After giving birth, Eldest Brother's Wife didn't have a proper confinement period. On top of that, she wasn't given enough to eat or wear and still had to look after the child. Her health wasn't properly restored, and she hadn't conceived again since having Eldest Girl.
The Original Body already looked down on her for giving birth to a daughter, and later scorned her for not having any more children for several years. By the time Third Brother got married at the beginning of the year, and the eldest three were driven to live in the Shack, there was even less privacy.
The Original Body was inhumane, but Qin Sang couldn't be.
Given the high-pressure and harsh environment, it was normal for Eldest Brother's Wife not to get pregnant.
Qin Sang wasn't exactly hoping for them to have a second child right now, either. First, the Shack was too small. Second, she also wanted to quickly bring the family closer together.
Giving out rewards at the dinner table today was also to quickly reassure these family members. Otherwise, if you ran away today and she disappeared tomorrow, would she have to go up the mountain to look for people every day?
Only by giving out rewards could they clearly understand that her words about not selling family members were true and effective, and they would be more willing to follow her arrangements.
Wanting to make it up to the eldest couple didn't mean she could just kick out the two from the third brother's family, which is why Qin Sang made this suggestion.
Her room, though not large, could still accommodate one adult and two half-grown children without a problem.
The family urgently needed to build a house. On the way back to the village yesterday, she had asked Old Man Xu. Building a Thatched Hut didn't cost much money; you just had to provide two meals for the workers.
If Qin Sang were to build, she would definitely build a Brick-and-Tile House. The bricks and tiles would be the major expense. With one room for each family member, plus a Main Hall, a Woodshed, a Storage Room, and a Kitchen, it wouldn't be enough without at least one hundred and fifty taels of silver. Then there's hiring Bricklayers, Tilers, Stove Builders... Qin Sang estimated she'd need to prepare at least two hundred taels as a baseline.
She didn't have enough money on hand now. Fortunately, the weather was hot, and sleeping outside might be cooler. But the house definitely had to be built before the weather turned cold.
Qin Sang smiled and said:
"What? Still afraid I'll sell Eldest Girl?"
"No, no, it's just that this child is restless when she sleeps. We're afraid she'll disturb Mother and you won't sleep well."
"It's fine. The bed in my room is big. How much space can two half-grown children take up?" Qin Sang washed her granddaughter's little hands and asked:
"Eldest Girl, do you want to sleep with Grandma? If you don't, then... Grandma will be sad."
Eldest Girl quickly nodded: "Eldest Girl wants to sleep with Grandma."
Qin Sang smiled slightly, pinching the little girl's nose tip. She knew this child was still afraid of her. If she had said, 'If you don't want to, forget it,' the girl probably wouldn't have dared.
By saying she'd be sad, the child, afraid she'd get angry, indeed agreed.
There wasn't much entertainment on such a big night; teasing the kids wasn't bad.
After washing hands and faces, everyone returned to their rooms. However, before entering her room, Qin Sang gave an instruction:
"Wait for me to make tomorrow's breakfast."
...
She slept until dawn. Perhaps because she didn't sleep well the first night, Qin Sang's sleep quality was good last night. Remembering she had said she would make breakfast herself, Qin Sang rolled out of bed. The two little ones woke up at the slightest movement and sat up, calling out 'Mother' and 'Grandma.'
"Today, watch Grandma make you something delicious."
Seeing they were dressing themselves and didn't need her help, Qin Sang turned and went outside.
She also spat her mouth rinse water onto the vegetable plot in the backyard. Before entering the Kitchen, Qin Sang went to the Chicken Coop. Seeing Eldest Brother's Wife was about to go check, she hurriedly stopped her:
"I'll do it. You go turn over the mugwort leaves in the yard. After drying them one more day today, we can rub them into mugwort floss tonight."
Eldest Brother's Wife didn't dare disobey. Turning around, she hadn't gone two steps when she saw her Mother-in-law lean in and take three Eggs out of the Chicken Nest.
Holding the Eggs, Qin Sang walked towards the Kitchen, making a mental note: she had to increase the number of hens at home. Otherwise, three Eggs a day wouldn't even be enough to share.
Entering the Kitchen, Qin Sang wouldn't let them come in to help. Even when Third Brother's Wife tried to come in to light the fire, she was chased out.
She was going to exchange for Small Steamed Buns and Vegetable Buns from the Mall. How could she take them out with someone there?
Eldest Brother had gone to fetch water early in the morning. The Large Vat bought yesterday was already a quarter full, but it looked very muddy with sediment. It had to settle before it could be used.
Qin Sang couldn't get past this mentally, so she exchanged for Purified Water from the Mall and poured it into the Teapot, also adding some to the pot.
Fortunately, when exchanging for water, the water automatically appeared in the container Qin Sang wanted to fill. This way, she didn't have to worry about Plastic Bottles polluting this ancient, pure natural environment.
The buns, steamed buns, and Twisted Rolls in the Mall were ready-made, still steaming hot. The water in the pot was boiling. After adding oil and salt for seasoning, Qin Sang cracked a few more Eggs into the three she already had in an Earthenware Bowl. Then, taking advantage of the boiling water, she poured in the beaten egg mixture. In no time, a large pot of Egg Drop Soup was ready. Tasting it, the flavor was much better than last night's meal with little oil and salt.
Qin Sang waited until it seemed about time before opening the Kitchen door and calling out:
"Come get the food."
Having slept with Qin Sang for two nights and experienced yesterday's events—no scolding, no beating, and even getting a one-wen reward at night—Si Jin had grown much closer to Qin Sang and was the first to enter the Kitchen.
Seeing the several large bowls of buns, steamed buns, and Twisted Rolls on the stove, along with that large pot of Egg Drop Soup, and smelling the sweet, fragrant aroma, his eyes went wide.
"Mother, are we eating this much for breakfast?"
Qin Sang was ladling the Egg Drop Soup:
"If we can't finish it in one meal, we'll eat it next meal. Hurry and take it. The buns and steamed buns will get hard and not taste good when they cool down."
By the time Eldest Brother, who had gone to fetch water, returned, the whole family was sitting in the Main Hall, stunned.
Eldest Brother's Wife looked at the egg soup in her bowl, somewhat puzzled. How could three Eggs turn into so much in her Mother-in-law's hands? There seemed to be more egg than soup.
Qin Sang's eyes and eyebrows turned cold:
"Not picking up your chopsticks? What? Dislike my cooking?"
Mother was unhappy. How could they dare just sit there? One by one, they reached for the buns in stunned confusion.
Take a bite, mmm, satisfying.
At first, a few of them were a bit timid and hesitant. Gradually, seeing Qin Sang had no particular reaction, Third Brother and his Wife stopped holding back. The way they wolfed down their food, one would think they had gone up the mountain or to the fields to work early in the morning.
Tian Sangui: Never eaten this well in my life. Is Mother not planning for the future? Dry rice last night, big buns and white steamed buns today. Will we not even have porridge to drink next meal?
Zhao Huan: Not giving me copper coins? Then I'll eat and eat, eat my share back...
After finishing one, Si Jin would look at Mother's expression before reaching for the next bun. Only when Mother's expression seemed fine would she reach for another one:
This bun has so much filling, so fragrant. She had never eaten a bun before, let alone such a delicious one.
After eating two Small Steamed Buns, Eldest Girl didn't dare take any more. Qin Sang picked up a vegetable bun and gave it to her:
"Finish it. You're as thin as a bean sprout. How can you work?"
Eldest Girl took the bun: Sob, sob. She used to be looked down on and scolded by Grandma too, but why does she feel so happy now when Grandma looks down on her and scolds her?
Qin Sang also gave Eldest Son and Eldest Daughter-in-law two Vegetable Buns each:
"Eat more to have the strength to work. Look at your third brother, he's already eaten five. He'll definitely do more work than you today."
Tian Dazhuang also stopped being timid and hesitant, able to bite off half a bun in one mouthful: He was the eldest brother; he had to do more work than Third Brother.
Zhou Dahua's eyes grew blurry as she ate: Never thought that she, her husband, and Eldest Girl could live such a good life. Mother-in-law, she...
Qin Sang was full after eating two buns and a bowl of soup, but she didn't put down her chopsticks. If she put them down, the others at the table definitely wouldn't dare eat either. Leaving a sip of soup in her bowl, she instructed:
"Later, Eldest Brother, Third Brother, and I will go up the mountain. Third Brother's Wife, at noon, cook some vegetables and stew the Salted Chicken Hunter Xu gave us last night. With these buns and steamed buns, don't make anything else for lunch. Is that okay?"