Chapter 208: Second Uncle Set Me Up

Yan Lao’er laughed and said, “Look! Your uncle is doing just fine—nothing wrong at all. It’s just that the Young Master is so diligent, still working late into the night, so your uncle had to work overtime with him.”

Yan Yu tilted her head. The Young Master is working late into the night? And Uncle is pulling overtime?

Yan Lao’er only shared the good news, carefully picking and choosing what he could say.

After the family finished their mushroom soup, warm all over, they began packing their things, getting ready to move back to the village again.

Master Lu had come over with his crew last night as soon as the rain stopped. He carefully checked the mortar between the bricks and stones everywhere.

Luckily, the rain hadn’t been heavy, so the bricks could dry in a few days.

He found Yan Lao’er and discussed hauling the roof tiles back.

“Just a few more days. Once the beams and bricks dry, we can raise the roof and lay the tiles.”

The house was going to have a roof soon—what great news!

“Then let’s go now, while we’ve got time. I might get busy in a few days,” said Yan Lao’er.

Master Lu nodded. They had caught wind of some things.

They’d heard that a plague had broken out in Crouching Tiger City and the city had been sealed. They also knew the master scholar from the family was working there and couldn’t return.

The whole village was stirred. The scale of it made everyone feel the unity of this little community.

It made them want to put in even more effort. If they cut any corners with this house, they might not make it out of the village alive…

Yan Lao’er had no idea Master Lu was thinking all that. He really just had too much going on, and it was all urgent.

When Yan Yu saw him about to head out to get tiles again, she held her forehead and said, “Dad! It’s just hauling tiles. Can’t you let Big Brother go? Or get one of the uncles in the village to help? If it comes to it, I can go too.”

It was just a trip to pay and bring back tiles—how hard could that be? Anyone could go.

She was realizing her dad might really be so busy lately that he wasn’t thinking straight.

Yan Lao’er thought about it—and she was right!

He counted out the money for the tiles and handed the task over to Yan Xiangheng.

And just like that, Yan Xiangheng, carrying the silver, got onto the village mule cart for the first time and confidently took the driver’s seat.

Master Lu, seeing that, sensibly sat in the back.

He even suggested, “Little Yan, the tile workshop isn’t far from our village. Could we swing by my place first? Ever since I heard about what happened in Crouching Tiger City, I’ve been uneasy. I’d like to send a message home.”

Yan Xiangheng readily agreed.

Then Master Lu witnessed something he would never forget in his life.

“Let’s go, mule!”

Nothing happened. Xiangheng was surprised.

He raised his voice a bit. “Get going, mule!”

The mule didn’t even look at him. It flicked its tail and plop—left a little pile behind…

Mule: Uh… maybe I’ve been eating a bit too light lately.

Xiangheng was stunned on the spot!

His family’s treasured mule had never behaved this casually before!

Wang Erlang, standing off to the side, chuckled and scooped up the pile.

That’s good stuff—dry it out and sprinkle it in the fields, the veggies will grow great.

Xiangheng felt he couldn’t stay a second longer—he had to leave now.

He flicked the reins and shouted, “Let’s go!”

The mule still didn’t move.

Everyone present: …

There’s nothing worse than a sudden silence on the scene.

Xiangheng’s face turned red. He tried tugging the reins.

He was anxious and didn’t judge his strength well—he pulled a bit too hard.

If it were Sanbao pulling the cart, no matter how much force he used, it’d feel like a tickle.

But this mule didn’t have that kind of temperament.

It was like poking a hornet’s nest. The mule kicked up its hind legs, ready to lash out.

Fortunately, the cart frame got in the way.

Another lesson for Yan Xiangheng.

Turns out livestock can kick!

Master Lu could see it now—this little Yan clearly didn’t know what he was doing.

He cleared his throat and said, “Young man, I just remembered—our village is pretty hard to find. How about I drive the cart? You can remember the route, and next time, you’ll get there for sure.”

Xiangheng was too embarrassed to insist, especially since he was now deeply doubting himself.

Was it the mule’s problem, or mine?

Why wouldn’t it go? And it wanted to kick me!

Once Master Lu took the reins and drove the cart smoothly out of the village, with Xiangheng onboard…

Xiangheng’s face was as red as blood.

At that moment, recalling the sounds Master Lu had made, the timing of the whip snaps…

He suddenly saw the truth!

Second Uncle set me up!!!

…

Yan Lao’er yawned twice, rubbed his nose, and muttered, “Who’s talking about me?”

Yan Yu said seriously, “Maybe Uncle misses you.”

Yan Lao’er laughed. “I thought so too. Your uncle always keeps me in his thoughts. Look, he gave me more silver again.”

Li Xuemei thought to herself: Other than our daughter, who else are you gonna show off to?

She looked over at their daughter.

Sure enough, Dabao never disappointed.

Her eyes sparkled with envy, practically glowing with desire to know the exact amount.

“Dad, Uncle gave you pocket money again! I knew it! Going over there so late, cold and tired—of course Uncle felt bad. He doesn’t say it out loud, but when he feels bad, he gives money!”

She looked like she’d figured her uncle out completely.

Then she frowned, frustrated. “If I’d known, I would’ve gone too. Uncle would definitely have felt bad for me too.”

Her little face morphed again, now looking like she’d suffered a huge loss.

Li Xuemei turned her gaze away, satisfied with her daughter’s performance.

Then she looked at the girl’s dad.

Yan Lao’er was even more expressive than his daughter.

He looked proud as a peacock seeing a flowered skirt—tail fully fanned out.

“Not the same, your uncle only gave you that one reward—and it was for your schoolwork. If I put in some effort learning… Ay, can’t be too goal-oriented. This kind of thing has to be mutual. He has to want to give it—then it feels good to receive.”

That schoolwork reward? He wouldn’t compete with his daughter for that one. He was the dad, after all—he’d let her have it.

Yan Yu: “Nope! I want to push for more! Dad, I’ve gotten stronger and helped out a lot lately. Shouldn’t I get some pocket money too?”

Yan Lao’er thought about it. She really had been working hard these days.

She deserved some encouragement to keep it up.

He took out a string of copper coins and counted out ten for her.

Yan Yu shook her little head vigorously.

Then turned to her mom to complain, “Mom! Look how stingy Dad is—only ten coins!”

Li Xuemei knew she didn’t need to say a thing at times like this. She just smiled and watched the father-daughter drama unfold.

Yan Lao’er asked, “Then how much do you think you should get?”

Yan Yu’s eyes flickered. Imitating her dad’s earlier tone, she said with mock elegance, “I’m not too focused on material things. This is about mutual feeling. You have to want to give me the money—that’s when it feels nice to receive.”

Yan Lao’er laughed and gave her a playful pat, then counted out ten more.

“Twenty. No more. I need to save up to buy medicine.”

Yan Yu cheerfully accepted the coins.

She stashed them in her backpack and gave it a satisfied pat.

Speaking of the medicine—back to business. Yan Yu looked around carefully.

Then she called out to the cat lying next to her mom, “Mao Mao, stand guard. If anyone comes close, give a couple of meows.”

Mao Mao twitched its ears, then lay back down, resting its head on Li Xuemei’s shoe.

Yan Yu pulled out the ginseng she had hastily hidden earlier.

Alright then—time to show off!

This couple had never seen such a fresh, large ginseng before.

“How many years old must this be? It must be worth a fortune!” Yan Lao’er marveled, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Li Xuemei picked one up, weighed it in her hand, then put it back down.

She gently patted Maomao’s little head and said, “It must’ve been tough for it to bring it back, and in such perfect condition too.”

Maomao narrowed its eyes in contentment, looking drowsy.

“We’ll sell the big one and keep the small one for Mom to eat,” Yan Yu decided.

Yan Lao’er raised both hands in full support.

Couldn’t agree more.

Nothing is more important than your wife.

Li Xuemei shook her head repeatedly.

“This is way too much for me to handle. I’m not cut out for something this nourishing. The small wild ginseng you used to cook with chicken is enough.” She looked over at Yan Lao’er.

“Wild ginseng… isn’t quite the same as this kind of mountain ginseng, right?” Yan Lao’er thought for a bit and said, “How about I take both and ask around? I’ll start with the smaller one. If it fetches a good price, we’ll keep the big one. We’ll do that from now on—keep the best ones.”

Yan Yu said, “Dad’s right. I wasn’t thinking it through. We’ll keep the good stuff. Later we’ll save a big, fat ginseng as a family heirloom, hahahaha. Don’t worry, Mom—we’ll just use a whisker at a time, slice it thin. Honestly, ginseng is used kind of like ginger. Let’s give it to Aunt Rong. She’ll know exactly how much to use.”

“Speaking of Aunt Rong, where is she?” Yan Lao’er asked.

“She went with Big Sis Da Ya to check on the veggie sprouts in the fields. With Aunt Rong around, we don’t have to worry about our crops not growing well. Just now, I saw her dumping chicken poop, sheep poop, fallen leaves, plant ash, and everything else into our compost pit.”

Yan Yu genuinely thought Aunt Rong was incredibly capable—she could outwork several of them on her own.

Yan Lao’er said, “Sweetheart, while Dad’s not home, you’re not allowed to run around. Just stay in the village and play, got it?”

Yan Yu rolled her eyes.

Play? I’m not actually a little kid.

“Oh! I almost forgot—Dad, if you’re not around, and me, Mom, and the older siblings don’t have a single copper coin, that’s not great, is it? What if we need money and can’t come up with it? That’d be embarrassing. Leave some for us, give it to Mom.”

Li Xuemei also realized and nodded.

“True, we shouldn’t be without some money at home, just in case.”

Yan Lao’er laid out all the family’s silver and coins—some from public funds, some from Old Yan, and some they’d earned themselves.

He really needed to count and sort them all properly.

Yan Yu squinted her eyes, trying to hide the gleam in them.

Don’t ask how she knew her eyes sparkled—just look at her dad.

The way he looked at silver? She probably wasn’t much different.

They were definitely father and daughter.

“Dad, why is this silver still wet?”

Well, it was just taken out…

“It’s been washed. Your eldest uncle specifically said silver has to be washed, and official documents have to be smoked. Take a sniff—it still smells like mugwort.”

Yan Lao’er still felt it wasn’t enough. He was planning to sun-dry everything later.

That’s why he used cloth when handling the government silver and documents.

“This is from the public fund. These are what your eldest uncle gave me personally. This pile is from what we recently earned—money from charcoal and scented soap. We haven’t split it with the Qi family yet. Hmm, how’s the bookkeeping going? If you’ve got it ready, I’ll send it over to the Qi family later.

Keeping it all here doesn’t feel right.

I’m going on a long trip again. If we send it over earlier, Fourth Qi will have an easier time too.”

Yan Yu used her eyes to roughly estimate how much was in her dad’s little treasure trove—and it matched her own calculations exactly.

Looks like Dad was being honest. No secret stash.

She pulled out her accounting book and handed it to Yan Lao’er.

“It’s all here—but only for the charcoal. I haven’t gotten around to calculating the scented soap yet. It’s your fault, Dad—you were too vague about the numbers. No specifics at all,” Yan Yu complained.

Yan Lao’er scratched his head with an awkward laugh. “Well, I didn’t think that far ahead at the time.” He’d just been focused on painting a big picture to convince the guys to get to work…

“Then let’s just give them the money from the charcoal for now. We’ll settle the scented soap part when I get back,” said Yan Lao’er.

He took one last look, counted out the money, and jogged off to the Qi family’s field.

The entire Qi family was out in the fields inspecting the crops.

It had rained yesterday, so everyone was feeling uneasy. After tidying things up, they all came out to check their own land very carefully.

Old Lady Qi couldn’t see well, but still had her two granddaughters bring her over.

She had to hear things up close to feel at ease.

After this planting season, no more grains could be sown, so the vegetables in the field had become incredibly precious. They were counting on a good harvest come autumn.

Yan Lao’er knew exactly who ran the Qi household.

He greeted everyone with a grin and handed the money directly to Old Lady Qi.

She touched the silver and copper coins, smiling like a blooming flower.

Don’t let her bad eyesight fool you—her hands were sharp. One touch, and she could tell how many taels or coppers there were. Once Yan Lao’er reported the accounts clearly, she had a solid grasp of the numbers.

The Yan family didn’t pay them wages—they shared the profits!

Old Lady Qi quickly had her granddaughters call over their parents and uncles.

Once Qi Da and the others lined up—

Old Lady Qi firmly grabbed Yan Lao’er’s hand.

Then turned to instruct her sons and daughters-in-law.

“You three fools are lucky to have a good brother like Yan Lao’er helping you out. Fourth, when you go out with him, just bring your ears. Do whatever your Second Brother Yan says.

Da and Fifth, no matter how busy you are, don’t forget the charcoal. We women can take care of the house. Be like… who was it? Oh right, like Hu Family’s Second—he forages herbs in the mountains by day and makes charcoal by night.

Yan Lao’er, how does that arrangement sound to you?”

Perfect!

This woman was the real deal.

Yan Lao’er wouldn’t dare order people around like that himself.

“Auntie, don’t overwork my brothers. When I get back, we’ll all work together,” he said, a bit embarrassed. He actually hadn’t done as much of the charcoal work as the Qi brothers.

“They gobble down bowl after bowl of rice, stuffing steamed buns into their mouths like it’s nothing—what, are they eating for free? You gotta listen to me. Make them work more, or they’re just wasting the food I raised them with!”

Old Lady Qi was full of disdain. These three gluttons—what was the point of raising them? They ate like bottomless pits. Now that they were finally starting to bring in some return, of course she had to make them work harder to even things out.

Qi Da, Qi Si, and Qi Wu just grinned foolishly.

They didn’t mind their mom scolding them. She was right—they did eat too much.

Before, they had strength but nowhere to use it. And even when they did, it didn’t earn them money. Now, the harder they worked, the more they earned. Even if their mom didn’t say anything, they’d still be giving it their all.

Old Lady Qi then asked Yan Lao’er when he planned to set out.

“No rush, Auntie. Let Fourth Qi finish up the fieldwork first. I still have some things to prepare.”

[End of this chapter]