Chapter 12: Bringing Eldest Nephew Home

Yan Lao’er waited with the donkey in the shade of a tree outside the academy gates.

He was still a bit dazed.

The twenty taels of gambling debt that had weighed down their family was finally paid off.

Their family land was all sold.

His brother had brought the land deed with him and handed it over on the spot.

The pompous head shopkeeper was stunned when he saw his brother pull it out from his bosom, counting the silver over and over again.

The illiterate fool! Five taels per small silver ingot, ten in total—what was there to count? Did he want a kickback or something?

Yan Lao’er couldn’t stand it anymore. He walked over, disregarded everything, and simply grabbed it.

Hand it over!

Old Yan seemed to glare at him then, but he didn’t care. Heh heh! It was their turn to count the silver.

Oh, so that’s what five taels felt like. And honestly, those small silver ingots looked quite cute when put together.

Dutifully, he handed all the silver back to his elder brother. The two brothers emerged from the pawnshop and headed straight for the academy.

Yan Lao’er made an excuse to watch the cart and didn’t go inside.

Are you kidding? This might be a place he frequented.

If he ran into someone he knew and they greeted him, he’d draw a complete blank, unable to recognize anyone. How impolite that would be.

Furthermore, he’d also noticed something about Old Yan—how should he put it—he didn’t lead the way when walking.

He always made Yan Lao’er walk in front while he himself ambled along behind.

He wanted to help support him, but Old Yan wouldn’t allow it. He was overly particular when out, insisting on walking by himself.

What was he being so particular about? He’d just recovered from a serious illness; what was wrong with being supported? At home, he wasn’t so distant. Weren’t they close brothers at home?

This was great. He himself was completely clueless, afraid of making any missteps.

Fine, let Old Yan do as he pleased.

He had to quickly retrace the places they’d passed, so he could go home and learn from his daughter.

…

Yan Huaiwen subtly brought up his concerns about the drought to the Dean, mentioning that some well-informed wealthy families were already preparing to leave. He also stated that he had recently received a letter from a former classmate who wished to connect him with a clan elder brother about to take office, hoping to hire him as a consultant.

Hearing this, the Dean no longer tried to keep him, and even had someone prepare a farewell gift for him.

After asking about some local happenings, he saw him out.

Yan Huaiwen stood fixedly outside the window, listening to the clear sounds of reading drifting out. Through the carved window lattice, he could see his son, standing as straight as a pine, silently reciting classics, completely engrossed.

Scholar Guo, who was teaching, saw him and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

He returned the bow and quietly waited for class to end.

It was lunchtime break. As soon as the boys saw their teacher off, they rushed out of the classroom all at once.

As they passed him, they bowed one after another.

“Master Yan!” “Mr. Yan!”

He smiled and nodded, saying gently, “Go quickly to the dining hall.”

Unable to resist their rumbling stomachs, the boys laughed and surged towards the dining hall.

Yan Xiangheng looked at him unblinkingly. “Father, why is your complexion so poor? Are you tired? Do you need to rest?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry.” He looked at his still-childish son before him, his eyes feeling a bitter ache. He steadied his mind and said, “Something has happened at home. I’ve already requested leave for you. Pack your things; you’ll return home with me today.”

Although Yan Xiangheng really wanted to ask what exactly had happened, that his father would personally come to pick him up…

…he ultimately considered that they were in the academy, where there were many people and loose tongues, so he didn’t say much more.

Yan Lao’er saw his elder brother stroll out, carrying an extra package.

He casually asked, “Brother, is this all you have? Where’s Eldest Nephew?”

Yan Huaiwen paused, placed the package on the cart, and said faintly, “This is the farewell gift from the Dean. Go tidy up my room. I’m a bit tired, so I’ll wait for you here.”

After speaking, he climbed onto the cart by himself, lay down comfortably, and closed his eyes.

Yan Lao’er was still trying to understand what ‘Cheng Yi’ was when he saw Old Yan had arranged a rest for himself.

What else could he say?

Go pack up!

He was grabbing children and asking for directions all the way to the place; the smaller the child, the more he’d pull them along.

When he reached the doorway, he saw a young man who turned back in surprise at the sound. “Second Uncle?”

“Ah! Eldest Nephew!” Yan Lao’er’s eyes lit up. He greeted him enthusiastically, then casually let go of the child who had led the way.

“The students at your academy are just so enthusiastic, insisting on leading the way for me, haha!”

“Eldest Nephew, have you packed your things? Come help your father pack?”

Yan Lao’er very naturally pushed the door open and went inside. He swept a glance around and roughly knew what to expect.

What else could a scholar’s belongings possibly consist of?

Besides books, it was just things related to books.

Brushes, ink, paper, inkstones—all those things were expensive.

Couldn’t leave them behind.

Clothes, shoes, socks, quilts, sleeping mats—everything was packed.

Some small items, not heavy, take them along, take them along.

After tidying up the entire room, Yan Lao’er was very satisfied. He had returned a clean and tidy room to the academy, which wouldn’t delay the next teacher from moving in.

No need to thank me!

He also took a turn around Eldest Nephew’s room and couldn’t help but sigh. Children were children no matter how old they were; it just wouldn’t do without parental supervision. “Isn’t that water basin ours? And those beddings, they need to be taken too!” He tidied it up neatly for him, just like Old Yan’s room. If Eldest Nephew hadn’t blushed and said there were other students’ belongings in there, would he have packed up the entire room, believe it or not?

The two of them emerged with large and small bundles. Yan Huaiwen couldn’t help but cough a few more times, quickly turning his head away.

He couldn’t bear to look!

There was a lot of stuff, piled high, so Yan Huaiwen couldn’t lie down anymore and could only sit.

“Tian You, go to the Grain Store,” Yan Huaiwen said.

At that moment, Yan Lao’er was immensely grateful that he had carefully memorized all the shops along the way.

Yan Huaiwen went to the Grain Store, the oil shop, the bookshop, the general store, the cloth shop, the pharmacy, the woodcraft shop, the blacksmith, the carriage and horse stable…

My goodness, he almost visited every one of the few shops in town.

He led the donkey all the way, following Old Yan, watching him enter one shop after another, just asking questions, not buying.

Yan Xiangheng secretly whispered to Second Uncle to inquire: “Second Uncle, what is Father doing? What does he want to buy? Hasn’t he found it after searching so many shops? What exactly happened to our family? Father’s complexion looks poor; is he sick? Father has never requested leave for me before, and he won’t explain in detail. I feel so uneasy, Second Uncle, what’s going on?”

“Your father is asking for prices,” Yan Lao’er said. “He’s comparing prices at three stores; he’s definitely going to pick the cheapest one to buy.” Yan Lao’er felt that on this matter, he and Old Yan had a lot in common.

How could one just buy whatever they wanted the moment they saw it? Shouldn’t they compare prices and check the quality?

“Is Father… preparing a dowry?” Yan Xiangheng asked hesitantly.

“What dowry? What have you heard?” Yan Lao’er immediately shifted his gaze, staring intently at Eldest Nephew.

“It’s just… a classmate said that our family is forming a marriage alliance with the village head’s family…” Yan Xiangheng stammered.

“No such thing!” Yan Lao’er said very firmly. “Those are all baseless rumors. Your father already refused.”

Yan Xiangheng breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I heard the village head’s youngest son isn’t very good.”

“Not very good”? He was rotten to the core!

Seeing Old Yan emerge again, Yan Lao’er admonished his Eldest Nephew, “Don’t mention these things in front of your father.”

“Tian You, come back later for another trip and pull these things back.” As he spoke, he handed over a stack of papers.

Pick-up slips from various shops…

Yan Lao’er: So it wasn’t that he hadn’t bought anything, but rather that he was making Yan Lao’er pick them up himself.

Old Yan was only responsible for buying, buying, buying; all the carrying was left to Yan Lao’er, of course.

(End of Chapter)