Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper! Chapter 585: What Are Oxen and Horses?

The mbers of the Yin Family followed Qin Yao into the house and, upon seeing the modest yet warm and sturdy ho, Mr. Yin felt an indescribable sense of peace.

Outside, the world was a cold ice field, but inside, it was warm as spring. The table was covered with a wide variety of snacks, showcasing the prosperity of the host family.

Eldest Sister-in-law Yin discovered that the snacks even included white stead buns made from fine flour, as white as snow, with a delicate, smooth texture that spoke of six or seven rounds of milling to achieve such refinent.

Yet, the more they looked, the more the Yin Family felt a sense of contradiction in Qin Village Chief’s ho, which was both impoverished and affluent.

There was an extravagance in clothing and food that made one’s heart tremble, yet the living conditions were quite simple.

Taking advantage of the mont when Qin Yao took Mrs. Li out to prepare hot tea for the guests, Eldest Brother Yin and his wife quickly pulled their young sister aside for a round of questions.

"Ah Yue, are you eating well and dressed warmly?"

"Has the Village Chief been harsh with you?"

"Do the people in the village bully you?"

Yin Le gently pushed her elder brother and sister-in-law away, shaking her head with a helpless smile, "My master treats very well, and the villagers are courteous to . I’m living very well here, much better than at ho, countless tis better."

Hearing this last statent, Mr. Yin’s just softened expression darkened again, and he instinctively scoffed:

"Don’t be stubborn. This countryside is most ignorant and conservative, who knows how many barbaric customs there are. Now that you look like this, it’s impossible they don’t bully you. Be honest in front of family."

And also!

"Your master may be the Village Chief, but she has a fierce reputation. Her politeness earlier must have been an act for outsiders, right? Be honest, doesn’t she secretly tornt you?"

"No! Dad, you’re listening to rumors..." Yin Le was about to defend her master when she heard footsteps approaching, quickly shutting up and glancing at her family, reminding them to watch their words.

"With the journey long and the sky darkening, why don’t the three of you stay for the night?" Qin Yao, leading Mrs. Li, entered the room, signaling for her to serve the guests hot tea.

She also gave Yin Le a glance, indicating there were extra rooms for guests to stay, so she need not worry about being dissatisfied and rushing to send her family away.

Actually, Qin Yao had heard everything the Yin Family had said just now.

Prejudice is like a mountain; it’s not easy to move it away. While she didn’t care about external opinions, she didn’t want outsiders to have any man-eating prejudices about their Liu Family Village.

Before leaving the main room, Qin Yao said to Yin Le with a smile, "If your family is uneasy, tomorrow morning you can personally take them to see where you work, so they can rest easy before leaving."

Upon hearing this, Yin Le’s eyes lit up instantly.

Her master would not drive her away! This realization made Yin Le happier than even gaining her family’s support and understanding.

"Master, I know what to do." Yin Le respectfully saluted Qin Yao, personally escorting her back to her room for her afternoon rest before returning to the main room to continue entertaining her family.

Seeing Yin Le persist in her refusal to return ho, Mr. Yin beca slightly interested in investigating and agreed to stay at Qin Yao’s ho for the night, planning to follow his daughter in the morning to see how she was living here.

To make a daughter prefer staying away over returning ho, he had to see what capabilities this Liu Family Village had!

Late in the afternoon, Liu Ji returned from the Ding Family Manor, having successfully arranged for the children’s schooling for the upcoming year. Together with his spouse, they entertained the Yin Family with a sumptuous dinner, providing every courtesy expected of a host and scholar’s family.

Learning that Liu Ji was the newly promoted scholar of Kaiyang County this year, Mr. Yin’s attitude took a complete 90-degree turn.

After dinner, back in the small guest room prepared by Qin Yao, he caught Yin Le and jokingly questioned, "Your master’s husband is actually Scholar Liu, why didn’t you say so earlier!"

Yin Le, looking puzzled at her father’s delighted smile, said, "I only apprenticed under my master; what does it matter who her husband is?"

In Yin Le’s eyes, her master’s husband was only her master’s husband because he was in na only her master’s spouse.

The master’s husband could be anyone, but there was only one Qin Yao as her master!

Mr. Yin, seeing his daughter’s bewildered expression, felt both exasperated and amused but on second thought, since master and master’s husband were family anyway, sighed with a helpless chuckle, waved his hand dismissively, and let Yin Le go accompany her elder sister-in-law.

The guest room was just the small one next to the main family area, barely enough for Mr. Yin and his son to squeeze in, while Eldest Sister-in-law Yin could only arrange to share a room with Yin Le.

Being separated for quite so ti, the sisters-in-law snuggled into bed for a late-night chat.

Yin Le talked a lot about her master, and although Eldest Sister-in-law Yin was initially a bit fearful of Qin Yao’s fierce reputation, as she listened, she suddenly discovered this Qin Village Chief was quite different from the rumors outside.

Surprised, Eldest Sister-in-law Yin asked, "She actually lets the village won enter the fields to work? How did she manage that? Didn’t the n in those won’s families oppose their won going out in public? Working alongside male laborers, this, this..."

Just imagining the scene made Eldest Sister-in-law Yin feel she might suffocate.

Her own family ran a small business, and since childhood, her father was seldom present. Her mories were filled with her mother’s struggle to support the entire family, waiting for her father to bring back silver.

Later, her father did bring silver ho and opened a tea shop in the county town.

When the household situation improved, her mother withdrew to manage internal affairs, but the father was not good at managent and often asked her mother for advice to keep the shop going.

Once when there was a business issue, her mother tried suggesting that she could go help at the shop, expecting that her father, who often consulted her on business, would agree.

Unexpectedly, her father flew into a rage and subsequently ignored her mother for more than half a year.

The reason was that the tea plantation was run by n, and her being a woman there would be too unseemly and damage her father’s reputation.

Unsurprisingly, the tea shop didn’t last a year before it shut down.

Afterward, her father said that if he had known, he would have let her mother manage the shop. But she knew that even if he were to go back, her father would still not allow her mother to ’show her face’ in public.

That was one family, yet in Liu Family Village, all the won could co out to work - how was this achieved?

Staring at Eldest Sister-in-law Yin’s shocked eyes under the candlelight, Yin Le contemplated for a while and said:

"Sister-in-law, when you find these so-called rules are unfavorable to you and beneficial to others, you need to question whether these rules are truly correct."

"Master has shown the village won countless tis that the so-called reputation is nothing compared to having enough to eat and wear warmly."

"When a woman creates universally recognized value through her hard work, she is seen as no different from a man in everyone’s eyes, only distinguished as high-value or low-value workhorses."

Eldest Sister-in-law Yin asked, confused, "What recognition, what workhorses?"

"Universal recognition, aning value recognized by everyone, such as the ability to earn money, to support a family."

"The remaining rumors and continual undermining are rely despicable ans to fear you becoming a competitor, depriving them of benefits."