Chapter 111: Treating Three Big Eaters to a Meal

Yan Lao’er only sent red envelopes during the holidays and transferred the monthly living expenses. Whenever his daughter needed something, he hardly ever refused…

Even though his private stash was emptied by his daughter time and time again, she had never been this happy before.

What was this? The art of giving money?!

“Dad, don’t you have something to say?” Yan Yu looked at him expectantly.

Yan Lao’er thought for a moment and asked, “Should I follow your eldest uncle’s example and give you all a reward too?”

Yan Yu scoffed, “What’s the fun in copying Uncle? There’s no surprise at all.”

Yan Lao’er felt his teeth ache. “Getting money, and you still want surprises?!”

Yan Yu thought about it and agreed. She stretched out her hand. “Hand it over, then.”

Yan Lao’er: What if I don’t want to give it anymore?!

Seeing that the money wasn’t coming, Yan Yu became suspicious. “Dad, you’re not going back on your word, are you?!”

“A man keeps his word,” Yan Lao’er defended himself.

Then he asked, “But let me ask you first, did you see what your eldest uncle wrote this time?”

“No.” Yan Yu was dying of curiosity herself.

She could guess it was some sort of accounting, but why did he only keep records when her dad handed over money, and not when they received rewards?

Were they not worthy?!

“Then let me ask you another thing.” Yan Lao’er reenacted his conversation with Li Xuemei. “Why did your mother suddenly get upset?”

Yan Yu looked at her father as if he were an oddity.

“Dad! Did you forget what you said? One year, fluffy sweaters were all the rage. Mom never said she wanted one, just took notice of them. When we were out shopping, she reached out and touched one, and you—oh, you—said they were impractical, barely wearable, and from a distance, they made people look like bears…

Mom is just a little plump, nowhere near that level. After that, she ignored you for ages! How could you forget such a painful lesson?!”

Yan Lao’er smacked his forehead.

Right. That did happen.

He chuckled awkwardly. “Well, uh, it’s not that cold here, and those sweaters really don’t get much use, right? Not practical at all. And… did I really say she looked like a bear?”

Yan Yu gave him a look that said, What do you think? Go ahead and recall it yourself.

Great.

He’d better remember this time—this was a landmine he couldn’t step on again.

He tried to justify himself. “You know our family’s situation. Making money isn’t easy.”

Yan Yu sighed and spoke earnestly, “Dad, this isn’t about money. If you had said you’d buy it, she definitely wouldn’t have wanted it—she’d just say you didn’t know how to manage household expenses. The key point is, you called her fat!”

Yan Lao’er yelped in protest, denying repeatedly, “No! No! Absolutely not!”

His survival instincts were kicking in hard.

Yan Yu sincerely suggested, “You’d better not say things like that again.”

Then she asked expectantly, “How much is this information worth in pocket money?”

Yan Lao’er weighed his options. Feeling embarrassed to only give the twenty copper coins he had prepared, he plucked thirty from his string of coins instead.

“This much.”

Yan Yu grinned from ear to ear, carefully counted them, and stuffed them into her little backpack.

“Dad, I’m off!”

She took the money and left, carefree as could be!

Yan Lao’er shook his head with a laugh, strung the remaining twenty coins back, and went to find the Qi brothers.

He told them he planned to burn charcoal tonight.

The three Qi brothers didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately set off to find suitable wood.

He stopped them, saying they should all go together.

Back home, he packed a good amount of horse meat, loaded it into a basket, and also took a pot, water, seasonings, and the various wild vegetables he had traded for.

After some thought, he also grabbed a dozen big steamed buns.

When the Qi brothers arrived, they saw that he had prepared two baskets but didn’t think much of it. They hoisted them up and left.

They walked a long way before Yan Lao’er finally called for a stop.

Qi Da set down the load and was about to start chopping branches.

He had been keeping an eye out along the way, spotting several good trees but waiting until they reached the site to get to work.

“Brother Qi Da, let’s sort out our things first,” Yan Lao’er called.

Qi Da agreed, turned around, and watched as Yan Lao’er pulled out steamed buns, vegetables, and meat from the baskets.

Looks like they’re in for a big job this time.

Qi Si and Qi Wu had the same thought—they assumed Yan Lao’er planned to burn charcoal for several days and had brought plenty of rations.

They immediately felt a sense of urgency. They needed to chop more wood—too little, and it wouldn’t be enough.

“Alright, let’s get the pot set up,” Yan Lao’er instructed.

“Yan Lao’er, are you hungry?” Qi Si asked.

Yan Lao’er nodded. “Of course. Didn’t eat enough, so let’s have a bite before working.”

That statement resonated deeply with the Qi brothers.

When they were hungry, they really couldn’t work well—always thinking about when they could eat.

The three of them were quick and skilled. Finding firewood and starting a fire took no time at all.

Yan Lao’er tossed in some seasoning and started slicing meat.

Not too thin—just enough. This way, he worked fast.

As he sliced, the water boiled, and he dumped the meat in.

While the three were still in a daze, he shoved a steamed bun into each of their hands. “Didn’t bring many buns, so eat more meat.”

With that, he ignored them and transformed into a ruthless meat-slicing machine, cutting away.

The Qi brothers were stunned.

What’s going on?!

They came to burn charcoal, but the first thing they did was eat.

Didn’t Yan Lao’er say he was hungry? Why wasn’t he eating?

“Yan Lao’er, we’re not hungry,” Qi Wu said, trying to return the bun.

“No way! You’ve already touched it—there’s a fingerprint on it. Who else would eat it? It’s yours now.” Yan Lao’er stopped him.

Qi Wu, along with his two brothers, froze.

They scrutinized the bun—was there really a fingerprint? Their hands were clean.

But thinking about it, the Yan family probably wouldn’t eat a bun someone else had touched. The three brothers hesitated.

What were they supposed to do now?

Their mother had never taught them how to handle this situation.

“This is a work meal. How can you work on an empty stomach? When we help others in the village, they always feed us, right?” Yan Lao’er said as he scooped up a piece of horse meat, blowing on it before eating. He found it not spicy enough and prepared to add more chili.

Then he said, “Try it—see if it’s spicy enough. Should I add more?”

He placed a piece of meat on each of their buns.

“Hurry up and try it. We still have work to do after eating.”

The three simple-minded brothers, hearing the word “work,” quickly swallowed their food, afraid of wasting time.

“How is it? Tastes good? Spicy enough?”

Yan Lao’er fired off a series of questions.

Qi Da pondered, Qi Wu scratched his head, and Qi Si smacked his lips. “Yan Lao’er, it’s delicious.”

That was all they could say—they just knew it tasted good.

Yan Lao’er grinned. “Eat more. This time, I’m aiming big. See those thick trees over there? We’re going to burn them down.”

His ambition shocked the three Qi brothers.

They looked in the direction he pointed, estimating that they could chop them down—it’d just take some extra effort.

“I can’t do it, so it’s all on you three. Eat up—there are several trees! I’m telling you, strength comes from eating well. You better fill up, so we can finish early and go home.”

The Qi brothers were still processing his words, but Yan Lao’er didn’t give them time to think.

“Hurry up! The meat will get tough if it sits too long. Don’t waste it—dig in! Dig in!”