Chapter 169: Distribution

Yan Lao’er visited three brick kilns—one in Dongqiao Town of Gufeng and the other two across the river in Yongning.

The journey was full of twists and turns, with plenty of inquiries and directions needed along the way.

At each kiln, he placed an order for 20,000 red bricks, using his thick skin to bargain the price down to 19 strings of coins per 10,000 bricks.

He paid a hefty deposit at each location and sweet-talked his way into taking some stock immediately.

Dongqiao Town in Gufeng and Xiqiao Town in Crouching Tiger City were close to each other and had a bit of a competitive relationship. With some coaxing, he managed to haul away 8,000 bricks from there.

The two kilns in Yongning were thriving, with a large-scale business employing many workers, so they weren’t particularly interested in his small order.

But Yan Lao’er didn’t come empty-handed—he brought freshly made charcoal.

He left a sack at each kiln, about thirty pounds each.

Then, he went on to boast about his family’s charcoal-making skills, explaining that they had just settled in Crouching Tiger City, with everything still in its early stages. He offered charcoal at three qian per hundred pounds but said he could go as low as two qian eight if needed. If any of them were interested, he asked them to spread the word, mentioning that his family was located near Dashiqiao, to the west of the woods—formerly wasteland.

Offering free samples as a networking tactic was something that had been overused in his previous life, but here, it worked wonders.

In the end, the two Yongning kilns each let him take 5,000 bricks, and one even asked him to return in three days when a new batch would be ready, possibly allowing him to take more.

Yan Lao’er and Qi Si had been running around tirelessly, exhausted yet delighted.

Between the homesteads of the Yan and Qi families, a massive pile of red bricks had now accumulated.

Since they came from different kilns, there were some variations in size and color, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that by tomorrow, they could finally start building!

—

When Yan Yu returned from the fields, she was stunned to find her home filled with bricks.

After getting over the initial shock, she quickly grasped the situation—

and started selling bricks.

She roped in her eldest brother, with one recording and the other collecting money.

Of course, her brother did the recording, and she took care of the cash!

Meanwhile, Aunt Rong hadn’t left. Instead, she helped start the fire for cooking, boiled water for chrysanthemum tea, and even carried two buckets of water back from the river. Seeing the small dining table the Yan family used, she wiped it clean, then neatly stacked some bricks to create a makeshift stand for the table, adding more bricks around it as temporary stools.

Li Xuemei sat on one of these makeshift brick stools and found it surprisingly comfortable.

The height was perfect—especially for a pregnant woman like her.

Previously, sitting on the low wooden stools was uncomfortable, particularly when the whole family ate together. With Old Yan right across from her, she had to be mindful of her posture, often sitting sideways with her body slightly twisted.

Now, it was much better—her legs could dangle naturally, and her belly had more room.

Da Ya noticed that her second aunt had tacitly accepted Aunt Rong’s help, so she said nothing. But she couldn’t stop watching, her eyes following Aunt Rong’s every move.

Seeing how quickly Aunt Rong took charge of household tasks—especially the clever way she used bricks for furniture—left a deep impression on Da Ya.

Her memories of her own mother were already fading. What she remembered most was her second aunt constantly bustling about.

When her second aunt was pregnant with Er Ya, Da Ya had been too young to understand much, but she did remember that the labor lasted an entire day and night, and it had been excruciating.

Before even finishing her postpartum recovery, her second aunt had resumed working, carrying Er Ya strapped to her front while managing all the household chores.

Back then, her second uncle was always out and about, leaving everything in her second aunt’s hands.

Da Ya had always thought that helping with chores was the best way to support her second aunt. But today, she realized that not all work was the same.

She considered herself a quick and capable girl, but compared to Aunt Rong, the gap was obvious.

And more importantly, Aunt Rong truly considered her second aunt’s well-being…

—

Yan Yu, oblivious to how Aunt Rong’s presence had touched Da Ya, was busy excitedly counting coins. The sound of copper coins clinking together was music to her ears.

“Big Brother, record 400 bricks for Grandpa Song’s family.”

“Uncle Wang, 200 bricks.”

“Uncle Li, 200 bricks. Fengnian, don’t lift anything, just help count. Uncle Li, that’s eight qian of silver. Do you want more small silver pieces or copper coins? Copper coins? Alright, here you go—five qian in small silver and one string of sixty copper coins.”

“Everyone, don’t start loading yet! Let Fengnian count for you. My dad hauled these bricks from different kilns, so it’s better to use bricks from the same kiln to keep the size and color consistent. Mixing them up wouldn’t look as nice!”

Yan Yu rattled on, while Yan Xiangheng kept his head down, diligently recording.

Liang Fengnian, under her command, was running around counting bricks for one family after another. The Luo brothers, from Da Tie to Si Tie, were all pitching in.

Big Dog and Little Dog, fresh from the fields, soon joined the brick-moving effort.

Even Madam Cui set aside her cooking to check out the neatly stacked bricks, mentally calculating how many they would need for their own home.

“Husband, how many bricks should we buy? I want to build a double stove.”

Physician Cui quietly replied, “We also need bricks for the heated kang bed.”

Madam Cui nodded in admiration. “Dog’s Father, you really are sharp. You usually stay quiet, but when you do speak, you go straight for the bone. We need to hurry before others realize it—better buy enough bricks now.”

Physician Cui: …

I feel like you’re calling me a dog.

Forget it. I won’t argue.

“Get 1,000 bricks,” he finally decided after some thought.

“That many?” Madam Cui hesitated.

He patiently explained, “You want a double stove, right? We also need to build a kang bed. Big Dog and Little Dog sleep separately from us, so we need two beds. I’m actually underestimating here—we might need more later.”

Madam Cui countered, “One big kang bed will do. I heard from the yamen workers that in Guanzhou, families all sleep together in winter to save firewood.”

Despite not having traveled far, news spread fast.

Physician Cui conceded, “Since you’re making a big kang, that means even more bricks. Don’t worry, we won’t have any leftovers.”

Seeing his wife rush off to buy bricks, Physician Cui smirked secretly.

There was no way they needed that many bricks for just a kang and a stove.

With some extras left over… he could build himself a little furnace.

—

Yan Huaiwen and Liang Manshan returned from their errand and watched for a moment.

Seeing his son being bossed around so efficiently by Yan Xiao’er, Liang Manshan felt a bit conflicted.

Meanwhile, Yan Huaiwen was focused on his little niece’s mental arithmetic skills—and her ridiculously sweet-talking mouth. She addressed everyone warmly, calling elders “Grandpa” and “Uncle” and younger ones “Brother,” as if they were all close family.

And the way she naturally commanded Big Tie, San Tie, Big Dog, and Little Dog—treating them like real brothers—was something else.

Yan Huaiwen’s lips slowly curved into a smile, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

(End of chapter.)