Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 84 - 83: Hugs

Liu Ji put away the money and suddenly realized something wasn’t quite right.

He understood buying brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for the four children, but why was he asked to practice calligraphy?

However, Qin Yao couldn’t delay any longer. She quickly touched the small faces of the brothers and sisters and was about to leave, giving him no chance to question his doubts.

The five of them stood in line in front of the Ding Mansion, watching her leave, their previously high spirits now dampened.

"Dad, how long until Mom comes back?" Si Niang asked, looking up expectantly.

Liu Ji counted the days on his fingers, "Twenty more days."

Sanlang immediately asked, "How long is twenty days?"

"Not long, it’ll pass in the blink of an eye," Liu Ji reassured.

Seeing the gates of the Ding Mansion closing, he waved to the sugar-coated haws behind him with a smile, "Come on, Dad will take you to the town, let’s go eat and drink heartily!"

The siblings’ downcast expressions immediately turned to anticipation, holding hands, following him, and the five of them went to the town together.

Today was market day, there were many people, the shops on the street were all open, and there were stalls selling various small items by the roadside, lively indeed.

Afraid the kids might get lost, Liu Ji held Sanlang and Si Niang’s hands, letting the two older sons walk ahead and watch them.

The so-called eating heartily and drinking merrily was buying the brush, ink, inkstone, and then walking down the town’s streets from end to end. With some money left over, everyone got a colorful string.

"Buy one for Mom too!" Si Niang tugged her father’s big hand, pulling down stubbornly, refusing to leave without buying.

Thus, when Qin Yao accompanied Miss Ding to catch a bucket of field fish at the estate and returned to the mansion, she was unexpectedly handed a colorful woven string by Zhang Ba.

"Miss Qin, your husband seems quite caring," Zhang Ba teased with an ambiguous undertone.

Moreover, he didn’t expect Miss Qin’s husband to be so handsome, appearing to be a scholar, and when he asked Zhang Ba to deliver the string to Miss Qin, he spoke in a literary style.

Qin Yao couldn’t imagine why Zhang Ba had such an absurd idea, she politely thanked him and took the string.

The thin string had five colors: red, yellow, white, green, and blue, representing the five elements, symbolizing fortune and banishing evil, a very good omen.

Qin Yao held the string up to her eyes for a while, her lips curling up involuntarily. She didn’t have to guess; she knew this must have been chosen by the children.

The string was long, so she wrapped it around her wrist twice, it looked quite nice as a bracelet.

However, when she returned to her room and saw the dumplings Miss Ding had sent, her lips twitched slightly.

Those dumplings were also tied with colorful strings, which were identical to the one on her wrist!

Qin Yao picked up the dumplings, untied the string and leaves, tasted the red date and meat dumpling, but her heart flew to the small Liu Family Village.

So, this is what it feels like to miss someone, it has a little happiness and a little anticipation.

As a worker, Qin Yao was very responsible during work hours.

In addition to doing her job well, she also played games with her employer.

However, ever since Miss Ding discovered her ability to catch various small animals, she was no longer keen on role-playing as a teacher.

She started looking forward to going out, anywhere was fine: the estate, the hillside, the forest.

Qin Yao could take her up trees, take her down rivers to catch fish, occasionally helping her to hunt a small prey to add to dinner.

And the extra play services Qin Yao provided aside from her duties were also compensated.

Originally, Miss Ding only allowed her to read in the study, but now she generously lent her some books to read in her own room.

Qin Yao would spend three hours before bedtime reading as much as possible, understanding various aspects of this era.

As well as some experiences and processes of examination.

On this matter, Miss Ding was the most authoritative, given that her father and brother were scholars. She noticed Qin Yao’s desire for her stepchildren to study, so she generously shared a lot of information with her.

Meanwhile, watching Qin Yao’s gentle expression unconsciously soften when talking about her stepchildren, Miss Ding was a bit envious.

After this year, it would be the third anniversary of her mother’s passing.

She had a premonition her father would remarry, likely to a woman who could benefit his career.

She was a bit scared, but looking at Qin Yao, she was also a bit hopeful; what if that woman was a good mother?

In late May, the clear sky changed its appearance.

It started raining, usually in the morning and evening, clearing at noon. The mansion’s ground was wet and dry, then wet again, making people quite irritable.

Qin Yao held a book, leaned against the window to read, her mind serene.

Miss Ding spread out a piece of pristine rice paper, stood before the table to paint, but even though her brush had touched ink, she hesitated to start painting.

She tilted her head, pondering something, after a while the paintbrush finally fell, elegantly sketching a woman reading by the window.

Qin Yao glanced sideways, her lips faintly curved, assuming she was painting her.

But after watching for a moment more, the woman’s face had been outlined with unfamiliar features.

"I don’t remember my mother’s appearance."

So she drew this figure resembling Qin Yao’s but with the visage of her ’biological mother.’

Miss Ding frustratedly looked at the drawing and then at Qin Yao, her eyes resembling a forsaken fawn.

Qin Yao approached, put down her book, and opened her arms to her, "Come here, for a hug."

A moment of surprise passed, she cautiously approached her, tentatively nestling into her embrace, feeling the warmth just as she imagined.

"Miss Qin, father sent a letter saying he and brother are about to arrive home."

Miss Ding nestled in her arms as she tentatively asked, "Can you tell me where you live? In case I want to visit you someday and am afraid of not finding you."

"Then you’d have to travel a long way, from town to my home takes an hour and a half,"

"I can ride a horse," she insisted, "In case I have nowhere to go, I’ll come to rely on you, bringing my books as payment."

"You would take me in, right?" She asked expectantly, looking up.

Qin Yao shook her head, replying firmly, "No, I wouldn’t."

Her home wasn’t a daycare where anyone’s child could come.

Besides, she couldn’t afford to offend Mr. Ding right now.

The girl’s face puffed up angrily, wanting to ask why but knowing it was pointless; if she said no, then it’s a no.

Qin Yao pushed her out of her arms, diverting the topic, "How about I teach you to ride a horse then? You’ll learn for sure, just lend me a few books to copy in return." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The girl had just mentioned riding over, yet she hadn’t even touched a horse before.

Miss Ding indeed showed interest, curious she asked, "What books do you want?"

Qin Yao pointed to the bookshelf housing the "Zhou Yi," "Chief of Staff," "Classic of Poetry," "Ritual Records," "Spring and Autumn Annals," which happened to be among the Four Books and Five Classics.

Confident, Miss Ding upped the stakes, "Then you must teach me archery along with horse-riding!"