Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 337 - 336: Act First, Report Later

The next day.

Qin Yao arrived at the factory early, taking advantage of the workers not yet starting their shifts, and wrote a simple plan for the new production line.

Once the stewards had arranged the day’s production tasks, they gathered everyone in a small room for a brief meeting to discuss the production of stationery gift boxes.

With the prior experience of building the new factory, Liu the carpenter, Yun Niang, Liu Qi, Liu Zhong, and other stewards had already adapted to Qin Yao’s style and pace. The meeting concluded in less than an hour with tasks assigned to each.

Having dispatched all arrangements, Qin Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t join everyone for lunch at the canteen but went home to cook with Ah Wang.

After lunch and a short rest, she got up to pack her luggage.

A set of clothes for changing, bow and arrow, slingshot, dagger, and other weapons to carry with her. It might rain in a few days, so she took a bamboo hat and straw cape just in case, and finally added a thin blanket, in case she had to sleep outdoors by chance.

Oh, and most importantly, the money, which must be brought along sufficiently.

After gathering everything on the table, Qin Yao found a separate oilcloth, packed these things, and stuffed them into a net bag woven from hemp rope, which could be hung on the back of a horse at that time.

Just as Qin Yao finished packing, Liu Ji and his two apprentices hurried back with a horse-drawn cart from Lower River Village.

Early this morning, Gongliang Liao and Qi Xian were coaxed by Liu Ji to go out and accompany him to Lower River Village to order bricks and tiles. They roamed around under the pretext of an autumn outing and only returned in the mid-afternoon.

The three apprentices were in high spirits. After getting off the cart, Liu Ji had Gongliang Liao on his back, Qi Xian carried the teacher’s blanket, Shi Tou shouldered the wheelchair, and they were still excitedly talking about how the water mill in Lower River Village felt like it had the mechanisms of the Mo Family.

Suddenly seeing Qin Yao sitting at the hall entrance, eating fried peanuts, and drinking tea with an air of leisure, the apprentices were all taken aback.

Because Qin Yao was usually so busy from morning till night that she was never seen. Seeing her during the day was a bit unusual.

Inexplicably, the group, who had just been joking and laughing, suddenly quieted down, entering the room or heading to the bathroom, leaving only Liu Ji standing in the courtyard.

"Wife, have you packed everything?" Seeing a straw cape missing from the hall wall, Liu Ji tried to make small talk.

Qin Yao nodded, asking Qi Xian, who was about to pass by her, "Want some peanuts?"

"Thank you, madam, but no." Qi Xian politely declined and returned to the children’s room, planning to take an afternoon nap.

Secretly hoping that the guest house could be completed soon, so he could be more at ease.

It’s odd, even when Qin Yao smiled, he felt an invisible pressure looming over him. He thought he was the only one, but after asking Shi Tou and others, they felt the same.

Gongliang Liao appeared calm on the surface, but actually didn’t like being alone in the same space with Qin Yao, feeling scrutinized, which was unsettling.

Finally, the apprentices concluded that it was all because of Liu Ji! They were dragged into being overshadowed by Qin Yao because of him!

Exactly, if only Liu Ji were a bit more steadfast, they wouldn’t be like this!

Qin Yao shrugged, asking Liu Ji about the size of the house he planned to build and how many bricks and tiles he bought.

Liu Ji had stayed up all night in the hall designing his new study, and when Qin Yao asked, he proudly took out the blueprints for her to see.

He had gauged the dimensions well, not exceeding the room size of Qin Yao’s, but much more spacious than the original.

The location was beside the backyard warehouse, with windows open on the east and west sides, the north next to the warehouse, and the south close to Qin Yao’s room.

For convenience, he planned to demolish his original small room and create a corridor to walk directly to the front yard.

This plan reduced the active area of the backyard by half.

Before Qin Yao could frown, knowing she and Da Lang needed the backyard for martial training, Liu Ji quickly added:

"I’m planning to level the barren land outside our back door and fence our vegetable plot, so everything will be tidy and you’ll have more space to practice martial arts with Da Lang." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Furthermore, when guests visit, there will be space for their carriages, without squeezing into the open area in front of the main gate.

Seeing that Qin Yao seemed satisfied, Liu Ji rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, "Just that the cost might increase a bit... not much, two taels would be enough!"

Qin Yao slapped the extended palm with a "smack!" "Liu Ji, now you’ve learned to act first and report later?!"

Threatening in a low voice, "Do you think I won’t dare to hit you because we have guests at home?"

Liu Ji clutched his suddenly red and swollen palm, quietly taking a sharp breath and quickly shook his head to appease her:

"No, no, you’ve misunderstood me, wife. I’m doing this for our home’s sake. We’re crowded with little space, and it’s tough to renovate, so why not fix it all at once to save you from worrying later?"

Seeing the cold look in Qin Yao’s eyes fade slightly, he sincerely said, "I see you toiling away in the elements, and here I am, a grown man sitting comfortably with food and books, feeling truly ashamed..."

"Wife, you can leave any home matters to me. If there are errands at the factory that I can help with, just let me know. I don’t want much, just the same little token everyone else gets."

Saying this, blinking his big eyes earnestly throughout, never directly mentioning money but hinting at it with every word.

If she didn’t know him well, Qin Yao would have thought he had turned diligent.

But she didn’t reveal his act, understanding there was no point. Liu Ji, having no shame, didn’t know what embarrassment meant.

Qin Yao recalled her promise to Liu the carpenter to reopen the literacy class, rolling her eyes looking at Liu Ji’s expectant eyes, and tentatively asked:

"You want to renovate the old house, build the study room, manage your reading and studies, and still have time to run errands for my factory?"

"Yes, I can!" Liu Ji eagerly replied.

When Qin Yao mentioned the literacy class, he felt even more confident, saying, "The old house is almost done, my senior brother can oversee it alone. Building the study won’t be so immediate as we’re just gathering materials now, and it will have to wait until the old house is done and my senior brother moves in to start."

"In the meantime, I’ll get up an hour early every day to study, take care of the teacher during the day, and go to the literacy class after finishing at the factory in the evening. I can even make it back home in time for dinner, nothing will be delayed."

Qin Yao thought if he had been this diligent earlier, he wouldn’t have gotten beaten, nodded, "Alright, as usual, the factory will provide the venue and materials, you teach, collect your own tuition, still priced as before, five cents for a half-month term."

Liu Ji almost couldn’t suppress his smile, holding it in with effort, suddenly feeling his swollen hand didn’t hurt anymore, and gave a sincere salute, "As you command!"