Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 220 - 219: The Children Give Gifts

The city’s exam starts between May 10th and 15th, and it’s over 300 miles from Liu Family Village to the Prefecture. At the pace of a carriage, if they don’t want to tire themselves out, it will take four to five days.

Including the preparation time needed upon arrival, departing ten days in advance is the most suitable.

Now that the farm work at home is mostly done, Qin Yao and Liu Ji start preparing for the trip to the Prefecture.

After all, it’s their first time traveling far, and Qin Yao is a little excited.

They have a carriage at home, but considering they might have to sleep outdoors along the way, they’ll need to prepare a tent.

This is something that traveling merchants need most. It’s sold in town, but it’s not cheap; an oilcloth tent costs eight hundred coins.

These eight hundred coins will get them a tent less than two or five meters long and less than one and a half meters wide.

However, it’s enough for two people to squeeze in, and if the weather is favorable, they could even sleep in the carriage.

After buying the tent, Liu Ji looked at it several times, occasionally chuckling, without anyone knowing what was on his mind.

With transportation and temporary accommodation sorted, what’s left is food and drink.

Dried food is best for the journey, as cooking on the road is time-consuming. Qin Yao thought that if there are shops along the way, they’d eat there; otherwise, they’d fill their stomachs with some dried food.

They need to be cautious about drinking water. The locals don’t have a habit of boiling water, so Qin Yao prepared two large gourds and a small stove.

The gourds are for holding cold boiled water, and the stove is for boiling water. The openwork table on the carriage can just fit this stove, and if they have to camp, they can have a warm meal.

As for the rest like flint, umbrellas, thick-soled shoes, they are essentials for traveling.

Once they leave, they won’t return until after the results are posted. Estimating the time, it would take at least over twenty days, at most a month.

In May, the temperature rises, so a set of lightweight and cool hemp clothes is sufficient, plus what they wear when they set off, two sets for change are enough.

Having settled the clothing, food, housing, and transportation, Qin Yao starts preparing her weapons.

The broadsword, not used for a long time, needs to be taken out and polished.

The bow and arrow need checking as well, and she should prepare a few more arrows to fill the arrow tube.

The dagger will be left for Da Lang for self-defense.

Everything is ready, just waiting for departure.

There was a "knock knock" at the door, and Sanlang whispered, "Mother, come out for a bit."

Qin Yao was polishing her knife, and upon hearing this, she sheathed the knife, picked up a wooden hairpin from the table to casually put up her freshly washed and dried hair, opened the door, and stepped out.

Looking down, she saw Sanlang nervously clutching the two pockets on his clothing, looking up and trying his best to give her a carefree smile.

"What’s going on?" Qin Yao glanced at the main room, where the siblings she had just urged to return to their rooms to sleep were now gathered.

Liu Ji, who was reciting aloud, had also been dragged to the main room by Second Lang, still holding his book, with the familiar Wenquxing Protection headband on his forehead.

He looked up at Qin Yao, his eyes widening when he saw her in a loose white liner with her hair lazily pinned up, his gaze shifting from the book.

Sanlang reached out a small hand, grabbed a finger of Qin Yao’s, and led her into the main room.

Having completed his task of calling her, he immediately ran to join his brothers and sister, the four siblings lining up and mysteriously blocking something.

"What’s going on?" Qin Yao looked suspiciously at Liu Ji.

Liu Ji shook his head, equally confused.

Si Niang "ahem ahem!" coughed heavily twice, reminding their parents to pay attention to the four of them.

Qin Yao and Liu Ji cooperatively glanced over, bending slightly to see what the siblings were up to.

Da Lang spoke, "Father, Aunt Yao, even though you’ll be gone for a month, don’t worry about things at home. We’ll look after the cows and feed the chickens. If there’s trouble at the water mill, we’ll find Liu the carpenter, and I, Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang will take good care of ourselves..."

After a long preamble, Da Lang finally got to the point, "We made you something that you’ll need on the road."

After speaking, his eyes diverted to somewhere else, his ears turning red with embarrassment, and he couldn’t meet the surprised gazes of Qin Yao and Liu Ji at all.

Second Lang patted Si Niang’s back, and Si Niang took two steps forward, pulling out two pairs of insoles she had been hiding behind her,

"Mother, this is yours, Father, this is yours."

Quickly dividing the two pairs of insoles to their parents, Si Niang immediately hid behind her big and second brothers, feeling both proud and shy, saying:

"Sister Jin Hua taught me to make these, but I didn’t do a good job."

And particularly mentioned, "I even embroidered your names on them!"

Qin Yao and Liu Ji looked down at the insoles in their hands, which looked more like anything but insoles. In the center of the pad, they indeed found a mass of different-colored embroidery thread.

On Qin Yao’s side, it barely resembled a "Yao."

On Liu Ji’s side, it was just a jumble of threads.

If Si Niang hadn’t mentioned it, they would never have noticed, thinking it was only tangled thread ends.

Looking at the insoles in their hands and then at the siblings full of reluctant yet sensible faces, Qin Yao felt a surge of indescribable sourness.

She suppressed her overwhelming emotions and asked in surprise, "Where did you get the cloth to make insoles?"

Sanlang pointed at Second Lang, saying, "It was Second Brother’s saved allowance."

Si Niang added, "Big Brother helped me a bit."

Otherwise, she couldn’t have made two pairs of insoles by herself.

Da Lang also pointed at Sanlang, "It was Little Brother who designed the patterns. We don’t know if you’ll like them..."

"Father loves them!"

In the silent night, Liu Ji’s shout startled all four of them into a shiver.

Realizing it was their father’s voice, they all breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a bit happy.

Liu Ji pressed the insoles, which didn’t look like insoles, tightly to his chest, with a look of utter joy and comfort, "My children have truly grown up!"

Qin Yao also smiled and said, "Thank you for your gifts, Mother loves them."

Si Niang giggled proudly, knowing that Father and Mother would definitely love them!

Sanlang went to grab their parents’ shoes, asking them to put them in right away.

With the atmosphere so warm, Qin Yao certainly wouldn’t break it.

She firmly held down Liu Ji, who said he liked them but didn’t actually want to try them, letting the siblings help them put the insoles into their shoes.

Qin Yao raised her eyebrows at Liu Ji, and he forced a fatherly smile, putting on his shoes and taking a few laps.

"Father, aren’t they comfortable?" Si Niang asked expectantly.

Liu Ji asked in return, "Si Niang, do you want the truth or a lie?"

Si Niang glared at her father, "The truth, of course!"

Liu Ji thought to himself, the truth is they’re not comfortable to wear and even a bit scratchy.

But under Qin Yao’s gentle gaze, he said, "Comfortable! Very nice to wear!"

The siblings then looked at Qin Yao, receiving a big thumbs up and smiling contentedly.

But as they laughed, the thought of their parents leaving for a month made their heads droop uncontrollably, feeling a little down.

Qin Yao and Liu Ji were suddenly filled with a strong sense of guilt.

The husband and wife exchanged a glance, thinking, so why don’t we...both stay?