body {
font-family: serif, sans-serif;
line-height: 1.6;
font-size: 1.1em;
max-width: 800px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 20px;
color: #333;
}
h1 { text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.5em; }
h2 { margin-top: 2em; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; padding-bottom: 0.5em; }
p { text-indent: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left; }

/* Footnotes (WP Friendly) */
sup.footnote-ref { vertical-align: super; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0; }
a.footnote-backref { text-decoration: none; margin-left: 0.2em; color: inherit; }
.footnotes { font-size: 0.9em; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; margin-top: 2em; padding-top: 1em; }
.footnotes ol { padding-left: 2em; }
.footnotes li { margin-bottom: 0.5em; }

Chapter 315: Giving People and Giving Goods

Sometimes, people are just strange like that.

They might have met before and felt nothing but indifference, yet in a single moment, a sense of closeness can take root.

Master Tian had eaten until he felt heavy, and he was now strolling through the temporary sheds set up in the village along with the others.

For dinner, the villagers of Xiao’an Village had displayed their culinary skills to the utmost.

To farming folk, nothing was better than meat.

For this meal, various meats were served in turns. Setting aside the common poultry, there was roe deer from the mountains, frogs from the fields, and snapping turtles from the river simmered into soup…

One could only say that everyone in Xiao’an Village possessed an eye for discovering food.

Yan Lao’er dealt with the villagers more frequently, so he felt perfectly relaxed leading his future teacher through the food stalls.

The more Master Tian looked at him, the more pleasing he found him. He could easily distinguish the difference in how the people of Xiao’an Village treated the two Yan brothers.

Toward Registrar Yan, they felt awe and conviction; toward Yan Lao’er, they felt closeness and trust.

Occasionally, behind the Master’s back, they would even engage in little nudges and secret gestures that made one want to laugh.

To be treated with sincerity, one must treat others with sincerity.

The Yan family was truly quite good.

…

“The laborers previously conscripted by Crouching Tiger have all returned home. At present, the only manpower I can mobilize are likely the criminals exiled here,” Master Tian said slowly.

Yan Huaiwen listened intently, not saying much.

He was the one who had previously suggested to Master Tian that the exiles be brought in to help them move stones and build the walls.

After staying in Xiao’an Village for the day, Master Tian had likely reached a decision in his heart.

“The Quarry has a heavy workload; I can only mobilize some of the elderly and weak to come here.”

Yan Huaiwen was satisfied. He said warmly, “Thank you for your consideration, Excellency.”

Yan Lao’er listened from the side.

Exiles, criminals—he understood all that. But sending the elderly and weak to work? Would that work? Was he sure they could actually do the labor?

He tried hard to recall what he had seen and heard when he visited the Quarry before.

He couldn’t come up with much. After all, every time he went, he stayed on the outskirts and never went deep inside. The Quarry was vast, and aside from the managers and the guarding soldiers, he really hadn’t seen many people.

“There is one more matter regarding this trip,” Master Tian paused. “The rewards for slaying the Northern Rong.”

“I have negotiated with Commander Xue. He can raise the bounty per head to be equal to that of Yongning, but there is a condition.” Speaking of this, he felt a bit embarrassed, and his voice softened slightly. “If those who slew the Rong invaders are willing to join the Crouching Tiger garrison, all rewards will be topped up, and the heads can also accumulate military merit.”

He gave the people present time to digest this information.

The Village Elders were stunned.

Village Chief Luo asked hesitantly, “May I ask, Master, what if they don’t go?”

“Then it can only follow the past conventions of Crouching Tiger,” Master Tian consoled them. “Do not feel wronged. It is the same for several border towns. This silver does not go into anyone’s pockets; it is mostly used for constructing border defenses.”

With this explanation, the old men felt much better.

“Since it has always been this way, we have nothing to say. We’ll follow the custom,” Village Chief Luo said.

Master Tian nodded, then turned to Yan Huaiwen. “Besides this bounty money, there is another reward. I originally intended to give silver, but seeing today that Xiao’an Village needs a large amount of lime and gypsum to build walls and watchtowers, you have another choice. You may take goods instead of cash. I can issue these two materials as the reward.”

“We are willing to exchange the reward silver for lime and gypsum,” Yan Huaiwen replied without the slightest hesitation.

The shops did sell small amounts, but never in large quantities. The amount Xiao’an Village needed was not small. If they used cold, hard silver to buy it, the government reward might not even be enough.

This was clearly an act of Master Tian subsidizing Xiao’an Village.

Yan Huaiwen understood this in his heart. Sending people to work was fine, but giving away government goods was usually not.

The Crouching Tiger government office could not set such a precedent; otherwise, all the surrounding villages and towns would demand the same, and the office wouldn’t be able to afford it.

As a superior, regardless of one’s private feelings, one had to at least appear to hold the scales even¹ on the surface, ensuring no partiality was perceived.

Master Tian nodded and said, “Registrar Liang, I shall trouble you with the matter of the Autumn Grain Storage. This year the harvest began early, so there is ample time. Our Crouching Tiger is close to Yongning, so there is no need for haste. Just follow the usual procedures and take it step by step.”

Liang Manshan said solemnly, “Yes, Excellency.”

There was no rush to send the grain to Yongning after it was stored, but precisely because there was plenty of time, there was no room for error.

If time were tight and the task heavy, one could blame mistakes on the rush. This year, with the early harvest and sufficient time, any errors would be hard to explain.

Moreover, both Master Tian and Brother Huaiwen were going to Gufeng.

He, the Household Registrar, had essentially become the person in charge of grain taxes. The pressure was immense.

Master Tian gave the Village Elders a few more words of encouragement before returning to Crouching Tiger.

Yan Huaiwen and Liang Manshan drove the carriage to see him off.

The sheds near the large rocks were slowly packed away as families began to close their stalls and head home.

The Yan family was an exception.

Yan Lao’er was busy arranging Master Tian’s meal in the courtyard, while Granny Rong attended to the shed outside.

The other dishes were gone, but the Yan family had ordered quite a lot of tofu. Aside from a few pieces cut for families in the village who wanted a taste, the rest was originally intended to be made into dried tofu so it would keep for a few more days.

But the aroma of the tofu after being fried in oil was simply too fragrant, especially after Granny Rong brushed it with seasonings and handed it to Li Xuemei.

Li Xuemei hadn’t eaten much for dinner. Master Tian had eaten heartily, but her appetite was average. Aside from the sauerkraut, glass noodles, and vegetables with dipping sauce, she hadn’t eaten much else.

Fried tofu originally suited her palate, but she hadn’t expected Master Tian to love it too, so she had felt too embarrassed to reach for it frequently.

Seeing the Yan family’s Second Aunt holding a skewer of tofu and eating it with such relish, bite by small bite…

Wu Tie couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Li Xuemei saw his greedy look and couldn’t help but laugh, stuffing a skewer of fried tofu into his hand.

This child Wu Tie, aside from being able to cry and wail, had incredibly rich facial expressions when eating.

He used his little face to vividly illustrate the meaning of “delicious, delicious, truly delicious.”

Consequently, more greedy boys refused to leave, staring at the Yan family’s Second Aunt with longing eyes.

Li Xuemei: …

She had no choice but to give each of them a skewer.

Yan Yu originally thought she was full, but the moment she saw the tofu skewers, she patted her little belly and decided she could still eat.

Like the other children around her, she waited patiently for four skewers. She ran to give one each to her Big Brother and Big Sis Daya, then took the remaining two to share with her father.

“Dad, it’s lucky you didn’t go to see off the Master. The Master loves testing people. If you had gone, he would have had nothing to do on the way back and might have thought about checking your level. How miserable would that be?”

Yan Lao’er sighed. “I hope Master Tian felt my enthusiasm and will be lenient in the future!”

Yan Yu was overcome with joy. “Dad, the Master definitely felt it. Didn’t you see Uncle looking at you several times? He definitely felt it deeply too!”

Yan Lao’er nodded seriously. “Your Uncle must think I did a good job. The Master came from afar as a guest, sent us people to work, and found ways to give us things. No amount of enthusiasm is too much.”

“You handled the degree very well today, Dad. You were friendly but not fawning,” Yan Yu praised.

Yan Lao’er gave her an approving look. “My daughter is also quite good. I heard you stood up for your Big Brother today. That’s how it should be. You’re still small, so it’s fine for you to scramble and tumble, but your Big Brother is already in his teens. For a child that age, face is more important than anything.”

As soon as Li Xuemei walked over, she heard the father and daughter duo flattering each other.

She gave a light cough and asked, “Do we need to make any preparations for tonight?”

Translator’s Notes