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Chapter 322: Master of Time Management¹

Yan Huaiwen effortlessly taught three students at once.

Yan Yu was in awe of her uncle’s ability to multitask.

He could check her elder brother’s homework while listening to Big Sis Daya recite her lessons, all while continuing to lecture her…

All three of them were at completely different stages, yet her uncle not only kept perfect track of everything, but it didn’t even interfere with his writing.

While writing, he practiced his calligraphy and simultaneously sorted the paper made at home.

He was truly a master-level time manager.

He was particularly supportive of the Young Scouts’ training.

He set designated times for the three children at home to go out for activities.

Yan Xiangheng and Yan Yu were to complete the full set of Young Scouts training, while Daya only needed to follow along for half the distance by walking.

After lunch, they had a two-hour break for a nap.

The afternoons were for practical lessons.

Yan Huaiwen took them to wash paper. The principle was the same as putting waste paper in a bag, tying it up, and throwing it in the river to be washed day and night by the current—the goal was to wash away the ink marks.

Washing the paper manually was much faster, greatly reducing the time required.

After that, they made paper by dipping the frames and forming sheets.

Once the paper was made, he taught them how to judge the quality of paper.

He taught them how to write letters—what format, address, and honorifics to use for different recipients…

How to write various notes and invitations, including visiting cards, reply cards, invitation cards, and those for weddings and funerals…

Account books shouldn’t just be simple ledgers; they should have a general summary at the front and categorized sections at the back.

He also taught them how to sew book covers and how to repair damaged pages.

How to make elegant yet inexpensive bookmarks…

He had them take all the books from the house outside to air them in the sun.

What truly amazed Yan Yu was that her uncle, in such a packed schedule, even managed to squeeze in two art classes for them.

One taught meticulous brushwork² for painting flowers, the other taught splashed-ink landscape³ painting…

Big Sis Daya studied the meticulous flower painting very seriously. Yan Yu strongly suspected her motives weren’t pure—she was probably doing it to draw prettier embroidery patterns for herself in the future.

The splashed-ink landscape depicted the river scenery near the village. Her uncle praised her, saying she was slightly better than her elder brother.

Yan Yu figured it probably had something to do with her daring to “splash” the ink. Her approach was quite bold and unrestrained, which at least touched upon the concept of artistic conception.

After the daily lessons ended,

Yan Yu and her elder brother still had to go “move bricks.”

That meant collecting the finished products and using their family’s ox cart to transport the cement bricks to designated locations.

She and her father were still in the planning stage, taking things step by step.

But once her uncle returned, everything seemed to have been put on fast-forward.

According to Yan Huaiwen’s idea, instead of building the five planned Arrow Towers in the village one by one, it was better to start them all simultaneously. One group would dig the foundations, another would erect the wooden frames, a third would specialize in laying the bricks, and he selected some clever ones to hang around Master Lu and the others every day… to secretly learn their skills.

After two or three days, the progress on the project was completely different.

With the children ensuring the production of cement bricks and the women ensuring the supply of three meals a day, the able-bodied men buried themselves in hard work, repeating tasks that weren’t technically difficult.

The Arrow Tower in the center of the village rose from the ground, and the other four towers quickly followed, taking shape more and more.

Yan Yu was utterly numb.

Her uncle truly had the art of making everything seem effortless and under control down to a science.

He looked calm, relaxed, and completely at ease, but in reality, he ran everyone doing the work and errands ragged!

Right now, she just hoped her uncle would hurry back to his official duties. Really, with her uncle at home, it was terrifying!

What was Yan Lao’er doing?

Yan Lao’er was avoiding his elder brother.

He left before dawn every day and returned late under the stars and moon.

He didn’t go anywhere else; he just stayed at Granny Rong’s house.

He closed the door and did nothing but read and memorize texts.

Granny Rong either brought him meals or left him some food that would keep for the day.

Li Xuemei occasionally came to check on him too. For no other reason than to help him mark the characters he didn’t know with pinyin⁴ and explain the sentences he couldn’t understand.

No one was better at last-minute cramming than him.

After lunch, Yan Lao’er felt a bit sleepy. Pacing around the room a few times didn’t help, so he fetched water and washed his face.

He had just perked up a little when he heard someone pushing open the courtyard gate.

He hurriedly scrambled back into the house.

What their relationship with Granny Rong was, their own family knew, but outsiders didn’t! If someone saw him here, it would be hard to explain.

He couldn’t very well say he was hiding here because he was afraid of seeing his brother.

The visitor was Li Xuemei.

She was completely open about it, even smiling and greeting people she met along the way.

She carefully closed the courtyard gate.

The donkey in the yard started braying loudly.

Its eyes fixed on her, and it paced back and forth restlessly within the range of its rope.

Li Xuemei: …

Yan Lao’er, seeing it was her from inside, whispered to the donkey through the window, “Stop yelling, hey, she’s one of us.”

Once she entered the room, Li Xuemei said, “This donkey is quite dutiful as a guard. It makes a fuss every time I come, treating me like a thief.”

Yan Lao’er couldn’t help but laugh. “You know, this donkey is quite stubborn. You’ve been here several times; it must recognize you. But it still makes a racket every time it sees you. Still, that’s not bad, makes it seem like a real donkey. It’ll be fine once our daughter comes and tells it. What’s our treasure doing? Still being dragged to lessons by her uncle?”

“They just finished their midday rest. They went to the forest plot. Said her uncle plans to rework their training ground.” Li Xuemei said while looking over his notes. “I heard that in the future, not just the children, but adults will also train. The current training ground is on our family’s land, which isn’t suitable. Her uncle said they should move it to the side a bit. That area happens to be wasteland, so it won’t bother anyone.”

“Adults will train too? Train what? Like those kids?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Li Xuemei circled several incorrect parts and corrected them one by one.

“Mainly to practice archery accuracy. It seems her uncle is really determined to pick up the crossbow project again.”

Yan Lao’er pondered for a moment. “So, should I make a trip to Linhai Prefecture to buy the bamboo?”

“What’s the rush?” Li Xuemei put down her brush. “Right now, dealing with your school enrollment is the important thing. From what her uncle said, Magistrate Tian might not stay in Gufeng for too long. If he returns to Crouching Tiger, won’t you and Heng’er have to go to school? Catching up on your studies is what’s proper. Also, didn’t you say you wanted to go with Tongsheng Liang to the villages to collect grain?”

“Ah! These days, it always feels like there’s not enough time.

Mei, look, how am I doing with my studies now? Do you think I can manage?” Yan Lao’er asked with eager eyes.

Li Xuemei found it amusing. “It’s only been a few days for you. Hurry up and memorize it.”

“Counting the days, Eldest Brother should be leaving tomorrow, right? I wonder if he’s packed his things?” Yan Lao’er was still thinking about Old Yan.

“Daya is capable. I’ve seen all the things she prepared for her father, they’re very well done,” Li Xuemei said. “Tomorrow, you won’t have to hide anymore. Go see Eldest Brother off.”

Yan Lao’er thought for a moment, then simply put down his book.

“Why wait until tomorrow? Eldest Brother leaves tomorrow, I’ll go over right now, see if he has any last instructions.

It’s just half a day, I can definitely muddle through.”

The couple left Granny Rong’s house one after the other.

Yan Lao’er took seven or eight turns before catching up to Li Xuemei.

As they were walking home, they noticed a commotion around the big rock, with several layers of people gathered.

It looked like they were watching some spectacle. …

Old Yan: I wish to impart all my knowledge~

Yan Yu: Uncle, off you go~

(End of Chapter)

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Master of Time Management: A modern Chinese internet slang term (时间管理大师). While it sounds like a professional title, it originally gained notoriety as a meme referring to someone juggling multiple romantic relationships, but is used here literally and humorously to describe Yan Huaiwen’s extreme productivity. ↩
2. meticulous brushwork: Refers to ‘Gongbi’ (工笔), a traditional Chinese painting technique characterized by highly detailed, precise brushstrokes and vibrant colors, often contrasted with the freer ‘ink wash’ style. ↩
3. splashed-ink landscape: Refers to ‘Pomo’ (泼墨), a style of Chinese landscape painting where ink is washed or ‘splashed’ onto the paper to create bold, expressive forms, emphasizing spirit and atmosphere over fine detail. ↩
4. pinyin: The official system for romanizing Chinese characters based on their pronunciation. In this historical context, its use by the characters signals their status as ‘transmigrators’ from modern-day China. ↩