Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Faced with Shen's complaints, Old Lady Yang frowned and glared at her fiercely.

"There are four girls in the family, taking turns tending to the ducklings. Why would I need to lift a finger? I'm not tired at all!"

Shen was startled by the look in his eyes and shrank back. Then she thought that she didn't have to pay for the ducklings herself and that they could eat duck eggs to improve their health. So she wisely shut her mouth and didn't say another word.

When Yang Gousheng returned home from the old house, he handed over the money that his wife had given him for buying ducklings to Tang Susu in detail.

Tang Susu took the copper coin and put it away, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the courtyard.

There, Tang Chengyu was busy as a bee.

Tang Chengyu didn't have much heavy farm work to do during the day, so he always liked to tinker with strange and unusual things.

The day before, he spent most of the day making a sand table. The four children were so happy when they saw it that they jumped for joy and became even more enthusiastic about learning.

Encouraged, he squatted in the corner of the yard early this morning, pondering an even more challenging new thing—making an abacus.

Tang Susu knew that sand table was easy to make, but abacus was a delicate task that not only required a lot of time but also a lot of special tools.

She stepped forward and advised, "Don't make this for now. I'll just buy a few from the street tomorrow."

Tang Chengyu bit her lip and explained softly, "An abacus is quite expensive; it costs at least four hundred copper coins."

Yang Xiaobao, standing to the side, chimed in with a grin, "Mom, no need to buy it! I can take turns using Uncle Yu's abacus with my eldest uncle, second uncle, and eldest brother. We promise we'll all try our best to learn!"

Tang Susu had a sudden inspiration and said to Yang Xiaobao, "Your grandpa knows how to make basins and buckets, which are all carpentry skills. Maybe he also knows how to make an abacus."

She figured that since all these things required wood, and Grandpa Yang had been a carpenter for many years, he should be able to do it.

Yang Xiaobao's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately patted his chest and said, "I'll go ask Grandpa right now!"

Tang Chengyu quickly washed the sawdust off his hands and offered to bring his abacus with him: "I'll bring my abacus so that Grandpa Yang can refer to the designs."

Just as the two were about to set off, Tang Susu called them back.

She remembered the last time Grandpa Yang helped make a bucket, she wanted to pay him for his labor, but he firmly refused.

But this time, making an abacus is delicate work that requires more effort, so we must pay the workers.

She turned to Tang Chengyu and asked, "How much do you think is appropriate for wages?"

Tang Chengyu recalled that the price of abacuses in Renningtang ranged from more than three hundred copper coins to twenty taels of silver, depending entirely on the craftsmanship and the wood used.

He pondered for a moment and suggested, "Let's see how well they do first. Even the most ordinary ones should be given fifty copper coins each. We can't let Grandpa Yang work for nothing."

Tang Susu nodded in agreement and decided to settle the wages based on the quality of the finished product after the abacus was completed.

Having received the reply, Yang Xiaobao and Tang Chengyu rushed towards the Yang family's old house.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Yang Xiaobao shouted loudly, "Grandpa! Grandma! Second Aunt!"

Tang Chengyu stood behind him and greeted him very politely: "Hello, Grandpa and Grandma Yang, Second Aunt."

Tang Chengyu's inherent refined demeanor seemed out of place with the simple, rustic atmosphere of Yangqu Village.

Upon seeing this, the people in the courtyard instantly became reserved, and their bodies unconsciously tensed up slightly.

Even Shen, who usually loved to stir up trouble, didn't have the courage to look Tang Chengyu in the eye at this moment. She felt that even looking at him would be an offense to a cultured person.

Madam Shen hurriedly turned around and ran into the main room to move chairs. First, she brought out an old wooden chair, but then felt that it was too simple and not worthy of Tang Chengyu's status.

She then turned around and changed to a new chair with better workmanship. She even took out a handkerchief and wiped the chair surface repeatedly, afraid that even a speck of dust might fall on it.

After doing all this, she carefully stepped forward and softly greeted, "Sir, please have a seat."

Tang Chengyu quickly waved his hand to politely decline: "No need to trouble your second aunt. I came here today to ask Grandpa Yang for a favor. You can just stand here and talk."

At this moment, Grandpa Yang was sitting leisurely under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, puffing on his pipe and exhaling smoke.

When Tang Chengyu called him, the old man nodded seemingly indifferently, but his eyes were secretly sizing up Tang Chengyu.

Old Master Yang had long heard of Tang Chengyu's reputation and knew that he was one of the few scholars in Xihe Village, and that he was a student who had passed the imperial examination.

A few days ago, he learned that Tang Chengyu had come to stay at his third daughter-in-law's house and had even become the children's tutor. He wanted to go and see her, but he couldn't find a suitable excuse.

Only after finally meeting him in person did he understand why his third daughter-in-law favored this younger brother so much—Tang Chengyu was not only handsome and well-educated, but also polite and well-mannered; he was clearly a good boy.

Old Master Yang was filled with regret and sighed inwardly: Why can't the Yang family produce such a talent?

If I had such a descendant, even if I went to the underworld one day and met the ancestors of the Yang family, I could stand tall with my head held high.

Just as he was reminiscing, he suddenly heard that Tang Chengyu had a favor to ask. The old man immediately sat up straight, patted his chest, and said, "Young Tang, just ask! If it's something I can do, I won't refuse!"

Tang Chengyu gently handed the abacus he had brought to Grandpa Yang and asked, "Grandpa Yang, do you know how to make this?"

When he was young, Mr. Yang traveled all over the country and saw a lot of the world, so he naturally recognized the abacus.

In those days, almost everyone with a bit of education, or anyone who ran a business, had an abacus.

As he stroked the abacus, Old Master Yang's thoughts drifted back to his youth.

He once asked someone who knew how to use an abacus to teach him, but that person looked down on him because he was a peasant and refused to teach him any real skills, only offering empty platitudes.

He studied for more than ten days but learned nothing, and in the end, he had a falling out with that person.

Now, touching the smooth, round beads of the abacus again, the sound of each bead rolling touches his heartstrings.

The old man immediately replied, "Even if I don't know how to do it now, I'm willing to give it a try!"

Then, Old Master Yang shouted towards the main room, "Second son! Come back!"

When Yang Fugui walked in from outside, he immediately gave instructions: "Go up the mountain and cut down trees to take home. Paulownia or mahogany are fine, but make sure they're sturdy and of good quality!"

It was midday, and the blazing sun hung high in the sky. There weren't many people at the Yang family's old house—Yang Fuqiang and his wife had gone to work at Tang Susu's house, Wen and Shen had taken their four daughters into the mountains to find wild vegetables and gather firewood, and Yang Dafu and Yang Erfu had gone to the fields to herd ducks to eat grasshoppers.

The two of them didn't know how to herd ducks, so they specifically asked Yang Xiaobao to help teach them.

Soon only Grandpa Yang and Tang Chengyu remained in the courtyard.

After Yang Fugui brought the wood back, the old man began to process it, while Tang Chengyu helped out, handing him tools and supporting the wood, doing a very professional job.

When he was young, Mr. Yang was a carpentry apprentice. Although his skills were not top-notch, he had a full set of carpentry tools.

In recent years, all the beds, tables, chairs, and stools in his home have been made by his own hands.

These pieces of furniture may not be as exquisite as those sold in town, but they are sturdy and durable, and they don't cost any money.

The timber is all free wood cut from the mountains, and it's all high-quality material that's not prone to insects.

While cutting the wood into sections, Grandpa Yang said to Tang Chengyu, "To make an abacus, it's best to use precious woods like sandalwood or rosewood, but unfortunately we don't have any in these mountains, they're hard to find. Redwood and paulownia wood are also very good, they're sturdy and durable."

He gestured to indicate the size of the piece of timber and asked, "Is this size acceptable?"

Tang Chengyu nodded and added, "It would be even better if it were smaller, so that it would be more portable for children to carry around."

Upon hearing this, the old man did as he was told and reduced the size of the abacus.

The two worked together very well and soon created the framework of the abacus.

Next comes the making of small abacus beads—the most delicate and difficult part of the entire process.

To make abacus beads, you first need to cut wooden strips into small squares of the same size, and then polish them using a foot-operated lathe.

This treadmill was bought by Grandpa Yang many years ago at great expense, but he didn't use it much and it's been sitting on the shelf for decades.

When it was taken out, it was covered with a thick layer of dust.

This lathe has a sharp iron blade and a foot pedal underneath.

When using it, place the small wooden block against the blade, step on the pedal to drive the machine to rotate, and the small wooden block will slowly turn into a smooth abacus bead under the polishing of the blade.

After the beads are formed, they need to be polished to make them smooth and easy to handle.

Looking at the freshly polished abacus beads, Grandpa Yang said, "Polishing usually requires fine cotton cloth, but that kind of cloth is too expensive. It's better to use old cloth from home instead. Rubbing it in your hands for a few days will also make it smooth."

Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Chengyu lifted his outer robe, deftly tore off a piece of cotton fabric from his inner garment, and handed it over, asking, "This is cotton fabric, but not fine cotton. I wonder if it will be usable?"

Seeing this, Old Master Yang glared at Tang Chengyu and said with concern, "How could you be so reckless! Such fine clothes, how can you wear them now that they're torn?"

Tang Chengyu smiled nonchalantly, saying that she noticed that no one around her was wearing an undershirt: "Then I'll just be like everyone else, it's fine."

Old Master Yang grew anxious and retorted, "How can you compare them? You're a scholar with a bright future ahead of you, how can you compare yourself to us peasants?"

He told Tang Chengyu to put the cloth away: "Later, I'll have your older sister mend it for you. Use thread of the same color and sew it carefully, then no one will be able to tell."

A look of frustration instantly appeared on Tang Chengyu's face.

He knew perfectly well that everyone respected and valued him only because he was a cultured person and a student who had completed the imperial examinations.

In reality, the path of reading that carried all his dreams and hopes had long been completely shut down.

He swallowed his bitterness, lowered his head, divided the cloth in his hand into two pieces, and said softly, "Let's use this to polish the abacus beads. After polishing, we'll take it to my older sister's house for washing faces, wiping tables, and things like that. My older sister's house happens to be short of these things."

Looking at his dejected appearance, Old Master Yang couldn't help but sigh softly.

He understood once again why his third brother's wife favored this younger brother so much—the boy was so sensible that it broke his heart, and even he, the old man who had no blood relation to him, wanted to love him from the bottom of his heart and give him all the good things.

While busy with his work, Grandpa Yang asked curiously, "Why are you making so many abacuses?"