Chapter 296: The Scale of the Heart

Yan Lao’er and Yan Yu had already coordinated their stories.

So when Yan Yu recounted what she had seen that day, it was identical to Yan Lao’er’s version.

The highest form of a lie is nine parts truth, one part falsehood.

The matter of the sunken chest was a perfect example.

Though father and daughter emphasized different details, the slight discrepancies only made their accounts more believable when compared side by side.

Yan Huaiwen didn’t suspect a thing.

After returning home, Yan Huaiwen gathered his loosely tied hair and combed it neatly.

He sat upright in his room, listening to Xiao Er report the household accounts.

Yan Yu: …

Resigned to her fate, she read through the ledger.

Doing the work of two people all by herself.

At that moment, she missed her father terribly!

When her father did the accounting, there was always a little pocket money to be had. When she did it? Nothing but air!

By early evening, Yan Huaiwen took Xiao Er out with him.

Yan Yu had no idea what was going on, but she was brought along by her uncle to visit every household in the village.

They didn’t stay long at any one house. A few kind words, a quick look at how the homes were coming along, a polite inquiry about the elders’ health.

It felt a lot like a government official doing a rural inspection…

Yan Yu followed obediently, greeting people when she should, smiling when praised, playing the part of a proper little assistant.

By the time they got home, Yan Yu finally let out a breath of relief.

Only to be called out by her uncle again.

“Xiao Er, do you know why I took you to visit every household in the village today?” Yan Huaiwen asked.

Yan Yu didn’t rush to answer. She had to admit, after half a day of being dragged around, her brain was working faster than usual.

Her uncle was the kind of person whose every move carried meaning.

So many scholars had passed the Imperial Examinations, and many had become officials. Why had her uncle risen so high? Probably because of how sharp and calculating he was…

“Uncle went to thank the villagers for gathering herbs for Crouching Tiger?” she ventured.

Yan Huaiwen smiled faintly and asked, “If that were the case, why didn’t I say a single word of thanks?”

“Hmm…” A flurry of thoughts raced through Yan Yu’s mind before she finally said, “Because you didn’t want the villagers to feel burdened?”

A look of undisguised approval lit up Yan Huaiwen’s eyes.

“Exactly. There’s a saying: the heart is like a scale, weighing good and bad. But more than that, it weighs benefit and loss, gratitude and grievance, love and hate…

Even those who are uneducated possess this innate sense of balance.

When the scale tips too far, it brings anxiety, confusion, and imbalance.

The best way for our Yan family to get along with the villagers is this:

Keep the accounts clear without hurting feelings. Be kind and friendly without overstepping with formalities.”

Seeing Xiao Er frowning in thought, Yan Huaiwen softened his tone. “You may not understand now, but with time and experience, you will.

In fact, your father is better at this than I am. He’s even more warm-hearted with the villagers.

It’s alright if you don’t fully grasp it yet. Just start by learning how to act.”

Yan Yu nodded. Following her uncle’s example was always a safe bet.

She was beginning to understand what he meant. Their family had always behaved this way.

But never had anyone explained it so clearly as her uncle just had.

If her uncle had a scale in his heart, it must be a high-precision digital one!

Just as dinner was ready, Young Doctor An arrived in the village with his young servant.

Yan Yu couldn’t help but suspect they had timed their arrival perfectly.

Why else would they show up not a moment too early or too late, but right at dinner time?

Were they craving her family’s cooking?

Holding her bowl, Yan Yu peeked over it, eyes fixed on Young Doctor An’s servant.

The young man looked noticeably thinner than last time, his features a bit sunken—clearly, he’d suffered.

But Young Doctor An, though lean, hadn’t lost much weight. Evidently, he’d been well cared for by his servant.

Feeling generous, Yan Yu picked out a rib for the servant—a prime piece, all meat on a clean bone—and dropped it into his bowl.

The servant froze, his body going stiff, and his face turned bright red.

Then he quietly carried his bowl to a corner to eat.

Yan Yu was a bit slow on the uptake.

Was he embarrassed?

She hadn’t meant anything by it. She didn’t mind if he ate a lot or if he had bad table manners. She just honestly wanted to give him a nice piece of meat…

She’d even used the communal chopsticks!

Setting down her chopsticks, she switched to her personal pair and resumed eating.

What was there to be embarrassed about? Look at her—face practically buried in her bowl. Was she embarrassed?

With Yan Lao’er absent, the dinner table was unusually quiet.

Yan Huaiwen and Young Doctor An adhered to the rule of not speaking during meals.

Li Xuemei, being under Granny Rong’s special care, was used to this kind of mealtime.

A pregnant woman being picky? Not an issue under Granny Rong’s watchful eye.

There was always a way to get her to eat.

Daya didn’t eat much to begin with, and with an unfamiliar man present, she barely dared to lift her chopsticks.

Luckily, Li Xuemei sat beside her and kept placing food into her bowl, piling it up like a little mountain.

Daya kept her head down and focused on eating.

As for Yan Yu… she was just putting on a show.

So what if no one was talking? It wasn’t like braised ribs could stop her from eating, or that marinated pig ears weren’t delicious.

After the meal, Young Doctor An was invited to the study for a conversation.

Their main hall was still bare, not even a proper chair in sight.

The study was a bit better. At least it had a small kang table.

Actually, it was the same little table they’d used for meals while fleeing during the famine. Now placed on the kang in the study, it worked just fine.

Yan Yu followed silently.

After all, her uncle had said before that she could sit in on such meetings.

Young Doctor An, true to his Guanzhou roots, climbed onto the kang with practiced ease.

He sat across from her uncle, both of them cross-legged at the table.

Yan Yu took her place behind and slightly to the side of her uncle.

She had to admit, Young Doctor An’s servant had *exceptional* awareness.

Yan Yu sat there feeling a bit awkward.

She was the host, yet she hadn’t managed to beat the servant to pouring tea or offering water. In fact, she ended up being served herself.

It was… honestly kind of surprising.

But since her uncle had said it was fine, Yan Yu accepted without worry.

Thankfully, Granny Rong really came through.

She boiled the water, brewed the chrysanthemum tea, and even prepared a spread of snacks—sunflower seeds, peanuts, dried apricot slices, and salted edamame.

She bundled the four treats together and brought them over, giving the Yan Family a nice boost in face.

At this point, Yan Yu was no longer curious about where Granny Rong managed to get all these things. As long as it existed somewhere nearby, Granny Rong always had a way to get her hands on it.

The conversation between Yan Huaiwen and Young Doctor An mostly revolved around Gufeng.

From what they said, Yan Yu learned that Young Doctor An, her uncle, and Uncle Liang had all wrapped up their work early and left Crouching Tiger City ahead of schedule.

Her uncle and Uncle Liang were more efficient, pushing to finish their tasks quickly so they could return home sooner.

Young Doctor An, on the other hand, was in a hurry to get to Gufeng to join Doctor An and several other uncles. They had successfully contained and eradicated the epidemic in Crouching Tiger City, and now he was full of ambition, ready to make another big push in Gufeng.

He even shamelessly tried to rope Yan Huaiwen into going with him.

Yan Yu wanted to punch him right in the face.

Her uncle had finally come home for the holidays—no way was he going anywhere near Gufeng.

Feigning innocence, she asked, “But Uncle is the Household Registrar of Crouching Tiger City. Can he even manage affairs in Gufeng?”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Yan Huaiwen’s lips.

Little rascal’s putting on quite the act.

But Young Doctor An was taken in by her performance. He patiently explained, “I heard that Gufeng is looking to borrow personnel from Crouching Tiger. If Registrar Yan is willing, Gufeng would be honored to have him.”

Yan Yu, already having chimed in once, didn’t mind adding more, “But Uncle still has to go out to the countryside to collect grain! Just yesterday at the Grand Market, my dad was bragging like crazy, saying that when Uncle goes to collect grain, he’s tagging along too…”

Forgive me, dear Father. I had no choice but to throw you under the bus again.

(End of Chapter)