Chapter 10: Parked Right Outside the Gambling Den

Yan Lao’er worked with great enthusiasm, while Madam Cui and her children watched, their eyes glued to him.

The excess hoof material was scraped away, revealing the pale, tender flesh beneath. There was a good deal of scraping and shaping until the hooves were perfectly formed.

When this leg was lowered, the donkey tentatively tapped it on the ground.

It was miraculous! The leg was standing straight!

The second, the third…

With all four hooves trimmed, the donkey was successfully relieved of its burden. Da Gouzi led it around the yard with ease, and it even broke into a little trot now and then.

Madam Cui became even more enthusiastic.

“Drink some water, drink some water! Look how tired you are, Brother Yan Er, have a good rest!”

“It’s all thanks to you, otherwise we would have thought this donkey was sick! Who knew it needed its hooves trimmed, hehehe! Your Brother Cui usually can’t bear to use it, but like you said, we should make this donkey work more from now on, and really wear down these four hooves, so it doesn’t grow too long and bother you again, hehehe!”

“Don’t be a stranger, Sister Cui. My brother’s illness cured all thanks to Brother Cui’s care. We’re so close, just give a shout if anything comes up. This is just a side job, it doesn’t take much effort. If I happen to be around, I’ll just trim them. If you get tired of finding a farrier in the future, just have Da Gouzi Xiaogo call for me.”

Physician Cui had been standing there for a while, and he too was stunned.

How long had it been? He had gone from Physician Cui to Brother Cui? And Yan Lao’er had become Brother Yan Er?

He knew his wife very well. Her old face was practically blooming with smiles; she clearly felt she had gotten a good deal, bubbling with happiness!

“Oh, Brother Yan Er, your sister-in-law thanks you first!” Madam Cui was so happy her mouth couldn’t close. Trimming a donkey’s hooves, how could that not cost a few coppers? Saving money was earning money! “Your sister-in-law will get you some honeysuckle. Don’t look down on this grass, your Brother Cui says it’s great for making tea!”

“It can… dear, what was it again?”

“Clear heat and detoxify,” Physician Cui smoothly interjected.

“Right, right, it’s best for summer heat.” Madam Cui grabbed a large handful for him. After all, the herb was picked from their own yard, no money needed.

Yan Lao’er’s eyes lit up. It was exactly what he needed.

“This is good stuff, thank you, Sister-in-law!”

Physician Cui cleared his throat and said, “When did Brother Yan Er of the Yan Family pick up such a skill? How come I’ve never heard of it?”

Yan Lao’er immediately pleaded, “This is just something I dabbled in for fun. Brother Cui, Sister Cui, please don’t mention it in front of my elder brother.”

Physician Cui and his wife readily agreed. While it was true that “more skills don’t weigh you down,” trimming animal hooves… was indeed a bit unseemly.

“There’s one more thing I’d like to discuss with Brother Cui and Sister Cui,” Yan Lao’er asked sincerely. “My elder brother wants to go to the academy in town. You know his health, so I was hoping to borrow your donkey cart. Would that be convenient?”

“Convenient, convenient! Just take it. Da Gouzi, help your uncle Yan hitch the cart.” Cui Dasao instructed her son, adding, “This donkey needs to be used more, can’t let it get lazy.”

Physician Cui silently handed the medicine packet to Yan Lao’er. Thinking of the Yan Family elder’s health, he added a caution: “Go slowly, and avoid too much bumping…”

“Don’t you worry, Brother Yan Er knows more than you do. Your precious donkey just needs to run.”

Physician Cui: …

I wasn’t talking about the donkey, I was concerned about the patient!

…

Yan Lao’er returned with the cart and handed the medicine packet and honeysuckle to his wife.

“…It’s a good thing I have this unconventional skill, otherwise I really wouldn’t have known how to ask.”

“Haha, Dad, didn’t you used to complain that Grandpa always called you instead of calling Uncle to work, and you’d come back smelling awful every time? Let me smell… yes, that’s the smell, hahaha!” Yan Yu laughed until her stomach hurt. “Thank Grandpa for favoring Uncle! Hey? Should we prepare some tools for the future, Dad? Let’s get that hoof-trimming skill going! Hahaha!!!”

Yan Lao’er deliberately leaned closer to his daughter. “Go on, smell it, get used to it quickly! In the future, I won’t pass this skill on to anyone else, only to my good Da Bao!”

“No way, haha! In ancient times, skills were passed down to sons, not daughters! When my brother grows up, you can pass it to him, and I definitely won’t blame you for being biased!” Yan Yu laughed, her small face flushed red like a crimson apple, her little pigtails bouncing wildly.

“Maybe it’ll be a sister,” Li Xuemei said, smiling as she watched the father and daughter’s playful antics. Then, remembering something, she asked, “Should I go to Physician Cui to have my pulse taken? I can’t just say I’m pregnant without confirmation.”

“Right, right! When I come back from town and return the donkey cart, we’ll go together,” Yan Lao’er said eagerly.

“The wheat we harvested yesterday, you can prepare some of the straw, chop it up, and take it with you on the road,” Li Xuemei said.

“I know,” Yan Lao’er nodded.

Physician Cui hadn’t mentioned it, but they couldn’t be so thoughtless.

They had to prepare some fodder for the donkey.

…

Yan Lao’er could even trim donkey hooves, so driving a cart was certainly no problem.

Physician Cui’s newly built cart frame was custom-made, specifically for himself, and very thoughtfully designed.

It had a canopy, railings, and a double-layered floorboard. The bottom layer could hold things, and the upper layer of boards was designed to fold, allowing it to be widened as needed.

Yan Huaiwen, the patient, lay inside quite comfortably. The sun couldn’t reach him, and a gentle breeze blew in, making it very pleasant.

Yan Lao’er put the chopped straw into a sack, and also casually pulled up a few handfuls of withered grass from in front of the door, twisted them up, and mixed them with the straw.

The sack fit perfectly on the lower wooden board.

Da Ya bustled about, preparing mixed-grain pancakes for them and filling two bamboo tubes with water.

Giddy-up!

Let’s go!

The wooden wheels of ancient carts were not like modern rubber tires, and on dirt roads, it wasn’t very stable.

Fortunately, Yan Lao’er didn’t let the donkey go too fast. After more than an hour, they entered the town. Yan Lao’er furtively pulled out a piece of cloth hidden in his sleeve.

On it was a hand-drawn map of the town by his daughter.

Heaven knew how anxious he, a man with no memories, was about accompanying his elder brother to town.

Luckily, his daughter had prepared for a rainy day, spending these past few days gathering all sorts of information from the village children.

Like where there was a steamed bun shop in town, and how delicious the big meat buns were, *slurp*!

“Last time I went to town, Grandma bought me malt candy, it’s on such-and-such a street.”

“My mom said the second shopkeeper at Xi Family Cloth Shop is kind-hearted; they give you an extra finger’s width of cloth compared to Wang Ji Cloth Shop. When we save enough cloth, she’ll make me new shoes, hehe!”

“Last time I went to town, my dad bought me candied hawthorns, they were so sweet, they were at…”

Relying on this little bit of compiled information, his daughter had drawn him a simple map.

Fortunately, the town wasn’t big.

Several prominent locations were marked.

Not bad, these kids, despite being small, had pretty good memories. They didn’t get a single eating spot wrong.

“Tian You, stop for a moment,” Yan Huaiwen’s voice came from behind.

Yan Lao’er stopped the cart and turned to ask, “What’s wrong, Elder Brother? We’re not there yet.”

He looked around, and what he saw was quite something.

Holy crap!

Isn’t that the Unlucky Gambling Den!

They were currently right at the entrance of Shunyi Pawnshop. The gambling den was just across the street. Next to the pawnshop was a public bathhouse, and beside that, a small tavern. Not far away, there was also a wonton stall…

Their family was still deeply bothered by the twenty liang gambling debt. Yan Yu had even drawn a big, black X over the gambling den on her simple map.
(End of chapter)

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Yan Lao’er (闫老二) = Blunt/rural “Second Yan” (referring to 2nd son)
Brother Yan Er (二哥/闫二哥) = Respectful “Second Brother Yan”