Chapter 197 Liu Erlang, you kid
It was still very cold in the mountains in early spring, so Qin Yao harnessed the carriage.
As soon as the sky began to turn pale, they set off with their four children and Liu Jinbao.
There was no time to make breakfast, so we ate rice balls made last night. The balls were mixed with lard, which was very fragrant and even chewier when they were cold.
There is no lunch in the school, so you have to bring your own lunch, which is rice balls.
At least that's the case for now, because this is the only quick meal Qin Yao can make now.
After that, if she learns to make pancakes or something, she should be able to change up her skills.
In this regard, Dalang and his three siblings did not hold out any hope. Dalang even said that they would prepare their own breakfast and lunch when the time came.
Qin Yao had no objection and gave him pocket money anyway. If he didn't have enough to eat one day, he could go to the town for a meal.
When the carriage reached the fork in the road that led to other villages, the carriage picked up two children from other villages and charged each of them a penny, making a small profit from the travel expenses.
After walking for half an hour, we arrived at Xiahe Village.
The driver was already waiting at the intersection of Shangguan Road. He was a little surprised to see seven children getting off Qin Yao's carriage at once.
"Brother coachman, I think you need to widen the width of your cart. So many children will have to ride in your cart when they go to school in town." Qin Yao joked.
By the way, he called Dalang and his four siblings aside, pointed at them, and sternly instructed them: "Remember, if you dare to hit other kids, I will punish you when I come back!"
"Also, if you get bullied by other kids, come back and kneel on the washboard!"
Dalang and the other three were stunned for a moment, shocked by the instructions. So you are such a stepmother.
However, the four brothers and sisters still made a serious promise that they would never bully others, nor would they be bullied by others and forced to kneel on the washboard.
Qin Yao was relieved and patted them on the back, "Go!"
"Goodbye, mother." Si Niang waved excitedly and climbed onto the driver's ox cart expectantly.
Qin Yao watched them go away before driving back.
When she got home and walked into the quiet yard, Qin Yao felt very uncomfortable, so she simply closed the door and went to work at the water mill.
The children felt inexplicably anxious on the first day they left home for school.
Sometimes I was worried that they would be seated in the last row by the teacher and wouldn't be able to hear clearly what the teacher was saying. Sometimes I was worried that other children would laugh at them for eating the rice balls they brought from home at noon, which would lead to arguments.
Carpenter Liu noticed Qin Yao's anxious look and was afraid that she would smash the stone plate, so he asked her to go aside and rest.
At the same time, he jokingly complained: "I didn't expect that you, who are usually so calm, could be so anxious."
Lunch was brought by Carpenter Liu's wife. Knowing Qin Yao was there, she packed two portions, but they were just the amount for an ordinary person, so it was as if Qin Yao hadn't eaten anything.
But she was not hungry at all today, and she couldn't finish her bowl of rice even after trying many times.
Hearing Carpenter Liu's teasing, Qin Yao sighed: "Alas, am I suffering from separation anxiety?"
But that's not her own child. Can stepchildren also cause separation anxiety?
Carpenter Liu felt bored when he saw Qin Yao didn't reply to him. After lunch, he took out the wooden board he used for recording and drew the style of the magical bookcase. After the design was ready, he would get his piece of huanghuali wood.
Qin Yao put down the empty bowl, stood up, leaned over to take a look, suddenly thought of something, and patted Carpenter Liu on the shoulder.
"Do you think we should prepare more wood?"
Carpenter Liu looked at the deserted factory shed and said, "Is it necessary? There aren't many orders here."
Qin Yao tapped his wooden board with the clean end of his chopsticks. "Do this. I just remembered that there are more children going to school now. Maybe there is a market for this."
Carpenter Liu's heart moved, "Yes! Why didn't I think of it!"
Qin Yao raised her chin towards him and said, "I'll go collect the wood this afternoon. Put this piece of Huanghuali wood aside for now."
After being with Qin Yao for so long, Carpenter Liu knew that if he wanted to get things done, he had to prepare early and seize the opportunity.
He immediately put away the board, picked up his empty bowl, locked the door, and went towards the village, dropping off the empty bowl at his house on the way.
After the New Year, every household cut some wood and put it at home to dry, and cut off the bark and branches for burning.
The two of them walked for half an afternoon and collected more than a dozen pieces of wood. The prices were 10% to 20% cheaper than outside. Even if they didn't make magical book boxes, it was cost-effective just to stockpile the materials.
Qin Yao carried the purchased materials back, and Carpenter Liu was mainly responsible for bargaining, and the two worked in perfect harmony.
Seeing that it was almost time for the children to get out of school, Qin Yao asked Carpenter Liu to go to a few more stores to ask, and then buy the items and wait for her to come back to carry them, so she left first.
He went home quickly, washed his hands, pulled out the ox cart, and went to Xiahe Village with the cart to pick up the children from school.
She arrived early and waited for a quarter of an hour before she saw the driver coming back with a cart full of dolls.
Because each child brought a box or bamboo frame for books, the ox cart was seriously overloaded, which was why it moved slowly.
Fortunately, the bookcases of Dalang and his two siblings could be stacked flat, and Si Niang sat on the bookcases, surrounded by her three brothers, making others envious.
Before she even got close, Qin Yao heard the twins excitedly calling out, "Mother!"
Qin Yao led the ox cart a few steps forward and took the four children and Jinbao to her cart. When she was moving the book boxes, she found that one was missing.
Erlang smiled at her ingratiatingly.
Qin Yao frowned, "Where is your bookcase?"
Liu Erlang, don't be so annoying. How can you lose your schoolbag on the first day of school?
Erlang quickly explained, "I sold it!"
He pointed at Dalang's bookcase and said that his books were in his elder brother's place and were not lost.
Without waiting for Qin Yao to get angry, he quickly stuffed the silver hidden in his arms into her hand and proudly jumped onto the carriage, "Mother, I have great news. You will definitely be happy to hear it, but let's talk about it when we get home."
Qin Yao weighed the five cents of silver in her hand in surprise, suppressed her doubts for the time being, pointed at Erlang's forehead, and said, "I'll deal with you when I get home."
Erlang was not panicked at all. He touched his chest and found a thick stack of papers pressed under his clothes. This was his confidence.
Because she wanted to find out the situation quickly, Qin Yao drove the ox cart very fast. Jin Bao was caught off guard and staggered on the cart. When he arrived at the door of his house, he almost vomited.
Qin Yao saw her nephew's pale face, then she realized what was happening, and said a little guilty: "You kid, why didn't you tell me if you were feeling unwell?"
Jin Bao's face turned pale and he said aggrievedly, "I wanted to speak, but my mouth was full of sand, so I quickly shut up."
Qin Yao patted his shoulder pitifully and said, "I'm sorry, please go slower tomorrow, it's getting late, go home quickly."
Jinbao tried hard to give his Third Aunt an indifferent smile, then turned around and went home carrying his bamboo backpack.
Qin Yao apologized again and then took her child back home.
As soon as the ox cart was packed up, Qin Yao came to the main hall without washing her hands and sat down. She plopped the five cents of silver on the table and said, "Liu Erlang, tell the truth!"