When handing it over to Liu Ji, Old Liu suddenly recalled those foolish things he did in the past, and was instantly startled, not daring to let go.

If Sanlang was deceiving him and took the land contracts without admitting, wouldn’t the whole family be ruined?

Facing Old Liu’s distrustful gaze, Liu Ji rolled his eyes in disbelief, "Dad, are you giving it or not?"

Old Liu sighed, slightly loosening his grip, and Liu Ji snatched it up.

"We’ll leave it at this for now, it’s getting late, we’ll head back first, I’ll take care of this at the county government tomorrow morning."

Liu Ji pulled Qin Yao up, holding the land contracts, and left.

Old Liu chased to the door, wanting to speak but refrained, finally slapping his thigh, thinking he should take a gamble.

Facing such distrust from his own father, Liu Ji was somewhat furious, complaining to Qin Yao on the way back:

"Wife, what do you think my dad means? Could such a mere hundred acres of land really be something I, a proud scholar, would covet from him?"

"Other fathers and sons trust each other, unlike my dad who suspects his own son all the time. I’m giving him benefits at my own risk, yet he doesn’t even say thank you. Look at the way he looks at me, he’d almost point at my nose warning me not to pocket his land!"

Qin Yao found him noisy and gave him a cold glance, "You know it well enough, do more work and talk less, understand?"

Liu Ji clicked his tongue twice, "Wife, your expression changes really fast, just now you listened to everything I said, now suddenly you just..."

Qin Yao simply raised her hand without extra movements, prompting someone to automatically shut up and cover his mouth.

But looking at those land contracts in his arms, Liu Ji couldn’t help but feel quietly pleased; reputation is truly a wonderful thing.

He had just aced the examination for Scholar, not mentioning all the flattering comments from the village, just thinking about how his father in the old house used to either despise or scold him, and now has to wait for him to start eating before he has his meal, how satisfying it is.

That night, Liu Ji fell asleep holding that pile of land contracts from the old house.

To his surprise, he dreamt of two deceased women, one being his birth mother, the other the children’s birth mother.

Upon waking from the dream, Liu Ji was dazed for a while. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Looking at the gray sky outside the window, he put down the scattered contracts in his arms, quickly got out of bed and dressed, rummaged around the house and dug Da Lang brothers and sisters out of bed, and the five of them left early.

In the house, Qin Yao yawned, vaguely guessing what the father and sons went out for, adjusted her sleeping position, and continued catching up on sleep.

When she woke up, the father and sons had already returned, waiting in the main room for her to come have breakfast together.

Qin Yao walked into the main room stretching, without even asking, Liu Ji began explaining while setting up the bowls and chopsticks:

"I had a dream last night, and then realized I haven’t told Mother about me becoming a scholar, so this morning I paid a visit to put her mind at ease."

Upon saying this, he glanced at Qin Yao, adding with a bit of guilt, "On the way, I also went to see their birth mother."

Qin Yao seated herself and nodded, "That’s appropriate."

Liu Ji immediately gave a mysterious grin and signaled Da Lang, saying softly to Qin Yao, "The kids have something to tell you."

Qin Yao looked over at the siblings, Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang all turned to look at their big brother, looking as if watching a show.

Amused, Qin Yao raised an eyebrow, "So mysterious, what’s going on?"

Sanlang leaned in, thinking he was speaking softly, he whispered to Qin Yao, "Mother, big brother wants to change how he calls you, but he’s embarrassed."

Da Lang immediately glared over, Sanlang cowardly pouted and quickly hid behind his sister Si Niang, avoiding his big brother’s dagger-like gaze.

Si Niang gave her younger brother a speechless glance but didn’t push him aside, full of helplessness, she seemed more like an elder sister while Sanlang like the younger brother.

Qin Yao observed the reactions of the children, her gaze finally fell on the visibly nervous Da Lang.

With Second Lang’s encouragement, Da Lang stumbled forward and knelt before Qin Yao with a "thump."

Seizing the opportunity, the boy knocked his head to the ground and clearly called out: "Mother."

Qin Yao was so surprised that she didn’t react immediately to call the little boy up.

Da Lang honestly kowtowed for a while before looking up, with eyes full of deep admiration no longer restrained.

Qin Yao realized that calling her "Mother" wasn’t merely a title.

It represented a heartfelt trust that required careful reciprocation.

So, Qin Yao accepted it sincerely as well, "Alright, get up."

"Don’t kneel for no reason in the future," she added with a smile.

Da Lang nodded, "Mother, I understand."

The family of six sat down again, Liu Ji laughed heartily, and the overly solemn atmosphere reverted to a relaxed and pleasant one.

Perhaps due to the good mood, Qin Yao had an extra bowl during breakfast today.

After the meal, Ah Wang drove, taking Liu Ji to the town.

The documentation needed for the examinations, Qin Yao had prepared last night; Liu Ji’s trip to town was mainly to accomplish two things.

First, to finalize the required examination entry documents, and second, to sort out the matter of tax reduction for the old house.

If all goes well, the day after tomorrow Liu Ji can start his journey to the prefecture, to meet up with Qi Xian and others.

Meanwhile, Qin Yao wasn’t idle at home either, someone in the village was arguing over field water, and she had to mediate.

After resolving the water dispute between the two households, she quickly went to help out at the academy.

Some timber was too heavy, with not enough manpower, naturally, she’d have to go and help.

After leaving the academy, Old Liu came looking for her at home, worried that Liu Ji might mess things up, indirectly probing for details while casually discussing plans for expansion.

Qin Yao had said before, money wasn’t an issue, so build it well.

But now, with a basic structure built, Old Liu discovered that Qin Yao intended for it to be Song Yu’s residence, wondering how come the owner lives in a mud house while the serfs live in a brick house?

He suggested to Qin Yao to build two more rooms for himself, and let Song Yu’s family live in their original house.

Qin Yao thought it made some sense but was unwilling to bother, "Forget it, let’s stick to the original plan."

With people coming and going in the expanded backyard, this lack of privacy lifestyle made Qin Yao want it to end quickly.

If they were to build again, she thought they should wait until people weren’t living there, and get someone to design a comfortable home and rebuild it from scratch, all in one go.

As she said this, the sound of rolling wheels came, Old Liu didn’t care anymore about the additions or not, he quickly stood up, swiftly ran to the front door.

Ah Wang just parked the carriage, and Liu Ji jumped off it.

He initially thought the welcoming footsteps earlier were Qin Yao’s, ready to smile brightly.

He was caught off guard by the anxious, expectant face of his father, and his smile froze.

"Dad, why is it you!" Liu Ji exclaimed, looking disappointed and dismissive.

"Who else did you think?" Old Liu eagerly patted his arm, "Where’s the land contract? The field contract?"