Stepmom's Farm Life

Chapter 5: Fetching Water

Old Man Liu knew that he had many sons at home, and if he didn't discipline them well, the family would fall apart sooner or later, so he was willing to put in a lot of effort and was ruthless in disciplining them.

But this third brother, if you hit him he will run away, if you scold him he will point at your nose and curse you back, what's the use of being cruel?

Old man Liu was so angry that his hair turned white overnight.

A man in his forties with gray hair, he looks like he is sixty.

Seeing that Liu Laosan was over 15 and no matter how much he was disciplined, Zhang asked someone for a folk remedy, saying that a shrewish woman was the best remedy for those who were unruly.

So Old Man Liu thought of finding a capable wife for Liu Ji to keep him under control. After the marriage, the two of them could live separately, so that the family could have a quiet life and out of sight, out of mind. This would be a way for Old Man Liu, as a father, to do his duty to Liu Ji.

The old couple put a lot of thought into choosing a wife for Liu Ji, and finally chose Mo, who was bold and capable.

I didn't expect that Liu Ji, who was so unruly, had actually become much calmer.

But no one could have imagined that such a good person would die of childbirth complications.

Old Man Liu was even more devastated than Liu Ji. On the day of his third daughter-in-law's funeral, he cried all the way:

"Fate, this is my fate! I don't know what I did to Liu Ji in my last life, but in this life I'm asking him to come to my house and claim his blood debt!"

At this moment, thinking back to what happened back then, Old Man Liu was just afraid that Qin Yao would abandon the third brother's family and run away.

"If you have any difficulties, come to the old house and discuss it with the whole family. Don't try to handle it alone." Old man Liu warned.

Qin Yao thought that Old Man Liu would hold her accountable, but she was a little surprised that he would say this.

"Yeah, I know." She nodded in response.

Old Man Liu thought that she understood what he meant and would come to him to borrow money to redeem Liu Ji, so he felt a little relieved.

The three Liu brothers had deep resentment towards Liu Ji. Seeing that Qin Yao agreed, they thought that even if she had to worry about them, it would be the second round, and the man's wife was there, so they urged Old Man Liu to go home for dinner first.

Old man Liu looked at the five women in front of him, sighed, cursed Liu Ji as a bastard, and told his sons to leave.

When they left, the four of them, father and son, winked at Dalang and Erlang, telling them to keep an eye on their stepmother.

Although Qin Yao looked skinny and didn't seem like she could run far at this moment, but thinking about the current situation at the third brother's house, everyone would want to run away, so who can say for sure.

Qin Yao watched them walk away, then turned back to look at the four siblings standing in front of the door, "Are you hungry?"

The four siblings nodded honestly.

After a busy morning, Qin Yao had already digested the eight taro she had eaten in the morning, and she was hungry.

Qin Yao took out the four still warm taro from her pocket and handed them to the four siblings, "One for each of you. Eat some to fill your stomach first."

Qin Yao had just looked around this dilapidated house. There were only beds made of wooden boards in the two rooms, and the beds were covered with beddings of unrecognizable color. There was no place to hide money, let alone mice.

Fortunately, there was still a stove and an iron pot, but the water tank was empty, so I couldn't have a proper meal, so I could only continue to roast taro.

Qin Yao saw a small pile of firewood next to the stove. They were all broken branches. They should have been picked up by Dalang or Erlang at the foot of the mountain.

Qin Yao found a flint, cleaned the stove, and lit a fire quickly.

The four brothers and sisters stood behind her, looking at the fragrant taro in their hands and swallowing hard. In front of the food, they had long forgotten that their bastard father was carried away by the debt collectors.

There is affection, but not much.

Sanlang and Si Niang were young and could not control their instincts. They put the taro under their noses and sniffed it, licking their lips and looking at their two brothers.

Dalang watched Qin Yao bury the black lumps in the rattan bag into the fire. After a while, when they were cooked, he pulled them out, peeled them, and put them into his mouth. Then he nodded to his brothers and sisters who could not wait any longer.

"It smells so good~" As soon as Sanlang took a bite, his eyes lit up.

"This is taro, it's naturally fragrant."

Qin Yao's voice suddenly rang out, and the four siblings who were chewing taro froze at once.

Erlang's face changed slightly. He heard from the villagers that taro is poisonous. Eating it will cause a strange disease and make the whole body itchy. People will die from scratching and skin ulcers!

Qin Yao just saw them carefully observing her actions and thought they knew it was taro, so they were so cautious.

It turns out I didn't know at all.

Qin Yao chuckled, put all the taro in her hand into her mouth, patted her butt, stood up and walked in front of the four brothers and sisters, grabbed two taro, and explained:

"The mucus of raw taro will cause itching if it touches the skin, so just rinse it with water. Cooked taro does not have this problem, so you can eat it without worry."

After that, he buried the taro in his hand in the ashes and continued to roast it. He pulled out the previously roasted taro and piled it by the fire. He raised his chin to Dalang and said, "Where is the bucket? I'll go get some water and come back. Let's clean up the house."

Life kissed her with pain, but she still responded to life with songs.

Now Qin Yao can't even spend the night in this dirty house!

It had been a long time since he had eaten decent food. Dalang paused for a moment before he reacted. He finished the taro in his hand in two bites, walked into the house, and took out a heavy wooden barrel from the dim corner.

Although country children are thin, they have been helping with housework since they were young and are quite strong.

Dalang carried the wooden bucket and said to Erlang, "My stepmother and I will go get some water."

Erlang nodded. Although his family was poor, not all villagers were kind-hearted. Some people would bully you the more they saw you were poor.

There were originally two wooden barrels and a shoulder pole in the house, but because the brother and sister went up the mountain to pick wild fruits, they forgot to hide them in the house. When they returned home, the shoulder pole was missing and one of the wooden barrels was also lost.

The eldest brother searched the whole village, but no one said they had seen it, so the matter was left unresolved.

Qin Yao followed Da Lang to the village well. Er Lang saw her walking away and immediately rushed to the fire. He shared the roasted taro Qin Yao left with his younger brother and sister, and took one for himself. While eating, he reminded them: "Eat slowly, don't choke."

Sanlang and Si Niang's cheeks puffed up, and they moved their mouths like hamsters, nodding vaguely, "Hmm!"

Soon, the small pile of taro was eaten up by the three siblings.

Erlang asked Sanlang to watch the taro buried in the fire to prevent it from getting burnt. He sat down on the doorstep, leaning his head against the door frame, rubbing his belly with one hand and rubbing Si Niang's bulging belly with the other.

The brother and sister looked at each other and laughed. It felt so good to be full.

Qin Yao, carrying a wooden bucket, followed behind her eldest son, and the two of them walked towards the village in silence.

Qin Yao was not a talkative person, and Dalang was not familiar with his stepmother, so he didn't know what to say to her and could only remain silent.

There is a well in the village. The water in the well is clear and sweet, and the villagers come here to get water.

If they wanted to wash clothes, they would go to the village entrance, where the river water was intercepted and gathered into a small pond, where cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, as well as vegetables and clothes could be washed, could all be washed in the same place.

Because it is running water, it is not dirty, but people who live not too far from the village well will not go to the pond to fetch water for drinking.

Liu Ji was ostracized in the village. After he moved out of the Liu family's old house, he built a house on a low slope in the north of the village. His home was upstream of the river, so it was closer to the river to fetch water.

But Dalang brought her to the village. She was new there and didn't know the village well, so it was better for her to follow him first.

(End of this chapter)