Once the two sons returned, dinner was served.
The replies they brought back were all affirmative, which was no surprise. In these times, a day's work in town only earned twenty or thirty wen. Even those with skills didn't make fifty wen a day. Qin Sang was willing to pay such a high price, partly due to the inherent dangers involved.
This point had been clearly explained when the two sons went to deliver the offers.
If anything really happened, Qin Sang had weapons in her warehouse. She wasn't afraid.
Today's meal was sumptuous: a basin of fish soup, the half-bowl of braised pork leftover from lunch, half a rabbit, and a bowl of Pumpkin, cooked until soft and sticky—it was Eldest Girl's favorite.
Probably only Qin Sang's family in the village ate this late. Who else was so extravagant as to light an oil lamp for dinner?
The whole family ate happily, except for Tian Wenmo, who couldn't understand why his mother spent all the silver on food and drink but wouldn't let him go to study anymore. What kind of logic was that?
He couldn't figure it out and didn't have the mind to dwell on it. The braised pork on the table was being snatched up by his third brother and Third Sister-in-law. If he didn't eat now, there really wouldn't be any left.
After dinner, Qin Sang still had things to do. She took out bells and rope from her room, telling Da Zhuang and San Gui to hang them around the courtyard and on all the doors and windows.
The family hadn't forgotten about the thief's interest in them, so no one was careless about it.
Tian Wenmo's mouth hung open for a long time:
"Mother, can I sleep in the main hall?"
Qin Sang laughed:
"Scared? But do you think a thief would go to rob the Woodshed? If you sleep in the main hall, if a thief really comes, you'd be the first thing he sees."
Qin Sang wasn't trying to scare him, but the child's face turned deathly pale:
"Then... then I'll sleep in the Woodshed after all."
Qin Sang hummed in agreement:
"Then, do you want Big Yellow to keep you company?"
Big Yellow, who was chewing on chicken and fish bones, immediately raised his head upon hearing this. Tian Wenmo's mouth opened and closed. He looked at Big Yellow, who was tilting his head to look at him, unsure whether to agree.
"No, no need."
He wasn't used to sharing a room with a dog. Who slept in the same room as an animal? If his former classmates found out, how could he ever hold his head up?
Qin Sang didn't know her youngest son's thoughts. In later times, it was normal for pet owners to sleep with their dogs, but since her little son was unwilling, she respected that.
The bells were hung up. As soon as a door or window moved, they would jingle.
Combined with Big Yellow's sharp senses, it should be enough warning if a thief came.
She went to the kitchen again and soon came out with a basin of warm water:
"Wipe yourselves down, all of you. You're as dirty as monkeys."
Eldest Girl exclaimed happily:
"Grandma, is Sun Wukong like us?"
Qin Sang smiled:
"Not at all. Sun Wukong is the Handsome Monkey King. You lot are just dirty little monkeys."
Eldest Brother's Wife looked at the water with a pained expression, which irritated Qin Sang:
"Wash up without worry. I'll go fetch water tomorrow, alright? If you work all day without cleaning up and get sick, I have no money for your medicine.
Si Jin, if you don't wipe clean today, don't even think about getting on my bed." Qin Sang had long been unable to hold back.
Seeing everyone obediently start washing, turning the basin of water black, Qin Sang was only satisfied when everyone's faces and hands were clean:
"Take this water to water the vegetables. We won't even need to spread manure."
Tian Wenmo thought he wouldn't be able to sleep, but after returning to the Woodshed, he was out like a light in no time.
He was too tired.
Qin Sang was pestered by Eldest Girl and Si Jin until she told the story of Havoc in Heaven one more time before the two girls finally fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, Big Yellow suddenly started barking. The 'woof woof woof' in the silent night was downright terrifying.
Qin Sang woke up immediately. Opening her door, she saw Big Yellow circling the main hall a few times, barking twice more, then curling his tail and lying down in his bed.
San Gui was also up. Mother and son looked at each other:
"Mother, should I go check outside?" San Gui held the wood-cutting knife.
Qin Sang looked at Big Yellow, whose eyes were already half-closed, and shook her head:
"No need. The thief must have already left."
Otherwise, Big Yellow wouldn't be lying down so calmly.
Tian Dazhuang arrived outside the door:
"Mother, I didn't see anyone in the courtyard."
Qin Sang hummed:
"Alright, go back to sleep. Go tell your brother the thief was scared off by Big Yellow."
"Yes, Mother."
There was no more movement for the rest of the night. Qin Sang slept soundly all night, realizing that since arriving in ancient times, her sleep quality had improved by leaps and bounds.
With no phone, no electricity, and no way to stay up late, plus endless work during the day, it was hard *not* to sleep well.
Sleeping well meant rising early. Qin Sang now handled all the household chores, under the pretense of 'you focus on making mosquito coils to earn money.'
First, she went to the chicken coop to collect eggs, gathering a few eggs daily, then scattered a handful of corn kernels. The old hens ate every last one.
Then, before dawn, she went to feed the rabbits. The carrots exchanged from the Mall—one thrown in was quickly devoured by the four big rabbits, leaving not a scrap.
The mule and horse couldn't go without beans and water. Adding some fodder would sustain them for the day.
Then she went to the Public Well to fetch water. Nowadays, the well water came out slowly, not accumulating much overnight. Combined with households fetching water at midnight, sometimes there was no water to draw in the morning, forcing people to fetch from the river.
If Qin Sang couldn't draw water, she would pour several hundred liters into the well, carry one load back herself, and leave two more loads for other families.
After all, the mall coins were earned by utilizing the villagers. Taking from the people and using for the people—Qin Sang didn't feel too heartbroken about it.
She prepared breakfast and also filled the kitchen water jugs and buckets with the day's supply of water.
As for the water fetched from the well, it was perfect to let settle and then use for making mosquito coils.
Breakfast consisted of steamed buns and shaomai exchanged from the Mall, plus a pot of porridge, which also prepared lunch.
Whenever Eldest Brother's Wife looked at her with guilt, Qin Sang had to put on a stern face and scold:
"Get out of the way, you're just in the road! Have you turned the mosquito coils? Ground the charcoal powder? Standing here slacking off?"
After being scolded, the whole family worked more diligently. By the end of the day, they had prepared a full two hundred buckets of mosquito coils.
In the evening, the family cooperated in packing them into tubes. Qin Sang started teaching the two children to count. Once they remembered the sequence, she began teaching simple addition and subtraction.
Once they understood, Qin Sang started giving problems. She took out four trays of mosquito coils and had them make ten trays. Surprisingly, learning through play like this, the two children grasped addition and subtraction within ten in no time.
Tian Wenmo watched from the side, his eyes wide.
The Private School also taught arithmetic. Who knew how many times he had been scolded by the teacher when he first learned it?
And Eldest Girl and her sister just learned by playing for a while?
Why did he feel his mother taught better than the teacher?
The next day, Da Zhuang got up early to hitch the Cart. The family also rose to load the mosquito coils and herbs onto the Cart, covering them with oilcloth.
By the time Qin Sang returned with the water, everything was ready.
"Mother, I want to go to town too."
Tian Sangui looked longingly at the mule cart and horse Cart.
Qin Sang strongly suspected he just wanted to drive the Cart. Otherwise, knowing the potential danger of going to town, this third son would definitely not want to go.
The allure of vehicles for men was truly timeless.
"You don't know how to drive. Wait until next time when we're less busy, and have your eldest brother teach you. Today, you go on patrol. Be diligent."
Tian Sangui was a bit disappointed, but his mother's words made sense:
"Alright, I will."
Eldest Girl and Si Jin also stared eagerly at the big horse. Qin Sang wouldn't let them touch it, so they just stared, finding it endlessly novel:
"Grandma, is the White Dragon Horse that Tang Sanzang rode like this?"