Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 318 - 317: The Big-Hearted Couple

The prestigious scholar was about to visit, and Da Lang’s four siblings were so anxious that they couldn’t sleep all night.

Even Qin Yao was a bit excited, contemplating how long it would take for Liu Ji to apprentice successfully, and whether their family could be exempted from labor and taxes next year. Her thoughts incessantly crossed her mind before she finally fell asleep after a long while.

In contrast, Liu Ji and Ah Wang were in peaceful slumber; one was dreaming sweetly while the other, having been accustomed to great figures, felt no inner disturbance.

In the morning, Liu Ji was awakened by his biological clock, but today, instead of reciting texts for morning study, he sent Ah Wang out to keep watch at the entrance of the village path.

He instructed that as soon as he spotted the Qi Family’s group, he should report back immediately, so they wouldn’t miss the first opportunity to greet them.

Ah Wang hesitated as he looked at the stove, but Liu Ji understood immediately and waved him off, "You go quickly, leave everything to your grand master!"

When Ah Wang wasn’t around, it was always him taking care of washing clothes and cooking at home; preparing breakfast was just a small task which he had long mastered.

After taking a few confirming looks to ensure his grand master could manage, Ah Wang then led Old Huang from the livestock pen and headed to the village path as instructed.

The road construction team was progressing swiftly, and 90% of the work was already done, leaving just a small segment to complete before September could arrive.

Ah Wang handled tasks reliably; to ensure his grand master wouldn’t miss the noble’s arrival, he spent two quarters of an hour riding to the Lower River Village entrance, watching as he let his horse graze.

The whole morning, Ah Wang with Old Huang devoured all the grass along the Lower River Village riverbank, and it wasn’t until the sun started to lean slightly west that he led Old Huang to the main road to get a better look.

From the letter Madame had shared, they could estimate the approximate arrival time of the Qi Family’s group, which should be in the afternoon.

However, being someone not fond of wasting words with the grand master, he followed his instructions to arrive early.

If it were up to Ah Wang, shortly after noon, the grand master should ride to Lower River Village to just catch sight of the Qi Family coming from the town.

The young lord of a major family traveled with a low profile, accompanied by at least ten guards, plus an attendant student, a maid, and two coachmen—twenty people in total. Such a grand group, once it appeared, was bound to draw the attention of everyone around.

Suddenly, the noise of Lower River Village villagers reached his ears, and as he was scratching his horse’s itch with a branch under a tree, Ah Wang immediately looked toward the road.

Two groups of guards on tall horses were escorting a luxurious carriage painted all black with gold borders, slowly heading toward the Lower River Village entrance.

At the village fork, a leading guard halted the group and dismounted to ask a villager for directions.

"This dear aunt, could you please tell me which path leads to Liu Family Village?"

Upon hearing this question, Ah Wang was very sure.

Nevertheless, while rushing back to the village to report, he couldn’t help but marvel internally several times: He had never imagined that the seemingly ornamental grand master could really invite such a prestigious scholar!

For the first time, Ah Wang’s opinion that his grand master was just an ornament changed a little.

Maybe, perhaps, possibly... good luck was also a reflection of skill.

As Ah Wang rode into the village, Liu Ji and his family, who had spent the entire morning looking wilted while standing in the courtyard, instantly perked up.

Qin Yao, who was napping on a bamboo chair, slightly twitched her ears, opened her eyes promptly, and affirmed the courtyard, "It’s Ah Wang back."

Liu Ji had already seen clearly the person on horseback and nodded quickly, "Yes, it is, it’s Ah Wang."

Ah Wang galloped to the courtyard, reined in, dismounted, and kneeled on one knee before Liu Ji, completing the sequence in one motion to report:

"Grand Master, two quarters ago, we spotted the Qi Family’s convoy at Lower River Village entrance; they should now be on the way to the village. If you go to greet them now, you can meet them halfway."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji felt a surge of excitement and hurried into the courtyard, "Wife, should I change my clothes? Should we go on horseback or by carriage?"

"We?" Qin Yao rose from the chair, arching her brow at Liu Ji’s earnest face, finally sensing the urgency of hospitable reception for esteemed guests.

The necessary preparations still needed to be made; since the guests had come all this way, it was essential in both sentiment and reason not to let them feel neglected.

Alas, the complacent couple hadn’t prepared anything else yet. The mooncakes and tea set in the hall for hospitality didn’t count.

Suddenly, Qin Yao remembered a critical issue, signaling Liu Ji to quickly have the children change into decent clothes, while she returned to her room, donned a cotton jacket, picked up the hairpin the children sent earlier, and called for Ah Wang.

"Madame, what are your orders?" Ah Wang immediately came into the courtyard.

Qin Yao inquired about how many people came and Ah Wang truthfully replied, "There are guards, an attendant student, a maid, coachmen, and there’s the young master Qi and Gongliang Liao—twenty people in total."

Qin Yao took a deep breath, exchanged glances with Liu Ji and the five dressed-up male family members, who were visibly taken aback.

"Mother, our house can’t accommodate so many people," Da Lang exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Ji scratched his head, "I thought, including the coachmen and that Stone Guard, there’d be only four or five, thinking to let the scholar stay at our place and have Qi Xian and the guards and coachmen temporarily lodge in the village empty houses..."

He couldn’t be blamed for thinking so, as for ordinary people, a trip with a coachman to drive and a guard was sufficient.

Completely unaware that for noble young lords, traveling with seventeen or eighteen people was considered modest.

Liu Ji, a native, hadn’t considered it, so Qin Yao, coming from an apocalyptic time, even less so—they had no concept of carrying a whole household staff on a trip.

Perhaps there were, but it far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.

The urgent task now was to find accommodation for these people.

Qin Yao decided to divide and conquer, letting Liu Ji take the children by carriage to meet the guests halfway.

She went to the village chief to request two empty houses, so Liu Ji could bring everyone home for a meal initially and she could use that time to rally the old house’s people to prepare the houses quickly.

"Ah Wang, you remember to prepare three tables of food, just like our usual standard," Qin Yao instructed Ah Wang before setting off.

Ah Wang nodded firmly, and Qin Yao, trusting him very much, smiled gently, beckoning the four children to board the carriage Liu Ji had just prepared.

As they parted at the old house’s gate, Liu Ji gratefully looked at Qin Yao, saying, "Wife, thankfully you’re here, or else I would’ve been completely at a loss today."

With a humored sigh, Qin Yao waved him off, reminding him of the primary task, "Go quickly, lest the guests enter the village, making your reception meaningless."

Knowing he would certainly be berated as a scoundrel, Liu Ji still offered a deep bow to express his gratitude before setting off with the children to greet Gongliang Liao and his companions.

Qin Yao incredulously laughed, "Seems the books weren’t wasted; even the rogue Liu Laosan knows etiquette now."