Chapter 221 – Stipend

Yan Huaiwen shook the cleaned writing brush, pinched the tip gently to shape it, and softly placed it back into its case.

The brush case wasn’t made of fine materials—just coarse cloth from home—but there was a clever touch: a second inner layer that fit the brush snugly, holding it in place so it wouldn’t rattle around.

Embroidered on the outside was a simple honeysuckle pattern.

Honeysuckle—ren dong—also known as jin yin hua.

The honeysuckle stitched by Daya was unlike the intricate embroidery crafted by professional seamstresses; it resembled more the natural, unpolished way honeysuckle grew in the wild. The stitches were tight, and if one looked closely, one could see traces of corrections.

Yan Huaiwen could feel his daughter’s thoughtfulness. His fingers lightly brushed the embroidery as he tied the straps shut.

He sampled the food sent from home, one item at a time.

He picked out another piece of the braised meat from the jar, chewing slowly. Just as Xiao Er had said, it was well-seasoned—rich in flavor, though a bit on the salty side. Still, it would go well with rice or porridge.

He drank the goat milk from the bamboo tube in an unhurried manner. When about half remained, he stopped. It shouldn’t be left out too long, but there was no need to drink it all at once. He’d save some for later.

Yan Huaiwen divided everything into two equal portions.

This was something both Tian You and Xiao Er did very well.

Every time they delivered things, it was never just for him—there was always a portion for Liang Manshan as well.

At a glance, the two sets were identical. The only difference was that his side had already been opened, while Liang Manshan’s was still sealed.

“Brother Huaiwen,” came Liang Manshan’s voice from outside.

“Come in, Manshan,” Yan Huaiwen replied, rising to his feet.

Liang Manshan entered naturally, pushing the door open and placing the bundle in his hand on the table.

“Candles, ink sticks, and two sheaves of paper each,” he said, pulling a small piece of broken silver from his sleeve. “One tael of silver—stipend from the Magistrate.”

Yan Huaiwen felt the paper with his fingers and frowned. “Magistrate Tian isn’t a man of wealth—how can we accept so much?”

Liang Manshan chuckled. “Don’t worry, Brother Huaiwen. This isn’t out of the Magistrate’s own pocket. It comes from Commander Xue of the Crouching Tiger garrison.”

Yan Huaiwen understood at once.

“Because of the illness spreading in the military camp?”

“Exactly. The Magistrate had already issued orders forbidding unnecessary movement in and out of the city, but that Commander Xue insisted on rotating the patrols. Well, now look—soldiers have fallen ill. Fortunately, they’re strong from years of drilling, or else who knows whether they’d have walked in on their own or had to be carried.”

He shook his head. “Too careless. Everyone in the city knows to wear a face covering, but they refused to believe it. Just tied some cloth over their faces—no replacements, nothing.”

“Military orders are absolute,” Yan Huaiwen said with measured fairness. “Commander Xue was simply doing his duty. But the matter of the masks… yes, he was indeed careless.”

He glanced at the items on the table and smiled faintly. “He’s learned his lesson this time, I’d say. Next time, he won’t treat Magistrate Tian’s warnings as idle chatter.”

The Crouching Tiger Government Office and the garrison operated separately.

Commander Xue, it was said, had some backing. An interesting man—when Magistrate Tian conscripted labor and funds to build fortifications, Commander Xue would flatter him endlessly, constantly running to the Government Office.

But when asked to lend some military supplies to aid disaster relief? Not a sound. He even avoided making appearances.

Word was, Commander Xue was quite adept at demanding resources from his superiors. Treated his men well. The garrison warehouses weren’t overflowing, but they were far from empty. Yet the man guarded his stores like a mythical pixiu—hoarding without letting anything out.

Even with the epidemic worsening outside Crouching Tiger City, even after they consulted Dr. An from Yongning City’s Huimin Hall and decided to separate the sick by symptoms and make more masks to distribute—still, when the Government Office had to save its silver for medicine and sought to borrow cloth from the garrison, Magistrate Tian didn’t even bother asking. Everyone knew how Commander Xue was. Even knowing they likely had medicine in storage, he said nothing.

And yet—just borrowing some cloth, and Commander Xue still clutched it tight, refusing to let go…

Magistrate Tian gave up on sending people. Later, the order restricting city movement wasn’t issued out of spite—but that’s not how Commander Xue took it. Instead of reporting to his superiors and postponing patrols, he stuck to the rules by the book.

Then trouble struck, and he came running, desperate.

Even humbled himself—came to the city gate with a bundle of thorny branches on his back, begging forgiveness…

You had to admit—what a character.

Magistrate Tian treated all equally. He allowed the sick soldiers to be brought in for treatment. That was how all these supplies had come to be.

Just as rumors said, Commander Xue truly cared for his men. Fearing that these “little devils” in the Government Office might be difficult, he sent all these items to curry favor.

Still, they chose to treat it as a stipend from the Magistrate—no one intended to accept Commander Xue’s personal favor.

Neither man mentioned the sight of Commander Xue standing at the city gate with thorn branches on his back, but they shared a knowing smile.

“Take this with you when you go—it’s what my family prepared for you specially,” Yan Huaiwen said, pointing to the set he had separated out.

Liang Manshan wasn’t surprised. It was the same last time—everything the Yan family sent came in twos.

Back then, it had been Yan Lao’er delivering the items. He and Huaiwen were old friends, so he accepted them freely.

But today was different—it was Xiao Er of the Yan family. His niece had prepared them.

“Look at your two young ladies, and then look at my Fengnian. Girls really are more thoughtful.

I must say, Brother Huaiwen, you raise your daughters differently. That Xiao Er of yours—clever and capable—she’s no ordinary girl.”

Yan Huaiwen nodded in agreement. “Tian You never shields her. Matters of the household, matters of the world—she’s heard it all. As she grows older, she’s developing opinions of her own.

She’s like her father—understands numbers and economics the moment they’re explained. Luckily, the child’s nature is steady. She hasn’t been blinded by wealth, nor corrupted by it.”

On the road during their flight from disaster, he’d let Tian You take her along to handle the accounts and divide silver among the families. It was a test of sorts.

Thankfully, the girl liked money—but wasn’t consumed by greed.

With a cheerful heart, Liang Manshan left carrying the goods.

At the door, he paused for a moment and turned back to glance behind him.

Just moments ago, he had wanted to steer the conversation toward the matter of Yan Family’s Xiao Er’s marriage. If she could be married into their family and become Fengnian’s wife, it would be ideal—not only was her background clear and familiar, having watched her grow up, but with Xiao Er’s intelligence, she would surely not go wrong in the future.

But Brother Huaiwen had deftly changed the subject, whether deliberately or unintentionally, he couldn’t quite tell.

Forget it. The children were still young; it was too early to speak of such things.

Besides, if he truly hoped to be a match for the Yan Family, he, as a father, would have to strive even harder.

With that thought in mind, Liang Manshan didn’t go straight to bed after returning home. Instead, he lit a lamp and pored once more over the scrolls he had brought with him.

…

After Yan Yu and his group returned from Crouching Tiger City, word spread quickly through the village that their medicinal herbs had been purchased by the Magistrate himself.

Yan Family’s Xiao Er also sent word through the children.

Once the accounts were settled, a portion of the Work Points would be distributed.

All of a sudden, more and more women began showing up around Li Xuemei’s place, each finding different ways to ask how many copper coins those Work Points might actually be worth.

Over at the Cui household, the elderly couple were even more persistent, grabbing hold of Physician Cui every chance they got to ask about it.

Physician Cui responded with practiced patience, telling them to wait just a bit longer—once the tally was done, they’d be the first to know, and so on.

But no sooner did he turn around than the forgetful old man, who tended to repeat himself, grabbed him to ask the same question all over again…

(End of Chapter)