After dressing up as a stepmother, I transformed the whole family into working in the fields

Qin Yao made boiled taro for dinner.

Even though she brought back two pockets full of taro, there were five mouths in the house, and each of them was starving to death. After two meals, only half of the fifty kilograms of taro was left.

Qin Yao restrained herself and did not dare to eat more. Otherwise, if she was eighty percent full, she would probably not have half left.

After they were full, Liu Dalang and the others found that there was only a little food left, and they regretted that they had not restrained themselves.

Qin Yao didn't think so much. There were still a lot of taros in the mountains. If you dig them all back, you should be able to eat them for a month.

In the short term, she doesn't have to worry about starving to death.

It’s just that taro is not easy to store. Unprocessed taro can only be stored for three days under the current temperature conditions. There is no way to store it. You can only dig it when you want to eat it.

Qin Yao was glad that no one here would eat it, otherwise the free rations would have been wasted.

At night, Qin Yao, who had eaten and drank enough, began to knit straw sandals in front of the torch.

It was a bit unfamiliar at first, but once you get used to it, your hand speed becomes very fast.

The twin brother and sister yawned again and again. Qin Yao asked them to go to bed, but they refused and looked eagerly at the straw sandals in her hand, waiting to wear new shoes.

Qin Yao felt distressed and helpless, so she let them go.

The villagers here have no nightlife at all. In order to save money on lighting, they go to bed after dark.

Liu Ji's family lived in a remote place, and there was silence all around. Only the howlings of wild beasts on the mountain could be heard from time to time.

Perhaps due to such an atmosphere, Dalang and Erlang suddenly thought of their bastard father who was carried away. They gave Qin Yao a weak look and hesitated to speak.

Finally, Dalang couldn't hold it back and was about to ask Qin Yao when he would redeem his father. Qin Yao completed the first pair of straw sandals and handed them to him.

The elders and the younger are in order. This pair will be given to Da Lang first. After Qin Yao finished speaking, she picked up the straw rope and continued to weave the second pair.

She was also very tired this day, and after knitting one more pair for herself, she was ready to rest.

Dalang's questions came to his lips, but he had to hold them back.

However, seeing this pair of tightly woven straw sandals that looked very sturdy and easy to wear, the little boy was surprised and took the sandals off the table. Under the envious eyes of his younger brothers and sisters, he placed them at his feet for gestures.

I don’t know if Qin Yao did it intentionally or not, but the size is just right.

These are a pair of thong-toed straw sandals. Although they are far inferior to cloth shoes, they are already the best for Dalang who has almost no shoes to wear.

He picked up the straw sandals, looked at them again and again, and finally held them in his arms cherishingly, planning to wash his feet before wearing them tomorrow.

Although Erlang and the three of them were also envious, they knew that they all had a share, so they waited patiently.

Unfortunately, Qin Yao only made two pairs tonight.

The three brothers and sisters could only regretfully go back to the house to sleep and look forward to tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Qin Yao put on new straw sandals, ate two leftover taros from yesterday's cooking, and went out with her hoe.

Liu Dalang was awakened by the movement when she got up and wanted to go with her, but Qin Yao refused.

It would be faster for her to go alone. Liu Dalang followed, but she had to spare her energy to take care of him.

Qin Yao left early and came back early, dug two pockets of taro and came back.

Her goal at this stage is to get better as soon as possible and let the wild beasts in the mountains go for the time being. She will come back after she recovers and gets all the equipment.

So after digging three days’ worth of taro, I decided to go down the mountain.

After all, the body is the capital of revolution, and we can’t mess with this body too much just yet.

The children at home have already made breakfast and will not start eating until she comes back.

This was beyond Qin Yao's expectation. She didn't expect that the four brothers and sisters would prepare meals and wait for her.

Maybe because she brought the food back, she has the right to distribute it by default.

The leftover taro from yesterday was half boiled, weighing about eight or nine kilograms. Qin Yao divided the big head into portions, and the four children divided them according to their food intake.

Si Niang clings to A Niang and feeds her from time to time.

Qin Yao took a small bite intentionally, and the little girl laughed so hard that her eyes were bent. She put her little head on her back and happily ate the sweet and glutinous taro in small bites.

After breakfast, with the expectant looks of Erlang and his three children, Qin Yao picked up the straw rope and started the day's craft work.

This time I had more time, and I finished three small straw sandals in one day, and also made an extra pair in adult size.

Several children washed their feet very carefully, put on new shoes, and walked around the yard with satisfied faces.

Looking at Qin Yao, the stepmother, there was a hint of intimacy in their eyes that they were not even aware of.

Erlang walked over with new shoes, looked at the extra pair of straw sandals, and asked tentatively:

Auntie, can I take these shoes to the village and sell them?

Qin Yao's first reaction was surprise, Can this be sold?

Erlang wasn't sure, but he wanted to give it a try. Even if you can't sell it for money, it's good to be able to change the food for your family.

Qin Yao didn't expect this kid to have such a business acumen. It may be that poverty forced them to learn how to survive early.

Qin Yao nodded and agreed.

Erlang greeted his eldest brother and the twins in surprise. The four siblings carefully held the pair of straw sandals and walked towards the most lively well in the village.

The water tank at home was empty again. Qin Yao picked up the lonely bucket in the corner, locked the door, followed the four siblings, and went to fetch a bucket of water.

She had no expectations that the four siblings would be able to sell their straw sandals, but she did not interfere and watched secretly.

Unexpectedly, after Erlang hawked for a while, people actually came around to look at the straw sandals, and after some bargaining, they got a handful of green vegetables and a loofah.

The four brothers and sisters were so surprised that they hurriedly took the vegetables in exchange and ran to Qin Yao to claim credit.

Qin Yao smiled and raised her thumbs at the four people. Looking at the back of the woman who was changing into straw sandals, she had an idea in her mind.

Perhaps, she could make a few more pairs of straw sandals and trade them with the villagers for daily necessities.

Such as oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, pots and pans, and seasonal vegetables grown by farmers themselves. They might have plenty of these things, but she just needed them.

Qin Yao had complained enough about Liu Ji's family's poverty yesterday.

The whole family couldn't find five pairs of complete dishes and chopsticks, and there was only one bucket to fetch water. The water tank was so small that she had to fetch water four or five times a day, which was a waste of time.

Let's set a small goal first and come back in exchange for a barrel and a pole.

Early in the morning, Qin Yao stood in front of the four brothers and sisters with her hands behind her back and spoke seriously, as if she were a military training instructor.

Dalang and Erlang nodded seriously, full of enthusiasm.

The twin brother and sister were still young, and they nodded their little heads in confusion, looking like they were ready.

Qin Yao raised her lips and smiled, looking at Dalang and Erlang, Let's borrow some straw from your father's field first, and then pay him back when we make money. What do you think?

The two brothers looked at each other and without any hesitation, turned and ran towards Old Man Liu's field.

There is a strict division of labor in a family of five.

Dalang and Erlang are responsible for carrying raw materials, Sanlang and Siniang are responsible for pre-processing, and Qin Yao is responsible for rubbing the straw rope.

In less than a day, a large roll of straw rope was piled up in front of the house, enough to make at least ten pairs of straw sandals.

When the sun set, Dalang and Erlang ran back out of breath and empty-handed to report: Auntie, all the straw in the field has been moved!

Qin Yao looked at the large rolled straw rope next to her, and then at the pile of straw piled in the house. She nodded, relieved them of their carrying tasks, and transferred to the rope-twisting guidance group, striving to get the first batch of straw ropes piled up early tomorrow morning. Take out the straw sandals!