Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 319 - 318: Pristine Simplicity

At the old house, all the men had already gone with the convoy to the Prefecture, leaving only Old Liu and Liu Zhong behind.

Liu Zhong couldn’t leave the factory, and as for Old Liu, who knows which acre of land he’s turning over right now, he never has a moment of rest. It makes him uncomfortable to idle around, so after breakfast, he picked up his hoe and headed out to work.

When Qin Yao entered the courtyard, it was very quiet, with only slight sounds.

Mrs. He and Mrs. Qiu had just come back from working at the stationery factory; one was washing clothes in the yard, while the other took over her son from Mrs. Zhang to care for him, planning to put him to sleep so she could go spin and weave, both looking very busy.

Mrs. Zhang had just handed over the noisy Da Mao back to his mother, and without a break, picked up a mallet and started pounding the already sun-dried and brittle soybean pods under the eaves.

With the sudden visit of Qin Yao, the three daughters-in-law all simultaneously looked up, and Mrs. Zhang asked, "Is the house out of vegetables?"

Being well-informed, Mrs. He gossipingly asked, "Third sister-in-law, Old Two left early this morning to buy supplies, and saw your Ah Wang squatting at the entrance of Lower River Village looking out. Who’s he waiting for?"

Da Mao had already been lulled to a drowsy state by Mrs. Qiu, and afraid to wake the troublesome little tot, Qin Yao lowered her voice and said, "We have two esteemed guests coming to our house, Mother, Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, I need your help."

With time pressing, she didn’t beat around the bush but directly stated who was coming, how many were coming, and how long they might stay.

Not waiting for the three daughters-in-law to digest the news that great scholars were coming to visit the third household, Qin Yao placed the sleeping Da Mao in the cradle, had Mrs. Zhang look after him, and pulled the two sisters-in-law quickly toward the village chief’s house.

On the way there, Mrs. Qiu finally reacted, exclaiming "Oh my god!" She nervously asked, "Isn’t the great scholar a very high official? Should we kneel when we see him?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. He swallowed hard, her eyes lighting up as she grabbed Qin Yao’s arm, "Yao Niang, your family is really making it big, Old Third can even make connections with such high officials now, won’t he become a scholar very soon?"

A woman who had been confined to the village her whole life, the title of Mr. Scholar was already the highest honor she could imagine.

As for Champion Scholar, runner-up, and third rank, those were just stories in plays; Mrs. He never took them seriously.

Qin Yao calmly pulled He’s hand down and advised the two, "They’re not officials, no need to kneel, and don’t go wandering near them. In the future, if there are benefits, I surely won’t forget to share some with you two sisters-in-law."

Of course, that’s if there really are any benefits!

Knowing Qin Yao’s generosity, Mrs. He assured her immediately, repeatedly promising to do as instructed, thinking to herself that with Yao Niang’s words, she could now contribute with peace of mind!

Mrs. He was most annoyed by those who only spoke without action, and she especially disliked being treated like a fool and being delegated tasks without any real benefits given.

Now, she was most fond of Qin Yao. Even though Qin spoke bluntly on usual days, when it came to benefits, she genuinely delivered!

Mrs. Qiu was slower to react to these sorts of things. Hearing Qin Yao’s instructions, she guessed these honored guests didn’t like dealing with villagers and cautiously agreed, also saying she’d make sure to instruct her children at home not to rudely disrupt the esteemed guests.

Qin Yao looked at her two sisters-in-law beside her and was secretly satisfied.

No matter what personal motives they had, as long as they listened to her, there would definitely be something for them to gain.

When the three Liu Family daughters-in-law appeared together, they startled the old village chief, who thought they were coming to him due to a quarrel needing arbitration.

Upon hearing Qin Yao’s intention, the village chief’s eyes widened instantly, and the smoking pipe in his hand fell with a "clang," sparks flew, nearly setting fire to his straw sandals.

Picking up his pipe, the village chief excitedly asked, "Are you saying a great scholar is coming to temporarily stay in our village?"

Qin Yao nodded.

Village Chief: "The great scholar is already on the way?"

Qin Yao glanced at the sky, "They’ll arrive at our village entrance in a little over half an hour."

The village chief took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down...

After a short while, the village chief casually put the smoking pipe on the table, beckoned the three women over, and personally led them to select a house.

But all the houses were in such disrepair that people couldn’t possibly live in them; otherwise, they wouldn’t be vacant.

The only halfway decent-looking one was the ancestral home of Liu Dafu’s family. Unfortunately, the road construction crew was currently living there. They had been staying for so long, it wouldn’t be appropriate to evict them now.

The village chief asked doubtfully, "Yao Niang, are you really planning for such an esteemed scholar to stay in this place? They won’t blame us, will they?"

That’s a great scholar; asking them to stay in a place where the roof leaks and the walls peel is a terrifying thought for the village chief.

What if, just hypothetically, what if a gusty autumn wind in the middle of the night hastens the scholar’s demise?

After inspecting all the old houses, Qin Yao finally chose the largest one with the best view at the front.

The house was on the southwestern side of the village, directly opposite her own home on a hillside. With no mountains blocking the view at the front, you could see the entire village at a glance, providing a magnificent view.

During late autumn, you could see the autumn colors spread across the mountains with just a raise of the eyes—a scenery that can’t be beaten.

Moreover, it’s located inside the village, where there are fewer people, making it quiet and free from disturbances.

Being close to the river, possessing both water and mountain, it was also considered a place of prosperity in terms of feng shui.

The only downside is that the house has been long neglected... no, rather, it’s been abandoned for a while, with weeds growing everywhere, mosquitoes, and rodents likely nesting within.

Moreover, the courtyard walls had long collapsed, leaving only the stone foundation, the rooms in the courtyard having great sunlight exposure with the thatched roof long gone.

"We’ll take this one," Qin Yao said confidently, pointing while putting her hands on her hips, signaling the village chief to give her the keys.

The village chief confirmed repeatedly, "Maybe I could ask around the village to see if anyone has a vacant room for temporary accommodation?"

He’s genuinely scared, worried that if anything happened to the great scholar, the lives of the entire Liu clan would be at risk.

But Qin Yao patted her chest and took the risk on her own, "Rest assured, village chief. The housing arrangement is my responsibility, and anything that happens will be on me, not involving any other clan members."

"Besides, I have another purpose for choosing this house. Those great scholars have seen plenty of nice things? If we want to leave an impression, it has to be something different from the city, something more rustic to freshen things up."

The village chief curiously inquired, "What’s rustic?"

Qin Yao explained, "It means things that are unembellished, in their original form."

The village chief nodded, having learned something new.

He thought Qin Yao’s words made sense, but....

"The weeds can be burned, but as for the leaky roof, it gets cold at night. What if something happens to the esteemed guests, this, this...."

Qin Yao said, "Don’t worry, the esteemed guests will naturally stay at my house; this house is being cleaned for the accompanying servants and guards. Even if the esteemed wish to come, I would stop them until the house is renovated for their stay."

"Renovation?" The village chief caught on to the key point, but he couldn’t keep up with Qin Yao’s often-jumping thoughts. He suspected she had some new ideas, but didn’t know what they were.

Therefore, he deliberately arched an eyebrow, indicating that Qin Yao should explain properly, otherwise, he wouldn’t give her the keys.