Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 392: Distributing New Year’s Gifts

After a sumptuous dinner, everyone rubbed their bellies, looking satisfied as they lounged on the benches.

The children seemed to have endless energy. Even after being full, they weren’t afraid of the cold and ran around the yard.

The youngest brother, Da Mao, became the object of his brothers and sisters’ scramble. Da Lang would carry Da Mao and run a few laps, then Jinbao and Jinhua would snatch him to give him a ride in a human carriage.

Compared to their brothers and sisters, Sanlang and Si Niang were much quieter. The Dragon and Phoenix Twins always managed to pair up, chatting enthusiastically in their self-invented secret language.

Inside the house, the adults chatted idly. Liu Bai and Liu Zhong tentatively asked Qin Yao about who she planned to appoint as the General Manager. Qin Yao didn’t mention that she had found Yun Niang, only saying she was still considering it.

However, she clearly stated that the three brothers were not within her range of choices.

Upon hearing this, although the people in the old house felt a bit disappointed, they didn’t say much. After all, they believed that if there were benefits, Qin Yao wouldn’t forget them.

Since she had someone else in mind, they would just support her choice.

Moreover, the three brothers knew in their hearts that they were barely literate and not skilled in carpentry, so when Qin Yao didn’t choose them, they actually felt relieved.

Only Liu Ji had a lot of opinions, muttering quietly, "They say fertile water shouldn’t flow into others’ fields. A position as important as General Manager shouldn’t be left to outsiders. Can others be trusted?"

Qin Yao shot a cold glance at him, and only then did he close his mouth.

After the food had mostly digested, and seeing that the people in the old house were getting sleepy and ready to leave, Qin Yao got up and went into her room, bringing out the gifts she had prepared earlier.

He’s eyes instantly lit up, and though her hand was injured, she immediately got up and went to greet Qin Yao, helping her with the things while sneaking a peek at what was there.

Faced with her sister-in-law’s actions, Mrs. Qiu could only sigh helplessly and called the children playing in the yard to come inside.

"Warm up your hands and feet; we’ll leave soon," Mrs. Qiu caught Jinhua, who wanted to head over to Qin Yao, pushed her onto a bench, and reached out to check. Oh my, those little hands were as cold as ice, making Mrs. Qiu shiver.

She gave a warning look, "Sit by the fire honestly."

Jinhua responded with an "Oh," turned her head to make a face at Da Mao. The little one giggled and pounced onto his sister’s back, hugging her and gazing at the table piled with things.

His sharp eyes had already seen the beautifully wrapped silk flowers in the box and was eager.

Seeing her eagerness, Qin Yao naturally gave her the first gift.

He’s eyebrows instantly broadened with a smile, "Then I won’t be polite~"

Opening the box, it was indeed the two silk flowers she had just caught sight of and kept in her mind.

The silk flowers were paired, one large and one small, in similar colors: one a vivid red, the other a lighter orange-red.

He’s fond of such bright things, taking them out to admire repeatedly, practically unable to part with them.

"You’re so thoughtful, sister-in-law!" He’s said excitedly, looking at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao nodded slightly, then, following the order of seniority, handed out gifts to the children from the old house to take to their grandparents, uncles, and aunts.

Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Qiu also received silk flowers. Mrs. Zhang got a purple one and Mrs. Qiu a blue one, all well-suited to them.

For Old Liu, a pair of leather boots was prepared, in the right size. The old man liked them loose since years of working in the fields had deformed his feet, and wide ones wouldn’t pinch.

For the brothers Liu Bai, Liu Zhong, and Liu Fei, each got a set of brush and ink.

Qin Yao said with a smile, "You still need to learn characters. If the factory grows bigger, we will need your help to manage. It won’t do if you can’t keep accounts or recognize characters."

In a casual tone, Qin Yao added, "This is our Liu Family’s foundation; without any one of you, the character ’Liu’ wouldn’t even write itself!"

Old Liu felt so gratified and moved, his eyes brimming with tears. Looking at Qin Yao, he silently thanked his ancestors for sending such a good woman to the Liu Family.

Turning around, seeing Liu Ji carelessly rummaging in the fire pit, he couldn’t resist reaching over to give him a knock on the head, "Yao Niang is speaking, you listen! What’s with the attitude?"

Liu Ji glared, feeling wronged. Why was he always being targeted?

"You dare glare at me?" Old Liu raised his hand, intending to smack him.

Liu Ji’s heart skipped, and he immediately got up and darted away, "I’ll go read a book!"

Afraid to provoke him any further, he thought it was better to avoid.

Old Liu retracted his hand and bellowed, "That’s more like it, go read more!"

Liu Ji rolled his eyes at the ceiling and slammed the door shut.

Qin Yao shrugged and continued distributing gifts to Jinbao, Jinhua, and Da Mao.

A tiger-head hat for Jinbao.

A rabbit fur neck scarf for Jinhua.

A pair of stuffed toy sheep for Da Mao to play with.

The hall was lively, filled with laughter and joy, all in a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

It was late into the night by the time the people from the old house left and the yard finally quieted down.

The four Da Lang siblings, yawning continuously, quickly washed their faces and feet, and went back to their rooms to sleep.

Qin Yao, having woken up late today, wasn’t sleepy yet. After washing up, she took a heater back to her room, spread open her self-made notebook, and wrote down the process for the year-end summary meeting.

She only set down the pen when drowsiness overcame her, covered the burning charcoal brazier, and went to bed. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The following days were spent preparing for the pre-New Year’s work pause.

Accounts from various places needed to be settled clearly. Qin Yao and Qian Wang, riding in the carriage, accompanied Liu Zhong to a few raw material suppliers near the county to settle all outstanding payments.

They then stopped by the county’s Money Shop to exchange the silver coins, making it easier to pay the workers later.

Busy like this until the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, all miscellaneous tasks had been cleared up, just waiting for Bai Shan’s people to come the next morning to load up the last batch of stationery gift boxes of the year before taking a break.

Qin Yao set the year-end summary meeting for the afternoon of the twenty-fourth, and all workers were to gather in the empty space of the material yard.

To the villagers, this was quite a novel event.

Many villagers outside the factory heard the news and came to join in the fun.

Qin Yao did not stop the villagers’ curiosity, simply opened the gates to let them in.

But the locks on each production workshop had to be securely fastened to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

With so many people present, someone needed to maintain order. Qin Yao assigned this task to Liu Bai and Liu Fei’s team.

Next was the venue setup.

On the twenty-fourth, after helping Bai Shan’s team finish loading in the morning, everyone had their last lunch of the year in the canteen. Qin Yao personally led the team, directing twenty workers selected by the stewards of each group to set up the venue.

Everyone needed a seat, and with not enough benches, bundles of straw were used as substitutes.

Villagers collected the straw bundles, and those that hadn’t been formed into stacks yet were borrowed to lay on the ground, turning them into rows of long benches.