Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Woven Straw Sandals
That was something from her predecessor’s memory. Back then, this incident had caused quite a stir around the grocery store.
Of course, it had been a few years since the incident, and she had only heard of that one instance of someone selling tiger skin.
Madam Liu’s eyes were wide open in shock.
What? Twenty taels? For just a piece of skin?
Then, she quickly sobered up.
“No, the mountains are too dangerous. We must not have any ideas about those wild beasts!” Tiger skin? That was the skin of a dangerous wild beast.
If a person bumped into it, the chances of them getting bitten to death would be so much higher than them killing the wild beast.
Qin Xiaoyao laughed. She saw Madam Liu looking at her nervously and could feel her mother-in-law’s concern.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I will try my best not to go deep into the mountains.”
“Even if I can’t get any wild animals, I can still get some mushrooms which can be exchanged for some money.”
Seeing that Madam Liu was still worried, Qin Xiaoyao stepped forward and tugged at her hand.
Madam Liu trembled, but she endured it and did not retract her hand.
Qin Xiaoyao didn’t mind Madam Liu’s reaction and continued. “My father will come over in the afternoon to check on Husband’s condition and give us some silver taels.”
“Regardless of whether we can pay back the money in half a year, Husband’s injuries must be treated nonetheless.”
Seeing that Madam Liu was looking at her, Qin Xiaoyao added, “I’ll have to trouble you to talk to Husband about the issue of the IOU.”
“I…” A look of embarrassment flashed across Qin Xiaoyao’s face.
“Husband has a problem with me. I’m afraid he won’t agree if I tell him myself.”
Previously, her predecessor had borrowed money to hire a traveling doctor to treat her attractive husband’s father. Although this matter was done secretly, they might not have covered their tracks so well.
Thinking back on her attractive husband’s reaction after the incident, she suspected that he might have already discovered something.
Now that she was going to borrow money from her family and needed him to sign an IOU, she didn’t know if her attractive husband would agree.
The way Madam Liu looked at Qin Xiaoyao instantly softened.
“Alright, I’ll go tell him.” She immediately agreed.
Her daughter-in-law was right. Her eldest son’s injury was more important.
As for the rest, she would just take it one step at a time.
However, her daughter-in-law would have to suffer again. For the sake of their family, she had made her maternal family suffer losses again and again.
After that, Madam Liu went to the room next door.
Qin Xiaoyao heaved a sigh of relief. She then picked up the pig liver and went to the stream.
Qin Xiaoyao only returned after she had washed the pig liver clean by the stream.
In the end, just as she walked into the courtyard, she heard Madam Liu’s crying coming from her attractive husband’s room, as well as her attractive husband’s helpless and angry voice.
Qin Xiaoyao only stood there and listened for a while before she knew what the mother and son were arguing about.
Instead of going over, she went straight into the kitchen.
Then, she asked her little sister-in-law, who looked very worried, to come over and help her start the fire.
As for the matter next door, she believed that her mother-in-law would be able to take care of it.
After all, when her predecessor had sought out the traveling doctor, her attractive husband had also opposed the idea adamantly, but he had not been able to persuade his mother.
True enough, by the time Qin Xiaoyao finished cooking the pig liver soup…
Madam Liu finally returned.
When she entered, she even wiped the corners of her eyes. She had obviously been crying.
Before Qin Xiaoyao could say anything, Madam Liu smiled and said, “Que’er has already agreed.”
All three people in the room heaved a sigh of relief.
“That’s good!”
“The food is ready. Mother, let’s eat first.” As Qin Xiaoyao spoke, she began to set up the table.
Madam Liu murmured her acknowledgment and came forward to help.
The lunch today was pig liver and wild vegetable soup, stir-fried wild vegetables, and rice mixed with Chinese yam.
Qin Xiaoyao prepared the food for Song Que and was about to send it to the room next door when she was stopped by Madam Liu.
“It’s better if I go,” Madam Liu said.
Que’er had a deep misunderstanding of her daughter-in-law and she was afraid that her daughter-in-law would be wronged if she went.
There was no doubt about it. Madam Liu was actually worried that her son would bully her daughter-in-law.
It had to be said that this psychological change was really quite fast.
Just when Qin Xiaoyao was worrying about the same issue, on hearing Madam Liu’s offer, she immediately agreed.
Right now, it was indeed better for her not to see her attractive husband. If she did, she would only get scolded.
When Doctor Li arrived later, and her attractive husband saw that she really wanted to get his leg healed, he would believe her.
And so, at noon, Madam Liu took over Qin Xiaoyao’s job and went to deliver lunch to Song Que.
After lunch, Qin Xiaoyao helped to wash the dishes and clean up the house.
She didn’t go out because she had to wait for the arrival of the doctor and Qin Dazhuang.
After cleaning up the kitchen and the courtyard, Qin Xiaoyao saw that there was extra straw in the house.
She got up and went to get some, then began to weave straw sandals.
Yes, as she had grown up in a village in her previous life, she knew how to do this.
After the apocalypse, resources were scarce. When she entered the mountains after the rain, she also wore her own woven straw sandals.
For this reason, the lifespan of her boots had been extended a lot during the apocalypse.
In this era, she was wearing fabric shoes.
This pair of fabric shoes would be more easily worn out than the shoes she had worn in her previous life.
From here on, she would have more opportunities to enter the mountain.
In order to protect her shoes, she might as well change into straw sandals.
In any case, straw sandals were lighter and had anti-slip properties.
Most importantly, she was not afraid of wearing out these straw sandals. If she had the materials, she could just weave another pair.
Qin Xiaoyao’s action of weaving straw sandals quickly attracted the attention of the mother and the two kids.
“Sister-in-law, you know how to make straw sandals?” Song Yun was the first to realize what her sister-in-law was doing.
“Yes,” Qin Xiaoyao replied.
At the same time, she tried the half-woven straw sandals on her feet to make sure they were of the right size.
Song Yun’s eyes lit up.
“Sister-in-law, can you teach me?” She looked at Qin Xiaoyao with excitement.
At the same time, the little girl’s feet wriggled.
Only then did Qin Xiaoyao notice that the fabric shoes on the little girl’s feet had holes. The toes of both feet were exposed.
Especially her right foot, which had two little toes exposed.
Qin Xiaoyao sighed in her heart when she saw the stitches on the little girl’s fabric shoes.
This was torn again after being sewn back. Even if she wanted to repair it, it would not be easy to repair this shoe anymore.
“Okay! However, weaving straw shoes requires rubbing straw, and rubbing for a long time would hurt your hands. Are you sure you want to learn?” Qin Xiaoyao looked at her little sister-in-law.
“Yes! I’m not afraid of pain!” Song Yun said hurriedly.
“Alright, then go get a small stool and sit down. I’ll teach you.” Qin Xiaoyao also agreed readily.
“Okay!” Song Yun replied happily and ran into the kitchen.
“I want to learn too!” Song Ye overheard the conversation between the two and ran over.
Qin Xiaoyao laughed at the little one’s antics.
“You’re still too young. You don’t even have enough strength to rub the straw.”
Qin Xiaoyao looked at the little child’s fabric shoes, which were also torn, and said, “You can come over and help your sister and me. Sister-in-law will make you a pair later.”
The little child’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Really? Thank you, Sister-in-law!” He almost threw himself into Qin Xiaoyao’s arms.
The more he interacted with his Sister-in-law, the more he liked her.
Not only did she roast a bird for him to eat, but she also bought him candied hawthorn. Now, she even wanted to make straw sandals for him.
Little kids were so forgetful. After being pampered a few times, he had almost forgotten those bad memories in the past.
Not far away, Madam Liu, who was doing embroidery work, also saw the situation.
She was quite surprised to see her daughter-in-law weaving straw sandals, and that she was very good at it too.