Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 73 - 72: Rolling Up My Sleeves

Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Rolling Up My Sleeves
Qin Yao looked up at the four Da Lang siblings and kindly asked what they had done at home today, whether they had completed their morning exercises and homework.
The main concern was whether Liu Ji had been lazy or done anything bad while she was not at home.
Liu Ji didn’t expect that she still had the energy to ask about these things, and the fingers pressing on Qin Yao’s shoulder trembled slightly.
He hurriedly gave his son and daughter a wink.
Da Lang didn’t even glance at him and truthfully said, "Auntie, Dad watched the fields all day, didn’t weed the vegetable patch, and didn’t fix the broken water mill. Second Lang and I made the meals today."
After all, the waterwheel was wooden, and occasionally river water would bring in some weeds and debris, which needed cleaning every two or three days.
If it got stuck, it had to be repaired, lest someone couldn’t use it when needed.
The water mill was now a stable income source; it would break even in five months, and after that, it was all profit.
Now only three months left to break even, and the existing customer base must be well maintained.
So if there was a problem with the waterwheel, Qin Yao always dealt with it immediately, and since it didn’t take much time, the villagers kept coming back.
But today, how dare Liu Ji let the water mill stop? Was he tired of living?
"How long has it stopped?" Qin Yao frowned and asked.
Da Lang said it had stopped since noon and was still not running.
The hand massaging her shoulder withdrew at some point, and the person retreated to the hall’s doorway.
"Liu Ji, where are you going?!" Qin Yao’s sharp gaze locked onto him and shouted.
Liu Ji swallowed hard, smiling obsequiously, "My dear, I’m going to fix the waterwheel."
Only then did the murderous look in Qin Yao’s eyes subside, and she let him take the repair tools and escape out the door.
With Liu Ji no longer being an eyesore indoors, Qin Yao relaxed her expression and warmly advised the four Da Lang siblings:
"Your dad is like a toad on the roadside; he moves only when poked. If you want him to improve, you must constantly spur him on. Whenever you see him not moving, remind him."
"Lately, I’ve been busy working in the town to earn money, so don’t help him with household chores he’s supposed to do. If he doesn’t listen, tell me, and I’ll take care of him."
The siblings exchanged delighted looks and responded in unison, "Understood!"
With Qin Yao backing them up, the siblings felt emboldened. Now, let’s see if Dad dares to be fierce with them again.
It was getting late, and they had to wake up early tomorrow. Qin Yao reviewed the siblings’ homework for the day, then went back to her room to sleep.
Liu Ji came home past eleven o’clock. The sound of the waterwheel grinding along the riverbank at the mountain’s base indicated he had fixed it, allowing Qin Yao to relax and sleep soundly.
She woke at around four, with the outside still pitch black.
Qin Yao dressed neatly and stepped out of her room into the hall. A bamboo tube filled with cool boiled water was on the table, its top carved with a groove for attaching a rope for easy carrying.
Qin Yao ran her fingers over the newly carved groove, arching an eyebrow in mild surprise.
Could Liu Laosan actually have such delicate thoughts?
Of course, it was more likely he had a guilty conscience and was trying to please her to avoid her wrath.
"Flattery!"
Qin Yao scoffed softly, slung the water-filled bamboo tube over her shoulder, and quietly headed out, taking a torch to go to work.
Leaving at four-thirty, she traveled for two and a half hours and arrived at Landlord Ding’s house punctually at seven.
As a laborer, she would never give the boss an extra second of work.
Others were a few minutes late, as Sheng Country people didn’t follow strict schedules to the minute and second. Being on time meant arriving within a certain timeframe.
Breakfast was a bowl of millet porridge per person. When collecting breakfast, Qin Yao purposely asked for an extra bowl, but the cook gave her a glare and refused.
Watching Shunzi and others, Qin Yao sighed; there was no choice. If she wanted to fill her stomach, she needed to buckle down today.
If yesterday was just about learning techniques, today Qin Yao had mastered the woodcutting skills, intimidating even herself with her drive.
Meanwhile, Shunzi and Big Beard remained clueless.
Yesterday, Big Beard had cut the most logs, earning an extra bun in the morning, shared by the Ding Family’s young master and lady among the servants.
Though leftover, it still had meat in it, and none of the buns had been touched yet.
Seeing Big Beard swallow the bun in two bites, Shunzi gulped enviously, collected his tools, and headed to the mountain with Qin Yao.
Today, Shunzi was still using a saw, and Qin Yao still had an axe, as familiar tools were the easiest to use.
Once they arrived, they split up. Qin Yao circled the woods, chose the straightest log, and got to work!
The "bang bang" sounds of chopping echoed in the woods, followed by occasional "crash" sounds of trees falling every two quarters of an hour or so.
Ding Wu heard it repeatedly at first, thinking workers had gathered and felled trees together, relaxing in the shade, unconcerned.
Until near noon when Qin Yao piled log after log toward the mountain’s base. At a glance, there were five or six logs, prompting Ding Wu to stand up immediately.
"Qin Yao, did you cut these all by yourself?" he asked, surprised.
Qin Yao pushed down the eighth log, slung her axe over her shoulder, nodded, and started trimming branches with a machete from her tool kit.
Her movements were quick, hacking like she was scaling fish. Ding Wu stared in wide-eyed shock for a full half-minute before he snapped out of it.
"You cut eight logs all by yourself in one morning?" he incredulously confirmed again.
Qin Yao nodded and finished trimming the last branch just as the Ding Mansion house servants arrived with food. Qin Yao said, "I want to eat my fill today at noon, is that okay?"
Ding Wu nodded vigorously, "Sure, if you maintain this pace in the afternoon, you’ll get to eat as many meat buns as you want tomorrow morning!"
"Deal," Qin Yao smiled, put down her tools, patted her hands, and waited for the meal.
Originally, the servants planned to eat together on the mountain; instead, they let Qin Yao have all the food so she could eat her fill, heading back to the mansion to eat afterward.
On the clearing littered with branches, everyone watched as Qin Yao ate the equivalent of five people’s portions, their jaws nearly dropping in shock.
Big Beard elbowed Shunzi, "Isn’t she your sister-in-law? Why are you so surprised? You just found out she can eat like this today?"
Shunzi nodded, confirming that only today did he learn Liu Laosan’s wife could eat this much!
Come afternoon, motivated by Qin Yao, everyone gave their all. Big Beard cut four logs!
Even Shunzi sawed two logs, making three total for the day, a result he found satisfying compared to yesterday’s single log.
Yet turning to look, a pile had formed before Qin Yao again, another eight logs, totaling sixteen logs she cut in one day.
"Is she even human?" Big Beard muttered in disbelief.
Ding Wu’s gaze toward Qin Yao changed, courteously addressing her as Miss Qin now.