Chapter 211: Busy Days

“Don’t try to fool me. I asked Master Lu—this kind of work, his two boys can handle it easy. Won’t even take them long, just a couple of hours after dark and it’s done. We’ve already agreed on the price, materials and labor both. I’ve got everything ready. So why are you putting it on your family’s tab again? That’s not how this works. No need to keep it on account—I can pay right now.”

“Auntie!” Yan Yu pulled her a little aside, lowering her voice. “Keep it down and listen to me, alright? You said it yourself, this is easy work for them, quick too. But think about it—once your stove and kang are done, people in the village will all want the same. They won’t even have to look for more jobs or move around—they just stay put and the money rolls in. So convenient, right?

But if it’s just your house and someone else’s, asking separately, they won’t give you a better price. It’s better to put it all under our family’s account for now. When it’s all added up at the end, maybe we can shave a bit off. A few coins saved are still coins, right? Even a single copper piece counts, don’t you think, Auntie?”

Madam Cui felt like she was floating as she made her way home.

When she saw Physician Cui, she let out an exclamation.

“Tell me, how does that Yan Family’s Xiao Er have such a sharp head on her shoulders? So clever with numbers too! Our two boys are even older than her, but together they still don’t match up to her. I don’t know how my second brother raised his kid, but he did a great job!”

Physician Cui barely lifted his eyelids. “You think it was Yan Lao’er? Clearly, it’s the Scholar’s doing. You’ve forgotten—those kids have been studying with the Scholar.”

“Oh please, stop being so narrow-minded. Don’t just focus on that scented soap from the Yan Family—get the boys to bring home a few more calligraphy sheets. Let them recognize more characters, practice more. If Da Gouzi and Xiao Gouzi could write and do math like Xiao Er, maybe we could even earn more Work Points, don’t you think?”

Physician Cui tried to appeal to what mattered most to his wife—Work Points.

With a serious nod, Madam Cui said, “You’re right. Writing and math bring in a fair bit of points. Look at that kid from Liang house—barely lifts a finger, just writes a bit and the points roll in.”

He didn’t even need to be there all day. Just showed up around noon and before dinner to record the herbs everyone dug up that day.

And he earned six points—same as someone working the whole day.

Now that’s easy money.

If their two boys could learn to do that…

They’d be getting two sets of six points!

…

The Young Scouts was deep in discussion about the rabbit situation.

Yan Yu had assumed they’d be eager to kill it and split the meat. But to her surprise, the kids remembered what she’d said before and wanted to raise the rabbit instead.

But whose house would keep it? That was tricky. The adults might misunderstand, maybe even think it was theirs and cook it up without asking.

The kids took their possessions very seriously.

So their eyes turned to the Yan Family’s orchard plot.

“Rabbits dig holes. We need a cage.”

“We can take turns bringing grass for it to eat.”

Everyone pitched in ideas.

After some discussion, they realized raising rabbits was simple—as long as they had a cage and someone brought grass every day.

Yan Yu reminded them, “Don’t forget rabbit poop.”

They’d have to clean up after it or the smell would be awful.

“Whoever feeds it that day gets the rabbit poop,” Liang Fengnian whispered.

The kids all nodded.

“Exactly. If you feed it, it’s yours. No snatching!”

Yan Yu: …

No worries—she definitely wasn’t going to fight over that.

She’d gladly give up her share of rabbit poop. Her family already had plenty from their own chickens and goats.

Huh? Come to think of it, their family’s manure production was actually doing quite well in the village.

With the live rabbit settled, the dead rabbit was even easier to deal with. Yan Yu decided to organize a team bonding event.

She took part of the dried meat stash from the Young Scouts, added the rabbit from today, and asked Granny Rong to help cook up a big pot of stew.

Each child got a small portion—not much.

But the feeling of eating something they had earned themselves was unbeatable.

The kids were all thrilled.

Not a single drop of soup was left behind.

…

Just as Yan Yu predicted, once the stove and kang were lit in the two rooms of Physician Cui’s house, the villagers couldn’t sit still anymore.

Many came asking about it.

Yan Yu didn’t even need to speak—Madam Cui stepped in and took over, organizing everything with clarity. She lined everyone up, set work schedules with Master Lu, and put it all under the Yan Family’s account.

Herb collecting, processing… everything was quietly waiting for time to work its magic.

Everyone was busy, everything running like clockwork.

Houses were slowly going up.

Physician Cui’s medicine shelves expanded into the courtyards of the neighboring houses—more and more every day.

Not a single idle soul remained in the village.

The elderly wove baskets or small back carriers.

The latter was a special request from Yan Yu, who had asked Li Xuemei to place an order on behalf of the Young Scouts.

Each was made to fit—some big, some small.

The larger ones were for kids like Er Tie and San Tie, who were half-grown. The smaller ones were for children around Yan Yu’s size.

No one was left out.

Only, they were still lacking a proper tool that was handy and easy to use.

Uncle Qi Wu was simply too busy—climbing the mountains by day, burning charcoal by night, and still squeezing in time to build his own house.

Yan Yu felt too guilty to bother him again.

She figured she’d wait for a chance to scout around in town.

…

That day, two figures emerged from the woods—one big, one small—and they were leading two goats.

“This is it! This is the village!” the child cried out joyfully.

It had taken countless words to convince her little uncle to come. On the way through the forest, he’d almost turned back several times. But once they finally saw the village, his heart settled and a smile broke across his face.

There was a village. Those people hadn’t lied to her.

Granny Rong went to fetch Li Xuemei, gesturing outside.

Li Xuemei put down what she was working on and followed.

She saw the new arrivals near the big rock.

“Oh, it’s you! And… are you here to sell goats?” Li Xuemei greeted them with a smile.

Her eyes fell on the two animals, utterly satisfied.

Both were rams—good for eating.

“Auntie, you said last time to bring the goats…”

The child was much cleaner now, finally allowing a proper look at her face.

Quite pleasant to look at—just a bit tanned.

“And who’s this? Whose goats are these?” Li Xuemei asked.

The boy standing next to her didn’t look very old. He stared at the nearly finished house with wide eyes, full of envy.

“Auntie, this is my little uncle. The goats are his,” the girl answered, all focus on selling the animals.

“Do the adults at home know you’re here?” Li Xuemei had to be sure—she didn’t want to buy the goats only to have the family show up later complaining.

“They know. Last time we sold goats, my grandma’s side of the family knew too. They even said your family’s good folks, gave a fair price,” the girl said a bit shyly.

She glanced around, not seeing the man who’d loudly haggled over the price last time. She let out a small breath of relief.

That had been pretty embarrassing…

This time would be different. They’d asked around beforehand and knew the going rate. No way would they ask for six silver again—that ridiculous price.

“Good, as long as they know. Let’s take a look at the goats then,” Li Xuemei said, nodding to Granny Rong.

Granny Rong went over with a bright smile.

(End of chapter)