**Chapter 243: Sanbao Goes Into the Water**

Yan Yu herself didn’t notice the change, but Li Xuemei and Yan Lao’er, watching from the sidelines, could tell—her appetite had grown, and she’d shot up a bit in height too.

The whole family had a hearty meal.

With all that meat and noodles, it was a bit hard to digest, so Li Xuemei suggested they all go out for a walk.

For farming folk, the thing they cared about most was their land.

So, unsurprisingly, their stroll took them to the Yan Family’s fields.

The vegetable seedlings were growing well, and even more exciting, the fruit pits they’d planted had sprouted tiny green tips. Shy little things, just poking their heads out to take a peek at the world.

Every single fruit seedling had taken root.

The family looked on with satisfaction, their bellies feeling lighter from the walk, and they headed back home.

After washing up, everyone went to bed.

In the middle of the night, Maomao nimbly jumped onto the bed and rolled her little head into Yan Yu’s hand.

Yan Yu forced her eyes open, pushing away the lingering sleep.

She dressed quietly, slipped off the bed, and put on her shoes.

The whole family slept on the same large kang bed. Yan Yu slept at the head, her parents at the foot, and there was still a large empty space in the middle—enough to fit a few more people if needed.

The moment she stirred, Li Xuemei woke up. Seeing her daughter getting up, she nudged the person beside her.

Yan Lao’er turned over, then seemed to remember something and sat up.

He cleared his head and got out of bed too.

The two of them stepped outside, shivering as the chill air hit them.

“Wait a sec,” Yan Lao’er whispered. He went back into the house and brought out two jackets—one for himself, and one to wrap around Yan Yu.

Thankfully, the gate to the courtyard hadn’t been installed yet. It was wide open, and they could slip out without making a sound.

At the entrance, Yan Yu called softly, “Sanbao, keep your steps light. Come on.”

Sanbao stood up and trotted out of the courtyard with light, nimble steps.

The two of them, along with the ox, made their way to the riverbank.

They were going to test the raft—not like during the day, but properly. They needed Sanbao to get into the water to see if pulling the raft from below was a viable idea.

Yan Lao’er set down the rope he’d brought and went to untie the reins Qi Da had secured.

It took a lot of effort to get the rope undone.

“Your Uncle Qi really tied this tight. I haven’t even done anything yet and I’m already sweating,” Yan Lao’er said, wiping his forehead.

Yan Yu had been waiting impatiently. She grabbed her pole and climbed onto the raft.

Standing on it herself felt completely different from watching her father do it.

She dipped the wooden pole—well, it was more like a small punt pole now—into the water. It easily reached the riverbed. With just a bit of force, she could push the raft forward.

Yan Yu hopped back onto the shore and began tying the rope around Sanbao.

“Sanbao, crouch down,” she said, tossing the rope over him. “Now stand up.”

The rope looped under him and came around in a full circle.

After thinking it over, she repeated the process twice more, tying three loops in total.

“Sanbao, when you get in the water later, just follow along with the raft. If we don’t ask you to pull, don’t pull.”

Sanbao nodded obediently.

“Dad, where should I tie the other end?” Yan Yu asked, holding the rope with a troubled expression.

Yan Lao’er looked at the raft. “We’ll have to tie it underneath, so it doesn’t get spotted.”

Yan Yu ran back onto the raft, an idea forming in her head.

“Dad, let’s thread the rope through this hole. If we drill a small hole in the bottom plank, we can pull the rope through it.”

Yan Lao’er thought it was a good idea—except she’d already tied the rope to Sanbao. How were they supposed to thread it now?

Realizing this, Yan Yu untied Sanbao and began feeding the rope down through the hole.

“Wait, how are we supposed to drill a hole underneath? We’ll have to flip the raft,” Yan Lao’er said, frowning.

“Sanbao, come here,” Yan Yu called.

She used the pole to push the raft a bit farther out. “See if you can lift one side of it.”

Sanbao stepped into the water.

Just as she’d hoped, he managed to lift one side of the raft.

“Hahaha! Dad, quick, drill the hole!” Yan Yu urged.

Yan Lao’er was amazed. “This actually works!”

Qi Wu’s tools were still nearby, left by the riverbank.

He grabbed a chisel, found the right spot, and roughly drilled a hole.

After a few strikes, he managed to make an irregular little opening, just big enough for the rope to pass through.

“Wrap it a few more times, Dad,” Yan Yu said, thinking the rope needed to hold up for a while. “It needs to be secure.”

Yan Lao’er had to widen the hole, which took quite a bit of effort, but he finally managed to loop the rope through three times.

Once the rope was tied back onto Sanbao, Yan Yu was practically bouncing with excitement.

She jumped onto the raft in a hurry.

“Dad, come on!”

“Coming, coming!” Yan Lao’er stepped aboard.

Each of them took a pole.

“Let’s try crossing to the other side first,” Yan Yu said.

“Alright,” Yan Lao’er replied, pushing his pole into the water.

But before he even touched bottom, his daughter had already given a strong push, and the raft glided easily away from shore.

Yan Lao’er: …

Yan Yu had never poled a raft herself before, but she’d watched enough to understand the basics.

You use the end of the pole to reach the riverbed, then push off to move forward.

She had plenty of strength, so with just a few pushes, they were already across.

The riverbank looked shallow, but the middle of the river was surprisingly deep. Her short pole couldn’t reach the bottom, so she switched to the longer spare one.

They didn’t move in a perfectly straight line—they drifted slightly downstream—but for a first attempt, it was a clear success.

With some experience now under her belt, Yan Yu gave it another go and poled them back.

This time, they returned to their starting point.

Yan Yu realized it wasn’t all that difficult. The key was getting the angle right when entering the water, switching poles quickly, and alternating sides. As for strength, that wasn’t a problem at all.

Yan Lao’er had been tense at first, but eventually relaxed.

Sailing down the river at night, not having to do anything, just enjoying the ride—it was actually quite pleasant.

“Sweetheart, let me give it a try, too?” Yan Lao’er had been watching for a while and was starting to feel confident.

Yan Yu handed over control to him.

She crouched down, using the moonlight to observe the situation in the water.

“Dad, the water’s too shallow on this side. It’d be better to steer out of this section of the river, or have Sanbao pull from the middle. Otherwise, we might get spotted.”

She waited for a while but didn’t hear any response from her father.

Turning her head, Yan Yu saw Yan Lao’er flailing around, pushing left and right in a frantic mess.

With one side deep and the other shallow, he somehow managed to make the raft wiggle like a dragon’s tail.

Yan Yu: …

Her dad had been practicing longer than she had, and to be fair, he had the basic movements down. He just lacked power. Compared to Yan Yu, who could send the raft shooting upstream with a single push, Yan Lao’er needed several tries to achieve the same effect.

“Let’s try having Sanbao pull the raft,” Yan Yu suggested.

Yan Lao’er nodded, panting heavily.

He stopped what he was doing, set the pole down on the raft, and collapsed into a sitting position.

“Sanbao, pull us upstream,” Yan Yu called out.

At first, the raft continued drifting with the current. But within moments, both of them felt something change.

Sanbao had grabbed hold of the raft from beneath the water.

Then, the raft began moving upstream.

Smoothly and steadily.

The speed was comparable to when Yan Yu had been poling upstream earlier.

“Sanbao, a little faster,” Yan Yu said.

As the pace picked up, more water splashed up around them.

Yan Yu looked into the water again.

The rope was faintly visible—just barely, from her angle, she could still make it out.

But who cared? As long as the people on shore couldn’t see it, it didn’t matter.

Water test complete. Our raft can now cruise happily through the river, la la la~ (*^▽^*)~

(End of Chapter)