Chapter 168: Earning a Little Money

Yan Xiangheng and Da Ya followed Second Uncle’s gaze.

They saw that Aunt Rong worked incredibly efficiently. She made it look effortless, and the weeds stood no chance under her hoe.

With a single stroke, the weeds were completely wiped out.

Watching her clear the weeds was a delightful surprise for the Yan family.

They had initially thought Aunt Rong was just skilled at housework, but it turned out that her “customized farmer’s edition” also came with vegetable garden management.

As long as they designated these two plots as their “vegetable garden,” Aunt Rong would take care of the crops.

Uh, just like she cared for their four hens.

For Aunt Rong, these weeds had to be eradicated completely. Every strike of her hoe, seemingly casual, was precise, digging deep enough to almost turn the soil over completely.

…

Estimating that it was about time, Yan Lao’er went with Qi Si to the brick factory in town to pay the deposit.

He hadn’t expected that in Guanzhou, one tael of silver could be exchanged for 1,200 copper coins.

And that was at the money exchange shop—if traded privately, he might get even more.

Originally, they had planned to exchange 45 taels of silver, but now 40 taels would suffice.

Yan Lao’er paid readily. Typically, only a 30% deposit was required, but he gave 40%. The old brickmaker was pleased and, unable to resist Yan Lao’er’s persuasion, let them take 3,000 green bricks and 5,000 red bricks in advance.

They first delivered the bricks home, then went to the quarry and loaded up three carts of stone.

The overseer, possibly aware that Yan Lao’er was the younger brother of the newly appointed Household Registrar, gave him special treatment. They loaded extra large waste stones onto the cart, and even added half a cart of the thin stone slabs that Yan Lao’er particularly fancied.

After a busy morning, Yan Lao’er and Qi Si didn’t return until after midday.

As their ox cart approached, Yan Lao’er saw a crowd gathered around his homestead.

“Hey! What are you all up to?” he shouted from afar.

“Yan Er! Yan Er is back!”

The excitement in their voices was unmistakable.

Yan Lao’er was puzzled—what was going on?

As they got closer, the enthusiasm of the crowd became even more apparent. Not only did they help unload the cart, but they also neatly sorted the stone materials.

“What’s going on? What do you all want?” Yan Lao’er had to ask.

“Yan Er, are you about to build your house? Need some workers?”

Oh, so that’s what this was about.

Yan Lao’er figured he had to clarify things: “Folks, don’t take it the wrong way. I plan to hire craftsmen to build my house properly—sturdy and nice-looking. These bricks are expensive, and I can’t afford to waste them.”

Everyone understood. Who wouldn’t want to build a fine house when using such costly materials?

“Yan Er, how much did these bricks cost?”

Of course, Yan Lao’er wouldn’t reveal his own price.

What if someone tried to buy them and couldn’t get the same deal?

“Green bricks are 1.7 wen each, red bricks are 1 wen each.”

The crowd murmured in discussion.

“Whoa! That’s not cheap!”

“Bricks are always this price. The ones from our town’s old brick factory were even more expensive.”

“That means building a house will cost… dozens of taels of silver! Incredible!”

“Can’t even think about it. At most, I’d build a stove with some bricks. Hey, Yan Er, could you sell me some red bricks? I only need about 200.”

The one speaking was Hu Da, an old friend. They had hunted wild boars and fought mountain bandits together, so there was no need for formalities.

“If you’re buying a lot, I could offer a discount. But for just 200 bricks, I can’t lower the price. It’s 1 wen per brick—if that works for you, pay in cash and take them,” Yan Lao’er said.

Hu Da agreed readily. “No need to go back—I have the money right here.”

He took out a small piece of silver, precisely worth 2 qian (200 wen).

Quite an accurate hand.

Yan Lao’er took the silver and announced loudly, “Since everyone is here, let me tell you—the money exchange in town gives 1,200 wen for one tael of silver. Hu Da overpaid, so I’ll give him change. But from today onward, let’s not revisit past debts.”

“Of course, we’re all fair people.”

“Hahaha! No worries, Yan Er. You can trust us.”

Once Hu Da set the example, others followed suit.

Using bricks for stoves was much more durable.

Since Yan Lao’er had bought in bulk, he got a better price. Everyone understood that.

Even if they had gone to buy in smaller quantities, they would’ve paid about the same price.

Plus, Yan Lao’er had already hauled the bricks to the village, saving them the trouble.

With that in mind, people started buying—some took 100 bricks, others 200—until all the red bricks Yan Lao’er and Qi Si had brought back were sold out.

As for the green bricks, those were left for the Yan family.

Waste stone was even cheaper, but they had heard that it wasn’t easy to get—connections were involved.

Yan Lao’er grinned as he strung the copper coins together.

The total cost: 4,500 wen.

Net profit: 500 wen.

Qi Si stood silently beside him.

The red bricks did belong to his family, but they could always buy more later. Delaying the house construction a bit was no big deal.

Yan Lao’er handed him 2 strings and 50 wen, beaming. “Qi Si, we’ve got work to do! Let’s eat quickly, then head to Dongqiao in the afternoon. Maybe even cross the river to check out more brick factories and bring back more bricks.”

There was still demand—several people hadn’t managed to buy any.

Qi Si rubbed his hands together, took the copper coins, and grinned foolishly.

They had already made money?

Yan Er was amazing!

…

When Yan Lao’er arrived at the fields, Aunt Rong was in full action.

From beating the eggs, adding water, to steaming—it was all done with precise efficiency.

She even used the residual steam from the egg custard to heat up some hardened steamed buns, making them soft again.

These were the last six buns in the house. The village aunties hadn’t been making any recently, so if they wanted more, they’d have to steam their own batch.

Yan Yu held two wild duck eggs in her hands, showing them to her father.

“Dad, feel them—they’re still warm! Hahaha!”

Yan Xiangheng and Da Ya thought she was just happy that the cat had found the eggs.

Xiao Er had gathered six eggs in his shirt, so they were pleased too.

But in truth, Yan Yu was laughing at her father’s wishful thinking—he hadn’t even trained the cat to recognize wild ducks, so how could it possibly catch one?

These eggs had borne the burden of his unrealistic expectations.

Yan Lao’er didn’t argue with his daughter.

Wasn’t she the one who said they had to be bold and try?

After wolfing down a steamed bun, he grabbed a hoe and got to work.

Before Qi Si left, he reminded everyone to pace themselves and conserve energy.

Yan Xiangheng noticed that Aunt Rong took special care of their pregnant Second Aunt. She never let her bend down too much and would steady her whenever she stepped on loose stones.

He thought about it and decided to tell his father later. With her belly growing bigger, it was best to keep her from heavy labor.

They spent the entire day working in the fields by the river.

By sunset, they had cleared half of the land, with the weeds piled up.

Li Xuemei suggested, “Let’s leave them to dry out a bit before burning.”

Yan Yu felt accomplished.

Though tired, she was excited to sow seeds soon.

Once the seeds were in the ground, there would be harvests.

The future felt full of promise, and she was brimming with motivation.