Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 96 - 95: Toys

Chapter 96: Chapter 95: Toys
In the early morning, Qin Yao, who had only slept at midnight, got up when she heard the roosters crowing in the village.
She tidied up a bit, grabbed the two drawings she had stayed up making, and prepared to head out.
Second Lang poked a small head out of the room, looked around, and, not seeing his father, whispered, "Auntie."
Qin Yao was about to step out the door when she heard the low call from behind. She turned around and asked in confusion:
"Why are you up so early?"
He wasn’t usually so eager for morning exercise.
Clearly, the little guy wasn’t up for exercise; he had something else on his mind.
He clutched his chest, ran over, and took out eight cents from his pocket, asking if she was going to Lower River Village and if she could buy something for him.
There was also a peddler in Lower River Village, offering a wider variety of goods than Liu Huolang’s.
"What do you want to buy?" Qin Yao asked with an amused smile.
The last time she went to the Ding Family, she left Second Lang two maces of silver as an emergency fund, which wasn’t used, so the money was still there.
When she got home, Second Lang quietly sought her out to return the money.
But she didn’t take it back, thinking that children should have their own pocket money. She gathered the four siblings and let them treat this two maces of silver as pocket money, temporarily kept by Second Lang.
Qin Yao didn’t manage how they spent it. She even hoped the kids would be a bit bolder and buy whatever random things they wanted to make them happy.
However, they hadn’t done so, and Second Lang had set a rule requiring an application for expenses, reasonably managing the siblings’ pocket money.
With two maces of silver, each had a budget of fifty cents. This time, the four siblings each contributed two cents to buy something together, marking the first use of the money.
That’s why Second Lang appeared a bit cautious, casting several glances at Qin Yao to ensure she wouldn’t be angry before saying:
"I want to buy a bamboo woven soccer ball, is that okay?"
Qin Yao said, "A bamboo ball?"
Second Lang nodded eagerly.
"Alright, understood." Qin Yao took his money and headed out. The kids merely wanted a toy, so she had to satisfy them.
Watching Qin Yao leave, Second Lang still felt dazed. He had mentally prepared for most of the night, never expecting his stepmother to agree so easily without uttering a word against toys as distractions.
He was... so happy!
Second Lang ran back to the room, where Da Lang and the siblings lifted their heads from the bed in unison. Seeing Second Lang nodding with a smile, the three siblings joyfully rolled in bed.
"I love Mom the most~" Si Niang murmured.
Sanlang agreed, "Mom is the best!"
Da Lang, smiling at his delighted younger siblings, stopped Second Lang, who wanted to crawl back into bed, got dressed, and pulled him out for morning exercise.
Second Lang’s eyes went wide, but before he could react, his brother had already taken him to the river. Half the night’s overthinking turned out to be unnecessary!
Qin Yao first visited Liu the carpenter’s house, handing over the waterwheel blueprints for Lower River Village before heading towards the village entrance to go to Lower River Village.
From afar, she saw the two brothers, Da Lang, running back and forth along their own field dike. Under the morning’s azure sky, in the lush green rice fields, mischievous children darted around, creating a scene that was both healing and heartwarming.
Qin Yao, walking briskly, reached Lower River Village in just over an hour.
After delivering the drawings to Wang Yu, who gathered the village carpenters, and settling all details, Qin Yao went to the peddler in Lower River Village, buying a bamboo woven soccer ball, spending six cents, leaving two cents.
By the time she returned home, it was noon.
The four siblings had gone for a midday nap, to rest up for the afternoon’s calligraphy and book memorization.
Qin Yao gently opened the door, placed the soccer ball and the remaining two cents on their large desk, imagining the surprise and joy on the little guys’ faces when they awoke to see the toy, her expression softened involuntarily.
She carefully closed the door and stepped out. The courtyard was tidy, but the four now-grown chickens let out of the coop had again dirtied the ground.
Qin Yao picked up a small shovel by the door, scooped the waste, and covered it in the vegetable patch — natural fertilizer.
After dealing with the chicken droppings, she washed her hands. From the main room came Liu Ji’s reminder, "The food is kept warm on the stove."
Having said that, he buried his head in copying books, writing with utmost concentration.
If she hadn’t heard him humming a little tune just before entering, Qin Yao could almost believe his sincerity.
Entering the kitchen, sure enough, leftovers were kept warm on a smoldering stove.
In the morning, she had intentionally left some stir-fried vegetables for the noon meal. They cooked porridge and stirred the vegetables in. If it wasn’t tasty enough, they’d pick a small handful of greens from the garden, wash, chop, and sprinkle them in. Though it didn’t look great, it tasted wonderful.
Qin Yao lifted the whole pot, grabbed two small stools, using one as a table and the other as a chair, and sat at the kitchen door eating heartily.
The courtyard was very quiet, only the sound of book-copying from the main room. The eaves blocked out the harsh mid-day sun, creating a patch of shade. Qin Yao savored the meal, wishing she could sit like this for an eternity.
Unfortunately, there was still work to be done.
After filling her stomach, Qin Yao shouted to someone in the room, "Make some meat dishes this afternoon."
Liu Ji quickly lifted his head, "There’s no meat left at home."
Qin Yao leaned against the kitchen door frame, retorting, "Can’t you go buy some? I don’t handle the kitchen stuff; that’s your responsibility. Sort it out yourself."
"Then shall I buy some smoked meat?"
Qin Yao shrugged indifferently, "Do as you please; just make sure I have meat and white rice for dinner. I’ll be really busy and tired lately, so make sure the meals are decent."
Otherwise, working myself to exhaustion all day and coming home to a poor meal would just make me irritable.
Liu Ji promptly nodded, acknowledging her words. Seeing Qin Yao about to leave again, he curiously asked:
"Where are you headed now?"
"Where?" she said, getting a little riled up, "I’m off to earn money! Just focus on your book copying."
Liu Ji wiped the emerging sweat from his forehead, thinking how this woman was as temperamental as June weather.
Oh well, if you can’t provoke her, best to avoid her.
After that thought, he watched Qin Yao grab a rope and bamboo pole, and endure the midday sun as she went out, grateful that he could stay in the shade, copying books, without having to brave the elements.
Qin Yao arrived at the Liu Family’s old house. By noon, the whole family, young and old, was resting under the eaves, enjoying the cool.
Jinhua and Jinbao, full of energy and unfazed by the heat, ran out the door to play at the village well.
Seeing Qin Yao, they obediently called out to her as Aunt. Jinhua even asked her, "Where are Sanlang and Si Niang? Why aren’t they coming out to play?"
Qin Yao smiled and replied, "They’re napping at home. You guys go play first; they’ll come find you when they’re free."
Although there was studying to do, Qin Yao scheduled time over a week of seven days, allowing the siblings to relax on weekends.
Given the ages of Da Lang and Second Lang, they would be in elementary school in modern times, and there was always a desire to have them learn more.
However, they’d still go out to play for a while before dinner in the afternoon. In the meantime, they could catch bugs for the chickens to eat, grab the money box from the water mill, and have Liu Ji calculate the day’s earnings, which the siblings thoroughly enjoyed.