Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 365: Housewarming
When November arrived, the temperature dropped sharply, and there was an instant feeling of winter.
This year’s first snowfall came early. On the 11th, when Qin Yao’s study was completed and she invited family and friends over for a housewarming, tiny, sand-like snowflakes gently fell from the sky.
The snow fell all afternoon and only stopped in the evening, covering the rooftops and fields with a thin layer of snow.
The villagers of Liu Family Village no longer worried about the arrival of winter. The children, wearing new, thick cotton-padded jackets, excitedly ran through the fields, chasing after the thin layer of snowflakes, gathering them together to form a small snowball, which became a prize among the children.
Da Lang’s hand injury had fully healed, and Liu Fei had also recovered well. The second batch of book boxes needed by Fulong Trading Company had been delivered. This young man led the children of the family, playing the king in the snow.
They played crazily until evening when it was time to eat, and only then did they rush to join Da Lang, Jinhua, and others at Qin Yao’s house for dinner.
Even in the cold weather, the villagers did not feel the chill sitting outside. There was a brazier under each table, providing plenty of human warmth and heat. The newly built study, just a few days old, soon lost its dampness.
Among the family members, Liu Ji was the happiest. Once the study was completed, he eagerly moved all of his belongings there.
Half of the old small room was demolished; one side was left to make a small side room, and the other turned into a corridor connecting the front and rear yards.
He, who came to help with cooking, envied, "This looks like a two-entry courtyard."
She turned around and caught Liu Bai, who was busy serving dishes, tilting her head towards the direction of the old house. "We’ll make a corridor like this too. Then, when the door is closed, mom and dad can live in the front yard, we’ll live in the back yard, and the kids won’t disturb the old folks. What do you think?"
The villagers urged them to serve the food quickly, lest it get cold. Liu Bai was busy as could be, agreed to whatever she said, with a cheerful grin, "Okay, okay, whatever you want, we’ll do it your way."
She knew he might not really listen, but she was very satisfied with the attitude, and instantly beamed with joy.
Once again, she caught the man who was about to leave with a plate of food, and secretly fed a piece of meat into his mouth.
Liu Bai was both surprised and embarrassed. He quickly looked around, seeing someone watching, grinning with a hint of mischief. He blushed deeply and scolded softly, "What are you doing!"
She was not at all afraid of others watching. What was wrong with a wife feeding her husband!
"Sister-in-law, give me a piece too?" Liu Ji popped up out of nowhere, playfully saying.
She replied with mock annoyance, "You little brat, I’ll give you a piece!"
Liu Ji laughed and dodged the spatula she tried to swing at him and quickly checked his new jacket.
Even though Qin Yao hadn’t brought him a gift when she returned from the prefecture last time, the fabric she bought still included some for him. Mrs. Qiu’s craftsmanship was indeed impressive. The new, sky-blue jacket he wore today would not look good with oil stains from the spatula.
Not daring to make more jokes, he thought of his teacher who was still by the fire in the study, and he asked, "Sister-in-law, could I have some more peanuts for the teacher?"
Initially, she was about to scold him, but as soon as she heard it was for the esteemed scholar, she immediately agreed with a smile, "You go back and wait. I’ll make a small pot for you and deliver it myself."
"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Liu Ji’s sweet talk instantly dispelled her anger.
Meanwhile, at the main hall’s door, Qin Yao saw Liu Fei bringing back six wet children. The smallest one was sneezing but still holding a snowball like a treasure to give to her. She barely restrained herself from giving the child a pat on the backside.
"Hurry up and go inside to change out of those wet clothes. Especially you, Liu Pingling, don’t think you won’t get scolded just because you’re cute. Quickly throw out the snow and change, then come to the kitchen to drink ginger soup!"
As Qin Yao spoke, she saw the others also sniffling and hastily added, "All of you, come to the kitchen for a bowl of ginger soup each!"
"And you!" Qin Yao pointed at Liu Fei from a distance. Even at his age, he still didn’t know when to stop playing.
Well, it wasn’t like they lived in a modern world with advanced medical care. If they caught something serious, it could be life-threatening.
Si Niang quickly tossed the snowball and pulled Jinhua along to go change. Jinbao followed Second Lang and Sanlang because the old house was too far, so he temporarily wore his siblings’ clothes.
Da Lang watched Qin Yao heading to the kitchen, instructed Ah Wang to prepare ginger soup for them, and darted through the corridor to the newly completed study’s door. Inside, Gongliang Liao, acting all grown-up, was chatting with the village chief, Qi Xian, "Psst! Psst!" He pouted to draw his attention.
Qi Xian found an excuse to leave the study and approached Da Lang, puzzled, "What? Where did you guys go playing?"
If he hadn’t felt a bit under the weather these days, he would have loved to join Da Lang in the fields.
Unfortunately, Shi Tou was keeping a close watch, so he had to give up.
He had previously talked about going to the foot of the mountain with Da Lang to hunt birds, but it seemed hopeless now.
Now that it was snowing, albeit lightly, there was no chance of going to the mountains. Not to mention Shi Tou and the others wouldn’t agree, Qin Yao would never allow it.
Da Lang gave Qi Xian a mysterious smile, gesturing for him to extend his hand. They both covered their hands with their wide sleeves, secretly passing a snowball between them.
Feeling the ice-cold touch in his palm, Qi Xian widened his eyes in disbelief. When he looked down, he saw a tightly packed snowball and couldn’t help but laugh.
As he looked up to ask Da Lang how he got it, the boy was already gone, only turning back to point eastward, indicating he had collected it from the eastern field.
With such a thin layer of snow, it was a rare feat to find a snowball once the snow stopped and started to melt.
Qi Xian gently poked the snowball, which was soft, immediately leaving a dent. He quickly reshaped it, calling over Attendant Student, instructing him to carefully place it on the windowsill outside his bedroom in the Lotus Courtyard, hoping it might last through the night.
Qin Yao saw the ’secret’ between the two young boys and found it both helpless and amusing. Once the ginger soup was ready, she gave Liu Fei and the others each a bowl before allowing them to gather for dinner.
Both indoors and outdoors, eight tables were set up in total. The villagers dined in two shifts, with a special table set in the study for honored guests.
Liu Ji was responsible for entertaining the guests, Qin Yao managed the overall arrangements, and the household’s sisters-in-law helped. The housewarming banquet was a success.
For several days following, villagers in the village held housewarming banquets one after another. About half of the villagers had either renovated or built new houses, and Qin Yao and her husband, with their children, attended each banquet, gaining quite a bit of weight from the festivities.
A year ago, the villagers of Liu Family Village couldn’t have imagined that they could gain weight from such banquets.
But this year, they believed it. Turns out, eating too much meat can indeed become tiresome.
The Liu the carpenter’s family held a grand housewarming banquet at the end of November.
The new home was built on the mountainside opposite the stationer’s workshop, precisely where Qin Yao had initially recommended an abandoned old house.
Having gained experience from building the Lotus Courtyard, along with Liu the carpenter’s various creative ideas, his family’s new house, in Qin Yao’s eyes, resembled a deliberate modern-style ancient inn building.
