Chapter 10: As soon as he parked, he stood right at the entrance of the gambling den

Yan Lao'er worked with great enthusiasm, while Sister-in-law Cui and her children watched, eyes glued to the scene.

The excess hoof wall was scraped away, revealing the white, healthy hoof flesh underneath. After a thorough scraping, a proper hoof shape was carved out.

When the leg was set down, the donkey tentatively tapped it on the ground.

It was a miracle; the leg was actually standing straight!

The second leg, the third...

Once all four hooves were trimmed, the donkey was relieved of its burden. Led by Da Gouzi, it trotted around the courtyard with ease, even breaking into a light jog every now and then.

Sister-in-law Cui became even more hospitable.

"Drink some water, drink some water! Look how tired Brother Yan Er is, take a good rest!"

"It’s all thanks to you. Otherwise, we would have thought the donkey was sick. Who would have guessed it just needed its hooves trimmed? Hehehe! Your Brother Cui usually couldn't bear to use it, but like you said, we’ll make this donkey work more from now on and grind these four hooves down properly, so it doesn't keep growing and causing you trouble. Hehehe!"

"Don't be a stranger, Sister-in-law Cui. My brother’s illness has been well looked after by Brother Cui. We’re so close, just give us a shout if you need anything. This was just a small favor, no trouble at all. Since I happened to be here, I just trimmed them while I was at it. If you don't want to go looking for a farrier in the future, just have Da Gouzi or Xiao Gouzi call me."

Doctor Cui had been standing there for a while, stunned.

When did I go from being Doctor Cui to Brother Cui? And Yan Lao'er became Brother Yan Er?

He knew his wife well; looking at that old face blooming with smiles, he knew she felt she’d gotten the better end of the deal and was bubbling over with joy!

"Brother Yan Er, Sister-in-law thanks you in advance!" Sister-in-law Cui couldn't stop grinning. How many coppers would it cost to get a donkey's hooves trimmed? Saving money was as good as earning it! "Sister-in-law will get you some honeysuckle. Don't look down on this grass; your Brother Cui says it’s great for soaking in water!"

"It can... what was it, dear?"

"Clear heat and detoxify," Doctor Cui added smoothly.

"Right, right, it’s best for summer heat." Sister-in-law Cui grabbed a large handful; after all, the grass was picked from their own land and cost nothing.

Yan Lao'er’s eyes lit up. It was exactly what he needed.

"This is good stuff, thank you, Sister-in-law!"

Doctor Cui coughed and said, "Since when did you pick up this skill, Brother Yan Er? I’ve never heard of it."

Yan Lao'er immediately pleaded, "I just learned it haphazardly for fun. Brother Cui, Sister-in-law Cui, please don't mention this in front of my older brother."

Doctor Cui and his wife readily agreed. Although having many skills is never a burden, trimming livestock hooves... it really didn't sound very prestigious.

"There’s one more thing I’d like to discuss with you both. My brother wants to take a trip to the academy in town. You know his condition, so I was wondering if it would be convenient to borrow your donkey cart?" Yan Lao'er asked sincerely.

"Convenient, very convenient! Just take it. Da Gouzi, help your Uncle Yan hitch the cart." While directing her son, Sister-in-law Cui added, "This donkey needs to be used more; can't let it get lazy."

Doctor Cui silently handed the medicine packet to Yan Lao'er. Thinking of the eldest Yan brother's health, he added a word of caution: "Go slowly, minimize the jolting..."

"Don't you worry, Brother Yan Er knows better than you. That precious donkey of yours just needs to run more."

Doctor Cui:...

I wasn't talking about the donkey; I was worried about the patient!

...

Yan Lao'er returned with the cart and handed the medicine and honeysuckle to his wife.

"...It’s a good thing I have this obscure skill, otherwise I wouldn't have known how to ask."

"Haha, Dad, didn't you used to complain that Uncle-Grandpa always called you to work instead of your cousin? Every time you came back, you smelled like it. Let me smell... yes, that’s the smell, hahaha!" Yan Yu laughed until her stomach hurt. "Thank you, Uncle-Grandpa, for being biased toward my cousin. Hey? Should we prepare some tools? Dad, you need to show off that hoof-trimming skill! Hahaha!!!"

Yan Lao'er leaned toward his daughter on purpose. "Smell it, get used to it. I won't pass this skill to anyone else, only to my precious treasure!"

"I don't want it, haha! In the old days, skills were passed to sons, not daughters. When my little brother grows up, you can pass it to him. I won't blame you for being biased!" Yan Yu laughed until her face was red as an apple, her little pigtails all messy.

"Maybe it’ll be a little sister," Li Xuemei said, watching the two of them play, smiling. She thought of something and asked, "Should I go have Doctor Cui check my pulse? I can't just say I'm pregnant because I think I am."

"Right, right. When I get back from town and return the cart, we'll go together," Yan Lao'er said hurriedly.

"Since we harvested wheat yesterday, you should tidy up some straw and cut it up to take on the road," Li Xuemei said.

"I know," Yan Lao'er nodded.

Doctor Cui hadn't mentioned it, but they couldn't be inconsiderate.

They had to prepare some feed for the donkey.

...

If Yan Lao'er could trim donkey hooves, driving a cart was even less of a challenge.

The new cart frame Doctor Cui had built was custom-made, specifically for himself, and very thoughtful.

It had a roof, railings, and a double-layered floor. The bottom layer could hold items, and the top layer was foldable, allowing it to be widened as needed.

For a patient like Yan Huaiwen, lying inside was truly comfortable—no sun, a gentle breeze blowing in, quite pleasant.

After packing the chopped straw into a sack, Yan Lao'er grabbed a few handfuls of dried grass from in front of the door, twisted them up, and mixed them into the straw.

The sack fit perfectly on the bottom wooden board.

Da Ya busied herself, preparing millet cakes for them and filling two bamboo tubes with water.

Giddy-up!

Off they went!

These ancient wooden wheels weren't like modern rubber tires, and the dirt roads weren't very smooth.

Fortunately, Yan Lao'er didn't let the donkey go too fast. After traveling for over an hour, they entered the town. Yan Lao'er stealthily pulled out a ball of cloth hidden in his sleeve.

On it was a map of the town hand-drawn by his daughter.

Heaven knows how nervous he was, a man with no memories of this place, to be accompanying his older brother to town.

Luckily, his daughter had been proactive, spending these past few days catching the village children to ask for all sorts of information.

"Where's the bun shop when you enter town? The big meat buns are delicious, slurp!"

"Last time I went to town, Grandma bought me maltose on such-and-such street."

"My mom says the second manager at the Xi Family Cloth Shop is honest and gives an extra finger's width of fabric compared to the Wang Family Cloth Shop. Once I save enough, I'll get new shoes, hee hee!"

"Last time I went to town, my dad bought me candied haws. They were so sweet, right at..."

Based on these bits of information, his daughter had drawn him a simple map.

Fortunately, the town wasn't large.

Several prominent locations were marked.

Not bad; these kids might be young, but their memories were quite good. They hadn't gotten the food spots wrong at all.

"Tianyou, stop for a moment," Yan Huaiwen's voice came from behind.

Yan Lao'er stopped the cart and turned to ask, "What is it, Brother?" They weren't at the destination yet.

He looked around, and his heart sank.

Damn it!

That’s the Shunxin Gambling Den!

They were currently right in front of the Shunyi Pawnshop, just one street away from the gambling den. Next to the pawnshop was a bathhouse, and next to that was a small tavern, with a wonton stall not far away...

Their family was still brooding over the twenty-tael gambling debt, and Yan Yu had even drawn a big, pitch-black 'X' over the gambling den on her simple map.