Chapter 342: Hair Standing on End

Yan Lao’er had even more assignments now.

While the others were writing essays, composing poetry, or memorizing legal case studies…

He was copying books nonstop, one after another.

Magistrate Tian had perfectly gauged the speed at which he could copy, wringing every last minute out of his schedule.

During the midday break, Yan Lao’er gritted his teeth and went home to cook, still making lunch and delivering it as usual. But the magistrate didn’t see him. Instead, a servant handed him a piece of paper—on it was a note: twenty pages of large characters.

It was killing him!

He was struggling to keep up, copying diligently from the calligraphy model sheet his elder brother had written for him. Just then, his Eldest Nephew called out quietly, “Uncle, Uncle, Xiao Er’s here!”

Dazed and bleary-eyed, he looked up to see a small head peeking out from the doorway.

When those bright black eyes met his, a burst of joy lit up in them.

Seeing there was no teacher in the schoolroom, the little girl called out sweetly, “Daddy!”

“Hey!” Yan Lao’er dropped his brush and flew over like a gust of wind.

“Xiao Er! You finally came to see Daddy!”

He took his daughter’s tiny hand and led her inside, back to his spot.

Only then did it occur to him to ask, “How did you get in here?”

“Hee hee!” Yan Yu pressed a finger to her lips and whispered, “I brought some of our sugar-roasted chestnuts for Big Brother Gatekeeper!”

The chestnuts had been picked during a herb-gathering trip in the mountains. The villagers had collected a good bunch, and when they sent produce recently, they’d mixed in some walnuts, hazelnuts, and wild fruits. It wasn’t a huge amount, but pooled together from each household, it was quite a haul.

She thought it’d be a shame to come all this way for nothing. She might as well bring something for her dad, and maybe buy a few things in Crouching Tiger City before heading back.

They were low on sugar at home, and needed to stock up on salt too.

Making pickled vegetables used up quite a bit.

Granny Rong had also asked her to buy some ginger and garlic.

They went through those quickly, and the bit of wild ginger and garlic they scrounged from the mountains wasn’t nearly enough.

Yan Lao’er introduced his daughter to the classmates who had been sneaking glances at her.

“This is my Xiao Er. Come now, greet your uncles.”

Yan Yu politely greeted each of them, earning herself a flurry of welcome gifts.

None of them had been prepared beforehand, so they simply gave whatever they had on hand.

One handed her a new brush, another gave her an unused inkstick still fresh from the store. Those who had nothing suitable simply gave her some Silver Shards or copper coins.

Yan Yu accepted them all properly, bowing and offering her thanks one by one.

She was met with nothing but praise.

Only then did she shyly pull out the sugar-roasted chestnuts from her satchel.

Tears of joy welled up in Yan Lao’er’s eyes.

Others might not know, but he certainly did.

His daughter could be stingy. Clearly, she hadn’t intended to share at first, wanting to keep them for herself and Eldest Nephew. But once everyone had presented her with gifts, her conscience must’ve kicked in, and she’d reluctantly brought them out for him to pass around.

Yan Lao’er unwrapped the cloth bundle. Though they weren’t piping hot anymore, these were fresh chestnuts from the latest harvest, generously sweetened with sugar. They were tender and chewy, impossible to stop after eating just one.

His classmates were full of praise, and he felt a swell of pride.

To be honest, compliments from scholarly types really hit differently, brimming with variety and elegance.

He glanced at the sky. There was still a bit of time before class ended.

He decided to leave early again.

After all, it didn’t matter where he did his assignments.

Seeing her dad packing up, Yan Yu jumped in to help.

But when she caught sight of the pile of homework, she couldn’t help but gape.

That much?!

Her dad was really working hard!

When the two of them got back home, Yan Yu had her dad sit up straight. She stared at him grinning foolishly, giggling nonstop.

“Just spit it out,” Yan Lao’er finally said, unable to hold back.

“Dad! I have something to tell you, but don’t get too excited.”

Yan Yu cleared her throat, then said slowly, “Granny Rong can see whether the baby in Mom’s belly is a boy or a girl.”

“Mom doesn’t want to know yet, but I couldn’t wait, so I asked!”

Yan Lao’er’s eyes and mouth flew open at the same time.

“It’s a girl! Another sweet little bundle of joy! Dad, are you happy or what?!”

As Yan Yu spoke, her excitement bubbled over, and she kept chattering, “A little sister! So cute and soft, with pink cheeks and tiny little hands and feet, hahaha! As soon as I found out, I ran over to tell you. Aren’t you over the moon, Dad?!”

Yan Lao’er was definitely overjoyed. Once he recovered from the shock, his eyes were brimming with tears.

“Girls are wonderful, just wonderful! She’s your little sister, your little sister! She’s…” He was so happy he couldn’t stop repeating himself, then suddenly realized he’d said too much. He gave his eyes a quick wipe with his sleeve and beamed. “I just adore girls. Stinky boys are all raised for their in-laws’ families. Girls are your own, sweet and loving and smart and so easy to spoil…”

Yan Lao’er found himself running out of words and summed it all up, “She’s perfect from head to toe. Oh, my dear girl! I have to go see your mom.”

Yan Yu nodded enthusiastically. “Go ahead, but don’t let it slip. Who knows why Mom doesn’t want to ask yet. We’ll just look around Crouching Tiger while we’re here and see if there’s anything useful. Buy it all now and take it back.”

Yan Lao’er blinked, then quickly said, “Right, right. Your sister’s due in the winter, and there’s a lot we’ll need. Let’s head out now. Go wait for me at the gates while I tell the old master.”

His mind was already racing. He thought, Forget the copywork. I’ll just make it up later. Nothing matters right now more than my girl.

Yan Yu knew her dad wasn’t like other men. In her family, favoritism toward sons didn’t exist. Gender equality wasn’t just lip service. Daughters were the true treasures.

Her dad was, through and through, a daughter fanatic.

…

Yan Lao’er and Yan Yu happily dashed around Crouching Tiger City on a shopping spree.

A coop of hens, three of them. No haggling. Bought.

A rattle drum from a street vendor. Looked fun. Bought.

Those bright and colorful baby blankets – sure, they already had some at home, but still. Bought.

Brown sugar and white sugar. Bought.

Some fancy, overpriced pastries with lovely packaging. Bought.

Candied hawthorns… his big girl was craving them. Bought.

Then Yan Lao’er dragged his daughter to a fabric shop. They bought cotton, then he insisted they get a roll of white Songjiang cloth^[1]. Said the stuff back home was too dark, this was better – shiny white and soft to the touch.

Fine. Bought!

Yan Yu watched wide-eyed as her dad’s money pouch steadily shrank.

And when they finally came across garlic and ginger, Yan Lao’er waved a generous hand and bought out the whole stall…

He said the first one was for disinfecting, the second for warming the body. Both were great stuff, absolutely had to be brought home!

Yan Yu: …

She definitely didn’t dare let her father keep strolling around.

The father and daughter had pretty much wandered through all of Crouching Tiger City, and by now, the sun had set.

It seemed that Yan Lao’er had finally come down from his earlier excitement. All of a sudden, he remembered that while he had made arrangements with the chief official to return home, he had completely forgotten to tell his Eldest Nephew.

He smacked his forehead and the two of them headed back to the Government Office.

Yan Yu waited at the entrance while Yan Lao’er went in to speak.

Sweet-talking and cheerful, bright and confident, Yan Yu had a charm that made everyone take a liking to her.

The gatekeeper chatted with her warmly, a smile on his face.

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang…”

A string of urgent gong beats drew near from the distance.

Along with the frantic gong sounds came a man’s shrill, off-key shout.

“The Northern Rong are coming!”

“The Northern Rong are attacking!”

“The Northern Rong are coming!”

The gatekeeper’s face changed instantly. He quickly moved aside the lower threshold of the gate.

“Quick, get in, hurry!”

Author Note:

Today we’re finally revealing the mystery. This author doesn’t like raising boys, only daughters. So no matter how many are born, they’ll all be girls. Don’t expect anything other than daughters~ heehee~

That’s right, those damned Northern Rong are attacking again~

These next few chapters have to be written consecutively or the rhythm will fall apart~

Retreating now to write~)

(End of this chapter)