Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 242 - 241: Damn Spoiling

The five of them returned just in time; Liu Ji had just finished cooking and laid out the meal.

The kitchen is particularly busy by evening, with no space available, so he had to go earlier to prepare the meal.

Recently, the cost of food has been especially high. Although prices haven’t skyrocketed continuously, it’s still painful to eat.

The price of a pound of fine rice is five times the original price. Even a bundle of greens can sell for between twenty and thirty cents, and you have to snatch it up quickly when the city gates open, just as the neighboring villagers bring in their crops.

Today, Liu Ji couldn’t manage to grab any, so there weren’t any greens on the table, just two dishes of pickled vegetables and a big pot of plain congee.

He had just been beaten, and the soreness hadn’t subsided. Thinking about waiting for the exam results for more than half a month, Liu Ji especially wanted to go home at this moment.

But this negative mood vanished instantly when he heard the laughter of the mother and children outside the guest room door.

"You’re back, huh? Where did you go today? Why didn’t you come back at noon? Did you not eat lunch, were you hungry?"

Qin Yao had just entered the door when Liu Ji enthusiastically came up, bombarding her with questions.

She glanced at him in surprise, "What’s up?"

"Nothing." Liu Ji shook his head with a smile, then pushed the four siblings’ book boxes into the corner of the room, pointed at the hot meal on the table, and said, "Wash your hands and let’s eat. Out for the whole day, must be hungry, right?"

The five of them responded in unison, went to the washbasin to wash their hands with the water prepared earlier by the waiter, and then returned to the table to sit down.

There still weren’t enough seats. Liu Ji and Da Lang stood while eating, Qin Yao and the three younger ones sat.

Liu Ji moved among them, at one moment adding some pickles for Qin Yao, and next helping the twins handle the spilled soup, making the mother and children look at him as if they’d seen a ghost.

Liu Ji touched his face and asked blankly, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Second Lang asked directly, "Dad, did you do something bad?"

"No!" Liu Ji shouted, hurriedly looking at Qin Yao to explain, "I’m innocent. I sat in the guest room reading all day, only went out to the kitchen in the afternoon to cook for half an hour, and then you all came back. How could I have done anything bad? Plus, why would I?"

"Then why are you being so attentive?" Qin Yao looked at him suspiciously.

Getting beaten yesterday and then being so nice to her, is he a masochist?

Liu Ji widened his eyes, "Is it wrong for me to be attentive? Since you were out all day, I missed you, can’t I be a bit nicer to you?"

Qin Yao shrugged her shoulders, covered in goosebumps, looked him up and down, confirmed there was no trace of insincerity in his expression, and then nodded coolly, "Got it, let’s continue eating."

Liu Ji huffed in exasperation, then lightly knocked the back of Second Lang’s head with his chopsticks, "You kid, eat your food." Don’t speak out of turn!

Second Lang made a funny face in secret, making the twins giggle.

The meal was lively, and after eating, Liu Ji pulled Second Lang along, and the two of them took the dishes to the kitchen.

There are benefits to staying at the inn. You don’t have to wash pots and pans; just throw the dirty ones into the kitchen sink, and someone will wash them clean.

After a whole day of promoting and marketing, the four children yawned from sleepiness and prepared to wash up and go to bed.

Once Liu Ji and Second Lang returned, closed the room door, and laid out the bedding, the six of them went to sleep early.

However, Liu Ji couldn’t sleep, facing the bed, he softly asked Qin Yao what she did in the daytime.

"Social practice." Qin Yao said perfunctorily.

Liu Ji had already gotten the story from Second Lang. Hearing this response, he secretly rolled his eyes.

Lucky it was dark in the room, otherwise Qin Yao would have seen it, and a beating would have been unavoidable. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Liu Family Village is so far from the Prefecture, who’s going to buy book boxes from us with such a long trek?" Liu Ji weakly asked.

Qin Yao, while playing with Si Niang’s soft cheek in her arms, softly replied, "As long as there’s profit, this distance is nothing."

"I heard you’re planning on organizing a group purchase and even delivering door to door?"

Qin Yao glanced at the lump of shadow on the ground, "You seem to know a lot."

"Hehe, Second Lang told me willingly." Liu Ji sold out his son all too happily.

Qin Yao looked at the sleeping Second Lang, thinking this son’s wits still fall short of his daddy’s.

However, Liu Ji wasn’t concerned about her business; he cared about how much she could earn and what benefits he could gain from it.

So, why should she tell him?

Men should focus on studying to gain fame; she’ll take care of the household finances.

"As I said, your task is to study hard and earn a reputation. You won’t lack for food or drink, you don’t need to worry about these trivial matters, I’ll handle them." Qin Yao advised with a gentle smile, in a doting tone suggesting that all he needs to do is study and be happy.

Liu Ji secretly punched his pillow in frustration. Damn affection! Who wants it can take it!

Knowing that if he continued asking, he’d only suffer sharp rebukes, Liu Ji sighed dramatically and expressed concern:

"My dear, it’s hard for you, a delicate woman, to manage such a big household. I truly regret not being able to help you with some of the burdens."

Qin Yao said, "I don’t find it hard, sleep, I’m tired."

"...Well, sweet dreams." After hesitating for a while, Liu Ji finally squeezed these words out through his teeth.

Going to bed early means waking up early.

Qin Yao stayed with the children for morning reading and Da Lang’s basic exercises. After having a simple breakfast made by Liu Ji, the mother and children went out again with book boxes and stationery to set up their stall.

With the imperial exams just days away, Liu Ji naturally needed to stay in the guest room to study intensively. There really wasn’t any excuse for him to follow out and watch how Qin Yao sells things.

Liu Li planned not to go out. Until the exam, he needed inner peace, plus the agent for handling formalities would come to see them, so he was quite busy.

Perhaps because the exam was approaching, there were fewer scholars on the street than the previous day. Nonetheless, the promotional effect was still good, with many students’ parents showing interest in the Divine Power Book Box and a willingness to purchase.

However, Qin Yao’s suggestion of a minimum group purchase of fifty was cumbersome for ordinary people, who had to suppress their enthusiasm.

Those with relatives in Kaiyang County planned to write a letter and ask their relatives to help with the purchase instead, which was a good way to cut costs.

Towards mid-afternoon, the number of potential customers decreased today, so the mother and children packed up their stall and returned to the inn.

During this time, Da Lang took on two jobs writing letters, earning two cents for every ten words, making six cents in ink fees.

What the commoners want is value for money, so they don’t have high expectations for Da Lang’s handwriting, and the customers who received the letters were quite satisfied.

Because they had made some money, the four siblings discussed coming again in the future.

Qin Yao saw them brimming with enthusiasm and had to remind them, "The stall fee is three cents a day, you know."

Although today she covered the stall fee, it’s important not to forget this cost.

Sanlang and Si Niang immediately sighed, "Making money is so hard."