Chapter 108: Eldest Uncle’s Notebook

The price of horse meat was difficult to determine.

Yan Lao’er planned to sell it for thirty wen per jin.

That was dirt cheap!

Everyone knew that once they reached Guanzhou, silver was the hard currency. Buying property, registering in the government records—everything required money.

But right now, food was more valuable than silver.

This was meat! If Liang Manshan was willing to spend money to bring it back as a filial offering to his father, others would have the same idea.

Only by nourishing their bodies could they have a future. If they couldn’t recover and remained weak, how would they even reach Guanzhou?

Especially the families of the injured—they were willing to spend.

When Liang Tongsheng brought the meat back, he told them that horse meat was good for replenishing blood, which was exactly what they needed.

Yan Lao’er also warned every buyer about the taboos of eating horse meat.

People murmured along the way, afraid of forgetting:

“No rice, no ginger…”

As for not eating it with pork or beef, that could be ignored. And who would even have cang’er? That wasn’t a concern at all.

A full-grown horse weighed several hundred jin, with about sixty percent of it being usable meat.

It wasn’t going to sell out immediately—most families bought just one or two jin, some even half a jin.

Everyone knew that in this heat, the meat wouldn’t keep for long.

Yan Lao’er wasn’t worried. At most, by nightfall, he would turn all the remaining meat into jerky.

He wiped his newly earned copper coins repeatedly before stringing them together.

Yan Yu squatted beside him, full of envy.

He was the first person in their little family to earn money.

Such an honor—claimed by her father!

“Dad! Aren’t you planning to hand it over?” Yan Yu felt the need to remind him.

Not to her mother, but to her Eldest Uncle.

They hadn’t formally split the family yet, so technically, the household’s finances should be managed by the Eldest Uncle.

They knew what was going on with Sanbao, but Eldest Uncle didn’t.

After all, the ox was bought with his silver.

Yan Lao’er froze in the middle of stringing the coins.

“Your Eldest Uncle… he won’t ask for it, will he?”

“That’s hard to say. It’s rare to see money coming back from you.”

“Then… should I give it to him?” Yan Lao’er asked, reluctantly.

This was the first time he had earned his own money since entering this book—it hadn’t been easy!

Yan Yu’s eyes gleamed strangely.

“Dad, did you forget why Eldest Uncle left? When he comes back, how could he possibly lack money? This time, we don’t have to share! Since they raided the Cloud-Piercing Stronghold, all the silver belongs to us!”

Yan Lao’er finally caught on. “With how generous Old Yan is, if I give him copper coins, he’ll definitely give me silver in return!”

Old Yan had a track record of spoiling his younger brother with money.

Behaving well? Get money. Pestering persistently? Get money. Even though he wasn’t fabulously wealthy, he somehow managed to maintain a spendthrift attitude.

The original Yan Lao’er had certainly contributed to this!

“Give it a try!” Yan Yu’s eyes sparkled. “If Eldest Uncle is happy, anything is possible!”

Yan Lao’er looked at the copper coins he had polished to a shine and nodded resolutely.

—

With local guides leading the way, Yan Huaiwen’s group reached the Cloud-Piercing Mountain with ease.

Relying on their notorious reputation, the stronghold hadn’t even set up traps, which made things easier for them.

Not only did they wipe out the remaining bandits at the stronghold, but they also captured the two who had fled from Old Pine Mountain—completely eliminating them.

As for the Stronghold Chief and the bandits he took to escort the captured refugees, Yan Huaiwen had no intention of letting them go either.

“If you don’t pull out the roots, the grass will grow again when the spring wind blows.”

According to the captured bandits from Old Pine Mountain, the Cloud-Piercing Stronghold could make a round trip in ten days.

They had already been gone for several days, so they wouldn’t have to wait long.

The villagers were tasked with searching the bandits’ houses, which was a real challenge. These men didn’t even know where to hide their money…

In this regard, the mountain folk who had more experience dealing with bandits were much better at it.

Seeing the gold, silver, and copper coins they had found—nearly double what they had recovered from Old Pine Mountain—everyone grinned with joy.

The scholar had said that everyone who contributed would get a share.

And “everyone” included both their village and the small mountain village.

—

“Huh? Why isn’t Uncle An back yet?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Yan Huaiwen replied, “They stayed behind near the stronghold to wait for the Stronghold Chief to return and report back.”

“Makes sense. If that Stronghold Chief isn’t eliminated, he could easily gather a new group and continue his human trafficking business.”

“Eldest Brother, this is for you.”

Yan Lao’er had been reluctant earlier, but now that it was actually happening, he felt an unexpected thrill.

“What is it?” Yan Huaiwen initially didn’t intend to take it, but upon sensing Tianyou’s emotions, he changed his mind and reached out.

The weight in his hand immediately told him it was copper coins.

“It’s from selling horse meat,” Yan Lao’er explained. “I sold it for thirty wen per jin, which isn’t expensive. Normally, people wouldn’t even have a chance to eat horse meat. And Manshan—oh, I mean Liang Tongsheng—praised it so highly that the villagers said I was selling it too cheap.

“But I figured if I set the price too high, no one would buy it. Better to have some silver on hand—once we reach Guanzhou, we’ll need money for all sorts of things.”

“Oh, right, Eldest Brother, did you already expect those refugees would trade with us?”

Yan Huaiwen admitted frankly, “Their departure was hasty, and apart from water and food, they wouldn’t have carried much. After being robbed by the bandits, they had even less.

“If they needed something, of course they would trade with us.

“It wasn’t about recouping the money we gave them—it was about human nature.

“When people hit rock bottom, they can become desperate and reckless, harming themselves and others.

“But now, they have money, food, and hope for a new life. No matter what hardships they face, they will persevere.”

“So, giving them money and food is giving them hope?”

Yan Huaiwen nodded. That was one way to put it.

“I’ll accept this money.” Yan Huaiwen subtly tightened his grip on the copper coins, finding their solidity reassuring.

“We brought back quite a bit of silver from the Cloud-Piercing Stronghold. I’m a bit tired—you handle distributing it among the households later. Don’t forget Uncle An’s group either.”

“Got it, Eldest Brother,” Yan Lao’er agreed.

He thought to himself: Looks like both he and his daughter had guessed wrong.

Old Yan was pleased, yes, but he didn’t hand over any extra money.

“Tianyou.” Yan Huaiwen gently set down the copper coins, took out a pouch, and picked out a piece of silver to give him. “You might not need it now, but a man should never be without money. Take it.”

Yan Lao’er dumbly accepted it.

Once again—he got money!

His generous elder brother was just too lovable!

On the upper bunk, Yan Yu had been silently listening the whole time.

Now, she clenched her little fists in triumph.

Her face flushed with excitement.

She knew it—when Eldest Uncle was happy, he just had to give money!

…Of course, this only applied to her father.

It was like how parents rewarded children with candy.

After his brother left, Yan Huaiwen sat upright, instructing Yan Xiangheng to prepare his brush and ink.

He used a bamboo knife to cut paper into equal sizes, then asked Da Ya to bring him a needle and thread.

With his own hands, stitch by stitch, he bound the pages into a book.

Yan Yu was dying of curiosity.

What was Eldest Uncle writing?