Chapter 27: Old Yan Buys Livestock for the Village

Village Chief Luo hadn't had a peaceful night's sleep for the past two days. This wasn't just a matter for one or two families; it was a major event for the entire village.

The ox cart in the Yan family courtyard was no fake. Yan the Second ran to town every single day, and everyone had seen clearly just how much grain he was hauling back.

The more prepared the Scholar was, the more anxious the villagers became.

They couldn't even deceive themselves by hoping that heaven might show mercy and bring rain in a couple of days.

The days grew hotter by the day, and the village's old well could only yield half a bucket of water at a time.

The four buckets of water the Village Chief had allocated to each household daily had dwindled to a single bucket.

Everyone held their breath and worked with grit to harvest the wheat; following the Scholar, the rest of the village followed suit in a continuous rush to complete the harvest.

The village threshing floor was covered with the wheat from every household.

On the only stone mill, the Scholar's wheat was being ground.

Every family waited anxiously, yet no one stepped forward to urge him on.

The Qi brothers worked without sparing any effort, and everyone saw this; if it were them, they wouldn't have worked any faster.

It went without saying who arrived first or last; every family was watching closely.

After the Scholar's house came the Village Chief's house—after all, they had many males. Then came the Qi brothers, who had little land. Next was Auntie Wang's house; although she only had two sons, her daughters-in-law were incredibly capable...

Yan the Second had been squatting nearby the whole time, but no one paid him any mind.

His social standing was truly something else.

Bored, he looked around, watching the villagers, the wheat being harvested by each family, and seeing who had given birth to how many children.

During the busy farming season, the whole family was out in the fields, which made it convenient for him to get to know people.

As families greeted one another, he noted them down one by one, lest he be left in the dark, not knowing who was who.

From a distance, Yan Yu saw her father squatting all alone, looking as if he were being ostracized.

Yan Yu ran over, panting, and called out, "Dad!"

As she lunged toward him, Yan the Second hurriedly stood up to catch her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uncle and Big Brother are right behind me," Yan Yu whispered. "Dad, Uncle and Big Brother have packed their things. I saw that it's all books... They saw our things and didn't ask me or Mom, so they might ask you."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Yan the Second said.

"Erya! You're here too!"

"Erya, let's go play!"

"Erya, come quick, come quick, I've got something good to show you!"

Yan Yu gave her father a proud little expression.

Look, just look—this is what you call a contrast!

Yan Yu was quite popular among the children.

She was much more cheerful and knowledgeable than the old Erya; she would even cooperate with exaggerated facial expressions when other children showed off. She could braid straw ropes with the little girls and dig for bugs with the boys. In just a few short days, she had blended in perfectly with the village children.

Yan Yu was pulled away by the children.

Yan the Second waited until his brother and eldest nephew arrived.

"Brother, why are you here? Is something wrong?"

Although Yan Huaiven had recovered from his illness, his body had not fully regained its strength. For him to head out in this sweltering heat, there had to be a reason.

"How much wheat did our family harvest?" Yan Huaiven only remembered that this year's yield was not very good.

After paying the taxes, they wouldn't even have enough grain to last half a year.

"Less than two hundred catties per mu," Yan the Second said with a grimace. "Our ten mu yielded only about eighteen hundred catties. Our land is top-tier; other families will be even worse off."

The weather had too much impact on the crop yield.

Yan Huaiven's expression was solemn. Last time they went to the prefectural city, but this time they would be going even further.

They had originally thought that by saving on grain taxes, they would have enough, but now it seemed there would still be a significant deficit.

"Scholar!" Village Chief Luo and a group of village elders crowded around.

Unsurprisingly, Yan the Second was pushed out of the circle.

He let out a "he" and pivoted half a turn to press himself right next to his brother.

Let them do whatever they want; I just want to hear what you all are saying.

Yan Xiangheng couldn't bear to look at his uncle, but after a thought, he also secretly leaned in, standing firmly behind his father with his ears pricked.

"I have prepared some silver, intending to purchase two head of livestock to serve as transport for the village elders," Yan Huaiven said, pulling white silver from his robe and handing it to the Village Chief.

"That won't do! How can we let the Scholar spend his money like this? We can walk, and our families have carts; we can just have the boys push them."

"That's right, Scholar, how can we take advantage of you?"

"The Scholar's kindness is great, but our old bones cannot bear such a debt! We'll just walk as far as we can. Sigh! If it weren't for the fact that I'm truly worried, I wouldn't even want to leave, just to avoid being a burden to my children and grandchildren."

"If we get livestock, we'll have to prepare fodder for them; it's not cost-effective. It's cheaper to let the boys in the families take turns pushing us and give them an extra bite to eat."

"Elders, livestock can provide transport, making our journey faster. Furthermore, if we truly reach a point of desperation, they can be slaughtered for food," Yan Huaiven said.

Yan the Second couldn't help but interject: "Everyone should bring their wheat stalks along. They can be used to start fires for cooking or to feed the livestock. As for water, it might be tight at first, but if we walk fast and leave this drought-stricken area for a place with grass and water, everything will be fine.

We won't be unable to find anything on the road. We've heard the news and have been traveling for so many days; I don't believe we won't find something to eat.

Along the way, if there are mountains or forests, we can stop and look carefully; there will surely be water."

Yan Huaiven glanced at him and said, "Correct. Near mountains and forests, there is bound to be a water source."

Yan the Second added, "My brother is just too kind-hearted; he can't bear to see anyone suffer. We are one village, and we must stick together even when we are away. Those with money should contribute money, and those with strength should contribute strength. My family only has these belongings, and this silver... I think it's just enough to buy two mules. With two animals for transport, we can make it further ahead, you won't suffer, and the boys at home won't have to work as hard."

Several village elders were moved to tears. Their families thought something had happened and rushed over to ask.

Once they heard the elders' account, every family was filled with gratitude.

After Yan Huaiven and the elders settled on a departure time, he led his son away first.

This was to prevent the villagers from crowding him with endless thanks.

He didn't want to deal with it.

Though he had done a good deed, Yan Huaiven knew himself that he had selfish motives—very strong ones.

He wanted the villagers to travel with him so they could find security in numbers.

As agreed, Yan the Second settled the grain payment with the Qi family.

Then, he took his daughter, who had been playing wildly, and drove the ox cart home.

Once they were out of sight of others, he let Sanbao "self-drive."

He pulled out a cloth to wipe his daughter's face and hands while arranging for her to drink water.

"Look at you, running around until you're covered in sweat. You can't even take a bath, you're stinky!"

"Dad, look! The bugs my little friend found for me—if I take them to feed the chickens, maybe they'll lay a few more eggs." Yan Yu was indifferent, her little mouth moving incessantly. "You don't know how hard it was for Xiao Gouzi to find these bugs. He said he had to dig several holes to find them."

"Is it the youngest son of Physician Cui?"

"Yeah! We even borrowed his family's donkey cart. You don't know how much Xiao Gouzi admires you; he thinks your hoof-trimming skills are so cool, hahaha!"

Yan the Second said, "Your Uncle is spending money to buy livestock for the village elders. You help me think about this."

He recounted the matter to his daughter.

Old Yan's decision to buy livestock for the elders had its own reasons. As the story unfolds bit by bit, please don't be too quick to judge.

I'm staying home today, so the update will be later than usual. There will still be extra chapters tonight! (#^.^#)

(End of Chapter)