Chapter Bonanza (3/10)

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When Yan Xiaoyu and the others returned to the village, the sun hadn’t even set yet, but the village was unusually bustling.

It should have been the time when everyone was busy in the fields, but for some reason, quite a few people had gathered around the courtyard of Uncle San from the Yu family, chattering away with expressions of curiosity.

The red-faced, thick-necked old man standing right in the middle was indeed Third Uncle. His mysterious-looking young boy looked very familiar—it was Nian-ger.

Ji Wenyan saw the commotion and his eyes lit up instantly: “A-Chang, hurry up and drive the cart over there!”

Yan Xiaoyu heard the commotion, took a few quick steps over, and pressed his head against Ji Wenyan’s, peering out the carriage window.

Yan Shaoxuan took a deep breath; the scene was inexplicably jarring to him, and he longed to pull that young man back to his side and make him sit properly.

The two were oblivious to all this. As soon as the carriage came to a stop, they scrambled to jump down, both wearing expressions of keen interest.

Yan Shaoxuan followed close behind, slipping between the two as if nothing were amiss.

Yan Xiaoyue held up a piece of dried sweet potato, looking puzzled as the three of them got out of the carriage one after another.

What’s going on?

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Yan Xiaoyu walked to the edge of the crowd, standing on tiptoe to peer inside, and immediately saw his third great-uncle angrily wiping away a tear.

“Stop it! Your son’s heart has gone astray. I was counting on you. From now on, don’t even mention that family members can go outside to find a matchmaker—I’ll never let you arrange marriages for my grandchildren! Your biased heart here makes a fine matchmaker!”

“Third Uncle, don’t get so worked up!” Nian-ger frowned and sighed. “I’ve already tried to talk some sense into Third Aunt!”

“You call that talking sense? You were clearly just rubbing it in my face!”

Third Uncle pointed to the bump on his forehead and demanded of Nian-ger with a face full of grief and indignation, “Sun Er beats his wife, yet you’re always chasing after Sun Er’s wife, asking her to divorce him, saying you want her to find someone better! Your third aunt beat me like this—what do you say to that? Tell me, which husband, after getting hit a couple of times, would make me act so petty!”

“You, Nian-ger, so young and already so two-faced? No wonder you’re a matchmaker!”

“Third Uncle, I’m only doing this for your own good!” Nian-ger looked at the old man with an expression that said, “You know I mean well.” 

“At your age, it’s hard to find someone. Just make do with what you have—what else can you do but divorce? How strong could my third aunt possibly be? That bump on your head just looks bad—it’ll heal on its own in a few days!”

Nian-ger patted his third great-uncle on the shoulder: “Stop crying. I’ll have a serious talk with her later and tell her to be more careful from now on, so she doesn’t hurt you.”

“Don’t touch me!” His third great-uncle pushed him away in despair and fury. “You’re taking her side, you brat! Do you even know what you’re saying?!”

He glared fiercely at Nian-ger, then turned to the gathered villagers and cried out, “Everyone, come judge this for me! Tell me, isn’t Nian-ger being way too mean?!”

Nian-ger’s habit of “taking sides” wasn’t a recent development; whenever a couple in the village quarreled, he’d stick his nose in, and plenty of men had taken issue with him.

But since his parents held a modest status in the village and he had three older brothers to protect him, no one dared to take him seriously.

Third Uncle was different. As a distant relative of Nian-ger’s family with seniority, he could afford to put up a fight after being treated so “unfairly.”

When Third Uncle sought the villagers’ judgment, the men who’d suffered injustices at Nian-ger’s hands but had nowhere to vent their grievances perked up.

“Nian-ger is truly fair-minded. Third Uncle’s head was nearly split open, yet he merely gave Third Aunt a mild scolding.”

“Third Uncle is truly pitiful. At his age, to be beaten like that and still have to endure such taunts!”

“Yes, is there no justice left in the world? What kind of wife beats people like that?”

“I’d say, out of all the villages for miles around, the women in our Xiling Village are the fiercest!”

“……”

Seeing them so united, the onlookers—women and men alike—joined in.

Third Uncle’s wife, the one who’d struck him, was the first to speak up in defense: “You’re an old man, yet you still don’t know your place. You barely scraped together some silver from the autumn harvest, and all you did was go drinking with others. How dare you blame me for hitting you?! Even Nian-ger has spoken up for me—what more do you want? Do you really want Nian-ger to find you a new wife? Pah! You shameless old man—I think Nian-ger has been far too polite to you!”

The other women and men chimed in to support her.

“I think Nian-ger is fair. How could a man who beats his wife and son be any good? He had good reason to advise her to remarry. As wives and husbands, we wouldn’t just go around hitting people—we’re not as strong as men anyway. A few words from Nian-ger after the beating would’ve been enough.”

“Exactly! Third Uncle went out drinking with someone yesterday—could Third Aunt have hit him because of this?”

“You men who’ve been hit should think about it yourselves. If your wives are so fierce, it must be because you’ve done something wrong!”

“……”

The women and husbands chimed in one after another. The men had been laughing and joking at first, but upon hearing this, they immediately fell silent, seething with anger.

“To think we were worried about hurting Nian’er’s feelings, so we had to sneak around looking for a matchmaker. From now on, I’m not going to hold back like that anymore!”

“The wives and husbands in our village are one meaner than the next; we men really are a bunch of wimps!”

“That’s right. If word of this gets out, we won’t have the face to show ourselves in public! No other village is like ours!”

“I think the gers and women in our village are getting more and more fierce these days—it’s all because of Nian-ger, and Yu-ger from Yan Er’s family setting a bad example!”

No sooner had he said this than someone nudged his arm. He’d been in the middle of a rant, so he turned around impatiently: “What’s the matter?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he spotted Yan Xiaoyu at the edge of the crowd, arms crossed and looking fierce.

“Brother Yu, back so early today?”

The man looked sheepish; his voice cracked with nervousness. Hearing this, everyone turned their heads and finally noticed Yan Xiaoyu and his group at the back.

Suddenly, a bold man pointed excitedly at Yan Shaoxuan and shouted, “Shaoxuan is a scholar; he’s more discerning than us. I think he should be the one to judge this matter!”

Yan Shaoxuan: “……”

He never expected this turn of events, but it seemed the man had a point. Everyone present—men, women, and gers alike—looked at him with eager anticipation.

Yan Xiaoyu was no exception. He smiled warmly at Yan Shaoxuan: “Second Brother Yan, say a few words!”

If Yan Xiaoyue were to marry into the Yan family in the future, she’d surely end up bickering with Yan Shaocheng as well. Now was the perfect chance to see how her brother-in-law, Yan Erlang, would handle such a situation.

Under Yan Xiaoyu’s direct, piercing gaze, Yan Shaoxuan’s heart was already fluttering.

He knew that Yu-ger was asking him to take a stand.

Xiaoyu had been pursuing him for so long; he surely wanted to know how Yan Shaoxuan would handle any conflicts between them once they were married.

“Ahem.” Yan Shaoxuan cleared his throat, his face flushing, and tried his best to put on a serious, impartial expression. “Well, since you’re marrying her, you should treat her well. How about letting her have her way in most matters?”

He watched Yan Xiaoyu’s expression closely and added cautiously, “Besides, Third Uncle left Third Aunt to go out drinking—that was already wrong—and Third Aunt hitting him was out of desperation; there are extenuating circumstances.”

“Excellent!!” Yan Xiaoyu shouted, clapping his hands with such force that he startled the man standing nearby, who had been staring blankly.

“Look at our Second Brother Yan—what a broad-minded soul! Third Uncle, you should take a leaf out of his book!”

Yan Shaoxuan quietly exhaled, casting a subtle glance at Yan Xiaoyu with mixed feelings of joy and worry.

He was glad that this hurdle had been cleared, but worried that this young man was truly bold, daring to test his intentions so openly in front of everyone.

Aside from Yan Xiaoyu, the gers and women in the room seemed quite satisfied with Yan Shaoxuan’s answer; several of them cast shy, timid glances his way.

Yan Shaoxuan quickly picked up on this. “Good,” he thought to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ji Wenyan, who was standing nearby, eager to watch the spectacle and stir up trouble. An idea immediately formed in his mind.

“Magistrate Ji is the county magistrate’s son. Having been under the magistrate’s influence for so many years, he must be more worldly than I. Why don’t we ask for his opinion?”

The men had been accusing him of being a traitor, siding with the women and their husbands, but upon hearing this, they immediately turned their expectant gazes toward Ji Wenyan.

Surely this gentleman wouldn’t be as rigid as that bookworm Yan Shaoxuan?

The smile on Ji Wenyan’s face froze. He looked at Yan Shaoxuan in disbelief. But just then, the tearful third uncle came over begging him to settle the matter. Ji Wenyan had never encountered such a situation before and was instantly at a loss.

Third Uncle felt deeply wronged and insisted that Ji Wenyan, the son of the “honorable magistrate,” put in a good word for him.

Ji Wenyan tried to seek help from Yan Xiaoyu and the others, but Yan Xiaoyu had actually been taken away by that bastard Yan Shaoxuan! Only his page, A-Chang, and Yan Xiaoyue remained standing nearby, staring at him blankly.

What a bunch of useless people!

With no other choice, Ji Wenyan turned his pleading gaze toward the last person he recognized in the crowd—Nian-ger.

His expression was one of sheer embarrassment: “Young man, would you mind stepping in to talk some sense into him?”

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Meanwhile, Yan Shaoxuan had led a bewildered Yan Xiaoyu back to the carriage.

“What’s wrong? Is there something you want to tell me?”

Yan Shaoxuan glanced at him, then quickly looked away: “What do you think?”

Yan Xiaoyu was baffled: “…What should I say?”

Yan Shaoxuan looked exasperated and whispered, “You’d better be more careful from now on. It’s better for your reputation.”

He paused, his words carrying a hidden meaning: “Besides, if I’d stayed there, those gers and women would have kept staring at me.”

With a temper like yours, you should be angry. 

Fearing he might provoke Yan Xiaoyu, Yan Shaoxuan didn’t voice that last thought, but Yan Xiaoyu was even more baffled.

He’d merely joined in the crowd’s banter and paid Yan Erlang a couple of compliments—was that enough to tarnish his reputation? And what was wrong with those gers and women casting a few extra glances at Yan Shaoxuan? He’d look twice at a handsome young man, too!

Yan Xiaoyu mulled it over and could only conclude that Yan Erlang had a thin skin and felt embarrassed by people’s attention. On top of that, he’d mistakenly thought Yan Xiaoyu had a crush on him, and now he was afraid the villagers might misunderstand as well.

“Alright, I’ll be more careful from now on,” Yan Xiaoyu said, sounding a bit exasperated. “This identity of mine really puts me in a bind everywhere I go.”

Yan Shaoxuan stiffened, his face flushing hot.

Here it comes—the lad’s hinting at him!

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Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua were delighted to see them return. Upon hearing that Yan Xiaoyu had invited Ji Wenyan over for dinner, they hurried to help him make preparations.

By the time dinner was ready, Yan Shaocheng had returned as well.

The two families, along with Ji Wenyan and his servant, enjoyed a joyful meal together.

During the meal, Ji Wenyan praised Yan Xiaoyu’s culinary skills to the skies.

“Xiaoyu, how on earth did you come up with all these delicious dishes? The food is just so good. I’d never even seen black-and-white tofu, spicy dried tofu, or chicken soup tofu skewers before—how did you come up with them?”

“My father learned how to make black-and-white tofu from others while he was doing corvée labor. As for the rest, I came up with them when I was bored and cooking with the leftover tofu from our shop.”

Yan Xiaoyu had prepared answers for these questions in advance and responded smoothly; Ji Wenyan didn’t suspect a thing.

“You’re really talented! It would be great if you could sell food in the county seat! And Brother Yan’s black-and-white tofu—it tastes so good! Too bad you only sell until the afternoon; you pack up way too early. A lot of people haven’t even gotten out of school yet!”

A thought crossed Yan Xiaoyu’s mind.

Yan Shaocheng is desperate to make money right now; he’d surely be happy to sell for a few extra hours each day. Coming back this early—besides ensuring he’d sold everything he brought—was likely partly because he needed to go to the town market to pick up him and his older sister.

If he didn’t have to pick them up and drop them off, he could save at least twenty minutes, allowing him to sell for a bit longer at the county school. It seems his family should buy a donkey sooner rather than later.

That way, he wouldn’t have to trouble Young Master Yan, and since a donkey can pull a millstone and plow fields, buying one would make life easier for the whole family.