Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 317 - 316: An Honored Guest Is About to Arrive

Chapter 317: Chapter 316: An Honored Guest Is About to Arrive

"Dear! Dear!"

By the riverbank, the ox cart hadn’t even come to a full stop when Liu Ji eagerly jumped off, shouting excitedly as he ran up the hill. That look of joy—anyone who didn’t know better might think he’d passed the imperial examination!

Qin Yao came out from the main gate upon hearing the commotion, and as soon as Liu Ji saw her, his eyes lit up. He pulled out an envelope from his chest and waved it back and forth.

Qin Yao’s heart skipped a beat; could it be that Gongliang Liao really replied to him?

Liu Ji, as if knowing her doubts, came up to her, not yet catching his breath, and immediately said:

"Dear, sir said he has set out. Judging by the day this letter was sent, he should arrive within the next couple of days!"

The four Da Lang siblings who were resting inside also came running out, their faces streaked with flour, holding dough-like things in their hands.

Liu Ji asked in confusion, "What are you up to here?"

"Making mooncakes." Sanlang eagerly raised the dough in his hands, hoping for praise from his father.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Liu Ji was in high spirits and generously gave Sanlang a thumbs up, "Not bad, not bad, make plenty of them! When sir arrives, let him have a taste of these village delicacies."

Sanlang immediately beamed, nodded earnestly in agreement, and turned to run back to the kitchen to have Ah Wang continue teaching him how to make the filling.

Three others were still standing at the door, and Liu Ji waved them off, "Go on, go on, make more, and make them tasty."

Da Lang cautiously observed Aunt Yao’s expression, and seeing no change, he led Second Brother and Fourth Sister back to continue making mooncakes.

Mooncakes are a delicate matter, and tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Very few families in the village are willing to make them.

This is mainly because the flour must be ground again and again, at least five times, to achieve the fine quality needed for mooncakes.

Plus, this year the wheat harvest was plagued by pests and yields were low, making flour prices extremely high. Only families with confidence in their finances would bother with the labor for just a couple of bites of mooncake.

Of course, Qin Yao mainly craved them.

She couldn’t quite remember what she did last Mid-Autumn but seemed to recall not celebrating the festival or eating mooncakes.

This year, she had time, and their family school had given three days off for students to go home for the holiday. Fourth Sister saw the Liu Dafu family grinding fine flour at the mill and learned they were making mooncakes. Having never tasted a mooncake but knowing it must be a good thing, the little girl ran home to tell Qin Yao she wanted some, prompting the family to start making mooncakes.

It could only be said that Liu Ji had returned at just the right moment, catching them in the act.

Earlier on, he didn’t get his share of the first batch of watermelon and had complained bitterly. Seeing the family making mooncakes without informing him made him clutch his chest, casting a resentful look at Qin Yao, the pain, oh, the pain!

Qin Yao ignored his theatrics and, without much trust, opened the letter Liu Ji had brought.

The letter contained a few lines, written in a scrawling but elegant and forceful style.

If someone were to say Liu Ji had someone forge such handwriting, Qin Yao wouldn’t believe it—the scholars of all of Kaiyang County couldn’t replicate the intense personal style these words conveyed.

Just at the sight of this writing, Qin Yao’s mind couldn’t help but conjure up Gongliang Liao’s face, seemingly stern but with mischievous eyes.

Mad and wild were Qin Yao’s first impressions of Gongliang Liao.

And the words on the paper revealed the owner’s character traits perfectly.

"How did you manage this?" Qin Yao handed the letter back to Liu Ji, curiously asking.

She had Ah Wang send a letter, but there had been no response yet.

And Liu Ji didn’t have a messenger like Ah Wang, so how did he manage to bypass the Qi Family’s layers of obstructions to get the letter to Gongliang Liao?

Liu Ji saw her astonished look, chuckled without answering, and instead asked, "Dear, about this year’s corvée silver you mentioned..."

Qin Yao was straightforward too, true to her words, she turned to get six taels of silver, "Since you’re back, take it to the village head later and have your service quota offset."

Liu Ji took the silver and could hardly contain himself from kissing it twice, almost moved to tears by the joy.

But knowing Qin Yao’s patience was limited, he quickly collected himself, stored the silver in the inner pocket of his chest, and sat down in the hall to excitedly recount to Qin Yao how his letter got to Gongliang Liao.

Because he spoke so vividly, Ah Wang and the children in the kitchen couldn’t help but look over, neglecting their tasks, causing the first batch of baked mooncakes to have a hard crust.

However, after hearing Liu Ji’s story, the four siblings looked at him with newfound respect.

It was nothing short of their father’s personal display of the saying, "Constant grinding can turn an iron rod into a needle," proving it true.

"Dad, you’re amazing!"

Second Lang had somehow crouched in front of his father, counting on his fingers, "A hundred letters—costs for paper, ink, delivery, hiring... at least half a tael of silver, and yet you managed to save so much private money... wuwu!"

Before he could finish, his mouth was covered by his father. Liu Ji glared, "Shut up, Zishu!"

In the kitchen, as Qin Yao tasted the first batch of mooncakes, she heard the commotion in the hall and suspiciously turned around. She saw father and son embracing, looking all friendly.

With Second Lang’s back to the door, it wasn’t clear what expression he wore, but judging by his squirming, the child wasn’t entirely willing.

Qin Yao sneered lightly, finishing off the filling of the mooncake in her hand, tossing the hard crust into the wooden bin for kitchen scraps—it was fit only for the livestock, humans couldn’t eat it.

Da Lang and Fourth Sister widened their eyes, internally lamenting the waste, but after taking a bite of the mooncake in their hands, they "yue" simultaneously.

It went to show that one shouldn’t doubt any decision made by Mother!

Ah Wang, determined, started over!

This time, the dough was softer, and the heat was adjusted, finally resulting in mooncakes with the proper texture.

Qin Yao wasn’t fussy. As long as the mooncakes tasted right, she could eat them with great relish.

For Liu Ji and his sons, it was even more so, having never tasted such delicacies before. As they bit into the mooncakes, they erupted in delighted exclamations, their praise reaching Ah Wang, motivating him to bake batch after batch.

Mooncakes freshly made were laid out on sieves lined with white cotton cloth, filling all the vacant tables and chairs in the house, and the sight was satisfying.

Liu Ji, having finally eaten something fresh, devoured three child-palm-sized bean paste-filled mooncakes in a row, so stuffed he paced back and forth in the yard.

He looked at the mooncakes and thought about how to arrange things when Gongliang Liao arrived.

Finally, he concluded: see to it when the time comes!

Better to first deal with offsetting the service quota.

Otherwise, just as the sir arrived, Liu Ji would be dragged off to labor on the city wall.

However, Liu Ji was prudent, taking an extra package of mooncakes when paying the village head, casually inquiring about the availability of empty houses in the village.

Hearing there were several empty houses, he was instantly relieved.

The family busied themselves until dark, and after a simple dinner, the initial thrill of making mooncakes waned, leaving the nervous anticipation of an imminent esteemed guest.