Chapter 209: The Young Scouts Regather

Old Lady Qi nodded repeatedly, and the family once again began pacing the edge of the field.

When Yan Lao’er returned, his daughter had already sorted his silver into several piles.

So quick-handed…

“Dad, I’ve packed your silver in different pouches,” Yan Yu said, neatly arranging her father’s money. “There’s the public money, your private stash, and the household funds.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “So how much are you planning to leave us for household use?”

Yan Lao’er had taken a walk around to clear his head.

He pushed fifty taels of silver forward.
“Mei, you keep this. It’s our family’s emergency fund. Don’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”

Then he pushed over another ten taels.
“This is for daily expenses.”

The rest he bundled up and tucked away.

“I’ll take the rest with me. This time I plan to start with the towns around Crouching Tiger. If that’s not enough, I’ll go past Yongning and head straight to Longxing.”

Yan Yu lost interest in splitting silver.

“Dad, you really have to be careful.” She bit her lip and said softly, “Why not take the iron crossbow with you?”

Li Xuemei’s eyelid twitched.

She immediately objected. “Don’t talk nonsense. Your uncle specifically told us not to use it.”

Yan Lao’er patted his daughter’s soft hair.

“We’ve got the Three Treasures with us. What are you worried about? If something really happens, you think I won’t run? With our Three Treasures’ speed, if I seriously wanted to escape, who could catch me?”

Yan Yu thought about it and realized she was overthinking.

When the Qi family returned, Yan Lao’er got ready to set off.

Qi Da stuffed a wooden stick onto the cart. Qi Wu, not seeing it, shoved another one in. Qi Si looked at what he had prepared and, thinking it didn’t take up much space, decided to bring his too.

Yan Lao’er was speechless at the three of them.

In the end, he didn’t take them off. Might as well bring them—they could serve as carrying poles from time to time.

He loaded a few baskets and quite a few bundles of cloth, including that coarse oil-cloth he’d oiled with tung oil.

He wasn’t afraid of rain on himself—what he feared was the medicinal herbs getting wet, which would ruin everything.

Two people rode off in the cart.

Yan Yu perked up instantly.

“Mom, I’m going to find someone to play with.”

“Go ahead,” Li Xuemei said, not paying much attention.

Yan Yu’s so-called “finding someone to play with” meant calling the Young Scouts back together.

“We’ve finished all the fieldwork and slacked off for long enough. Time to get moving!” She raised her arm and pointed toward the northern mountains.
“All squads, you have fifteen minutes to gather! Bring your weapons! Target: the mountain—prepare to set off!”

Xiao Gouzi asked, “But our weapons all got burned. Where are we supposed to find weapons?”

He was talking about the bamboo crossbows. All of them—adults’ and kids’—had been burned clean before entering Guanzhou.

“No bamboo crossbows? Then bring wooden sticks! And what about your little wooden bows? Don’t tell me you didn’t sneak off to make some—I saw them.” Yan Yu wasn’t easy to fool.

The kids giggled.

They nudged and poked each other.

The wooden bows couldn’t shoot as far as bamboo ones, but they were good for target practice.

The adults thought they were just fooling around.

So they casually helped make some.

Only the kids remembered what their leader said.

Yan Xiao’er hadn’t disbanded them. As long as she didn’t say it, they were still the Young Scouts, always waiting for a summons.

And now? It was time for group action again.

The kids weren’t scared of the mountain at all—in fact, they were full of anticipation.

“Oh right, this mission is confidential. No telling your families until we’re back,” Yan Yu added, not wanting to waste time explaining.

“Alright, dismissed. Regroup here in fifteen minutes!”

Whoosh!

The kids scattered in all directions.

Soon, only a few kids who lived nearby remained at the big rock.

“Fengnian, you coming with us? Didn’t your dad give you a bunch of assignments?” Yan Yu asked, puzzled.

“I’ve been memorizing in advance every day. Almost done. Xiao’er… I mean, Leader, let me come with you guys.” Liang Fengnian pleaded quietly.

Yan Yu, who had also been assigned homework, sympathized deeply.

“Alright then, just manage your time well. If Uncle Liang comes back and isn’t satisfied with your work, you better not mention the Young Scouts.”

“I won’t say anything. It’s a secret,” Liang Fengnian promised.

Soon enough, the kids started trickling back.

In less than fifteen minutes, all squads were assembled.

Yan Yu herself carried a wooden staff—a long one, taller than she was.

She had adult strength now. The longer the reach, the greater the power—a wooden staff suited her well.

“This time we’re going into the mountains mainly to collect medicinal herbs. You’ve all learned what kinds to look for from your families, right? Even if you haven’t, after digging a few times you’ll pick it up.

This is our first trip into the mountain. We’ll move as a group—no splitting up. That’s it. Let’s go!”

The Young Scouts advanced toward the mountains in a mighty, orderly formation.

They hadn’t trained in a while, but what they had learned stayed with them. Everyone paid attention to their squad formations.

Yan Yu, as leader, didn’t do much else—just kept her eyes scanning them.

Wherever she looked, that squad straightened up proudly.

This was part of the evaluation. The squads that lagged would get punished.

Yan Yu had asked Mao Mao to help map out the direction and general range.

They found useful things all along the way.

The kids beamed with joy.

A puff of grey fur darted past in panic.

San Tie, who was scouting ahead, made a hand signal.

The kids behind him immediately froze in place.

Yan Yu made a quick judgment and stepped up onto a rock.

“There’s a rabbit den nearby. Each squad, spread out and search. Don’t go far—stay where you can see me.”

The kids scattered in all directions to look.

One after another reported finding rabbit dens.

San Tie was baffled.

“How come there are so many?”

Yan Yu’s eyes lit up.

“It’s not one den—it’s several!”

This area only had their village nearby, and they’d only just arrived.

Before them, it was likely that no one had ever come deep into the mountain.

Never cultivated.

Heh, what a good mountain!

Yan Yu had come well-prepared. She pulled out her flint.

“Er Tie, San Tie—you two handle the fire. Be careful not to let it spread.”

Er Tie and San Tie nodded and set off on their task.

Yan Yu stayed atop the rock.

Smoke rose, and the kids guarding the burrow entrances cheered excitedly.

Rural kids were pros at catching rabbits and chickens.

Only two died—the rest were caught alive.

“Keep going!”

With more experience, it became easier to identify medicinal herbs.

They had no tools and relied on their hands.

For ones that needed to be dug up, they used small wooden sticks.

Kids in front and on the flanks beat the undergrowth with their sticks.

They even spotted a startled pheasant fly overhead.

Unfortunately, it had brilliant plumage and could really fly, darting here and there.

Their little wooden bows didn’t have the range—so it got away.

But they did pick up the feathers it dropped.

Other than Yan Yu, there were girl scouts from other families too. They planned to trade the herbs they gathered for more supplies and save up to make a feathered shuttlecock…

Only when their baskets and buckets were full did the kids reluctantly start heading down the mountain.

By the time they returned, it was past noon.

The adults didn’t mind much.

It wasn’t just one or two missing—it was the whole village’s kids, which meant they must be together.

With so many of them, the adults were at ease.

Back to the big rock again.

The children gathered the medicinal herbs they had collected.

They weren’t particularly eager to take them home.

In terms of a sense of belonging, they were more inclined to hand them over to their leader—Yan Xiao’er.

Even though that leader had promised them rewards that were long overdue…

Yan Yu asked Da Gouzi Brother and Xiao Gouzi Brother to help sort the herbs.

The careful little sisters were also lending a hand nearby, passing things over, arranging them more neatly.

Don’t underestimate this step.

It gave the children the feeling that their team had real discipline and took things seriously.

“There are two options for how we deal with these herbs. One, we sell them directly, the money goes into our treasury as military funds for our scouts. We’re not even properly equipped yet—we don’t look legit. With that money, we can get what we need, like properly sized back baskets for each of us, and some decent tools for digging herbs.”

The kids looked up at Yan Yu, no one interrupting.

Because their leader wasn’t finished speaking.

Yan Yu held up two fingers. “Two, we learn to process the herbs ourselves. The good part is, we can sell them for more silver. The downside—it takes more time.

There are many types of herbs, so not only do we have to learn carefully and avoid messing things up and wasting them, but we also need to assign a group to specialize in processing.”

“These two options—we’ll talk it out and once we’ve decided, we won’t change our minds. In the future, if anything else comes up that concerns the development of our scouts, we’ll handle it the same way—open discussion.

But once the decision is made, it doesn’t matter what thoughts you might still have, we follow what we agreed on.”

“Alright, everyone speak up.”

Da Gouzi was the first to talk. “My dad processes herbs, I know how troublesome it is. You have to dry them, wash them, some even need to be roasted with fire. One mistake and the herb’s ruined. We better just sell them straight, saves the hassle.”

Xiao Gouzi chimed in right after, “What my brother said is exactly what I wanted to say. Sure, everyone trusts us, but it’s a ton of work!”

“Then let’s just sell them directly. We can spend that time searching more on the mountain and dig up even more herbs.”

“Exactly, exactly. Sell them!”

The kids all thought it was too much trouble. And Yan Xiao’er had also said someone would have to specialize in processing the herbs—but please don’t let that someone be me.

“Alright, that settles it. From now on, we sell the herbs we dig up.” Yan Yu made the final call.

“Yan Xiao’er, who are we selling these to? Will Doctor Cui take them?”

“Doctor Cui won’t. The lord in Crouching Tiger City will. My dad goes out to buy herbs for him. The ones we dug today, the lord buys them too. But he wants them processed, so if we sell them raw like this, we won’t get much.”

Yan Yu didn’t brush things off just because the others were young.

In fact, she explained everything very carefully.

“Tell your parents this too—The lord is kind and won’t let us work for free. He pays for the herbs.

But the money only comes after the herbs are sold. How much depends on how many processed herbs are produced in the end.

Herbs are also graded. The better the grade, the higher the price; the worse, the cheaper.

And that grade depends on whether we damaged the herbs while digging. If they’re incomplete, they won’t sell for much.

So everyone, be more careful. It’s better to move slowly and keep the whole plant intact.”

The kids clenched their little fists—they understood.

With a shout from Yan Yu to disband, all the children scattered like baby swallows returning to their nests, happily running home.

Eager to share what Yan Xiao’er had told them—

Digging up herbs earns money!

Yan Yu began recording everything, writing down quantities by type, then had Da Gouzi Brother and Xiao Gouzi Brother help carry it to her uncle.

“Uncle!” Yan Yu called sweetly.

Doctor Cui stiffened.

Madam Cui, however, welcomed her with a big smile.

“Xiao’er’s here! Have you eaten yet? Stay and eat with us. I’ll let your mom know—today’s lunch is at your aunt’s place. I made chive pockets, they smell amazing!”

Yan Yu cheerfully agreed.

She swore it wasn’t because she was craving chive pockets—she just wanted to discuss some things with her uncle.

Madam Cui was overjoyed.

She shouted so loudly that not only her mom heard—half the village did.

She, Yan Xiao’er, was mooching a meal at the Cui household!

As long as I’m not embarrassed, it’s others who will be embarrassed.

Yan Yu knew the essence of it well.

She sat generously at the Cui family table, acting like a proper little guest.

The Cui family’s chive pockets used wild duck eggs and chives for the filling. They didn’t have that rich egg flavor, but the chives were so strong they covered that flaw.

To sum it up in words—Extremely delicious.

With her little belly full, Yan Yu got down to business.

“Uncle, did my dad tell you? Each family’s herbs should be kept separate, so it’ll be easier to settle accounts after the sale.”

Doctor Cui nodded. “Your dad told me. I remember.”

“But uncle, when we went up the mountain today, we ran into a big problem—there are too many herbs and too many types. How are you going to keep track? It’s not convenient at all. We can’t pile each family’s herbs separately—it’s too easy to mix them up.”

She quickly had Da Gouzi Brother and Xiao Gouzi Brother bring over their herbs.

“Look, uncle. We only dug for a bit this morning and already got this much. In a few days, your yard might not even be able to hold them all.”

Doctor Cui had never thought about this. He had always gathered and processed herbs himself.

He never imagined his little home workshop would one day need to handle such a massive operation.

After thinking it through—

Yeah! This really was a problem!

What to do?!

Forget the space—not even the tools were enough: drying racks, woven baskets, straw mats…

He had nothing!

Why had he agreed to help process the herbs?! This… this was totally unmanageable!

Doctor Cui panicked. “I’m still short on a ton of stuff! If they bring more, just… just put them by the big stone for now.”

Sweat began forming on his forehead.

These herbs were fine while still rooted in soil, but once uprooted, they had to be processed quickly or they’d lose potency.

“Otherwise, tell them not to go up the mountain yet. Let’s process what we already have first. Once that’s done, they can go dig more.”

But that wouldn’t work—Crouching Tiger City was urgently waiting for herbs.

“Uncle, saving lives is like fighting fire—how can we wait? If it could wait, my dad wouldn’t have gone out with Uncle Qi to buy herbs.”

“Xiao’er, think of something. You always have the best ideas,” Da Gouzi said, trusting his smart little sister.

Madam Cui had dealt with the Yan family often and knew this Yan Xiao’er was someone who could handle things.

“Xiao’er, help your uncle figure something out. Look at him—bless him, so kind-hearted, but didn’t plan ahead. Now look, everything’s out of control.”
(End of chapter)

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Changing names for the –
Big Dog – Da Gouzi
Little Dog – Xiao Gouzi