Chapter 413: Sleds and Sleighs

The next day, the snow still had not stopped, and it showed signs of falling even heavier.

Yan Yu was worried about the grain they had bought back, so she braved the wind and snow to head out.

This time, she only took Maomao with her.

After she returned, she found that Gouzhu was particularly clingy, wagging his tail and whimpering at her. As soon as he saw her getting ready to go out again, he followed her closely, refusing to leave her side.

“Gouzhu, in a bit I’ll go find Uncle Qi Wu to make a sled for you. I’ll be relying on you to get around from now on!” Yan Yu said, rubbing his head.

Gouzhu barked, his tail wagging even faster.

Seeing the carts heading to Crouching Tiger to collect firewood, Yan Yu ran toward them against the wind.

“Brother Da Tie, Brother Ertie, are you heading to Crouching Tiger today?”

“The snow makes the roads hard to travel, so we aren’t letting the younger ones go. Just the two of us will do,” Da Tie said.

Yan Yu looked up at the sky, thought for a moment, and said, “Brother Da Tie, go to the Government Office and find my dad. Tell him that from now on, we’ll only go to Crouching Tiger once every three days, matching the settlement days with the Government Office. It’s getting colder and colder, and running back and forth every day is too grueling.”

Er Tie said, “Xiao Er, if we only go once every three days, what do we do if too much firewood piles up and we can’t haul it all back?”

“Firewood will be harder to find from now on. They’ll need to keep some to burn for themselves, so they’ll definitely sell us less than before.”

Yan Yu was thinking that upgrading the transport team should be put on the agenda. Once the snow stopped melting, the current carts would be useless. It would be much better to convert them all into large sleds, or rather, sleighs.

“Also, tell my dad that I’ll go see him on the next settlement day.”

Da Tie and Er Tie agreed.

Watching them walk away, Yan Yu took Gouzhu to the Liang Family home.

Because the Government Office was undergoing major renovations, Magistrate Tian had given the County School a half-month holiday.

While she was away, all the village accounts had to be handled by her younger cousin Fengnian.

This included her family’s firewood and charcoal business, as well as the accounts for the grain purchased yesterday.

Now, everyone in the village knew that for bookkeeping, they should look for the Liang Family boy, and for actual cash transactions, they should look for Xiao Er of the Yan Family.

The Liang Family’s small courtyard was bustling with noise.

Even the wind and snow could not dampen the villagers’ enthusiasm.

They had all come to register to buy grain.

The grain purchased by Xiao’an Village’s expedition was currently still in the internal distribution phase. Families who had sent members on the trip had priority, while the other families queued behind them. Some would definitely be able to buy while others might miss out, but everyone felt this was fair. Distributing based on effort made sense no matter how you looked at it.

Liang Fengnian was not the first time dealing with such a scene.

He first recorded the families who had contributed labor this time, filling in the amounts they wanted to buy.

“Uncles, aunts, please don’t worry. Let me ask the Yan Family first, and then we can discuss how to divide the rest,” Liang Fengnian said politely, standing up.

“My family has enough grain, so we won’t be taking any this time,” Yan Yu chimed in.

Liang Fengnian’s eyes lit up when he saw Yan Yu. “Xiao Er, you’re here!”

“Yes, I came to take a look.” She pointed to the pile of grain stacked outside the Liang Family’s courtyard and said, “It was snowing in Fengming, and it’s still snowing here. Since it was transported by water, it’s best to dry the grain on the heated brick bed before putting it in the cellar.”

“We know, Xiao Er. Did you get enough sleep?” Hu Er asked with a smile.

Yan Yu: “Plenty! I’m full of energy!”

“Xiao Er, you mustn’t go on any more long trips. The weather has changed and it’s freezing. We can’t have a little kid like you freezing!”

“That’s right, just stay home and hibernate for the winter.”

“Your family’s firewood and charcoal are selling well. Just manage that business properly. Over the course of a winter, it will bring in quite a bit.”

…

The villagers meant well, so Yan Yu smiled and agreed. “Yes, yes, I won’t go far. I’ll stay home and hibernate.”

After asking Liang Fengnian for the account books, Yan Yu returned home and began auditing the accounts.

Although the profit margin on firewood seemed small, the sheer volume made up for it, bringing in a decent return.

She had been keeping a tight lid on charcoal sales, rarely taking large orders and focusing mainly on retail. She also kept the cost of purchasing wood low. Even so, the business was gradually breaking even, and it was easy to see that if they could keep selling until next spring, the profits would be substantial.

Aside from the incoming and outgoing accounts for firewood and charcoal, most of the records were the work logs for the village children.

Who went to Crouching Tiger or Yongning each day was recorded in meticulous detail.

Yan Yu quickly calculated everyone’s wages.

She planned to distribute this money today.

Then she would discuss it with them. The younger ones should probably stop going. Someone around Brother San Tie’s age was fine, but she planned to ask the uncles in the village if any of them were willing to make the trips.

As the weather grew colder, children were prone to catching colds. Adults, after all, had stronger immune systems.

Luo San came by and suggested that she raise the prices in Yongning City.

Yan Yu thought for a moment and said, “It is time for a price hike, but our purchasing price needs to go up accordingly as well.”

Seeing that Uncle Luo San did not quite understand, she explained, “If we buy it too cheap, people won’t want to sell to us anymore. They could easily sell it themselves by waiting at the city gates. When the weather gets cold, the demand for firewood only goes up.

“I asked around before. The price of firewood isn’t fixed; it rises when the weather gets cold. We’re just following the market. We’ll stick to low margins and high volume, keeping our profit at one or two copper coins per bundle. The key is still the home delivery service in the city, along with the retail charcoal sales. That’s where the real money is.”

Luo San understood immediately.

He chuckled and said, “Xiao Er is still the sharpest when it comes to math. Your Uncle Luo San has lived all these years in vain, yet I couldn’t even figure this out.

“Anyway, I’m off. There’s still some meat left from the sheep we slaughtered yesterday. I’ll haul it to Yongning to sell today.”

Yan Yu set down her brush and opened the window slightly. The snowflakes outside eagerly drifted into the room, but before they could land on the heated brick bed, they were melted away by the rising warmth, leaving nothing behind.

The clanging of ironwork drifted in from outside. The noise rarely stopped, dominated by the sound of constant hammering.

Yan Yu put on her coat and ran over to the Sha residence.

“Xiao Er is here!”

Blacksmith Sha wiped the sweat rolling down his forehead, his voice booming.

As soon as Yan Yu stepped inside, she began shedding her outer layers. Holding her padded coat in her arms, she shouted, “Uncle Sha, I want to make some iron runners!”

Although Blacksmith Sha had stopped hammering, his two sons had not, and the clanging continued unabated.

“Iron runners? How long and how thick? What are they for?” Blacksmith Sha shouted back.

“Not too thick. I want to make a sled, a sleigh…” She did not know which term he would understand, so she gestured as she explained, “It’s basically putting two iron runners under the wood, making it easy to pull across the snow and ice.”

Blacksmith Sha was from Leshan Prefecture. Although he had never made one before, he had a general idea of what she wanted.

“Alright, I’ll find some time to make it for you in a bit,” Blacksmith Sha agreed readily, not even mentioning money.

“Uncle Sha, I don’t just want two. I need a lot of them,” Yan Yu said.

Hearing this, Blacksmith Sha said, “Then I won’t be able to finish them today. You’ll have to wait a few days.”

Yan Yu quickly replied, “Mm-hmm, no rush. Once they’re ready, just have Brother Dachui or Brother Erchui come over and let me know. I’ll pay you then.”

“Will do!” Blacksmith Sha said with a smile.

Ever since they registered their household in Xiao’an Village, they had spent most of their time making iron arrowheads. Aside from some initial anxiety, as the pile of iron arrowheads grew, his family gradually settled down.

The villagers here were truly honest, decent people who minded their own business. They were making these iron arrowheads to kill the Northern Rong who came to raid the village. Moreover, the Magistrate knew about it, so it was not considered illegal private forging.

The villagers took great care of the families who had come from Gufeng, helping them build houses and set up heated brick beds before the snow fell.

His family had a trade, so they went back to blacksmithing. The other families also gradually integrated, joining the hunting trips into the mountains and gathering firewood and branches to sell to the Yan Family.

It looked like their lives were slowly turning around for the better.

Although the weather was cold, their hearts were warm!

Author Note:

When I was a kid, there were so many things to play with in the winter: dog sledding, spinning tops, ice skating…

Snowball fights and building snowmen were just the basics. Our elders would also make simple ice lanterns for us to carry around at night. I still remember my mom painting a little rabbit inside one for me with pigments. Hahaha, looking back, it was actually drawn quite poorly, haha… But I was so happy back then, showing it off to all the neighborhood kids o(￣︶￣)o

(End of Chapter)