Chapter 278: Yan Yu’s Little Scheme

Yan Xiangheng began retracing the Young Scouts’ training route, running three laps around the village.

The energetic little ones followed him the entire way, cheering him on and even taking the lead. They were more fired up than when they ran it themselves.

By the time he finally completed the three laps, Yan Xiangheng was gasping for breath, unable to catch it properly.

After a short rest, he moved on to the obstacle course.

Jumping over the small pits was manageable, but when it came to climbing out of the big pit using a rope, his confidence quickly crumbled.

Watching the village kids do it, it looked tough, but at least they were making steady progress upward.

But when it was his turn, his full body weight hung from his arms, which quickly went numb with fatigue.

His feet couldn’t find proper footing, and after struggling for what felt like forever, he finally dragged himself out of the pit—one that was somehow getting deeper by the minute.

Yes, Er Tie and San Tie had thought the pit was too shallow and not challenging enough. Since they had nothing else to do, they stayed inside and kept digging, making it deeper and wider…

Then came the rope crawl. At that point, Yan Xiangheng was truly at a loss for words.

He looked down at his dirt-smeared clothes, then at the group of tiny faces watching him with bright, expectant eyes.

Lying flat on his stomach, he slowly inched forward, careful not to touch the ropes above.

By the time he finally made it through the entire course, the kids around him burst into cheers, jumping up and down with excitement.

Covered in dirt and breathing heavily, the young man flopped down on the ground, thumping his arms and legs to relieve the soreness.

“Big Brother, how do you feel?” Yan Yu asked.

“Not bad. At least I finished it,” Yan Xiangheng replied, grinning with a hint of pride.

Yan Yu didn’t want to burst his bubble, but she had to say it. “Big Brother, based on your age, you should be doing the same number of rounds as Brother Er Tie and Brother San Tie. That means four more.”

She held up four fingers with a perfectly serious expression.

Yan Xiangheng: …

“Look at Brother Er Tie and Brother San Tie. They’ve already finished all their rounds. That’s why they’re free to do whatever they want now,” she explained.

Yan Xiangheng looked toward the big pit.

Er Tie, San Tie, why did you two do this? You finish your own rounds, then make it harder for everyone else…

“Xiao Er, have mercy. If I go one more round, I might not make it out of that pit again…” Yan Xiangheng quickly surrendered.

Yan Yu beamed. “Big Brother, you can’t deny it anymore. The truth is right in front of you. You’re nothing like how you were when we were fleeing from the famine!”

These days, Yan Xiangheng did go into the mountains regularly, but the physical exertion was nowhere near what they endured on the road.

Among scholars, he was doing quite well—maybe even impressive.

But that was compared to ordinary, useless scholars.

Look at her uncle: he could write with a pen to bring peace to the land, and ride into battle with a bow to conquer all directions.

So cool!

Yan Xiangheng glanced at the little ones still bouncing around nearby.

“You want me to train with you? Do all this?”

If he still couldn’t see through Xiao Er’s plan, then all his reading really had gone to waste.

“Not just you,” Yan Yu said seriously. “Me too. And when Daya has free time, she’ll join in.

Right now, we only have this setup. But once Dad isn’t so busy, we’ll have him bring the donkey from our backyard. We’ll start learning to ride.”

No horses? Then a donkey would do for now.

For their size, it might even be more suitable.

“And then there’s archery. Here in Guanzhou, people wish everyone could pick up a weapon and fight the Northern Rong. We can start assembling our bows and arrows.

As for the bamboo crossbows, I was thinking maybe we could secretly make a few. Crossbows take less strength than bows, are easier to learn, and shoot faster…

But I’m still unsure. We should wait for Uncle to come back and ask his opinion.

Big Brother, what do you think? Should we make the bamboo crossbows?”

Yan Xiangheng was well aware of the advantages of bamboo crossbows.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he asked, “Where did you find bamboo for sale?”

“There’s some in Guiyuan Town.”

It could be said that this trip downstream had been quite fruitful.

With favorable weather and good harvests, Linhai Prefecture really was a great place.

Grain, medicine, and even the bamboo they’d been looking for—they had it all.

“If someone finds out, it could be serious,” Yan Xiangheng murmured.

Yan Yu had already thought it through.

“Big Brother, take a look at this.” She pulled out a drawing of a watchtower.

“We want to build this arrow tower using cement bricks. The stairs won’t be outside, but inside. From the outside, all you’ll see are four tall walls. Inside, besides the stairs, we can dig a cellar underneath to hide things.”

Those “things” could be food—or bamboo crossbows.

Yan Xiangheng leaned in for a closer look.

He kept asking questions as Yan Yu explained her design.

By the end of her explanation, he was genuinely impressed by her creativity.

And he understood now why she had brought up the bamboo crossbows again.

If the village had arrow towers guarding all four sides, their security would drastically improve.

Add to that the tall walls Xiao Er had mentioned surrounding the entire village, and it would be a fortress.

As long as Crouching Tiger Pass didn’t fall, even if the Northern Rong sent small raiding parties, they’d have nothing to fear.

Yan Yu kept talking. “With arrow towers, we’re not just defending against the Northern Rong. If any outsiders come into the village, we’ll know right away.

That way, we can secretly practice with bows and crossbows. If there’s any sign of danger, we just hide everything immediately.”

The more Yan Xiangheng listened, the more he liked Xiao Er’s ideas.

She had already convinced him.

“This matter… we’ll have to wait for Father to make the final decision,” said Yan Xiangheng.

Yan Yu nodded so fast it looked like she was pounding garlic. “Yeah, yeah, Big Brother! If Uncle has any doubts, we’ll convince him together, okay?”

At last, Yan Xiao Er revealed her true intentions.

Yan Xiangheng finally caught on.

He chuckled. “You little rascal, Er Ya. So this is what you were plotting all along.”

…

The first thing Yan Lao’er did when he got back was wash the cart.

Even though there was a layer of straw mats, he still wanted to give it another scrub.

It wasn’t surprising that his daughter had followed him, but she’d even dragged along Eldest Nephew and Eldest Niece.

The girls had been whispering to each other the whole way, but he didn’t pay them much mind.

He’d been chatting with Eldest Nephew the entire time.

“Heng’er, your father will be back in four days at most, maybe even three! Haha!” Yan Lao’er said cheerfully, sharing the good news with his nephew.

Yan Xiangheng was covered in dust, having only wiped his face and head clean.

He planned to wash up in the river after they finished scrubbing the cart.

He’d even brought a scented soap cloth with him.

“That’s amazing!” Yan Xiangheng grinned from ear to ear.

“Dad, Uncle’s coming back?” Yan Yu’s ears were sharp. Even while she was explaining the training grounds, watchtower, and bamboo crossbow to her Eldest Sister Daya, she was still tuned in to her father’s conversation.

Multitasking like a pro.

“That’s right, your uncle’s coming home. The three of you better get serious. He’ll probably check your studies as soon as he returns. Make sure you’ve written what needs writing and memorized what needs memorizing. If you get punished, don’t expect me to plead for you,” Yan Lao’er said, putting on a stern face.

Yan Yu giggled and exposed him. “Dad, aren’t you the one who’s behind on your studies? You haven’t practiced your calligraphy in ages. What are you gonna do when Uncle gets back, hmm?”

Yan Lao’er: …

Could he just say he forgot?

“I’ve been so busy my feet barely touch the ground. Your uncle knows that. Where would I find time to practice calligraphy… But you’re right. If I don’t write for a while, my hand gets rusty. I’ll do some writing when we get home.”

What he was really thinking was, with all the household and village accounts piling up, there were more and more things that needed to be written down. He couldn’t rely on his daughter to do all the writing forever.

If it needed writing, then he’d better get to it.

(End of Chapter)