Chapter 39: The Steamed Buns Are Ready

Yan Erdi had specifically brought several eggs along, just in case the old lady changed her mind and didn't want to trade. He intended to use them to trade for the villagers' bowls, essentially "stockpiling" in advance.

"Oh, you young man, being so honest like this won't do! You'll go broke doing business!"

The old lady poured him some water using the newly traded bowl.

"Drink up, young man, to quench your thirst."

Yan Erdi: "Auntie..."

"Just drink, don't worry. It's not like we're short on one helping."

When Yan Erdi prepared to leave, the old lady insisted on forcing an egg back into his hands, leaving him with only one. She even walked him all the way to the village entrance, waving her hand as she watched him walk into the distance.

...

When Yan Erdi returned, he was the center of attention for the entire village.

They wanted to know: had their things been traded away? And if so, for what?

As the fellow villagers crowded around, Yan Erdi spread out the items he had brought back.

Those who didn't get their own belongings back couldn't help but feel a sense of regret, wondering why they hadn't been chosen.

Those who found something were overjoyed.

One was Sister-in-law Cui. Her family's bowl was a new purchase; although it was coarse porcelain, it had a few flowers painted on it, and that was exactly what someone had taken a liking to!

She had harvested a large handful of green vegetables and was smiling so wide her mouth wouldn't close.

Her eyes were gleaming as she showed the vegetables to anyone she met, boasting about how good she was at shopping and how lucky she was.

She even praised Yan Erdi, saying, "If I had known Yan Erdi was such a capable man! Someone who has seen the world is truly different. You guys didn't know, did you? Yan Erdi even knows how to trim livestock hooves, blah blah blah..."

Another was the Hu family's youngest daughter. Yan Erdi had left two pairs of insoles from the shoe-making, and he gave her two eggs. The little girl skipped home happily to show her parents.

"This was the first time, and we didn't know what people wanted. It's good that we could trade something back. If we encounter another village in the future, everyone will have a chance," Yan Erdi said to the crowd.

The villagers gradually dispersed, but the event left an impression on everyone. While traveling in the afternoon, they would occasionally bring it up.

Sanbao led everyone along the newly planned route.

Yan Erdi was still driving the cart. There was no other way; he couldn't tell his older brother that his brother didn't actually need his direction—he just needed an ox.

The narrow paths were not as easy to travel as the official roads, but fortunately, they took turns, so no one felt too exhausted.

Occasionally, they would encounter people who would chase after them to ask where they were going and what they were doing.

The group answered honestly: "Our lives are no longer sustainable. We are fleeing the famine."

Those people looked at them as if they had seen a ghost.

Looking at the exaggerated ox cart leading the way, followed by mule carts, donkey carts, and handcarts, and seeing the sacks piled high—which were likely grain—how could they possibly need to flee a famine?

But when the villagers mentioned that not a single drop of water could be drawn from the village's old well, the strangers felt a sense of shared hardship.

The quick-witted ones rushed back to their villages, while the slower ones hurried home once the group had passed.

"Uncle, is it okay for us to say it like that?" Yan Xiangheng asked in a low voice.

"What's wrong with it?" Yan Erdi saw his nephew crawling over and signaled for the two of them to swap positions.

He wanted to train his nephew, primarily through practice.

"Won't these people follow us once they see us leaving?" Yan Xiangheng didn't know the term "bandwagon effect," but based on his own perspective, if he saw and heard such things, he would make the same choice.

"It's fine. They won't catch up to us." Yan Erdi was very confident; that was the route Sanbao had meticulously planned. By taking shortcuts, they would surely stay ahead of everyone.

"Uncle, that's not what I'm worried about." Yan Xiangheng took the reins, sat up straight, and began his serious driving internship. "I mean, they originally didn't want to leave, but because they met us, they want to leave too..."

Yan Erdi felt mentally exhausted.

*Why does my nephew always ask me?*

*I'm illiterate!*

*Why don't you ask your father!*

"You mean to say it's because we're leading the way? Let me ask you, nephew: if the weather were favorable and the harvests were good, and we said we were fleeing a famine, how would they look at us? They would surely think our whole village had lost its mind.

Furthermore, would they have left if it weren't for us? What is forcing everyone to leave their homes and lands is this famine that makes life impossible."

Yan Yu's little ears perked up. After hearing her father speak, she silently added in her mind: *And the government offices that continue to collect taxes without doing anything.*

With a drought of this magnitude, shouldn't they have reported it and requested a tax reduction?

As local officials, what had they done while the people under their rule were dying of thirst and hunger?

She stole a glance at her eldest uncle, hoping that if he ever attained a high position in the future, he could severely punish these incompetent officials.

And make life a little easier for the common people.

Yan Huaiven sensed her gaze and looked up at her.

"How much have you memorized?"

Yan Yu: *Tragically caught.*

"I... I've memorized it all." Between hiding her talent and wanting to finish early, she chose the latter.

"Continue then," Yan Huaiven said.

Hearing his daughter's stuttering recitation, Yan Erdi felt a wave of lingering fear.

*Thank goodness Old Yan isn't targeting me.*

A sudden sense of urgency arose within him. He really needed to put learning to read and write on his schedule. If Old Yan ever asked him to write something, how could he dodge it? Could he claim his hand wouldn't obey him...?

At dusk, they stopped the cart, and Yan Erdi demonstrated his skilled steaming of mantou (steamed buns).

Each piece of dough looked identical, as if measured with a ruler.

One jin of flour made exactly seven buns—no more, no less.

While waiting for the buns to finish steaming, Sister-in-law Cui cheerfully brought over a large bowl of green vegetable soup.

There were few vegetables and little broth.

But at a time like this, no one would complain; fresh leafy greens were the most impressive "main dish" one could offer.

Sister-in-law Cui said, "Let me add a side dish for Brother Yan Er. You've worked so hard running around in the midday heat. In the future, I'll be troubling you a lot, Brother Yan Er. Thank you in advance."

Yan Erdi didn't make a fuss about it. Crucially, there was a distinction between men and women, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to be overly intimate with her.

Just as the buns were ready, the steam cleared, and round, fluffy mantou emerged from the steamer.

The aroma of flour made everyone swallow repeatedly.

Yan Erdi poured the vegetable soup Sister-in-law Cui brought into his own bowl and placed a large bun into her empty bowl.

He smiled and said, "Take it back, Sister-in-law, and see if my cooking is any good."

Yan Erdi accepted her offering readily; it would look bad if he had been awkward and refused.

Thus, Sister-in-law Cui happily accepted and headed back with the large bun.

When Physician Cui saw his wife return with food, he was somewhat displeased.

"We give food to thank them for their help, why are you taking things back?"

"There were so many people watching! If I didn't accept it, what would that look like? It would be like making them lose face.

My Brother Yan is kind-hearted and didn't expect any benefits. Since he gave me this bun, I must accept it to show everyone that Brother Yan isn't like the rumors say. Just like his brother the scholar, he is a good man."

Sister-in-law Cui felt she had done nothing wrong; people in the village were close, so they shared food.

But one couldn't just have one family constantly giving to another; there had to be a give-and-take to maintain closeness.

Look at her Brother Yan Er—he understood perfectly. He accepted it generously and returned the favor with a bun, which warmed everyone's hearts.