Chapter 85: Respectable Guests

“Yan Xiao’er, why don’t you call your Brother Er Tie to go?” Er Tie deliberately put on a stern face to tease her.

Yan Yu’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Brother Er Tie should go too! Let’s go see what the villages in the mountains are like!”

Hearing that, Er Tie grew curious and asked, “Me too? Would that be okay?”

“Why not? But we need to bring some tools with us.” Yan Yu spoke seriously. “We managed to subdue them during the day, but if they still don’t comply, we should be prepared just in case.”

“Bringing crossbows when we’re visiting someone’s village…” San Tie felt it was inappropriate.

Yan Yu gave him a look as if he was being slow. “Brother San Tie, can’t you hide it?

Father said that these mountain folks don’t have household registrations and usually can’t even visit the town. If they want to trade for salt, cloth, pots, or basins, they have to go through bold traveling merchants or other villagers. Even when they hunt wild animals, they sell them for a pittance.

They grow their own grain in the mountains and don’t have to pay taxes. There’s water in the mountains too, so we might be able to trade for some. Father and the uncles will definitely bring things to exchange.

But they have their things, and we have ours—it won’t affect them. We’ll just hide the crossbows inside, and no one will see them.”

Going into a mountain village unarmed? Impossible.

One must always be cautious.

Their village held the advantage and could still remain honest and kind. But if the situation were reversed, where they were weak and the other side strong… she wouldn’t dare gamble on whether the other party would still be friendly.

San Tie was beginning to see Yan Xiao’er in a new light. He was at a key moment of reshaping his impression of her.

Rather than treating her like the naive village children, he now spoke to her like a reasonable, half-grown peer.

“What is Uncle Yan planning to bring? Should we take the same things as them or something different?”

Yan Yu replied, “Let’s not worry about my father for now. Let’s think about what people in the mountains might lack and want, and we’ll prepare our own things.”

This approach excited Er Tie and San Tie.

Boys around ten years old in the village were already taking on heavy farm work, and they had a straightforward concept of contributing to their households. Yet, they rarely got the recognition or trust they hoped for when it came to making decisions.

Yan Xiao’er’s suggestion resonated with them, and they responded eagerly.

“What can they have in the mountains? Wild game, the grains they grow, wild vegetables, herbs…” San Tie thought carefully and said, “It should be just these.”

“Then they must lack a lot!” Er Tie started thinking too. “Cooking oil, salt, and seasonings, clothing, pots and bowls, farm tools…”

Yan Yu let them list things for a while before adding, “We can gather wild vegetables ourselves, and we can hunt wild game too—we don’t need theirs. So the only things useful to us are their grains and herbs.

But scattered herbs aren’t much use. Since they live in the mountains year-round, they must know how to mix them to repel snakes and insects. If we trade, let’s focus on those two things.”

Er Tie and San Tie nodded repeatedly.

She had thought it through carefully—what the mountain people lacked the most was ironware.

Whether farm tools or iron pots, they must be rare in the mountains.

“We should bring iron pots and clothing—for both adults and children. Also, hair ties for the girls, sewing needles and thread for the women, and unscented soap.”

With a clear goal, they each set out to gather items.

Uncle Yan’s reputation was solid. When the village women heard they were going to visit the mountain village, they willingly contributed items.

However, contrary to Yan Yu’s expectations, thread—especially sewing thread—was scarce in every household. There weren’t many repairs needed on the way, but since everyone liked the backpacks Li Xuemei made, they had followed suit and made some as well. The thread was used up continuously, and some thrifty wives even unraveled old clothes to reuse the thread…

Yan Yu had her own small backpack, made of coarse cloth, very sturdy. Inside, she packed soap, a small bag of salt, hair ties, a few small square cloths, and some large square cloths.

Er Tie carried a bamboo basket containing an iron pot, backpacks, and mostly children’s clothes—many of the adult clothes had been taken by Uncle Yan.

San Tie carried a large bundle similar in style to Yan Yu’s, filled with handcrafted items from the village women—tiny shoes, socks, insoles, delicate little straw sandals with flowers, small straw hats, baby carriers, and several pieces of wrapping cloth.

Their bamboo crossbows and Yan Yu’s small crossbow were at the very bottom of Er Tie’s basket.

Uncle Yan, Qi Si, Qi Wu, and Hu Da also carried supplies.

Father and daughter had tacitly divided their “market.”

One focused on adults, the other on women and children.

The villagers who came to receive them were stunned for a long time before reacting.

Enthusiastically, one of them said, “Brother Yan Er, our village isn’t far—it’s halfway up the mountain. The paths are well-trodden, easy to walk.”

“Alright!” Uncle Yan responded with a smile. “We brought some flour ground from our own wheat—hope you don’t mind. It’s coarse, but you can taste what the harvest from Qishan Prefecture is like.”

Mind? How could they mind?

In these times, bringing your own rations when visiting was the ultimate courtesy.

The mountain villager receiving them was a perceptive one. He quickly turned to his companion and said, “Go tell Uncle An that our guests have arrived.” He gave the man a significant look, making sure he understood.

Fortunately, the companion caught on and quickly ran off.

Life in the mountains was tough, and they had already prepared a lavish feast for their guests. But they hadn’t expected Brother Yan Er to be so respectable, even bringing food with him. Compared to that, their preparations suddenly seemed lacking.

They had to send word back to add more to the meal.

Meanwhile, Maomao trotted beside Yan Yu, occasionally climbing trees or leaping ahead, until it suddenly jumped onto Uncle Yan’s shoulder.

Uncle Yan remained unfazed, steady as a rock.

He only hoped Maomao wouldn’t jump onto his head or face—after all, his hair was neatly combed, and his face… well, his face was finally presentable now.

Maomao… Maomao agreed readily. From then on, Uncle Yan’s shoulder became its permanent perch.

After so many days, he was used to it.

It was certainly better than having it claw its way up from below. His thin clothing had already suffered from Maomao’s abuse. If he suddenly heard a loud “rip” in an unfortunate spot…

How would he ever face people again?

Noticing the villager staring at Maomao, Uncle Yan explained with a smile, “I rescued this cat by chance. It recovered from its injuries but wouldn’t leave, so I ended up keeping it.”

“These wild creatures are spiritual,” the villager said. “They always recognize kindhearted people.”

Mountain folk believed in such things.

A wild animal with spiritual awareness choosing its master? That person must have great fortune.

When they finally arrived at the so-called village, they were greeted with an enthusiastic welcome.

In the clearing, several wooden houses stood, and some people lived even higher up.

Mountain villages rarely had guests, so all the villagers, young and old, had come to see the excitement.

A large pot was stewing chicken, rabbits roasted over a fire, and sorghum rice was cooking.

Not a single vegetable dish.

This was their village’s highest standard of hospitality.