Chapter 240 – Renovations Underway

Yan Yu followed behind, tilting her head for a look.

Uncle Qi Da was the fastest. As he reached them, he suddenly remembered his hands were still covered in blood and stopped himself from reaching out.

Qi Si and Qi Wu arrived almost at the same time—one of them took the pot, while the other stood there grinning foolishly.

It felt like her father was being doted on by the whole family…

“We slaughtered a sheep today and made a pot of offal soup—figured we’d add a dish for Da Niang, the sisters-in-law, and the nieces. I cleaned it real good. Try it, see if the flavor suits your taste.”

{Da Niang (大娘) is a respectful, polite term for a mature woman}

He’d added plenty of pepper—it was thick, rich, and fragrant.

“It’s chilly at night. Drink it hot and it’ll warm you right up.”

Mutton soup was perfect for autumn and winter, but he and his daughter craved it all year round—seasons be damned.

Qi Da scratched his head, thinking it probably wasn’t right to make Yan Lao’er carry the pot back again after he’d already hauled it over… Then he glanced at the rabbit he’d just been fiddling with and had an idea.

He turned and fetched his own family’s pot. Qi Wu saw this and broke into a grin, pouring the mutton soup Yan Lao’er had brought into the Qi family’s pot.

Say what you will, the Qi family’s pots were always bigger than everyone else’s.

The pot had been full to the brim when it came. Once poured into theirs, it was just barely halfway.

Yan Lao’er: …

“You can top it off with some boiling water. It’ll still be flavorful.”

They knew this trick well. All three brothers nodded.

It was standard practice in their household—otherwise, there’d never be enough to go around.

Qi Si picked up the Yan family’s pot and gave it a rinse without being asked.

Qi Da tied up the bloodied rabbit with a length of grass rope and handed it to Yan Lao’er.

“Take it back and add it to your table.”

Yan Lao’er: You just learned that trick and now you’re using it on me?!

Yan Yu watched as her father accepted the poor little rabbit—

And handed it to her.

Yan Yu: …

She dashed home in a flurry to deliver the pitiful rabbit to the kitchen, then dashed right back just as fast.

Her father was already running his hands over the wood that Qi Wu had planed.

“This is gonna be my front door?” Yan Lao’er was thoroughly pleased. Qi Wu had a sharp eye for timber. Just look at that grain—beautiful!

Qi Wu said, “This panel’s done. Once I finish the other side, we’ll lacquer them together.”

Several planks were neatly lined up—he was just about to start grooving them.

“Need me to do anything?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Qi Wu didn’t even stop to think what he was actually there for. If he wanted to work, let him work.

He gave instructions right away. “Yan Lao’er, hold that side down so it doesn’t shift.”

“Got it,” Yan Lao’er replied, putting some strength into it.

Qi Si came over to hold the other side.

Even Yan Yu got involved, pressing down beside her father.

Qi Wu carved out three grooves, wide on one end and narrow on the other. He took a long wooden strip and hammered it into the wide end—three in total—joining the planks side by side into a solid piece.

He shaved off the excess.

Then began sanding, bit by bit. The door panel gradually took shape.

Qi Si handled one, Qi Wu the other. The brothers moved the panels with ease. They compared them—looked pretty symmetrical—so they set them aside for now.

“Yan Lao’er, later head into town and see if they’ve got lacquer for sale. If not, Crouching Tiger City should,” said Qi Wu.

Yan Lao’er asked, “What kind of lacquer should I buy?”

“There’s raw lacquer and black lacquer,” Qi Wu said. “Either one’s fine.”

Yan Yu gave her father a subtle tug.

Yan Lao’er nodded and didn’t ask further.

“Yan Er’s here!”

Old Lady Qi couldn’t see clearly, but her two granddaughters beside her had already spotted Uncle Yan Lao’er and Yan Xiao Er in the yard from afar and quickly told their grandmother.

The head of the household had returned.

Yan Lao’er hurried over to greet her.

“Da Niang, I’m here to bring the money again!” Yan Lao’er’s voice brimmed with cheer.

Just listen to that—what a joyful tone.

Old Lady Qi’s face wrinkled into a wide smile.

“You folks are bound to do well, Yan Er. Our whole family’s blessed to have you around. Your Yan family is full of good fortune!”

{“Yan Er” is a familiar, shortened form of “Yan Lao’er” (Yan the Second Son). Da Niang uses it to speak informally or affectionately—like saying “Second Yan”. It’s a common way for elders to address someone younger in a close or scolding tone.}

Yan Lao’er chuckled, “This time it’s not charcoal—it’s a cut from the scented soap business. We sold quite a bit in Yongning City, and some in Longxing City too. I thought I’d bring you your share. Next time, let’s set a regular date for settling accounts—how about the last day of each month, Da Niang, does that work for you?”

“Anything’s fine, whatever’s convenient for you. Settling accounts is a hassle anyway. If you’re too busy, we can do it quarterly, or even yearly.” Old Lady Qi thought monthly settlements might be too frequent—not that she minded getting money every month, but she didn’t want to trouble them.

“Haha, no trouble at all—I’ll have Xiao Er do the math. She did the books this time too, not a single coin off.” Yan Lao’er handed over the neatly wrapped silver.

Old Lady Qi hadn’t reached for it yet, but her two granddaughters were already wide-eyed.

The elder one whispered, “Nai, it’s heavy.”
{Nai – Grandma}

Old Lady Qi paused mid-reach, a flicker of hesitation in her movement.

Even though she was mentally prepared, the solid weight of it still surprised her.

She nearly dropped it.

“Yan Er, Yan Er, this can’t be right!” Old Lady Qi took a step forward, reaching out to find him.

Yan Lao’er steadied her. “Da Niang, the math checks out—it’s the right amount. Don’t say you won’t take it. This business is something us brothers started together, and we agreed on this from the beginning.”

He continued, “Brother Qi Da, there’s still some finishing touches left on my house. I’ve talked to Master Lu—they’ll stay for now and start on your house too.”

“The nights are getting colder by the day. If you can move in earlier, Da Niang and the others won’t have to suffer.”

Qi Da looked to his mother. “Ma, should we do it?”

In his heart, he already agreed. The three of them might manage at night, but their mother and the women were really starting to feel the cold.

Qi Si suddenly spoke up, “We’ve already done quite a bit of the brickwork—shouldn’t that mean we pay less?”

Qi Wu nodded quickly. “Exactly! Yan Lao’er, Master Lu will definitely cut us a deal, right?”

“Of course.” Yan Lao’er gave them a look of firm assurance.

Old Lady Qi’s hands trembled slightly. She smiled, her eyes welling with warmth, her vision growing blurrier still.

“Good, good. Let’s build. Hire them to build.”

When she heard that Yan Lao’er had not only brought money but also soup, she had her two granddaughters help her over to the kitchen. She instructed them to light the stove, move the sack of flour over, boil some water, and steam a batch of mantou.

Meanwhile, Yan Lao’er was huddled with the three Qi brothers, still discussing the wooden raft.

Yan Yu finally found her chance to speak up and share her thoughts.

“Qi Wu, could the raft be made a bit flatter? What if we laid another layer of planks on top? And for the front and back ends—could we angle them upward a bit? It’d be even better if there were a board to block splashes. That way, when going upstream, water wouldn’t spray up so easily.”

“And about the bamboo bed on top—thinking it over, instead of one big one, why not use two smaller ones side by side? When we’re not using them, we could stack them up and save space.”

Qi Wu was completely lost in the weeds.

It wasn’t until Yan Yu drew a diagram that he finally understood what she meant by “angled boards”—thin planks slanted upright at both ends of the raft.

They had plenty of wood ready to go. Qi Wu figured they could first lash the raft together and then tinker with the other features later.

He tied it securely with hemp rope.

Selecting logs of roughly the same size, he bundled them tightly together into a raft.

After examining it for a while, Qi Wu set the finished Yan Family door panel on top.

He stared at it a good long while, then called over his brothers to place the other panel underneath as a base.

(End of Chapter)