Chapter 315: Chapter 314: Linking Arms

Qin Yao looked at the two strings of copper coins that had been stuffed into her hands, lowered her head with a smile, and put them away for the time being, preserving the young boy’s dignity.

After dinner, when the children had washed up and gone to bed, she furtively returned the two strings of copper coins to Second Lang’s money box hidden under the bed.

As she quietly exited the room, a pair of eyes opened in the darkness. Qin Yao paused, looking over intently, and saw Si Niang sitting on the bed, staring at her in surprise.

Qin Yao quickly made a shushing gesture, and Si Niang nodded in a daze, wondering why Mother was in the room.

But that didn’t matter; soon, the little girl fell asleep again.

The next day, upon waking, she even thought it was a dream. When she told her brothers, she watched them dive under the bed to pull out the money box.

Da Lang hurriedly opened it and saw the familiar two strings of money had returned.

Second Lang was overjoyed, “It must have been Mother who sent them back. Brother, I told you yesterday you were overdoing it.”

“You did?” Da Lang questioned doubtfully; he didn’t remember hearing that.

Second Lang scratched his head, chuckling sheepishly, and asked his brother if they should continue sending the money back.

Da Lang shook his head, a bit helpless, “I was indeed being too distant.”

If they sent it back again, he would surely receive the first spanking from his stepmother.

“Alright, then I’ll keep it for you,” Second Lang immediately closed the lid of the money box, his eyes lighting up with greed. After all, he had quietly felt heartbroken for quite some time last night.

It’s not that he didn’t want to be as rational as his brother; on the contrary, he saw things more clearly than his brother.

Mother was not interested in those copper coins. If he truly wanted to make her happy, he would study hard and earn top honors to bring back a title for her!

On this, Second Lang didn’t dare to rely on his father, so he had to rely on himself and focus more on his studies in the future.

The teacher said, “The plan for a day lies in the morning,” so from now on, he would go to bed earlier and wake up after a mere three and a half hours of sleep.

Getting up half an hour earlier wasn’t enough; he would extend it to a whole hour.

Da Lang had no idea what Second Lang was thinking. If he knew, he would definitely want to tie him up to stop him from over-studying!

Not everyone likes to study to the death like him!

The children’s mumbling inside the room was just a passing breeze to Qin Yao; she didn’t listen closely. After carelessly preparing breakfast, she stood outside the children’s room and boomed:

“Out the door in a quarter of an hour, hurry up!”

Soon, the doors swung open, and the four siblings raced out, brushing their teeth and washing their faces in one fell swoop, grabbing the hastily steamed and dry buns from the table.

Da Lang and Second Lang could fix their hair themselves, while Sanlang and Si Niang, with a mouthful of bun and a sip of warm water, stood in front of Qin Yao to have their hair tied.

Once everything was sorted, they locked the door at the last minute, boarding the cart to depart.

When they picked up Jinbao from the old house, Da Lang felt panic creeping in that they would run late. Qin Yao slowed the cart, yanked Jinbao onto it, and then kicked the ox’s rump, racing wildly towards Jinshi Town.

The early autumn morning was slightly chilly. By the time they reached the gate of Ding Clan School, the five children on the cart had their noses turned red from the wind’s force.

However, there was no choice; the consequences of being late were severe. Even the fearsome Qin Yao wouldn’t dare to challenge the authority of the teacher lightly.

Fortunately, the children were already accustomed to it. Today’s red noses were due to their lack of preparation and forgetting to wear more layers.

After today, they wouldn’t forget again. Jinbao, holding the Divine Power Book Box in one hand and wiping his nose with the other, secretly reminded himself to dress more warmly tomorrow!

Otherwise, this speed from Third Aunt’s cart would be too much!

“Goodbye, Mother.” Sanlang and Si Niang, sniffing, waved to Qin Yao and ran into the school.

Once they started running, their bodies warmed up, and their noses stopped running.

Qin Yao, with an apologetic look, watched the five little ones. Then she turned the cart around and elegantly headed to the town street, buying a pack of osmanthus cakes, two pounds of wild grapes, and three pounds of spareribs, intending to reward herself at home. Getting up early to send the kids to school was too exhausting; she needed a treat.

Returning to the village, she found the villagers paying their grain taxes. Qin Yao drove her cart home without unloading it, conveniently pulling the family’s grain for tax along.

Liu Gong was helping with the weighing and calculations. When it was Qin Yao’s turn, seeing she only brought tax for eight acres of land, he reminded her:

“Sister-in-law, your family has a tax on ten acres. You need to provide an additional fifty-nine pounds of grain based on this year’s harvest median.”

Qin Yao had indeed forgotten about the two acres of melon land that also required tax. She quickly returned home to fetch the extra grain.

After finishing this, she went to the factory to check on things as per usual, took care of necessary matters, and the day passed by.

In the evening, she drove to pick up the children, and upon entering the village, she saw smoke drifting from their home.

Si Niang was delighted, “Ah Wang must be back!”

Da Lang and the others, along with Jinbao, shared a glance full of joy, knowing they no longer had to endure the rapid cart rides!

How could Qin Yao not see through their thoughts?

She mischievously asked, “What, are you not happy with me picking you up for school runs?”

The five children all shook their heads in unison, unwillingly replying, “Happy.”

Pleased, Qin Yao smiled, and as the cart stopped at the old house gate, Jinbao quickly jumped off, fleeing into the courtyard as if Qin Yao might eat him if he moved slowly, making the Da Lang siblings roar with laughter.

At their home’s entrance, just by spotting Old Huang grazing below the mountain, Qin Yao confirmed that Ah Wang had indeed returned.

“When did he come back? We didn’t bump into him in town,” Qin Yao called into the house, gesturing for the children to disembark and hurry back to finish their homework before dinner.

“Madam.” Ah Wang came out, taking over the ox cart, having arrived half an hour earlier. They must have missed each other in Jinshi Town.

Noticing Qin Yao’s gaze, he softly informed her, “The message has been delivered.”

Qin Yao was immediately relieved, patting Ah Wang on the arm, “Great, let Da Lang and the others do the dishes tonight. Have a meal and rest early.”

From Lin County to Liu Family Village, accomplishing the round trip within a day, along with delivering a message, Qiao suspected Ah Wang hadn’t slept at all.

Ah Wang truly hadn’t slept, spending his time on the road and completing his tasks.

Yet, he wasn’t tired. In the past, he had gone several days without sleep; just this one day was nothing.

Ah Wang declined Qin Yao’s arrangement, securing the ox and cart before returning to work.

After dinner, Qin Yao checked the children’s schoolwork, finally having free time, at which point Ah Wang had the opportunity to report the details of delivering the message.

“Gongliang Liao received the message and read it immediately but showed no reaction afterward — no joy, anger, or sadness.”

He glanced at Qin Yao as he said this.

Noticing he had more to say, Qin Yao asked probingly, “Do you know this person?”

Ah Wang replied, “I know of him, but I don’t know him personally.”

“Does Madam wish to associate with this person?” Ah Wang tested with a question.

Seeing Qin Yao nod, his expression noticeably darkened.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep