Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 162: Chapter 158 Lacking Silver

Thinking of Silver Coin, Yang Zhenshan felt another headache coming on.

This Silver must not be spent recklessly.

Lately, the Yang family’s expenses had been anything but trivial, having bought so many servants with monthly wages to pay; plus all the festival gifts sent out during the New Year, the silver in Yang Zhenshan’s hands was already dwindling.

Selling the shops could net thousands of taels of silver, but there would be more and more places to spend silver in the future.

Household daily expenses, the children’s schooling or private tutors, and most crucially, he needed to marry Yu Qingyi, and the dowry had to be provided.

Actually, compared to other official families, the Yang family’s expenses were already quite modest, at the very least all of the Yang family’s expenditures were necessary with no trace of extravagance.

What about other officials? A single meal could cost several taels of silver, a bottle of wine could run up to more than ten taels, and from time to time, they’d throw parties like tea or flower gatherings in their backyards, where hundreds or even thousands of taels would be splurged.

Interactions between officials, and among their family members, these all required spending vast amounts of silver.

Aside from giving out some festival gifts, Yang Zhenshan hardly had any social interactions with other officials, and the ladies of the Yang family did not participate in those gatherings either.

Since arriving in An Yuan City, some officials’ wives had invited Ms. Wang to gatherings such as plum admirements, art appreciation, or tea tastings, sending her quite a number of invitations.

However, what did Ms. Wang care for such trifles? In her eyes, a plum blossom wasn’t as tasty as a spinach plant, and as for paintings, haha, it would be a wonder if she cared.

So Ms. Wang was quite resistant to these things, fearing that she might embarrass Yang Zhenshan if she attended.

But not attending didn’t seem right either, and Ms. Wang often felt conflicted about it.

Yang Zhenshan also found this very troubling.

Social interactions between officials were indispensable, and among their families too were quite necessary.

Back in Yinghe Castle, Yang Zhenshan did not need to worry about these matters, as there weren’t officials around to mingle with.

But having arrived in An Yuan City, which housed many officials, Yang Zhenshan in principle should have initiated interaction with them. However, because of the smuggling case, he had been avoiding the city’s officials.

Both the Prefect and the Military Equipment Department had extended invitations to him, which he declined.

Yang Zhenshan naturally kept his distance from these officials.

But what about the future?

He couldn’t avoid them forever.

Within the city, the Prefect was in charge of civil governance and the garrison of military defense, with many aspects of their official duties intersecting.

In Da Rong, there was not the saying that “civil officials command military,” but there was “military guards protect civil officials.”

Often the garrison office had to coordinate with the Prefectural Government on matters such as capturing thieves and maintaining public order.

The current Prefect of An Yuan City was implicated in the smuggling case and obviously wouldn’t hold the position for long; Yang Zhenshan could ignore this Prefect, but what about the next one?

Sooner or later, Yang Zhenshan would have to enter the circle of officials, and the whole Yang family would also step into the circle of their families.

Once social interactions increased, the spending on silver would also become much greater.

No wonder those officials kept thinking about embezzling and accepting bribes. How else could they sustain an extravagant lifestyle and maintain their status?

For the Yang family to seek a more prosperous life in the future, they would have to acquire more properties and build up their family assets.

This was also why Yang Zhenshan cared so much about the horse ranch.

Seeing Yang Mingcheng managing the horse ranch in an orderly manner today, Yang Zhenshan could finally relax a little bit.

After giving a few instructions to Yang Mingcheng, Yang Zhenshan mounted his horse with a dozen personal followers and left the ranch, galloping towards An Yuan City.

It was already mid-March, the weather was warming up, and the military households had begun plowing the fields.

Traveling along the road, one could see many figures bustling in the fields around the garrison.

While Yang Zhenshan hurried back to An Yuan City, Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao, two young ladies, accompanied by their maids and matrons, were strolling on Fuan Street in the city.

In fact, Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao rarely went out, venturing out maybe once or twice a month at most.

The young ladies were still very interested in shopping, and they also needed to buy their favorite things, such as beaded flowers, head ornaments, and so on.

Today the weather was just right, and Yang Yunxue pulled Wang Yunqiao out for a stroll.

They visited one shop after another, occasionally purchasing some delicate trinkets.

Of course, they couldn’t afford valuable items; although Yang Zhenshan was generous, he had not been so to the point of giving the two young ladies dozens or hundreds of taels of silver.

Yang Yunxue’s purse contained only about fifteen taels of silver, which was all her savings.

Wang Yunqiao had a bit less, not because Yang Zhenshan was biased, as the New Year’s money and other allowances he gave were the same for both, but Wang Yunqiao would from time to time buy some things for her younger brother Wang Mingzhe, hence she spent more than Yang Yunxue.

“Yun Qiao, Yun Qiao, look, this little wooden carving is so beautiful!”

Yang Yunxue stood at a wood carving stall, holding a small wooden horse, and remarked.

The small wooden horse was carved so vividly that even its pair of eyes seemed lifelike and spirited.

“It is very beautiful!” Wang Yunqiao walked up and said delightedly.

“Old sir, how much for this wood carving?” Yang Yunxue asked the elderly man behind the stall.

The elderly man grinned and replied, “Miss, each of these wood carvings is two hundred copper coins!”

These carvings were made from common wood and were not considered valuable objects, yet the old man’s skill was quite impressive, producing very lively carvings.

Still, the price was somewhat high, and ordinary folks could hardly afford such carvings.

Yang Yunxue tilted her head and looked at the old man, “Would you sell for fifty copper coins?”

“Oh my, you can tell the miss here is from a wealthy family, don’t be hard on this old fellow, it’s really not a profitable small business.”

“The old man spends over ten days on a single wood carving, just to make a bit of labor money.”

“How about one hundred and eighty copper coins, Miss?”

The old man’s face showed conflict and difficulty, his eyes brimming with sincerity and pity. If it had been some other official’s daughter who saw him like this, she might have believed him.

But Yang Yunxue was no ordinary official’s daughter; she had suffered through hard times in the past. Although the Yang family was now well-off, the young lady’s thrifty nature hadn’t changed.

Haggling was her most fundamental skill.

“Hmph, Old man, you’re not being honest. This is just an ordinary jujube wood carving. In other places, such small wood carvings go for only ten or twenty copper coins. I’m offering you fifty because I appreciate your craftsmanship.”

“Here’s the deal, if you’re willing to sell for fifty, I will pick out a few more.”

There were many children in the family, and Yang Yunxue wanted to buy a few more to give to her nephews and nieces.

The old man smiled awkwardly, internally complaining about encountering such a stingy customer today.

Seeing the way Yang Yunxue was dressed, he knew she wasn’t a commoner. Moreover, she was accompanied by several maids and nannies.

A lady from a prominent family usually doesn’t bargain when shopping; he didn’t expect to encounter one who did.

“Uh, so, Miss, how many will you buy?” the old man hesitated.

Should he accept the offer, or should he raise the price?

If he raised the price and the miss decided not to buy, what then? But he also felt reluctant to settle for the offer.

In fact, he sold them to others for thirty copper coins each. Yang Yunxue’s offer of fifty copper coins was already quite generous.

Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao browsed the woodcarvings at the stall, selecting six which looked rather fine.

“Let’s take these six!”

Upon their selection of six, the old man immediately brightened, “Okay, that’ll be a total of three hundred copper coins.”

Although he didn’t make a fortune in one go, selling six pieces could still be considered a big profit.

Yang Yunxue was aware that her offer was still a bit high, but she wasn’t bothered by it. She was frugal, not stingy, and would not quibble over every copper with an old man.

She certainly didn’t appreciate being seen as a cash cow to be milked, but she didn’t mind the old man making a few extra coins.

Yang Yunxue paid and handed the six small wood carvings to Xi Feng and Dong Xue behind her.

Just as they were about to move on to another stall, a commotion suddenly erupted on the street ahead.

“Make way, make way!”

“Get out of the way, don’t block the path of our young master!”

Annoyed shouts echoed down the street, mixed with the sound of horses’ hooves, causing chaos on the thoroughfare.

“What’s happening?”

Yang Yunxue stretched her neck curiously, trying to see what was going on ahead, but she was too short to see over the crowd, only managing to see the panicked pedestrians dodging to the sides of the street.

“Miss, someone is riding their horse recklessly on the street; we’d better step aside!” suggested Nanny Zhang at her side.

Nanny Zhang had been purchased by the Yang family after they arrived in An Yuan City. Per Yang Zhenshan’s requests, each male member of the family was to be accompanied by two servants to run errands, and each female member by a nanny and a maid, with Ms. Wang accompanied by an extra nanny and three maids.

Additionally, the Yang family had hired coachmen, sweepers, doormen, cooks, and over ten other servants.

Hearing Nanny Zhang’s words, Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao quickly moved behind the woodcarving stall.

Yet Yang Yunxue was curious to see who was recklessly riding their horse on the street; she had heard of many profligate sons causing trouble, but had never witnessed it herself.

She was quite intrigued by such a novelty.

As for who told her about these outrageous acts of the prodigal sons, ha, who else but her blabbermouth brother, Yang Minghao.

At that time, Yang Zhenshan was still at Linguan Castle, the Zhang family of Chongshan Pass had not yet fallen, and Yang Minghao quite envied the profligate behavior of the fourth young master from the Zhang family. But the boy dared not speak of it in front of Yang Zhenshan, so he only boasted about it to his sister.

Soon, Yang Yunxue saw a group of about seven or eight men, riding high-stepping horses, galloping their way.

“Ah, be careful!”

Suddenly, Wang Yunqiao let out a cry of alarm.

On the street, amid the rushing horses and curses, most people managed to dodge, but there were always some who couldn’t move out of the way in time and were knocked flying by the horses.

Just now, Wang Yunqiao had seen a half-grown boy get knocked down by a horse. Fortunately, the street was wide enough that the boy was lucky not to be trampled by the other horses following behind.

Even so, the collision left the boy seriously injured.

“Damn it!”

Upon seeing this, Yang Yunxue couldn’t help becoming angry; without thinking, she grabbed a wooden stick from nearby and threw it.

The stick belonged to the old man from the woodcarving stall, probably used as a walking stick, and was over three feet long.

Since she was young and not yet a Martial Artist, Yang Yunxue’s physical condition couldn’t be compared to that of an average girl; in fact, she could surpass even strong adult men.

Yang Zhenshan’s specialty was throwing the Short Spear, and as his daughter, Yang Yunxue naturally practiced throwing the spear as well.

Although the stick was not a Short Spear, it didn’t hinder Yang Yunxue’s throw.

Her target was clear, thrown straight at the dandy dressed in luxurious brocade.

With a slap, the stick hit the dandy right on the head.

The attendants around the young master noticed the sudden attack, but their reaction was a tad too late to prevent it.

Caught off-guard, the dandy on horseback tumbled straight off his steed.