Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 405: A Bountiful Harvest

"Third sister-in-law!"

Standing on the crooked neck tree, He caught sight of Qin Yao outside the crowd and quickly waved her hand: "Here! Here!"

She had an excellent view from her vantage point.

Qin Yao nodded and responded, quickly leading the two girls over with a jog.

The villagers met along the way all greeted her happily.

Some admired her bravery, while others asked if she was hurt.

Qin Yao responded to each one, finally making her way to He’s side with difficulty.

Jinhua and Si Niang, like monkeys, climbed up the tree on their own.

He feared the old tree might not bear too much weight, so she quickly got down and gave her spot to the two little girls, seriously instructing them: "Be careful! Hold onto the branches, you hear?"

Si Niang obediently answered, "Uh-huh, got it."

He, satisfied, patted the little girl’s tender cheek and turned to Qin Yao, grabbing her arm and pointing at the people in front of them with emotion:

"Our Liu Family Village, it’s been decades and we’ve never been so lively as this year."

"Look at them, sister-in-law, they’re all here to buy wolf meat. I heard wolf meat doesn’t taste very good, but everyone finds it curious and are fighting over it, haha....."

Through He’s words, Qin Yao learned that last night’s wolf meat, after skinning and de-heading, added up to more than eighteen hundred pounds.

The pigs slaughtered in the previous days only weighed around two hundred pounds each; the wolf meat from one night is worth nine pigs, it was more than the village could eat.

Of course, if it must be distributed, no household would refuse; they have ways to preserve the meat.

But this way, those who worked hard might not be pleased.

To avoid disputes, the village head decided that the forty-two households would each be allotted twenty pounds of meat, totaling eight hundred forty pounds.

The remaining nine hundred sixty pounds, a large pot was set to cook for the whole village to eat together, and whatever was left would be sold, with all proceeds going to public funds for repairing the ancestral hall, bridges, and roads.

There’s also a wish the village head hasn’t expressed.

If the proceeds are substantial, he plans to build a school!

Wolf skins are even more valuable than meat, though some had their flaws and weren’t looking good; the village head wasn’t sure how much they could sell for, but for now, he let villagers skilled in leatherwork handle them, and later Liu Huolang would sell them. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The money from this would also go into the public fund and kept as reserve.

As for the head wolf’s skin and head, the village agreed they belonged to Qin Yao’s family and had been prepared and sent to her home early on.

"Third Aunt!"

Liu Qi squeezed through the crowd, seeing He there he quickly shouted, "Auntie, you’re here too."

He laughed and teased the young man, "You only have eyes for your third aunt, huh?"

Liu Qi hurriedly assured he wouldn’t dare, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, signaling for Qin Yao to step aside to talk.

Qin Yao chuckled, patting He’s arm and reminded the little monkey Si Niang on the tree to be safe before following Liu Qi to the alley behind the house, away from the crowd.

"What’s up?" Qin Yao curiously asked.

Liu Qi pulled out a money bag from his chest, opened it, and took out two strings of copper coins to give to Qin Yao.

"Third Aunt, this is your share and Third Uncle’s share. The villagers paid ten cents each, and each member of your wolf-killing team gets one hundred ten coins, totaling two hundred twenty coins for these two strings. You can count."

He grinned and added, "Later when Third Uncle asks me for money, I’ll just say I’ve given it all to you."

The whole village knows that his third aunt’s household is managed by her, so giving Third Uncle’s share to Third Aunt was only natural.

Qin Yao threw Liu Qi an approving look, acknowledging his wisdom, and instead of counting, she weighed the coins and put them in her pocket, "You go ahead, I’ve got things to do at home, I’ll get going."

Liu Qi expressed regret: "You’re not staying for the big communal meal?"

Qin Yao waved, "You all eat a bit more."

She walked out of the alley behind the house, calling loudly towards the crooked neck tree: "Liu Ping Ling, time to go home!"

"Oh! Coming!" Si Niang hurriedly slid down from the tree and reminded her sister Jinhua, "Next year the school is re-enrolling, you better step up, no more slacking off."

Jinhua followed her down, nodding: "I know! I’m going to school, I can’t keep going to the factory cafeteria with mom and be a fire-tending girl."

If Mrs. Qiu knew her daughter had this realization, she would’ve dragged her to the cafeteria to help clean tables and tend fires long ago.

But now is not too late.

"Come to my house tomorrow morning, I’ll help you write down the Thousand Character Classic and the Family Names." Si Niang didn’t forget to remind again as she left, truly worried for her Sister Jinhua.

She jogged to Qin Yao, their small hand holding her larger hand, as mother and daughter dashed home hand in hand.

As soon as Qin Yao entered the door, Liu Ji, like a dog catching a whiff of meat, approached with a smile, "Lady, has the wolf-killing team’s money been distributed?"

"I just heard Jinbao say that big brother and second brother already gave the money to big sister-in-law and second sister-in-law this morning, big sis-in-law was thrilled and said they’d make a nice dinner for the two to calm their nerves."

Speaking, he opened his palm, "Each got one hundred ten coins, right? Give me that, and I’ll save it myself, otherwise I’d have to ask you for money every time I buy trinkets. I’m a grown man, always asking the wife for money, that’s embarrassing."

Qin Yao laughed, "Haven’t you embarrassed me enough?"

Liu Ji paused, thinking the chance of getting money was slim, he pursed his lips, about to say something cynical, when "thud," a string of copper coins was tossed into his hand, heavy.

"You think I’d embezzle your little bit of coin?" Qin Yao dangerously questioned.

Liu Ji stifled his laughter, earnestly storing the money, quickly waving his hand: "Of course not! You’re the most generous, my lady!"

"Well, if that’s all, I’ll go back to the room to read now?" Liu Ji asked obsequiously.

Qin Yao nodded, and he turned to run, pressing the money against his chest, afraid she’d change her mind.

Qin Yao practically couldn’t look at his petty demeanor, calling for Ah Wang, they both grabbed knives and went to the backyard to prepare the twenty pounds of wolf meat.

"Ah Wang, have you ever eaten wolf meat?" Qin Yao asked while separating the bones and handing the meat chunks to Ah Wang.

Ah Wang shook his head, said he hadn’t, but recipes were already forming in his mind.

"Carnivorous animal meat is generally not very tasty; it’s tough to stew or fry, I’ll make jerky for Da Lang to snack on."

He cut the meat into evenly sized cubes, blanched it to seventy percent cooked, then marinated it with spices before smoking it over charcoal.

The strong spice aroma would mask the inherent shortcomings of the meat quality, it should taste decent.

Qin Yao didn’t care much, she just had to eat.

"And the bones you picked out, soup tonight?"

Ah Wang nodded, glanced at the bones Qin Yao picked out, and showed some disdain.

Qin Yao: "..."

Tonight’s dinner was lavish, not just for Qin Yao’s household, but for the entire Liu Family Village.

The meat aroma lingered overhead in the village for a long time, alluring the wild beasts in the mountains to howl incessantly.

While sipping the wolf bone soup that Ah Wang found reluctantly made but actually was flavorful, Qin Yao pondered whether to seize this opportunity to hunt in the mountains for more game to satisfy the cravings.