Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 240 - 239: Social Practice

It was already quite late. The four siblings yawned repeatedly. Qin Yao beckoned, and the family of six carried lanterns, heading home to wash up and sleep.

Before going to sleep, Sanlang and Si Niang placed the lanterns of their parents and brothers next to their own.

Six lanterns lined up according to size on the bench by the bed, watching over them even while sleeping. Only then did they lie down, using their little palms as pillows, and drift off sweetly into dreams.

After a night of good dreams, Qin Yao woke up early to exercise, feeling refreshed and energetic.

Meanwhile, Liu Ji, lying on a makeshift bed, was sore all over and couldn’t get up. He could only instruct Da Lang and Second Lang to bring vegetables to the kitchen and ask Aunt Qiu to spare them a stove to make breakfast.

Seeing his two sons obediently carrying baskets of vegetables and grains away, he collapsed back onto the bed, found a slightly more comfortable position, and dozed off again.

Last night, Da Lang and Second Lang each received a wooden hairpin as a prize. After breakfast, seeing Qin Yao brushing her hair, the brothers shyly approached her, quickly slipping the wooden hairpin into her hand and scurrying away like they were escaping.

Qin Yao was momentarily stunned, looked down to find two plain wooden hairpins carved from sourwood, with the ends wrapped and adorned with colorful thread, transitioning from orange to rose red, reminiscent of the colorful clouds in the sky.

Although it was just a wooden hairpin, it was crafted with clever design.

"For me?" Qin Yao asked toward the courtyard.

The two young boys hiding behind the fake rock murmured in agreement.

Qin Yao looked down at the wooden hairpins in her palm, smiled gently, and said, "Thank you, they’re really pretty."

Sanlang and Si Niang came running over; Si Niang nudged Qin Yao’s hand and said, "Mother, put it on. I want to see if it looks nice."

Sanlang also gazed up hopefully at Qin Yao’s hair, which she had just styled and hadn’t yet covered with a scarf, with his hands over his little cheeks, eagerly anticipating how she would look with the hairpin.

Currently, it’s quite fashionable to wear two hairpins on one side. Without a mirror, Qin Yao instructed her daughter to widen her eyes and used her big eyes as a mirror, adjusting the two wooden hairpins at sideways angles into the left side of her bun.

"Wow! It’s beautiful!" Si Niang’s eyes sparkled as she spontaneously hugged her mother, exclaiming, "Mother, you look like a fairy."

Qin Yao laughed aloud, knowing that the compliment was exaggerated but who doesn’t feel happy when praised.

"Is it really beautiful?" Qin Yao turned to the little Sanlang who cradled his face in a dazed fascination, and the little guy nodded fervently, worried Qin Yao would take the hairpins off, pleading her to keep them on because it looked exceptionally pretty.

Sanlang was the most honest; he was truthful in saying that Mother, dressed like this, really looked wonderful!

Previously, Qin Yao was quite plain. Suddenly, with a splash of color on her head, even her complexion appeared brighter. Moreover, Yao Niang’s features were already attractive, so a slight embellishment made it hard to resist a second glance.

Qin Yao laughed heartily and looked up to see Da Lang and Second Lang in the courtyard also nodding enthusiastically.

Qin Yao reached up to touch her head and decisively put away the dull greyish-blue scarf, fulfilling the children’s wishes and cheerfully said, "Alright, I’ll wear these from now on."

Da Lang and Second Lang exchanged glances, their faces flush with excitement, as their mother wore the prize they had won!

Liu Ji, lying with a book on the table, gazed gloomily at the happy group of five, thinking: Human emotions are incomprehensible; he only found them noisy!

Yet, although Qin Yao is usually unpleasant, she truly looked beautiful today. Liu Ji couldn’t help but glance at her several times, then forced himself to close his eyes.

His body still ached, and he couldn’t simply forgive her! No way!

Closing his eyes, opening them, closing again... upon reopening, the room suddenly fell silent; the five relatives’ shadows had vanished.

"Damn it!" Liu Ji slammed his fist onto the table. "Going out shopping without inviting me!"

Cursing, his face contorted in pain from his aching hand.

Liu Ji: This life, I can’t endure it for even another day!

...

The five went out with book boxes in hand.

Qin Yao walked ahead while Da Lang and his siblings dragged their respective book boxes in order behind her.

As soon as they stepped out of the inn, the book boxes in the siblings’ hands drew the attention of passersby.

Black lacquer was used as the base, with various patterns painted on them.

Da Lang’s was the most functional, containing a hidden compartment for weapons, a space for an umbrella, and a hand warmer, its overall appearance rather understated.

Sanlang and Si Niang’s were smaller to match their sizes, featuring whimsical designs painted with colorful pebbles picked up from the riverbank, exceedingly vibrant and lively.

Second Lang’s book box was added later, equipped with shoulder straps and a separate pouch for storing them, hanging by the side as decoration.

Additionally, his box included a foldable tabletop, allowing him to arrive at the school gate before opening hours and quickly finish homework if he couldn’t complete the teacher’s assignments.

Of course, borrowing a classmate’s homework for copying is also an option.

Wooden wheels smoothly rolled on the cobblestone pavement. Feeling tired, Sanlang and Si Niang paused to sit on their boxes to rest before continuing with Mother until they reached the bookstore near the Prefecture.

Qin Yao spent ten cents to rent a stall and called the siblings over, "Today, we’ll practice some social studies. No need to write a reflection tonight."

Upon hearing they wouldn’t have to write a reflection, the siblings responded in unison, "Good!"

Qin Yao nodded approvingly and began organizing them.

Today’s theme was letter-writing services.

This was manageable. Da Lang immediately turned the Dragon and Phoenix Twins’ book box on its side to use as a stool. He then had Second Lang unfold the table board on his box, opened the compartments containing pen ink, and took everything out to set it up.

Lastly, placing his book box behind the table board, he sat down, ready to start business.

Qin Yao stood aside, watching them arrange the booth, seeing Da Lang choosing among several pens because the board wasn’t spacious enough to lay them out all at once, he could only put one at a time.

"Second Lang." Qin Yao called softly, and Second Lang promptly ran over.

The clever little guy anticipated her intention and said:

"Mother, I’ll have big brother open all the compartments on the book boxes one by one, each one is different."

Qin Yao gestured an "A-OK" to Second Lang, thinking, with such teammates on board, they’d surely reach prosperity.

Qin Yao leaned over to Second Lang’s ear, instructing, "Go take the stationery box from Si Niang’s book box for your big brother to store pens."

Second Lang chuckled and answered, "Got it!"

Mother intended to introduce new products as well, he understood.

Before heading to the Prefecture, Qin Yao left Liu the carpenter with new blueprints, evolved from modern pencil cases, differing from the common sliding-type pen cases here.

Her design was the folding-type.

Here there were no hinges, and metallic components were hard to fabricate, with high costs, so she used door pivots instead for the hinge mechanism on her design.