Chapter 559: Chapter 559: Madam, Just Indulge Him

Seeing that Liu Ji hadn’t listened to what she said at all and was still wildly guessing, Qin Yao rolled her eyes speechlessly.

She repeated once again, "I told him to go to class, so he won’t have the chance to accidentally run into your teacher. What are you so anxious about?"

"Huh?" Liu Ji was taken aback.

So his wife had listened to him and was helping him think of a solution?

Thinking of this, Liu Ji felt a sudden jolt in his heart, daring to confirm incredulously: "Wife, are you saying that I don’t need to worry about this?"

Qin Yao gave a contemptuous smile and tossed him a stack of blank sketchbooks recently purchased by the stationery factory, "This is what you should be worried about. As for your status at Gongliang Liao’s place, as long as I’m around, no one should dream of shaking it!"

Ah Wang, passing by the main hall with bricks, twitched the corner of his mouth, Madam, just continue to spoil him!

Liu Ji stared blankly at Qin Yao’s contemptuous smile, only feeling that this woman was really something!

But, what are these blank sketchbooks for?

With his wife’s assurance, Liu Ji felt completely relaxed. Anyway, even if the sky falls, his wife will hold it up; he just needs to do what she instructs.

Liu Ji brought all the blank sketchbooks close to him and happily asked, "Wife, what are these for?"

Could it be that she suddenly had an epiphany and is preparing to let him recreate the pecking chicks painting?

Of course not.

Qin Yao took the Lady’s Box storybook template and handed it to Liu Ji, explaining, "This is an accompanying sketchbook for the factory’s new product next year. The purpose is to enhance customer recognition of our Lady’s Box brand, so draw well, draw carefully, did you hear?"

They prepared two hundred sketchbooks, but there were not many scholars in the village skilled in painting, only five people. Distributed equally, each person had forty books, which was indeed a bit much.

Considering that there was already one at home, and not wanting to waste it, Qin Yao brought twenty books back home.

If this had been mentioned a quarter of an hour earlier, Liu Ji would definitely have haggled over it.

But now, knowing that his wife responds to everything and solves everything, Liu Ji was in a great mood, so much so that he forgot to ask about the price, earnestly accepting the drawing task.

"The teacher said my artistic sense is not as great as my senior brother, but I have a great talent for imitation. So rest assured, wife, I will work tirelessly day and night, stroke by stroke, to perfectly replicate the sketchbook and ensure I won’t delay your delivery!"

After saying this, Liu Ji finished dinner that night, skipped going to the Lotus Courtyard, and took the sketchbooks to the study, hanging a "No Disturbance" sign on the door, lighting a lamp, and burying himself in work.

Seeing him being so obedient, Qin Yao was quite unaccustomed, frequently glancing towards the backyard, and seeing the busy silhouette reflected on the window, she felt somewhat unreal.

"Master, are we still going up the mountain today?" Yin Le, covered in sweat, ran into the courtyard and asked expectantly.

Currently, she’s added another three kilometers on top of the original five and isn’t able to speed up initially, always having to complete her task after the family finishes dinner.

Qin Yao noticed she was only wearing a single piece of clothing, sweaty, worried she might catch a cold from the wind, and waved her hands to signal her to put on more clothes first, "The weather is nice tonight, have dinner first, rest for a while, and then go up the mountain to train extra."

"Okay!" Yin Le readily agreed and went to the backyard to change clothes.

After October, the sky darkened earlier and earlier, and by now, it was completely dark. Qin Yao sat by the main hall door, warming herself by the fire, facing the open door, able to see the flickering candlelights in the village, like stars falling to the human realm.

In the night, dotted with candlelights, a moving light caught Qin Yao’s attention.

Seeing that torch slowly approaching her home, Qin Yao raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Speak of Cao Cao, and here he comes.

"Ah Wang," she called softly.

In the previously empty courtyard, a gray figure suddenly appeared, holding a bucket of freshly emptied swill.

"What does Madam command?" Ah Wang frowned and asked. Madam usually wouldn’t call him unless it wasn’t an easy task.

Yin Le, holding leftover food taken from the hot pot, curiously leaned against the kitchen door, just in time to hear Qin Yao instruct:

"Later, you take Yin Le up the mountain to train for half an hour, as long as it doesn’t affect her work tomorrow. The rest is up to you."

Yin Le paused her eating. The painful cries during Da Lang’s morning exercise still echoed in her ears, scaring her to shiver.

"Master..." she hadn’t managed to finish saying the word "don’t" when her ears perked up slightly, and she turned to look at the entrance, where Zhen Yubai was standing with a torch, raising his hand to knock on the door.

Yin Le understood; the Master definitely couldn’t accompany her for extra training tonight.

But...sneaking a glance at the expressionless yet clearly displeased Ah Wang, Yin Le hurriedly shoveled down more food, lest she gets "trained to death" later.

Zhen Yubai walked into the courtyard, the cold wind extinguishing his torch for a moment, but it quickly reignited, in less than a second. However, the steward, Ah Wang, who had been standing in the courtyard, had vanished.

Zhen Yubai was momentarily startled, took a deep breath to steady himself, and headed towards the brightly lit main hall.

"Teacher, coming so late, is there something you need?"

Qin Yao got up and greeted him with a smile, leading him into the main hall, pointing to a small stool by the brazier, "It’s cold, teacher. You must have been cold on your way over. Your body just recovered; come, sit and warm up by the fire."

Mrs. Li had cooked dinner earlier and went to rest in the back courtyard, so Qin Yao herself got up to fetch a teacup, pouring two steaming cups of tea from the kettle on the charcoal stove.

She handed one cup to Zhen Yubai, "Please, teacher, don’t mind."

Holding the other cup in her hands without drinking it, she sat across from Zhen Yubai, waiting for him to speak first.

Zhen Yubai smiled slightly at her, gently blew on the teacup, took a sip of tea, and then glanced around at the surroundings.

Qin Yao’s home wasn’t overly decorated, just a straightforward large room with daily essentials and a few raincoats and bamboo hats hanging on the walls, but it was neat and bright.

After glancing around, Zhen Yubai sighed inwardly, one wouldn’t think the owner was a scholar at all. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Nor could one tell that the woman sitting before him was the owner of a stationery factory.

Yet seeing the usual snacks and fruits on the small table, it seemed the household was well-off.

Who else would be willing to use white flour ground seven or eight times to make snacks?

If they weren’t very well-off, such eating habits wouldn’t appear in a wealthy farm family in the mountains.

What a beautiful misunderstanding.

Even if she wasn’t wealthy, Qin Yao wouldn’t compromise on food.

Having observed enough, Zhen Yubai then held the teacup and slowly stated his purpose.

His body was fully recovered, and since the children in the village were eager to study, he came to discuss with the village head about the start of school.

Qin Yao laughed, as she was just planning for Ah Wang to notify Zhen Yubai to prepare for classes. Just as she thought of it, Zhen Yubai came to her to discuss the start date. Could he hear their hearts?