp to celebrate after pillaging Wangjia Ao, leaving a small squad to continue searching nearby villages.
Hearing this, cold sweat trickled down Liu Ji’s back.
Everyone couldn’t help feeling thankful that it was only a small squad that had come yesterday. Otherwise, Wangjia Ao’s tragedy could have happened to Liu Family Village.
However, the two remaining clerks explained that after receiving the last night, both the County Magistrate and the County Magistrate did not wait till after the holidays; they immediately sent notices to villages and towns around Kaiyang County to alert the people.
They also requested instructions from the Lord Prefect, asking for the nearby garrison to assemble forces and come to root out the bandits.
This seemed to provide some relief, at least indicating that the government was taking charge.
Not doing so wasn’t an option, as this was no longer a case of a few rogue criminals but an organized bandit nest, significantly different in nature.
With Sheng Country just having established the New Dynasty, with imperial power at its peak, if the court found out that local governments couldn’t handle even a bandit group, the Emperor would be furious, and that would spell major trouble.
The two clerks, after concluding their business at the ancestral hall and only accepting two steamed buns from the village head’s wife, firmly refused Liu Dafu’s offer to stay for lunch.
Before leaving, the two glanced at Qin Yao, seemingly finding it surprising that she didn’t appear extraordinary. Nodding slightly towards her, they skillfully mounted their horses, commanded "Go!" and rode away.
"It’s all over, let’s disperse, the snow is about to melt, and it’s time to get busy with spring plowing."
The village head stood at the ancestral hall’s entrance, waving a hand to signal everyone to return to their homes.
Speaking of spring plowing, a shiver ran through Qin Yao.
She recollected those two acres of wheat field, conditions unknown, making even Mrs. Zhang’s carefully stewed chicken soup seem bland.
Seeing her not moving, Liu Ji, having finished his bowl, shamelessly leaned over to ask if she needed help finishing hers, assuring her he didn’t mind.
Qin Yao coldly said, "Get lost!"
Liu Ji replied, "Alrighty~"
In the following month or so, officials came two or three times. Each time they asked questions about the bandits’ numbers, appearances, and whether any traces were found.
The village head earnestly responded each time, and thanks to the officers dropping by occasionally, the villagers gradually relaxed and focused their energy on a new round of farming.