Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Selling Straw Sandals?
"Hehe! It must be a boy! Even if it isn't a boy, a daughter of the Qin family will still get pampered," Qin Xiaoyao replied.
Qin Dazhuang also nodded happily.
Seeing this, Qin Dahu also laughed foolishly.
Then, as if he had thought of something, Qin Dahu suddenly said, "Then what's with the beam in the house? Wasn't it still fine before you got married?"
Looking at the Song family's thatched house, one would invariably feel worried.
Only his sister would be so stubborn as to insist on marrying into the Song family.
That pauper brother-in-law had never once given anyone any welcoming looks. Other than his good looks, what else was good about him?
Qin Xiaoyao was stunned.
Thinking of her predecessor's death-seeking actions, she couldn't help curling her toes in embarrassment.
"Er… the wind blew and broke it yesterday. I haven't had the time to clean up yet."
Qin Dahu frowned. He did not believe that the wind could break the beam.
Qin Dazhuang interrupted him.
"Since we're all here, let's give your sister a hand and change that beam."
"Okay!" Qin Dahu didn't think any further and agreed.
The father and son did as they promised. They asked Qin Xiaoyao for a firewood chopper and went into the mountains.
Qin Xiaoyao heaved a sigh of relief and went back to check on Song Que.
At this moment, Madam Liu was also in Song Que's room.
As she watched Doctor Li clean Song Que's wound and Song Que's face twitched in pain from time to time, Madam Liu kept wiping away her tears.
Seeing this, Qin Xiaoyao stepped forward and tugged on Madam Liu's hand. Only then did Madam Liu's mood lighten up a little.
After a while, Doctor Li finally finished treating Song Que's wound. He then applied the medicine.
Then, he went to the side and wrote down the doctor's instructions while telling Qin Xiaoyao to take note of them.
Qin Xiaoyao had a good memory. After listening to it once, she repeated it to Doctor Li.
Doctor Li made sure that Qin Xiaoyao had remembered it before he started writing the prescription.
"Alright, keep this prescription. For the first month, get the medicine according to these four prescriptions. "
"External application and oral consumption are two doses of medicine each. When applying externally, remember to distinguish it. Don't apply it on the wrong wound."
"It's okay, Doctor Li. When the time comes, I'll ask the staff from the Hundred Herbs Hall to help me mark the medicine clearly," Qin Xiaoyao said.
Doctor Li nodded, satisfied with Qin Xiaoyao's intelligence.
"Then I will take my leave. If you encounter any problems in the future, you can come to the Hundred Herbs Hall to look for me." Doctor Li stood up after saying this.
"I'll send you off," Qin Xiaoyao said hurriedly.
Following that, she accompanied Doctor Li out of the door.
Initially, Qin Xiaoyao wanted to send him all the way until they were out of the village, but Doctor Li refused and told her to go back. Only then did Qin Xiaoyao return home.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw her mother-in-law waiting for her.
"Your father and your eldest brother..." Madam Liu's face was a little anxious. She wanted to say something but stopped.
"Oh, they haven't left," Qin Xiaoyao replied.
"Big Brother saw that the beam of our house was broken, so he brought my father up the mountain to chop down trees. He said he would bring it back and help us change the beam."
Madam Liu was stunned but felt very grateful.
"Then I'll go to the kitchen and see what I can make. Let your father and brother stay for dinner later." She turned to leave after speaking.
However, Qin Xiaoyao quickly stopped Madam Liu.
"You don't have to do that."
"My father has to set up the stall tomorrow, so he has to rush back to slaughter the pigs. After helping us change the beams later, they'll probably have to leave immediately."
"But…" Madam Liu felt that she was being very impolite.
"It's okay, Mother." Qin Xiaoyao stepped forward and held Madam Liu's hand.
She then thought for a moment before taking out the five taels of silver from her father and the two taels of silver from her big brother. She gave them all to Madam Liu.
"Because Doctor Li said that Husband's injury doesn't need to spend ten taels at once, I only asked my father for five taels of silver. In addition, these two taels of silver are a gift from my Big Brother."
"Keep this money. I'll ask you for more when I go to town to get medicine."
Madam Liu could not possibly accept the money. She quickly rejected Qin Xiaoyao.
"You take it! You don't need to give it to me!"
"In the future, when you enter the town to buy medicine, just do as you see fit! If the money is not enough, Mother can still think of ways to cope." Madam Liu even took two steps back, afraid that her daughter-in-law would force the silver into her hands.
Then, she took out a few copper coins from her pocket.
"This is the money I have earned after selling the embroidery work I did last time. You can take it too. It'll help you out." As she said that, she handed over the copper coins in embarrassment.
Her daughter-in-law had really changed this time. She had to support her since she was thinking about the family!
Qin Xiaoyao looked somewhat shocked.
Looking at the clearly discernible six copper coins in her mother-in-law's hand, she pushed them back.
"You can keep the money from the embroidery."
Seeing that Madam Liu was still insistent, Qin Xiaoyao added, "I'll ask you for more if I'm really short of money in the future."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu finally felt relieved.
"Alright, then. If you really need money, don't hesitate to ask," she reminded her.
"Okay." Qin Xiaoyao felt a warm sensation in her heart.
Qin Xiaoyao walked over to Song Yun, who was still weaving straw sandals under the roof eave, and Song Ye, who was sitting beside her.
Her father and big brother had not returned yet, so she could find time to make a pair of straw sandals for them and her second brother, who did not come.
Her father didn't leave town much, but he could wear it when it rained.
As for Big Brother and Second Brother, they would need straw sandals when they went out of town to collect live pigs.
At the thought of this, Qin Xiaoyao quickly got busy.
When Qin Dazhuang and Qin Dahu returned, they saw their daughter and sister weaving straw sandals diligently.
"Father, Big Brother, come and try them on!" Before the two of them could say anything, Qin Xiaoyao was already waving at them.
The two of them walked all the way down from the mountain, and their shoes felt hot. When they saw that their daughter and sister had woven straw sandals for them, they became very interested.
They walked to Qin Xiaoyao's side, took the straw sandals, and tried them on.
"These straw sandals are not bad! It's much stronger than the ones I bought in the grocery store." Qin Dahu put on his straw sandals and walked back and forth a few times. The more he walked, the more satisfied he was.
"They are really good! These straw sandals are actually more comfortable than fabric shoes." Qin Dazhuang chimed in as well.
"I didn't expect my daughter to have such a skill!" Then, he looked at Qin Xiaoyao with pride.
Qin Xiaoyao chuckled.
"I learned it from an old craftsman. My handiwork can barely be worn!"
"I made a pair for Second Brother too. Can you help me bring it back for him?" As she spoke, Qin Xiaoyao handed over the remaining pair of straw sandals by her feet.
Qin Dahu reached out to receive it.
"Second Brother didn't dote on you in vain," he said with a smile.
Then, he suddenly thought of something and looked at his sister.
"If you have such skills, why don't you make straw sandals for sale?" he asked.
With the Song family's situation, with his pauper brother-in-law injured and the mother-in-law taking care of two half-grown children, it was evident that they couldn't fend for themselves.
It would be a wonder if their lives could get better just by relying on his sister.
It was rare for his sister to have the skill of weaving straw sandals. She should be able to make some money with this.
Qin Xiaoyao was surprised.
Then, she came to a sudden realization.
"Well… where do they sell straw sandals in town?" she immediately asked her big brother.
When Song Yun heard this, she also looked at Qin Dahu.