Stepmom's Farm Life

Chapter 16 Preparation

Going into the mountains is not something you can do just like that.

If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools.

The next morning, Qin Yao did not go to the fields, but went to the mountains to dig enough taro to eat for four days.

She had dug up the taro so many times that there wasn't much left.

Then he hid the taro and hoe in the grass at the foot of the mountain, picked up a sickle and went to the place where the villagers usually collected firewood. He chopped a full load of firewood, which, together with the firewood he had stored in the previous few days, was enough for daily use for half a month.

The sun had risen to mid-sky. Qin Yao did not rest when she got home. She filled her stomach with some taro, took all the money in the family, forty copper coins, and walked quickly to the next village.

This village is not far from Liujia Village. It only takes an hour to walk along the downstream of the river.

Qin Yao walked quickly and arrived in more than half an hour.

This is a village larger than Liujia Village, called Xiahe Village. There is a blacksmith in the village who makes a living by making farm tools for villagers in surrounding villages.

In this village, there is a hunter family who is famous in the surrounding villages. All the men in the family are hunters. It is said that they once killed a spotted tiger and are well-known in Jinshi Town.

Qin Yao first went to the blacksmith shop, and after some bargaining, he exchanged thirty cents for a worn dagger.

Fortunately, the blade was still sharp, and the blacksmith helped to sharpen it with a whetstone, making it barely usable.

It was just too light for Qin Yao. She weighed it in her hand and swung it a few times. The big and wide moves didn't seem to require any skill, but the strong sound of the wind made people dare not touch it.

The blacksmith looked at her in surprise and said, "Young lady, you are really good at using a knife!"

Qin Yao put away the knife and gave him a faint smile, "Master, do you know where the hunter's house is?"

Of course the blacksmith knew that they were all from the same village, and he pointed to a solitary house on the hillside to the east.

Qin Yao said, "Thank you!" and turned around and strode off.

It was noon, and the door of the hunter's house was ajar. Qin Yao shouted twice at the door, and an energetic old woman came out. Thinking that she was here to buy meat, she waved her hand and said that the meat was gone and had been taken to the town.

Qin Yao immediately realized that the person she was looking for was not at home, so she tentatively asked the old woman when the man in the house would return.

"Aren't you buying meat?" the old woman asked suspiciously.

Qin Yao nodded, "I came here to borrow hunting tools from your family. I will return one tenth of the prey as commission. Is that okay?"

It was the first time the old woman heard of someone coming to borrow hunting tools. She was stunned for a moment before she reacted and said that she couldn't make the decision and had to wait for her son to come back.

So Qin Yao sat down under the big tree in front of the hunter's house and sharpened her newly bought dagger.

Qin Yao waited until the sun set in the west.

The hunter family's surname is Yang. There are two brothers. The eldest is called Yang Da and the younger is called Yang Er. They each have a son and a daughter. It seems that they killed a big fish yesterday, so the whole family went together to transport the fish to the restaurant in town to sell, and they returned with a full load in the afternoon.

As soon as they arrived, Grandma Yang told her two sons about Qin Yao.

The villagers were very wary of outsiders, but Qin Yao was from the next village, and they knew about Liujia Village.

The two brothers walked towards Qin Yao suspiciously. They didn't say they didn't want to lend the money, but they were afraid that Qin Yao would damage their things.

Of course, the key point is that I don't believe Qin Yao can really catch prey.

It's said to be one-tenth of the reward, but if they catch nothing, wouldn't it be a waste of their hunting equipment?

"If I fail to hunt it, I will compensate you for the corresponding repair costs according to the degree of damage." Qin Yao said sincerely.

She thought that if the two brothers didn't agree, she would start playing the victim to gain sympathy.

But her luck seemed to be good. Seeing her poor appearance, the two brothers felt sorry for her and waved to her, asking her to come in and choose.

Their family is a hunter family and they make a living by hunting. They have all kinds of hunting tools at home and they are all well maintained.

Having made a big harvest yesterday, they don't plan to go again in the near future. They want to wait until winter comes to go into the mountains once more and then spend the winter in seclusion.

The deep mountains here are not the ones that have been over-exploited for tourism in later generations. There are man-eating beasts in the mountains here, and there are countless poisonous insects and snakes.

There are no roads in the undeveloped deep mountains. If you don't know how to tell the direction, there is a high possibility that you will get lost in the mountains.

Every time the Yang brothers went into the mountains, there was a risk of losing their lives.

Therefore, they have now purchased a few acres of land, intending to let their younger generations become farmers in the future. No matter how tiring and hard farming is, it is better than losing their lives.

Qin Yao picked up a bow, the one Yang Da usually used, which was the largest, heaviest, and most powerful.

The four boys and girls of the Yang family followed Qin Yao and watched her choose curiously. When they saw that she chose Yang Da's sword, they felt that she was overestimating her own abilities.

Unexpectedly, Qin Yao picked up the bow, pinched the bowstring with two fingers, and actually pulled the bow to its full length.

She seemed still unsatisfied, and skillfully picked up the string-tightening tool to tighten the bowstring.

Seeing Qin Yao pulling the bow again, Yang Da's heart tightened, fearing that she would break his beloved bow.

Qin Yao took a feather arrow from the quiver and put it on the string. She gestured a few times in the Yang family's yard, scaring the Yang family so much that they followed her around, fearing that they would accidentally become her target.

Qin Yao put away the bow and arrow with satisfaction, "That's it."

Even though people let her choose freely, she still needs to have some self-awareness and not go too far.

A bow, thirty arrows, a dagger, and some ropes from home, that's about it.

"Madam Qin, are you born with supernatural powers?"

When seeing Qin Yao off, Yang Da asked curiously.

Qin Yao thought about it, nodded, and said nonsense: "I have been strong since I was a child."

The two Yang brothers looked at her in surprise and cried with envy.

When sending Qin Yao to the village entrance, Yang Da said a little worriedly: "It's getting dark. There's been a lot of unrest around here recently, with bandits rampant. It's probably not safe for a girl like you to go on the road alone. How about I go to the village chief's house and borrow a cow to send you back."

Qin Yao pointed to the bow and arrow on her back and said, "With them, I am safe."

The two brothers smiled, they were just being stupid.

Qin Yao hurried and finally arrived back at Liujia Village before it was completely dark.

She didn't know whether she was lucky or too poor, but she didn't encounter any of the bandits that the Yang brothers mentioned along the way.

You know what, she is actually a little looking forward to it, maybe there will be some unexpected gains.

When she arrived at Liujia Village, Qin Yao did not rush home, but went to the Liu family's old house on the way.

Seeing her carrying a bow and arrow and holding a dagger in her hand, people in the old house were a little confused about what she was going to do.

Being poor, Qin Yao had become thick-skinned. She said directly, "I really can't farm. I plan to go into the mountains tomorrow. It will take at least three to five days, or at most seven to eight days. I would like to ask my two brothers to help me plant the remaining wheat seeds at home."

"There are four children at home. I'd like to trouble you two sisters-in-law to help take care of them while I'm away."

As he spoke, he took out the only ten copper coins he had left and handed them to the stunned Mrs. He.

"Sister-in-law, the food prepared at home is only enough for the children to eat for four days. I'll have to trouble you to help take care of the rest. I know it's not enough, so I'll owe you the extra first and I'll make up for it later."

After explaining everything, he left decisively.

Leaving the Liu family's old house with everyone, young and old, in disarray in the wind.

Zhang was going to take back her opinion of Qin Yao from the previous two days. She now felt that people of the same family were alike, and the new daughter-in-law of the third brother's family was just as shameless as him!

No, it was the student who surpassed the master!

(End of this chapter)