After becoming a stepmother,I transfered the whole family into farming

Chapter 10 Vegetable Soup

When Liu Jinbao came stealthily, Qin Yao was preparing dinner in the almost open-air kitchen.

Today, she exchanged a pair of straw sandals for a handful of green vegetables and a loofah. Qin Yao, who hadn't eaten fresh vegetables for a long time, was drooling.

Light a fire and set the pot on the stove. Pour a ladle of water in. When the water boils, add the loofah and half a handful of washed green vegetables and stew a vegetable soup.

She hasn't cooked for ten years. In the apocalypse, everyone eats dry food and only boils a pot of water occasionally to make instant noodles, so Qin Yao's cooking skills are basically non-existent.

But looking at that pot of soup, Liu Dalang and his two siblings stared with wide eyes and swallowed their saliva, as if there was some delicious food cooking in the pot.

There was no oil, salt, sauce or vinegar at home. Qin Yao found a small clay jar with a layer of salt crystals on the wall. She scalded it with boiling water and dissolved it into the pot, and it barely had some flavor.

Take a spoonful with a wooden spoon and taste it. The vegetables grown by the farmer are indeed different from those grown in the greenhouse. The soup is sweet and fresh, and surprisingly delicious!

"Mother, is it delicious?" Si Niang asked eagerly, swallowing her saliva.

Qin Yao smiled at them and motioned to Dalang and Erlang to prepare the bowls and divide the pot of soup into five portions, one bowl for each of the five members of the family.

On an autumn night, there is nothing more satisfying than drinking a bowl of steaming vegetable soup with cooked taro.

Sanlang whispered, "Brother, it would be nice if we could drink vegetable soup and eat taro every day."

Dalang touched his brother's head and told him to eat quickly and not to think too much.

Erlang glared at his brother and said, "You are useless. Are you satisfied with a bowl of vegetable soup? I am not. I want to eat white rice with fatty meat in the future!"

Qin Yao thought he was going to talk about his great ambitions, but after hearing that, she raised her eyebrows. Just this?

However, considering the living standards of the villagers in Liujia Village, white rice and fatty meat are already the best.

In a family like Old Man Liu's, even during festivals, they may not be able to eat a full bowl of white rice and two slices of greasy meat.

After the meal, Qin Yao asked the two older ones to help the two younger ones wash up, and then come over to help her make straw ropes.

Although the two brothers are not very strong, after some practice they can make a useful rope.

Qin Yao picked up the simple homemade stand and began to weave straw sandals by the firelight.

In the past, to save trouble, I made toe-thong straw sandals. They were fine for daily wear, but if I really wanted to work in the fields, I couldn't wear them with exposed toes.

So, this time she was going to weave straw sandals that could wrap the feet.

As the work becomes more refined, the speed naturally slows down, but considering the market conditions in Liujia Village, Qin Yao would rather spend more effort.

If the products in Liujia Village cannot be sold, they can be sold in other villages and there will always be people who will buy them.

In fact, there are many people in the village who can weave straw sandals, but not many have the free time to do so. In addition, it is the busy autumn planting season, and every household is trying their best to compete with God for the season, which allowed Qin Yao to take advantage of this opportunity.

As for the two acres of land of Liu Ji's family, let's talk about it later. At the moment, having enough food is more important.

The taro in the mountains is not enough to support them through the winter.

Thinking of this, Qin Yao didn't care about the burning sensation in her palms and sped up her weaving.

Liu Ji's home is not far from the river bank. The sound of gurgling water is clearly audible. The moon is big and round tonight, and the moonlight shines into the river, creating rippling waves.

The mountains were quiet. Qin Yao took a deep breath and her heart calmed down involuntarily.

She really likes her current environment.

Although I still couldn't sleep well at night and would jump up reflexively at the slightest noise, I felt lucky as long as I came to my senses and realized that I was no longer in the end of the world.

Qin Yao raised her eyes and looked towards the river. She saw a small figure staggering towards the village in the moonlight.

In fact, she noticed the boy as soon as he approached.

It seems to be the child of Liu Ji's eldest brother, and his name should be Liu Jinbao.

No one knew what he was going to do. He was hiding in the bushes behind the house. He didn't seem to be looking for them, nor did he seem to be asking for anything.

So Qin Yao pretended not to know and waited to see what he was going to do.

Unexpectedly, the little guy just squatted there and watched them finish their dinner, and then ran away.

Qin Yao felt confused and lowered her head to continue weaving straw sandals.

Of course, it is also possible that Old Man Liu discovered that the straw in the field had been cleared away, so he sent a boy to find out what was going on.

But the straw has already been woven into sandals, so coming here will be of no use.

Except for Qin Yao, no one noticed that Liu Jinbao had been there. Dalang and Erlang took good care of their younger siblings and coaxed them to bed. Then they sat around the stove and continued to help with the work by the light of the fire.

By midnight, their heads were drooping lower and lower.

Qin Yao woke them up and asked them to go to bed.

"Auntie, how about you?" Dalang rubbed his eyes, trying hard to resist sleepiness, and asked worriedly.

Qin Yao's hands kept moving. "I'll go to sleep after I finish braiding this one. You guys should go to sleep quickly. Get up in the morning and go to the back mountain to collect more firewood. The firewood at home has been burned out."

Qin Yao also thought that if they were going to survive the winter, they might have to store firewood now, and added, "Call me in the morning and I'll go with you."

The two brothers agreed, but they couldn't hold on any longer, so they went into the house and fell asleep as soon as they put their pillows on.

When Qin Yao finished weaving the fourth pair of shoes, the last flame in the stove went out.

She put away the four pairs of men's straw sandals she had made and put them in the house, bolted the door, and then fell into a deep sleep in the last of the moonlight.

This sleep felt very short. Before I could finish my dream, there was a cautious knock on the door.

"Auntie, auntie?"

The two brothers were calling quietly at the door, but if Qin Yao hadn't been alert and had a light sleep, she wouldn't have heard them.

"Wait a minute, I'll be right there!" Qin Yao responded, and reluctantly sat up from the not-so-comfortable bed. She patted her face to wake herself up, put on her shoes, tied her hair, picked up the rope of the hatchet, and walked out of the room.

There was a tattered little backpack at home, and Dalang was already carrying it on his back.

The mountains here were very dangerous for the two brothers. They didn't dare go into the mountains to collect firewood, so they just picked up some fallen branches that others didn't want at the foot of the mountain.

When they had time, they would pick up a backpack. The two brothers would carry it on their back while the other held it, and take it home to burn for two days.

Because I can't take much each time, and I can't stockpile firewood like other families do.

On the way to the foot of the mountain, Qin Yao asked curiously, "How did you spend the winter in previous years?"

Erlang looked at his brother, then at Qin Yao, and then he said tentatively: "There is a charcoal seller in the village. He burns charcoal, and sometimes there will be some charcoal residue left in the kiln. My brother and I go to pick it up."

"Picked it up?" Qin Yao curled her lips, "I'm afraid it wasn't stolen?"

The two brothers were suddenly speechless.

Qin Yao looked at the two of them and warned them seriously, "Don't steal other people's things anymore. Let's store more firewood ourselves. There's no need to do these things anymore."

Dalang and Erlang were startled for a moment, then became angry and thought she was asking them to "eat meat", so they quickened their pace.

Qin Yao smiled secretly in her heart. It seemed that after filling her stomach in the past two days, her strength had also increased. So, she would carry more firewood back for her!

(End of this chapter)