Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 96: Chapter 93: Golden Blood Vine, the Li Family has a Child

Yang Zhenshan didn’t know that Liu Yuanfu was being scolded, but if he had known, he would have clapped and cheered.

Who would blame him when that old man was so smelly and stubborn? Yang Zhenshan had visited the Liu family several times before, hoping to ask Liu Yuanfu for some advice, but the old man did not give him any face, not even a good glance.

If it weren’t for the fact that other members of the Liu family treated him well, he would really have wanted to make that old man work at a construction site and let the old man experience what real suffering was.

This year, everyone in the Yang family had a very happy time, with one big family together, both warm and joyful.

On the first day of the first lunar month, Yang Zhenshan distributed a basketful of red envelopes, and almost all the children in the garrison received his red packets.

However, this year they were at Yinghe Castle, so they didn’t need to go visiting relatives and giving New Year greetings.

The cheerful New Year passed quickly.

In the twenty-fifth year of the peaceful reign, on the tenth day of the first lunar month, soldiers who went home for the New Year gradually returned to Yinghe Castle.

The new phase of training continued.

Even the cold, freezing ground couldn’t stop the soldiers’ zeal for training.

Because Yang Zhenshan had already announced the time for the martial arts contest.

The twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month.

Two positions for Hundred Households and two for Trial Hundred Households, along with sixteen posts for General Flag, were waiting for them—how could they not train hard?

Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, loud chants could be heard from the training ground outside Yinghe Castle.

And at this time, Yang Zhenshan had just crawled out of his heated brick bed.

In the bitterly cold weather, the warm quilt seemed to tie him down like a rope, making it hard for him to break free.

However, as the head of the family and as the defense officer of Yinghe Castle, he had to set an example for his children and grandchildren, and for the soldiers under his command.

Moreover, the practice of martial arts relies on persistence, with winter training during the coldest days, and summer training during the hottest, refining one into steel.

Yang Zhenshan also wanted to be a lazybones.

But this world is not peaceful, and being a lazybones means having no rights, even unable to control one’s own life and death.

It’s not that easy to be a lazybones.

So Yang Zhenshan could only be an early riser.

After washing and cleaning up, Yang Zhenshan first entered the Spiritual Spring Space to take a look.

These days, the Spiritual Spring Space had expanded quite a bit, with a yard-wide pool in the center, and the surrounding land was also almost a yard wide.

The medicinal herbs he had previously planted had all sprouted, with the small leaves glistening and vibrant, looking especially pleasing.

Yang Zhenshan carefully checked each plant, and only after making sure there were no problems, did he relax.

These medicinal herbs were all carefully selected by him.

Ginseng, notoginseng, dendrobium, five-leaf goldenthread, magnolia bark, and so on, were all relatively common yet precious medicinal herbs.

In addition to this, Yang Zhenshan also got some seeds of treasure medicines.

However, the growth of treasure medicines is extremely slow, like the Golden Blood Vine, which only grows an inch each year, becomes medicinal in five years, and becomes a treasure in thirty years.

And the growing conditions for Golden Blood Vine are extremely demanding, making it almost impossible to cultivate.

Luo Shang was lucky to find him more than a dozen Golden Blood Vine seeds; actually, these seeds were not expensive, but rather rare.

Yang Zhenshan had just tried planting these seeds in the Spiritual Spring Space.

The results were not bad; most of the dozen or so seeds had sprouted, but it would take a long time to cultivate them into treasure medicines.

The main effect of the Golden Blood Vine is to replenish vitality and fill deficiencies, with the ability to extend life.

Its price is frighteningly high, with a saying that one inch of blood vine equals ten inches of gold in the Treasure Medicine Pavilion within the walled city.

Yang Zhenshan couldn’t count on the Golden Blood Vine now, but this didn’t stop him from looking forward to it.

If all these Golden Blood Vines grow into treasures, that would be tens of thousands in gold.

After carefully tending to the herbal medicines in the space, Yang Zhenshan then left the room, preparing to go outside the garrison to train.

However, before he could lead Red Cloud out from the stable, Yang Yunxue suddenly ran out from the government office.

“Dad, Dad, sister-in-law is about to give birth!”

The young girl ran with a red face, calling out urgently.

Yang Zhenshan stopped in his tracks and quickly returned to the backyard of the government office.

“Third brother, third brother!”

“Brother is at the training ground!” said Yang Yunxue.

“Darn it!”

Yang Zhenshan cursed silently in his heart.

At this moment, only Ms. Wang and the Li family, along with Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao and others, were at home. Yang Mingcheng and Yang Minghao must have gone out to train, and Yang Mingzhi had returned to the Jianning Guard three days ago.

“Girl, go and invite the midwife quickly!”

“Lin Zhan, go get Doctor Niu here!”

Ms. Wang was still in the room taking care of the Li family. Yang Zhenshan had only Yang Yunxue and Lin Zhan to command.

The Li family was about to give birth, and Yang Zhenshan wasn’t unprepared.

He had already informed the midwife and doctor in the garrison not to go out recently.

So very soon, Yang Yunxue and Lin Zhan came back with a woman and a middle-aged man.

“Greetings, my lord!”

“No need for formalities, hurry inside and check on her!” Yang Zhenshan said with an urgency.

As for the matter of childbirth, he truly found it to be a thorny issue.

The medical conditions in Yinghe Castle were extremely poor, and the only doctor available was the one before them, Doctor Niu. As for the level of medical skills, it definitely couldn’t compare to Song Yuanbo in Anning County.

Giving birth here was nearly as perilous as passing through the gates of hell, and Yang Zhenshan was genuinely afraid of an accident occurring.

However, thinking about Ms. Li’s health, Yang Zhenshan figured she should be able to pull through.

All that Spiritual Spring Water she drank was not in vain; although Ms. Li was not a Martial Artist, her physique was far superior to other women’s.

With this in mind, Yang Zhenshan hurried to the stove in the living hall and started to boil a pot of Spiritual Spring Water.

Then he dashed into the bedroom and took out an old ginseng root.

This old ginseng, which was a New Year’s gift from the Lu family, was not considered a Treasure Medicine despite being fifty years old, but it did have life-prolonging effects.

The midwife had just entered the room when anguished cries came from within.

Wang Yunqiao was boiling water in the kitchen, Ms. Wang was assisting the midwife in the house, and Yang Yunxue kept coming out to search for cotton cloths and to fetch water.

The whole family was busy for the imminent arrival of the baby.

“Dad, how is my sister-in-law doing?”

At this moment, Yang Mingcheng returned and asked as soon as he entered the door.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at him, “How would I know? I can’t go in there.”

“Uh…” Yang Mingcheng looked towards the west wing, rubbing his hands together, and could only squat next to Yang Zhenshan, watching the stove.

In the face of such matters, there was absolutely nothing these men could do; it all depended on Ms. Wang to manage everything.

“Sigh, go to the town in a couple of days and buy some servants back!”

Yang Zhenshan let out a slight sigh.

“Servants!” Yang Mingcheng was taken aback.

“Yes, find a reliable maid. Nevermind, I better go buy them myself!” Yang Zhenshan thought it over and decided it was best if he handled the purchase.

Previously, the Yang family couldn’t afford to employ servants and, furthermore, Yang Zhenshan believed that taking care of their own affairs was a form of training for them.

But now, things had changed. When there was no issue, Ms. Wang could handle everything by herself, but in case of an emergency, she would be overwhelmed on her own.

And as the household was growing larger, especially with more and more children, without hiring some help, Ms. Wang and Ms. Li would probably be worn out.

“Oh, then I’ll go with Dad!” Yang Mingcheng also felt that it was time to hire some servants.

He deeply cared for his wife who was indeed very busy.

Ever since Ms. Li got pregnant, it was Ms. Wang who took care of the entire family, from the laundry and cooking to cleaning and caring for the children. And especially after arriving at Yinghe Castle, Ms. Wang had grown noticeably thinner from all the work.

His plump wife had slimmed down, and holding her in his arms at night no longer felt comfortable for him.

After about a little more than two hours, cries of a baby could be heard from the main house in the west wing.

The cries were loud and clear, making Yang Zhenshan feel a sense of relief.

“Congratulations, sir! Rejoice, for the second mistress has given birth to a young master!” The midwife ran out to share the happy news.

Yang Zhenshan nodded and took out a piece of silver to give to the midwife, “You’ve worked hard!”

“Thank you, sir!” The midwife, holding the silver, smiled with all her wrinkles bunching up together.

“Doctor Niu, please take a moment later to check on my second brother’s wife and the grandchild,” Yang Zhenshan said to Doctor Niu, who had been standing by, waiting.

“Sir, rest assured, the second mistress’s body is in excellent condition; there definitely won’t be any issues,” Doctor Niu said cheerfully.

Since Ms. Li’s arrival at Yinghe Castle, she had been under Doctor Niu’s care, so he was very familiar with her physical condition.

After the room had been tidied up, Doctor Niu entered to check on Ms. Li and the child.

Just like he said, Ms. Li’s health was indeed very good. She didn’t feel tired even after giving birth, still full of energy while holding the baby.

Yang Zhenshan couldn’t go into the room, so Ms. Wang brought the baby out for him to see.

The little guy was wrinkled and looked quite ugly, but his eyes and eyebrows resembled Yang Mingzhi’s, and out of the entire Yang family, it was Yang Mingzhi who was the most handsome. If this child were to grow up, he would definitely be a little handsome boy.

“Auntie, I boiled some red eggs, you take some back with you later!” Ms. Wang finally finished taking care of Ms. Li and found the time to tend to other affairs.

The midwife did not care much for the red eggs since Yang Zhenshan had just given her five maces of silver, but red eggs were a symbol of auspiciousness, so she wouldn’t refuse them.

“You’ve worked hard, Auntie. I’ll see you out!”

“No need, no need, I can leave by myself! You go ahead and tend to the lady of the house,” the midwife said, happily leaving with the red eggs in hand.

Afterward, Yang Mingcheng saw Doctor Niu out, of course, his consultation fee was also generous.

By the time everything was done, it was already noon, and Ms. Wang started to get busy with preparing lunch.

Seeing her so busy, Yang Zhenshan was reminded again that he needed to purchase servants.

Moving forward, Ms. Li would have to endure her confinement, and now that there was an additional baby in the family, they would need someone to look after it.

Even with Yang Yunxue’s and Wang Yunqiao’s help, Ms. Wang alone might still be overwhelmed.

The very next morning.

Yang Zhenshan took Yang Mingcheng and went to the town.

Now there were plenty of brokers in the town. Last year, Chongshan Town had been hit with both natural and man-made disasters, and many people could no longer survive, either becoming refugees or selling themselves into servitude.

Additionally, many officials from Chongshan Town had been dismissed and their crimes judged, leaving their servants to be resold.

Thus, the brokers’ houses in the town were crammed with servants, and the prices had dropped to the lowest point.

Yang Zhenshan did not like the idea of treating people as goods to be traded, but that was how the world worked. Even if he didn’t like it, he couldn’t change anything about it.