Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 440: Limited Literacy

Ah Wang gobbled up two rice balls, then seemed to remember something.

He turned around, looking at Yin Le eagerly staring at him from the doorway, and asked, "How many do you want to eat?"

Yin Le was overjoyed. A hungry person doesn’t need to save face, so she quickly ran over with a smile and said, "Two."

Ah Wang nodded, got up to wash his hands, and personally made her two rice balls.

These rice balls weren’t just plain rice; they also had glutinous rice mixed in, which gave them a bit of stickiness but not overly greasy, and they were filled with pickled radish bits and pork fat crisps.

If you wanted it spicy, you could also add some chilies.

Taking a bite of the rice ball made Yin Le’s eyes light up with delight, "So delicious!"

Ah Wang nodded with confidence, this was something he was sure of.

"Are you waiting for madam?" Ah Wang asked aimlessly while tidying up the kitchen.

The great master had said that men should be a bit more proactive and not always leave the girl feeling awkward.

Yin Le, sitting down on a small stool by the fire to finish swallowing the rice ball in her mouth, nodded in agreement with an "uh-huh."

"Ah Wang, when will our benefactor wake up?" she asked curiously.

Ah Wang: "I don’t know, the lady is very casual."

He glanced at the sky outside, "But it should be soon."

Yin Le said optimistically, "Then I’ll just wait a bit longer."

But just waiting like this was quite awkward, so Yin Le, after finishing her rice balls, got up to help out a bit.

She asked Ah Wang, "Is there something I can help with? I’m really good at working, Ah Wang, give me something to do."

Ah Wang instinctively wanted to say: No.

In a flash, the great master’s voice echoed in his mind: A man must never say he can’t!

"Then..." Ah Wang glanced around the kitchen, managed to find something to do, and pointed to the basket in the corner that hadn’t been washed yet, saying, "You can wash it."

"Okay!" Yin Le agreed immediately, her expression so joyful that it seemed she was asked to wash gold.

She immediately found a brush and took the basket out to the big stone trough outside to scoop water and scrub.

Ah Wang was in the kitchen preparing ingredients for lunch while listening to the noises coming from outside.

All she was doing was washing a basket, so why was there a "bang bang" explosive sound?

Feeling uneasy, he secretly poked his head out to observe, and what he saw made his heart clench.

The bamboo strips on the basket had flipped out, resembling a messily blooming flower.

And certain someone hadn’t noticed anything wrong, happily humming a tune as she diligently washed each protruding bamboo strip with the brush.

"No matter what a woman is doing, even if she’s tearing down the house, as long as she’s smiling, never interrupt her, or the consequences will be unimaginable!"

In this crucial moment, the great master’s advice flashed in his mind again.

Ah Wang furrowed his brows, pondered for a moment, and retracted the foot he was about to step out with to stop her.

Forget it, let the lady deal with her later!

Speak of the devil.

The tightly shut door of the main house slowly opened.

Qin Yao stood comfortably in the doorway, basking in the sun and stretching contentedly.

"Madam," Ah Wang called out to her, his gaze frantically darting towards the stone trough, hoping she would notice her.

Qin Yao, following Ah Wang’s prompt, looked over and saw Yin Le holding up the exploded basket, giving her a bright smile, "Benefactor! I’ve cleaned the basket!"

Qin Yao frowned slightly, remembering that the basket wasn’t supposed to look like this.

Never mind, it’s not important. Qin Yao walked over to the kitchen and asked Ah Wang what there was to eat.

Ah Wang replied, "Rice balls."

Qin Yao nodded, "Alright, I’ll have five rice balls, with chili."

Ah Wang complied, looking back at her with puzzled eyes, unable to understand why the lady didn’t handle Yin Le, who damaged the basket, like the great master.

Could it be, like Yin Le herself said, the lady took her as a disciple?

But soon, Ah Wang realized he was overthinking it.

The lady treated every destructive person equally!

After breakfast, Qin Yao tidied up a bit and waved for Yin Le to follow her outside.

Yin Le asked with curiosity, "Benefactor, where are we going?"

"To the stationery factory."

Yin Le was puzzled, "What are we doing at the stationery factory?"

"To work, of course, what else do you think?"

Yin Le finally sensed that something was amiss and immediately turned to run back.

But it was too late, before she could lift her leg, Qin Yao grabbed her by the collar.

Yin Le pleaded, "Benefactor, just teach me martial arts. Once I learn it, I swear I won’t bother you anymore!"

"Do you know how to read?" Qin Yao asked in return.

The topic changed too quickly, Yin Le was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, "What does that have to do with learning martial arts?"

Qin Yao snorted, "You can’t even read, and you want to learn martial arts? Do you know where the human heart is? Do you know how to write the word ’death’? Do you know Sheng Country’s law states that a killer must pay with their life?"

Yin Le opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but she didn’t know these things, so she lowered her head in frustration.

They soon arrived at the factory, where Qin Yao threw Yin Le into the canteen and said to Mrs. He and Mrs. Qiu:

"This is Yin Le, she’s here to help with the work. Big sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, just instruct her as needed."

Speaking of which, she remembered that Yin Le didn’t have a place to stay, so she turned to Mrs. He and said, "Big sister-in-law, please find her a place to stay, and deduct the rent from her wages."

Mrs. He, looking bewildered, agreed, nodding, "Alright."

Anyway, whatever the third sister-in-law said to do, they’d just do it without asking too many questions.

She must have her reasons for arranging it this way!

Seeing Qin Yao about to walk away after leaving her with two strangers, Yin Le hurriedly chased after her, "Master!"

In her haste, she called out what was in her heart.

Qin Yao glared back, making Yin Le stop in her tracks.

Holding back the wetness and soreness in her eyes, she said, "I don’t know where to go, or what to do. Learning martial arts to avenge Shaoyao is the only thing I can think of..."

"Thump!" With that, Yin Le knelt down and bowed deeply, "Please, benefactor, make it happen!"

Qin Yao’s expression changed slightly; she looked at the kneeling Yin Le and then at Mrs. He and Mrs. Qiu, standing dumbfounded in front of the stove with spoons in hand. She turned around, exhausted, rubbing her temples.

When she turned back, she had put away all her emotions and said coldly, "Come back to me once you’ve learned a thousand characters."

With that, she turned and left with big strides.

Yin Le looked up excitedly, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.

She wiped away the tears, stood up in two steps, and rolled up her sleeves as she walked over to Mrs. He and Mrs. Qiu, asking them what she should do.

Lord County Magistrate had previously said that the stationery factory in Liu Family Village had excellent benefits, not only providing two meals a day but also holding literacy classes in the evening to teach reading and writing.

Very soon, she could learn all one thousand characters. Yin Le was full of confidence in herself.

The work in the canteen ended by mid-afternoon.

After finishing work, Mrs. He took Yin Le to rent a room in Liu Dafu’s old house, right next to Qian Wang.

Seeing Yin Le with no luggage, she even found a quilt for her from home.

As for the rest, she would have to buy with her own wages later.

Once Mrs. He had completed the tasks Qin Yao had given her, she returned home.

Yin Le tidied her little room for a while, then eagerly went to the literacy class.

Watching the five characters Liu Qi took charge of, wrote on the board, Yin Le suddenly realized that something was not right.

To accommodate the older workers in the factory, the literacy class now only taught five characters a day.

Yin Le counted on her fingers and figured it out: with five characters a day, how many days would it take her to learn all one thousand characters?

As expected... due to her limited literacy skills, she couldn’t calculate it!

The very first literacy lesson at the stationery factory left Yin Le dazed.

Qin Yao, observing secretly: Just this little bit, and she thought she could challenge me~