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Chapter 314: Come On, Show Him!

Ever since Master Tian had asked Yan Xiangheng about the methods for growing vegetables, he had taken a great liking to conversing with this refined and polite youth.

Upon hearing him introduce the area as the training ground for the village children, Master Tian cast a meaningful glance at Yan Huaiwen, who stood nearby.

“What are these ropes tied to the trees for?” Master Tian asked.

Yan Xiangheng hesitated for a moment before saying, “I shall demonstrate for you, Master.”

Yan Yu understood her elder brother’s hesitation perfectly. The low-crawl training was a bit awkward to demonstrate; it was only natural for her brother to feel embarrassed performing it in front of his future teacher.

She, however, had no such concerns and was more than happy to bail her brother out.

In particular, her status and age made it very convenient for her to do so.

“Brother, let me do it.” Yan Yu stepped forward and, without waiting for her brother to respond, sprinted out.

She didn’t just demonstrate that one item. What was the point of just crawling around? These training exercises only looked impressive when performed in a continuous sequence.

It was also a way of planning ahead, saving Master Tian from getting interested in something else later and requiring another demonstration.

Better to get it all done at once.

Just as she had demonstrated for her Eldest Uncle that day, she was as nimble as a little monkey, leaping and darting through the training ground.

She was a bundle of infinite energy!

Master Tian watched intently, his gaze following her every move. When he saw her leap into a pit, his brow furrowed slightly; a moment later, seeing the child grab the rope and scramble up with practiced ease, his brow smoothed out, leaving only a smile.

“This is…”

With a hint of helplessness he hadn’t even noticed himself, Yan Huaiwen replied, “That is my younger brother’s daughter.”

“A girl?” Master Tian was astonished. Looking closer, her features were indeed more delicate.

However, children of this age were often hard to distinguish by gender, and since she was dressed as a boy, it was no wonder he had been mistaken.

“For convenience while traveling on the road, we dressed her as a boy. She is the second-born among the sisters, so we call her Xiao’er. We’ve called her that so much it stuck; those who don’t know the truth think my family has an extra son,” Yan Huaiwen said with a slight curl of his lips and a faint smile.

At that moment, Yan Yu began the low crawl. She lay flat on the ground, her small body wiggling and twisting, passing through the area in just a few movements.

Master Tian realized immediately why the little girl had stepped forward. So that was it.

She was worried that her brother’s act of crawling on the ground would be unseemly.

Yan Yu completed all the exercises and did her best to pat the dust off her clothes. She ran over with a wide grin, and it was hard for Master Tian not to feel a sense of fondness for this sensible and loyal child.

“You are called Xiao’er? How old are you this year?”

Yan Yu thought for a moment and answered seriously, “After the New Year, I will be seven!”

“Do you and the other children in the village play here often?” Master Tian asked.

Yan Yu nodded vigorously. “Except for today’s festival, we come every day. We also run laps around the village.”

“On the path we walked earlier?”

“Yes, that’s the one. Three laps in the morning and three in the evening—that’s the minimum. If the weather is good and there’s less work in the village, we add a few more laps. After the laps, we come here to train.” Yan Yu knew that when talking to a leader, you couldn’t just give one-word answers; that would be too dull and awkward.

Especially since their village was currently seeking help from the government office, she couldn’t let the conversation go cold. Even if there was no topic, she had to create one.

“What kind of work do you children do? Do you go into the mountains to gather herbs?”

“We used to run into the mountains, but after encountering the Northern Rong¹ once, we got a bit scared. The adults were worried too, so we stay obediently in the village and help make cement bricks.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Yan Huaiwen couldn’t help but marvel at how clever his Xiao’er truly was.

She had not only answered Master Tian’s question but also managed to throw out a topic he would be interested in pursuing.

Furthermore, in just a few words, she had pointed out the village’s concern: the fear of the Northern Rong returning.

That was why they were building walls and arrow towers, and why even the children no longer just played but trained themselves every day like his Xiao’er.

Seeing Master Tian’s interest, Yan Yu explained how to make cement bricks.

It sounded incredibly easy.

And the truth was, it was.

There were many finished products piled up by the training ground, making it impossible not to believe.

It was truly possible that these cement bricks were made by the village children.

Earlier, when he had heard Yan Huaiwen and the Village Elders say that everyone in the village, young and old, worked together, he thought there might be some exaggeration. Now it seemed it was a factual statement without a hint of falsehood.

Master Tian was deeply moved.

Before coming to Xiao’an Village, he had visited other places where refugees had settled.

To be able to barely settle down was already a rare feat.

Those people were profoundly grateful and tried hard to integrate, and while everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, one could always catch glimpses of their “outsider” status.

He himself, in Guanzhou and Crouching Tiger, was also an outsider.

But he didn’t feel like one. As an official in Crouching Tiger, he viewed this place as his second home and was determined to manage it well.

Building border defenses, guarding the land within the pass, keeping more people here to reclaim and farm the land, ensuring they were fed and clothed, and lived in peace…

In the people of Xiao’an Village, he saw a side that was completely different from other refugees.

They loved life, did not fear hard work, and were truly taking root in this land.

They didn’t need to think about how to integrate; the moment they were willing to use their own hands to cultivate this place, they were already people of Guanzhou and Crouching Tiger.

On the way back, Master Tian would occasionally speak with Yan Yu.

After discovering that the child had been educated, he subconsciously posed a question to test her.

To his surprise, the little girl didn’t even have to think, answering with perfect fluency.

He hadn’t forgotten that his future student was Yan Xiangheng, so he tested the two of them together.

The result left Master Tian silent.

The son of Registrar Yan had solid scholarship; a Xiu Cai title was surely within his reach.

As for Yan Xiao’er…

She was exceptionally gifted.

What she studied was not the usual fare for girls in the inner chambers, but the same as the boys: the books of the Sages and the writings of the ancients.

And the child had learned it remarkably well.

If he hadn’t known she was a girl, based on her dress and manner of speech, he would have truly thought she was a young scholar with a promising future and great potential.

The group returned to the Yan house.

Dinner was already prepared.

Large plates and basins were set on the table, filled to the brim with food.

There was none of that empty, delicate presentation; it was simply a massive amount of food to fill the belly.

A braised fish weighing over six jin was garnished with minced garlic and wild cilantro, its aroma incredibly enticing.

Richly sauced braised pork, with more lean meat than fat.

Chicken stewed with mushrooms—the mushrooms had been gathered in the forest after the rain that fell when the seeds were first planted. They had been dried and were soaked today specifically to go with this freshly slaughtered chicken.

The tofu fried at noon was drizzled with a prepared sauce, containing sweet, sour, salty, and spicy notes all at once.

There was a large serving of mung bean sheets and a platter of fresh vegetables with dipping sauce.

The former wasn’t that translucent, but its springy texture was extremely refreshing.

The latter was a common home-cooked dish in Guanzhou. Every vegetable from the Yan family’s fields was arranged on the table, filling a massive basin.

The pickled cabbage with pork belly looked like the plainest dish, but unexpectedly, it was the most popular. Once the pork belly was dipped in garlic soy sauce, it was transformed, offering a unique flavor.

Finally, Yan Lao’er brought out a dish of hawthorn sweet water².

Master Tian drank it until his eyes squinted in delight, feeling as though he could eat a few more bites.

Looking up, he saw Yan Huaiwen’s brother, Yan Huaian, approaching with the scent of the kitchen still on him, asking with a beaming smile if the food suited his palate.

Master Tian remembered him instantly.

His student, Yan Huaian, was an excellent cook.

Yan Lao’er: I am serious about conquering my teacher with gourmet food!

Master Tian: At this moment, I have high hopes for the future!

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes