A set of darts consists of twelve pieces, lightweight and of pretty good quality.

Qin Yao first picked up one, aimed it, and then tossed it toward the elm tree, where it stuck just above the previous hole.

She raised her eyebrows at Yin Le, signaling her to treat the hole as the bullseye.

Yin Le nervously swallowed, mimicked her teacher’s stance, and threw a dart.

From fifteen meters away, the dart passed directly through the hole and landed on the ground.

Qin Yao looked at her with surprise, raised her chin, and signaled her, "Try again."

Yin Le was unexpectedly delighted with her own accuracy, which she had never known about, and became quite interested, picking up another dart to throw.

The dart flew out of her hand and successfully passed through the hole again.

"Teacher!" Yin Le looked at Qin Yao with joy, "I suddenly find that darts are quite nice."

After speaking, she hurriedly ran to retrieve both darts, lovingly wiped them clean with her sleeve, then placed them on the desk, raising her hands to look at them excitedly.

Is this what the teacher mentioned, being extraordinarily gifted?

Regardless of being extraordinarily gifted or not, Qin Yao did not know, but the accuracy was indeed good, and hidden weapons were also quite useful.

After a round of verbal sparring with the blacksmith, Qin Yao spent two taels of silver to purchase this set of darts.

Since there was no matching leather case, Yin Le temporarily wrapped them in a handkerchief, planning to get some leather later and make a belt herself.

Also, she wants to buy some colorful ropes to put her unique mark on each dart!

Once their shopping was done, the master and disciple did not immediately return but waited by the roadside where there was no one.

They didn’t have to wait long before they saw a convoy slowly approaching.

Qin Yao smiled faintly, "Looks like Second Brother ran into Big Brother and them."

Today, Liu Zhong, having rare free time, left at noon to buy some jade for Yun Niang in the county town, and planned to pick up the kids from the Ding Clan School on the way back, saving Qin Yao quite some trouble.

Halfway back, they encountered Liu Bai and others returning with an empty cart from delivering stationery gift boxes to Manager Bai, so they returned together.

Sitting by the carriage window, Jinbao, talking to his father, was the first to spot Qin Yao and her disciple by the roadside and shouted excitedly:

"Third Aunt!"

The four Da Lang siblings poked their heads out of the carriage with surprise, "Mother! Senior Sister Le!"

Liu Bai stopped the carriage by the roadside, and Qin Yao and Yin Le got on, waving at the kids in Liu Zhong’s cart.

Da Lang curiously looked at the long iron rod on Qin Yao’s shoulder, "Mother, what are you carrying?"

Liu Bai and the others also noticed her iron rod and, not waiting for Qin Yao to answer, Liu Zhong exclaimed first.

"Did the blacksmith already forge the rod?"

Seeing how easily Qin Yao was carrying it, Liu Zhong was skeptical, "Is it really eighty pounds?"

Qin Yao directly took the iron rod off her shoulder and handed it over, "Try it, and you’ll know."

Liu Zhong excitedly reached out to take it, holding one end of the rod. When Qin Yao released her grip, the suddenly heavy iron rod pressed down, and Liu Zhong’s hands uncontrollably slid down the rod, almost crushing his own leg.

Luckily, Qin Yao anticipated this and grabbed the iron rod back, sparing Liu Zhong from an accident.

He wanted to try again. With mental preparation this time, he successfully accepted the iron rod.

However, the combined weight of the rod and the children in the carriage made the horse abruptly stop, refusing to move.

Liu Zhong hurriedly returned the unwieldy iron rod to Qin Yao and urged the horse on again, making the carriage slowly continue forward.

Liu Bai curiously asked, "Sister-in-law, why do you have such a heavy iron rod?"

This was exactly what the four Da Lang siblings were curious about, and their eyes immediately turned to Qin Yao.

"Oh, it’s nothing, just for fun," Qin Yao replied half-truthfully.

Liu Zhong didn’t dare to reveal the truth, just recalling the formidable power when wielding the Yanyue Saber attached to that iron rod, and shivered slightly.

Qin Yao, not wanting to discuss her iron rod any further, changed the subject by inquiring about Bai Shan’s situation.

Liu Bai said, "Everything is going smoothly with Manager Bai. By the way, he asked me to ask if the melons in the field ripen, and to let him know. It seems like he wants to buy all the cool melons from our village this year."

Qin Yao nodded, "If the price is right, selling to him is not bad; it saves trouble."

However, there’s still a month until the melons ripen. We’ll see by then. The melons in the village this year were soaked, so I’m unsure of their quality.

Qin Yao thought optimistically, at worst, she could eat them herself, and if not finished, feed them to the cattle.

But thinking of those few families in the village, so poor that they couldn’t dress properly, looking to use the cool melons to pay off debts, she silently prayed for heavenly blessings.

The group marched back to Liu Family Village and dispersed in front of the stationery factory.

Qin Yao led the four children of her family back home, where Mrs. Li was already busy in the kitchen, the aroma of the food wafting out, making a few people swallow their saliva.

"Madam, it’s time to eat," Mrs. Li said, nodding to Qin Yao from the kitchen while continuing to stir-fry the thin slices of fatty and lean meat in the pot.

The relatives who came to help with the construction in the backyard had already left with Old Liu. With many people, the work proceeded quickly. Qin Yao took a look at the backyard, where the walls were raised by over a meter in a day. Tomorrow they’d start laying beams, and in two more days, once the tiles are up, it would be almost finished.

As for the interior furnishings, they’d still need to call in Liu the carpenter to make some decent furniture, aiming to have Song Yu’s family and Yin Le move in around mid to late July.

By the way, the floors of the front courtyard houses would also be redone by then.

The main hall and front courtyard would be paved with stone slabs, and the residential rooms would have elevated wooden floors for a cleaner and more comfortable living.

Imagining the cozy scenes of spending this winter at home, Qin Yao returned to the front courtyard satisfied, "Let’s eat!"

The children washed their hands, served themselves rice, and hurriedly rushed into the main hall, sitting down to wait.

Si Niang looked around and not seeing Yin Le, puzzledly asked, "Mother, aren’t we waiting for Senior Sister Le?"

Qin Yao nodded, "There’s food left for her; we don’t have to wait. We’ll eat first."

The five-kilometer task must be completed, and she wouldn’t soften to break her own rules.

Si Niang stuck out her tongue, feeling sorry for Senior Sister Le.

Once Qin Yao started using chopsticks, the children also picked theirs up and started to eat, leaving the table silent except for the gentle clinking of chopsticks against bowls and plates.

Yin Le wandered back, her limbs weak, only after sunset.

Si Niang, who was doing homework, immediately put down her pen, jumped off the chair, and ran outside to pour her a bowl of water.

Yin Le finished it in one gulp, touched the little girl’s head, and signaled her to keep doing her homework without worrying about her.

She winked at the little girl, "Tomorrow I’ll finish my water-fetching task early and do your and Sanlang’s hair."

"Oh, the pumpkin candy was delicious; I ate it all," Yin Le added softly.

Seeing Si Niang’s delighted expression, Yin Le couldn’t help but smile, feeling warm inside.