Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 404: The Stepmother Arrives on the Battlefield
Qin Yao had a dreamless night and slept soundly.
If the main hall hadn’t been chirping away early in the morning, she might have slept in happily a bit longer.
Jinbao and Jinhua arrived very early; when they came, the gate to Qin Yao’s house was still locked, and they knocked heavily on it.
The siblings were completely unaware of last night’s commotion at the ancestral hall as they were confined at home and went to sleep early.
It wasn’t until they got up this morning that they found out such a big event happened last night. Hearing people say the head wolf was killed by Third Aunt and Da Lang excited Jinbao so much that he didn’t even have breakfast and came straight away to his Third Aunt’s house in his thick cotton jacket.
Jinhua was not to be outdone and followed closely behind.
At this moment, Jinbao, Jinhua, Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang were gathered around Da Lang, their little mouths asking questions non-stop.
Jinhua: "Da Lang, did you really kill the head wolf?"
Da Lang nodded and then shook his head, "Barely counts, but it’s mainly Aunt Yao’s credit."
Jinbao: "Da Lang, how did you kill the head wolf? With a knife or a bow and arrow?"
Da Lang replied: "With a knife. I didn’t even have a chance to retrieve the bow and arrow; the distance was too close, and the head wolf was too fast. At that time, I was stunned and somehow ended up stabbing it to death."
Second Lang: "Brother, do you know how much wolf skin is worth? Can the wolves we hunted this time from our village sell for a lot of money?"
Da Lang, who was patient and good-tempered just moments ago, immediately lost his smile upon hearing this question and said irritably: "Skip this one. Who wants to ask the next question?"
Sanlang eagerly raised his little hand: "Me, me, me! Brother, I want to ask if you can pull the teeth out of the head wolf for me?"
"Why do you want wolf teeth?" Si Niang asked, puzzled.
Sanlang said seriously: "Granny Wang told me that wolf teeth can ward off evil spirits; I’m scared of ghosts..."
Second Lang, with a mischievous heart, suddenly lunged over, uttering low ghost-like growls, and said eerily: "Liu~ San~ Lang~, I’m going to eat you!"
The main hall immediately resounded with the children’s panicked screams and their subsequent grumbling voices.
Liu Ji, who was struggling to do his winter homework assigned by the teacher in the study, had a dark expression as he slammed the book down, pushed open the window, and shouted angrily:
"You rascal Liu Erlang, quiet down for a bit!"
Several heads peeked out from the corridor, with Second Lang leading, followed by Jinbao, Jinhua, and Si Niang, all sticking their tongues out at him.
"Hey, you little rascals are revolting!"
Seeing Liu Ji picking up the broom by the door and chasing after them, Second Lang and the others immediately scattered, laughing non-stop.
With sore muscles all over, not daring to move, and still having some bruises on his face, Da Lang could only sit in the hall chair, warming himself by the fire and watching them play enviously.
He wickedly calculated in his mind that a few breaths later, the stepmother would arrive at the battlefield.
Amidst the ruckus, the master bedroom door creaked open slowly.
Instantly, all the noise disappeared as both adults and children looked towards the door.
"Good morning!"
Qin Yao stretched lazily as she walked out of the room, cheerfully waving to everyone.
The previously quiet courtyard now resumed its sounds, clearly more obedient than before.
"Dear, what would you like to eat for breakfast?" Liu Ji dropped the broom and asked enthusiastically.
In the meantime, he didn’t forget to give a warning glare to Second Lang and Si Niang, the two mischievous ones who he planned to deal with later.
Qin Yao asked curiously: "Is there a menu?"
Liu Ji chuckled, "Of course there is! As long as you want to eat it, even if it’s the moon in the sky, I’ll find a way to get it down for you!"
Qin Yao’s mouth twitched, deciding not to engage with this rascal, and first headed to the hall to check on Da Lang. Seeing several bruises on his face, she turned back to ask Liu Ji, who followed: "Did you apply medicine?"
"Yes, yes." Liu Ji vigorously winked at Da Lang.
Da Lang helplessly rolled his eyes upwards, coordinating with him to brush it off.
Once Qin Yao left the hall, Liu Ji hurriedly ran back to the house to fetch the ointment, applying it to his elder son’s face while scolding him.
Afraid of being discovered by Qin Yao, he even shut the main hall door.
Qin Yao went to the kitchen where Ah Wang handed her a bowl of bone soup, saying:
"The village chief had someone deliver twenty pounds of wolf meat this morning, along with the skin and head of the head wolf. I’ve put them in the backyard to freeze; once you have decided how to handle them, we can deal with it."
Qin Yao sipped the soup and walked to the backyard to take a look. The entire skin of the head wolf had been stripped clean, along with the broken-jawed wolf’s head, both hanging on bamboo poles in the backyard.
Jinbao, Si Niang, and the others followed behind, looking both terrified and curious, hiding behind Qin Yao and peeking their heads out.
Qin Yao humorously ushered the group of children towards the kitchen, asking curiously: "Jinbao, Jinhua, did your family get a share?"
The siblings nodded, saying they received some meat but not any skin.
"How much meat did you get?" Qin Yao asked again.
Jinbao replied uncertainly: "About the same as your family, Third Aunt."
Which meant twenty pounds as well.
Qin Yao couldn’t figure out the allocation method and went to ask Ah Wang; having stayed at home and not gone out, he shook his head indicating he didn’t know.
Casually, he handed over a plate of warmed meat sauce pancakes.
Qin Yao accepted them, sniffed them—it smelled delicious and her appetite was whetted.
While eating, she asked the little ones beside her, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
They nodded vigorously, having eaten a long time ago, showing no interest in Qin Yao’s meat sauce pancakes, but just liked staying around her, unable to be chased away.
Qin Yao smiled and let them be, enjoying her pancakes and meat soup while reviewing their homework.
While assessing, a sudden burst of enthusiastic cheers came from the village well side.
The children forced to do homework immediately ran out the door to see.
Shortly after, Si Niang and Jinhua ran back to say: "Mother, the village is selling wolf meat at the well! There are lots and lots of people there, many we don’t recognize!"
While saying this, another burst of noise came through.
Though unable to see what was happening at the well, the cheerful atmosphere over there could be felt.
Qin Yao’s curiosity was piqued; having finished breakfast, she clapped her hands, got up, and instructed Liu Ji to take care of Da Lang, while she led Jinhua and Si Niang to the village well.
Even before arriving, the bustling air had already drifted over.
The residents of Liu Family Village were slaughtering the wolves with great fervor, continuing tirelessly from last night until this morning.
After the Yang Family Brothers returned to the village, they spread the word, drawing many spectators from Lower River Village early in the morning.
Initially, the people from Lower River Village came to see if the wolf extermination was successful.
If not, their village being close meant they needed to prepare ahead.
Unexpectedly, Liu Family Village not only succeeded but wiped out the entire wolf pack!
Looking at the wolf skins and meat spread across the area, how could they not buy some to add a rare dish for New Year’s Eve?
The cries Qin Yao heard from home were because there was more demand than supply, with villagers wrestling over a quota due to the intense competition, causing the watching villagers to unleash their emotions.
With such fervor, one might mistake it for New Year’s Day.
Actually, today is only the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month; tomorrow is New Year’s Eve.
