Chapter 122: Every Celebration Must Have Meat

“When is your birthday?” Yan Yu asked.

Liang Fengnian replied, “I was born in the twelfth lunar month.”

Most children born in the same year were older than him; he had yet to meet someone younger.

Yan Yu said, “Then I’m older than you. I was born in the tenth month.”

“Fengnian, I’ll just have a quick word with them. Wait for me here, and then I’ll take you to see the excitement.”

Liang Fengnian obediently nodded and stood quietly to the side.

Then, he watched as Yan family’s second child spoke with great authority.

“I know you all want to know the value of the things I mentioned before. I’ll read them out now: charcoal—2 work points, meat—15, dried meat—45, small square cloth—3, large square cloth—12, bundle cloth—27, scented soap and seasonings—100 each, and copybooks…” She deliberately stretched her voice, watching for reactions.

The children stared intently, holding their breath, as if particularly concerned.

“Only 5 work points.”

The crowd erupted.

“5 work points? I have enough! Haha, I can trade for it!”

“That cheap?!”

Yan Yu quieted them down and said, “Copybooks are very cheap. My uncle set the price. He said that if you can recognize all the characters on a copybook and even write them, you can exchange it for a new one with just 1 work point. If you recognize ten copybooks, there will be an additional reward.”

“What will the scholar give as a reward?”

“Ten copybooks? That sounds hard!”

“It’s not hard,” Yan Yu said, unfolding a piece of paper. “It’s just a single page with only twenty large characters. I wrote them myself. If I can learn, so can you.”

“So, we’re getting a copybook written by Yan Yu?”

“That’s right, it’s my daily handwriting practice,” Yan Yu said proudly. “My uncle even praised my writing. It’s good enough for you to learn from.”

“Alright, I’m done talking. If you want to trade, come find me tomorrow. Oh, and work points can be pooled together or exchanged, but you must come to me in person to inform me. That’s all, go think about it.”

Yan Yu then shouted with full energy, “Young Scouts, dismissed!”

But the children didn’t immediately leave. Instead, they gathered in groups, excitedly discussing.

Yan Yu took Liang Fengnian and ran to her father.

Luckily, they hadn’t started yet.

Liang Fengnian asked quietly, “What’s happening?”

“They’re distributing the money from the mountain bandits,” Yan Yu explained.

Liang Fengnian was stunned.

“Why are they splitting again? Didn’t they finish last time?”

The previous money distribution had been a big event, and they had all heard about it afterward.

“This time it’s another group of mountain bandits. They were killed, so we have to split again. It’s not just money this time—there are also mules. Not sure if they’ll be distributed, though.”

Yan Lao’er cleared his throat and said, “We’ve finished discussing how the money will be divided among the families. Before we distribute the silver, let’s talk about the other goods.”

“This time, besides food, there are also mules. There’s not much food, so each family won’t get much, but it’s better than nothing.

“As for the mules, they’re difficult to divide. Giving them to some families but not others wouldn’t be fair. I suggest we do it the same way as before—put them under the village’s collective account so they belong to everyone.”

“And just like the silver, we’ll split them equally with Uncle An’s village. If no one objects, we’ll proceed this way.”

“No objections, of course not! Yan Yu, hurry up and distribute the money! Our wives are waiting at home to count it!”

“Haha! Yes, hurry up and distribute it!”

The villagers urged him eagerly.

Uncle An’s village was also delighted—they were getting their own mules this time, not just borrowing them.

“Alright then, let’s begin.” Yan Lao’er didn’t waste words. Seeing his daughter was ready, he waved her over.

Yan Yu excitedly told Liang Fengnian, “Fengnian, my dad is calling me over. Oh, I forgot to ask—do you know how to count money?”

Liang Fengnian shook his head dejectedly. “I’ve never counted before.”

Yan Yu reassured him, “No worries. I’ll teach you later. It’s super easy.”

“Come on, let’s go distribute money!”

Her eyebrows nearly flew off from how much she was grinning.

Liang Fengnian followed closely. Even if he was just watching from the side and doing nothing, he still found it incredibly interesting.

The villagers weren’t surprised to see Yan Yu at work. That little one was a whiz at counting and handling accounts.

“Father, how much does each family get?” Yan Yu quickly asked.

Yan Lao’er was busy overseeing the weighing of silver. Before he could respond, Liang Manshan, who usually stayed unnoticed, answered first.

“Eleven taels, five maces, and ten wen.”

Yan Yu glanced at the piles of silver and copper coins.

“Fengnian, time to work!” She rushed forward, diving into the pile of copper coins.

This was her domain. She had arrived! Hahaha!

Liang Fengnian barely hesitated before following her lead, helping to sort the copper coins.

Yan Lao’er stacked the copper coins into piles of a hundred, while Yan Yu divided them further into stacks of ten.

The recently dismissed Young Scouts soon returned. Seeing Yan Yu busy in the pile of coins, they didn’t dare disturb her. Instead, they ran to their families to report on the work points exchange.

Once the adults heard, they immediately understood.

The Yan family was clearly helping the kids out.

The small chores they did weren’t worth much, but the items they could trade for with work points were incredibly cheap.

Take the meat, for example—15 work points for a pound? Practically free.

And the copybooks the adults had been eyeing? Only 5 work points—probably not even covering the cost of the paper.

Yan Lao’er handed out silver, while Yan Yu distributed the copper coins.

Every family that received their share was so happy they could jump for joy.

The children, less restrained than the adults, cheered loudly.

Liang Manshan felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint it immediately.

It wasn’t until most of the money had been handed out that he realized—each family got eleven taels, five maces from Uncle Huai’an, and ten wen from Yan Yu.

By the end, there would inevitably be more copper coins than silver left.

The official exchange rate was one tael of silver for one thousand copper coins.

But in practice, one tael could often be exchanged for a little extra.

And the final recipient of the remaining money?

The Yan family.

Unexpected, yet… entirely expected.

Once the money was distributed, the food was portioned out, and the mules were allocated, Yan Lao’er raised his arm and shouted, “Villagers!”

Everyone looked at him. What now?

“Today is a joyous occasion, worth celebrating!

“My family’s meat stall has three wild boars today—one male, two females. No offal, just good meat. Not much in stock, so if you want some, act fast!”

Everyone was stunned.

“Freshly butchered wild boar, tender and delicious. You can choose lean or fatty cuts. Eat it fresh or dry it for later—your choice. Miss today, and who knows when the next chance will be?”

“Ro San, move! Get ready! Qi Si, Qi Wu, fetch the charcoal, stove, and iron pot from my house. Qi Da, light more torches to brighten things up!”

“Hurry up, or there’ll be nothing left!”

The villagers looked at each other, all having the same thought:

We better buy some… or there won’t be any left!