The two brothers whose pride had been punctured still hadn't noticed. They saw a lot more broken branches in the forest ahead and happily ran over to pick them up.
Qin Yao called them back, telling them to follow her up the mountain.
The small mountain forest where the villagers collected firewood only had some small animals, and it was safe as long as an adult was watching.
Da Lang and Second Lang were a bit confused, but they still followed her up the mountain.
Reaching halfway up, Qin Yao selected a dense patch of trees, tossed the rope, and told the brothers to wait on this relatively flat clearing, then picked up the machete and headed into the bushes.
Qin Yao first chopped down two tree branches and made a tripod rack for Da Lang before heading deeper and chopping more wood.
Her speed was incredible as she swiftly cut down branches as thick as a child's arm and tossed them down from the bushes, quickly piling up a heap.
Da Lang and Second Lang exchanged delighted glances. So much firewood!
But soon they realized, isn't this too much?
Hmm, Mother must be planning to chop more and carry it back home slowly.
Unexpectedly, Qin Yao bundled all the firewood that would usually take a strong man two trips to carry, tied it into two bundles, picked the sturdiest one to use as a shoulder pole, and lifted it.
She took a couple of steps in place, felt it was still light, and selected a few more sticks from Da Lang's rack, packed them in, felt it was suitable, and signaled the brothers to take their racks and baskets and head home.
Da Lang had never seen a tripod rack. In the village, people bundled the firewood and carried it on their shoulders. The strong ones would balance it, but he had never seen anyone use such a forked tool.
Qin Yao had to put down the load, pick up the rack, place it on Da Lang's small shoulder, and let him hold the two extending legs as he walked comfortably.
With the weight distribution of the rack, the ten-plus pounds of wood was transformed from a single point to the whole shoulder, and Da Lang was astonished at how much easier it was to carry.
The basket was full of thinner wood that Qin Yao had already broken, which was great for kindling. Although it looked full, it wasn't heavy, just eight or nine pounds.
Second Lang could carry it with no problem.
"Ready to go?" Qin Yao asked.
The brothers nodded, feeling a joyful sense of accomplishment.
Especially when they saw the huge bundles of firewood on Qin Yao's load, they were both surprised and impressed.
They had never seen anyone carry more than their Mother before!
The mother and her two sons descended the mountain, needing to cross through the village fields to get home.
The villagers first noticed the wood crossing Da Lang's shoulder, then approached to see it was forked onto the rack, with Da Lang holding the extending legs, walking easily.
But this firewood was much more than what you could carry by bundling it alone.
Why hadn't they thought of making a rack before? It didn't look difficult, just two branches with a plank of wood across them, yet it eased the shoulder burden.
After that, their eyes were unconsciously drawn to two large bundles of moving firewood.
That bundle of firewood was equal to two bundles of others, together weighing at least two hundred and fifty-six pounds.
"Hey, isn't that the new girl from the Liu Family?"
The villagers realized there was someone between the two moving bundles of firewood, but because she was small, she was hidden by it.
What surprised them even more was that this person turned out to be Miss Qin from the Liu Family.
"How did she get such strength?"
The villagers in the fields stood there dumbfounded, watching the mother and her two sons walk past until they were out of sight, their jaws slowly closing in shock.
Soon after, the news that Liu Laosan married a strong woman spread throughout the village.
In the evening, when Qin Yao led the four siblings to set up a stall near the village well with the finished straw shoes, she had already become known as the "Strong Mother Night Demon" among the villagers!
At this time, everyone had finished their farming work and, with some time before dinner, liked to gather around the village well to rest, so there were quite a few people.
Some children were playing under the big tree near the well. Seeing Qin Yao appear, they screamed "Ah!" and scattered, hiding behind their parents and grandparents, watching her with a mix of fear and curiosity.
Qin Yao raised an eyebrow, thinking how convenient this was as they'd made room for her to set up her stall at the perfect spot.
"Set it up." Qin Yao nodded at the four children standing in a row in front of her.
Sanlang and Si Niang rolled out the tattered straw mat they had brought from home under the tree.
Da Lang and Second Lang untied the ten pairs of straw shoes from their chests and displayed them.
Qin Yao organized them a little more, putting a wooden sign on the ground with some dark coal-written words: Straw Shoes, Three Coins a Pair!
Clapping her hands, "All set."
Even though they feared the 'Strong Mother Night Demon,' the villagers couldn't resist their curiosity and gathered around to see what the mother and her five children were up to.
But as for the words, most recognized the "three" and the "one," yet not everyone understood. Only a few people knew what it all meant.
Qin Yao patted Second Lang on the shoulder. Over the past few days, she had noticed that Second Lang was the most thick-skinned and bold.
Second Lang took a big step forward, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Selling straw shoes! Three coins a pair, only three coins! You can take home exquisitely woven straw shoes for just three coins!"
This sudden shout startled the villagers who were watching, until they realized he was selling straw shoes.
Second Lang continued shouting loudly, "Three coins, you won't regret it, you won't be cheated, only three coins, just three coins, and you can have a pair of comfortable, durable, finely woven straw shoes!"
"Without money, bartering is also fine!"
Three coins a pair, that price was based on Qin Yao's research into the villagers' spending habits, combined with the value of the loofahs and vegetables they had exchanged the day before.
As expected, everyone was tempted by this price and even more by the idea of barter.
Though they were gossiping about Qin Yao as the Mother Night Demon earlier, it was just a joke, and with such a bargain, none of that mattered now.
Every household needed straw shoes, and seeing Second Lang so eager in his sales pitch, a pair of women squatted in front of the stall.
Si Niang immediately picked up the shoes and handed them over for the women to inspect, "Aunt Zhou, my Mother made these shoes. They're really good. You should buy a pair."
Qin Yao was a bit surprised. She had thought Si Niang was timid and clingy, but hadn't expected her to actively promote the shoes.
With the children so energetic, Qin Yao, as an adult, felt it wouldn't be right to just stand around. She flashed a smile and explained how sturdy her woven shoes were, how much effort went into making just one pair.
The woman addressed as Aunt Zhou by Si Niang flipped the shoes over several times. The shoes were indeed well-made, and the size fit her husband's feet. Lately, the men in her family were frequently working in the fields, and their straw shoes had worn out, and they were thinking of getting new ones.
"Miss Qin, I'll take two pairs, could you make it a bit cheaper?" Sister-in-law Zhou asked tentatively.
Qin Yao cheerfully replied, "Sure, for the first sale of the day, I'll give you two pairs for five cents."
Feeling she got a good deal, Sister-in-law Zhou was pleased, placed the selected straw shoes to the side, and signaled Qin Yao to wait while she ran home to fetch the copper coins.
She soon returned at a brisk pace, counted out five cents three times before handing them to Qin Yao, and happily took away two pairs of straw shoes.
Making the sale of two pairs brought smiles to the faces of all four Liu siblings.
Second Lang shouted even more enthusiastically, and Si Niang, taking advantage of her smallness, grabbed shoes and actively approached people to sell, using her cuteness to win them over.
She specifically targeted the aunts, having discovered that they were the ones with money in their pockets.
Sanlang, seeing his younger sister being so brave, mustered up the courage to follow along, whispering, "Want to buy shoes? Please buy a pair."
The two siblings working together sold another pair, and looked at Qin Yao with eyes filled with pride, hoping for praise.
Although the siblings were dressed raggedly, their faces were wiped clean, and their hair tied neatly, giving them a cute appearance.
Straw shoes sold better and better — someone even brought five slightly chipped coarse ceramic bowls to exchange for a pair of shoes.
An old woman brought three eggs to trade for a pair.
Unnoticed, it grew dark, and as each family went home to eat, only Qin Yao and her four children were left, excitedly inventorying the day's earnings under the tree.