Chapter 117: Tricking Child Laborers into Working

“Think about it—if the future squad leaders and team leaders can’t even write names properly, how will they keep track of everyone’s contributions? And we’ll be distributing rewards in the future too!”

For Yan Yu, convincing children to work was just a matter of talking—it couldn’t be easier.

“What rewards? From your house?” The children were intrigued.

In their eyes, anything from the Yan family was good.

“If you’re not working for my family, why should I give you my family’s things?” Yan Yu said sternly.

These were two separate matters that shouldn’t be confused.

“When our Young Pioneers make gains in the future, we’ll store them first. Someone will record them, someone will manage them, and then we’ll distribute based on contributions.”

“Like killing mountain bandits?” The children had a deep impression of the money and food their families brought home.

“Yes, that counts too. Just like my mother—she shot and killed a bandit, which was a great contribution, so she brought home rice, flour, and sorghum.

If one day we can also kill a bandit, our Young Pioneers will have rewards too.”

One of the older kids said, “If I kill a bandit, why should I store it? It’s mine.”

Yan Yu spoke clearly and firmly, “That’s the wrong way to think. Without everyone’s help, could you fight off a bandit alone? We don’t have enough strength yet—we have to work together to defeat bad guys.”

“Then how do we divide it?”

“We’ll decide for ourselves. Whoever contributes more gets more, and whoever contributes less gets less. No lying—credit will go where it’s due!” Yan Yu declared confidently. “Also, like today, with many adults gone, we need people to patrol. That should be recorded as a small, small, small, small contribution. When we make gains in the future, we’ll divide accordingly.

But such small contributions need to be accumulated. Otherwise, dividing things each time will be too troublesome, and keeping track will be hard. That’s why everyone must learn—what if the person keeping records makes a mistake? No one can be as reliable as yourself.”

The children nodded. Yan Xiao’er was indeed impressive—everything she said made sense.

“And contributions aren’t just about killing bandits. You know my father and Uncle Qi hunted a wild boar today, right? We can’t hunt wild boars, but we can catch rabbits and pheasants. We all have tools, and as long as we don’t go too deep into the mountains, we can try our luck near the edge.”

“I still have to help my mother dig wild vegetables!”

“Yeah, me too. I also have to watch my little sister.”

“My mom says I’m good at digging fire pits and tending fires. If she’s cooking, I have to be there—it won’t work without me.”

“Mm-hmm!” Yan Yu nodded repeatedly, showing she heard them all. Then she said loudly, “It’s simple! We just need to agree with our families that when we’re out patrolling or hunting, they can’t assign us other chores. We’ll find another time for those.

At first, it might be hard, and they might not like it. But once we bring good things home, they’ll definitely be happy!”

The children began to daydream about their future rewards, feeling a surge of motivation.

“For now, let’s try it out. Those willing to help at my house, stand over here. Those who want to go on patrol, stand over there.”

The scene quickly turned chaotic.

Some kids couldn’t decide which was better, while others wanted to stay with their friends. Small heads huddled together, whispering and occasionally arguing loudly over disagreements.

Yan Yu wasn’t in a hurry—she let them figure it out themselves.

They had to be willing to do it.

Once things settled, Yan Yu set the patrol team’s area and reminded them to stay alert. They had to bring insect and snake repellent.

After some thought, she also gave them each a short bamboo stick.

She instructed, “From now on, patrolling members must carry this and use it to tap the grass while walking. This way, any snakes that aren’t scared off by the repellent won’t suddenly lunge out.”

The Young Pioneers’ patrol team marched off, looking proud and determined.

Then the children who volunteered to help asked eagerly, “Yan Xiao’er, how will you keep track of our work?”

“First, wood ash—sifting out a whole dustpan of fine ash earns… one point.” She added, “If it’s not up to standard, I won’t accept it!”

“Soap pods—I still have some at home. Grinding them into powder earns one point.”

“This time, we’re making chrysanthemum-scented soap, so drying and crushing chrysanthemum flowers also earns one point.”

The children found the tasks too easy, so they didn’t complain about only getting one point per task.

As they got to work, Yan Yu went to find her mother.

Rendering pork fat and roasting soybeans weren’t suitable for the kids to handle—her mother had to do it.

Li Xuemei offered another solution: “Go ask Aunt Qi if she’s willing to do it.”

Yan Yu immediately understood. Her father and the Qi family uncles were planning to start a business together, and her mother wasn’t in the best condition. Roasting soybeans was fine, but rendering lard might make her nauseous.

Indeed, Li Xuemei was worried—she could barely stand the smell of meat these days.

Aunt Qi readily agreed.

Luo San chopped up the fatty pork, and they got some soybeans from the Yan family to roast. Aunt Qi even took over grinding the soybeans.

Now, the only thing left was the most important ingredient—pig pancreas.

Yan Yu had already chosen the person for the job.

She went back to find her eldest brother, Yan Xiangheng.

“Big Brother, since Dad and Uncle aren’t here, you have to handle the pig pancreas.”

Yan Xiangheng panicked. The dark red pancreas, streaked with white fat, sat in front of him, and he had no idea where to start.

“Xiao’er, I don’t know how! Should I just pound it with a mortar?” He vaguely remembered their second uncle doing that before—smashing it into a paste.

“I know how to do it! Dad told me everything. Just follow my instructions,” Yan Yu said, pointing at the pancreas. “Cut off all the white parts, and this section here—don’t keep it.”

“Big Brother, keep your hand steady! You’re cutting unevenly—it looks bad.”

“You cut too much there—what a waste!”

“One more slice, right here.”

Yan Yu guided him with gestures as she spoke. Yan Xiangheng was so nervous, afraid he might accidentally cut her hand. By the time they finished processing three pancreases, his forehead was covered in sweat.

“All done! Big Brother, you’re amazing!” Yan Yu beamed, her smile as sweet as a flower.

Yan Xiangheng grinned too, but the next task—mashing the pancreas—was still his.

Meanwhile, Yan Yu took her notebook and charcoal pencil to check the children’s work.

They had been diligent—wood ash was finely sifted, soap pods and chrysanthemum flowers were ground into powder.

Yan Yu carefully recorded the date, the tasks completed, the children’s names, and most importantly, their work points.

At this moment, the children finally realized the importance of literacy.

They couldn’t even recognize their own names.

As for work points—Yan Xiao’er told them how many they had, but they couldn’t tell if she had recorded them correctly.

They could only memorize the numbers in their heads.

Knowing they were most concerned about the value of their work points, Yan Yu explained, “I’ve recorded all your work, but as for how many points each thing is worth, we have to wait until my father and uncle return. I’m still too young to figure that out.

But don’t worry, you won’t be shortchanged. Our family always keeps our word.”

If she had everything completely sorted out, she wouldn’t just be clever—she’d be a genius.

It was important to leave some room for adjustments.

The children all nodded, placing full trust in Yan Yu—or rather, in the Yan family.

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