Chapter 168 There is no magic in the world
Of course, the fight didn't happen in the end.
Qin Yao's cold glance was more effective than anything else. Liu Ji immediately calmed down and became much more obedient than before.
Old Man Liu looked at Qin Yao with admiration. Thanks to her ruthlessness, the third child had indeed become much more sensible after this trip to the border.
Zhang saw Old Man Liu's expression, moved behind him, and said proudly in a low voice:
"See what I said originally. How could Yao Niang harm the third child? She didn't want to pay for the corvée. She just wanted to help the third child learn well."
Old Man Liu agreed with this and said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, you are right."
Zhang turned her head away proudly, "That is~"
It gets dark early in winter, and by the time we finish our meal, it is already completely dark.
Qin Yao's family of six left the old house with a torch and returned to their own home.
When you pass by the water mill, take the cash box.
The weather is cold, and it snowed for half the day today. Everyone is afraid of the cold, so not many people come to the water mill. Erlang shook the cash box, and there were two or three sporadic sounds.
When he got home, he took it out and saw that there were only three copper coins.
Qin Yao took out the family account book, and Erlang already knew how to add today's income from the water mill, and then threw the copper coins into the pottery jar in the cupboard in the main room.
Every day when he and Dalang needed money to go out to buy groceries or something, they would take money from here and record the accounts in the account book every day.
The reason why it was so troublesome was that when Qin Yao was busy at the water mill, she basically had no time to take care of three meals a day for her family.
But Qin Yao found it troublesome to ask her for money every time she bought something small, so she simply set up a daily storage tank and set aside the income from the water mill for daily expenses.
This job was originally done by Liu Ji. When he got home, he found that his power to manage money had been taken away by Erlang, and he felt very depressed.
Jilang locked the cupboard, put the key chain on a rope and hung it directly around his neck, only taking it off when taking a bath.
The little fellow walked down the corridor seriously and said to Liu Ji who was adding charcoal to the charcoal pot for smoking meat:
"Dad, Mom said that you will be responsible for three meals a day during your stay at home, so if you need money, come to me."
Liu Ji stared in astonishment, so shocked that his fingers were almost tickled by the charcoal fire. He gasped for air and asked in surprise,
"I still have to ask my son for money?"
Erlang raised his hand and circled everyone in the room, "No, if anyone in my family wants to get money, they have to go through me."
Qin Yao, who was eating fried peanuts in the room, also nodded in approval, "Now, Erlang is the housekeeper."
Qin Yao felt that for a child, learning some simple accounting could help improve his financial intelligence. Since Erlang didn't like martial arts, she might as well let him manage the money.
Besides, the money was not much, so she was not afraid of losing it, and she felt relieved.
A few days ago, Qin Yao bought a small piece of pork from the butcher in town, and asked He and Zhang to help cut it into strips and marinate it, and then made twelve strips of bacon.
Now, a few wooden boards are used to surround the corridor of the main hall, a pot of charcoal fire is lit, covered with ashes, and the smoke is slowly rising.
Liu Ji closed the windproof board, stood up, and sent Erlang to fetch a basin of water for him to wash his hands.
My hands were covered with charcoal, as black as if they came from a coal mine.
The charcoal stove in the main room was always burning with boiling water. Erlang took into consideration that his father had just returned home, so he stepped forward, filled a basin with hot water for him, and handed him a piece of soap.
Liu Ji took the soap in his hand and looked at Erlang suspiciously, "What is this?"
"Soap can be used for washing your face, hands, bathing or clothes. It will produce foam. Dad, you try it." Erlang said with a bit of boasting in his heart, just wanting to see his father's ignorant look.
Unfortunately, the other person was an adult after all. Although he was surprised, he did not show it on his face, which made Erlang very disappointed.
After seeing Liu Ji rubbing bubbles, he snatched the soap and put it back on the stone table beside the kitchen door.
Liu Ji washed his hands and smelled them. There was no strange smell. This soap is very useful.
"Where did you buy it?" Liu Ji poured out the dirty water and asked Erlang quietly.
Erlang also whispered back, "It was transformed by my mother. She is really amazing. She knows magic!"
Liu Ji's mouth twitched slightly. This woman was fooling the child again. There was no magic in this world!
He wanted to ask in detail what it was made of, but Erlang thought it was too cold outside and ran into the house.
Liu Ji had no choice but to give up and took another look at the small piece of white jade-colored soap on the stone platform, as if he had heard of this thing somewhere.
Oh, now I remember that Mr. Fan had mentioned before that his grandfather specially bought a pack of soap from Shuntian Prefecture in the south, which was specially used for washing hands and taking a bath. It would produce foam and had a fragrance, and was a hundred times better than soap powder.
But this one of theirs has no fragrance, probably because no expensive spices are added.
"Ma'am, your soap is not cheap to make, is it?"
As soon as he entered the main room, Liu Ji asked tentatively.
Qin Yao hummed, nothing on a pig is cheap, and motioned to Dalang to put the candlestick higher, and was reading an account book in her hand.
Liu Ji wanted to take a look, but Qin Yao immediately raised her head vigilantly. He could only sit down opposite her in a sullen manner, took out a book from his bag, and pretended to read it aloud in a low voice, acting like a diligent student.
The four brothers and sisters of Dalang shared a footbath to wash their feet. After washing, they put on straw slippers, divided the charcoal in the charcoal stove into their small charcoal basins, and went back to their rooms to rest.
This small charcoal basin is quite interesting. Qin Yao found it in a shop selling pottery bowls in the town. It is shaped like an open jar, but is actually a very thick pottery bowl.
She bought the bowl and asked Carpenter Liu to help her make a cover for it out of bamboo strips. She placed the ceramic bowl in the bamboo cover and added handles on both ends, so that she could hold the small bowl in her hands without worrying about it getting burned.
She made three in total, one for herself, and the other four siblings, two each, shared one.
On cold winter nights, fill the charcoal basin with charcoal, cover it with a bamboo lid, put it inside the quilt to warm the bed before going to bed, and you won't feel cold at all.
In the memories of Dalang and his three siblings, winter was the most difficult time.
It's not like now, when in winter there are charcoal fires and airtight rooms, soft bedding and a small charcoal basin. Curled up in the warm quilt, it's so comfortable that you don't even want to get up.
The small charcoal basin can also be placed on your knees to warm your hands. If your hands are cold while writing, just touch it.
This function is similar to the copper hand warmers used by rich people. It is not as exquisite, but it is cheap and practical.
The only problem is that the quality of the ceramic bowl may not last long, so I'll have to replace it with a new one next year.
Qin Yao's clever ideas were all thanks to the well-developed Internet in her previous life. Specialties from all over the world can be found on the Internet.
It might have seemed fun at the time, but looking back now, it could have provided a lot of convenience to her life.
Liu Ji looked at the small bamboo charcoal basin on Qin Yao's knees with envy, and did not forget to ask about the soap.
Mr. Fan said that it was something useful, so it must be a valuable thing. If he could make more and sell them, wouldn't he be rich?
Qin Yao couldn't ignore his burning gaze at all.
She had thought about what he was thinking before, so how could she not know what Liu Ji was thinking?