Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 72 - 71: Awe of Nature

Chapter 72: Chapter 71: Awe of Nature
There are a total of five saws and five axes. Everyone gets to choose their tools at the start. Axes work faster for small trees, while larger ones are more efficiently cut down with saws. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on what you’re familiar with.
But generally speaking, saws are more useful than axes.
Shunzi was quick and grabbed a saw, while Qin Yao, being a bit slower, only got an axe.
Ding Wu was mainly in charge of overseeing things, walking around the forest to prevent laziness.
Before heading uphill, the steward mentioned that the number of trees felled would be recorded, with rewards for the top three and deductions for the bottom three if they fall too far below average.
As soon as they reached their destination, everyone started working with their tools, eager for the rewards yet fearful of losing money for poor performance.
Qin Yao mused that these ancients were shrewd, not giving any chance for losses.
Seeing Shunzi’s pleading gaze, Qin Yao just gestured for him to get to work, then carried her axe and chose a medium-sized cedar, swinging her axe.
She hadn’t eaten pork but had seen pigs run. She’d watched people logging many times, but this was her first time doing it herself. It felt like chopping firewood, just that this wood was bigger than usual, but in essence, there was no difference.
Shunzi had no choice but to pretend to saw while slyly observing how other workers did it. Copying their methods, he managed to saw half a tree by noon without falling behind.
The fastest was a burly bearded man, selectively sawing large trees. Just as Ding Wu called for lunch, he finished one, kicked it down, rolled away swiftly, leaving behind a sweaty garment. With a "boom," the large tree fell.
Qin Yao saw clearly that the tree originally fell away from Big Beard, but somehow changed direction to fall towards him.
Finally, Big Beard threw his sweaty garment to the ground and quickly rolled to the opposite side, allowing the tree to fall smoothly onto his shirt.
Ding Wu probably didn’t understand what just happened. He pointed at the shirt curiously and asked:
"Why did you throw your shirt while running?"
The man known as Big Beard dusted off the shirt and put it back on, explaining:
"Trees have spirits; they chase people when they fall. Leaving something with a similar scent to me can trick them."
Ding Wu was taken aback, "Really?"
Big Beard grinned, telling him to try it himself to find out.
Ding Wu glanced at the tree wider than his thigh and waved his hands repeatedly, "I’ll pass."
Then he gathered everyone, warning them to be careful before trees fell.
Holding a bowl of vegetable soup and two coarse buns provided by the Ding Mansion’s house servants, an interesting idea suddenly crossed Qin Yao’s mind—playing with the falling of trees.
And indeed, she went ahead with it, just to test Big Beard’s words.
Strangely, when she intentionally tried the experiment, the tree fell straight in the direction she kicked.
When she gave up the experiment, she was nearly hit by a tree that fell in the opposite direction.
It was only because Qin Yao reacted quick enough that she didn’t get injured.
They were logging separately to avoid affecting others or accidentally injuring a companion. If hit, there wouldn’t be time to call for help.
"So is this Schrodinger’s Tree Spirit?" Qin Yao muttered with lingering fear, deciding it’s best to hold nature in awe.
Before five o’clock, everyone stopped logging, using axes to chop the extra branches and trim the trunk.
At five sharp, they promptly finished work.
Qin Yao’s record for the day was two trees.
Shunzi finally learned how to log today, managing to saw down one tree in the afternoon using Big Beard’s method, and wasn’t injured.
The most was still Big Beard, one in the morning, two in the afternoon, totaling three.
The least was one; both Shunzi and Qin Yao were in a safe position, securing today’s ten coins payment.
Whether there would be deductions depended on their performance in the following days.
Logging is physically demanding. Qin Yao didn’t have enough with just the midday portion, nor did she prepare water for herself, and Landlord Ding’s family wouldn’t provide water. Parched, she and Shunzi had to dash downhill to drink from the spring flowing from the mountain.
This back-and-forth cost them quite some time, and Ding Wu didn’t seem too pleased with them, though he didn’t say much on the first day.
He just reminded them specifically when work ended: "Remember to bring a water bottle tomorrow."
"Oh, oh, certainly." Shunzi replied with a smile.
Qin Yao, touching her growling stomach, only wanted to run home immediately for dinner.
Lower River Village was nearby, and Qin Yao really couldn’t wait for Shunzi’s slow pace, so she said to him: "I live far, and it gets dark and hard to see if I’m late. I’ll go ahead."
Shunzi just managed an "Ah?" before Qin Yao was already sprinting away, giving him no chance to ask her to stay.
She suddenly looked back to add: "By the way, no need to wait for me tomorrow. We’ll meet at Ding Mansion."
After saying this, she sped up, leaving Shunzi far behind.
Alone, without needing to consider a companion, Qin Yao reached Liu Family Village in just over two hours, entering her home with the last glimmer of sunset.
Four children immediately gathered around, Qin Yao forced a smile, sat in the main room, and just wanted to eat.
Liu Ji brought a half-pot of porridge that had been kept warm on the stove, placing it before her, along with a bowl of hot sauce-covered melons and vegetables.
Qin Yao poured the vegetables into the porridge, stirred it, and gulped down a large spoonful.
The five of them stood around, watching her eat voraciously like one starved, utterly amazed.
"Mother, didn’t you have enough for lunch?" Sanlang asked with concern.
Qin Yao nodded randomly, not stopping until she finished the half-pot of porridge, finally feeling her protesting stomach relax.
She slammed the empty pot down with a "bang" and wiped her mouth, "Finally alive again!"
"What kind of work leaves you this hungry? Didn’t Landlord Ding’s family give you anything to eat?"
Liu Ji asked with concern from the washbasin as he washed the pot. "If it’s this tough, let me do it instead. You should rest at home."
"No need!" Qin Yao raised her hand to signal ’stop’, "Today was just the first day and I wasn’t prepared. Tomorrow will be better."
"Prepare a water bottle for me, filled with cool boiled water. I’ll take it with me to drink."
Liu Ji responded with an ’oh’, washed the pot, and came back to the main room, squatting in front of her out of curiosity, "What kind of work do you do? How is the pay calculated?"
Qin Yao answered briefly: "Two meals a day plus ten cents’ pay, logging work."
Liu Ji’s expectant expression deflated the instant he heard ’logging’. He merely responded with an ’oh’, standing up to massage her shoulders.
"You’ve worked hard, my dear. Let me give you a massage to help you relax."
Qin Yao responded with a hum, finding the pressure just right and the technique quite good.
But since when was Liu Laosan so diligent and considerate?
If something seems unusual, there must be something unusual about it!