Chapter 15: Supporting the Launch of the Trading Platform

In the past, Yan Yu wouldn’t have cared for pork cracklings at all.

Now, her mouth watered with desire.

As her father fed her, Yan Yu happily stomped her feet.

So fragrant! So delicious!

Li Xuemei took Daya’s hand and gently pushed a piece into her mouth. Daya, embarrassed, chewed slowly, reluctant to swallow it for a long time.

Li Xuemei herself also chewed a piece; the more she chewed, the more fragrant it became.

Yan Lao’er, of course, wouldn’t neglect himself either. He poured the pork from the pot into a bowl and ate two pieces of pork cracklings one after another, finally satisfying his craving.

There were still a few pieces left, saved for Old Yan and Eldest Nephew.

While the pot was still oily, Yan Lao’er found a cabbage.

Don’t underestimate this wilted cabbage. According to the auntie who sold vegetables, it normally sold for two wen per jin. Selling it for three wen now, he was still getting a bargain. If he hadn’t bought all her remaining wild onions and cabbage, she definitely wouldn’t have lowered the price; seven wen for two jin sold very well.

The wild onions were cut into sections and put into the pot to fry until fragrant.

The chopped meat was poured in, stir-fried a few times until it changed color, then some freshly bought soy sauce was added, along with a little coarse salt.

The outer leaves of the wilted cabbage were peeled off. Without using a knife, he tore the cabbage by hand, then poked the firewood in the stove to make the fire stronger.

Swish, swish, swish, he kept stir-frying…

When Yan Huaiwen slowly returned with his son, the sky had already darkened. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they smelled the fragrant scent of meat.

Yan Huaiwen had one porridge and one soup. The pig liver porridge was cooked until soft and mushy, and the big bone soup was of appropriate consistency.

Of the few pieces of pork cracklings specially left for the father and son, he only tasted one piece; the rest all went into Xiangheng’s stomach.

The others had an extra dish of stir-fried cabbage with meat compared to him.

Li Xuemei had no choice but to portion out the meals for everyone. Firstly, not much meat was bought. Secondly, she was afraid the children would have no restraint, and suddenly eating too much meat would be difficult for their bodies to digest.

“Second Uncle, did you actually make this meal?” Yan Xiangheng was greatly surprised. A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen. Although Second Uncle wasn’t a gentleman, he always strictly held himself to the standards of a ‘scholar’. How could he personally cook?

“Haha, your second aunt is pregnant, she can’t overexert herself. My cooking skills are alright, aren’t they?”

“Congratulations to Second Uncle and Second Aunt,” Yan Xiangheng said with a smile. “It’s not just alright, it’s incredibly delicious!”

“If it’s delicious, I’ll make it more often in the future.” This reason of pregnancy was truly powerful. From now on, he could take over the cooking duties from his wife.

His family’s leader’s cooking skills… best not to mention them.

Yan Huaiwen glanced at him and said nothing.

He thought to himself, Second Brother’s craving for food is truly serious, from loving to eat to learning how to cook…

Second Sister-in-law’s pregnancy is quite unstable. It’s better for her to take it easy. If Second Brother can do it, let him do it.

As for Er Ya… this child ate her meal with relish, without even lifting her eyes, burying her head in her food.

As he watched, he unconsciously drank half a bowl more porridge.

He felt a bit full.

After the meal, Daya eagerly helped clean up. Yan Huaiwen and his son tidied up the books, ink, and other items they brought from the academy.

Yan Lao’er mixed the few vegetable leaves he couldn’t bear to throw away with straw and fed them to the ox, helped collect the dried quilts and clothes, and neatly arranged the wheat harvested today. He made two round trips, carrying back four buckets of water, then went to his elder brother’s room for a stroll. Only then did he enter the house to rest.

“Elder Brother didn’t mention a word about splitting the family today?” Li Xuemei couldn’t help but ask.

It wasn’t that she was hoping for it, but her heart was always unsettled. To be honest, their family wasn’t ambitious people; embarking on a grand career or anything like that, they hadn’t even thought about it.

Being moderately well-off and content was enough, and for their family to be healthy and well. As common folk, this was all they sought.

“Not only did he not mention it, he didn’t even seem very angry.” Yan Lao’er was also at a loss.

Li Xuemei asked again, “Did Elder Brother carry the land deed with him?”

“Indeed! You should have seen the face of that big shopkeeper at the pawn shop then, haha! He was also surprised.” Yan Lao’er said, “Anyway, selling the land is a good thing. With money in hand, one doesn’t panic. We have an Ox Cart now. The grain we bought, plus the wheat we just harvested, and all the things Elder Brother bought, are all preparations for fleeing from disaster. I think it’s quite complete, it’s just…”

“It’s just that with all these things, plus our family’s belongings, the ox probably won’t be able to pull anything else.”

Yan Lao’er realized this when he drove the cart back today.

But there was no good solution. They couldn’t just buy another cart.

The ox’s carrying capacity is limited. At most, his wife and daughter could ride. The others would probably have to travel on foot.

“There’s nothing we can do about that. We’ll take it one step at a time,” Li Xuemei touched her belly and said helplessly.

“Dad, what do you think of this version of the map?” This time, Yan Yu drew it on paper.

Yan Lao’er prided himself on being a scholar, and paper and brushes were readily available. She was afraid of wasting them, so she drew on the back of pages where he had practiced calligraphy, to save paper.

“Very good, very good, all the places I’ve been are on it,” Yan Lao’er said.

“Oh, your handwriting…” Li Xuemei carefully compared it and said, “Did you imitate Yan Lao’er’s handwriting?”

“That’s right! Dad, Mom, think about it, if my dad suddenly couldn’t recognize or write characters anymore, wouldn’t Elder Uncle be suspicious? I’ll practice writing for now, just in case. Dad, you also need to start learning. You need to practice your characters, and also make time to read books,” Yan Yu said seriously.

Li Xuemei agreed, “Our daughter is right, lest you be functionally illiterate, unable to even fully recognize a pick-up slip.”

Yan Lao’er quickly cried out in injustice, “How can I not recognize them? I recognize all the ones that look similar. Didn’t I just ask you to help me look because I was afraid of making a mistake? Sigh! Why did Yan Lao’er have to be a scholar? He wasn’t even cut out for studying. Wasting money and time. What’s wrong with not knowing many characters? How good would it be to just be an honest farmer?”

He had no choice but to pick up Yan Lao’er’s books and started learning from the simplest ‘Thousand Character Classic’.

Whenever he encountered a character he didn’t recognize, he would ask. His wife and daughter had no reading difficulties, except for him…

“Almost forgot.” Yan Lao’er slapped his forehead, put down the book, stepped into his shoes and went out. Not long after, he came back carrying a small basin.

“Look, how’s the jelly I made?” Yan Lao’er boasted, “Crystal clear and translucent. It’s just that there wasn’t enough pig skin, otherwise it would be even better.”

Although Yan Yu had eaten a very full dinner, seeing the pig skin jelly instinctively made her crave it, wanting to eat it.

“Dad, why didn’t you bring a spoon?” How are we supposed to eat it?

“Don’t rush to eat this. Aren’t we trading at 0:00? I secretly made this behind people’s backs. If we can exchange it for something, we will. If we can’t, we’ll just eat it as a late-night snack.”

“I also made something, I don’t know if it will be useful,” Li Xuemei turned around and pulled out a small cloth bag.

She didn’t intend to open it.

“Wife, what did you make?” Yan Lao’er was very curious.

Li Xuemei: “You’ll know when the time comes.”

The father and daughter exchanged glances. She’s being quite mysterious about it.

…

Midnight

A gentle female voice sounded again.

[Please confirm if the surrounding environment is safe?]

Having stayed up half the night, Yan Yu, who was a little sleepy, suddenly became wide awake.

“Yes!”

Her shout startled Yan Lao’er and Li Xuemei greatly.

The two of them fared a bit better than their daughter and were also somewhat sleepy, but were forcing themselves to stay awake.

But at this moment, the two of them had their eyes wide open, without a trace of sleepiness left.

What to exchange for the first time was really a dilemma.

(End of this chapter)