Transmigrated Family C26

Chapter 26: Grinding Wheat

The Qi family consisted of three brothers supporting their elderly mother.

When she was younger, Old Madam Qi had worked late into the night by lamplight, damaging her eyesight. Now, everything appeared blurry to her, and she could only move around freely within her own courtyard, rarely stepping outside.

The Qi family originally had five brothers, but the second and third sons did not survive infancy.

Their land was scarce, and Qi Da could manage it alone. Qi Si worked at a coffin shop in town as an apprentice, and through his introduction, Qi Wu became an apprentice under Carpenter Liao, who specialized in crafting coffins.

They were an honest family, quiet and unassuming.

The villagers knew they were decent folk, but the nature of Qi Si and Qi Wu’s work made others wary. Because of this, few interacted with them, and over time, they became almost invisible in the village.

Every year, Scholar Yan hired laborers to help with his fields. In past years, Qi Da had never been chosen, but this year, due to the drought, most villagers were focused on their own small plots of land, which worked in his favor.

When word spread that the Yan family was offering grain as payment, many were envious.

Village Chief Luo had his reasons for selecting the Qi family. First, they had little land, and with Qi Si and Qi Wu returning home, they had extra labor available.

Second, the Qi brothers were physically strong, broad-shouldered, and full of energy.

Otherwise, the coffin shop owner wouldn’t have hired Qi Si—he was worth two men in strength, making moving and carrying coffins much easier.

Qi Wu was the same. Carpenter Liao, unlike other carpenters, only made coffins.

His materials were thick, solid wood, and not just anyone could handle them.

Qi Da was honest and silent, aside from calling out at the courtyard gate. He unloaded the neatly bundled wheat from the cart and carried it into the yard, stacking it in an orderly fashion without saying a word.

Qi Si had come along with him. Although he worked at a coffin shop where he had little interaction with people, he still knew how to exchange pleasantries.

“Second Brother Yan, I see your wheat has been sun-dried. When do you plan to grind it? Just let us brothers know.”

“Actually, we’re in a bit of a hurry. I was thinking of going this afternoon,” Yan Lao’er (Second Yan) replied. “Our family just got an ox—”

He was about to suggest using the ox to turn the mill, thinking it would be much faster.

But before he could finish, his elder brother interjected, “Since we have the ox, we should use it to transport all the wheat in one trip. That way, we won’t have to make multiple runs. As for grinding, we’ll trouble you two Qi brothers. No need to grind it too fine, just enough to be edible.”

Qi Si’s face lit up with joy. “Scholar, don’t worry! Leave it to us brothers.”

Qi Da grinned widely, clearly pleased.

As the two brothers left the courtyard, it suddenly felt much more spacious.

“Big Brother, we could just have the ox turn the mill,” Yan Lao’er said, reluctant to part with their grain. Using their own ox cost nothing, but hiring the Qi brothers meant paying them with wheat.

“If you save that bit of wheat but overwork the ox, who’s going to carry me to Guanzhou when it collapses?” Yan Huaiwen scoffed, clearly unimpressed with his younger brother’s stinginess.

“Sanbao is strong! It’s just grinding wheat; it’s nothing!” Yan Lao’er muttered in protest.

To be honest, as long as Old Yan wasn’t glaring at him, he could argue quite fluently. But the moment he received that sharp gaze, he instinctively felt guilty.

“Go inside and start packing. Once our wheat is ground, we’ll wait for the rest of the villagers, and then we’ll set off within the next couple of days.” Yan Huaiwen gave his instructions before heading inside.

Yan Xiangheng moved closer and asked in a low voice, “Uncle, are we really leaving? Why north?”

“Your father didn’t tell you?” Yan Lao’er asked.

“He just said the drought here has made life impossible, so we’re taking the villagers north to Guanzhou. But Uncle, we’re not at that desperate point yet, are we?”

“Go fetch some water and check the old village well—it’s completely dry!” Yan Lao’er exaggerated for effect, fully cooperating with Old Yan’s plan.

“You spend all day at the academy and don’t know what’s happening in town. The wealthy families have already fled, yet we’re still stubbornly sitting here. If things continue like this and no rain falls, can you imagine what will happen?”

Following his uncle’s words, Yan Xiangheng thought carefully. “If this continues, we’ll have to pay grain tax soon. Half of our wheat will be taken, and if it still doesn’t rain… Wait! Something’s not right, Uncle! If Father is taking all the wheat to be ground, what will we use to pay taxes?”

Yan Lao’er shot him a sharp glare and hissed, “Just shut up already! Have you learned nothing at the academy? What kind of stupid question is that? When did your father say we were leaving?”

“In the next couple of days…”

“Then hurry up and start packing!”

“Ah? Oh… Oh!” Yan Xiangheng finally realized what was happening, smacking his forehead before rushing off to pack.

Meanwhile, Yan Yu stood nearby, hands tucked into her sleeves, squatting with a serious expression.

“Father!” she called out.

When Yan Lao’er turned around, he saw his daughter staring at him with a stern face.

“Da Bao, can you stop squatting like that? And with your hands stuffed in your sleeves—why can’t you learn something decent from your great-uncle?”

She looked just like an old farmer…

“It’s comfortable!” Yan Yu retorted.

Hmph! Even barbarian tribes couldn’t squat like this!

She felt quite proud of herself.

“Father, stop picking on Big Brother. He asks questions when he doesn’t understand—that’s not wrong! You and Uncle both have terrible attitudes. Uncle never explains things fully, and you just tell Big Brother to shut up instead of teaching him properly.”

Yan Lao’er had his own twisted logic. “He’s just a brat. He needs to learn through hardship and figure things out himself—that’s how he’ll become capable.”

That was how he had always “cared for” his nephews and cousins. Since their relatives often mocked him for only having a daughter, he had taken to spoiling her out of sheer defiance.

Yan Yu continued, “Big Brother is nice to me. Just now, he asked if you bought me any snacks when you went to town. When I said no, he gave me two coins and told me to buy some candy from the peddler.”

She opened her palm, revealing two gleaming copper coins in the sunlight.

Yan Lao’er raised an eyebrow in surprise.

His nephews and cousins usually tried to take money from his daughter rather than give her any.

Yan Yu went on, “I also heard Big Sister Da Ya say she wants to sew me a small cloth pouch to play with. Father, as their uncle, you should return the favor and show some appreciation!”

Yan Lao’er chuckled.

“Alright, I got it. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down!”

“But, daughter, could you stop eavesdropping at the door all the time? If people see, it won’t look good.”

“You’re still a child—act like one!”

Yan Yu’s eyes darted around before she suddenly raised her voice, “Father! I’m hungry! I want meat! I want meat soup! I want meat porridge!”

Yan Lao’er: …

Wasn’t that a bit too fast?!

In the end, he steamed some mantou and made egg drop soup with the dough from last night.

Meat? What meat?! What kind of family eats meat every day?!

Sanbao helped keep track of time, and the freshly steamed black mantou smelled delicious.

Yan Yu took a big bite, but—huh? Why was it so grainy?

She stared at her father in surprise.

Yan Lao’er sighed. “It’s rough, isn’t it? It has bran mixed in. The wheat wasn’t ground finely enough. Like your uncle said earlier, this is what we’ll be eating from now on—better get used to it.”

“But what about our white flour?” Yan Yu asked, feeling wronged.

“I weighed it—ten pounds of rice and ten pounds of white flour, twenty pounds total for half a month. That’s only forty pounds for a month—not enough.”

He ruffled his daughter’s soft hair and gently reassured her, “Didn’t you want me to show some appreciation? Look, I’m being generous—everyone eats together now, including Old Yan.”

Yan Yu took another big bite, chewing hard. “Father, you’re right! We’re still struggling at the poverty line—we need to make money and buy more food!”