Chapter 333: Earned by Skill

The children gathered around Gouzhu, their eager little eyes clearly saying: We want to pet him!

Gouzhu stayed close to Yan Yu, deftly avoiding any small hands reaching out to touch him.

“Xiao Er, your dog is amazing. Way better than those puppies sold at the Grand Market.”

“I bought a trained one. Those little puppies can be taught well too, if trained properly,” Yan Yu replied.

“My dad says it’ll be months before ours is ready to take outside. Yours is a grown dog, already fine to take out and play with.”

“Alright, I’ll let you all pet him,” Yan Yu offered, seeing how much her friends liked him.

The kids lit up with excitement.

Yan Yu held the dog while letting each of them have a turn petting him.

“Xiao Er, those two big hooks you carried off the raft just now, what are they? Are they made of iron?” Da Gouzi, more observant than the others, had noticed the two iron anchors in addition to the bamboo.

“Those are ship anchors. When a boat stops, you toss the anchor, which is attached to an iron chain, into the water. That way, the boat stays in place,” she explained. “They’re both made of iron, and super heavy…”

Meanwhile, Yan Lao’er was also explaining the origin of the iron anchors to the villagers.

“Over by the sea, there are lots of boats. Who knows which ship those anchors came off of? That kid who sold them looked shifty, like a real schemer. Probably pegged me for an outsider and sold them to me. If we didn’t need them, I would’ve haggled harder…” Yan Lao’er said regretfully.

Village Chief Luo quickly chimed in, “This is great, really great. These two pieces are hefty. Once we melt them down, we can forge all sorts of tools.”

“Dad, but we don’t have anyone in the village who knows how to forge iron…” Luo San blurted out.

“I thought you just pour molten iron into the mold? No need to forge anything, right?” Village Chief Luo turned to Yan Lao’er. He was the only one here with some know-how.

“Let’s ask that guy who does the mold work. See what he says,” Yan Lao’er replied after thinking it over.

The old men couldn’t wait. They headed straight to the Qi Family.

They all tacitly kept quiet about where the iron anchors came from, since it was very likely their origin wasn’t exactly legal.

But Old Man Kang misunderstood. He thought these were items the village had already possessed.

No wonder they were so invested in making iron arrowheads, he thought.

With iron and molds, everything became much simpler.

As for the consequences of privately casting iron tools…

What did that have to do with an old man like him?

He told the village elders that he knew how to melt iron, and once the molds were ready, it would only take a few simple steps to craft the iron arrowheads they wanted.

Watching the satisfied elders leave, Old Man Kang continued working with his homemade hook needle, probing inside the mold with hardly noticeable movements of his wrist.

Every so often, he would take a short break.

Faint sounds drifted over from the next courtyard.

Must be that Yan Lao’er returning.

He worked with even more concentration.

Now and then, he glanced toward the courtyard gate.

Old Man Kang knew that Yan Lao’er would definitely come over and take a look.

Compared to his wife, it was Yan Lao’er who was truly in charge.

With just a word from him, their family might safely get through this winter.

…

Yan Lao’er returned home and washed up briefly, exchanged a few words with Li Xuemei, then headed out again, making his way toward the big stone slab.

A crowd had gathered to wait for him, even the village children had come out to join the commotion.

Yan Yu left the dog at home and ran out as well.

The bamboo distribution was about to begin.

It wasn’t something to be missed.

The Young Scouts were competing for their share too. So, instead of standing beside her father, Yan Yu was surrounded by children, right in the center of the inner circle.

With one sweeping glance, she saw that all the uncles and older men who had seen blood during their flight from famine were present.

There looked to be plenty of bamboo, but there were just as many people wanting it. No one could say for sure if there’d be enough to go around.

Yan Lao’er looked at the dense crowd, people standing in three circles deep, inside and out, then lowered his head in thought.

Previously, only people from their original village and a few boys from the mountain villages had used bamboo crossbows. The rest hadn’t even touched one.

But the situation had changed. Everyone was now registered under Crouching Tiger, with only one name to the outside world.

They were now people of Xiao’an Village.

A united people that stood together as one.

No more dividing between us and them, they would face the world as a single front.

He made his decision.

“All the bamboo’s right here, so let’s not divide by household. We’ll work on them together, make bamboo crossbows, and first assign them to those with the best aim. The rest, we draw lots!”

Hu Da and Hu Er were the happiest, the two brothers grinning as they were the first to show their support.

The villagers hadn’t expected the first objection to come from Yan Lao’er’s daughter.

Yan Yu raised her voice and said, “Dad, we’ll make them together, and we don’t mind giving the first ones to the best archers. But when it comes to drawing lots, you’d better make it clear—are the Young Scouts allowed to draw too?!”

The kids all clenched their fists, eyes full of anticipation, waiting on Yan Lao’er’s answer.

“Not this time. Next time,” Yan Lao’er said firmly, without hedging, giving them a solemn promise. “Next time we’ll make smaller bamboo crossbows just for you.”

Yan Yu immediately understood what her father meant.

Small crossbows didn’t shoot far, and with limited bamboo, the focus should be on maximizing attack power.

“The Young Scouts can use full-sized crossbows just fine.”

Yan Yu kept pushing. There were plenty of older kids in the Young Scouts. Besides, the bamboo crossbows were lightweight and easy to handle.

“If only the uncles get to draw lots, it’s not fair.”

“What do you propose?” asked Yan Lao’er.

“We won’t cause trouble. No age limits. Everyone treated equally. Otherwise, let’s test our aim and assign the crossbows by skill!”

As Yan Yu threw up her hand, the response was immediate and overwhelming.

The children shouted in unison:

“By skill, split the crossbows!”

“By skill, split the crossbows!”

…

They shouted until their faces turned red, their excited voices trembling.

It was the first time the Young Scouts had openly voiced their own demands.

The adults all had one thought:

These little brats were stirring up rebellion!

Their hands were already itching. Just wait till they got home…

Yan Yu raised her hand again, and the kids instantly fell silent.

The noise died down, but the air grew tense.

The Village Elders exchanged looks, clever old men that they were, none of them spoke up. They were more interested in seeing how this father-daughter debate would play out.

“Uncle, Xiao Er is right. Since the Northern Rong like to attack after the autumn harvest, the crossbows should go to those who shoot well. Only then can we protect the village and avoid disaster.”

After thinking it over carefully, Yan Xiangheng decided to support Xiao Er.

He trained with them every day, so he knew better than anyone how capable these children were.

They’d worn out who knows how many targets on the training field. His Xiao Er practiced the hardest of them all.

With her setting the example as their leader, the children took it seriously. Their aim was probably better than most of the uncles and older men in the village.

Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures.

With her big brother backing her, Yan Yu held her head high and puffed out her chest with newfound confidence.

Yan Lao’er couldn’t help but laugh at how spirited she looked.

“Then let’s do it. No matter old or young, we’ll see who’s better.”

At that, all the men except for Hu Da and Hu Er grew visibly tense.

The Hu brothers didn’t care one bit. There was no way they were going to lose their Bamboo Crossbows.

They rushed forward to untie the bundles and pick out their bamboo.

They already had their knives at the ready and immediately got to work.

“Your Dad is pretty good right?”. Yan Lao’er asked his daughter conspiratorially.

“Of course! Who do you think my dad is? He’s a performer through and through!” Yan Yu didn’t hold back the praise at all.

She laid it on thick for her father.

Yan Lao’er was glowing with pride and asked, “So how did you talk Heng’er into this?”

Yan Yu giggled. “I didn’t! I never mentioned a word. Big Brother stepped up all on his own. It was close—thank goodness he took my side.”

“What if your Young Scouts end up winning too many Bamboo Crossbows…”

“They won’t!” Yan Yu was full of confidence. “I’ll control how many go up in the challenge.”

“That way, we encourage healthy competition within the Young Scouts, and at the same time, give the uncles in the village a little sense of urgency.”

“There are five Arrow Towers in the village. Each one needs to be manned. If us kids don’t step up, just think, Dad—how many strong men do we waste on guard duty every day?”

“But if the Young Scouts take over, the uncles can free up their hands to get other work done. We’ll be killing several birds with one stone.”

“And one more thing, Dad—you and Big Brother are heading to Crouching Tiger soon. Someone in our family needs to stay behind who can actually speak up.” Yan Yu let out a dramatic sigh and said thoughtfully, “I’d love to be a spoiled little girl, but reality won’t allow it. Even Uncle wants me to take charge!”

(End of Chapter)